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What:Research provides strong evidence that organizations with a high degree of trust among employees are far more likely to make and sustain the kinds of changes that help them reach their goals and outcomes – than those organizations where there is little or no trust among staff. This session will describe both empirical and conceptual research related to trust types. We will explore the various types of trust as they relate to social and organizational life. In addition, we will make connections between trust, trust types, relationship, communication and increased effectiveness in mediation and ADR outcomes.  About Dr. Cathy Fromme: Dr. Fromme began her journey as an educator 32 years ago, as a first grade teacher in California. She is currently the Principal of TrustWorks. Prior to establishing TrustWorks she held district, regional ESD and state department positions in Washington. While at the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction she developed Washington’s statewide Special Education Mediation System, chaired the statewide Commission on Student Learning Accommodations and Alternate Assessment committees.Cathy was also the Diversity Manager for the Washington Department of Natural Resources where she facilitated, positive/inclusive working relationships and diversity in the workplace for 1,300 DNR employees. She has consulted, written and presented extensively in the areas of trust, change management and work force diversity in schools and organizations. She received her B.S. from UCLA, M.S. from San Jose State University, and doctorate in Educational Leadership and Policy from the University of Washington. Though, her proudest achievements in life are her two grown sons. The youngest is an EMT in the US Air Force and the oldest is the owner/operator of a courier business in San Francisco.Meeting Details: To participate in this webinar you must call in and log in from your computer. Conference Number(s):  1-888-447-7153 Participant Code: 473502 To join the meeting, please click on the link below and enter as guest: http://tadnet.adobeconnect.com/cadre/When:March 14, 201212:00 pm - 1:15 pm MTContact:Marshall Peter, Director CADRE (541) 686-5060 (v) (541) 686-5063 (f) mpeter@directionservice.org www.directionservice.org/cadre

About 35 mental health advocates and providers gathered in a board room at St. Peter’s Hospital Wednesday morning in a show of unity, trying to prove to the man overseeing the distribution of a $9.5 million mental health trust that they’re all working toward common goals and are worthy of three grants totaling $565,400.

Click here to register for this webinar What: Have you ever searched online for health information and become overwhelmed by the volume of information that’s out there? We’re constantly inundated with information from a variety of sources with a great range in accuracy, reliability, and value. We’ve got a tool that can help! Attend this webinar for a hands on and interactive session exploring the Trust It or Trash It? tool. We’ll look at some websites together and leave plenty of time for discussion. When: Wednesday, May 25, 2011 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. Mountain This webinar will be limited to 25 participants and the phone lines will be open, so register now! Presenter: Amelia Chappelle – Genetics Resources and Services Specialist, Genetic Alliance Melissa March – Associate, Innovation Network Go to http://www.geneticalliance.org/webinars to register now!

I wanted to share a few of my thoughts on building trust between teachers and parents in this third and final post responding to Kanwal's question. I think I can best contribute to the discussion by highlighting what I see as the difference between parent involvement and parent engagement. Though there can be a positive result from both, I believe the most trust can be developed through engagement.

Click here to register!What:Please Join the Southwest ADA Center and the Texas Governor's Committee for People with Disabilities for another ADA Virtual Round Tables webinar.   Attorney Deborah A. Green with the Law Offices of Deborah Green, and Attorney Tom Ruffner, Court Investigator with Travis County Probate Court in Austin, Texas will discuss a range of financial and legal tools for planning for a lifetime of support. When:Monday, December 5, 2011 12:00 PM Mountain  Contact:Phone: (713) 520-0232Email: ilru@ilru.org

