REACH Parent Network Information Exchange.

This information exchange, sponsored by Reach, is by parents for parents.  It's content is  guided by Reach's mission to provide choices for families,  be family centered, facilitate inclusion, and  exist as a quality resource.  The information is meant to meet the needs of a multitude of families' interests.  We caution readers that Reach does not investigate all claims, and that claims  made  are not necessarily endorsed or recommended by Reach. Readers are encouraged to undertake further investigation on their own of items noted. 

• ANCA's World Autism Festival 2016.  The 7th annual World Autism Festival will take place in Vancouver, B.C. Canada Sept 30-Oct 1, 2016. Click here for a list of workshops
   
   
• Autism Speaks Canada Walk at the new Pacific Autism Family Centre: As we near the opening of the GoodLife Fitness Family Autism Centre, Autism Speaks Canada and the Pacific Autism Family Foundation will host a community 'sneak peek' of this amazing facility during our annual autism walk and festival Oct 23. As a proud supporter of PAFC, through our Family Services granting program & $500,000 of your BC Walk dollars, Autism Speaks Canada joins the B.C. autism community in embracing this amazing new facility. Our Walks provide the opportunity for the B.C. community to come together, make connections, share experiences and celebrate the potential of all those living with autism and what better place to do it, than this brand new, state of the art facility. Click here for more information
   
• Autistic Film "CONNECTED" Screening at the Vancouver Lift-Off Film Festival 2016

  Message from Officials of the Vancouver Lift-Off Film Festival 2016

  Dear Filmmaker, Your film has been selected to screen online, during the Vancouver Lift-Off Film Festival 2016. Your film will be available for viewing on Vimeo On-Demand as part of a series of films that make up Vancouver Lift-Off Online Festival 2016 from Monday Aug 1st and it will be live until Saturday August 6th.CONNECTED: A Film About Autistic People.  Countering media depictions of autistic people, this documentary offers fresh questions about the nature of human development; our understanding of intelligence; what it means to be social and the implications of living in a conformist driven society.The film was produced & directed by Vancouver film maker, Sonia Suvagau with original score composed by Sebastian Hugeneck of  Sonia Productions Executive Producers Leonora Gregory-Collura and Charlie Collura Co-Founders of the ANCA® World Autism Festival™
• Click here to see the trailer

• The Unexpected Effect 'Pokémon Go' Had On A Boy With Autism "Something is suddenly happening, and whatever it is, it is MAGIC." One boy with autism is catching 'em all - and discovering a new side of himself in the process.  For Ralphie Koppelman, a 6-year-old who was diagnosed with autism, socializing can be uncomfortable. He has difficulty making eye contact and engaging in conversation. But the day he started playing Pokémon Go, the boy began opening up to other kids, making new connections, and finding common ground with his peers as a result of the game.Click here to read more
   
• Pokémon Go Poses Risks to Children.  Concern for Children's Safety. SOS Children's Villages has been protecting children in the real physical world in 134 countries for over 65 years. Now that virtual and online applications are encouraging children to perform activities in new locations, often away from safe places and often without the supervision of their parent, we are concerned. There are a number of potential risks that children face when engaging in this kind of virtual reality, including: Click here to read more 

• Four Tips to Get the Most Out of Pokemon Go for Your Child with Autism.  As you all know by now, Pokemon Go has become this summer's sensation. Not only is the game making headlines as being beneficial play for those with autism, but the game's creator has autism himself. Fifty year old Satoshi Tajiri (from Japan) almost didn't' graduate from high school because of his obsession with bugs and video games...an obsession that later turned into the multi-billion dollar Pokemon franchise. Click here to read more 

• AutismSees: Improving interview and presentation skills for young adults with autism through technology.
  AutismSees was founded to bring a tech solution for young adults who fear eye contact while speaking or fear making presentations.We have learned that people do better in job interviews when they understand how they appear in front of others. You know what they say, "58% of communication is body language. 38% is tone of voice." Kinesics is the immediate connection between strangers and ourselves during first encounters. We help young adults create positive first impressions by showing them how they look in real time during prep for a job or college interview.Click here for more information 
  
