Sand In My Shoes.....

Happy Sunday everybody!  I sure hope you had a great weekend like I did!  This morning, Mrs. Jane took us all out on the beach.  What a wonderful time I had.  While she (and some of our friends) smeared this stuff all over themselves called sunscreen, Mrs. Jane said I'd be just fine.  

It was grand laying on a towel on the beach watching the seagulls, listening to the waves crashing on the shore, and generally just relaxing after our busy weekend.  Soon it will be time to go back in the room and pack to go home.  

Here are a couple of pictures for you to enjoy.....

Thanks for checking in today.  I hope everyone has a great week ahead.  -Michael.

Convention Time....

Happy Friday everybody!  I'm still loving the beach, and now I'm at The Arc of North Carolina 2012 State Convention.  I've met all sorts of wonderful people.  Along with some friends, I've been working The Arc of Rowan's booth.  

Here are a couple of pictures of us all hard at work....

Thanks for checking in by today.  I hope Mrs. Jane takes some more pictures for me to post.  Have a great weekend. -Michael

Fun at the Coast......

Happy Thursday everybody!  I'm at the BEACH!  It's just wonderful.  I've never been to the beach before, so when Mrs. Jane invited me, I was packed and ready before she even know what had happened.

We got here yesterday, Mrs. Jane and friends, for The Arc of North Carolina State Convention.  The Convention doesn't start until Friday, but I got to come down early because Mrs. Jane had a few meetings to attend.

Here's a picture of me loving my room.....

Here's a picture of me unpacking....

And best of all here's a picture of my friends and I enjoying the cool  ocean breeze on our hotel balcony....

I am having such a LARGE time here at the beach.  Thanks for checking in today.  Mrs. Jane said she might have time to take a few more pictures and send to Mr. Rob, so check back again soon.
-Micheal.

Today is FASD Awareness Day.......

Hello everyone!   Today September 9, 2012,  is Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder awareness day.  Here is a little information I found for you.

"Every year on September 9th, International FASD Awareness Day is observed.  Proclamations are issued in countries, states, provinces, and towns all around the world.  Bells are rung at 9:09 a.m. in every time zone from New Zealand to Alaska.  People all around the world gather for events to raise awareness about the dangers of drinking during pregnancy and the plight of individuals and families who struggle with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD).  The first FASDay was celebrated on 9/9/99.  This day was chosen so that on the ninth day of the ninth month of the year, the world will remember that during the nine months of pregnancy a woman should abstain from alcohol.  Anytime is a good time to raise awareness about Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD)."

The above information comes from the FASD Awareness Website.  

Here's a great graphic from their website also.....

I even found a GREAT Fact Card from the the websites of The Arc of New Jersey and the NJ Coalition for Prevention.  

Here's a picture of me helping out Mrs. Jane at a FAS presentation at one of our local middle schools this past school year.  Mrs. Jane reports she has presentations lined up already for this coming school year!  I'll be helping out again, and I am very excited.

Thanks for checking in today!  -Micheal.

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Mr. Rob here, I want to thank the New Jersey Coalition for Prevention, The Arc of New Jersey, and FASSTAR Enterprises for the information they provided via internet, and all they do for the education and prevention of FASD.

Back to School......

Hi everyone, it's Micheal here.  It is with great sadness I'm here to report today is the LAST DAY of summer vacation.  Bright and early tomorrow morning, students all across Rowan County and surrounding counties will be heading back to school.  

For some of those students it will be their first day of school.  Now I have to tell you, there is nothing to cry about!!  (I'm talking about the mommas.)  I know none of you new kindergarteners are going to cry on your first day of school.  Right?

I hope everyone has a great first day of school, followed by a great school year.  If you are out and about in the morning early, be careful.  There will be students waiting at bus stops, students driving to, or being driven to school.  Also, those big, slow, yellow school buses will be out too!  Please,  leave a little early, and be especially careful in the morning.  

Here are a few "Back to School" images from the web for you to 
"enjoy?"......

