Behavior and Caregiver Stress Topics for Greenfield Parent Meeting  

Does your child have behavior challenges at home, school or in the community?  Would you like to learn more about what messages your child may be trying to communicate when he or she has challenging behaviors?  The August FUSE meeting in Greenfield will focus on behavior as communication as well as stress relieving tips for parents, siblings and caregivers. We had this topic in Shelbyville in May and it was great, so don't miss it! 

Click here to register! 

6:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m

Our speakers will be Stephanie Shank and Julie Ann Anderson with Positive Pathways. Stephanie has Master's of Science degree in Counseling from Indiana University and has been providing behavioral supports to children and adults participating in the Medicaid Waiver for the past 12 years. Her skills include program development, teaching replacement behaviors, training caregivers, and utilizing common sense in my approach to supporting individuals with behavioral challenges.  Julie Ann Anderson is a behavior consultant serving Delaware, Hancock, Hamilton, Henry, Madison, and Marion counties. She has worked as a school counselor and adjunct faculty at Butler University for the past fifteen years. She has worked with people of all ages with autism, Down Syndrome, and other developmental disabilities.

We have a light supper at each meeting, so please register so we know how much to plan for the food.  Just click this link to register. Child care reservations are also required so we can plan enough caregivers.

If you have questions about the meeting, please call 317-462-9064 or send us an email.

Accessing Funds for Special Health Care Needs to be Discussed at Shelbyville Parent Meeting 

Family Fun Day at Nameless Creek

Join us for a day of family fun at Nameless Creek Youth Camp! FUSE will provide hamburgers, hot dogs, and paper products for a pitch in lunch. Families will each pitch in a side dish and a small dessert item. Lunch will be served around 12:30.

After lunch there will be activities for families to do at their own pace. We will have some impromptu field games, corn hole, nature crafts and water games if it is very hot.   Families can always explore the trails that run throughout the camp and bring some shoes suitable for stomping in the creek! Feel free to bring along activities and games your family likes to play! Around 2:00 we will have a visit from some local farm animals including a certified therapy alpaca, chickens, and bunnies!

This is an open event, so please invite any family you know who would like to enjoy some fun time together while meeting other families and learning more about FUSE. This is a great place to introduce other families to the support and encouragement they can receive by being a part of a group like FUSE. Just make sure you have them register so we have enough food for all of our guests!

Click here to register!  Hope to see you there! 

Medicaid Waiver Information Presentation in Shelbyville 

FUSE is hosting a training for families to learn more about Medicaid Waiver services and to get help signing up for the waiver.  Heather Dane of Family Voices Indiana will do the presentation for FUSE families and interested professionals in Shelbyville.  After the training, Medicaid Waiver applications will be available for families to take home, and families will have an opportunity to ask questions about applying.   One key fact is that Medicaid Waivers do not count parental income for children under age 18, so families of any income level will want to be aware of this program.  Please help spread the word!

Also, please note that child care is NOT available for the waiver meeting.  Please contact our office with any questions about this training.

Caregiver Support Services Funds Opened July 1 

Changes in IMAST/Standardized Assessment for Students with Disabilities

Information reprinted from

The Arc of Indiana E-newsletter 

Many students with disabilities utilize the IMAST as their standardized assessment test in the state.  The State of Indiana will no longer be able to administer the IMAST test due to changes in the federal education wavier process.

The Department of Education has created three webinars to help parents in the transitioning of students who previously took IMAST to a new  test.  The webinars can be found at: http://www.doe.in.gov/specialed.

The three webinars include:

• Transitioning from IMAST
• IDOE Online ISTEP+ Resources for the Classroom
• Resources for Parents

Visit Indy Gluten-Free Style 

ABA Therapy Coverage, Medicaid and the "1634 Transition" (Also called "The June 1st Changes")

To:      Parents of Children with Autism Receiving Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) Therapy Services

From:  Your Indiana Family Advocacy Organizations - About Special Kids (ASK), The Autism Society of Indiana (ASI), The Arc of Indiana, Covering Kids and Families (CKF), Family Voices Indiana, The Indiana Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics (INAAP), and The Indiana Resource Center for Autism (IRCA)

Re:  ABA Therapy Coverage, Medicaid and the "1634 Transition" (Also called "The June 1st Changes")

Because of a transition at the state level, some parents have heard conflicting information regarding the type of Medicaid their child must have after June 1, 2014, if the child also has Supplemental Security Income (SSI).

We want to provide parents with accurate information and provide a way to contact  The Office of Medicaid Policy and Planning (OMPP) and the Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA) to clarify any of their questions.  Much of this confusion is based upon the "1634 Transition" that Indiana began on June 1, 2014.

To read the full text of the Memo sent out by the statewide advocacy organizations listed above,  

please click here. 

ABA Research Study Opportunities  

Facebook Friends Change Your Settings  

Do you follow us on Facebook but feel like you miss seeing our posts?  Well, you just might!  Facebook has been using an algorithm for quite a while now which impacts how many of our page friends actually see the things we post. To be sure you don't miss out on any of our posts, just do the following.

Go to the FUSE Facebook page.  Be sure you have clicked the "Like" button and the Following button. To make sure you know EVERY time we post and don't miss anything, you can also click the drop down arrow beside the Liked symbol, and then click on Notifications.  Each time we post it will show up on your Notification bar, and you can click the post to view it.  Your screen should look like this when you are done.