Easter Seals has a lot of great activities and programs available that you should check out! Here's a list of some of the things going on this month.
Parent Workshop Series On
Monday August 29th from 5:30-7:30 p.m. we will be hosting our monthly parent workshop. This month’s topic is
Intro to Your Child’s IEP (Individualized Education Plans). An IEP is the legal document that outlines your child’s eligibility for special education services within their school. The IEP document is often long and confusing to most parents, and the IEP meeting is just as overwhelming! Come to this workshop to learn about what an IEP is, how to read and understand your child’s IEP, what your rights and responsibilities are as a parent and how to prepare for your child’s IEP meeting this year.
On
Tuesday August 30th from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. we will be hosting a second parent workshop called
IEP’s Part II. You are welcome at this workshop if you attend Monday’s workshop, if you have attended our intro workshop in the past or if you already have a good understanding of what an IEP is. This workshop will look at some more advanced issues related to IEP’s including a deeper look at IEP services and goals, what you should expect from your IEP team, types of services you can advocate for, how to work as a member of your child’s IEP team, how to find an advocate and your legal rights when a conflict arises.
Sign up for either Monday, Tuesday or both!!
Registration is required and the cost of each workshop is $10 per family. Handouts and light refreshments will be provided. Some childcare spots are available. The cost for childcare is an additional $10. The workshop will be held at the 212 Barney Drive location in Joliet. Please call
Valerie Lentz at (815) 927-5465 to register or with any questions. Future parent workshops: Using iPad Technology to Foster Communication.
Parents Raising Children with ASDs Our parent support group continues to meet the
second Monday of every month from 6:00 – 7:30. So many people have expressed interest in this program and it is a wonderful way to meet other parents, get information and get connected to resources in your community. This month we will meet on
August 8th and, as always, childcare will be provided by Easter Seals staff as long as you call ahead to make arrangements. Call Valerie at (815) 927-5465 for more information and let us know if you would like to be included on the reminder email list for this group!
The Family Center for Autism Resources We invite you to come and visit our brand new lending library and resource center for families that have children with special needs. The library is home to a large variety of books, therapy materials, a fine motor center and many other parenting resources. We also have a computer kiosk with Boardmaker, personalized social stories, printer and laminator. This library is completely free of charge to families and the community!! The Family Center is open most week days by appointment. You can contact Valerie at (815) 927-5465 to set up an appointment.
Annual Guns and Hoses Baseball GameOn
Sunday August 21st at 5:30 come out to the Joliet Slammer’s Silver Cross Field for the Annual Guns and Hoses Baseball Game to benefit Easter Seals Children’s Programs. Immediately following the Joliet Slammer’s game the Joliet Police Department will battle it out against the Joliet Fire Department to help raise funds and awareness for Easter Seals. The Slammers game starts at 2:05, the Guns and Hoses game will start afterwards at approximately 5:30. There will be a 50/50 raffle, souvenirs, concessions and lots of fun! Tickets for both games are $10, with $5 of that going directly to Easter Seals and can be purchased in advance through Easter Seals at 212 Barney Drive or by calling the development office at 815-730-2052. Admission for just the Guns and Hoses game will be $5. Tickets can also be purchased at the door. We hope to see you there!
SibshopsSupporting Illinois Brothers and Sisters (SIBS) will be hosting Sibshops on Saturday August 6th and October 1st from 11:00 – 2:00 at Friendship United Methodist Church in Bolingbrook. Kids ages 7-12 years old that have a sibling with special needs are invited to attend and spend the afternoon meeting other sibs, enjoying lunch and participating in unique and fun activities designed just for sibs! The cost is $20 per sibshop. Please contact Tara at 708-939-3619 or
[email protected] for more information or to register.
Movies in the Park **FREE EVENT**Many of our local park districts sponsor movies in the park during the summer months. This is a wonderful opportunity for families that have children that are not able to attend movies in a traditional movie theater. Children are free to run, jump and move while enjoying the outdoors. You can bring your own diet-friendly snacks, and best of all it’s FREE! Plainfield Park District, Joliet Park District, Romeoville Park District and Channahon Park District all host local movie nights. Call your local park district for details!
Third Thursday at DuPage Children’s MuseumOn the third Thursday of every month, the DuPage Children’s Museum in Naperville offers a special time when families of children with autism spectrum disorders, visual impairments, and/or mobility impairments come together to enjoy the Museum and take advantage of the many parent and community resources available to them. Exhibits offer ways to work on language development, social skills, and purposeful play. Photo books are available to help visitors structure a visit. There is also a resource table offering visitors information, community news, and parent support resources. Normal admission prices apply and the event runs the
third Thursday of every month from 5:00-7:00PM Thursday, August 18th. For more information please visit
www.DuPageChildrensMuseum.org and go to Chicago Special Parent’s website for a $2 off coupon.