Thanks for checking by today.  Enjoy your last day of freedom if you are a student, and check back soon.  -Michael.

Knights To The Rescue.....

Happy Friday everyone.  The Arc of Rowan had some special visitors recently.  They were Sir William Shaver, Knight Almoner and his merry band from the Knightly Order of the Fiat Lux .  

They came by the office to present Shela Sapp, The Arc of Rowan's Assistant Director with a check for $650.00 to fund two scholarships for the Summer Day Program.  This is the third year they have done this.  Everyone at The Arc of Rowan wants to send out a great big THANKS.  While I didn't get to be in the picture, I was there when it all happened.  

Here's a picture for you to enjoy....

That's it for today!   Have a great weekend everyone. -Michael

Lending a Helping Hand......

Hey there everyone, Mr. Rob here today.  Michael wanted me to pass along some pictures of the 2012 Summer Food Drive.  

Here is a report of the action from Mrs. Jane.....

The Summit Civitans and RHA teamed up for a Summer Food Drive. They have been providing food for needy families (with I/DD) at Thanksgiving and Christmas for several years.  This year they realized the need was great and pulled together a tremendous  amount of food for The Arc  of Rowan to distribute to needy families this summer.  The food donations have included many chickens to give away. Canned food and bottled water was included. Pictured is the unloading of the van full of food to The Arc of Rowan office.

Thank-you to our Community Guides for helping to distribute the food to families that could use some extra help during these hot days of summer.

Here are some pictures of our volunteers hard at work......

Once again thanks to everyone for all their help!!  -Michael

A Special Thanks......

Hey there, it's Michael here.  Hope your week is off to a good start. This is my last week of summer vacation. School starts for me next Monday. UGH!  

Mr. Rob said I should make a special post to give a great big THANKS to the three wonderful site managers who looked after everyone at this years Summer Day Camp.  

A special thanks for sure to Ms. Wanda, Ms. Carolyn, and Ms. Sandra.  You are the best site managers ever.  

Thanks for checking in today.  More Summer Day pictures to come. 

-Michael.

The Hat Lady Visits Summer Day......

Hey there, Michael here.  Here are some pictures from the day the Hat Lady visited the Landis Elementary site of Summer Day Camp.  We sure did have fun trying on all the neat hats.  The Hat Lady told us all about the hats too!  

Thanks for checking by today.  Mr. Rob says there are more pictures coming from Summer Day, so check back soon. 
-Michael.

Summer Day Camp Fun......

Hey everyone it's Michael!!  I've not been blogging for awhile, but I've been having a great summer.  Mr. Rob just got a batch of pictures, so here's a few from the Summer Day Program.  One of my Kids on the Block buddies went to hang-out with the Kids from the Camp! 

Today is the last day of Summer Day for this year.  Soon we will all be back to school.  UGH!  I want to thank everyone who made this wonderful camp possible this year.


Until next time, Michael.

April is Autism Awareness Month.....

Happy Monday everyone.  Mr. Rob here, I hope no-one had an April Fools prank played on you yesterday!! Autism is no prank, and April is Autism Awareness Month.  I asked Michael if I could post today to pass on some of the latest information about Autism or Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).  

Be sure to check out the autism NOW website for lots more information.  


Here are just a few of the newest facts:

• CDC estimates 1 in 88 children has been identified with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
• ASDs are almost 5 times more common among boys (1 in 54) than among girls (1 in 252).
• More children are being diagnosed at earlier ages—a growing number of them by age 3.
• The "Learn the Signs. Act Early." program aims to change perceptions about the importance of identifying developmental concerns early and gives parents and professionals the tools to help.

These are just a few of the new data presented in the CDC's latest report on Austim Spectrum Disorders (ASD).  Be sure to check out all the latest news at the autism NOW website.


Thanks for checking in today and Michael will be back with a post soon.  -Mr. Rob

Selling Onions.......

