Please vote today. I walked to the polls (not far). There wasn't a line. The polls will still be open after the storm ends. The only thing on the ballot is special education.
If we don't vote, only the people who think it costs too much will have a voice.
More information at https://www.autismgreaterwi.org/event-cal/celebrating-autism-at-bay-beach/
Bay Beach is just over three hours away from Marquette. It makes for a great day trip. I like it as it has both quiet spaces and noisier spaces. Stay clear of the bathrooms in the main lodge are very loud if you have a child who can't stand loud echo-y places and head for the ones in the green spaces.
Wildlife center across the road is also great free fun for kids.
Just a word of caution if you are at the farmers market and are asked to sign a petition in support of special education scholarships as tax deductions. This is not a helpful proposal!
Petitioner I spoke with did not know what IDEA was and told me she does not live in Michigan and was here to work as a petitioner. I crossed my name out and came home to get more information. Found this blog post from the department of education: https://www.michigan.gov/mde/news-and-information/press-releases/2022/06/15/state-board-of-education-urges-voters-to-not-sign-ballot-initiative-petition
Sally Beauchamp, our regional U.P. parent representative for Michigan Alliance for Families will be presenting.
This free workshop explores skills parents can use to become more effective advocates for their child with a disability.
• Understand your child's disability
• Know your school district
• Know your rights and responsibilities
• Clear and effective communication
• Understanding the special education process
• Know the dispute resolution process
If
you need an accommodation to attend this event, please send your
request to info@michiganallianceforfamilies.org two weeks prior to the
event.
Happy Groundhogs Day!
Several days ago I heard there are plans underway for a family camp weekend at Bay Cliff, April 8-10. Last week, I spoke with the camp director, Seth Rowles, and he was able to answer some of my questions. The target age range is 5-17 and the plan to is to try to keep it fun and keep it structured yet flexible to meet the needs of individual families. Bay Cliff has offered family camps for other groups in the past and they have some ideas of how to do this, but this will be a first for the autism community. One of the features Seth said he was planning on was a breakout opportunity for siblings.
If you would like to know more, Seth will be hosting a google meet on Thursday, February 17 from 5-6 pm:
Virtual Q&A for Autism Family Camp
Thursday, February 17 · 5:00 – 6:00pm
Google Meet joining info
Video call link: https://meet.google.com/pfq-pwko-hzz
Or dial: (US) +1 502-309-4351 PIN: 152 780 397#
Parents will have the opportunity to ask questions, express concerns, and learn more details.
If you would like to call the camp directly, here's the number I used: 906-345-9314
Early bird registration closes on Friday.
I went to this conference about a decade ago on the advice of another parent. My daughter was in first grade and I got a lot out of it. I am going again this year with my teenager. I think she will get a lot out of it too.
https://www.michiganallianceforfamilies.org/newsletter/
There are three workshops scheduled for January and a whole slew of them for February.
Hello out there...
I recently got a response to a post so I am know I am not the only one who is feeling the isolation. I tried to track down what has happened to SEPAC, the Special Education Parent Advisory Committee that used to meet monthly at MARESA. I know they were meeting virtually up till last March, but after that I don't know what happened. I didn't get any response when I tried to contract the group through MARESA. For years they were the best option for parents of school age children who were looking for a support group.
For what it's worth, I'm on the reference desk Wednesdays from 4:30-8:30 pm, and it is generally quiet, and it would be totally appropriate for me to point people to whatever available resources I can drum up. Feel free to stop by Peter White those hours or call the reference desk at 906-226-4312 and ask for Ellen.
Michigan Alliance for Families has been running a lot of online workshops. I catch them when I can; they are usually pretty good. Get on their mailing list, if you aren't all ready. https://www.michiganallianceforfamilies.org/upcoming-events/
I'm a member of the Autism Society of Greater Wisconsin as I've benefited from some of their programs. Their online teen hangout is the only autism-centered group I know of for teens that takes place in real time.
As you may already know, plans are underway to update the playground at the lower harbor in Marquette. The goal is an inclusive playground that can be universally enjoyed. If you are interested in having a say in what happens, you may want to attend one of several planning sessions scheduled for next week.
The following opportunities are available:
Meet the design team, Marquette Playgrounds For All and City Staff. This informal session will provide an opportunity for the community and the design team to begin to imagine a new playground at the park.
All participants in the Tuesday events are encouraged to bring a picture of children who will use the new playground. These will be incorporated into a collage at the end of the project.
COVID-19 safety protocols for events at Lakeview Arena will require all attendees to wear a mask and maintain at least 6 feet of distance. Attendees will be limited to 100 persons. Additional participation will be available via Zoom and the cell phone app.
See more information on the Kid's cove website.
Emily Rubin, one of this year's keynote speakers, helped develop the SCERTS model with Barry Prizant. (Barry Prizant wrote one of my all-time favorite books about Autism: Uniquely Human.)
The other key-note speaker is a behaviorist, Gregory Hanley. I found an article published in January 2021 that he wrote that gives A Perspective on Today's ABA. It's interesting, apologetic, but not yet ready to let go.
Here are some links if you are interested:
(I plan on attending this one.)
This post is destined to be a bit of ramble/personal reflection but also a "How things stand now (as best I can tell)" statement, in terms of local resources. I seem to have lost all the SEO I had with this blog before I moved to Facebook. Hopefully by posting semi-regularly, it will come back. If you want to contribute to the conversation or alert me to something that is going on, leave a comment. Comments are posted after after I read them, unless they are marked private, or deemed irrelevant to other readers, or if the message is angry*.
