August Meeting Flier

Heidi Knuutilla, from Barkell Elementary School in Hancock, will be talking about how to advocate for your child within the school system. Heidi, will touch on how to empower yourself during IEP’s, staffings, and more.

Click the image below to view the full-sized flier.

Childcare: I'm in need of parents or older siblings if we are to have childcare at this meeting. AmeriCorps workers will not be able to assist us at this meeting due to the fact that they are not working on site at the time of our meeting. Childcare can be covered by anyone who is willing and able to help out. Of course, the more people we can pull in to help, the more childcare we can offer to others. If couples would like to tag team the meeting, or an older sibling is available that could help out, it would be appreciated.

Our other option is to bring our children into the meeting. With this particular meeting and topic, there shouldn't be any concerns with having our children present.

Mission Statement

During the summer while the group was in recess, one of the many tasks I wanted to accomplish was a mission statement. It took a long time to figure out what I feel to be an accurate message of the group, and it is as follows.

The mission is to provide information to parents and family members about community resources, school services, therapies, and much more.

The group is comprised of parents of neurodiverse children. The parents offer other parents a safe place to share information, give and receive emotional support, and work together to address common concerns. Parents also help empower each other through knowledge and experiences.

We came together to provide much needed emotional support, knowledge, and a sense of community. To create a place where we can come together and feel no judgment. We can talk, laugh, and cry about the same problems and draw strength from one another.

Together we are a unified voice taking our message to special interest groups, schools, professionals and the community.

*Monthly meetings are held every third Wednesday of the month, from 6-8 at the BHK Houghton Center.*

New Regional Parent Mentor

Many of you know that Kathleen Helppi moved downstate with her family earlier this summer. You'll remember that Kathleen was the Regional Parent Mentor for Michigan Alliance for Families. I'm happy to announce that Lisa Kahnke is now officially the new Parent Mentor for MAF.

Lisa has been attending our support group meetings from the very beginning. She will continue to attend our meetings as a parent/professional. Lisa has offered her resources through MAF for the group to utilize as needed.

If you have any questions about MAF you can review a post here on the blog from March 25, 2010. For additional information you can contact Lisa via email at: lisa@michiganallianceforfamilies.org
or phone: (906) 483-0442

August 31st, 2010 Meeting

It's August already and I'm jump starting the new school year with new goals and new hopes. With that, I'm happy to announce that Heidi Knuuttila, from Barkell Elementary School in Hancock, has agreed to come and speak to our group. Heidi, is the special education teacher at Barkell and she is going to share with us how parents can be proactive in the school system. She'll share some problem solving tips, conflict resolution strategies, and how to create a positive team building relationship between parents, teachers, principals, aids, and so on.

Heidi helped my husband and I work through some very sensitive concerns throughout last year. Our son was in Kindergarten last year and the experience was new to him but also for my husband and I as parents. Heidi helped us work with the principal and teachers to ensure that Noah had a positive and successful school year; and he did.

Again, I know that it's hard to think about a new school year when we're having such a lovely summer. Still, I encourage you to come and hear what Heidi is going to share with us. Even if you're a veteran in the school system, please come and maybe share what has worked for you and your child(ren). For those who aren't looking at school for a little while yet, please come as well, it's never too early to acquire knowledge; and I'm sure that what you'll hear will relieve any anxieties you may have.

The meeting will be held on August 31, 2010 from 6-8 at the BHK Houghton Center. AmeriCorps workers will not be working on site at that time so I do not know if I will be able to guarantee childcare. A flier will be following this post in a couple of weeks and I will know by then if I can offer childcare or not.

Have a wonderful August!