STARnet VI Training: Making Connections Engaging Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders in School and Home Settings**FREE EVENT**STARnet Region VI is hosting a workshop on
Thursday September 15th (time TBA) at Joliet Junior College entitled Making Connections: Engaging Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders in School and Home Settings. The presenter is Brenda Lowell, and early childhood specialist, and she will discuss a wide range of activities that can be used with children with ASDs including ideas for understanding sensory upsets, ways to build the home-school connection and things to try when all else fails. Ideas will focus on the child age 3-6 years old with social, communication and cognitive delays. Contact STARnet VI for more information or to register at 708-342-5370 or
www.swcccase.org/starnet Hacking Autism’s Upcoming HackathonHacking Autism is a group that brings software developers and autism experts together to create new apps and software for people with Autism Spectrum Disorders. They are currently gearing up for their large conference Hackathon. They are asking for parents and professionals the visit their website to submit ideas and vote on current ideas that you would like to see developed. To read about this group or add your two cents by voting visit them at
www.hackingautism.org ATIA Webinar “Apps for the iPad, iTouch and iPhone for Autism”Assistive Technology Industry Association (ATIA) is offering this webinar to parents and professionals on Monday August 15th at 2:30 – 4:00 p.m. This webinar will provide a preview and describe apps that therapists and parents are finding useful in meeting the unique challenges of individuals with Autism. These apps promote a wide range of skills for individuals with Autism: communication, social skills, behavior and more. The cost of the webinar is $49. Go to the website
www.atia.org and click on the link for AT Education/Conferences and then the link for Online Webinars for more information.
Article of the MonthThis is an excerpt from the book Ten Things You Student with Autism Wishes You Knew by Ellen Notbohm. The book is available through our Resource Center here at Easter Seals. Feel free to share this information with your child’s teacher as the new school year starts. It’s a great way to start a conversation with him/her about how they can meet your child’s needs.
Ten Things Your Student with Autism Wishes You Knew
By: Ellen Notbohm
1.
Learning is circular: We are all both teachers and students. The world is like a double-sided 2000 piece jigsaw puzzle full of learning opportunities. But my autism can make it difficult for me to recognize those opportunities. I don’t learn in ways most people do; my autism way of thinking interferes with my ability to understand the information that surrounds me. But here’s one thing I do know: you have as much to learn from me as I do from you.
2.
We are a team: Success depends on all of us working together. I usually think of “team” as being a sports word. The players play different positions but they wear the same clothes so everyone can see that they are all working together to accomplish something. Each player is important and the team members depend on each other. I may or may not be very good at sports, but as a child with autism, having people around me who want to play on MY team is the very thing I need to succeed, and nothing less.
3.
I think differently: Teach me in a way that is meaningful to me. Because I think differently, my autism requires that you teach differently. My brain works differently then yours. For you, the relationships among the things you learn, the things that happen to you and the people around you form naturally and without structured teaching. For me, all of these parts exist in independent, unrelated cells and I can’t connect the dots. Each dot stands along. Please realize how deeply this different way of thinking affects learning and teach me in a manner that respects who I am – a child with autism.
4.
Behavior is communication: Yours, mine and ours. All behavior occurs for a reason. It tells you, even when my words can’t, how I perceive what is happening around me. [Bad] behavior usually means one or more of my senses has gone into overload, or I cannot communicate my wants or needs, or I don’t understand what is expected of me. Start by believing this: I truly do want to learn to interact appropriately. Look beyond the behavior to find the source of my discomfort. Then teach me to exchange these behaviors with acceptable (to both of us) choices so that real learning can flow.
5. Glitched, Garbled and Bewildered: If we can’t communicate effectively, learning can’t happen!6. Teach the whole me: I’m much more than a set of “broken” or “missing” parts. I’m a kid. Like you, I am a one-of-a-kind combination of body, mind and spirit. Teach
me, the whole child, not a collection of symptoms or missing skills, or a set of pieces.
7. Be curious: be very curious. Be curious about what makes me tick and about the road less traveled you may have to tread in order to reach me. Your curiosity will show me wonderful, wonderful things: first and foremost that you care about me. Second, that beyond rote repetition, real learning will happen, only when I finally feel able to move out of my slender comfort zone and into a world that is frequently fearful and overwhelming to me. And most importantly, I will learn that genuinely interesting and enjoyable experiences await me if I can allow myself to be curious.
8. Can I trust you? Build my trust in you, because if and only if I can trust you will learning unfold freely. I will trust someone who respects my individual needs and does his or her best to meet them, and I will trust someone who is honest with me. When I can trust you, I can learn to trust myself. And when I can trust myself, just watch me learn!
9. Believe. Believe that I can learn, and I will learn. Believe that you can make a difference for me, and you will. Encourage me to be everything I can be so I can stay the course long after I’ve left your classroom.
10. Teach me “how to fish”: See me as a capable adult and hold that vision. “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime” Make learning relevant for me. Teach me how to use knowledge in a functional way to live as an independent and interdependent adult – able to take care of myself, but also able to interact effectively with coworkers, neighbors, friends and people of the world in general.
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