My son Dennis, now 18, wants a job. So, with a commitment to discover what is ahead, we have begun Discovery, a service through Developmental Disabilities Services to help inform and shape career development plans for individuals with I/DD.

The strategies Discovery uses will EXPOSE Dennis’ interests, EXPLORE his community, dreams, and skills, and help FIND potential jobs that match them. This strategy recognizes that someone’s future success in work is informed by their demonstrated skills, experiences, home life, neighborhood, friends, supports, desires, preferences, connections, and needs for accommodation. Above all, Discovery is a person-centered process.

As a parent, I am reminded that discovery is an innate process that we do all the time. We are constantly learning things about our kids. We use that information to advocate for what they need, find activities that they will enjoy, help them navigate relationships, and collaborate with school teams and care providers. We remind our kids about the things they’re good at when they lack confidence. And we try to remember to step back and give them every opportunity to share their hopes, dreams, and goals for themselves.

This is the next step of that process which I’ve been privileged to be a part of for 18 years. I’m hopeful that, in the end, Discovery will help Dennis feel ready and confident to enter the world of work!

I invite you to discover along with FACT Oregon! We have trainings to EXPOSE you to new ideas and strategies, resources to EXPLORE, support to help you FIND OUT a next step.

Yours in discovery,

September 14, 21, 28 6:00-7:30 PM

FACT Oregon and CODSN continue our joint Back To School Virtual Learning Series with 3 webinars in September! 

Stay tuned for more information about a Back To School Virtual Learning Series presented in Spanish!

This training will explain the differences between accommodations and modifications. We will talk about the reasons they are used within the

Individualized Education Plan or 504 Plan and how their uses may change a student’s diploma options.

A panel of parent peers will also share examples of accommodations and modifications that have worked for their children.

The IEP team meeting includes people with multiple perspectives and experiences, including the parent or caregiver. The IEP meeting is designed to explore these different perspectives to identify the strengths and needs of a student receiving services. Sometimes that can lead to disagreements or conflicts. During this session. participants will:

Making decisions about your health is part of becoming an adult and living a “whole life”! Preparing disabled youth to be involved can start in school through the IEP process. Join us to explore:

FACT Oregon’s All Ability Tri4Youth program seeks to transform the face and perception of disability in sport and recreation and support youth with disabilities to build a practice of healthy fitness in their daily lives. Summer and fall are great times to keep active, get fit, and have fun!

This year’s events are sponsored by The Standard, OnPoint Community Credit Union, CareOregon, Jackson Care Connect, Becker Capital Management, Columbia Bank, and Palladio Consulting LLC.

Join us October 1st for a FREE, family-friendly, fully accessible Bike-Run at Hunter Park in Ashland (Jackson County). This event is presented in collaboration with Bridging Communities and Ashland Parks & Recreation.

Priority Registration Deadline: Sign up by September 10 to guarantee your t-shirt size!!

Register the whole family and download our FREE Fitness Challenge Activity Log. Complete 10 activities by 10.1.22 and return the activity log to receive a T-shirt, medal, and athlete kit with fun gadgets to inspire your family to maintain a practice of fitness throughout the year.

FACT Oregon, along with 14 other Parent Centers across the US, have been chosen to participate in the CPIR/DaSy Family Data Leadership Project (FDLP). Our goal is to train families to understand and use data so they can engage in critical conversations and decisions about the use of data to improve outcomes for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers with disabilities.

Director of Outreach and Training Cori Mielke, along with Oregon Department of Education’s Early Childhood Coherent Strategies Specialist Meredith Villines, attended the Improving Data Improving Outcomes (IDIO) Conference in Washington, D.C. last month. At IDIO, Cori delved into how state data is collected and reported, the importance of family participation in developing data collection processes, and how data is reviewed and used in decision making.

Additionally, we participated in a separate Train the Trainer session hosted by DaSy (Center for IDEA Early Childhood Data Systems) and CIPR (Center for Parent Information and Resources). We are excited to activate more parent data leaders in Oregon with what we’ve learned! Look for more information soon!

September is Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders Awareness Month, and we’re featuring a podcast from The FASD Success Show with Jeff Noble. Jeff interviews Jillana Goble of Every Child Oregon. Jillana is a speaker, author, advocate, and mom to 5, including a child with fetal alcohol syndrome disorder (FASD). She’s passionate about supporting children in foster care and the families who serve them. In this podcast, Jillana reflects on her journey to fostering.