The Beacon 
  
    


       ECAC Logo 2011 jpg                                   FVlogo


August 2012  

 
The NC Family to Family
Health Information Center
A Project of the Exceptional Children's Assistance Center
Home to Family Voices of NC
 

  

School Nurses Provide Back-to-School Checklist for Parents
NASN Encourages Student Health and Wellness for Academic Success

     It's that time of year again. Children are getting ready to go back to school and parents are thinking about what they can do to ensure their children remain healthy, in school and ready to learn. For children returning to or starting school with special health concerns, parents should ask if the there's a school nurse in the building every day. For many students this school year, the school nurse will be their only point of access to health care.
     To ensure a healthy and successful school year, the National Association of School Nurses (NASN) has developed a checklist for parents to consider as they prepare to send their children back to school. NASN encourages all parents to be active in their children's health and wellness. Parent engagement in school is a critical predictor of student success.

For Parents Who Have Students with a Health Concern:
  •  Make your child's health concern known to the school and school nurse.
  •  Introduce yourself and your child to the school nurse.
  •  Bring current signed healthcare provider orders.
  • Together with the school nurse and other appropriate school officials, develop an individualized healthcare plan.
  • Give permission for the school nurse to communicate with your family's healthcare provider.
  • Provide parent/guardian contact information and update the school with any changes.
  • Ask if non-nurses will be providing care (for example, verify who will administer medication) and how these authorized individuals will be supervised.
  • Confirm the school's disaster/emergency plan. Make sure your child's medication and/or medical devices(epinephrine auto-injectors, asthma inhalers, insulin, etc.) will be readily available in an emergency.
  • Let the school know how important it is to have a full-time registered school nurse in the building all day, every day.
For All Parents and Students:
  • Make sure immunizations are up-to-date.
  • Review hygiene tips to prevent the spread of infections.
  • Establish a bedtime and wake-up time to ensure adequate and consistent sleep.
  • Develop a routine for homework and afterschool activities.
  • Help make appropriate clothing choices (for example, wear comfortable and safe shoes).
  • Keep an open line of communication with your child to ensure that he/she remains safe at school. If a concern arises (such as bullying), contact the appropriate school officials immediately.
  • Get involved! Sign up for the parent organization (PTA/PTO), school Wellness Committee, and mark events such as back-to-school night and parent/teacher meetings on your calendar.
  • Ask about the school or district's wellness policy (for example, how does the school address nutrition, activity, stress and mental health concerns).
  • Advocate for your child to have a school nurse all day, every day by communicating this message to school administrators and decision-makers.

"Parents should talk to their school nurse and be involved in their child's health and wellness at school," said NASN
President, Linda Davis-Alldritt. "Every child deserves a school nurse every day, all day. And every parent deserves to feel their child's safety and well being are a school's top priority," stated Davis-Alldritt.

 

(National Association of School Nurses, Silver Spring, MD, release August 7, 2012)    


In This Issue
Services After High School
ECAC & Social Networking
About NC F2FHIC
How to Join a Webinar

Special Education Services After High School Uncoordinated, Unmonitored, GAO Finds  

 

     Thirty-six hours after Marlyn Wells gave birth to Anna, she learned her daughter had Down syndrome. Just a few years later, the family started talking about Anna's career. In pre-school, Anna had said she wanted to be a "fire truck" when she grew up.

     But 20 years later, the family hit roadblocks trying to help find paid work for Anna. One program responsible for helping Anna find a job only kicks in six months before students like her graduate from high school. A different vocational agency was required to contact her once a month, "which is not adequate," Wells said. "We were not told how the funding part of that particular service works, so it left us out of being able to make an informed choice as to which service provider might be the most appropriate one for Anna's needs."

     According to a new Government Accountability Office report released late Tuesday, Anna's struggles are far from the exception. Students with disabilities, like Anna, face massive challenges using federal services that are supposed to help them transition from high school and into college or the workforce, the report found. Parents in five states told GAO researchers about struggles faced by their families trying to find services that help their children move on with their lives after school.

