Thursday, March 7th from 7:00-8:30 pm

How to Navigate the Adult Service World

Our meeting featured Jennifer Knapp who spoke on the topic of adult services. After a young adult turns 22, he or she is no longer entitled to services. In this informal presentation, the discussion included the range of options in services for adults with disabilities and how individuals and their families can access these services. Both residential and day options were talked about, as well ashow the system works, and how families can advocate for what they want.

Jennifer Knapp is:

• Executive Director, Community Choices
• Community Organizer, Community Partnership Project funded by the Coleman Foundation
• Organizational Consultant, Illinois Self-Advocacy Alliance

Thursday, February 7th from 7:00-8:30 pm

Featured speaker wasSarah Phillips, a central Illinois Parent Mentor for the Illinois State Board of Education.  Her presentation, How to Effectively Participate in IEP Meetings helped parents better understand their role in the IEP process and increase their advocacy skills.

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December 6, 2012

April Keaton is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in private practice. She offers individual, group and family therapy in a strength-based and warm atmosphere. April specializes in cognitive behavioral interventions to address individual needs with particular focus in the areas of: social cognition, executive functioning, coping skills and emotional regulation.

Her presentation will focus on The Incredible 5 Point Scale by Kari Dunn Buron, but will also incorporate some additional behavioral interventions that might be useful for parents.

Please join us for a great discussion! We hope to see you there!

Please Note: We are offering two childcare options for the meeting on December 6th. For children age 6 and above we will be offering a Yoga/Activity Group. We will offer childcare for children from toddlers to age 5. For anyone bringing their children to the meeting, please remember to pre-register them for one of our childcare options. There is no charge for the service, but your children do need to be registered by noon on Tuesday, December 4. You may register on-line at: www.cuautismnetwork.org by following the link “Activities for Children” under Meetings, or, you may call 217-621-8429 to register. If you are signing your child up for the yoga/activity group, please send an email with "yoga" in the subject line and your child's name and age to info@cuautismnetwork.org.

November 1, 2012

Ask the Doctor. Dr. Morton and Dr. Keeley will be joining us to answer any questions you might have. They both joined us previously and it was a wonderful question and answer evening.

Please join us for a great discussion! We hope to see you there!

Please Note: We are offering two childcare options for the meeting on November 1st. For children age 6 and above we will be offering a Yoga/Activity Group. We will offer childcare for children from toddlers to age 5. For anyone bringing their children to the meeting, please remember to pre-register them for one of our childcare options. There is no charge for the service, but your children do need to be registered by noon on Tuesday, October 30th. If you are signing your child up for the yoga/activity group, please send an email with "yoga" in the subject line and your child's name and age.

October 4, 2012

Roberta Scherf, founder/CEO & Chris Bye, President of ThinkingMoves.com. Exciting presentation of MeMoves, a patented self-regulation system designed to decrease stress and to increase focus and attention for people of all ages and abilities.

"MeMoves is a surprisingly simple, yet powerful combination of music, movements and images that improves attention, focus and mood. Simple and fun, MeMoves challenges the brain to promote physical, emotional and cognitive well-being. Research presented in May 2010 at the International Meeting for Autism Research demonstrated that doing MeMoves for only a few minutes a day altered brain waves and activated "mirror neurons", resulting in positive behavioral changes.

Please join us for a great discussion! We hope to see you there!

We are offering two childcare options for the meeting on Oct. 4th. For children age 6 and above we will be offering a Yoga/Activity Group. We will offer childcare for children from toddlers to age 5. For anyone bringing their children to the meeting, please remember to pre-register them for one of our childcare options. There is no charge for the service, but your children do need to be registered by noon on Tuesday, October 2nd.

 

September 6, 2012

To kick off the new year, our speaker will be Sarah Isaacs from the Early Intervention Clearinghouse. She will be discussing their New Resources on Autism and sharing information on the many new books and DVDs about Autism related diagnoses they have purchased recently. She will also share with us the many other valuable resources housed in their library. They have a library of videos, books, manuals, and journals related to the development of children with special needs and their families. Sarah is an information specialist who can help you find resources for you and your service providers.

Please join us for a great discussion! We hope to see you there!

Please Note: We are offering two childcare options for the meeting on Sept. 6th. For children age 6 and above we will be offering a Yoga/Activity Group. We will offer childcare for children from toddlers to age 5. For anyone bringing their children to the meeting, please remember to pre-register them for one of our childcare options. There is no charge for the service, but your children do need to be registered by noon on Wednesday, September 5th. You may register on-line here: Activities for Children or call 217-621-8429 to register. If you are signing your child up for the yoga/activity group, please send an email with "yoga" in the subject line and your child's name and age.

May 3-2012

The last regular monthly meeting of the C-U Autism Network for the 2011-2012 school year, is scheduled for Thursday, May 3rd , from 7:00 – 8:30 pm at the Christopher Hall-Family Resiliency Center, 904 W. Nevada, Urbana, IL 61801.This month you will have an opportunity to attend one of two separate presentations.  One is in English and one is in Spanish. One presentation will feature Renee DuMond addressing the topic of "social thinking". Renee is a new staff counselor at Kevin Elliott Counseling and is also a staff member at Developmental Services Center (DSC) both of which are located in Champaign.  This presentation will be in English.   

The other presentation will feature Jose Luis Ovalle, a parent and professional from the Chicago area who will talk about his experience raising a Spanish-speaking child with autism. He will answer questions and share Spanish resources with those attending. This presentation will be in Spanish.  