Register here now!What:Reaching the age of 18 can be an exciting time. It’s also a time when many questions arise around legal responsibilities for young adults with disabilities and needs for continuing support. Families and professionals need information and assistance to think through questions around who will makes certain legal decisions- including about health care- and how to support young adults to assume greater responsibility for decision making over time. Guardianship is often used as a solution, yet it is important to understand the potential benefits and drawbacks of this and other legal approaches to providing decision making assistance. From an advocacy perspective, the goal is to protect as much independence as possible while supporting safe and clear decision-making processes. This webinar will discuss the options for support including from its least to most restrictive options. Tina Campanella, Executive Director of Quality Trust for Individuals with Disabilities, will lead this discussion. Quality Trust is an independent, nonprofit organization in Washington, DC supporting children and adults with disabilities through lay and legal advocacy services.When:Wednesday, March 14, 201212:00 pm - 1:00 pm MTContact:Got Transition? NHCTCPhone: (603) 228-8811

Do you understand all the requirements, procedures and pitfalls of fiscal planning with supplemental needs trusts? This legal briefing will provide you with the specialized skills required to provide special needs beneficiaries with financial structure and stability. Offer your clients the guidance and peace of mind they so desperately need - register today!

Jessica's daughter, Isabelle, has Williams syndrome, a genetic disorder with a number of symptoms. Children with Williams are often physically small and frequently have developmental delays. But also, kids and adults with Williams love people, and they are literally pathologically trusting. They have no social fear. Researchers theorize that this is probably because of a problem in their limbic system, the part of the brain that regulates emotion. There appears to be a disregulation in one of the chemicals (oxytocin) that signals when to trust and when to distrust.

HELENA - Former Montana Supreme Court Justice John Warner, now overseeing a $9.5 million mental health trust fund, announced Monday he has assembled the seven-member committee to help decide how the state spends the money.

The OHMI Trust's objective is to remove the barriers to music-making faced by the physically disabled. There is currently no orchestral instrument that can be played without two fully functioning hands and arms, denying unlimited participation in musical life to those with congenital disabilities and amputees, as well as the millions who may have been injured, suffered a stroke or developed arthritis. The primary obstacle is the absence of suitable instruments. 

There is no shortage of experts to chase when a child shows signs of autism. But wisdom also comes from another kind of specialist — families who have walked the road before. Their advice ranges from ‘trust your gut’ to ‘be persistent.’ Here is some advice on coping in the early days after a diagnosis, edited and condensed.

We are our own biggest enemy. Our assumptions that is...and we all bring them to the table when thinking about the role of school, special education, and inclusion. Let me see if I can boil down the issue (as I see it) as succinctly as possible. Teachers, principals, therapists, district administrators, psychologists, lawyers or any other educator representing the district are extremely anxious about unrealistic expectations from parents. Parents, advocates, self-advocates, students, lawyers representing the families or any other party are extremely anxious about the school district not giving the appropriate services and/or placement for their child with disabilities. Can you see the problem? It is trust.

