September 2020 eNews
UPCOMING PARENT EVENTS
To see upcoming parent webinars and fun family events, check out the September Event Calendar!
SUMMER HOURS EXTENDED
The Office of Developmental Disabilities Services (ODDS) has extended summer hours for children and youth receiving in home support services. Remember, direct support professionals may provide attendant care related to activities of daily living, as well as behavior and health-related support tasks identified in the child’s ISP. Attendant care cannot be used to support your child during educational activities or distance learning. Read the ODDS Announcement to learn more or contact your child's service coordinator.
TALENT SHOW WINNER
Congratulations to Austin Dodd for winning the Play Your Part Virtual Talent Show. Dodd won a $100 gift card for his stellar guitar performance. Watch Dodd play his electric guitar, and congratulate him for a job well done!
FAMILIES CONNECTED TO CONTINUE DESPITE BUDGET CUT

Sadly, the family networks were cut from the disability services budget when the Oregon State Legislature met for a special session last month. Read the Budget Update from the Oregon Council on Developmental Disabilities.

Families Connected is one of eight family networks across the state that supports families in their journey of raising children who experience disabilities.

Despite the cut in funding, The Arc Lane County remains committed to Families Connected, and the important work of helping families across Lane County.

Now more than ever, families need connection to other families, access to resources and help navigating formal systems. As such, The Arc will look at alternative funding resources so Families Connected can continue its important work of supporting families and making communities more welcoming and accessible.
RETURN TO DISTANCE LEARNING

The back-to-school season will undoubtedly look and feel different for the 2020-21 school year.

School districts are busy preparing for distance learning and hybrid models that incorporate both remote learning and some in-person learning.

Here are the latest return to learning plans from some of the larger school districts in Lane County:
DISTANCE LEARNING RESOURCES

Instead of the typical back-to-school giddiness, many parents are experiencing stress and feeling uncertain about the return to distance learning this fall.

Families Connected will host a Distance Learning Tips and Tricks Webinar on September 16 to help parents prepare for the coming school year.

Here are some other helpful tips:
  • Document how your student is doing during the time of distance learning. Keep track of what is working and what is not working.
  • Create a learning space for your student that is free of distractions. This could be as simple as making room at the kitchen table or putting a desk in a bedroom closet to create a quiet learning space.
  • Request to meet with your student's team after the school year starts. Bring your journal where you documented what is working and where your child may need more supports. Be sure to reach out to your student's team early in the school year so you can collaborate and find solutions to help your student.

Here are some additional distance learning resources to help parents:
COMMUNITY RESOURCE CENTER
TO OPEN OCTOBER 3

Working in collaboration with FOOD for Lane County and the Community Alliance for Lane County, The Arc Lane County and Families Connected will open a Community Resource Center on Monday, October 5.

The resource center will be a place families can come to for food, over-the-counter medication, personal hygiene products and home starter products, like sheets and pots and pans. Families will also have access to resource specialists who can help connect families with other resources, such as housing or transportation. People in The Arc’s EmployAbility program will help in the Resource Center where they will learn valuable workplace skills.
DREAMS WITHOUT LIMITS BOOK CHANGES DISABILITY PARADIGM

The Arc Lane County, in collaboration with Jon Christopher Meyers Photography, the Office of Developmental Disabilities Services, Walmart and QSL Print Communications, has published a book featuring beautiful portraits of local families and their empowering stories of strength, hope and love.

Gone are the messages related to deficits and all the things a person with a disability cannot do. Instead, this book changes the disability paradigm from negative to positive, as readers see a glimpse of what people with disabilities are capable of dreaming and achieving.

The Arc will host a COVID-safe book signing and distribution on September 29 from 4 to 6 p.m. outside the main office at 4181 E Street in Springfield. If you have already ordered a book, please plan to pick up your book on September 29. If you cannot attend on September 29, please contact Erika to arrange a time to pick up the book. To order a book, visit Dreams WIthout Limits.
VOTING GUIDE HELPS PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES EXERCISE THEIR RIGHT TO VOTE

In addition to the back-to-school season, it's also election season.

Disability Rights Oregon has created a nonpartisan Easy Voting Guide to help people with disabilities cast their ballots this November. The guide helps people understand what the candidates stand for, and it explains the ballot measures. Order the Easy Voting Guide online by September 21.

The last day to register to vote online for the presidential election is October 13.

The Arc Families Connected
provides peer support to parents on their journey of raising a child with a disability.