Institute for Disability Studies
Family Health Notes
May 2015
Inside this issue:
1) 2015 Mississippi disAbility MegaConference – June 18-19, Jackson
2) Developmental Screening Days – May 11, Oxford; May 12, Canton
3) New IDS Gulf Park Adventure Therapy Program
4) National Women’s Health Week – May 10-16
5) National Survey About Siblings of Individuals with Disabilities
6) Building Your Medical Home
7) Transitioning from High School to College
8) Children’s Mental Health Week – May 3-9
9) Food Allergy Awareness Week – May 10-16
10) Better Hearing and Speech Month – May 1-31
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1) 2015 Mississippi disAbility MegaConference – June 18-19, Jackson
Honoring the Past, Recognizing the Present and Committing to the Future is the theme for the 2015 Mississippi disAbility MegaConference. This year marks the 25th year since the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was signed into law. This remarkable ADA anniversary is the focus of the 4th Annual Mississippi disAbility MegaConference to be held on June 18 and 19, at the Marriott Downtown in Jackson. The MegaConference provides world-class speakers, interactive workshops with a Mississippi focus and exhibits of products and services. There is an annual awards luncheon and a fun evening gala. On the evening of June 17, from 5 to 6:30 p.m., MegaConference attendees and their families will have the opportunity to take part in Dream Night at the Jackson Zoo. Stipends are available. For more information and to register, visit http://msmegaconference.org/.
2) Developmental Screening Days – May 11, Oxford; May 12, Canton
The early years of a child’s development are crucial. If you or your child’s physician, child care provider or pre-K teacher has concerns about your child’s development, plan to attend these free developmental screening events. A screening will be held on May 11, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. in Oxford at the Northwest Mississippi Family Resource Center at 1097 Jackson Avenue. On May 12, a screening day will be held from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. in Canton at the Central Mississippi Family Resource Center at 140 West Peace Street. Please call in advance to register. For more information or to register, call Shelley Ezelle, MS, at 601.432.6179.
3) New IDS Gulf Park Adventure Therapy Program
The Institute for Disability Studies Gulf Park Campus and Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College are partnering to bring the Mississippi Gulf Coast an Adventure Therapy Program unlike any other. Included in the program are low ropes courses (low off the ground team building activities), high ropes courses (high up, requiring a harness), and kayaking (using a canoe-like boat over water). The program targets people with developmental disabilities who are 12-years-old and up and who complete a participation application. For more information or to register, contact The University of Southern Mississippi Institute for Disability Studies Gulf Park Campus at 228.214.3400 or email william.t.edwards@usm.edu. Visit the Facebook page at www.facebook.com/usmidsgulfparkcampus.
4) National Women’s Health Week – May 10-16
National Women’s Health Week is an observance led by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office on Women’s Health. This week serves as a time for women to understand the steps they can take to improve their health. For more information, visit http://www.womenshealth.gov/. National Women’s Health Week is also a time to focus on health insurance literacy. “A Roadmap to Better Care and a Healthier You” is a guide to help newly insured women and their families understand how to find a provider, make a doctor’s appointment, prepare for their first visit, and take advantage of important preventive service. The guide is available at https://marketplace.cms.gov/outreach-and-education/downloads/c2c-roadmap.pdf.
5) National Survey About Siblings of Individuals with Disabilities
The Sibling Leadership Network is studying the support needs of siblings of individuals with disabilities. The survey is for siblings of people with disabilities, parents of people with disabilities, people with disabilities and professionals working with disabilities and their families. This online survey takes less than 30 minutes to complete and is available in English and Spanish. To take the survey, visit http://siblingleadership.org/research/research-related-to-siblings-of-individuals-with-disabilities/national-survey-about-siblings-of-individuals-with-disabilities/.
6) Building Your Medical Home
A medical home is not a building or a place. It’s an approach to providing comprehensive primary care that facilitates partnerships between patients, clinicians, medical staff and families. Care within a medical home should be accessible, continuous, comprehensive, patient- and family-centered, coordinated, compassionate and culturally effective. The National Center for Medical Home Implementation provides tools and resources to advance the knowledge and understanding of medical home for pediatricians and their staffs. For more information and multiple resources, visit https://medicalhomes.aap.org/Pages/form-a-medical-home-improvement-team.aspx.
7) Transitioning from High School to College
Transition is a word that describes a process of moving from one point to another. Transitioning from high school to college can be overwhelming for any student and parent but for students with special health care needs it can seem impossible. Here are two websites that provide information to help you prepare your student for life after high school: http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/transitionguide.html and http://www.parentcenterhub.org/repository/transitionadult/.
8) Children’s Mental Health Week – May 3-9
It’s easy to know your child needs help dealing with a fever or a broken bone, but mental health problems can be harder to identify. The tricky part of parenting is knowing the kinds of behaviors and moods that are usual for the stage of development your child is in—and when your child has gone beyond the norm and needs help. Get more information at the following websites: https://www.nami.org/ or in Mississippi http://www.namims.org/.
9) Food Allergy Awareness Week – May 10-16
This awareness week was created to educate the public about food allergies, a potentially life-threatening medical condition. This is a special opportunity to shine a spotlight on food allergies and anaphylaxis. For additional information about food allergies or how to get involved in the community outreach, visit http://www.foodallergy.org/ or download a helpful fact sheet at http://www.foodallergy.org/document.doc?id=384.
10) Better Hearing and Speech Month – May 1-31
The early stages of speech, language and communication disorders are easier to spot when you know the signs. This month provides an opportunity to raise awareness about communication disorders. Check out ways to identify the signs and know what to do about suspected communication disorders at this link: http://identifythesigns.org/ or in Mississippi http://www.mshausa.org/index.php.
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Family Health Notes~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Family Health Notes is sponsored by the Institute for Disability Studies (IDS), Mississippi’s University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD) at The University of Southern Mississippi. IDS provides university training, community service activities, research and information that promote the independence, productivity, and community inclusion of individuals with disabilities and their families. For more information about IDS, visit http://www.usm.edu/disability-studies or call 1.888.671.0051 (TTY). To make a tax-deductible gift to IDS, visit http://www.usm.edu/disability-studies/support-ids.
The Family-to-Family Health Information and Education Center (F2F) is a family-focused, family managed resource center that empowers families of Mississippi children with special health care needs to be partners in the decisions made concerning the health of their children. F2F is funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (GR#H84MC07948).
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