pathways newsletters and workshops

[Guest guest]

Hi Everyone,

Attached is the September 2009 newsletter. Also attached is a flyer for two

workshops we are doing out of a series of six on writing IEPs that produce

outcomes. There is very limited space available so please reserve your seat.

We will be doing more of these throughout the year.

Best,

Melinda Jennis, President

Pathways for Exceptional Children

AS INTERNS, we have learned the

importance not only of having a

vision for each of the children we

work with, but also of seeing the

bigger picture and the significance

of each small step in the process

of preparing children with disabilities

for life and employment.The

" children teaching children " model

uses a simple philosophy that

has a tremendous impact on a

child's motivation for success.

When we began working with children

with disabilities as assistant

program directors, our vision was to

get them reading, writing, and physically

active, along with many other

things. However, the most progress

was made when we ourselves modified

our way of thinking and actions,

instead of expecting the children

with disabilities to conform to ours.

Initially, the process of inclusion

seemed complex and overwhelming,

but in a short time we both

became so comfortable working

across all of the programs that it

seemed as though we had been

with Pathways for years.What we

were told was true - once we

overcame our own fears, the stigma

in the word " disability " disappeared.

When we first started working with

Pathways, we were focused on our

own personal goals and outcomes.

Personal satisfaction kept us coming

back, but our purpose soon

transitioned from focusing on

ourselves to improving opportunities

for the children. Each

Pathways program presented

a new challenge that required

creating specific goals and

working around obstacles in

order to continue to make

steady progress. Pathways'

drive toward outcomes has

an inspiring reach, not just to children

in the programs, but to everyone

involved with the organization.

A team that is actively involved in

maximizing outcomes builds a foundation

for improvement that motivates

everyone to achieve continual

growth.The key to Pathways is in

knowing that we are part of a bigger

picture, which creates positive

energy and a feeling of excitement.

Ideas are always welcomed and

cultivated, and everyone is open to

trying new things.

One of our favorite programs is

Project Win-Win, an employment

program that helps young adults

with disabilities pursue careers and

work with peer job coaches that

have been trained to assist them.

All the adolescents in this program

showed a great deal of potential

and improvement toward gaining

greater independence and employment.

The peer job coaches also

learned a lot about employment

and work ethics and were challenged

to improve their own skills.

It was clear that as these young

adults continued to progress, doors

would open for greater opportunity.

In our case, after finishing our

internships, we both set our sights

on a possible future career with

Pathways and look forward to

returning during our college breaks.

Finally, we set three of our own

personal goals for what we would

like to attain in our career with

Pathways.The first goal is to become

President of Pathways, and no one

has encouraged us more to do this

than the current President, Melinda

Jennis. Our second goal is to

expand Pathways to a nationwide

level. Pathways has flourished

throughout the state of New Jersey,

but with our drive and motivation,

we would like to branch out to all

states.The third goal is to educate

other regions of the country on

WHY Pathways would be helpful in

their own towns, and the importance

of community. It has become

our purpose to attain these goals

and aspirations, and knowing the

power of our generation, we are

sure we can make it happen!!

Next Steps

The Monthly Publication from Pathways for Exceptional Children September

2009

Aspiring Presidents of Pathways

My name is Fagans.

I am currently a senior at Hawaii Pacific

University majoring in Psychology. I was

given a three-month summer internship

with Pathways. In the short time I have

spent with this organization, I have not only

gained a tremendous amount of experience

in developing programs, but have also seen

the programs in action and have witnessed

incredible growth in both the children

and the mentors who work with them.

My name is Berman.

I am in my senior year at St. Aquinas

College studying Therapeutic Recreation.

Before leaving for college, I was involved in

Pathways for five years as a home-based

buddy and lead mentor. This summer, I

returned to Montville Township to work as

an intern for Pathways. The amount of

improvement and growth that Pathways has

achieved in the three years I've been away

at school is nothing short of astounding.

Redefining the future for people with disabilities.

For the latest news and information about Pathways for Exceptional Children,

visit www.PathwaysKids.org

Kids Helping Kids, a Recreation and Mentoring program in Plains,

worked with ChildWorks Therapy Center to create a new program that

teaches young children how to communicate with children with social and

language delays, or perhaps are just shy. The program, titled " Friendship

Circle, " was made possible by a KIC Start Grant awarded to Plains in

November 2008 by the Lead Mentors of Pathways for Exceptional Children.

Kids Helping Kids gives mentors in grade 3 and up the opportunity to

volunteer

as big buddies to kids ages 3 and up, some with special needs. Some

things that come naturally to a typical child, such as conversation, may

take extreme effort for a child with language delays. A child with a social

disability such as autism or pervasive development disorder may find

speaking to an adult easier than speaking to another child.