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Autism spectrum disorders are surrounded by a haze of misconceptions, many of which are harmful for autistic children and adults. It’s time to straighten a few things out, and to spread the word on this complex series of cognitive and intellectual disabilities with a little good old-fashioned debunking. 1. Autistic people have no empathy. This is a common belief about autism; people think that because autistics are sometimes blunt or have difficulty navigating social norms, they aren’t empathetic. In fact, just the opposite seems to be true. Rather than not feeling enough, many autistics feel very intensely, and are easily overwhelmed by the emotions of those around them. 2. Autistic people can’t communicate. Autism spectrum disorders take a variety of forms, and some people with autism are nonverbal, but that doesn’t mean they can’t communicate. Some use communication boards and other methods to communicate with the people around them, but it requires patience to establish and maintain communication with them. Historically, people with more severe forms of autism were often isolated in institutions, but more modern treatment of autism encourages the use of therapy and other techniques to interact with patients and find a communication mode they feel comfortable with. 3. Autistic people are violent. This particularly damaging assumption about autism was widely bandied around in the aftermath of the horrific Sandy Hook shooting. In fact, autistic people are no more likely to commit acts of violence than anyone else, and when they are violent, self-harm is a much more significant concern. Autism and other disabilities also put people at an increased risk of violence, which means autistics have far more to fear about the world around them. Some autistic people do act out or have what are known as “meltdowns,” usually as expressions of frustration with themselves or situations, but this doesn’t equate to violence against other people; an autistic might throw objects in frustration, for example, without any desire or intent to hit people with them. 4. Autistic people are savants. Everyone who’s seen Rainman thinks autistic people are savants, capable of extreme feats of memorization and other amazing skills. While it’s true that some savants are autistic, not everyone with an autism spectrum disorder has these capabilities; some in fact have significant learning disabilities that require accommodations in the classroom. 5. Autism is the result of “refrigerator mothers.” This awful myth about autism has been largely debunked, but it’s still worth a mention. Some people used to believe that autism was caused by bad parenting, with a specific focus on cold or isolated mothers. The result was a lot of misinformation about autism, and terrible pressure on mothers who were already learning about how to navigate the world with autistic children. In fact, autism has no clear cause. 6. Autistics can’t make friends. Along with the belief that autistic people lack empathy comes the assumption that they live isolated lives and have difficulty making friends. Just like everyone else, though, autistics are perfectly capable of establishing and maintaining not just friendships but other kinds of relationships with the people around them. Isolating autistic people in a misguided attempt to protect them can be very harmful, just as it would be for anyone else. 7. Stimming (repetitive behavior like flapping or rocking), is undesirable and should be stopped. Stimming is familiar to many people who are at least vaguely familiar with autism — sadly, it’s often used in mockeries of autistic people, by individuals who think that making flapping gestures or imitative noises is funny. For autistic people, stimming is one way to deal with chaotic environments or stress, and rather than being something that should be suppressed, it can actually be a healthy method of personal expression and sometimes communication as well. Autistics who are forced to modify or hide their stimming behaviors can develop even more stress, which can interfere with focus, completing tasks of daily living, and other activities. It’s important to be aware that the autism spectrum is vast, and that autism spectrum disorders can manifest in a huge variety of ways. Every autistic is different, and every one deserves respect and dignity. That includes not perpetuating harmful stereotypes, and correcting people who falsely repeat them.

Whether they’re looking to find practical advice on therapies, filter out misinformation, or just vent about a rough day, many parents of children with autism have found support in the Facebook community. Babble’s trusted panel has once again been tasked with narrowing down this year’s Top 30 Autism Facebook Fan Pages. This list includes pages created by advocacy organizations, autism professionals, bloggers (some of whom also appear on our Top 30 Autism Blogs), and much more. We’re confident you’ll see some of your favorites here (if not, be sure to nominate them in the comments for consideration on next year’s list!), but we also hope you’ll find new sources of information and advice. — Barbara Spindel

