Harvest theme activities are popular at farms across New Jersey. Fosterfields does so with a difference: it’s a working farm that re-creates agriculture in the 19th century. The quiet atmosphere is conducive to the sensory sensitivities of children and adults with autism.
At Advancing Opportunities, we excel in providing residential and respite services to people of with all disabilities, along with advocacy and education services for parents and guardians and assistive technology support. As a leader in the field, we are pleased to share our experience, knowledge, and expertise with the disability community through our social media outlets: Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Pinterest. In our bimonthly column, we will select the best of what we found and shared and present them. Please click on the titles with embedded links to find the full article.
In addition, we are specialists in the area of assistive technology and offer a huge array of services; the Assistive Technology Center is New Jersey’s premier source of information and equipment.
Advancing Opportunities Job of the Fortnight
We have openings for full- and part-time Direct Support Professionals in residential care programs all around the state. Candidates will be providing excellent direct care to men and women with disabilities in residential support programs in group homes. We will be holding the following events in November:
Monmouth Career Fair. Wednesday, November 1, 10–3: Monmouth County Public Library, 125 Symmes Dr., Manalapan, NJ- Northern New Jersey Open House. Thursday, November 16, 10–3: Advancing Opportunities’ office with the Family Resource Network, 322 US Hwy. 46 W., Ste. 290, Parsippany, NJ
If you are unable to make any of these events, please submit your résumé to: hr@advopps.org.
Advancing Opportunities News
Brian Meersma, one of the students who received help from our Assistive Technology Department, was featured in an article this week. We are very pleased to see Brian continuing to do so well!
With hard work and assistive technology, Brian Meersma has excelled in college and life.
Disability in the News (Mostly in New Jersey, the Population We Serve)
Secretary of Education Betsy De Vos “has rescinded 72 policy documents that outline the rights of students with disabilities.” Furthermore, according to the article, “The guidance documents helped parents and educators understand student’s rights under the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act.”
For Parents of a Child with a Disability (Parenting)
The Centers for Disease Control has introduced Milestone Tracker, an app that helps parents identify delays at developmental milestones.
“Welcome to Holland” is a lovely poem, and so is Holland. While the piece offers comforting thoughts for parents of an autistic child, it is not always a realistic portrayal. A jungle is at times more accurate—wild, untamed, seemingly chaotic… but still beautiful, so says this mom in a thoughtful blog piece.
A recent article describes the findings of a research study to help parents become a wise consumer of reading programs for children with dyslexia and other reading disabilities.
This article offers tips for parents on how to gain the attention of their children with ADHD.
CHADD discusses on how ADHD causes sleeplessness… and vice versa.
Special Education
A mom discusses the right to read: “My dyslexic daughter got the help she needed. All children should.”
Assistive Technology
A new U.S. government Census Bureau study, The Promise of Assistive Technology to Enhance Activity and Work Participation, is now available online in a free PDF edition!
Assistive technology is increasingly an integral element in the design of everyday products rather than a costly afterthought.
Advocacy and Self-advocacy
Voting among people with disabilities in New Jersey remains a challenge in many parts of the state. An advocacy campaign seeks to change that.
A middle school student in Virginia is using her class project to advocate for students with disabilities.
A disability advocate shares her experiences in this free podcast.
A disability advocate says, “I’m no Superman.”
Disability Rights, Accessibility
Recent lawsuits demand that college websites accommodate students with disabilities.
Haben Girma: “Disability is not a barrier. But decisions on inclusion can be.” In addition, Ms. Girma says businesses missing out on 1.3 billion-strong market.
Employment for People with Disabilities
Working with autism: “We need people who dare to think differently.”
Informative, Positive, Noteworthy (or All Three!)
NY Times disability awareness essay: “You Are Special! Now Stop Being Different!”
The Arts and People with Disabilities
A deaf painter discusses being an artist with a disability.
People with disabilities in the arts – inclusion ndash; self-advocacy are all themes here: New York City’s Cultural Plan Spurs Disabled Artists in Fight for Roles & Respect
Amazon is introducing a new half-hour comedy from the creator of “Sex and the City” that features actors with Down syndrome.
People with a Disability in the Community (Disability Rights and Acceptance; Inclusion)
Two major retailers and an important label have greatly expanded their fashion lines, which are designed to accommodate the needs of people with disabilities of all ages.
Disability Awareness and Appreciation
“The Films That Are Telling the Truth About Disability”: What matters is that people with disabilities are involved.
Autism is among many disabilities that observers cannot always readily detect. The result can be misunderstandings about everything from social behavior to having a disabled parking badge. Disability activists seeking to boost awareness about these issues are using a Twitter hashtag, #InvisiblyDisabledLooksLike, to share their experiences, BBC News reported 25 October.
Medical News—Research
To mend a birth defect from spina bifida, surgeons operate on the patient within the patient (i.e., in utero).
Dyslexia: scientists claim the cause of the condition may lie in the eyes.
Data do-over backs dominance of genetics in autism risk.
One of the first pieces of federal legislation to help people with disabilities find work was the Smith Fess Act of 1920.