I am the father of a 21 year old man with autism who is attending Harold Washington College in Chicago. I am also the parent liaison for TAP in the Chicago Metropolitan area and Northern Illinois. In addition, I am the director of Grupo SALTO (Society of Autism for Latinos Working with Optimism), Illinois' largest Support group for families who have children within the spectrum and whose primary language is Spanish. We are a 400+ family membership that provides resources and training on a monthly basis.

Soy padre de hombres gemelos de 21 años con autismo que asisten al colegio Harold Washington en Chicago Y soy el enlace de padres para El Programa de Autismo de Illinois en el área metropolitana de Chicago y el Norte de Illinois. Soy también director del grupo SALTO (Sociedad de Autismo Latina Trabajando con Optimismo) que es el grupo Hispano de apoyo más grande del estado para familias con hijos en el espectro cuya lengua principal es el Español. Contamos con una membrecía de más de 400 familias y brindamos recursos y entrenamiento mensualmente.

As always, there will be time for group discussion after the speaker presentations.  Please join us, we hope to see you there!

April 5 - 2012 - Summer Camp Opportunities. Representatives from Camp New Hope in Mattoon, IL and Timber Pointe Outdoor Center in Hudson, IL spoke about their opportunities for an overnight camping experience. There was also a representative from C-U Special Recreation who spoke about some of the local programs available this summer for children and adults with disabilities.

March 1, 2012 -Mary Kay Betz, the Executive Director of the Autism Society of Illinois. Her presentation was:  IEP's &The Autism Society of Illinois' Special Education Advocacy Program.  This program is provided free of charge to any Illinois family with a child on the autism spectrum.

February 2, 2012 - We are pleased to welcome Michael Granse, a PAS Agent and Independent Service Coordinator with the Champaign County Regional Planning Commission.  His presentation will be:  The PUNS Database and What It Might Mean to You".  If you are living with someone who has a developmental disability, you will want to know more about your local PAS agents and the PUNS database.

February 3, 2011 - Laura DeThorne,Ph.D, Asssistant Professor in the Dept. of Speech and Hearing Science at the University of Illinois. How Seeing Can Help With Saying: Use of Visual Feedback to Facilitate Speech. Dr. DeThorne's research focuses on why some children find learning to communicate so much more difficult than other children.

March 3, 2011 - Discussed Autism Awareness Month ( April),the Autism Walk and Safety Fair.

April 7, 2011 - Dr. Charles Morton, Developmental Pediatrician with Carle Clinic and Dr. Joe Keeley, the new Developmental Pediatrician with Christie Clinic spoke about the medical aspects of autism and answered questions from the group.

May 5,2011 - Joan Gorsuch of Social Champaign, discussed her new venture in "social thinking training" which is based on the Social Thinking model developed by Michelle Garcia Winner. 

September 1, 2011 - Katelyn Mullen, a local independent behavior consultant and therapist, presenting on the topic of “ABA Beyond the Table Top”. Ways in which Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) can be used in the natural environment with your child. 

October 6, 2011 - “More Than the Sum of My Parts” by Ata Bird, an adult with Asperger’s Syndrome who will talk about her experiences and perspectives on autism from the points of view of a "spectrumite", a sibling, and a professional. 

November 3, 2011 - Dr. Jonathan Thomas-Stagg, a Licensed Clinical Psychologist and School Psychologist who has a broad range of educational and clinical skills, working with clients with Autism, ADHD, Learning Disorders, Acquired Brain Injury, Mood Disorders, Anxiety Disorders, and Disorders of Conduct. He is trained in psychological assessment, individual therapy, parent consultation and training, and school consultation. He has specialized interests in helping students and families advocate for their needs as pertains to the Americans with Disabilities Act (i.e., IDEA and 504).   "Strategies for More Effective Collaboration with Schools."

December 1, 2011 - We are pleased to feature a presentation by the facilitators of our Sibling Group, Laurie Kramer, PhD, Licensed Clinical Psychologist and Ann Osterling, MA CCC-SLP/L. They will address the unique issues that siblings face when they are part of a special needs family; and they will share some of their experiences with sibling groups in the past, and discuss plans for the future.

September 2, 2010 - Mary Kay Betz, the Executive Director of the Autism Society of Illinois. How to Advocate for Your Child Without Alienating the School. 

October 7, 2010 - “To the Beat of a Different Drum” by Kris Jones, a young adult with Asperger’s Syndrome.His beliefs that having Asperger’s Syndrome is a condition rather than a disability, and that the condition helps define who he is as an individual. It is okay for an “Aspie” and to be proud of who they are and know that it is okay to be different.

November 4th, 2010 - Amy Armstrong with Mark Johnson, CEO of the Champaign County YMCA, discussed Larkin's Place and Larkin's Place Programming at the YMCA. The Champaign County YMCA and Larkin's Place at the Y merged in 2008 to create the nation's first multi-generational, all-inclusive community recreation center, where all are treated as equals regardless of age, ability, or financial status. For more information, go to www.ccymca.net or call 217-359-9622.

December 2, 2010 - Panel of professional therapists:   Ann Osterling,  a speech therapist,  Nancy Yeagel,  an occupational therapist, Teresa O’Conner, a developmental therapist, and Kevin Elliott, a counselor, engaged in a panel discussion and answered questions from the audience.