|
|
|
October 2012 | VOLUME 6 - NUMBER 5
|
|
Donate to
Parent to Parent of Miami by Searching
the Internet
|  |
Workshops & Conferences
| |
|
|
Quick Links
| 
_________
_________
_________
 _________
 _________
_________
 |
|
|
|
Focus on Assistive Technology!
Children with special needs or disabilities can significantly benefit from incuding technology into their Individualized Education Program (IEP).
|
|
New Technology to Help Parents
of Students with Disabilities
|
To see more videos in our Video Learning Series, click HERE.
|
Designer Dolores Cortes chooses a Miami girl with Down Syndrome, Valentina Guerrero, for the cover of their catalogue.
 DSAOM. ORG
The prestigious Spanish swimwear brand Dolores Cortés USA, has chosen Valentina Guerrero, who has Down Syndrome, to grace the cover of their catalogue, as well as the new face of their campaign for DC Kids, an unprecedented choice in the fashion world. Read more HERE.
|
The Children's Trust Youth Advisory Committee
The Youth Advisory Committee (YAC), comprised of of high school students from around Miami-Dade County, serves as the youth "voice" of The Children's Trust. Through active participation, workshops and first-hand experience, YAC members learn new leadership and advocacy skills, especially relating to children and families.
In the many years of the Youth Advisory Committee, it has never included a teen with disabilities. This group of approximately 40 youths meet monthly, engage in service learning activities, and attend educational field trips that expose them to social justice issues and inspire them to engage in public policy and advocacy work. One of the highlights of the year is a trip to Tallahassee during Children's Week when many of the youth get to meet with and talk to members of the Florida legislature. Although recruitment for this year's YAC is technically over, they would gladly allow a youth with disabilities to join us in the coming weeks. Click HERE for the application. |
The Center for Children and Families at FIU is looking for students in grades 6, 7, & 8 who are having trouble with organization, academics, or behavior at school.
Who is eligible? The research study is open to students in grades 6, 7, and 8 with academic or behavioral problems in school.
What is the purpose of this study?: In the 2012-2013 school year, we are conducting a study to find out what non-medication treatments are most helpful to middle school students with ADHD, ADD, or school problems.
What will the family do if they participate?: Families will attend up to 12 family sessions with a therapist to learn organization skills, study skills, and homework skills. Parents will learn tools for fostering independence, developing working relationships with teachers, and supporting academic success at home.
Benefits: Families will receive therapy for ADHD and will help researchers learn more about how to help middle school students with ADHD and school problems.
How to Apply: Please call the FIU Center for Children and Families at 305-348-4682. |
As the school year begins, families of students who have difficulty using typical printed instructional materials effectively often have concerns and questions about "accessible instructional materials" and if those materials could be needed by their children.
The AIM Center has put together a special back-to-school edition of the AIM Connector highlighting resources that address questions frequently asked by family members at the start of school. Get a quick introduction to AIM with the AIM Factsheet for Families.
|
DD Waiver Waitlist Litigation Settled
From WaiverProvider.com
Dykes v. Dudek Settlement Agreement Summary Disability Rights Florida filed the Dykes v. Dudek lawsuit in March of 2011 on behalf of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities who needed care, treatment, and habilitation and who were on the Waitlist for DD Medicaid Waiver services. Some of the plaintiffs resided in private ICF/DDs or nursing homes and some of the plaintiffs resided in their families' homes. Many had been on the DD Waitlist for over five years.
The lawsuit sought to compel Florida to develop a reliable and accurate means of tracking and projecting service demand and associated trends in order to design and implement a comprehensive plan for the continued enrollment of over 21,000 persons waiting for DD Waiver services. In October of 2011, the court denied our motion to proceed as a class action and the case proceeded instead on the basis of our agency's standing to sue and on behalf of the named plaintiffs.
On July 3, 2012, the lawsuit was settled. Under the settlement agreement the Agency for Persons with Disabilities (APD) and the Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) will engage in the activities described below. The agreement addresses five key areas. Read more HERE.
|
Assistive Technology Advocacy
By Dave Edyburn
A key question, often left unstated during assistive technology consideration, is: Who can benefit from assistive technology? Federal law is silent on this issue assuming that the local IEP team is in the best position to decide if a student's needs can be met through technology interventions or other accommodations.
To-date, school districts have failed to implement systemic screening processes to identify students who could benefit from assistive technology. Rather, the current system is predicated on individual advocacy. In practice this means that someone on the IEP team must raise the issue of assistive technology and advocate on behalf of the student. Anecdotal evidence suggests that only 3-5% of students with disabilities have assistive technology written on the IEP. As a result, it is clear that the vast majority of students with disabilities do not have routine access to appropriate assistive technologies.
Since 5% or less of students with disabilities are assistive technology users, this situation suggests a scenario that in order to receive assistive technology devices and services, one may need to have an advocate who challenges the system on their behalf. The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of issues associated with advocating for assistive technology. This information should be useful to students for self-advocacy, as well as parents, advocates, teachers, and IEP teams. Continued HERE. |
Registration for the 2013 Dan Marino Foundation WalkAbout Autism is now open!! The 2013 DMF WalkAbout Autism is scheduled to take place on Saturday, January 26, 2013 at Sun Life Stadium, home of the Miami Dolphins! Mark your calendars and join our efforts to generate awareness and raise much needed funds for our local autism community.
There are many great things in store for the 2013 DMF WalkAbout Autism event. For starters, we recently launched our new DMF WalkAbout Autism website! This new site comes equipped with a photo and video gallery, useful fundraising tips, an easy to use registration process and many more exciting features! Take a few minutes to tour the site and share it with all of your friends, colleagues and loved ones: www.dmfwalkaboutautism.org
Quick Registration Tips:
1) Please note that even if you registered online for last year's event, you still need to register for the 2013 event using the online registration system. If you are a returning user, input the same email that you used to register last year and the system will pull up your contact information without having to re-enter it again.
2) If you are planning to start a school team and benefit from the 25% reimbursement opportunity, please make sure that you become familiar with the eligibility requirements before you open your team. You can find more information on this by visiting the Pre-K to 12th Grade School Teams page on our website. CLICK HERE to access the page.
If you have any questions or experience technical issues while using our online donation and or registration process, please email: walkabout@danmarinofoundation.org. Make sure to reference the issue that you experiencing in the subject line of the email.
Looking forward to an amazing event in 2013!
Get Involved. Register. Make a Difference!
|
|
|
|
|
 |
Mission
To empower and support a network of parents of children and adults with disabilities.
Vision All parents of children and adults with disabilities will have universal access to information, training, support and advocacy skills to ensure their children achieve their fullest potential, while leading the community on the rights of all children.
|
Above all, we respect your privacy. We will never sell or share your information with anybody.
Changing your email? To update your contact information, email your changes to info@ptopmiami.org
© 2012 Parent to Parent of Miami Inc. All rights reserved.
|
|
Parent to Parent Of Miami
7990 SW 117th Avenue, Suite 200
305.271.9797 | 1.800.527.9552
|
|
|
|
|
|
