Minutes of
Arlington Special Education PTA Monthly Meeting
Thursday 3/9/17 7-9 PM
Syphax Education Center
2110 Washington Blvd., Rooms 101, 103
Arlington, VA
Minutes from February meeting:
- Presented by Caroline Levy, President for approval. Passed.
Officers’ Reports:
- Treasurer’s Report: Adam Mann
- Reviewed actuals and budget
- 155 members as of 2/28. More than half our goal of 300 members.
- Our phantom ball exceeded revenue expectations.
- Unstuck and On Target not happening.
- Our mini-grant program has been one of our biggest expenses so far.
- With total expenditures, we’re still in the black $474.40
President’s Report: Caroline Levy
- We’re looking for 2 members for a 3 member nominating committee for 2017-18 board positions. .
- President cannot serve on the nominating committee.
- 2017-1018 Open SEPTA positions include (descriptions on a handout):
- President. (If there’s no President Elect for next year, Caroline will not continue.)
- President-elect.
- VP Membership.
- VP Communications.
- VP Fundraising.
Exciting Upcoming Events:
- Workshop with Cheryl Jorgensen on inclusion. “Restructuring Schools for all Students.”
- Saturday March 18, 2017. 8:30 AM-3:30 AM, Gunston.
- Magic Paintbrush, Free Event for Families and Educators
- Saturday, March 25, 2017
- 10 – 10:45 a.m. Children ages 7 and under, with their families
- 11:00 – 12:00 Educator training and lunch
- 1:00 – 1:45 p.m. Children ages 8 and up, with their families
- Educators may observe the family sessions.
- Additional sessions may be added if there is sufficient interest.
- Location: Thomas Jefferson Community Center, 3501 2nd St S, Arlington, VA 22204
- Bring a change of clothes. Expect to get messy, have fun!
VP of Fundraising Report: Caroline Levy for Linda Campanelli
- So far our on-line auction has raised $4,300.
- All info links are available on the website.
- Baskets on display at meeting, including “Pamper the Woman in Your Life” themed basket from the Stratford program.
An Independent Life with Carol Skelly and Linda Campanelli
Linda:
- Linda thanked Carol for introducing her to the DD waiver.
- Linda’s son got an apartment at age 21, sooner than she expected.
- Linda was impaired by a bad sports injury, got a housing voucher through DOJ.
- They applied without thinking they would get the voucher.
- In March they signed the voucher.
- After a stressful apartment search, they signed a lease on June 3, 2016.
- Nick received a grant from the CSB Community Service Board ($5K) to buy furniture.
- Staffing for Nick involved complicated issues.
- Nick is in the apartment Sunday through Friday.
- Son doesn’t have an intellectual disability. He has a DD waiver.
- They can only have 23 hours of care in one day.
- They had trouble finding staffing for that one hour.
- They were self-directed to agency-directed and back to self-directed in 5 weeks.
- Linda manages 3 sets of caregivers.
- Nick lives in Clarendon, Woodbury apartment.
- She asked for a basement apartment because Nick runs and jumps. She doesn’t want him evicted.
- In July he dug his heels in, “no apartment,” but has adjusted. He brings nothing from his house in his apartment.
- 9/6 marked a new beginning for Nick. He now types/communicates on a letter board. He comes home on the weekends to see his pets.
- Nick wrote a beautiful and appreciative description of his home.
Carol:
- Parent of Patrick, 29. Severe autism and intellectual disabilities. Diagnosed in 1990.
- School system was great, but had no dedicated autism programs at the time.
- They started an ABA program when he was six.
- She began to sort out what he could do from what he couldn’t.
- He was at Washington-Lee until he was 17.
- At 17, he placed out of W-Lee and attended a training school until the age of 22.
- He began to receive services from the Community Service Board.
- He’s in a center-based, self-contained program now.
- The program works for him, although this kind of program is less popular now.
- Paradigms are changing towards inclusion.
- He got an ID waiver. (These kinds of waivers have changed recently.)
- Services will be changing in VA.
- Patrick was placed in a group home a little over a year ago. The other four people in the group home came from an institution.
- They wanted placement close to home and the spot became available.
- He has adjusted surprisingly well to the group home.
- Carol sometimes wishes she had more impact regarding decisions about his daily life.
- CSB, Community Service Board, is the name of a cluster of services for a variety of disabilities. It also refers to a volunteer group.
- Carol wish she’d known: the transition into adulthood is a long process; in adult services, unlike in the school system, you have to take the initiative in advocating for your child; you have to go out and find services; the service structure is complex and confusing; there are many options and you need to investigate; start early, even if you feel overwhelmed; ARC has great transition workshops from lunches to bootcamps; join the ARC; keep one eye on services, one eye on the child; think about life skills as well as academic skills; pay attention to leisure skills.
- Caroline Levy adds that SEPTA.org and the resource page can get you to a lot of these services.
- Pay attention to your child’s leisure skills; try to imagine their future.
Questions and answers/discussion:
- Are there different tracks?: Yes—DOJ is federal, DDCS waiver is state, Arlington County provides therapeutic rec and school.
- How do you imagine a future for your child with a disability when they’re young? Linda: I didn’t see Nick doing anything. Now he has a job interview next Friday at Greensprings. The interviewer must be led to understand how he is prompted, how he communicates.
- My son has had a lot of regression recently. How do I keep myself hopeful that there will be a place for him and take incremental steps? Carol: if your child is very severely disabled, you qualify for everything. CSB, legally, in VA is a single point of entry. If you want to use Medicaid, you need to go to the CSB to get your case assigned and get a case manager. You can apply when your child is still yours. The more people apply for services, the more become available. If your child doesn’t qualify, that’s good to know too.
- Thinking about transitions for a child with disability involves chronic grief and stress. Recognize it.
- How do you prepare for your own death and its impact on your child? You take it step by step. Apply for guardianship when they’re 18. Get involved in estate planning—both financial and finding a replacement guardian.
Wrap-up, Caroline Levy:
- April 20th is our next SEPTA meeting. Guest speaker Dr. Linda Gulyn, Professor of Psychology at Marymount University will speak about Adolescent Autism and issues of emerging sexuality, loneliness, and bullying.
- Theresa Waddell is asking for nominations for outstanding teachers, paraprofessionals, and support staff. Get nominations in by 3/24/17. The Award Ceremony will be May 11th at Drew. Dr. Murphy will be there.
- Carol thanked SEPTA for refreshments at the last PEP program meeting.
- Caroline adjourned meeting.
Submitted by:
Karen Sosnoski, Secretary
Date minutes approved: March 23, 2017
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