FREE IEP SEMINAR!

ASPIRING ARTISTS!

Opportunity for Aspiring Artists!

Celebrate 

National Disability Employment Awareness Month 

with Mercy Hospital St. Louis, one of St. Louis County’s largest employers of individuals with developmental disabilities.

Mercy Hospital is giving aspiring artists with developmental disabilities the opportunity to display and sell original artwork or crafts in the hospital lobby during the dates and times listed below:  

October 15 & 16, 9 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.

or

October 17 & 18, 9 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.

Artists must meet the following criteria to be considered:

• Have a developmental disability 
• Be at least 16 years old
• Submit the attached application no later than September 17 to Kim Uhlmansiek
• Provide a sample of products to be sold 

(Note that artists need to submit an application no later than September 17)

CONTACT INFO:  

Dana Nichols

Manager Supported Employment Services

Mercy Hospital

Human Resources

615 South New Ballas Road / St. Louis, MO 63141

(314) 251-6273 (office)/ (314) 663-1539 (pager)

"Here to Serve you"

FAMILY THERAPY SOLUTIONS ~ FALL SCHEDULE

O'Fallon MO

Fall 2012 Schedule

Session 1—September 10^th-October 20^th

Session 2—October 29^th-December 7^th

Gross Motor Group Mondays 9:00am –10:00am

Come join this movement class for children of all ages, abilities, and needs.  This class will focus on increased body awareness, body control, balance, and coordination specific to each child.

Yoga Group Mondays 4:30pm – 5:30pm

Apraxia/Oral Motor Group Mondays & Wednesdays 10:00am – 11:00am

The Apraxia group is designed on the needs of the children. This can become a phonological group, basic articulation or geared more to motor planning.  The Oral Motor group is designed to work with children with difficulties in the area of oral motor planning such as: oral stage of chewing, drooling, imitating speech sounds, weak oral tone. 

Toddler Time Tuesdays & Thursdays 9:00am – 11:30am

Toddler Time offers Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy & Speech Therapy. This is a class geared for children 2-4 years old and consists of both group time and Individual activities in all areas of therapy.

Picky eaters Tuesdays & Thursdays 11:45am – 12:45pm

This group takes a comprehensive approach to feeding and offer sensory supports for children who struggle with eating. The goal of this group is to expose children’s diets and have them try and explore new foods.

Sensory I Wednesdays 9:00am – 10:00am

Sensory II Wednesdays 5:45pm-6:45pm

In this class, we utilize swings, trapeze bars, climbing walls, crash pits and ball pits to help your child regulate their bodies while accompanied with music and movement.  They will learn body awareness.

Late Talkers Group Wednesdays 10:00am – 11:00am

The late talkers group is for children between the ages of 18 months and 3 who are either not talking or not saying many words. These children understand what is said to them, but are not able to express their wants and needs verbally. 

Social Group Wednesdays 4:30pm – 5:30pm

Concepts such as turn-taking, eye contact, greetings, appropriate times to talk and how to order food at restaurants are just a few of the concepts that will be taught and practices.

Handwriting Group Wednesdays 4:30pm – 5:30pm

The handwriting group is designed for children at all skill levels. All the handwriting classes teach the “handwriting without tears” method.

For group prices please contact the office at 636-240-8096

AUSTISM NIGHT AT THE GARDEN

Families impacted by autism are invited to join us for a special sensory-friendly night in the Children's Garden at the Missouri Botanical Garden.

SAVE THE DATE

Tuesday, September 11
6 - 8 p.m.

If you would like to join us for this free family event, please RSVP here.

For more details, contact Ashley McKee at 314-394-7071 or ashley.mckee@lifeskills-mo.org. 

PROVIDING EDUCATORS WITH INFO ON YOUR CHILD

Every year I prepare a little "Story of Courtney" for her teachers, aides, therapists, principals and generally anyone who works with her in school. This provides an introduction into who Courtney is, her likes, dislikes, quirks and anything else that I can think of that will assist her teachers in providing Courtney with a very successful school year.

I am sharing the "Story of Courtney" as a general idea as to what you can put together for your child to help their school year be successful also. [This is included in the IEP as well]

Just a bit about Courtney to help her and you have a happy and successful school year. 

Courtney is on a gluten free diet after being diagnosed with Celiac Disease 3 years ago. If you ever have any questions on what she can/ can't eat please do not hesitate to email or call. (Court brings her lunch to school daily and if children are allowed to bring a snack or bottled water please let me know and I will pack those for her as well.) Courtney also has sleep apnea and uses a BI-Pap machine at night to help her get a good nights rest. And Courtney currently takes medication for Hypothyroidism and for a Vitamin D deficiency. Courtney has started her period and usually starts on the 8th of the month. Court has adjusted very well to this and will carry a purse and is able to take care of those needs independently. 

