Forums, Illinois Life Span, The Arc of Illinois membership. Re: for children with disabilities

[Guest guest]

Thanks for posing the question about online groups just for families with

children with disabilities.  And

Laurie,

Thanks for thinking of us at The Arc of Illinois (www.TheArcofIL.org) and the

Forum groups in the Members Only section. 

Yes, it is true that access to the Forum groups on The Arc site is for members

only.  However, hmm, can you ladies keep a secret?   Are you sure?  I wouldn't

want this getting out there in cyberspace!  Anyone, can access the Forum section

without being a member of The Arc of Illinois (i.e. For Free) by visiting

www.IllinoisLifeSpan.org!  All that is required is that people who use the

interactive features of the Illinois Life Span site register on the site. 

Registration is FREE, but it was a necessary step in developing our website's

interactive features to prevent robots from spamming our Forum Groups,

Classified Ads, Surveys and other links to request assistance.  We employ a

different strategy for requests to post events on our Event Calendar which is

open to all disability related events in Illinois and bordering states as well

as national conferences, etc.  

Registration on www.IllinoisLifeSpan.org also provides an opportunity for people

to indicate what they are seeking and allows us to assist them in finding

resources online.  We have not really advertised these interactive features

recently because we have been working on expanding our resources with DSCC

(Division of Specialized Care for Children), The Autism Program, Brain Injury

Association of Illinois and The American Academy of Pediatrics. 

Dr. Onufer from DSCC approached us with the idea that we should expand our

taxonomy (our category structure) to include more medical resources for people

across the State.  Rather than recreating the wheel, he asked us to collaborate

with the American Academy of Pediatrics who were working with people from

several states including Utah, Ohio and many others to share information on how

to best present data to end users who seek information on local resources.  So

we wrestled with different category structures from 211's in other states.  Oh,

211, is the brainchild of the United Way of America where each state will

maintain call centers as a single point of entry for all social services and

connect people to the appropriate resources.  It's like dialing 311 in Chicago

to report gang graffitti, a pothole in the street or a streelight out.  It has

been called " 411 " for social services.  It it not yet here in Illinois but we

hope that Illinois Life Span

will be a part of it when it does become a reality in Illinois.  We won't be a

call center, but rather an end port for people to be referred to who have

disability questions or seek resources. 

After enhancing our taxonomy to include other categories sought by DSCC, TAP and

BIA, we needed to create an administrative interface where staff from these

agencies could post data on resources they use locally with families they

serve.  Illinois Life Span staff then verifies the information posted in the

interface and tags the listing to the appropriate category and counties.  Once

the resource listing is completed, it is then activated for end users to view

when conducting searches.  We hope these enhancements will help families find

local resources.  Also, having these resources online means that these agencies

can find information online for their own referrals instead of using the old

rolodex or old lists on bulletin boards.  Illinois Life Span staff can keep the

information updated.  TAP has already entered all of their data

on www.IllinoisLifeSpan.org.  DSCC was in the process of moving when our

interface became available, so they will

begin to load data on our site when they settle in.  The BIA will be loading up

information soon too.  Our next incarnation might be to expand to include the

resources families are seeking to meet the needs of their children in the

Children/Adult Home Based Support Services Waivers.  We built in the ability to

add new categories to include this information in the future.  

Back to the Forums...  Here is a list of the Forum categories currently

available on both www.TheArcofIL.org and www.IllinoisLifeSpan.org:  

Home > Registered Users Only > Forums

Forums

________________________________

Announcements - General/Unspecified Information

Autism - Information about Autism Spectrum Disorders

Children's Waiver Questions & Answers - Ask your questions here. Check back for

answers.

Also check www.FamilySupportNetwork.org for their FAQ from all of the Dreaming

New Dreams Seminars they have done.  Chances are your questions may be addressed

there!  

Employment - Discussions about employment resources for people with

developmental disabilities

Epilepsy & Seizure Disorder Assistance - Ways to help people with Epilepsy and

Seizure Disorder

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder - Discussion on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder

& Resources

Financial Plan for Choice - Financial planning forum. How to make the most of

government benefits, family and other resources to maximize opportunities.

