Monthly Milestones | SEPTEMBER 2020
Milestones Autism Resources has expanded our services to meet the current needs
of families.

In this newsletter, we are sharing newly created COVID resources to make sure you and your family feel supported during this time. These resources include:

1) Our online COVID-19 Resource Hub, with a decision tree to help you with back-to-school concerns
2) Information on how to continue transition services during COVID
3) Details about our upcoming Ohio Family Network workshop for caregivers about building resilience
4) New Spanish resources for Hispanic families

If you have questions about anything in this latest newsletter or are in need of specific resources, please contact the MIlestones free autism Helpdesk at 216.464.7600 ext. 200, or ext. 5 to connect with a Spanish speaker.
Milestones Free Autism Helpdesk

Need a specific resource? Want to learn more about our services? Contact the Milestones free Helpdesk today.
Milestones Community Calendar


Visit our community calendar to connect with local event organizers to check on the status of events and supports in your area.
For your student: Have a child who is learning from home?

Get practical tips, homeschooling guides, social stories, teacher tools and more to assist you in prepping for the new academic year, all over on Milestones' COVID-19 Resource Hub.

As always, please remember the Milestones free autism Helpdesk is open and ready for your call. Contact 216.464.7600 ext. 200 or fill out an intake form here.
For you, the caregiver: Feeling stressed?

Join us for our first Ohio Family Network (OFN) workshop to gain strategies
for building resilience as a family.

What is the Milestones Ohio Family Network? With this new partnership, Milestones will provide tools and support resources to families and individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, not just autism. This work, focused in Cuyahoga, Lake and Ashabula Counties, will help grow caregiver and self-advocate leadership and social skills, as well as connect families with other local families and non-disability resources.
FREE UPCOMING TRAININGS
presented by Milestones and the Ohio Family Network
September Series:
Building Resilient Families

Presenters:
Sarah Buffie MSW, LSW from Soul Bird Consulting
Claudia Lopez, MA from Profluence
September 9, 16, 23: 5pm-7pm

This workshop will support parents and families with loved ones who have intellectual and developmental disabilities in finding safe ways to navigate stress and connect to a felt sense of safety. This evening will combine knowledge about navigating stress with practices that we can take with us wherever we go to support our sense of calm and groundedness.

Join us each week as we will build upon the skills and practice reducing our stress levels together.

October Series:
Families at the Center of a Connected Community
Presenter: Starfire
October 8, 15, 22: 7pm-9pm
Families of people with ID/DD will learn tools and techniques to build a social network into the family’s life in order to reduce social isolation and bring the person with ID/DD and families’ gifts into the community by implementing an engagement project together with other citizens.

Social connection is one of our fundamental human needs and life satisfaction is linked with community connections. Join us weekly as we build on skills to creatively connect to our community (even during COVID-19).
Transition Planning During COVID-19
Even though many students will not be returning to brick and mortar classrooms this fall, effective transition planning still needs to continue. Whether your student is just entering high school or has already socially graduated, the school years left are critical to develop skills to make them successful adults. Our team has compiled resources and examples to help teams prepare and implement impactful transition plans during remote learning.
For the individual with ASD: Join the Online Milestones Autism Self-Advocate Social Group
As part of the Ohio Family Network (OFN), Milestones will be opening a closed social networking group on Discord this fall. The group is led and moderated by self-advocates for self-advocates and will focus on building community, leadership, and advocacy skills through interactions within the group. We welcome self-advocates to join us as we discuss topics of interest within the self-advocate community. Those interested in joining this group or learning more should contact Nathan Morgan at nmorgan@milestones.org
New Milestones Resource: Voting Rights for Ohioans
with Disabilities Web Page
With the November election approaching, it is imperative that individuals with disabilities know they have a right to vote and a right to receive certain voting accommodations. This summer, Milestones developed a new section on milestones.org dedicated to assisting individuals who may need additional visual supports to help understand their right and the steps to vote.

Milestones is proud to have provided consultation to services to both All Voting is Local Ohio as well as the ACLU of Ohio in creating the helpful tools and videos on this page to support adults with disabilities.
New! Resources for Spanish Speakers

As a part of Milestones' new Ohio Family Network program, Milestones is thrilled to be able to expand our Diversity Initiative with the addition of the Spanish Helpdesk line, translation of our website and downloadable tool kits.
 
Our new Spanish Helpdesk line will connect families with a Spanish-speaking staff member to access individualized resources.

NEW Spanish Helpdesk line: 216.464.7600 ext. 5

Translated Tool Kits: These autism tool kits are a great way to to assist with your personal planning and navigation of common challenges, and have been developed in response to some of our most frequently asked questions.
Support continues for families with special needs
Thank you to the Cleveland Jewish News for featuring Milestones among other organizations working hard to provide accessible resources to families during this difficult time. Learn more about our work by clicking the button below.
Now that the 2020 conference has officially closed, we would like to once again thank everyone who helped make this year's virtual event a success.

Special thanks to our 2020 attendees, conference committees, co-chairs, community partners and to this year’s 140 speakers for sharing your knowledge and autism expertise.

Thank you to our valued sponsors and exhibitors for making this year's conference possible.


Interested in being a 2021 conference speaker?
Call for Proposals coming soon!
Milestones Autism Resources is working daily to address the evolving needs of local families.

Families and individuals with ASD continue to experience new challenges as a result of COVID-19.

Milestones is the trusted guide for these families when they are unsure where to turn. Your support enables our team to make sure our local autism community gets the resources they need.

Thank you to our donors who make this work possible. We appreciate your support so we can continue to serve our incredible clients and community.
Protect your health by shopping online.
Remember Milestones when using Amazon!

Visit  smile.amazon.com and select Milestones Autism Resources as your charitable organization. The Amazon Smile Foundation will donate 0.5% of the price of eligible purchases to Milestones. It costs you nothing extra to give!