Hi everyone, Michael here.  I hope you have had a great week!  Mr. Rob wanted me to let everyone know he had such a busy week last week he forgot to help me with my blog post about selling onions last weekend at the Salisbury Mall.


I helped Mrs. Jane, Ms. Nadine, Mr. Wayne, Yumkin, all our friends from the Summit Civitans, and Rowan Brain Injury Support Group for Community Day at the Salisbury Mall.  Even my twin brother Mark got to join in the fun!  Thanks to everyone who bought a bag of onions to support the Summit Civitans!  Here are some pictures.  Thanks Mrs. Jane for taking them.

Thanks for checking by today!  Until next time, Michael..

ACC Basketball.....

Hey everyone, it's Michael here.  I had a great Saturday.  I went to the Community Day at Salisbury Mall with Mrs. Jane and some of her friends.  Mark my brother even got to go with us! I will tell you all about that in my next post.  I just wanted to tell you what we did after Community Day.  


Mark and I got to hang out with Mrs. Jane.  We all watched the NC State vs. UNC basketball game.  There were only two bad things about this.  First, NC State lost.  Second, Mrs. Jane MADE both of us WEAR these awful UNC shirts.  Just take a look.

That's o.k. though, we didn't have to wear them on Sunday to watch the final of the ACC Tournament, and we ALL know what happened then.   Check back soon to hear what else we did on Saturday.  -Micheal.

My brother Mark......

Hi there everyone, it's Michael here.  Today I want to introduce you to and tell you more about my twin brother Mark.  Here's a picture of us together.

As I have told you, Mark is my twin brother, except he has something called Cerebral Palsy (CP for short).  CP is a developmental disability that affects Mark's ability to control his movement.   The muscles in Mark's mouth, hands, and legs are affected.  He has to use a wheelchair to get around, and he just loves the freedom it gives him.   He calls it his "cruiser!"


In addition to muscle stiffness, the kind of Cerebral Palsy Mark has can cause muscle seizures.  That's why he wears a helmet.  During a seizure, he might fall out of his chair and hit his head.  Mark say, "I wear this helmet to protect my great brains!"


For Mark, one of the hardest parts of having cerebral palsy is talking, because the muscles in his mouth and throat are stiff.  His words come out slowly and sound slurred, and it is sometimes hard for people to understand what he is saying.  Mark is working with a speech-language pathologist, Ms. J, who helps him learn how to better control his muscles so he can swallow more easily and is able to speak more clearly.


So when I sat down to tell Mark all about the Spread the Word movement and special day (which is tomorrow 3/7/2012) he wanted to hear all about it!

Mark got really excited when I told him about the r-word day.  You see, I've heard people call Mark the r-word, either to him or behind his back.  I know how bad this makes him feel.  Sometimes students do this, sometimes people out in public.  Sometimes it's because they don't know better, but worse sometimes they do!


In fact, I asked Mark about this, and he told me how sad it makes  him feel when someone uses the r-word when talking to him or about him. He said sometimes people are just being plain mean too!


Here he is telling me all about how he feels.  You can see how excited he is!

So please, don't ever use the r-word.  Also, nicely correct anyone you may hear using it too.  Do this for not only Mark, but everyone who had a developmental disability.  It would be one of the best things you could ever do to help them.


Check back again soon.  -Michael

Spread the Word to End the Word (again)......

Happy Monday everyone, it's Michael here.  This week, is the Spread the Word to End the Word day.  March 7, 2012 to be specific.  If you haven't checked out their website yet, the please do check it out.  It is full of great stories, news, activities, downloads and bunches of other stuff.


I told you about Mrs. Jane getting an end the r-word t-shirt the other day.  Here's a picture for you.  I even got to be in the picture!

It's a great shirt, and Mrs. Jane told me she was so very proud to get one for her very own.   Here's Mr. Jay the teacher at the Adult Compensatory Education class at RCCC, showing us the back of the shirt.  Thanks, Mr. Jay for all you do!