Courtney is such a fabulous young lady and like any other child has her quirks and knowing these will help to communicate and make Courtney feel more secure. Since Court's speech skills are behind, if you cannot understand her it's ok to ask her to repeat then if you still cannot understand ask her to write it. This is what we do at home. If you just continue to ask her she will become frustrated and say "Nevermind." So it's better to have her write it if need be. Also when speaking to Court please do not give her several tasks at once or several questions at once. Give her adequate time to perform a 1-2 step task or answer a question. If she doesn't immediately answer it's only because she may need it repeated or she may just need a few more moments to process what you have just told her. 

Court is normally quiet and will become nervous with chaos, loud kids, and large group settings. She may become overwhelmed and shut down. If this happens she may need a few moments of quiet time. It may be a good idea to let her sit next to the teacher during pep assemblies and such. This will make her feel more secure. Also she may cover her ears.

Courtney also is not a complainer so if she is not feeling well, some bothers her, or she gets hurt she will tell you she is "fine." I have been working with her on emotions and feelings. Also Courtney will not initiate conversation often about her day. So I rely on good communication with teachers and aides to know what her day is like. So please use the notebook I have provided to share with her father and I about her day. Then we may also initiate conversation at home with her about the daily happenings.

Please if you see Courtney not engaged with other kids take a moment to ask her if she would like to play and encourage the kids to include her. Since Court does not complain she will probably not initiate play. Do not just assume she is "fine".

Court loves to be with her peers. Court has been attending social skills therapy for over 2 years and this has really helped her communication.

Court also knows that she has Down syndrome and it's not something we discuss very often. I believe that she is Courtney first then the Down syndrome comes second. She knows that she has to work very hard and that everyone has things that they have to work on to be the best person they can be.  She also knows that EVERYONE has differences and that's part of what makes every person special and she is no exception.

Courtney may need a gentle reminder (privately!!!) to wash her face or blow her nose. 

Court is very much a creature of habit and loves schedules and lists. We maintain a pretty scheduled home and Courtney really thrives in that environment. Big changes are overwhelming. So if it all possible consistency will help her confusion and make her feel more independent. 

Courtney loves Barbies. They are her security blanket. Over the past 2 years we have cut back from over 150 to about 40. I am letting her make the choice to bag them up to take to her grandmas. So every couple of months she will put some in a bag. But they remain a constant in her daily life. 

Courtney also loves her sister Alex, 17. Alex is always having friends over so Court likes to visit with all the girls that come over. 

We also have 2 labs, Bella & Mia that Court will probably talk about as well. 

Court's likes:

Barbies

Books (dr. suess & books with chapters)

Park

Pool

Library

Singing (karaoke)

American Idol

Cheer

Family especially her "Grandma with short black hair" (this is my mother and this is what Court always calls her!)

Magazines

Computer games especially fashion, makeup and hair style games

Please feel free to email or call with any questions!

And thank you for being a part of helping Courtney be the best she can be! We really believe that Courtney will have a great year growing academically and socially. 

I really look forward to working with you!

Jason & Shawn Sullentrup

INCLUSION CHECKLIST

I found this really great "Inclusion Checklist" by Sue Watson.

This might be a great resource to give to your child's teacher @ an IEP.

Modifications? Accommodations or Interventions? Here's a checklist of strategies to help you with the inclusional classroom which will assist in meeting the needs of all students.

___ Special needs students are within close proximity to the teacher or the teacher's assistant.

___ I have procedures that are well understood by students to keep noise levels at an acceptable level. The Yacker Tracker is a worthwhile investment.

___ I have a special carrel or private location for test-taking and or seatwork for those requiring 'free of distractions' to enable success.

___ I have eliminated as much clutter as I can and keep distractions to a minimum.

___ I never present instructions/directions orally alone. I always provide graphic organizers, written or graphical instructions also.

___ Clarifications and reminders are given regularly as needed.

___ Needy students have agendas which I regularly have them, and myself refer to. Home/school communication is in place for those students requiring it.

___ Work is organized into workable 'chunks'.

___ My classroom expectations are clearly understood as are my consequences for inappropriate behaviors.

___ Extra assistance is provided when needed through a peer or myself.

___ Praise for 'catching them doing it right' occurs regularly.

___ Use of behavior contracts to target specific behaviors is in place.

___ My students are aware of my cueing and prompting system which helps them stay on task.

___ I never begin instructions/directions until I have my classe's undivided attention.

___ I allow additional 'wait' time for my special needs students.

___ I provide my special needs students with regular, ongoing feedback and always promote their self-esteem.

___ Do all of your learning experiences promote learning?

___ Do you provide activies that are multi-sensory and take into consideration learning styles?

___ Do you let your special needs students repeat instructions/directions?

___ Do you modify and or shorten assignments to ensure success?

___ Do you have methods to enable the student to have text written to him/her and can they dicate their answers?

___ Do you provide opportunities for cooperative learning? Working together in groups often helps to clarify misconceptions for learning delayed students.

LEAPS & BOUNDS ~ FALL SCHEDULE

Leaps & Bounds in St. Charles has announced their fall schedule.

Have a peek click here!