     We didn't understand how these agencies were being monitored for success," Wells said. "I'm pretty savvy about this stuff," said Wells, an advocate who helps other special-needs families at the Exceptional Children's Assistance Center. "That information was really vague."

     Problems stem from having four uncoordinated federal agencies -- the departments of Education, Health and Human Services, and Labor, as well as the Social Security Administration -- handling related initiatives with little communication. "Their efforts represent a patchwork approach and there is no single, formal, government-wide strategy for coordinating transition services for students with disabilities," the GAO wrote. And the agencies don't evaluate whether their programs work.

     Further, special education students have individualized education programs that guarantee them plans and aides as mandated by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. That very specific and streamlined program ends when students leave high school, providing a breaking point from the familiar to the alphabet soup of transition programs under the four agencies. Parents reported having either too little information or too much, leaving them bewildered...

 

(The Huffington Post August 6, 2012) 

 

Marlyn Wells serves as the Family Voices Coordinator for the Exceptional Children's Assistance Center which is the State Affiliate Organization. To read the entire article follow the link below:  

 


 

ECAC & Social Networking

 

     ECAC continues to explore ways to reach families of children with special health care needs and the professionals that serve them. The use of social networking sites by families and professionals has skyrocketed over the past decade and has been found to be an effective tool to make connections. So in response to this, we have developed pages on Facebook and Pinterest.

     On Facebook ( ECAC-North Carolina's Parent Center), you will find daily status updates on a variety of relevant and useful topics. The updates have included information on Individualized Education Programs, Individualized Health Plans, Transition (Educational & Health Care), workshop/event listings and much more. Most recently, we have been introducing everyone to the staff of ECAC.

     On Pinterest (ECAC NC Parent Center), you will find boards on several different topics with related pins. There are a few boards that are disability specific for those of you who are looking for information that is particular to your child's diagnosis. There are boards of information on Inclusion, Down Syndrome, IEP Process, Autism, Conflict Resolution and many more.

     Please stop by our pages and Like us on Facebook, Follow us on Pinterest. We have had some great feedback from families and professionals alike. If you have any questions or would like more information regarding a particular status update or pin feel free to ask in the comment section of the post. The pages are checked daily and questions will be answered as promptly as possible. We are in the process of developing a Twitter account so keep an eye out for us there as well. #stayconnected

 

Save the Dates!!

 

Thursday, October 4, 2012: Bayada Pediatrics presents the 3rd Annual Special Needs Trade Show to be held at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, NC from10am to 4pm. It will consist of vendors who specialize in services for children with special health care needs as well as their families. To learn more about it call 704-549-1700 or follow the link below: 

 

Special Needs Trade Show

 

Saturday, October 20, 2012:  Innovative Approaches of Surry County presents the 2nd Annual Celebration of the Exceptional Child (Resource Fair) to be held at Elkin Municipal Park in Elkin, NC from 10am to 1pm. This will be a fun-filled day for families with games, activities, music and more. For more information, please contact Sharie Ray at 336-401-8501.

 

About NC F2FHIC

 

NC F2FHIC is a project of ecac, the Exceptional Children's Assistance Center and is funded by the US Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). The goal of the NC F2FHIC is to help keep your child healthy by promoting regular medical care and to make the most of the benefits that are available for your child with special health care needs. 

The Family-to-Family Health Information Centers provide information and guidance to families raising children and youth with special health care needs (CYSHCN), professionals, and others around six national performance measures. These are 

  1. Families and professionals partner at all levels of decision-making.
  2. Families have access to comprehensive health and related services through the medical home.
  3. Children receive early and continuous screening, evaluation, and diagnosis.
  4. There is adequate public and/or private financing of needed services.
  5. Community services are organized so that families can use them easily.
  6. There is successful transition to all aspects of adult health care, work, and independence.)

 


How to Join us for a Webinar!

 
To join  a HIC webinar or for additional information, call Yolanda toll free at
1-800-962-6817
 ext 335.
There are two ways to participate in a webinar:

(1). You can join us as an individual at your computer listening  over the phone using our toll free number .

(2). Or, you could bring together parents and/ or staff and view the webinar as a group in a large room such as the media center or computer lab using a speaker phone.
 
If you have questions give us a call! 

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