August 2020 Newsletter

Programs, Advocacy and More!In This IssueSpotlight OnOnline Learning ProgramReady, Set, KindergartenBuddy Walk UpdateAdvocacyDSC Friends SocialGroupsMoms' Night OutDSC Social Media

Spotlight On

To get some pandemicand Learning Programperspective from ourcommunity, we spokewith Jacque Baker abouthow her daughter,Madeline, who hasbenefited from LearningProgram in the past andnow applies the programto the present.

How are you spendingyour time at homeduring this pandemic?With Madeline, we'vebeen working onmaintaining reading andmath goals, and also

broaden life skills, whilebecoming very creativewith what a play date

Programs

Online Learning Program "I cannot say enough good things about the LearningProgram. The Learning Program instructorsare phenomenal, as they not only provide tips forlearning, but also strategies for handling challengingbehavior that can arise." -M.L.

The Learning Program is a literacy and numeracystrategies and education program for students with Downsyndrome and their parents and caregivers. It is aninnovative program that delivers evidence-basededucational support to children, parents and teachers. The program's goal is toimprove the overall development and academic success of all children with Downsyndrome.

When: Classes meet every Saturday via Zoom. The program will run from September 2020 to June 2021.

For Students: Students receive virtual instruction focused on literacy, numeracy, finemotor skills and language development from special educators and therapists. Eachweek students will receive a 15-30 minute lesson from Special Educators, SLP orOT.

For Parents & Caregivers: In separate sessions, parents and caregivers in theprogram receive instruction on a wide range of topics such as reading andcomprehension, mathematics and memory skills, and creating an effective learningsession.

Materials & Resources: Take-home materials will be sent to families each month tohelp parents and caregivers reinforce student learning at home.

REGISTER NOW!

Registration will close Saturday, August 15th at 10 am

To learn more visit DSC Website.

with what a play datelooks like. We've beendelighted that Madelinehas accepted Zoominteraction so readily aftera short, "I don't want to dothis" period. She missesseeing friends in person,greatly, and she REALLYmisses swim hang outs,but she has acceptedbeing on Zoom withfriends to draw (Art Hubfor Kids) or both partiesjust hang while doing asimilar craft, share a SOGymnastics class, or playcharades or a scavengerhunt, for example, andthat helps heremotionally. If what isdone over Zoom is a taskthat both parties areactively doing, then it's agood fit. The few safehangouts have beentaking turns runningthrough sprinklers,playing water balloons inperfect social distancingfashion, and making andgoing through an outdoorobstacle course thatinvolves water of course.Family time has beenplaying a board or cardgame, or heading out inthe backyard for soccer orbasketball together. When did youparticipate in theLearning Program?How many times?We took part in theLearning Program fromits inception, completedthree years and twolevels. What was so impactfulabout LearningProgram?It was impactful that welearned that our daughtercould read and recognizewords, given the rightopportunity and practice.She was 4 and up to thatpoint I wasn't seeing herread any words and itwas a real struggle to gether to learn from me. Shehad visual trouble too, soit complicated her lookingat a printed page and

wanting to maintain herattention, but in thismethod, with the simpleand bold materialsoffered, she could readand attend anyway. She

Questions? Contact Katelyn Peters at kpeters@dscpugetsound.org

Ready, Set, Kindergarten"I started attending RSK the fall before kindergarten started, andquickly gained the confidence and knowledge I needed to betteradvocate for my daughter."- Molly

Ready, Set, Kindergarten program (RSK) provides parents withthe tools needed to advocate for their children.Parents meet once a month for six months during the yearbefore their children start Kindergarten to educate themselves, strategize, and form asupport network. Once these students enter Kindergarten, the parents will continueto offer support, idea sharing and problem solving to ensure students are receivingan inclusive education.

RSK is facilitated by volunteers Erin Klones and Courtney Criss. Erin and Courtneyare passionate about inclusion in school and both have children with Downsyndrome who will be included in general education for the 2020-2021 school year.They will share their personal experiences in advocating for their children as well asprovide informative textbooks and guest speakers at RSK meetings.

The 2020-2021 RSK Program will be virtual via Zoom.

For more information about Ready, Set, Kindergarten, please emailkpeters@dscpugetsound.org.

Registration will open Monday, August 17th.

Puget Sound Buddy Walk

A Virtual Puget Sound Buddy Walk!

In these unprecedented times, let's make the best of it!

Join DSC on Sunday, October 4th as we virtually bringthe community together for a fun day of Buddy Walk®celebration. Walk in your neighborhood, at a local park, on your favorite trail, in yourdriveway, or anywhere else you have in mind! Our Puget Sound Buddy Walk® may be different but our mission is not! We inviteyou to form your team, and invite your family and friends to virtually come togetherfor one unified purpose- to promote the acceptance, inclusion and respect ofindividuals with Down syndrome. Co-Chaired by:Adjua Dupree & Neda Perrina

Registration will open Monday, August 10th

Questions? Contact Katelyn Peters at kpeters@dscpugetsound.org

Advocacy

King County Mask Requirement

and attend anyway. Shesaw herself succeed andthat was gold to hercontinuing to try.Additionally, having seenthis, I could confidentlyadvocate to school thatthey should expect her tobe able to read and showcomprehension, and Icould show them amethod that would besuccessful.Having the printedmaterial from the courseshas also been impactfulover the years by being asource of what sheshould be working onnext, and seeingexamples of how topractice those skillsthrough examplesprovided. During COVID, I got theLearning Program bindersout and reviewed thematerial; searching forwhat should precedewhat skill, so that I coulddesign my child's owncurriculum at home withauthority. Madeline is in adifferent place inacademia than where shewas when we left theprogram, and there werestill worksheets thatsupported goals she hasright now.The program can beespecially impactfulduring COVID time, tosupport parents havingmaterials, and knowinghow to begin to teachtheir kids at homethemselves. Each montha "Daily Activity Guide" isprovided. It has asummary page ofsuggested literacy andmath exercises tocomplete for the month,websites, and apps thatare relevant to supportingthose skills, and aFacebook group to join topost any questions andread how other familiesare using the materials orhow they are setting upthings that work for

gaining cooperation fortheir children. What were some ofyour favorite activitiesduring LP?Madeline was the mostinterested in readingwhen I had her physically