Home Options - Program to own your own home in Chicago

Illinois Life Span/Family to Family Staff Forum - Information from Illinois Life

Span/Family to Family Staff

Mentoring - Programs for Mentoring. Questions and Answers!

Mutually Supportive Living Arrangements - Discussions about people with

different disabilities making it work together in a mutually supportive way.

Personal Attendants - Discussions about PA selection, training and recruitment.

Pre-Mature Babies & Micro Premature Babies - This forum addresses issues

concerning pre-mature babies

Residential Care - Topic include: How to find residential care, types of

residential care, how benefits are applied, and questions to ask providers in

your search for residential care.

Respite - Issues about Respite

Self-Advocacy - Self-Advocacy issues.

Sibling Support Forum - Online Group to Share Sibling Stories and Support Ideas

Special Diets/Feeding & Nutrition Issues - Discussion regarding special diets

and feeding and nutrition issues.

Special Education Issues - Discuss your Special Education Questions here.

Stress Management - Tips & Techniques - Share your successful stress management

strategies here.

Support Groups - Discussions about ongoing support groups throughout the State.

Training Opportunities - Information on upcoming trainings, workshops and

related events.

Transition Services - Discussion about making transition plans from high school

to the adult service system for people with developmental disabilities

Transportation Board (Ride Board) - Get rides and give rides exchange

Some of these categories contain more Forum posts than others, but you might

want to start posting questions here and seeing some of the answers people come

up with.  If you do not see a category that you would like us to create, just

ask.  We are happy to expand the Forums section to include groups in which

people have an interest.  

Back to The Arc of Illinois Membership.   I apologize if this shameless plug

violates the rules of the group.  I haven't read the rules in a long time.  I

think the awareness of the benefits of membership in The Arc of Illinois as well

as other statewide associations will be helpful to the IPADD readership.   I do

want to encourage people to become a member of The Arc of Illinois because the

cost is so minimal and the benefits far outweigh the $25 per year for individual

members.  As stated before, one benefit is the interactive features

on www.TheArcofIL.org including:

Jobs  - Agencies post jobs here. 

MEMBERS ONLY

Resumes  - People post their resume's here.

MEMBERS ONLY

Videos  -  We have some videos that we need to post in this section.  

MEMBERS ONLY

Chat - We thought this was a good idea at the time, but use it rarely. 

MEMBERS ONLY

Forums  - See the categories above. 

MEMBERS ONLY  

We actually included the Forums from the www.IllinoisLifeSpan.org here to make

it convenient for member users of The Arc site to browse and it is a Members

Only category to prevent spamming.  People who are members or registered users

on the IllinoisLifeSpan site have helped to keep this site " Family Friendly " . 

People are less willing to flame others when thier identity is known to the

hosting site.  And it works.  IPADD has registration and rules too! 

Other benefits to membership in The Arc of Illinois include: 

* Constant updates from our Executive Director, Tony auski on the

developmental disability goings on in Springfield, the State of Illinois in

general, other states and what's up on the national scene.  

* Reduced member rates for all Arc of Illinois Events.  You can even register

online. 

Here's our webpage that informs you of member benefits. 

Why Should I belong to The Arc of Illinois?

So your voice is heard.

The Arc of Illinois advocates for funding and legislation to benefit people with

disabilities.

So you are not alone.

When you belong to The Arc, you receive support from other families and learn

from the experiences of others.

So you can find support and services.

Use the website at www.illinoislifespan.org to find useful information on

anything related to developmental disabilities.

So you can make a difference.

You belong to an organization committed to progressive legislation to protect

rights and improve services for people with disabilities.

So you can learn & network.

Members receive a 10% discount on all Arc of Illinois trainings, seminars and

conferences.

So you can receive benefits from the Arc U.S.

When you become a member of The Arc of Illinois, you are a member of The Arc of

the United States and will have access to discounts on disability related

products and services.

So, membership is a good thing.  In fact if you attend a training or two which

most of do anyway, you've already saved your $25 membership fee in the 10%

discount on the registration fee.  So don't delay!  Join Today!!! 

group for children with disabilities

Is there a group, like the IPADD group, that is just for Illinois

families of children with disabilities? It would be nice for families

with younger children to network and share ideas and help with

educational situations. God knows there are thousands of families that

could benefit. Thanks! chris