We Connect Now Created by: Gabriela McCall Delgado She created We Connect Now while a freshman in college in 2008. She has a learning disability and is a recent graduate from LSU with a BA in Philosophy.

We Connect Now

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“WE CONNECT NOW” WAS CREATED IN  2008

ABOUT US:
Our Mission – We Connect Now is dedicated to uniting people interested in rights and issues affecting people with disabilities, with particular emphasis on college students and access to higher education and employment issues.
One of the goals of this site is to help college students with disabilities to succeed in their studies by getting the information and support they need, both through resources, links, blogs latest news, studying existing laws and regulation and through personal contacts. Through this website people can also share and read other people’s stories as a source of support and comfort. We also want people using our webpage to take action by writing blogs, hosting an event or becoming involved in politics by knowing about upcoming legislation.  Also, every month our webpage will focus on a particular disability or condition to bring our visitors more information and support related to our focus of the month. Through our jobssection, we also hope to help empower people with disabilities find employment through job posting and job searching tips, and  if people have any questions we encourage them to contact us. The goal of this site is that people leave it having gained knowledge, a support system and having taken action. We were founded in 2008 as a blueprint project for Young People For.

THANKS TO ALL OUR FOLLOWERS!  
IN THE MONTH OF MAY 2012, WE REACHED 100,000 VISITS TO THE WE CONNECT NOW WEBSITE.
 “We Connect Now” has been used as a resource by people in the United States and 77 other countries. Thanks to our visitors from Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Benin, Bolivia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic,  Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Faroe Islands, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Lebanon, Malaysia, Maldives, Malta, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Republic of Korea, Romania, Russian Federation, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Venezuela and Vietnam.
WE CONNECT NOW – CONNECTING THE WORLD


Si quiere leer esta página en español oprime aquí. http://weconnectnow.wordpress.com/posts/we-connect-now/nos-conectamos-ahora/

CONTACT US

This web site was made possible by YP4.   http://www.youngpeoplefor.org/

Created by: Gabriela McCall Delgado

She created We Connect Now while a freshman in college in 2008. She has a learning disability and is a recent graduate from LSU with a BA in Philosophy.

Thanks to:

Maria Vinas for all of her technical assistance in the creation of this website.

Rotary District 7000, the Rotary Club of Everett, Washington and the Rotary Club of Cuidad del Turabo for their generous financial support of We Connect Now.

If you have any ideas on how to make this site better, have any questions or just want to share any concerns please contact us at: weconnectnow2008@gmail.com

You can “like” us on Facebook or add us to your favorites there at http://www.facebook.com/pages/We-Connect-Now-National/136925609714725?sk=wall
You can now follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/#!/WeConnectNow

All images and art contained on this website are believed to be within the public domain or is an image or artwork for which a license has been purchased or is an image or artwork whose use on this website is permitted or has been authorized. If you have reason to believe that any such image or artwork is not in the public domain or is not the subject of a proper license or is being used in an unauthorized manner or a way not permitted, then please let us know.

