I had promised that I would write about my experience at this year’s LATISM (Latinos in Tech and Innovative Social Media) Conference in Orlando, but we (all digital influencers) have been on the move since the event ended a few weeks ago. The LATISM conference offers digital influencers from across the country the opportunity to network, collaborate, and learn new ways of using social media platforms for advancing our individual social causes – and this year's event didn’t disappoint.
6 Comments
Veteran, Humanitarian and Cuban Chef Ronaldo Linares Believes Advocacy and Love Begins at the Table11/13/2016 November is National Diabetes Awareness Month, and if you’ve ever visited any of Chef Ronaldo Linares website, Twitter, or Facebook pages, you’ll learn in an instant about his passion for improving the dietary lives of individuals living with diabetes. He does this with his absolute love and passion for the culinary arts inspired by the savoring tastes of Cuban cuisine.
Bullying has been around for far too long to be a passing fad. It’s an infectious direction that tends to spread quickly if the climate allows for it. It’s the end of October, and this is the month for which parents, students, educators, and members of our community work together to raise awareness about bullying and how to prevent it. However, our combined efforts shouldn’t begin and end in the month October, we must all work hard on bullying prevention throughout the year – every year.
Halloween is a fun holiday favorite for many kids, but for kids with sensory issues and special needs, it could be a night filled with discomfort, anxiety and fear. I learned over the years with Richie that it was okay to get him to try new things on Halloween, but I would never push him to go beyond his comfort level. My son has autism and with it comes many sensory related issues. This includes changes in routines, fear of sounds, uncomfortable clothing and more. I found these tips to work well with us, hopefully they’ll work for you too!
From September 15 through October 15, our country celebrates National Hispanic Heritage Month. It’s a time for recognizing and appreciating the many Hispanic cultures and customs that have contributed to and influenced our American way of life for years.
The word is out! This year, ABLE United started a program that allows individuals with disabilities and their families to plan for the future by saving money and building assets without losing their benefits. You might remember my previous post highlighting the launch of this beneficial program and how you and your family can start saving like we did!
Many of us have been anxiously waiting for the premier of the pilot episode for “Speechless.” The show debuted last night and I have to write that it didn’t disappoint. In fact, it was on-point! Speechless is about an American family of five that includes a teen with special needs. The story line is centered around their incredibly, resilient and humorous ability to cope with the many challenges faced by special needs families today. As parents of children with disabilities, we can all relate to Minnie Driver’s character, “Maya,” who is a relentless and fierce mother who will stop at nothing to protect her son JJ (played by Micah Fowler).
It’s Back-to-School season and orientation night is on the horizon for many. There will be so much information shared, many forms to be filled out, and many questions you may or may not remember to ask. Please note that there are no stupid questions. If you happen to be a parent that isn't very familiar with all the confusing acronyms or programs, you're not alone. Just know this - being uninformed is not the same as not caring and don’t allow anyone to tell you otherwise. Knowledge is indeed power, but no one is born with it. Parents and educators are equally responsible for academic success. There is no better reason for building collaborative relationships and having a partnership attitude. There are many topics that are covered at the open house meeting or in a school’s handbook rules of conduct, but often times the following questions are not answered:
Join the #ABLEUnited Twitter Chat on New Savings Opportunities for Floridians with Disabilities8/24/2016
Learn about the newly launched savings program made possible by ABLE United:
You won't want to miss this important Twitter Chat!
Promo
#ABLEUnited Twitter Chat
The LATISM (Latinos in Tech Innovation and Social Media) movement has served as an instrumental vehicle for the advancement of Latinos across the nation in education, health, business, technology, and advocacy.
If you’re a parent of a child with special needs, then odds are you’re dozing off while trying to read this post! Don’t feel bad, you’re not alone. Raising a child with special needs comes with overwhelming love, but that’s not all. We experience incredibly stressful situations and we are in constant worry mode, which means our mind is always racing even when we’re trying to relax.
Special needs planning for the future has unique challengesThere is one common concern that causes great anxiety and sleepless nights for parents of children with disabilities. It’s the unstoppable future. Who will care for our children? Where will they live? What will their lives be like when we’re no longer around?
Future planning was never easy for members of the disability community. If individuals and parents of children with disabilities want to keep their Medicaid, Social Security benefits or other disability services, they cannot have savings that exceed $2,000 in cash value. Our choices were limited to either giving up our benefits or the opportunity to save and plan for the future. Putting the Positive Behavior Support Plan in Place
It is very exciting times. We now have a plan of action for preventing, solving, replacing, and managing Richie’s challenging behaviors. What’s even more exciting is that we were also going to teach Richie new skills – skills that had never occurred to us until we started the positive behavior support process.
Developing a Positive Behavior Support Plan
In this process, we have taken the important steps needed for the development of a positive behavior support plan. So far in the Positive Behavior Support blog series, we have:
Mother’s day gives us the opportunity to honor all women who care for their children. In most dictionaries, the word “Mother” is defined as a female parent. It’s such a bland definition when you think about what it truly means to us, even if it varies slightly from person to person. This is because the definition only recounts the mere act of giving birth. For many of us, it’s the years following the miracle of birth that captures the essential nature of motherhood.
Part 4: Analyzing Data and Goal Setting - What did we learn?
It was time to gather all the information collected from our PBS team members and begin analyzing the data. Some members of our PBS team were diligent about collecting data and information for two consecutive weeks. I gathered information received from Richie’s ESE teacher, PE teacher and myself. I didn’t collect data and information from all members of the PBS team, but remember we mentioned in Part 3 that even if this happened, we can continue to move forward with the PBS process. The information I did have was plenty for us to review and analyze. All of the forms, information and data we collected were going to help us understand Richie’s behavior. We were going to begin taking the next steps towards creating a successful positive behavior support plan that would work at home and at school.
Gathering Information and Data Collection
In order for us to learn about how we can improve Richie’s challenging behavior, we need to start gathering information and collecting data. This is the most important part of the positive behavior support process, because it’s going to help us to decide on what goals to set, how to avoid certain behaviors from happening, what strategies to use when behaviors happen, what new skills we want to teach, and how we can manage behaviors. This is a crucial part of developing the PBS plan.
What is PBS and Who Needs to be Involved?
The differences in my parenting style between my two children are paramount. I learned quickly that the strategies and disciplinary actions used with my oldest, Samantha (who has no known disabilities), were useless with Richie. Thinking about it now, the strategies I used with Samantha were useless too. I used things taught to me culturally through my own family (spanking, yelling and punishing), then later I tried new strategies like “time-out.” Some strategies worked, most didn’t. How truly successful were my strategies if Samantha’s behaviors continued?
Introducing Richie
Being a parent to my son Richie changed my life in ways I never would have imagined. Richie is my fourteen-year-old son and second child. Richie is on the severe side of the autism spectrum. He is very handsome, tall, has a gorgeous smile and a contagious laugh. He loves to laugh and he finds it most amusing when we repeat the many sounds he makes. Richie loves to play tag - but he loves being chased, he won’t chase you back! He loves to be tickled and he’s kind of thrill seeker. He loves quite a few roller-coaster rides – Universal Studios is his favorite theme park to visit. My son is my joy in this world, but having a child on the spectrum does come with its challenges.
“Celebrating Black History Month and Its Pathways to the Disability Civil Rights Movement”2/10/2016
Some time ago, I wrote a workshop about the history of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). It captured many of the events that led to how special education laws came to pass. It was a journey that unveiled intricate pieces of our disability history. It was also a very emotional experience for me, since I learned a great deal of what it might have been like for Richie had we been around in the early eighteen hundreds.
|
Author: Christine Goulbourne
|