Things that have changed since I started this blog 11 years ago: I now work full time, my child is a teenager, and there is this global pandemic that effects just about everything.
A couple of things haven't changed:
SAIL (Superior Alliance for Independent Living) is still the best local place for resources for adults or soon to be adults (that I know of). There's also Aktion Club, which usually offers fun stuff to do, ways to be involved, and camaraderie. Their FB page is pretty quiet at the moment. Still a good place to reach out to. They are supported by the Superiorland Kiwanis, which helps give the group some stability.
For babies, toddlers and kids and teens and their educational/developmental stuff there's MARESA, (Marquette -Alger Regional Education Service Agency). They provide birth to three services, including playgroups (when safe to do so), and they provide special education services and oversight to all the local ISD's in Marquette and Alger Counties. There are two Autism specialists working for MARESA. If you aren't already working with one of these two dedicated people, I recommend you seek them out. They have the same human limitations as the rest of us, but they will try.
MARESA also hosts a Special Education Parent Advisory Committee (SEPAC). According to the last set of minutes posted online, they were to meet in March via zoom. Not sure if the meeting got cancelled or where things stand. They also have a Facebook page. Meetings do get cancelled or rescheduled, but they do meet fairly regularly and they are the most stable support group I know of for parents of special needs kids (most regular attendees are parents to kids on the spectrum). MARESA will pay you an honorarium for participating to help with transportation and child care costs. Sometimes child care is provided, sometimes not.
For professional help outside of school, everything becomes trickier (as if it weren't tricky already). Pathways provides comprehensive support for families that qualify for Medicaid. Their exact limitations change with the whims of public funding. But they do offer comprehensive help. I've never been able to use their services myself.
If your family doesn't qualify for Pathways services, there are two other options for ABA** help locally that I know of. The BEAR center at NMU and Functional Behavior Services. I believe both options work with a sliding scale and or insurance.
Other useful services:
OT (Kirsten Matthews at Bell helped us a lot when my daughter was young and we've recently discovered Laura Alexander, who's located closer to us (UP Rehab) and seems to be able to connect well with my favorite adolescent.)
Speech: I've worked with Kate Kenney who conveniently works with Kirsten the OT. I can speak highly of her. We've also had some success with keeping "speech" in my daughter's IEP. SLP's tend to have different strengths. Different kids have different needs. On a good day we get a match.
Other therapists. In recent years we've had more success working with therapists than we did when my daughter was younger. ABA wasn't the answer for us. I now shrink at the words "behavior modification" and now seek our "developmental support." Not locally supported, but highly useful is the "Lives in the Balance website." Lots of free resources for parents. If you've ever heard someone say "Kids do well if they can" and thought that made sense, you will like these resources. I wish I could direct you to someone in the community who could really support you with this approach, but I don't know of anyone.
We have found some good people who use a CBT approach with anxiety and who just connect well with kids and teens. For us it's been a journey of trial and error.
Activities:
I get a little sick in the gut when I think about the lack of fun stuff to do for kids on the spectrum. (Covid makes it all harder.) I'd really like to find something that is age appropriate, will appeal to my picky child, will get her outside and moving, will help organize her brain, will get her eating healthy, and above all help her make friends. I've been looking for this for over a decade. It's not easy, it's not great, but there are glimmers of potential for checking some of the boxes.
Moosewood Nature Center has been trying to make itself an "autism friendly" destination. We like it there. Like the board walk.
Michigan Audubon Young Birders appeals to my kid's special interest. It's not perfect: no other local kids, it's online, but it's something other than playing on her phone. Try to find things that appeal to special interests. I got this advice from the young man who wrote "Funny, you don't look autistic." Manga club, Lego club, stand-up comedian club. Highly specific interest clubs appeal to other quirky kids who might be able to connect with your quirky kid.
Wisconsin Autism Association hosts monthly online teen hangouts.
Other Michigan Resources:
StART, or Statewide Autism Resources and Training is based out Grand Valley State University. They bring autism training to Marquette from time to time, mostly offered to schools. Nag your principal to send their staff to this. It's not perfect, but it's good.
Michigan Alliance for Families provides support to families that includes stuff like IEP training and transition programs. It's nice having materials that focus on Michigan specific resources and legislation. Our regional rep, Sally Beauchamp (sally.b@
*Go ahead and be mad if that's how you feel. I am sure your anger is justified. I find it's best if I can write it out in a journal-- that helps defuse the anger. Then the goal is to get to the raw energy behind the anger to fuel constructive conversations and help create change. Please don't scream at me or your kid or their teachers. Yes, I've done this, and it's never helped the situation.
**ABA is another can of worms. You might find that this particular supposed solution to all kids on the spectrum just isn't right for you and yours. It's also quite possible that it's not right for anyone. I don't know. ABA doesn't make sense to me, but I know too many people who I respect who swear by it so ...
Our regional Michigan Alliance for Families rep, Sally Beauchamp, will be offering an online IEP training workshop. I've attended this workshop with Sally the first time she offered it in Marquette and it was useful to me. (I've gone through at least 11 IEP meetings now, I think, and they don't get easier.)
Workshop is at 7:00 pm
Eastern. Zoom sign-up: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUodOyspjgpGtbFA8HfRWCVp44FOGCvgY7v
Hi I've had enough of Facebook. I still like to share what information I can find about resources, activities, what have you that might be useful or at least appreciated by those living in or near to Marquette, MI and who's lives are affected by Autism Spectrum Disorders.
Two meetings: 1:30-3:30 or 6:30-8:30 at MARESA on E. Ohio St.
What we've all been looking for...fun stuff to do with our kids this summer that is just right for them.