Help for teenagers to make Their Own Choices

Adolescents with Autism Tool, tips and total care for the ASD young person! Teenagers must learn to make their own choices. Do they have the tools? Giving choices will teach teens about decision making and accepting the consequences of their choices both good and bad, as well as help them realize they will eventually have more control over thier lives. This library of information will help guide them on their way to making A LIFETIME of good choices! S.T.A.R.S by: Susan M. Heighway, Susan Kidd Webster 189 pages Educate young adults and build their self-esteem so they can make informed choices! Specially designed for teaching adolescents and adults with developmental disabilities, the STARS model focuses on four areas: Understanding Relationships, Social Skills Training, Sexual Awareness, and Assertiveness—with the goals of promoting positive sexuality and preventing sexual abuse. Assessment tools help identify the strengths and needs of each individual, and then the activities can be catered to address specific needs. Goals and activities cover a variety of important skills: Building a Positive Self-Image Making Choices Learning Relationship-Appropriate Behaviors Engaging in Mature Relationships Identifying Body Parts and Understanding Their Functions Understanding Public and Private Behavior Understanding Sexual Feelings and Behaviors Understanding Reproduction Health Issues Related to Sexual Awareness Recognizing a Situation as Potentially Unsafe Learning to Say "No" and Using Basic Self-Protection ... And many more! Autism - Asperger's and Sexuality: Puberty and Beyond by Jerry Newport, Mary Newport 230 pages Many people on the spectrum never get "the talk" from their parents, and suffer from "information deficit." This book goes a long way toward filling in the gaps in their knowledge. It takes a candid look at aspects of sex and relationships as they apply to people on the autism spectrum: building self-confidence, dating, personal grooming and cleanliness and, yes—explicit advice on how to initiate sex with a partner. Also covered: avoiding pregnancy and STD’s, dealing with rejection, how to build a loving relationship that includes sexual intimacy. This is an "Everything You Ever Wanted to Know" kind of book! About the Authors: Jerry Newport was diagnosed with Asperger’s when he was 47 years old. Now a popular international speaker, he is one of the foremost advocates on adult issues that impact people with autism / Asperger’s Syndrome. Jerry’s fascinating, touching, and often humor ous perspective on living on the spectrum makes his books and presentations intriguing and informative. His story was even featured on 60 Minutes. Jerry has a BA in Mathematics from the University of Michigan, and was a financial assistant for the UCLA Department of Medicine. He has been active in the Autism Society of America and is responsible for starting and running Adult Group United and Autistic (AGUA), a support group for adults diagnosed with autism / Asperger’s / PDD. Mary Newport feels both challenged and blessed by Asperger’s Syndrome. Her enthusiasm for life and head-on approach to challenges have enabled her to achieve success as an actress, composer, concert piano technician, gemologist, cosmetologist, and writer. Jerry and Mary live in Flagstaff, Arizona, and they hope their book will enrich your life, or the life of someone you love. Two books that will equip teens with the tools they need to make strong choices and forge healthy paths to adulthood! Book #1 - S.T.A.R.S Book #2 - Autism / Asperger's and Sexuality: Puberty and Beyond for just $49.00 $39.85 click here to get yours now! Exceptional Resources - 1425 Broadway - Seattle WA 98122

2012AgencyNight.

Thursday, May 3, 2012
6:30-8:30 pm
Norristown Area
Senior High School Cafeteria
1900 Eagle Drive, Norristown, PA 19403
Speaker Beginning at 6:30
Michael Fiore~The Sierra Group
Reaching your boiling point: How
adaptive tools can power the
college experience.
Check out how tools such as the iPad, Kindle Fire,
GoToMeeting, Livescribe Pen, DropBox, YouTube,
and iGoogle are transforming the way students
with adaptive needs access the lessons and
supports that they need while at college. See
practical examples with real-life academic
scenarios in this high energy technology and
assistive technology overview.
Following the speaker
The Resource Fair will be open!
Representatives from the following areas
will be available to provide information
and to answer your questions.
Advocacy Groups
Community Resources
Postsecondary Education
Recreation and Leisure
Employment/Day Programming
For more information or to register: Jacki Lyster,
MCIU Training and Consulting 610-755-9393
jlyster@mciu.org
Transition
to
Adult Life
Agency
Information
Night
For families and students with special
needs

Education Week: Learning With Asperger's: A Parent's Perspective

Education Week: Learning With Asperger's: A Parent's Perspective

Imagine a world that goes something like this: To succeed according to societal norms of success, you must learn to do some things that are impossible. Yes, that's right, I said impossible. And yet, somehow, you attempt the challenge because, after all, it's the only way to succeed according to societal norms. And we all know how important success is.
To earn an A in English class, you must verbally deconstruct the symbolism in Robert Frost's poem "Mending Wall" while your house is on fire and collapsing around your ears. C'mon, ignore the flames and the ceiling caving in and speak up! I can't he-e-a-a-r you! Did I mention that everyone else around you is safe and sound, curled up in blankies with hot cocoa, and never a thought of a burning house? They're doing fine, so get with the program.
To earn a B in math class, you must explain in writing precisely how you came by all of your correct answers—Show your work!—while plunging off a 100-foot cliff without a parachute. C'mon, don't let a little breeze past your ears distract you from the larger purpose here. Oh yes, and everyone else around you? They are sitting safely on porch swings, dangling their legs happily as you fall.

—iStockphoto.com/Bodhi Hill

To earn a decent grade in science class, you must participate with others in a lab (and confront the Bunsen burner glaring at you), and must write the lab partners' names in full on the report, while you're struggling up the face of Mount Everest, breath heavy, legs burning, toes succumbing to frostbite. And all of your classmates? You guessed it—they're lounging in a hot tub in the Caribbean.
Are you in a wheelchair? To graduate from high school, we expect you to climb the front steps on your own two feet ... 20 times. Without falling. And don't come whining to us about needing a ramp or a railing! If we did that for you, we'd have to do it for everyone, and you can see how unreasonable that would be. Pleeaasse. Enough of the excuses already.
Are you blind? You must take a visual arts class and be able to capture on paper perspective, color, shading, shape, and emotional depth. You will do so first in pen and ink, then in watercolor, and finally through photography and film. No, of course we won't allow you to create three-dimensional models or find an alternative approach to the assignment!
OK, stop. Is your stomach in knots yet? Do you feel as if you've landed in a dystopian universe where basic human needs and common-sense decency are no longer standards to live by?

