Group Leaders

This is a call to all the parents of neurodiverse children that attend our meetings. I talk constantly of parents having ownership of this group. A few of you contact me through email or phone and talk with me about ideas that you have.

I've had a long standing goal for this group to be run by all the parents for parents. I've been watching for a long time now and the group has several parents that are very committed. If any of you are interested in being a group leader (along with me) for your group, please contact me.

Your position as a group leader can look however you want it to. You can commit as much or as little time as you are comfortable with. Same for tasks, you can do whatever you are comfortable doing.

Some areas I would like some help in are:

• Food and beverages
• Childcare (when AmeriCorps can't help us)
• Community outreach
• Pulling in community resources
• Workshops
• Putting together a walk

These are just to name a few areas. If anyone has an interest in any of the above, or if you have some different ideas, please, please, please contact me.

Cheers!

August 31st, 2010 Meeting Wrap-Up

We had a great meeting with Heidi Knuuttila this month. Heidi did a Power Point presentation and discussions revolved around the IEP process, building a strong support team for your child(ren), working together and keeping the air positive (even when there's conflicts), and what parents can do to empower themselves to advocate for their child(ren). This was a great way to kick off the new school year. Thank you Heidi!

Heidi also shared with us that she is working on a website that will help parents and teachers navigate an IEP more successfully. Heidi would like feedback from parents on how to make an IEP a positive and productive process for the entire team. If anyone has any suggestions feel free to leave your comments hear on the blog or you can contact Heidi Knuuttila or Heather Poll.

I want to send out a HUGE thank you to John and Julie Dumpprope and Jason Poll for helping out with the childcare during the meeting. They did a great job, the kids had a blast, and the meeting was able to run smoothly because of them. Thank you!!