Wings Newsletter Volumn XIV Page 1

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"Wings" Newsletter

Volumn XIV
Fall 2001

Concerned Mother

The following is a story from a concerned mother, who has a deaf-non speaking son:

"I have tried everything so that my son can have an independent and productive life, but nobody wants to help me. My son has requested services from The California State Department of Rehabilitation. After being found eligible to receive services, an Individualized Plan for Employment was developed.

"This plan consists of taking courses at a local college that could provide for him the opportunity to learn American Sign Language, so that he is able to share and express his opinions with others. Because my son does not have the English skills, nor the academic knowledge, he was denied the opportunity simply because this institution of higher learning does not have a special program for none-English speaking individuals who are deaf and non-verbal.

"When The Department of Rehabilitation was informed of the decision taken by the college, we were notified that they were very sorry, but there was nothing that they could do at this time, and that if we were not satisfied by the decision taken we could contact CAP.

"I contacted CAP and they informed me that Hacienda La Puente has a special program for deaf-non verbal individuals who wish to develop or improve their communication skills, and wish to become independent. CAP requested a meeting with representatives of California's Vocational Rehabilitation Department. During this meeting they were informed of a program in Hacienda La Puente and the existence of a similar program in the Riverside area.

"Due to a joint effort and mutual cooperation, my son is now receiving a basic education, which will allow him to forge unreachable dreams into a productive and confident reality.

IDEA Conference

On June 23 & 24 the Community Access Center held their first annual Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) conference, at the beautiful Hilton Hotel of Palm Springs. Parents of children with disabilities, as well as community professionals, were thoroughly educated on Individualized Educational Plan (IEP) procedures. CAC has, in turn, received many thank you letters from parents expressing their warm appreciation. Here are some of the comments from parents, "We were impressed how well organized the IDEA conference was." "We enjoyed listing to all the speakers, they were well informed." "They answered all the questions that were asked of them." "This was the first time my wife and I attended a conference, we thank you for not making it feel like a waste of time." And still another parent writes, " I thought the information presented was wonderful! The presenters were knowledgeable, and gracious as well as patient with our questions. The Access staff and childcare was very attentive, the hotel was gracious as well!"

CAC saw a need to inform parents on their rights concerning IEP meetings, as well as transitional mandates thereof. Many parents expressed interest in attending this conference annually, they write, " God bless all of you for this seminar, I hope that this would happen at least once a year in this area."

A special thanks to the Desert Health Care District, The Renaldo Caryone Foundation, the parents, students, and Community Access Center staff on the tremendous success of the first annual IDEA conference.

Back To School

My son, Estevan, is a severely disabled student. His experience with the Special Education program had him refusing to return to school. After staying at home for several months he was finally able to return to classes. No one at the school was able to explain what had happened to trigger his change in attitude towards education. It was clear to us, his parents, that he needed to have his IEP (Individualized Education Plan) reviewed and tailored to his needs. The school did not agree and this did not happen immediately. At the first IEP meeting, the County wanted him to try another classroom but this was not acceptable. Five months later another IEP meeting was scheduled. This time we sought advocacy from CAC.

Before the IEP meeting, the advocate from CAC sat down with us to discuss Estevan's needs. Together we discussed the issues and came up with a plan. This plan was to request that Estevan work with a one-on-one aide in the classroom. This would enable him to sit without disturbing other children. The plan also included a slow transiting to a different classroom more suited to his needs. A complete psychological evaluation would also be requested. We rehearsed with the advocate, Artemisa, for the IEP by discussing procedures and strategies for overcoming objections from the IEP team.

At the IEP meeting we convinced the rest of the team of the validity of Estevan's plan. A third IEP meeting was necessary before all the details were in place. It was arranged that the advocate would spend time in school with Estevan monitoring progress of the plan.

Estevan finally returned to school after six months and three IEP meetings. Four instructional aides were hired. The director of Special Education for the School District and the Principal of the County program accompanied by the school psychologist were to be present the first day the plan was to take place. The advocate attended school to monitor the progress and report to us.

What it means to be an Empowerment Team Member

General and Prime Minister Charles De Gaul gave a eulogy for his daughter and said, "Now she is like everyone else." What a sad thing to say. Unfortunately, his daughter had a disability for which, like others, she was discriminated against. You see, people with a disability were considered handicapped. Thankfully, hopefully, we don't use that word anymore.

You say, what does this have to do with being an Empowerment Team Leader?? It has to do with ADVOCACY, and here is what it means to me.

A is for Action taken in making changes to policies and procedures for the benefit of others and one’s self;

D is for Decisions that are made and the determination to stand by them;

V is for Values not compromised, even in unpopular and uncomfortable situations;

O is for Opportunities you face on a daily basis – for when the doors open, you walk through; nothing beats a failure but a tryer;

C is for Character developed when everything else seems to go wrong;

A is for Attitudes that can break, or make, a person’s spirits, hopes, dreams and goals;

C is for Cause,that there is something worth fighting for that well benefit more than one individual;

Y is for YOU who made the difference and wanted to see things happen.

If Mr. Charles De Gaul were here today, this is what he would say: "My daughter lived a full, successful and happy life because YOU were involved as an EMPOWERMENT TEAM VOLUNTEER making a difference in advocacy and system change. "Being an Empowerment Team member has been a rewarding activity for me. I hope when you read this, you too will want to become involved and make a difference.

My name is Catherine

My name is Catherine, and I am 75 years old. I started losing my sight about a year and a half ago. When my doctor told me that I was going blind, I was devastated. I did ask myself, how was I going to live? What will I do?

A few months ago, I met a person from the Community Access Center and I told her a little bit about my problem. She was very understanding, and told me that someone would call me from the Center. I did get that call as promised and I talked with another employee who encouraged me to sign up for their Senior Low Vision program. I had some doubts if anyone could help me but, since April, the people at Community Access Center always seem to be there when I need some help or to just talk to someone who is disabled.

I was impressed when the people from their program came to my home to help me with paperwork and I was even encouraged to sign up for the books on tape that I did not even know about. I was very excited about this and the persons from Community Access Center even helped me with the paperwork for a transportation program, and all of this did not cost me a penny. Every once in a while, the people at the Community Access Center call me just to see if I need anything and they have been to my home twice.

I have diabetes and arthritis. Laser surgery was done on my right eye and was not very successful. Now, I am legally blind, and sometimes it hits me like a shock. I told the very nice people at Community Access Center that I will not read any more for my eyes are too bad. They did not give up on me and I am grateful for that.

Good News, I now have the four track tape player for talking books and after I was shown how to use the machine I started reading books on tape. The first book I finished reading was "The Client."

My application for the Trip program has been approved. Basically, this transportation program will reimburse my driver who drives me to medical appointments, shopping and other places I may need to go during the month

Finally, I can't put into words how I really feel but I will try. I would like to say, "I really appreciate what you have done for me, for I did not know that there was this much information out there, and all of this technology available to me and many others. You have opened a whole new world to me and I am grateful. Thank-you, Wayne!

Notes from the Executive Director

This issue of "Wings" is devoted to stories from you, our readers and consumers. The stories in this issue are both inspiring and empowering. With the limited space available I apologize if your story did not make it in this issue. If you like these stories and would like to see more please let me know. In reviewing these stories and others, I began to miss my role as a service provider. I enjoy the role I have, but there is a lot to be said about enjoying the personal victories that occur each time a consumer obtains his/her goals. I miss individual advocacy the most. Winning a Social Security hearing or correcting an insurance billing was the most challenging.

Thank you for sharing your stories. It has given me an opportunity to drift into nostalgia.