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 Disability and Ability Highlights of the Week 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. Please note that in June, we are switching to a bimonthly format, with the next column to appear Friday, June 16.
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 announcement of the week:
The Support Service Aide is responsible for providing direct services to individuals with developmental disabilities in a camp setting. This may involve one or more of the following:
- Engaging the individual in recreation activities
- Assisting the individual with daily-living skills and personal care
- Working on communication skills, or any other type of activity deemed appropriate for inclusion
- Performing or any other type of activity deemed appropriate on the Individual Service Plan.
- Completing the required weekly documentation of the services provided.
Please send your résumé to: hr@advopps.org
Advancing Opportunities news (and looking ahead):
Our friends and partners at the Shining Stars Network have an announcement word out about Camp Shine, their performing arts camp for students with special needs. Performers ages 10 to 21 are invited to attend the camp that runs from August 21 through September 1, at the Fanwood Presbyterian Church in Fanwood. Space is limited. First come, first served. For more information or to register, contact shiningstarsnetwork@gmail.com
Our Assistant Director of Assistive Technology Services, Vanessa Lombardo, ATP, will be presenting “Apps and Strategies to Support Students with Print Disabilities” at the 15th Annual Summer Inclusion Conference, at Montclair State University, June 27 & 28.
Disability in the news (mostly in New Jersey, the population we serve):
Jewish leaders and advocates are working for full inclusion and advocacy for people with disabilities in New Jersey.
The Paper Mill Playhouse, Millburn, NJ, will present an autism-friendly performance of its acclaimed show Mary Poppins. The special show will be on Friday, June 23, at 1:30.
For parents of a child with a disability (parenting):
Having autism as a parent might seem impossibly challenging. However, a generation of parents with the condition is showing that the condition can be an advantage.
Presented are four critical choices when establishing a special needs trust.
The challenge parents of young adults with autism face is helping them find a role where their employer has the awareness and knowledge to help them succeed.
Assistive technology:
This new app allows users to contact highly trained interpreters for limited English proficient, deaf, or hard-of-hearing with just one touch.
Here are three ways artificial intelligence and other AT might humanize modern care.
Advocacy and self-advocacy:
“The Price of Disability Denial” – Opinion piece in the New York Times on the necessity of disability advocacy: “One of the little-recognized side effects of disability denial is that it inhibits the firing of the synapses that enables people to think of themselves as having rights.”
Employment for people with disabilities:
A girl with Down syndrome put her positivity and love for animals to work by launching her own dog treat business.
Found in Forbes: “Increasing Autism Employment: An Anthropologist’s Perspective”
Some 27 percent of adults with autism who use state disability services have no work or other activities: National Autism Indicators Report, 2017
An increasing number of companies are recognizing how recruiting “neurodivergent” people can bring a whole range of skills and abilities to a workforce.
Informative, positive, noteworthy (or all three!):
The weekly informative New York Times column: “The type of dwarfism my children and I have is now likely to be eliminated. But what will be lost with it?”
People with a disability in the community (disability rights and acceptance; inclusion):
A reporter looks into making digital history accessible to users who are blind or visually impaired.
Disability awareness and appreciation:
Interesting blog piece: “When People Use Diversity to Defend Sameness in Autism Narratives”
Throughout Mental Health Awareness Month, each day a celebrity offers insight into the question: “What would I tell my younger self?”
A young woman with cerebral palsy is candid about what she would like able-bodied people to know.
“How I learned to love my walking stick”
Medical news—research:
A recent study has demonstrated that intranasal oxytocin can influence how individuals with autism perceive emotion in others. This is an important first step for a potential pharmacological treatment of autism.
FDA approves the first generic version of the drug Strattera for the treatment of symptoms of ADHD.
Beauty, glamour, and fashion: the inclusion of people with disabilities:
Stage shows can be problematic for persons on the spectrum, but a growing number of companies are adapting productions to bring great art to everyone.
Animals and animal therapy:
A University of Missouri-Columbia study reveals recommendations for certifying emotional support animals.
