[RP TownTalk] Local Parent Group for Special Needs (Autistic) Children

[Sarah Wayland]

I am not a member of the Hyattsville Nurturing Moms Network, or the
UPplaygroup listserv, but I wanted to get the word out to as many people as
possible with answers to this question. Please feel free to forward to
those groups if you think the information in here will be helpful.

Getting a diagnosis like this is a very difficult time when parents feel so
alone. My heart goes out to this family. (BTDT.)

A few resources to get them started:

(1) The *One World Center for Autism* (http://www.worldforautism.org/) - "*Our
mission is to link those living with autism to their world in an all
embracing manner through family support, individual support and community
outreach in Prince George’s County. Our vision is to create a world of
genuine acceptance where individuals and families living with autism
realize their greatest sense of wellbeing and achieve their highest
potential in their community.*" I can't say enough good things about this
wonderful group.

(2) The *Children's Developmental Clinic run by Prince George's Community
College* (
http://www.pgcc.edu/Programs_and_Courses/Noncredit/Continuing_Education_Program_Detail.aspx?id=6442462740)
- "*The Children's Developmental Clinic is for children birth through
twelve years of age who are experiencing a delay or disability in the
following: gross and fine motor development, receptive and expressive
language, reading development and social skills. The Children's
Developmental Clinic provides services for children in the areas of motor,
language, reading and social skills, and a concurrent parent support and
education group. A nine week session is available during the fall and
spring semesters at  Prince George's Community College (PGCC) and the
University of Maryland." *Most of what I learned about how to navigate
services in Prince George's County I learned from this wonderful group.
You can sign up for the listserv to get support from your fellow parents,
and announcements about activities of interest here:
https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/UMCDC/info

(3) xMinds - *Extraordinary Minds* (http://xminds.org/) - "*Founded by
parents in 2009, Partnership for Extraordinary Minds (xMinds) is unique
among organizations serving individuals with autism by focusing solely on
improving the educational experiences and outcomes of students on the
spectrum. Given appropriate support that addresses their unique strengths
and social, emotional, and cognitive needs, students on the autism spectrum
can learn the academic and adaptive skills necessary to pursue higher
education and/or meaningful work. xMinds endeavors to create synergy among
parents, educators, professionals, and policy makers that can lead to
life-changing benefits for these students.*" A group whose core mission is
to serve families in Montgomery County, but they have so many good parent
education programs, I find myself going to a lot of their meetings.

(4) The *Special Education Citizens' Advisory Committee of Prince George's
County* (SECAC-PG - http://secacpg.org/about.html) - "*The SECAC's purpose
is to enable the community to participate in the educational process, to
make those involved in the education of those children more knowledgeable
about and responsive to the unique and multifaceted needs of students with
disabilities, to ensure that parents are actively and meaningfully involved
in the educational process, and (most importantly) to advise the Board of
Education, Superintendent, Director of Special Education, and the community
at large of the unmet needs of students with disabilities.*" I am Vice
Chair of this group and have been involved with it since 2007. They meet
the 4th Tuesday of every month at The Arc of Prince George's County at 6:30
pm. You can sign up for the listserv to get announcements about upcoming
meetings and other activities of interest here:
https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/SECACPG/info

(5) RDI (aka Relationship Development Intervention) - This is offered by
PGCPS for free to families living in our county. You can learn more about
RDI on my website (http://guidingexceptionalparents.com/RDI.html - I offer
it for a fee to people in other counties, and to families in our county who
don't want to wait for new groups to start up). To get on the waitlist for
the next group, contact Betty Adkins at badkins at pgcps.org. This program was
an absolute life saver for my family. It's why I decided to get certified
to be an RDI consultant.

(6) Me! (Guiding Exceptional Parents - www.guidingexceptionalparents.com) -
I teach two parenting classes to families here in Prince George's County.
My favorite thing about these classes is watching families support each
other, forming friendships and a safe place to talk to other parents who
understand their world. I teach two classes: (1) Foundations in Parentingn
(for parents with challenging kids), and (2) First Put on Your Own Oxygen
Mask. You can learn more about my parent education programs here:
http://guidingexceptionalparents.com/Presentations.html. If you click on
the "Subscribe" button on the left side of the page, you will get
announcements about upcoming trainings.

There are many families out there at various stages in the journey - and
they really want to help new families. We all remember what it was like in
the early phases, and would love to help other families feel less alone.

-Sarah Wayland
 RDI Consultant
 Special Needs Care Navigator


Sarah Wayland, Ph.D. | www.GuidingExceptionalParents.com
<http://www.guidingexceptionalparents.com/>
Supporting students with learning differences & their families

*Raising a Challenging Child?*

*First Put On Your Own Oxygen Mask
<http://guidingexceptionalparents.com/Presentations.html#OxygenMask>:
**Wednesdays
starting January 11th in Silver Spring, MD*

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Marsha D. <ehmteadee at gmail.com>
Date: Sun, Oct 23, 2016 at 7:42 AM
Subject: [RP TownTalk] Local Parent Group for Special Needs (Autistic)
Children
To: UPplaygroup at yahoogroups.com, "HNMoms at yahoogroups.com" <
HNMoms at yahoogroups.com>, towntalk at riverdale-park.org, "
HOPE_in_Hyattsville at yahoogroups.com" <HOPE_in_Hyattsville at yahoogroups.com>
Cc: lilreid_69 at yahoo.com


I have friends/neighbors whose son was recently diagnosed with autism.
They aren't on any of the local listserves so I am reaching out on their
behalf to find out whether there are any local parents or parent groups of
children with autism.  If you know of any, please let me know so that I can
pass along the information.

Thanks,
Marsha
(45th Street)
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