Parent to Parent For Parents and Families of Students in Kentucky who are Blind and Visually Impaired Fall 2010 Kentucky School for the Blind Family Support Center Member of Parent Resource Centers of KY Good Memories Made at Family Conference By: Mitch Dahmke, KSB Family Support Specialist The 2010 Statewide Family Conference, held on Oct. 8-9, is now in the memory book. New friends were made, terrific speakers were heard and great door prizes were won. The theme of the conference was “Gazing at Options: What Does the Future Hold for Your Child with Visual Impairments.” Here are a few memorable conference highlights: The featured speaker was Kevin O’Connor from Chicago. O’Connor teaches at Loyola University and is a corporate consultant. He is also the father of a son who is blind and attends George Washington University. O’Connor’s presentation was “Their Future and Yours Too: Getting Ready for the Next Right Step.” He stressed that the ultimate goals for parents of children who is blind or visually impaired is to help them achieve their full potential and to help them become as independent as possible. He noted that parents need to do more than give them roots, they need to give them wings and along the way there are a few things parents need to give themselves. Another excellent speaker from Illinois was Mindy Ely. Mindy is a vision specialist with Hearing and Vision Connections. She provides training and technical assistance to family members and professionals across Illinois on topics related to visual impairment. Mindy’s presentation “Finding Your Vision”, emphasized that parents need to know where they want to be in the future and that knowing that is just as important as knowing how to get there. She added, “A successful future requires you to be intentional about the direction of your life and the life of your family. The creative side of the weekend occurred during Tina Blatter’s presentation. Blatter is an artist from Kansas City. During her presentation, she described her life and the roads she has traveled. It was a very emotional and motivational presentation. At the end of the presentation, she had each family to create small clay sculptures. This was an engaging and enjoyable activity for parents and their children. Presentations were also conducted by Barbara Kelley of Visually Impaired Preschool (VIPS). Her topic dealt with the preschool aged child with visual impairments. Rhonda Logsdon with KYSPIN dealt with advocacy and IEP issues. KSB Outreach Consultant Teri Ritchie conducted a very effective independent living session where parents had to complete a cooking exercise while wearing vision simulators. The family conference was funded by the Kentucky School for the Blind Charitable Foundation (KSBCF). Through their support, the Statewide Family Conference was able to bring in nationally acclaimed speakers and provide other amenities that made the 2010 conference special and affordable for families to attend. KSB would also like to thank the following companies and organizations for the many wonderful door prizes given to families: Margaret’s Consignments, National Corvette Museum, Keeneland, Louisville River Bats, Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory, Kentucky Horse Park, Comedy Caravan, Frazier International History Museum, Target, Belle of Louisville, Churchill Downs, Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari, Subway, Newport Aquarium, American Printing House for the Blind, Speed Art Museum, Mark’s Feed Store, Louisville Science Center, Louisville Zoo, Kentucky Down Under, The Brown Hotel, Carmichael’s Book Store, Famous Recipe, Dollywood and KSBCF. Editor’s Note: There are four photos in the print edition from the Statewide Family Conference. Photo #1 shows a family sitting around a table in the cafeteria. There are four children and two adults and they are working with clay on an art project. The caption reads: The Hash family, from Washington County, work together during the art activity led by Tina Blatter on Friday evening. Photo #2 shows a mother who is wearing vision simulators. She is trying to open a can. The photo was taken during an independent living skills session in a dorm kitchen. The caption reads: Kristy Brown, from Calloway County wears vision simulators during an independent living skills session taught by KSB regional consultant Teri Ritchie. Photo #3 shows Kevin O’Connor speaking to parents in the PD Center. He is gesturing with his hands while parents listen to his presentation. The caption reads: Kevin O’Connor gives parents some communication strategies to use during their child’s IEP meetings. Photo #4 shows parents and two teens (one of which is their daughter and the other one is a friend of the daughter) at a table in the library. They are writing while presenter Mindy Ely stands in the background. The caption reads: The Busic family, from Oldham County work together during the “Finding Your Vision” session led by Mindy Ely. Short Term Program Provides Extra Skills to Students All too often, students express regret that they have discovered the services at the Kentucky School for the Blind (KSB) too late in their school careers to make a difference in their lives. One service that KSB offers is the Short Term Program (STP). While your child’s teacher of the visually impaired and his/her regular education teachers are well-equipped to provide Core Content instruction (Math, Reading, Science, Social Studies, etc.), it is difficult to provide intense instruction in the Expanded Core Curriculum (ECC) in a setting that is so focused on the Core Content. The ECC includes all of the extra skills that students with visual impairments need for success: Independent Living Skills, Social Interaction, Orientation and Mobility, Braille, Use of Low Vision Devices, Use of Assistive Technology, etc. This is how STP can help you and your child. KSB offers a setting that is focused on the ECC, includes interaction with visually-impaired peers and supports the Core Content. This program is like a “revolving door” through which visually impaired students can “walk in,” gain some skills, participate in new experiences and “walk back out” to their home schools. Students can participate from one to twelve weeks per year. Certain weeks have been designated for specific age groups throughout the year. You can access the STP calendar to determine the weeks that would pertain to your child through KSB’s website. There is no charge to participate in STP since KSB is a state funded school. Students can take advantage of this program throughout their school careers enhancing their success. The decision to attend STP is made through the ARC process. The best model is for the student to attend a two-three week session several times a year. The committee discusses skills to be worked on during a session including ECC, IEP goals, Core Content, participation in KSB extracurricular activities, etc. Your child stays enrolled in his or her local school and attendance at KSB is reported back to the home school. STP teachers make every attempt to ensure that students don’t fall behind in the Core Content so they will return to their local school current with their classmates. After the session, an exit conference is offered to discuss the experiences your child has had and monitoring of IEP goals will be sent to their school. If it is the first time your child has attended, you will receive a report with suggestions. Other STP activities that focus on the ECC and are available to you and your child include: • Weekend at the Museum—Middle School/High School Retreat, March 18-20 for 6-12 Students • Braille/Low Vision Carnival, May 20 for K-5 Students To get your child involved in STP, contact your child’s teacher of the visually impaired, your child’s Director of Special Education, or KSB Director of Instruction John Roberts (502-897-1583 ext 240). You may also refer to this link on the KSB website for detailed information about STP and this year’s calendar: http://www.ksb.kyschools.us/Academics/ShortCourse.htm. Editor’s Note: There is a photo in the print edition about the STP. It shows two students and a STP instructor in a store. The two students are purchasing an item from the cashier while the STP teacher is in the background. The caption reads: Students have many opportunities to gain expanded core skills through the Short Term Program. The students utilize their skills while shopping during a recent STP Weekend Retreat. Short Term Program Well Worth Time for Students By: Mitch Dahmke While working with the Short Term Program (STP) teaching staff on a story for this publication, I found out that two of my favorite statewide students were currently participating in the program. I decided to visit these young people to see what they had to say about their STP experience. The students are Kenton Smith, a sophomore at Ballard Memorial High School in Ballard County and Ashley Johnson, a junior from Greenup County High School. This is Ashley’s first time to participate in STP. Ashley says the reason she is attending STP is because her mother wanted her to get some of the vision services that she was missing. Her STP placement is for work on mobility skills. When Ashley is at home in Greenup County, she participates in both marching and concert band and is the manager for the girls basketball team. When asked if she was participating in music activities at KSB, Ashley commented that she was not but that she is participating in KSB’s cheerleading program. She also said that she is being kept pretty busy in the evening. I asked Ashley if she felt that STP had benefitted her and was worthwhile for other VI students to attend. Ashley said that she enjoyed the STP because you get to stay in the dorms and take part in the recreation activities. She feels she has been more active here than at home and has built good relationships with other VI kids. Kenton also enjoys coming to the STP. He has been in the STP before so he is an old pro at it. Kenton comes to work on his mobility skills since he says his home district does not provide that instruction. Kenton keeps up with his class work from Ballard Memorial because the STP instructors are in contact with Ballard Memorial’s teachers. Kenton is very comfortable with STP. “There isn’t anything that I dislike about the Short Term Program, said Kenton. I enjoy the friendships I have made and all of the activities here.” He also noted that he really liked the guitar lessons he was able to take during STP in previous years. Kenton recommends STP to other students.” I feel every visually impaired student should come here at least once to see what it is like.” Editor’s Note: There is a snapshot of Kenton Smith in the print edition. The photo caption reads: Kenton Smith, sophomore, Ballard Memorial HS, has benefitted from the Short Term Program. Parent to Parent is a quarterly publication containing information relevant to Kentucky parents and families of children who are blind and visually impaired. To receive an electronic copy of this newsletter, or to submit an article, e-mail mitch.dahmke@ksb.kyschools.us, or phone 502-897-1583, ext. 221. Check out this Unique Holiday Gift Idea KSB Family Support Specialist Mitch Dahmke shares: “A new product has caught my eye in the past month that would make a neat addition to your child’s Christmas. It is PlushTalk Ornaments. They are plush stuffed talking ornament toys that attach to a 24” tall soft plush stuffed Christmas trimming tree. Each themed PlushTalk Ornament has a name and states a different phrase in a unique and interesting voice when squeezed. PlushTalk Ornaments may be played with individually like any traditional plush toy or attached to the trimming tree for decorating. Children of all abilities will enjoy this. Additionally, there is a companion poem “Santa Finds his Way,” which tells how the PlushTalk Ornaments helped save Christmas when Santa’s eyesight became weak. The PlushTalk Ornaments and the poem “Santa Finds his Way” may be viewed by visiting the website at www.plushtalkornaments.com