King County Mask Requirement

"The directive to wear face coverings while in public goes intoeffect May 18 to help slow the spread of COVID-19. KingCounty asks people to be mindful that it is not recommendedfor all community members to wear a face covering - including some people withdisabilities."

To learn more visit here.

Arc of Washington's Virtual Advocacy Days

The Arc of Washington has been holding Virtual Advocacy Days throughout themonth of July. If you haven't had a chance to attend one, below will be the link to arecorded session. The Budget Crisis Session was with Senator Christine Rolfes fromthe 23rd Legislative District and Senator Andy Billig from the 3rd Legislative Districtwho discussed proposed budget cuts.

To view the recorded session, click here.

Parent Leadership Training Institute

The Parent Leadership Training Institute is a free, 11-week college course thatteaches parents, community members and professionals working with families tounderstand systems and develop civic, advocacy and public speaking skills tobecome community leaders. Join Advocacy Committee in attending this free traininginstitute.

To learn more visit here.

DSC Friends Social Groups

Babies/Toddlers (ages 0-3) Facebook Group Kids (ages 4-7) Facebook Group Tweens (ages 8-12) Facebook GroupTeens (ages 13-19) Facebook Group Adults (ages 18 and older) Facebook Group

Moms' Night Out

Calling all DSC Moms!

Get ready for a virtual DIY Bath Salt making night! Grab a glass of wine and join the fun as you catch up with otherDSC Moms! DSC will provide the supplies and you follow along with DawnGreip for a fun MNO! Register today, and pickup supplies onThursday, August 20th at DSC in Bellevue.

More information to come on the Facebook Event page.

When: Thursday, August 20th at 7 pmWhere: ZoomRegister in advance for this meeting.

Dustin Kaufman Drum Lessons

when I had her physicallyinvolved. Given asentence in the storybook, she'd duplicateplacing given word cardsin the order of theexample, and then shewould use the picture cueand a choice of 3-wordcards to select the correctending of the sentence.(I'd cover up the last wordon the page: which wasthe novel word) Forexample:. I see the_____. She liked this activitybecause it was tactile andengaging, and she sawher success. She'd repeatsaying the beginningphrase on each page,and then there was acomponent that she got to"think" about and finishthe sentence. With apicture cue to select theword that matched it, andhaving been introduced tothe novel words alreadyin print through matchingpicture to word exercises,she could select the rightcard to finish thesentence receptively, andthen practice saying it,expressively. The activitysupported a lot of learninggoals. We used a funpointer stick that shecould use for theexercise.Other exercises she likedwere simply the matchingof cards: word to word,picture to picture, andthen, picture to word. Shealso liked the drawinglines activity of similarcontexts and I liked how itallowed her to practiceher grip and control thepen on a slippery surface.The treat of finishing thatactivity was wiping off theboard, after.

To continue readingvisit here.

Dustin Kaufman Drum Lessons

Dustin Kaufman has partnered with the DSC to providevirtual weekly lessons to DSC members.

Dustin Kaufman has over 20 years of drumming experiencewith a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree from the ManhattanSchool of Music and a Masters of Arts Degree fromColumbia University. As the drummer for St. Lucia, he'splayed Coachella, Red Rocks Amphitheater, The Tonight Show Starring JimmyFallon, Jimmy Kimmel Live and Good Morning America.

Check out this awesome video from one of the lessons!

What are you doing this summer?Tag DSC on Social Media!We want to see how our community is spending theirsummer! Tag DSC on social media and we will re-post andshare with the community!

Instagram: @dscofpugetsoundFacebook: @DownSyndromeCommunity#dscofpugetsound

DSC Needs Your Feedback!Check your email for the DSC Survey. Your feedback will helpDSC better serve our community! Please take 2-3 minutes to fill out a brief, easy questionnaire tolet us know your connection to the DSC. Your participation willhelp us provide services and programs to you, your family,friends, colleagues and neighbors.

Puget Sound Community Events:

Playhouse Northwest Virtual CampsVirtual Kids Half and Half Camp! -- 1/2 Acting and1/2 Martial Arts!

For kids and teens (ages 7+)Get the best of both worlds! Both camps have been sopopular over the years we thought, "Let's take the bestparts from each camp and combine them." Kind of likepeanut butter and chocolate: two very different tastes that complement each otherextremely well. We are very excited to do this camp online!

Dates: Monday, August 24th - Friday, August 28th

Time: 1:00- 4:00 PM Interactive via ZoomPrice: $225Scholarships are available on request.

This week-long camp includes:Basic skills for on-camera auditions, Onset etiquette and terminology, Improvisation,Taekwondo, Personal Safety, Scene Study, Intro to Meisner Technique, Nunchucks

To learn more visit here.

Stay Connected!

Don't forget to use AmazonSmile while shopping and support the DSC! ClickHERE to start shopping.

Down Syndrome Community of Puget Sound | 206-257-7191www.dscpugetsound.org | contact@dscpugetsound.org