Brazos Valley Center for Independent Living

Connecting people to the power of independence

advocacy

504s and IEPs: The “Alphabet Soup” of Advocacy for Students with Disabilities

Your Special Education Rights is an online advocacy resource for parents of children who have disabilities and need customized support at school. The site is hosted by special education advocate Julie Swanson and attorney Jennifer Laviano, who explain complex legal and educational issues in plain English from a parent-to-parent point of view. The site features forums, videos, and a blog.

In one recent informative video, Jen and Julie, as they refer to themselves on-site, explain the differences between an Individualized Education Program (IEP) and a 504 Plan. Depending on needs, a student may have one, the other, or both.

According to Julie and Jen, 504 plans are for children who need only supporting accommodations at school, such as sitting up front or having use of an elevator, but do not need any modifications to the way instruction is delivered. Children who need adaptive instruction methods get IEPs.

Click here to watch this video, and be sure to explore the site for more information.

 

 

June is Child Vision Awareness Month

Each June,  the Pharmacy Council on Child Vision Care reminds youngsters and their parents about the importance of caring for their eyes. The mission of Child Vision Awareness Month has three parts:

  1. To better educate and counsel the public on children’s vision problems and detection of eye diseases in children and infants,
  2. To increase the number of school-aged children who have an eye exam by an eye doctor, and
  3. To increase the number of children with learning disabilities who have a developmental vision exam to rule out vision problems.

boy getting vision exam

The Hadley School for the Blind is acknowledging this month by highlighting four of its family education classes, including:

  1. Low Vision and School-Age Children
  2. Braille Teaching Methods for Children
  3. How to Be Your Child’s Advocate
  4. Parenting Children with Multiple Disabilities

BVCIL is acknowledging this month with media posts and an interactive display about how children, youth, and their parents can succeed in education and life with a vision impairment.

For additional information about this initiative, please contact Pharmacists Planning Service, Inc. (PPSI), c/o Pharmacy Council on Child Vision Care, 101 Lucas Valley Road, Suite 382, San Rafael, CA 94903.

New Advocacy Video Addresses Restraint and Seclusion of Students with Disabilities in Public Schools

Check out this new advocacy video by Dan Habib. “Restraint and Seclusion” is about the effects of those practices on students who have disabilities and attend public schools. Visit Stop Hurting Kids to view the video and read more about this controversial issue.

April 14-20 is Disability Awareness Week in Texas

National Disability Employment Awareness Month comes around every year in October, but in Texas, disability awareness gets an extra boost every April with Disability Awareness Week. This year, it is April 14-20, and 2013 is also the 25th anniversary of the event.

Rendell Resneder, an entrepreneur, pastor, and educational computing professional in the Ph.D. program at North Texas State University, founded Disability Awareness Week 25 years ago when he was a freshman in high school. Randell, who is also the Executive Director of Texas Disability Awareness Programs and the current Vice-Chair of the Texas State Independent Living Council, established the event to advocate his “I CAN” philosophy.

Many organizations around Texas that serve people with disabilities have commemorative events planned for this week. The Brazos Valley Center for Independent Living launched Disability Awareness Week on Sunday, April 14  with Dining in the Dark, an event to raise awareness of blindness and low vision and also to raise funds for accessible transportation.

Click here to view a video of Randell Resneder’s story, “Looking Beyond the Obvious,” in which he discusses Disability Awareness Week.

Celebrate Service: National Volunteer Week, April 21-27, 2013

by Nancy Flowers and Pat Morse

Celebrate Service captures the meaning of this signature week, honoring the people who dedicate themselves to taking action and solving problems in their communities.

Established in 1974, National Volunteer Week has grown in scope each year, drawing the support and endorsement of U.S. presidents, governors, mayors and other respected elected officials.

National Volunteer Week embodies the energy and power volunteers evoke on a daily basis as they lead by example–not only encouraging the people they help, but motivating others to serve as well.

This year, Points of Light is also honored to recognize the fourth anniversary of the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act and the creation of the Volunteer Generation Fund through a series of celebratory and service events across the nation.

Celebrate Service presents an opportunity for individuals, families, nonprofit organizations and government entities alike to celebrate the ordinary people who accomplish extraordinary things through service.

Facts About Age-related Hearing Loss

Think you have to be 70 to start having age-related hearing loss? Think again! According to a recent blog article from The Ability Center of Greater Toledo, hearing loss can start as early as our 40s, and we also don’t do our ears any favors with all that loud music through our headphones.

Hearing loss can sneak up on us gradually so that we don’t notice the difference until the decrease in perception is already pretty significant. Hearing loss also occurs from the top down, that is, higher-pitched sounds are the first to go.

The mechanical process of hearing loss involves the death and destruction of tiny fibers in our ears called cilia that, once gone, do not reproduce or regenerate. Exposure to loud noise for long periods of time can accelerate the loss of these structures.

Whatever the cause, some good news is that there is assistive technology that can help those with hearing loss maintain their independence. Hearing aids are, of course, the first line of defense for hearing loss. Other devices are also available, such as telephone and television amplifiers, that make life with hearing loss more enjoyable. Other technology, such as smoke detectors and doorbells with flashing lights, employ our other senses to help keep us safe.

Be sure to check out that blog post for more information.