   
   
  
   
   
   

   Down Syndrome  

• You are Invited to a Delta Down Syndrome Support Group meeting: OUR GOALS ARE
  · To provide guest speakers (Reach therapists, community
  professionals and other programs) to discuss common issues
  · To provide support and information to families in Delta who
  have a child with Down Syndrome
  · To help connect parents of children with Down Syndrome
  · To provide monthly meetings for parents and their children
  · To provide on-site child minding while you attend the
  discussion
  When: First Thursday of each month
  Where:
  Reach Developmental Preschool South #3-3800 72nd Street, Delta, BC
  Reach Developmental Preschool North Delta 10921 - 82nd Avenue, Delta, BC
  
  **alternating each month
  • Time: 6:00pm - 7:30pm
    Cost: No charge
    Light refreshments provided
    Please RSVP to Sarah Garnham at 604-946-6622 extension 321.
    or email here 

Medical and Mental Health

• Mind Matters has a new website. CMHA BC has a new and improved website! Visit here

  to check out our new look and find information about mental health, wellness services and upcoming events.
• Click here to sign up for the Mind Matters E-News
  
   
• Click here for the Kelty Mental Health News 

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Workshops and Training

•  Click here for the CCRR Options Fall Training Calendar

• Click here for information for FREE RDSP presentation 
• The next session coming up is Tuesday, Aug 9 (10am-12noon) located at our office at 3665 Kingsway (at Boundary road) in Vancouver. 

• Facing the Future Together: A Succession Planning Workshop. 2016 Dates:
  

  • October 15 (10am-3pm)

  Facing the future with promise and confidence takes planning and requires all those who care for and support your relative with a disability to work together.

  This full-day workshop is designed to inform and assist all members of the family and their successors to:

  • Address concerns about the future and secure a succession plan
  • Hear how other families are creating peace of mind
  • Consider how to share roles and responsibilities
  • Identify key resources
  • Balance wishes and obligations

  Identify short and long term actionsClick here for more information and to register 
   
• DIRFloortime® DIR 101: Overview of the DIR® Model and Floortime™ Intervention:Theoretical Framework, Scientific Evidence, and Scope of Application With Paula Jurczak And Keith Landherr. This is an introductory course that reviews the theoretical framework, scientific evidence, and scope of application of the DIR model promoting functional emotional developmental capacities, reflective thinking, and overall mental health for all children and adults, including those with special needs. This is an ICDL approved introductory training. Following this course, participants may enroll in DIR 201 through ICDL.com. August 12 and 13, 2016 Questions ???  Contact Keith Landherr
  Phone # 604-299-8862 or email:here

• Introduction to ASD - Practical Applications - POPARD
  Monday - Friday, August 15 - 19, 2016 Kenneth Cole, PhD, RPsych Surrey School District Education Centre Surrey, BC.

  This 30 hour course has recently been revised to reflect current research and evidence-based practice in teaching students with ASD. Instruction includes pre-readings, practical hands-on training through instructor demonstration and coaching. In addition, course participants complete applied exercises in the key elements of teaching and supporting students with ASD.

  The course structure involves pre-readings and class discussions, in addition to ongoing opportunities for the participant to apply concepts through active participation.

  This course is a requirement for teaching assistants in many school districts and is open to community professionals and parents.Click here for more information 
   
• Creating the Future - Partnerships for Inclusive Learning Save the Date:  August 22-24, 2016 at UBC in Vancouver, BC. Facilitating strategic approaches to inclusion
  & belonging for all studentsRegistration now open! Cllck here for more information

• Cutting Edge Strategies to Improve Executive Function Skills.

