June 12th National Call-In Day for the Keeping All Students Safe Act

from the NDSS:
Join NDSS and other national organizations today, June 12th for National Call-In Day to ask your Senators and Representative to cosponsor the Keeping All Students Safe Act (S. 2036/H.R. 1893) which aims to end the practice of using restraint and seclusion as punishment or convenience. 
Restraints and seclusion have killed, injured, and traumatized students in schools across the country.  The Keeping All Students Safe Act, championed by Senators Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Chris Murphy (D-CT) and Representatives George Miller (D-CA) and Gregg Harper (R-MS), promotes a shift toward preventing problematic behavior through the use of de-escalation techniques, conflict management, and evidence-based positive behavioral interventions and supports. NDSS strongly supports this legislation.

Please call your members of Congress tomorrow by clicking the TAKE ACTION button below, and ask your Senators and Represenative to cosponsor this important legislation!

For more information about the Keeping All Students Safe Act, please visit our ​NDSS Restraints and Seclusion in Schools webpage.
Thank you for all you do!

Ginny Sessions
Manager, Grassroots and Development Programming
National Down Syndrome Society

Parents: Daughter, 8, with Down syndrome duct taped at elementary school Monday

from RTV6 The Indy Channel:
One Wayne Township family is demanding answers after their 8-year-old daughter, who has Down syndrome, came home from school with her feet duct taped.
Nate Searcy said his daughter, Shaylyn, returned from Westlake Elementary School Monday with duct tape wrapped around both of her feet.
The bus assistant pointed it out to him when he went to get his daughter off the bus Monday afternoon.
"I'm like, 'Shaylyn, come on,' and she just kind of stood there, kind of limping a little bit," said Nate Searcy. "And I'm like, 'What's wrong?' And she's like, 'My feet hurt.' I look down and she had duct tape wrapped around both shoes, both ankles and she couldn't even walk."
Nate said he turned to the bus driver for answers, and what she told him was even more disturbing.
"They had the tape on her feet so tight she couldn't even walk," he said. "They had to push her out with a wheelchair on to the bus."
Searcy said he and his wife, Elizabeth, went straight to the Wayne Township school to get answers.
     
"I had to carry her off the bus, carry her to the car," Nate Searcy said. "We went back to the school and told the principal what was going on. It took her 30 minutes to get the tape off."
Nate Searcy said the duct tape was so tight that it was cutting off Shaylyn's circulation, and the child had bruises left on her feet and ankles.
Even after the meeting with the principal, the Searcys say they still don't know who put the duct tape on their daughter.
"I just don't know what they'd need duct tape in a handicapped room for," Elizabeth Searcy said.
   
The Searcys admit their daughter can be a handful at times, throwing temper tantrums, but they said the school has always turned to them in the past.
"They've called me before because she won't get her shoes on or she won't stand up and walk to the bus and had fits," said Elizabeth Searcy. "And I've talked to her on the phone with the teacher, and she's got up and she's got on that bus. I don't know why today was any different."
"I'm home before they get home from school," Elizabeth continued. "There's no reason why I couldn't go get her, if it was such an issue."
   
But it was different, and the parents said they're worried about the effect on their daughter.
"It's not only physical abuse to her, but it's mental abuse because now she's going to think every time she does something wrong, this is what they're going to do to her," Nate Searcy said.
Wayne Township Schools issued the following statement to RTV6:
"We have had the opportunity to meet with the parents of the student involved in this reported incident and have begun our own investigation. We have notified the Indiana Department of Child Services of the incident, and if warranted, we will file a report with the agency. We have also involved our own law enforcement officers in the investigation. When the investigation into this incident is concluded, we will take appropriate action."

2013 Buddy Walk on Washington

 

2013 NDSS Buddy Walk® on Washington

The NDSS Buddy Walk® on Washington is an annual two-day advocacy conference that brings the Down syndrome community together to advocate for legislative priorities that impact the lives of people with Down syndrome and their families. Advocates meet with members of Congress and their staff on Capitol Hill to advance education, research and healthcare for people with Down syndrome.
The 2013 Buddy Walk® on Washington will be held on March 13 & 14 in Washington, DC.