If you remember, Mrs. Jane let me model her new t-shirt, but she didn't let me have it.  Bummer!!  Oh well that's all for today.  I'm going to post again this week, to tell you all about my brother Mark, so be looking for that.  Also, Mrs. Jane says this will be a very busy week because some people from CARF are coming to visit us.  They are going to help us with something called "Accreditation."  I know Mr. Rob has been busy helping to get ready, and Mrs. Jane has been really busy with this, so I hope all goes well.  Take care and check back soon.  -Michael. 

Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month......

Hey everyone, Micheal here.  Mr. Rob told me I should make a blog post about March being Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month.  Thanks to President Ronald Reagan, in 1987 he issued a Presidential Proclamation making it so. 

Mr. Rob said this would be a good picture to post letting everyone know about this.  He said you could find out lots more about this special month by looking at The Arc's website.

In honor of this month, and a special movement called "Spread the Word to End the Word," I am introducing my twin brother Mark.  I will be making a post in a couple of days telling all about Mark.  He is very special to me, and I am proud he is my twin brother.  Check back soon to hear all about him.  -Michael

I went to Knox Middle School......

Hi everyone, it's Michael here.  Welcome back to my blog.  On Friday I got to go with Mrs. Jane to Knox Middle School.  She was going to give presentations on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome to some of the students there.

I want to thank everyone at Knox Middle School for inviting Mrs. Jane, and thanks to Mrs. Jane for taking me.  I learned a lot about Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS for short).

Here's Coach Pauley holding me and one of the demonstration babies Mrs. Jane used for her presentation.  Coach is a great guy, and fun to hang out with, but I know he understands the importance in learning about things like FAS.

Here I am sitting in class watching Mrs. Jane.  She did three different classes today.
  

Here I am sitting with a bottle of Vodka.  Mrs. Jane uses this in the FAS presentation, not to drink!!  


Mrs. Jane told us all about FAS and it's effects on unborn children.  It is sad, because this is something that can be completely prevented.  Mr. Rob said if you wanted to know lots more about FAS or FASD (Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder) to check out the downloads page on the Arc of Rowan's website.  


Thanks for checking in today, and I'll be posting more later.  
--Michael

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(Note:  FASD (Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder) is an umbrella term describing the range of effects that can occur in an individual whose mother drank alcohol during pregnancy. These effects can include physical, behavioral, mental and/ or learning disabilities with possible lifelong implications. It is identified by abnormal facial features, central nervous system problems and slowness of growth, and occurs when pregnant women drink alcohol and pass the alcohol along to their unborn babies through the blood stream. FASD can cause physical and mental disabilities of varying levels of severity (including intellectual disability). It is often a hidden disability that is not easily recognizable, making it difficult to provide affected individuals and their families the supports they desperately need.

FASD covers other terms such as: FAS (Fetal Alcohol Syndrome), ARND (Alcohol-Related Neurodevelopmental Disorder), ARBD (Alcohol-Related Birth Defects) and FAE (Fetal Alcohol Effects). FAS is the most identifiable and serious disability under the FASD umbrella, although it only accounts for approximately 25% of all alcohol-related effects. FAE is a term often used to describe someone whose condition does not meet the full criteria for an FAS diagnosis.

The prevalence of FASD is not known. CDC (Centers for Disease Control & Prevention) studies have documented FASD prevalence rates ranging from 2 to 15 cases per 10,000 live births. Other prenatal alcohol-related conditions are believed to occur approximately 3 times as often as FASD.)

Children with FASD can have serious lifelong disabilities other than intellectual disabilities, such as learning disabilities and serious behavioral problems. The good news is FASD is not hereditary and only occurs if a woman drinks alcohol during her pregnancy. In other words, FASD is 100% preventable.

For more information or to schedule a presentation for your class, group, or organization.  Contact The Arc of Rowan's offices @ 704 637-1521 or find us on the web at www.thearcofrowan.org  


Thanks -- Mr. Rob.