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A support group for friends and family that care for seniors Topic: LIFTT - Living Independently for Today and TomorrowPersonal Home Care and Independent Living Resources Who: Brent Morris and Linda Henry Where: Yellowstone County Council on Aging1505 Avenue D. Billings, MT When: 5:30 P.M. - 7:00 P.M. Caregivers of aged parents, spouses, relatives or friends Questions or to RSVP: Call Laura at the YCCOA - 406-259-5212

It's that time again, the National Youth Leadership Network is currently accepting applications for our Governing Board and Committees. Now is the perfect time for youth to get involved with NYLN! We have a ton of really cool projects lined up. We are focusing on more grassroots level activism, youth-led media projects, and building interdependent support systems. We are looking for young folks who want to take an active role in the organization. We especially want to prioritize youth of color leadership, so please support youth of color in applying. Governing board and committee positions are open to youth with any disability between the ages of 15 through 28. You can find a recruitment flyer and the application at http://www.nyln.org under "Apply Now!" The application is due November 10, 2010. To get in touch with NYLN, please email me at stacey@nyln.org.

Students should have ready and easy access to their resumes, career portfolios, videos of work experience, task sequencing and scheduling methods, communication, and more. Learn what handheld devices and apps are being utilized to assist students as they successfully move from school to work and community. Emphasis will be on built in features, and generic and specialized apps which promote independence, communication, productivity, and inclusion. Hear what Leaving School With 21st Century Technology projects are accomplishing and how Learning Cohorts are teaching each other and spreading the word. Marsha will share stories of how school programs and the employment agencies they interact with, are interfacing and providing seamless serve delivery, using handheld devices to leverage preferred employment outcomes, independent living, and community connection.

What:The LIFFT youth and young adult peer group (students in grades 6 up to college age) is looking forward to beginning a new year having fun and working on developing the self-confidence and skills necessary to live happy, healthy, productive, and independent lives.This youth and young adult peer group is currently scheduled to meet on the fourth Thursday of each month during the winter and spring. Each meeting will include one hour of discussion on a topic relating to growing up with a disability and an hour of social/recreational activities.When:All sessions 2:00 to 4:00 pmFebruary 23, 2012March 22, 2012April 26, 2012May 24, 2012Where:Billings LIFFT Office3333 2nd Ave NorthContact:Brent Morris, Jed Barton, Jennifer NancePhone: (406) 259-5181

Click here for more information! What:Join the holiday celebrations for fun, food, and hourly drawings! When:Friday, December 9, 201111:00 AM - 3:00 PMWhere:3333 2nd Ave. North Suite 100Billings, MTContact:Phone: 406-259-5181

The Foundations Project is asking parents of young children with disabilities about how they think about their children’s learning skills to help them become more independent in the future and able to speak for themselves as they grow older. We believe that young children who know how to calm themselves (called self-regulation), make and express their choices, and engage in activities with necessary help, are laying the foundations for later self-determination. Most young children develop these skills naturally as they grow. But sometimes children with disabilities need adults in their lives to help nourish those skills. It makes sense that children can learn these skills more rapidly when all the adults in their lives – parents and teachers – are working together. Please complete the survey that follows about your child’s strengths and challenges in self-regulation, choice-making, and engagement. We also ask you to share ideas and strategies that you use to encourage your child. Also, we want to hear your opinion about what it takes to make a successful partnership between home and school so that you and your child’s teacher can work together on these issues.

My name is Wilbur Hawke and I am a father of a son with a disability that is now grown, living independently, and a father himself. I have spent the last twenty years teaching other parents how to access the education system. I have also functioned in the capacity of parent liaison for our school district the last fourteen years. This gives me somewhat of a unique perspective from both sides of the table. Although those who know me would certainly agree that I am opinionated, this is my first attempt at blogging. I hope to share with you things that are useful and practically applicable based on my own personal experience. I believe that parents and professionals working together provide the best outcomes for children and informed parents make the best choices for their families.   You are not the first or the last. The best thing to do is to learn from those who have gone before you, duplicating the successes and avoiding the mistakes.  My hope by writing this blog is that you would avoid the mistakes I made and perhaps gain a resource or two that will help you achieve success. Thank you for taking the time to read, Wilbur Hawke

My son Leo's life was transformed when a five-dollar raffle ticket turned into a brand-new iPad. I'm not exaggerating. Before the iPad, Leo's autism made him dependent on others for entertainment, play, learning, and communication. With the iPad, Leo electrifies the air around him with independence and daily new skills. People who know Leo are amazed when they see this new boy rocking that iPad. I'm impressed, too, especially when our aggressively food-obsessed boy chooses to play with his iPad rather than eat. I don't usually dabble in miracle-speak, but I may erect a tiny altar to Steve Jobs in the corner of our living room.

Living Independently for Today and Tomorrow (LIFTT) is inviting you to join LIFTT in celebrating the 20th anniversary of the passage and signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act.The Billings ADA celebration with be held in conjunction with the Koncert for Kids at Dehler Park on August 10. Gates open at 6 pm, with the concert beginning at 7 pm.Admission to the concert is free, and a variety of food and drink concessions will be available at family-friendly prices.In addition to the concert, several group with have information and activity booths set up along the stadium concourse. For questions, contact Ian Elliot at 406-656-2744 or at ellitotian@hotmail.com

A fully accessible college dorm opening this week is believed to be the most user-friendly in the country for students with physical disabilities, offering the tools to transition to independence. Dorm rooms at the new facility at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign come complete with lifts for residents to get in and out of bed and use the bathroom, not to mention a pager system to call for assistance any time. Light switches and thermostats are reachable from a wheelchair and roll-in showers make life a little easier with built-in seats. But what’s truly innovative, university officials say, is that rooms for 17 students with disabilities are on the first floor of a dorm that will house hundreds of other students. Traditionally, students with disabilities lived separately from their typically developing peers.

The Department of Education is funneling millions into post-secondary programs for students with intellectual disabilities at 27 colleges and universities. The grants totaling $10.9 million will help bolster programs designed to incorporate those with special needs on college campuses through a focus on academics as well as job skills, socialization and independent living.

On Dec. 1, the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR ), within the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services,  announced the details of a $4 million grant program supporting field initiated research and development projects to support the full inclusion and integration of individuals with disabilities in society, employment, independent living, family support, and economic and social self-sufficiency.

Farming is not only a way of living, but it is many peoples' passion. When individuals who have had an amputation wish to return to work on the farm, there are a variety of adaptations that can be made to assist in their return to work. It is important to return famers to their desired functional level so they can reach their goals of independence. It is also imperative to consider their safety and to protect them from getting injured. Use of electronics and technology, such as centralized controls, hydraulics, monitoring systems, and computerization, on modern farms is making it easier to apply assistive technology to help those that have been faced with an amputation.[1]

We are having a Sponsor a Wheelchair, Sponsor a Child campaign.  For March 2010, Eleanore’s Project has 181 requests for wheelchairs in Peru. We would like to fulfill all of them...and we can’t do it alone. We are asking supporters of Eleanore's Project to help us by sponsoring a wheelchair. A $300 wheelchair sponsorship can do a lot! You will receive a photo of the child and wheelchair you sponsored. A team of professional therapists will customize each wheelchair to fit each child and provide training to families. A child will be able to leave home; sit at a table with family and friends; live with greater independence; enjoy better health, respect and dignity; and even go to school.