  Thursday & Friday, September 15 & 16, 2016

  Sarah Ward, MS, CCC-SLP Co-Director, Cognitive Connections LLP. These two days will provide you with dozens of practical strategies that you can implement tomorrow. You will learn about task initiation and execution to time management, practice using strategies such as 'Future Sketch', 'Get Ready, Do, Done', 'STOP and Read the Room', and seeing and sensing the passage of time. Through demonstration and practice, you will learn how to teach students the following executive control skills: awareness; forethought; waiting, planning skills; shifting; pacing; flexibility; speed of information processing.Click here for more information
   
• Family Focus Conference, October 21-23, 2016.  The Value of One; The Power of Many 

  October 21-23, 2016 Sheraton Vancouver Airport Hotel Richmond BC

  Click here for more information - Registration now open!

• Trauma-Informed Practices: School, Home, Treatment, and Community
  October 21, 2016 La Perla Ballroom , New Westminster, BC #230 - 810 Quayside Drive, New Westminster, BC. The Children's Foundation (TCF) is pleased to be hosting David Melnick on trauma. On October 21st, David will focus on using the lens of the "Seven Domains of Impact" examine the ways in which youth are impacted by trauma, and the relational, strategic, self, and collaborative practices to address areas of need.
  Traumatic events happen to all people at all ages and across all socio-economic strata in our society. These events can cause terror, intense fear, horror, helplessness and physical stress reactions. Some traumatic events are profound experiences that can change the way children, adolescents and adults see themselves and the world. Click here for more information and to register
   
• Earlybird Registration NOW. Victoria, BC - November 4 & 5, 2016. Featuring Speakers Leah Kuypers and Elizabeth Sautter  Friday, November 4 Leah Kuypers The Zones of Regulation This presentation provides teachers, therapists and parents with hands-on knowledge on the nature of self-regulation and strategies for improving self regulation and emotional control in individuals of all ages. Audience participants will learn an explicit, stair-stepped method and tools to guide individuals in utilizing The Zones framework across situations and environments to regulate sensory needs, impulses, and emotional states to social demands.  The Zones of Regulation presentation also incorporates core concepts from Michelle Garcia Winner's SocialThinking® framework to help teach individuals about perspective taking so they better understand how being in the different zones impacts thethoughts and feelings of other people around them.November 5 Elizabeth Sautter Make Social Learning Stick: Practical Tools to Build Social Regulation. Social Regulation (Kuypers and Sautter, 2011) is the ability to adjust one's level of alertness and modify how emotions and behaviors are revealed in order to meet social goals. This presentation will offer parents/caregivers, educators, and other professionals who work with individuals with social cognitive, executive functioning, communication &emotional regulation challenges, the glue that makes social learning stick.The majority of the presentation will focus on practical tools, concepts and suggestions that can easily be used the next day to support social regulation at home, school, work and in the community. Participants will learn to embrace teachable moments using new strategies as well existing ones in order to create a "social learning diet" for success.  Click here for more information and to register 

• Save the Date! We're excited to announce that the 20th annual Children the Heart of the Matter conference will be held on February 17 & 18, 2017 at the Sheraton Guildford Hotel in Surrey.
• Children the Heart of the Matter Conference Committee is seeking proposals for our
  20th annual conference. Our 201 6 conference drew over 600 participants and was an overwhelming success. Consideration will be given to those presenters whose proposals reflect diversity, inclusive practice, programming and curriculum for any or all of the following: infant/toddler, preschool-age and school- age children as well as children with special needs.

