September
2000 Newsletter
Corvallis
PDD/Autism Support Group
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September
2000 Newsletter |
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Greetings! Well, another school year has begun. I hope this is a good school year for you and your child. The support group's biggest news is: we have a Web Site thanks to Kathy Harris! It is: http://members.home.nethttp://www.teleport.com/~aso/corvallis// It is filled with lots of information and resources which I hope you will find helpful. So please check it out and let us know what you think. This has been a busy and productive summer for the support group. Some of the "worker bees" (aka the "Corvallis 8") of the support group (Patti, Julie, Nancy, Willa, Kathy, Van, Terri, and myself) have been very busy working on changing the system in Oregon- how it educates our kids and delivers services. Throughout the summer we met with our lawmakers Senator Cliff Trow, Representative Lane Shutterly, Kelley Wirth, Debra Ringold, and Marilyn Slizesk. Our main focus was the Autism Task Force and their FINAL REPORT. Under Senator Trow's informative suggestions, we wrote a letter (on behalf of the support group) to the legislative body in Salem to provide our feedback and offer our suggestions (see Senator Hartung's letter on our Web Site). In addition, Senator Trow alerted us to the fact that on Sept. 5th & 6th, the state HOUSE and SENATE was having HEARINGS from the Oregon Department of Special Education on the Autism Task Force's FINAL REPORT. (Refer to the Autism Task Force's Executive Summary I sent you previously). At the last minute I was invited to testify before them. Wow! What an exciting honor and experience that was. I was allotted 10 minutes (the maximum) and I did my very best to speak on behalf of the 8,000 people with Autism Spectrum Disorders in our state. (Enclosed you will find a transcript of these HEARINGS). In a nutshell, the HOUSE recommended the issue of Autism be given further study. This was not putting families off, but rather I believe a good and appropriate decision. The SENATE'S position was more abrupt, dismissing us families to go off somewhere and work out our differences with the Oregon Department of Education, Educational Service Districts, and service providers. Representing the Senate, Senator Hartung admonished us families to create a unified collaboration (across the state) with all these interested parties and come back to them in the future presenting a unified plan of what our children need. I later found out that the alert I sent to families regarding this matter resulted in numerous correspondence which got the lawmakers attention. THIS IS AN IMPORTANT URGENT MESSAGE! The Oregon Department of Education is convincing the lawmakers by portraying a system which is working effectively, collaborating with families, and providing excellent services to our children all over the state! Of course, we as families know this is not the case for all too many A.S.D. kids. So our work has only begun. Families need to share their child's story and concerns. To ensure a united front, I am asking families send their message to Senator Cliff Trow at S-319 State Capitol, Salem, OR 97310 (503) 986-1718 or to Senator Tom Hartung at S401A Capital Building, 900 Court Street, Salem, OR 97301. The other recent big event for the support group thanks to Nancy Vanderpool's guidance was: after all these years on SEPT. 6th we were able to give a basic Autism 101 presentation to the Corvallis 509J school district. People in attendance at this meeting include parents: Nancy Vanderpool, Terri Sklaris, Willa Messmer, Julie Conklin, Kathy Harris, Patty Wittrup, and myself. Also, there: Scott Perry (head of the Linn-Benton E.S.D.), and Cindy Pedersen, now the contact person for what was historically known as Cascade Regional Services. The program's most recent director, Lila Kuykendal, left to go run Benton County's Early Intervention Program. To save adminstrative costs, E.S.D. decided not to replace Lila, but to have Cindy oversee the program. Her number is (541) 812-2770, so if you have questions or problems- call her. The services and the Autism Specialists through this program will continue as they always have. An interesting note was raised at this meeting regarding the Autism Specialist's case loads which currently is 1 Specialist to 50-80 kids serving a 4 county area!! The Specialist for the Hearing Impaired children case load is 1 person to 12 kids. Cindy admitted this was not fair, but offered nothing in the way of fixing this alarming problem. The Corvallis School District staff in attendence was: Cathy Alden, Ron Corbel (who is suppose to be the 504 person for the district, but there is confusion as to whether this is true) and the new Special Ed Director which is actually a team from Lincoln County: Kim Finch & Michael Ann McIlvenny. Their number is (541) 757-5922. All the people at this meeting were attentive to our presentation and Kim and Michael Ann expressed how they wanted to make changes in the 509J reflecting the district's new philosophy of customer service. Michael Ann used to be a Special Ed teacher in Lincoln County and apparently had great success working with Autistic kids there. She wants to bring those ideas here. We asked of the school district that