We noticed at our programs that the mentors were very effective at playing

with the kids, encouraging them to participate, and making sure they

had fun. There were some great opportunities during the programs for the

mentors to make a huge impact on improving the children's language

skills by using phrases

such as " OK, it's your

turn " or " Good job! "

We wanted to kick it

up a notch by giving

them tools to encourage

the kids to talk.

Neala Schuster, MS

CCC-SLP, owner of

ChildWorks Therapy

Center, developed the

program where visual prompts were key.Telling a child to " say 'my turn' " is

not naturalized as easily as giving them visual prompts.The program used

props such as a basketball hoop with a selection of appropriate comments

visualized on the backboard, or a flip-toss ball game with visual prompts on

the hand-held flip-toss.The mentors were taught to show the appropriate

picture while modeling it. Activities ranged from board games to cooking to

obstacle courses and crafts.Throughout, the mentors used visual prompts to

encourage language. They learned to wait a bit longer than usual to allow

a little buddy to respond.We saw the mentors putting their new skills to

use in other programs that we ran, showing that they were picking up new

ideas and skills that would help the little buddies develop language.

We will build upon this program by delivering a training course, to be

developed by ChildWorks, for current mentors to learn these skills and be

able to incorporate them into our programs as well as into everyday

conversation.

To learn more about ChildWorks Therapy Center, please contact

Neala Schuster at 862-219-5678, www.ChildWorksTherapyCenter.com.

© 2009 Pathways for Exceptional Children

News from Plains:

Friendship Circle Helps Kids

Recreation Programs: Upcoming programs are posted

on our website at the beginning of each month.You can visit

www.PathwaysKids.org and click on " Children's Programs, " or the

Recreation Department's website: www.montvillenj.org, Click on

Municipal Services, then Parks & Recreation, then Forms & Flyers.

Pathways' " Dream It

Forward " Conference

November 14, 2009 from 9:00am - 3:30pm

Alfred Vail School, 125 Speedwell Ave., town

Building Inclusive Programs

that Bridge the Gap Between

School and Community

Pathways' conference is dedicated to understanding

the inclusion process, learning to build

effective programs in today's schools and communities,

and leading inclusion successfully into

the future.We offer a full day of presentations

and workshops for adults and students. Guest

speaker is Dr. Shea, Project Consultant for

KIT; Keynote presenters are the Lead Mentors of

Pathways, Dr. a Wohle, Director of New

Jersey OSEP, and Ms. Melinda Jennis, President

of Pathways. Details are on our website.

Building Inclusive

Programs that Bridge

the Gap Between

School and Community

A PATHWAYS CONFERENCE

Dream

It Forward

November 14, 2009

9:00am - 3:30pm

Alfred Vail School

125 Speedwell Ave.

town, NJ 07950

Our Dream It Forward Challenge

Every year

at Montville

Township's

Fourth of July

festivities, people

and organizations

gather

to take part

in the parade

through town.

This year, 16 mentors came together to

build a float for Pathways.They designed

it themselves with seats for everyone to

ride in the parade.The project helped to

send our message that when communities

come together, anything is possible.

Special thanks to Sue Schepis and Deb Sutton for engineering this project

and

making the event one we will remember and look forward to as a tradition!!

IEP Workshops

Introducing parts 1 and 2 of a series of IEP-related workshops that will

prepare

parents to be their own child's advocate and develop Individual Education

Plans

that are outcome-based. Pathways for Exceptional Children is working to

build

" Parent Action Centers " or " PACs, " which are small parent support

groups.These

parents will learn to construct IEPs and help each other to monitor their

childrens' progression on a consistent basis.

Conforti is an attorney specializing in the representation of

children with special needs who lives and works in West Caldwell, NJ.

She has been practicing in the area of special education for nearly a

decade, and

also has experience representing school boards and their child study teams

in special

education matters. Ms. Conforti can provide a unique perspective regarding

the

CST decision-making process, effective communication strategies and, of

course, tips

to avoid due process. Melinda Jennis is the President and Founder of

Pathways for

Exceptional Children and has 8 years of experience as an advocate for

children.

Please RSVP to Ellen Oxild: eoxild@....

© 2009 Pathways for Exceptional Children

IEP Workshops: (repeat classes)

Building Outcomes

into Your Child's IEP

Speakers: Conforti, Esq. and Melinda Jennis, President

Date: Part 1 - Monday, September 21, 2009

Part 2 - Monday, October 5, 2009

Time: 7:00pm-9:00pm

Location: Montville Township Public Library, Pio Costa Auditorium

90 Horseneck Rd., Montville, NJ 07045