  Click here for more information

• The 7th International Conference on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder
  Research: Results and Relevance 2017 Integrating Research, Policy and Promising Practice Around the World Conference Updates:
  Call for abstracts just announced. Click here for more information. Deadline for all submissions are August 26, 2016.
  Conference Dates: March 1-4, 2017 Conference Location: The Westin Bayshore, Vancouver, BC
  This advanced level conference continues to bring together experts from multiple disciplines to share international research. From the pure science, to prevention, diagnosis and intervention across the lifespan, the conference will address the implications of this research and promote scientific/community collaboration. It provides an opportunity to enhance understanding of the relationships between knowledge and research and critical actions related to FASD. First held in 1987, the conference brings together people passionate about this work in a stimulating environment where they can learn and forge new partnerships.Click here to stay in tune 
  
   

Other

• Ted Talks: Playlist (8 talks) The importance of play

  Play invites creativity and collaboration, and can inspire you to think out of the box! Take a recess and learn about the benefits of connecting with your inner-child. Click here to see these Ted Talks
• Caregivers Retreat Reclaiming Ourselves: A Journey Inwards for Caregivers Sept 16 - 18, 2016. This special weekend retreat is designed to support and nourish family caregivers. It offers an opportunity to feel rejuvenated and renewed with a gentle schedule of activities including nature walks, painting and collaging, sharing stories, guided meditation, as well as alone time for personal reflection and relaxation. All delicious meals will be included.
  Being the primary support for a loved one who is vulnerable or who has a disability can be an all consuming and sometimes overwhelming experience. Some of us feel isolated, exhausted and disconnected from ourselves outside of our caregiving role.
  "When I'm not caring for others, who am I?" Plan Institute invites you to join with other caregiving individuals and couples who are looking for a renewed sense of self and deeper intimacy with their partners, friends and community. We hope this will be a wonderful break in your busy lives to share rest and rejuvenation with others.Click here for more information 
  
   
• Click here for the August edition of COMPLEX CHILD - ADVOCACY

• Click here for the Current Family Support Institute's Kindred Thoughts 

• SERVICES TO ADULTS WITH DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES (STADD) EXPANDS.
  This year, 2016, STADD is expanding to communities in the Fraser region. It has begun operations in Langley and Delta, and will be serving downtown Vancouver through the Granville Youth Health Centre.To find out more about STADD, and whether the STADD service is available in your community, you can call 1-855-356-5609 or 250-356-5609, or visit
  
   the website here

• FSI's 9th Annual Trivia Night 2016. Come and join the FUN at FSI's 9th Annual Trivia Night on Oct. 1/16 at BACI in Burnaby. Tickets are on sale now!  Click here for more information

• Click here for the Current Parenting Special Needs Magazine 
• Managing Emotions page 22
• Challenging Behaviour and Positive Behaviour Support page 26

• Do you have positive stories about employment? We are launching a familyWORKs social media campaign to reach new families through Facebook and Instagram by publishing positive and inspirational stories of real individuals participating in employed roles. 
  The campaign will be modeled after the very successful Instagram and blog, Humans of New York, which features authentic stories of citizens in New York and around the world (often receiving hundreds of thousands of "likes" and comments per posting). We are confident that through social media, FSI will be able to connect with families who are not aware of the possabilites of employment for people with diverse abilities. Contact Daniele by email here 

• The Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP)

  is a long-term savings plan to help Canadians with disabilities and their families save for the future. Click here for more information

  If you have an RDSP, you may also be eligible for grants and bonds to help with your long-term savings.
  You should consider opening an RDSP if you have a long-term disability and are:
  • eligible for the Disability Tax Credit (disability amount);
  • under the age of 60 (if you are 59, you must apply before the end of the calendar year in which you turned 59);
  • a Canadian resident with a Social Insurance Number (SIN); and
  • looking for a long-term savings plan.
  You may contribute any amount to your RDSP each year, up to the lifetime contribution limit of $200,000. With written permission from the RDSP holder, anyone may contribute to the RDSP. Please click here for more information 
• PLAN (Planned lifetime advocacy network)  offers a variety of workshops regarding RDSP's, wills and estates and setting up personal networks.
• Click here for your comprehensive guide 

• Your One Stop Shop for children and families in Delta - click here

Submissions or Questions?

To submit for our newsletter or have a question for Pam to research please contact her at

Parent Network 

or 604-946-6622 ext 359.  

You can sign up at the Reach Child and Youth Development Society website to receive this newsletter directly.

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