"What I know ... is that inside my son, there's a fire raging every time he's asked to do something on this alien planet called school."

Guess what? This scenario is precisely what we ask our students with Asperger's syndrome (commonly referred to as a type of high-functioning autism) to do every single day of their lives in K-12 schools across the country. Hey, it's a social world out there, and you'd better learn to play the game by the same rules as everyone else. Right?
I have watched my brilliant 16-year-old son write entire hard-rock albums to capture nuances of character and theme in a complex Shakespearean work, yet earn barely a B on an oral presentation about Edgar Allan Poe.
I have seen him get perfect answers in math, only to lose many points for not "showing" the work adequately. (In elementary school, the start of the math troubles, he was sent back from the math enrichment classroom because he kept showing up without a pencil.) I have seen him freak out over tests based exclusively on corrected homework—that somehow didn't manage to stay with his notebook, thereby earning him that toxic zero. Never mind the points lost for the disastrous notebook itself. (And this for a kid who was solving square roots in his head at the age of 5. Nowadays? "I can't do math," he tells me. What I tell him is that he's perfectly capable of doing "math"—he just doesn't "do school" as well.)
I have watched my son get a D on a science lab because he couldn't express enough details, had too many crossed-out errors in his lab report, and didn't list the full names of his lab partners.
And on and on and on. And on. The moments make me cry. But they make my son despair, disengage, melt down, care too much, or stop caring entirely. And I think, this is what we do to children? To brilliant, kind, compassionate, gentle children? All in the name of success?

See Also

See related Commentary:
I Am a Twice-Exceptional Student

What I know—because parents know, trust me—is that inside my son, there's a fire raging every time he's asked to do something on this alien planet called school, that he's falling off cliffs and climbing mountains every single moment of every single day of his educational programming. Not to mix too many metaphors, but sometimes all of this is happening inside him all at once. And it freaks him out. It. Freaks. Him. Out. But guess what—he's learned to try to hide his freakouts because they just freak out everyone else. So he has learned to react as "normally" as he can, given the circumstances.
Remarkably, and precisely how I can't begin to know, he has learned in his 10-plus years of schooling that he is supposed to ignore the flames, simply face up to the falling, keep on climbing even with no breath or energy to do so—if he is to succeed like everyone else around him. And he's smart enough to know that no one else seems to have these fires raging and free-falls happening, and he can't explain what this feels like. He can only take yet another low mark for "group participation," "eye contact," "presentation," "neatness," "organization," and try not to fall apart at the seams. (And space is too limited to begin to address the traumas of lunchroom, recess, pep rallies, substitute teachers, bells, fire drills, field trips, and bus rides.)
We have asked our "Aspies" to try to "figure out" the way school functions for too long. What would it take for the rest of us to try to "figure out" the way kids with Asperger's function? What would it take to put a few ramps and railings in place, to find alternative assessments, to speak gently to these gentle souls and ask them what the world feels like to them? It's not that difficult, honestly. And the gifts we uncover might astound us.

Anita S. Charles is the director of teacher education and a lecturer at Bates College, in Lewiston, Maine, where she teaches courses in literacy, teacher preparation, and special education. She was a high school English teacher for many years. She lives in Auburn, Maine, with her husband and five children, and can be reached at acharles@bates.edu.

Author's note: The scenarios described in this Commentary are representative of real experiences, but are not intended to portray specific teachers or classrooms. And, the good news is that many teachers can and do work hard to make school a safer place. These teachers often uncover gifts in themselves as well, and for that I am grateful.