a basic Autism Information Packet (thank you Autism Society) be placed in all the schools in the 509J district and that we be provided with a list of the contact person in each one of these schools so that someone from the support group can continue to have access to them to provide current on-going Autism information. Kim Finch agreed to do this. I just so happened to have enough packets for each school to supply her right then and there. Days later I followed up on this, and I am happy to report Kim Finch had passed these packets out and is in the process of drawing up a list of contact people for us. This is a good sign that there is hope. It is also a 1st step toward building trust. Also, it was good to hear from the school district and E.S.D. people that they had read the Autism Task Force's FINAL REPORT'S recommendations. I must add, however, they whole heartedly embrace these recommendations without any corrections or additions. This could be potentially alarming to families because the RECOMMENDATIONS do NOT! outline a plan of accountability nor provide a time line of who is to do what. Again, it is very important families continue to be informed and consequently demand a detailed plan of action as to how these Autism Task Force Recommendations will be carried out. This message needs to be sent to Salem while at the same time making the local agencies aware of our concerns. Our dialogue with 509J is not over. There will be future meetings to keep the district aware of our children's situations pertaining to issues of placement, IEP implementation, services, eligibility, etc. A decade ago, out of a desire to help my daughter Hannah, I spear-headed the formation of the Corvallis P.D.D./Autism Support Group. Now, as a full-time college student who deals daily with the same difficulties with my daughter, I am unable to continue performing the duties I have done for the past 10 years. In my on-going effort to keep you informed, I have been sending you mail-outs approximately 3 times a year. To cut mailing expenses, I ask that all families with Web access get information at this site. Those who do not have Web access can continue to receive these mailings by sending a check for $5.00 to cover printing and mailing costs for 1 year to:
Anyone requesting Autism information packet on a variety of topics, can still receive these from me by sending their request and a check for $10.00 to the address above. The next Support Group meeting will be held Oct 19th from 7- 9 p.m. at the OLD MILL CENTER (4515 SW Country Club Rd, Corvallis). Due to low attendance in the past, this meeting maybe the last. Well, I guess that's it. Take care and remember you're not alone. MaryJo (signed)
Local News We also created an announce only listserv to bring you up-to-date on news and changes. Please email MaryJo Weaver at watatown@yahoo.com if you want to be added. Membership dues for mailings will cost $5 annually. If you wish to receive news and info via the web or email, it is free of charge. Everyone will need to fill out a membership update so that our information stays current. Books have been ordered for the Corvallis Library. Please check our website or the library for new additions. Meetings were held with Senator Cliff Trow, Representative Lane Shutterly, Kelley Wirth, Debra Ringold, and Marilyn Slizesk. What did we discuss? The Autism Task Force and our School Districts. After the meetings some parents drafted a letter to Senator Tom Hartung and Committee. See our website for the letter. SEPT. 6th several parents and Nancy Vanderpool made a presentation to the Corvallis 509J school district discussing issues with Autism and the Autism Task Force final report. State News To ensure a united front, send your message to Senator Cliff Trow at S-319 State Capitol, Salem, OR 97310 (503) 986-1718 or to Senator Tom Hartung at S401A Capital Building, 900 Court Street, Salem, OR 97301. National News The Political Piece
If you can pick just one or two areas of interest and stay involved you can help make an enormous difference in your family's future.
Volunteers Wanted Note from the editor:
To update our records and keep the
mailing costs as low as possible, please return this indicating your
membership preferences. Please help us determine what you would
like from the organization (rate each item from 1-not important
to 5-very important): Name:_______________________________________________________________ Organization (optional):_________________________________________________ My email address is ____________________________________________________ Address: _____________________________________________________________ City:_________________________________________________________________ State: _________ Zip _______________ Phone number(s):____________________ Please make checks payable to: MaryJo
Weaver 727 NW 27th, Corvallis, OR 97330 Phone: (541) 757-2820
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Inclusion of information about Autism organizations, providers, publications, services, programs and products on our web site does NOT constitute any agreement, sponsorship, endorsement or warranty of any kind by the Corvallis Autism Support Group. We offer this information as a helpful resource tool to families and professionals. |
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