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October 1, 2014
Celebrating 26 Years of Excellence
Serving Missouri Families!
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Did you miss an issue of the MPACT ENews? Delete it by mistake? Wish you could find a past article? Well you can! To view current and past issues of the MPACT ENews visit our website.
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| MPACT 2014 Transition Summit - October 29, 2014 |
The MPACT 2014 Transition Summit will be held on October 29 in Jefferson City. Make plans to attend the Summit today! Details, including participant registration, are posted on the MPACT website. Parents and professionals who bring students attend at NO COST. Yes, that means you and your students attend for FREE! Don't delay! The registration deadline for participants is October 17!
The Summit is a one-day learning experience designed for students who have disabilities, special education transition personnel and student teams, family members, case managers, VR counselors, and Centers for Independent Living personnel. Summit sessions are focused on the preparation of youth for transition to postsecondary education, employment, independent living and community experiences.
This year's keynote speaker will be Lauren Zeliff. Lauren's address, "Great Things Can Happen When You Believe in Yourself!" will focus on Lauren's journey dealing with her own disability and the important things she learned along the way.
Business partners, we need exhibitors and sponsors to support this event. We also need donations of goodie bag items and door prizes. Exhibitor and sponsor information is posted on the MPACT website. If you are interested in donating items for our participant gift bags or participant door prizes, please contact Connie Smith at csmith@ptimpact.org or (800) 743-7634. Don't delay! The deadline for sponsors and exhibitors is also October 17.
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Disability History and Awareness Month
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Starting October 1, check out the State of Missouri Disability Portal for information about HB 555 which created Disability History and Awareness Month in Missouri
You will find a You Tube Video titled "It's Our Story" discussing the disability rights movement, a Disability History and Awareness Resource Guide, a list of disability related events being held throughout the state during the month, and information about National Disability Employment Awareness Month (also celebrated in October).
The Governor's Council on Disability web site will feature a slideshow of Missourians with Disabilities in Everyday Life.
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| National Bullying Prevention Month |
October is National Bullying Prevention Month, which was developed by PACER's National Bullying Prevention Center in 2006 to raise awareness for the issue and show support for those who have been bullied. Community members can take action in several ways: Use PACER's free online resources, wear orange Oct. 22 on Unity Day or become a 'Champion' for the cause. Students and others can plan events and activities using PACER's free step-by-step event planning guide, which was developed in collaboration with Facebook.
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How To Be a Good Advocate
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Disability.Blog is sponsored by Disability.gov, the U.S. federal government website for information on disability programs and services nationwide. In September, Guest Blogger Dan Ignaszewski, Director of Government Relations and Development for the Amputee Coalition wrote a post titled "How to Be a Good Advocate". While the perspective of the post is that of a self-advocate, the insight and tips that Dan shares are good for those who advocate for their children as well.
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| Brain Injury Survivor and Family Seminar |
The Brain Injury Association of Missouri (BIA-MO) is holding a FREE Survivor and Family Seminar. This educational opportunity will feature local experts who provide information and practical suggestions to help you face challenges of life with brain injury.
The seminar will be held on Saturday, October 18 at the St. Charles Convention Center, One Convention Center Plaza, Grand Ballroom D, St. Charles, MO 63301. For more information and to register, visit the BIA-MO website.
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| U.S. Department of Labor Survey |
George Washington University in alliance with the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Disability Employment Policy, are working on developing a tool to help all youth and young adults (ages 12-30), including those with disabilities and chronic health conditions, receive information on how to take charge of their health care and career goals. In order to develop a useful tool, they are surveying young people, families and youth service professionals. Please support this important work by taking one of the surveys below.
Survey for Youth and Young Adults
Survey for Families
Survey for Youth Service Professionals
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| MPACT Mentor Spotlight |
MPACT Mentors give their personal time to help families navigate the special education process. We appreciate their commitment to expanding their knowledge and expertise.
Julie and Mike Willoughby are both MPACT certified Mentors. This married couple usually works together as a team to support families. They were willing to share a bit with us about their experience. When did you first learn about MPACT? We learned about MPACT when our son Alex was in kindergarten and having a bad year. It seemed like nothing was going right with him in his education.
When did you decide you wanted to become an MPACT Mentor? We first talked to Keri Keys, one of MPACT's Parent Advisors. Keri was very supportive, and assigned Billie Ridenour as our mentor. Billie helped to prepare me for our son's meeting and attended the meeting with us to provide support to us. We also attended a Boot Camp training that further prepared us. Billie suggested we become mentor's since we handled everything well. MPACT staff and volunteers helped to give us a voice for our son, Alex.
What do you do outside of volunteering your time to MPACT? Mike runs three companies; a portable DJ company, a casino company, and a haunted house that has been running for 35 years. Julie is a nurse.