Vol. 31, Issue 26, Pages 26-28

Related Stories

Next Steps into Adolescence

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Next Steps into Adolescence A Workshop for Parents, Caretakers, and Professionals Supporting Children with an Autism Spectrum Disorder who are Approaching Adolescence Where: 3535 Market Street 16th Floor Room B Philadelphia, PA 19104 Driving Directions When: Thursday April 5, 2012 from 8:30 AM to 3:00 PM EDT Add to my calendar   As children approach and enter the teen years, they must deal with physical growth spurts, mindboggling hormone releases, and ever-changing and challenging social relationships.  Children begin to care about being "cool," and classmates may no longer be as tolerant. For pre-adolescent children with ASD, these already complicated physical and social changes are compounded by the typical ASD-difficulties of reading social cues and understanding the behaviors of others. Consequently, children with ASD approaching adolescence have greater transition needs than most typically developing pre-teens.  By the end of elementary school, parents begin to look toward the future. They begin to think about what their children will be when they "grow-up" and worry if their children will ever "catch-up" academically and socially. Other concerns arise from the facts we know - preadolescence is a time children can develop seizures, have greater trouble sleeping, and are faced with greater academic demands at school.  All in all, the transition into adolescence is a difficult one and a time when many families realize ASD is a life-long disability, that will require a life-time plan.  Presenters will include experts in the field of autism, including psychology, behavior, medicine, and social work You will participate in a panel with family members of adolescent children on the autism spectrum Cost: $25 for parents/guardians, $45 for professionals, $75 for professionals with continuing education credits* includes Resource CD, coffee, tea, and assorted beverages.    * Continuing education credits in Psychology, Social Work, Nursing, and Act 48 are pending approval of appropriate boards.    In order to keep costs low, lunch with NOT be provided. We ask that all participants pack and bring their lunch. Alternately, a light assortment of soups, sandwiches, and salads are available for purchase in the 16th floor cafeteria, and there are several lunch carts in front of the 3535 building. Price does not include parking. For directions and parking options, please visit: http://www.centerforautismresearch.com/directions/directions_to_car    To register online, please click the "Register Now" button below. To register by mail, please click "Get more information." Then print, complete, and return the paper registration form, along with your $25, $45, or $75 check or money order. Checks may be made out to "The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia" with "Center for Autism Research" in the memo line.

Teen/Young Adult Group

This Sunday

Teen/Young Adult Group currently functioning-looking for new members

ASCEND Group

Sunday, March 11, 2012
3:00 PM

Home of Nancy Kleinberg and David Loewenstein
506 Conshohocken State Rd
Narberth, PA 19072

Will you attend?

Yes

No

10 Parents of Children with Autism going, including:

Denise Pettit I think this is a great way to meet other parents of children on the spectrum and...

Nancy Kleinberg I live in Narberth and Administer a Nursing Home. Have 3 kids. David is 19, bright,...

Jim We are always looking for support in helping us do our best for our daughter who...

Nina My son is 12 years old and has Asperger's Syndrome. He is very bright and friendly....

Laurence Have a teenage son with Asperger's and always looking for additional info/support/socialization...

Young people 17-23, parents welcome. Ongoing social group with various activities, such as Dave and Busters, a pool party, but mainly just getting together. Been meeting for about a year and a half. There's a core group, but new people are always...
Learn more

More Meetups from this group

Mar 17	Buddy Club Bowling at 2:00 p.m. Saturday, March 17, 2012 2:00 PM RSVP
Mar 17	Buddy Club Bowling at 2:00 p.m. Saturday, March 17, 2012 2:00 PM · 2 attending RSVP
Apr 21	Buddy Club Bowling at 2:00 p.m. Saturday, April 21, 2012 2:00 PM · 2 attending RSVP

Teen/Young Adult Group

New Meetup

Teen/Young Adult Group currently functioning-looking for new members

ASCEND Group

Added by Nancy Kleinberg

Sunday, March 11, 2012
3:00 PM

Home of Nancy Kleinberg and David Loewenstein
506 Conshohocken State Rd
Narberth, PA 19072

Will you attend?

Yes

No

2 Parents of Children with Autism going, including:

Nancy Kleinberg I live in Narberth and Administer a Nursing Home. Have 3 kids. David is 19, bright,...

Nina My son is 12 years old and has Asperger's Syndrome. He is very bright and friendly....

Young people 17-23, parents welcome. Ongoing social group with various activities, such as Dave and Busters, a pool party, but mainly just getting together. Been meeting for about a year and a half. There's a core group, but new people are always...
Learn more

More Meetups from this group

Mar 17	Buddy Club Bowling at 2:00 p.m. Saturday, March 17, 2012 2:00 PM · 3 attending RSVP
Mar 17	Buddy Club Bowling at 2:00 p.m. Saturday, March 17, 2012 2:00 PM · 2 attending RSVP
Apr 21	Buddy Club Bowling at 2:00 p.m. Saturday, April 21, 2012 2:00 PM · 2 attending RSVP

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