NDSS National Policy Center Blog: Go Behind the Scenes!
The NDSS National Policy Center Blog will give you a glimpse of how our policy center works. Each week you may learn about a meeting at the White House or an experience one of our staff members had with a member of Congress. Also look for special guest bloggers and important updates! Click here to view the blog.
Regal Entertainment Group Set to Air Buddy Walk PSA
The Regal Entertainment Group has agreed to donate three weeks of air time to promote the Buddy Walk. The 30-second Buddy Walk PSA will air nationwide on 7,200 screens before every movie from September 17th to October 8th.
Click here for theater locations.
My Great Story of the Week
The Monkey King
Ben Savill, Tustin, CA
One summer evening, at the age of 4 years and 9 months, Jaden Temple Savill climbed atop the play structure in our community park in Tustin, CA. He stood facing the “fire-fighter’s sliding pole” and stared ahead. Something about his expression seemed different from usual. And then it happened. Jaden reached forward and seized the pole with one hand and then the other. I waited for his usual “Help me!”, but it didn’t come. Before I knew it, he had stretched out one leg and then the other, and was suspended on the pole eight feet above the ground. A moment later, he slowly and deliberately lowered himself down the pole, hand by hand, foot by foot, until he reached the ground.
Jaden looked up at me with a big smile. I smiled back, temporarily lost for words. Finally I said “Great job, Jaden!”, and we hi-fived. My words seemed a very inadequate response to what had just taken place. This was way more than a great job. I had the feeling that I had just witnessed the unfolding of a giant evolutionary leap – like witnessing the first caterpillar climb out of its cocoon, spread out its wings and take to the air. It felt as if another line had just been added to the miraculous 14 billion-year story of the Universe.
Click here to continue reading Ben's story.
Two My Great Story submissions have been featured in the Philadelphia Tribune.
Click here to read the article.
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State of the Art Conference on Postsecondary Education and Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities
The National Down Syndrome Society (NDSS) is pleased to announce that registration is now open for the 2010 National State of the Art Conference on Postsecondary Education and Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities sponsored by NDSS and the George Mason University. The conference will be held on October 28 and 29 at George Mason University’s new conference center in Fairfax, Virginia. The conference is being cosponsored by the Steve Riggio family, the Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE) and the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR), U.S. Department of Education, the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE), the University of Minnesota’s Institute on Community Integration, ThinkCollege, Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD), and the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. The conference is dedicated to the memory of Melissa Riggio.
This conference will provide an opportunity for students, parents, researchers, colleges and universities and practitioners to meet with top experts in the field and hear about exciting postsecondary initiatives across the country. The conference registration is expected to fill up fast. If you are interested in attending we encourage you to register immediately. If you are a person with Down syndrome or a family member of a person with Down syndrome and the cost of travel and registration prohibits your participation, contact Beth Finkelstein, NDSS VP of Community Relations, to inquire about possible support from NDSS.
The 2010 Toys“R”Us Toy Guide for Differently-Abled Kids
Has Arrived!
Toys“R”Us, Inc. has released the 2010 edition of the Toys“R”Us Toy Guide for Differently-Abled Kids®, an easy-to-use toy selection resource that can help parents of children with special needs select toys that develop skills through the power of play. This year, actress, author, philanthropist and mother of a son with autism, Holly Robinson Peete appears on the cover, along with Tommy Austing, a 5-year-old boy from Beverly Hills, CA.
All toys featured in the Guide are available at Toys“R”Us® stores nationwide and online by clicking here. “Flippable” and downloadable digital versions in both English and Spanish are available here.
Click here to read more about the Guide.
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