Dear IACC, I love hand-me-downs. My friends and acquaintances buy the best stuff for their kids. Our problem is we constantly need to re-shuffle by tossing clothes into the Give Away, Put Away, or Throw Away bags. They overflow. Action must be taken. Much maintenance is needed because the children have the nerve to keep changing…
Help us collect a thousand stories on the effects of state budget cuts
We need your help! We need your stories! Help us collect a thousand stories through this survey to share with your legislators, the Governor, Department of Health/Human Services staff and Local Management Entity (LME) Directors. They need to know how budget cuts for developmental disabilities, mental health and substance abuse services affect the lives of…
Proposed Changes to NC Policies—Comment Period
The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, Exceptional Children Division, is proposing changes to the Policies Governing Services for Children with Disabilites. The comment period is from November 23, 2009 through January 21, 2010, with a public hearing on Wednesday, December 16. Most of the changes seem to align NC Policies with federal law, but…
WARNING! Helicopter Moms
The pros and cons of being a hovering caregiver.
School Violence Prevention Act: Coming to Your School
Chances are good that your child with autism has been bullied at one time or another while in school. Thanks to the new state law, SB526, the schools’ reaction to these situations may be changing. A friend of mine recently experienced this change firsthand. Her teenage son came home one day, describing an incident that…
Quantum Autism
Coverage of the Autism Town Hall Meeting.
Will they, or won’t they? Should they, or shouldn’t they?
Lots of opinions back and forth over the New York Times article on the proposed changes to the DSM-V. Ari Ne’eman, founder of the Autistic Self-Advocacy Network thinks this could be helpful in terms of getting more services, parents of children with a diagnosis of Asperger Syndrome fear the loss of identity for their children. …
A LEGISLATIVE BRIEFING…
Come listen to local legislators and staff from the NC Budget and Tax Center, NC Justice Center and United Way of NC as they discuss state public policy, implementation of the ARRA funds, and other economic issues. Here’s the link: http://www.ncjustice.org/?q=node/404 This is event is free (the RSVP information is available at the above link).
Budget update: Governor Perdue directs $15 million to relieve impact of budget cuts to community services
Yesterday, in a room packed with reporters and supporters, Coalition advocates called for a special session of the General Assembly to address the loss of services and supports for people with developmental disabilities, mental health and addictive diseases. The Autism Society of North Carolina is one of the 42 organizations in the Coalition; organizations that…