News
P2P Needs Support Parents Who Have a Child with Seizure Disorders, Autism, Mental Health Challenges or Down syndrome
By SD Network, 2016-06-14
Parent to Parent of Wisconsin - www.p2pwi.org - provides parent support to parents of children with special needs through a one-to-one connection with another parent who has similar experience and who knows firsthand about the feelings and realities that come with having a child with special needs.
P2P has had an increase in the number of calls looking for the support of another family who has the experience of a child who has seizures, a mental health condition, autism, families who have young children with Down syndrome as well as other conditions.
If you are interested in learning more about how to become a support parent we would like to invite you to attend a support parent training.
For more information, please call Robin at 715.361.2934 or email: Get-Connected@p2pwi.org
WISCONSIN STATE JOURNAL: Health Services Department withdraws request for changes to state Medicaid programs
By SD Network, 2016-06-10
On Thursday June 9th, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services contacted the co-chairs of Joint Finance to withdraw its Concept Plan on Family Care/IRIS 2.0 DHS Secretary Kitty Rhoades cited participant input as a major reason for withdrawing the plan from consideration.
For many people who receive Social Security Disability Benefits, it's often a guessing game each month as to what the amount will be. While each person's situation will be different, this article talks about a tool that may help you approximate how much you could receive.
Meet Wanda Viellieux. After finding out she could make her better self-direct her supports and services through IRIS, she was better able to fulfill her passion of volunteering. She believes that everyone has the right to be involved in making decisions and is a firm believer in self-determination. We’re so fortunate to have as a member of the Network!
How are you involved with self-determination? Why did you join the SD Network?
Wanda decided to transfer from Family Care to IRIS because she was not getting what she needed. She wanted to make her own choices about who she wanted to hire for the services she needed. “I’ve been very happy as the decisions I have made; they have fulfilled what I absolutely needed,” Wanda said. She joined the Network because she wanted to keep updated on the latest news affecting Self-Determination. She has wanted to attend conferences, but barriers such as distance, transportation and finances have kept her from being able to do that. “The unfortunate part of self-determination is that I live in a more rural part of the state and some services I need are more scarce,” she pointed out.
Tell us some good news - what's the most exciting thing happening for you (or in Wisconsin) in terms self-determination?
Wanda looks to the Self-Determination Network to get the latest news about the programs and services that she uses. She has followed the 2017 Long-Term Care changes especially close. The Network “gave me the information I needed to contact state legislative people to advocate for myself and others who may be in my situation,” Wanda said.
What tip or resource would you like to share with people who want to be more self-determined?
Wanda encourages people to be determined and do not let other people tell you otherwise. Everyone has the right to be involved in their own care. She said, “if you believe you are not getting the care you should be getting, go ahead and make other appropriate contacts to get the care you need.” Wanda suggests that people get involved in learning how they can be his/her own “best advocate” and also knowing when they need to ask for someone they can trust to advocate on their behalf.
What message would you like to share with the members of the SD Network?
Wanda wants people to know that having disabilities or limitations in some areas of your life does not make you less dignified or less important than anyone else. She said, “we all have differing abilities which makes life much more interesting and fun. Sometimes it can get frustrating and depressing, keep believing in yourself and what your goals are."
What are some of your hobbies?
Self-directing my services helps Wanda remain an active part of her community. She doesn’t have much time for hobbies as she’s an avid volunteer. She has been a disaster volunteer for the American Red Cross since 1997, and her current focus is on disaster preparedness. She’s also a VFW Auxiliary lifetime member. She’s very active in supporting our veterans as patriotic instructor where she goes into schools and community youth groups to do flag programs, and to recognize how they support our veterans. In addition to all of that, she’s involved in her church and is a presenter to youth and adults. “These three areas of my volunteer work are also where my passion in life is. It is so fulfilling when you can find your passion in something you love to do. That’s what enriches my life so much more,” Wanda said.
***We love hearing the views and opinions of Network members. We need to mention that the views and opinions expressed on this site are those of the person who is sharing them. They do not necessarily reflect InControl Wisconsin or any of our supporters and funders.
We thank the Great Lakes ADA Center for providing us with the following information about an opportunity to participate in a survey about transportation for people with disabilities.
We would like to invite you to participate in a national survey titled, Transportation Access and Experiences, which is designed to improve understanding of accessibility of public transportation for people with disabilities. This survey is being conducted by the ADA Participation Action Research Consortium (ADA-PARC), a collaborative research project of ADA Regional Centers (PIs: Lex Frieden and Joy Hammel). This project focuses on community living, community participation & work/economic participation disparities of people with disabilities (For more information, visit the website:www.adaparc.org). We would like to improve our understanding on transportation access of people with disabilities and use this information to make improvements at regional and national levels.
We are very interested in receiving as many responses as possible from people with disabilities based on their personal experiences with public transportation. The results will serve as crucial evidence to support improvements to accessible transportation.
Please use the link below to access and complete the survey. The online survey can be completed in English or Spanish. This is the second round of data collection for this survey, so if you have already completed it, please do not complete the survey again.
If you would like to complete the survey by phone in English, please contact the research team at 312-996-9655. If you would like to complete the survey by phone in Spanish, please contact Ancel Montenelli at 312-413-1439. Please mention that you are calling about the ADA transportation survey.
If you have any questions or comments regarding this survey, please contact Jill Bezyak from the Rocky Mountain ADA Center at jill.bezyak@unco.edu.
WKOW: Wisconsin Heights/Barneveld track star doesn't let disability hold him back
By SD Network, 2016-06-01
For Wisconsin Heights/Barnveld junior Brenden Ojibway, spring is about Track and Field. Despite using a wheelchair, he competes in the 400 meter, 800 meter, and shot put. Thanks to the WIAA incorporating wheelchair athletics, Brenden has the chance to compete.
The Autism Society of Wisconsin is conducting a survey for individuals with autism, parents/caregivers, and professionals affected by autism. The survey is an opportunity for you and others to share your experiences and thoughts to influence our programs and legislative priorities. The survey will be repeated in the future so we can track how attitudes and experiences change over time. A report with survey results will be published later this year.
The survey takes approximately 10 - 20 minutes to complete. Those who enter their contact information at the end will be entered to win a $50 Amazon Gift Card. The survey will close on June 3rd.
Please consider taking the survey and sharing with others!
A new study finds that many families of those with disabilities who had to transition from institutions to community living are happy with the results. Oklahoma families whose relatives were part of a mandatory deinstitutionalization process in 2015 were assessed. There was some opposition at first, but the study found that family members are now satisfied with their relatives' current living situation.