NAMI Johnson County News & Updates

March 22, 2022
Peer to Peer Class Registration Now Open
An Evening with Judy Heumann and special guest Senator Tom Harkin

Judy Heumann is an international disability and civil rights activist, as well as ‘the activist star’ in the Academy Award Nominated Documentary, Crip Camp.  Ms. Heumann has made significant contributions in advancing disability rights through her numerous advocacy initiatives. She helped write Public Law 94-142: The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and was instrumental in organizing the Section 504 Sit-In that resulted in our nation’s first civil rights law for people with disabilities. She has an impressive history of work in advocacy as a founder of Disability in Action, the District of Columbia’s first Director for the Department on Disability Services, and appointed by President Barack Obama as the first to become the Special Advisor on International Disability Rights for the U.S. State Department from 2010-2017. She is an unmatched icon in the disability community and she will be in Iowa City on March 29 and 30.
 
Event information while Judy Heumann is in Iowa City:

Tuesday March 29 will be a 6:30 showing of Crip Camp at FilmScene in Chauncey followed by a Q&A, reception and book signing with Judy Heumann. Books will be available for purchase at FilmScene by Prairie Lights. Information and tickets to attend the Crip Camp showing at Filmcene are currently on sale through Filmscene.
 
Wednesday March 30 An Evening with Judy Heumann: Internationally Renowned Disability Rights Advocate with Senator Tom Harkin, Champion of the Americans with Disabilities Act at Hancher Auditorium.

Events begin at 7:30pm. Free tickets will be available through the Hancher website on Monday, March 21.
Join us for NAMI Ask the Expert —
Clozapine: Understanding Benefits & Barriers

When: Thursday, Mar. 24, 2022, 4 p.m. ET (3 p.m. Central, 2 p.m. Mountain, 1 p.m. Pacific)


NAMI Ask the Expert Webinar welcomes Robert O. Cotes, M.D., Director of the Clinical & Research Program for Psychosis at Grady Health, Emory University School of Medicine, who will discuss the unique and potentially life-changing benefits of clozapine, an antipsychotic medication used to treat symptoms of schizophrenia.

Currently, the American Psychiatric Association guidelines recommend a trial of clozapine if a person still has symptoms despite two prior trials of other antipsychotic medications — and these trials have proven to be effective (20–30% of people affected by schizophrenia may benefit from clozapine). However, despite its effectiveness, clozapine is underutilized in the U.S. and often treated as a “last resort” option.

In this presentation, Dr. Cotes will help individuals and families better understand clozapine’s benefits, side effects and recent changes to the FDA’s Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy regarding the drug. He will also empower participants to advocate for themselves and family members who may benefit from a trial of clozapine in their own care.
After the presentation, NAMI’s Chief Medical Officer Dr. Ken Duckworth will moderate a Q&A session.
Speaker: Robert O. Cotes, M.D., Director, Clinical & Research Program for Psychosis at Grady Health System; Emory University School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
 
Thank you,
NAMI's Ask the Expert Team

This webinar will be recorded.
Questions? Contact us at asktheexpert@nami.org

Psychological First Aid for Teens
ICCSD Mental Health, Special Education, and Disability Advocacy Group meeting
Research Opportunity
2022 VA Mental Health Summit
We now offer Family Peer Support
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