Dear Friends (okay, so I sound like a presidential candidate right there) –

I hope you can make this event for CDCAN on Monday, December 15th from 4 to 7 PM.  It is in Sacramento in a building right next to the train station.  The building is so much nicer than the way that sentence sounds.  And there is a Starbucks on the first floor too right across the street from the federal courthouse.

Even if you cannot donate – or you already have (and thanks so much)  – please join us.  It will be nice to see people in a setting other than a budget hearing or a memorial service.

And the fund raiser invite mentions “drinks will be provided”.  Before one dashes over to the event just for that, one should also remember that in some parts of the world, like my office,  “drinks” can mean simply unbottled water in a pan.  I think though in this case the drinks will be pretty cool (what else does one call jugs of Ripple?). No – it will be nice.  Drop by – even for just a few minutes – and even if you bring a zip lock bag, that’s okay.  Sort of.  Just make it a small one.

Either way, I hope you can come – this is one event I didn’t organize, which means it will be nice. And I definitely don’t claim credit for the title of it either (“Merry Marty Party” – thankfully people will remember to always include the letter “P” in that last word, otherwise I will be reliving elementary school all over again).
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After years of discussion, the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) has finalized and released the guidelines that will describe the best methods of content accessibility.  This is set to be the new standard for delivering content in an accessible manner to all people both with and without disabilities.  The W3C provided the the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 1.0 a number of years ago and with the big boom of the Internet have revised their previous document to include things like accessible technologies and semantic markup which makes content easier to interpret via accessible technologies (screen readers and such).

They have provided press releases in different languages which can be found here:  W3C Web Standard Defines Accessibility for Next Generation Web

Here are some quick links to the various guideline releases:

• WCAG 2.0 at a Glance
• WCAG 2.0: Quick Checklist
• Full WCAG 2.0 Guidelines

Various organizations also support the adoption of WCAG 2.0 via testimonials, which can be found here:  Testimonials for WCAG 2.0 Recommendation

The Cove is a treatment center for those on the autism spectrum.  Using technologies such as soft LCD lighting and bubble tubes, a soothing atmosphere is used to provide a stress free learning environment.  Organizers of The Cove hope its success will lead to other state of the art facilities around the country.

“I think this will become more and more popular here in the U.S. With more and more research. What they found is at least 50 percent of individuals will be less aggressive after entering a place like this. So I think it’s something for the future,” said Bob Irvine, Executive Director of California Vocations.

The Cove’s grand opening is today from 5:00pm to 7:30pm in Paradise.  The whole story with video can be read here:  Cool New Center Hopes to Help Treat Autism

Butte, Glenn and Tehama County’s Association of Regional Centers was recognized for diverting an estimated 250,000 pounds of trash from landfills.

The organization also recycles all in-house office paper and promotes recycling among employees (who are allowed to use the recycling profits for their own activities).

Additionally, green waste from landscaping at ARC facilities is delivered to a compost facility. While the measures help the environment, Tom Leonardi, ARC’s associate director, noted they also help the organization’s finances.

Congratulations to those counties in their appreciated effort to keep an eco-friendly environment.  Read the whole Chico News and Review article here:  ARC Awarded

Jonathan Brunot recently ran the New York City Marathon, though he was caught up a few times during the race due to refusing to drink his PowerGel beverage and then paid for it in the next mile due to dehydration. He also stumbled near the finish line when he saw his mother in the bleachers and started to clap and wave.

Brunot, age 19, is on the autism spectrum and has trouble communicating. According to the article he knows about 10 words and is able to verbally communicate on a rudimentary level, but that hasn’t stopped him from running the marathon. He met his running coach (Vincent Del-Cid) about 18 months ago and at the time was an overweight teenager. In a short 18 months Del-Cid has transformed the teenager into a “rail-thin running machine.”

According to autismspeaks.org, the odds of a child becoming a professional athlete are 1 in 16,000, the odds of a child being given a diagnosis of autism 1 in 150. The odds of a severely autistic runner (Jonathan is at the most debilitating end of the spectrum) completing a marathon have not been tabulated, if Mr. Del-Cid’s research is accurate.

Read the whole New York Times article here: Autistic Teenager Runs, and Makes Strides

You’re Invited!

• When: Saturday, November 1, 2008
• Time: 4:00PM to 8:00PM
• Where: Redwood Coast Regional Center in Ukiah
  1116 Airport Park Blvd
  Ukiah, CA  95482
• What: Potluck, Dance and Costume Party

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By Maria Shriver

This has been a year filled with teachable political moments. Racism, sexism, ageism and “change” have been debated at kitchen tables and water coolers across America. But this last week, those gathered around my kitchen table have been consumed with another discussion, one that is not Democratic or Republican — it’s the “R-word” debate.

The “R-word” stands for “retard.” For the 6 million to 8 million Americans with intellectual disabilities and their families, this word and its hurtful use is equal to the impact of the “N-word” on an African American.

The reason it’s kitchen-table fodder is because of the Dreamworks film “Tropic Thunder,” which topped the box-office charts when it opened last weekend and which will attract many more moviegoers this weekend. In the R-rated film, which I’ve seen, a character named Simple Jack is a caricature of a person with a developmental disability. In one of the scenes, the character played by Robert Downey Jr. chastises Ben Stiller’s character for “going full retard,” and the “R-word” is repeated many times.

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Katherine J. Inge of the Virginia Commonwealth University has recently published a paper about supported and customized employment. The report cites a survey given to employees in community rehabilitation programs says that about 70% of the employees in these programs choose to stay. The report then asks the question “Why?”

Is it because the person is afraid of moving into community based employment programs, fear of losing friends, fear of the unknown? The report is aimed at educating those fearing moving from CRP to integrated community settings. The report also details a man named John whose passions and interests were discussed and he was placed in community employment at minimum wage rather than staying in a CRP making subminimum wage.

Choice and customized employment: A critical component

AB 851 Update From the World Institute on Disability (bill Sponsor) and Commentary From Eli Gelardin, GAPS Task Force Co-Chair

From the summary below:

“At this point, the budget mess is our state government operating by organized, orchestrated inertia. Nothing gets to improve – even when so many state advisory committees, stakeholder groups and government programs agree that we need these changes to improve employment outcomes,” stated Eli Gelardin, GAPs Co-Chair and Executive Director, Marin Center for Independent Living, reacting to the August 7 defeat of AB 851.

“People who cannot save their money are always at risk of living in poverty,” he continued. “If you can’t save the money your earned, the rainy day we all get can ruin our chances of living and thriving independently, because we have nothing in the bank to tide us over. One of the great things about AB 851 is that it fixes this problem, at least for workers. That’s a start. We need significant change in our State’s budget process very soon!“

“We are again deeply grateful to Assemblywoman Julia Brownley who has been the leader for this public policy in AB 1113 (2007), and now in AB 851. We will not go quietly into the night; we will be back …,” he added.

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The California State Council on Developmental Disabilities recently put out by a legislative update for the bills sponsored by the Council throughout the 2008 session.

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