Share a little about your own children and how your relationships with MPACT helped you to advocate for their needs. We have a daughter who is 16 with oppositional defiant disorder, another daughter who is 10, and Alex who is 7 with Down syndrome. Alex started off in kindergarten at 12% inclusion in the regular education classroom and is now in the second grade and spends 80% of his time included in the regular education classroom.
In your experience, what is one of the biggest barriers parents of children with special needs face in the education system? Communication!! Parents are not given the information that teachers are given. Parents often know there is something wrong but communication with the professionals is not open enough for them to know what to do from here. Bottom line is open communication between everyone, the doctors, the parents, and the educators, is important. Early intervention is also crucial.
You've served countless families as an MPACT Mentor. Can you share one of the most memorable and/or most rewarding situations you've experienced? We don't have just one. In general, when you see communication occurring between the doctors, parents, and educators and see that they are working together, the child has more success.
If you could share one piece of advice with your fellow MPACT mentors and families, what would it be? Mentors, when you meet the parents for the first time, make sure you are supportive and listen to them, they know their child. Give them the tools that they need and stand back and watch the magic happen. Families, accept the tools that your mentor shares with you and know that you have the strength to advocate for your child. MPACT would like to thank Julie and Mike for all the hard work they do guiding families through the special education process. Our Mentors are the back bone of our service delivery in Missouri.
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MPACT Mentor Program
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MPACT Mentors are available to offer support and guidance to parents of children with disabilities throughout the IEP process. Mentors are volunteers who receive 24 hours of initial training, ongoing monthly training, and technical assistance from MPACT staff with regard to special education law, the IEP process, conflict resolution, and effective communication. Their goal is to help parents build a collaborative partnership with the school district so their child may receive an appropriate education. Click here to view the list of current MPACT Mentors.
If your school district has had a MPACT Mentor in attendance at an IEP meeting, please take a moment to complete a brief online survey if you have not already done so. A separate survey should be completed for each mentor who has provided services to parents in your district. These surveys assist MPACT and DESE with identifying and addressing areas of success and improvement with the MPACT Mentor Program.
For more information about MPACT or if you have questions regarding the status of a Mentor, please contact MPACT by telephone at (800) 743-7634 or by e-mail at info@ptimpact.org. You can also view the MPACT website at http://www.ptimpact.org.
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| Does Your Child Receive First Steps Services? Visit MPACT's First Steps Page | |
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FREE Online Trainings offered through MPACT
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Our free online trainings will help parents to understand the special education process in the state of Missouri. You can access the MPACT online trainings listed below by going to the Training page on our website and clicking on Online Training.
- Extended School Year
- Special Education: What I Need to Know
- IDEA Transition Requirements
- Transition to Post Secondary Experiences (Part 1 & 2)
- Connecting Goals to Coordinated Activities and Services for Transition
- Transition Resources - Disability Disclosure
- Soft Skills
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Free MPACT Trainings
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MPACT trainings are provided free of charge to parents of children with disabilities. To sign up for an upcoming training, follow the links below, then click on the 'SIGNUP' button located next to the training name. Fill in your name, email address, phone number, the name of the training you wish to attend and the date it is being offered.
While registering for a live training is not mandatory it does ensure that the trainer has an adequate amount of handouts. This also allows MPACT to contact you should a training need to be cancelled or rescheduled. To view a comprehensive list of all trainings provided by MPACT go to http://ptimpact.org/Training/Training.aspx.
Please be sure to double check the website training pages for any updates or changes to trainings offered.
Art of Effective Advocacy
Bullying Prevention; What Parents Can Do
Disagreement Resolution Processes
How to Write Measurable Annual Goals
IDEA Boot Camp
Interested in training in your area? We are always looking for groups to host MPACT trainings! Contact Lori Williams, Training and Resource Coordinator, at 800-743-7634 or by email at lwilliams@ptimpact.org to find out how to bring MPACT training to parents located near you.
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Give the Gift of Knowledge - Donate to MPACT
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MPACT welcomes donations in any amount and will acknowledge all donors in our Annual Report and on our MPACT Facebook page. Agency, organization and business donors making a contribution of $200.00 or more will be recognized by placing their name and logo on our website's donation page. Individual donations of $50.00 or more will be added to our Friends of MPACT list. Donations may be made by credit card through PayPal on our website or by sending a check to the state office: MPACT, 8301 State Line Rd., Ste. 204, Kansas City MO, 64114. Every donation will receive a receipt for tax purposes.
Please help us to continue to provide the support that families of Missouri's children with disabilities are requesting by making a donation to MPACT. MPACT is a 501(c)3 organization. All donations are tax deductible.
MPACT Donation Letter
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or contact the MPACT State Office at 1-800-743-7634.
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Empowering families to advocate for themselves so that children with special education needs can reach their full potential in education and life -
through support, training and education.
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