1. You are a hero for your kids. You are. You’re a go-the-distance, fight-the-dragon, face-the-challenges hero for your kids. Taking a beating makes that more true. Not less. 2. We all struggle. Every parent. Everywhere. We all second-guess ourselves. And we all want to quit sometimes. Hold the good times close, and when things are tough, remember “this, too, shall pass.” 3. Finding the funny may not save your soul, but it will save your sanity. Or maybe it’s the other way around. Either way, look for the humor and embrace the crazy. Laughter is a lifeline. 4. Every day, you will feel like you have mishandled something. Like you’ve been impatient. Like you’ve misjudged. Like you’ve been too harsh. Like you’ve been too lenient. You may be right. Apologize if you need to and then, whatever. Seriously. Just whatever. Let it go. 5. The crazy, the crying, the cuddles. The screaming, the sacred, the scared. The minutes, the magic, the mess. It’s all part of it. And it’s all worth it. 6. Family is the best. Even when it’s not perfect. And it’s never perfect. Ever. 7. At the end of organization, at the end of patience, at the end of perfection, we die to ourselves. And then love rises from the ashes. It sucks. And then it gets better. And then it sucks again. Still, love rises. 8. You will never regret parenting. Except for the teeny, tiny tons of times when you secretly wonder if you maybe regret it just a little. But, overall, never. And overall is what counts in the end. 9. Parenting is like climbing the big mountain. Look for the base camp. That’s where you rest, meet other climbers, take in oxygen and acclimatize. Base camp is what makes summiting possible. 10. You are not alone in this strange, vast, parenting ocean. Even in the dark of night. You are not alone. You’re not. 11. Kids know the way to magical and they’ll give you a free pass to come along. Breathe in the magic as long as you can because that same kid is going to poop his pants in just a minute. 12. There’s a very fine line between enjoying the chaos and barely surviving. Actually, there’s no line at all. It’s all mixed up together. That “fine line” thing is a lie. 13. If you pay attention, kids will teach you how to laugh loudly, how to love deeply and how to live fully. They will also ruin all your stuff. 14. Any number of kids is a lot of kids. 15. Look for joy. You’ll find it in the middle of the busy. Or under the ridiculous. Or hanging from the overwhelmed in its underpants. Joy’s like that. It’s in the middle of everything. It’s completely unpredictable. And it will surprise you when you’re not expecting it. Like vomit and diarrhea, except good. 16. You will fall apart and do it all wrong. Forgive yourself. Ask your kids to forgive you. Set an example of resilient fallibility. Set an example of practicing the art of love — both loving yourself and loving others. No one does this parenting gig right the first time. Or the last time. Or the times in between. Showing your kids how to keep going after getting it wrong is a wonderful gift to give them. 17. Kids are difficult, gross, confusing and awesome. So are you. 18. Parenting will bring you face to face with yourself. It may be terrifying. It may break you. But it will also rebuild you, and you will be stronger than you ever thought possible. 19. Balance is a myth. Parenting isn’t a tight-rope walk; it’s a dance. Strive for rhythm instead of balance, and trust yourself to move to the ever-changing beat. 20. Yes, you will have days where you wonder where the hell the capable and organized you went. Yes, you will sit on the floor of the main aisle at Target by the check-out area with a child who is thrashing, screaming and calling you names. Yes, you will have to tell your child that the dog is not a napkin and to put down the urinal cake. If you do not do all those things literally, then you will do them figuratively. And yes, you will also hold that child and rock back and forth and tell him you love him and tell him he’s safe and tell him you’re not leaving even though he will someday leave you. This is parenting. It is tragic and triumphant. Messy and magical. Sacred and spectacular. And it is, always, fiercely worthwhile.

Shodair Children’s Hospital is one step closer to building housing for families to stay in while their children are in treatment. Jack Casey, hospital administrator, announced the receipt of a $225,000 grant from the Murdock Charitable Trust to help fund the Shodair Family House.

a4cwsn is committed to helping the families and carers of children with special needs and the wider community of educators and therapists who support them, by producing videos that demonstrate how products designed to educate children and build their life skills really work from a user perspective. Our aim is that these videos, along with relevant information and advice from an independent source you can trust, provides valuable insight into whether a product is suitable for its intended purpose or not, enabling sensible buying decisions to be made.

What:A Christmas dinner and dance, fun to be had!  the cost is $6.00 for persons with developmental disabilities, the balance of their $12.00 dinner paid by the Catherine Luse Developmentally Disabled Dance Trust Fund. Music by DJ John Albright    "ABC Sound of Music" On the menu will be Chicken Fettucine, Jello salad, mixed vegetables, garlic bread, dessert, and coffee or punch. For Dance Only with no dinner the cost is $4.00, otherwise reservations are neccessary and must be made my Wednesday, November 23. Reservations must be pre-paid ($12.00 for all staff- family- and friends) and can be mailed to:                                                                                                    Beverly Owens                                                             602 18th St. West                                                             Billings, MT 59102When: Sunday, December 4, 2011Check-in: 12:15 - 1:15 PMDinner starts at 1:30 PMDance: 3:00 PM - 5:00 PMWhere:Billings Hotel & Convention Center1223 Mullowney Lane (South of Holiday Inn)Contact:Beverly Owens at 406-652-5510 for more information on how to register!