Resources for you

Each month, Family Voices Indiana provides the families we serve with a summary of the month’s hottest items. If you missed us on Facebook, here is the latest!

Awareness:

Child Health Day, October 1. The US infant mortality rate is at an all-time low, but it is still higher than other industrialized nations. Learn more here.

Unity Day, October 10. People donned orange to unite against bullying. Kids with disabilities are more likely to be bullied than their typical peers. Get tools here.

Mental Illness Awareness Week, October 7-13. Find resources on NAMI’s website.

Fire Prevention Week, October 7-13. Have a plan and practice it! If you need help designing a specialized plan, contact us!

ADHD Awareness Week, October 14-20. Learn more about the many faces of ADHD at www.ADHDAwarenessWeek.org.

National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week, October 21-27. Lead poisoning is entirely preventable. Learn more about preventing childhood lead exposure.

Down Syndrome Awareness Month. Check out local resources and find support groups by visiting Down Syndrome Indiana.

National Bullying Prevention Month. Learn how we can work together to bring change.

Sensory Awareness Month. Visit Sensory Planet on Facebook or SPD Foundation for more information about sensory disorders, including sensory processing disorder, autism, and dyspraxia.

Spina Bifida Awareness Month. For more information or to read personal stories, visit the CDC’s site.

 

Family Voices:

Check out our Family Voices Staff Spotlights! This month’s page featured staff members Brian Replogle, Cyndi Johnson, Emily McKinley, and Jan Labas, and one cool kid, Maison Kurmay (son of Traci Kurmay).

 

Training and Learning Opportunities:

Family Voices works to fulfill our mission of empowering families by providing you with educational opportunities and resources. Check our website frequently for learning resources by visiting: http://www.fvindiana.org/training. This month, we shared the following on Facebook.

Transition is a hot topic this month! We launched our Transition to Adult Life webinar and webquest on our site and featured this article on transition and self-advocacy.

This brief overview is an excellent place to start learning about special education. Here, NICHCY outlines the process in 10 basic steps.

We hope that the districts, schools, and teachers will use this toolkit as a resource. When more people know how to stop bullying, the more likely we will be to ensure that all students are able to learn in a safe and supportive school.

 

Newsworthy:

We've created a FB page for our Latino families who prefer information in Spanish and/or would like to connect with other families. Check it out: https://www.facebook.com/VocesDeFamiliaDeIndiana.

 

Requests for Collaboration:

Family Voices always encourages followers to use their voice to affect positive change to our systems, public and private policies. Here’s how you can use your voice.

VOTE! Elections are Tuesday, November 6, and there is a lot at stake for all Americans this year.  To learn more about disability issues, visit the National Forum on Disability Issues.

Join Family Voices for a Family Focus Group about child safety and injury prevention on November 14, at the Riley Child Development Center. Participants will receive a $50 stipend and/or gift card to offset childcare and other expenses. For more information, contact Jennifer Akers at 317.944.8982 or Jennifer@fvindiana.org.

Participate in a study conducted by Vanderbilt University about how having a brother or sister impacts adolescents. We invite parents and siblings to fill out an online survey. Families with and without children with disabilities are welcome to participate. One adolescent and one parent will be asked to respond to questions about himself or herself and his/her family. For your participation, you will be entered in a drawing for one of 40 $50 Target gift cards. You will have approximately a 1 in 10 chance of winning a gift card.

Marcy Meyer and Darolyn Jones are conducting a research project about what it’s like to be a single mother of a child or young adult with mental illness. If you are a single mother aged 18 to 65 who has either a child or young adult (under age 25) who has a mental illness, we are interested in learning about your experiences. If you are interested in participating in an hour-long interview, please contact

Marcy Meyer, PhD, (765) 285-1954 mmeyer@bsu.edu, or Darolyn “Lyn” Jones, EdD, (765)285-8410, ljones2@bsu.edu.