Registration

Registration for the 2013 Buddy Walk® on Washington is now open.

Hotel & Location Information

The Buddy Walk® on Washington will be held at the L’Enfant Plaza Hotel (480 L’Enfant Plaza Hotel S.W. Washington, DC 20024). To reserve your room, call 800-635-5065 or reserve online using the group name “NDSS13” to receive the special group rate by Feb. 14, 2013. If you need multiple nights at the hotel, please email NDSS VP of Advocacy & Affiliate Relations Sara Weir at sweir@ndss.org.

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Advocacy Training - March 13, 2013

Our NDSS advocacy training session is an opportunity to learn from NDSS about our key priorities for the 2013 Buddy Walk® on Washington. You will have the opportunity to hear presentations on the key “asks”, participate in role play sessions with your state delegations, and network with affiliates and advocates across the country. We strongly encourage all attendees participate in the advocacy training session from 3:00 -6:00 PM on March 13. 

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Buddy Walk® on Washington schedule

Wednesday, March 13, L’Enfant Plaza Hotel
1:00 PM – 3:00 PM - Registration
2:00 PM - 3:00 PM Self-Advocates Speak Out - an exclusive event for all self-advocates hosted by NDSS Self-Advocate Advisory Board
3:00 PM – 6:00 PM - Buddy Walk® on Washington Advocacy Training

• NDSS Host Welcome Address
• Overview of 2012 Legislative Agenda & Asks
• Advocate Role Playing
• State Practice session
• Q&A session

7:00 PM - 9:00 PM - NDSS Awards Dinner & Celebration (Renoit/Monet Ballrooms)          
Thursday, March 14, Capitol Hill
7:30 AM - 8:00 AM Depart Hotel (via Metro) for Capitol Hill (NDSS will provide metro cards)
8:30 AM - 10:00 AM - NDSS Capitol Members of Congress Breakfast Reception
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM Capitol Hill Visits (Meetings will be scheduled for each advocate)                                           

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Scheduling Your Congressional Visits

This year, we are working with Soapbox Consulting to schedule your Congressional meetings for you. If you have any questions, please contact NDSS VP of Advocacy & Affiliate Relations Sara Weir at sweir@ndss.org.

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Buddy Walk® on Washington & Self-Advocates

Self-advocate participants of the Buddy Walk® on Washington are invited to join the NDSS Self-Advocate Advisory Board for a panel discussion and Q&A at 2:00 pm on March 13 (before our advocacy training). The Board will share their expertise as seasoned self-advocates in this presentation for self-advocates by self-advocates.  Please note, this event is for self-advocates only. For more information, please contact NDSS Manager of Education & Programs Vanessa Quick at vquick@ndss.org.

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Advocacy Training Webinars

NDSS will facilitate two advocacy training webinars to help prepare you for your advocacy experience, what to expect on Capitol Hill, and discuss the 2013 key legislative priorities. Register for each of our webinars by clicking on the links below:

Buddy Walk® on Washington 101 – Everything You Need to Know

February 7 at 3:00 PM ET
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/854735786 

Buddy Walk® on Washington 201 – Ins & Outs of the NDSS 2013 Legislative Agenda/Asks

February 26 at 3:00 PM ET
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/810315282

Getting Around Washington

• Capitol Hill Map
• Washington DC Map
• Metro Map

For more information, please contact NDSS VP of Advocacy & Affiliate Relations Sara Weir at sweir@ndss.org.

John T Farley to serve as board member for the NDSC

by Kelli Polatty from The Commercial Appeal:
John T. Farley spent a week in Washington at the National Down Syndrome Congress Convention.
As part of the convention, he spent one day meeting with Tennessee Senators and Congressmen to encourage their support of legislature that affects individuals with Down syndrome and other disabilities.
A few of the issues Farley spoke about included:

• The ABLE Act (Achieving a Better Life Experience): would allow individuals with disabilities the right to have savings above $2,000 without affecting other benefits.
• Down Syndrome Research Funding: Requesting more funds be allotted within National Institution of Health to research medical conditions that are prominent with Trisomy 21.
• Keeping all Students Safe Act: Banning the use of restraints and seclusion in public schools.

Five years ago Farley began his run for the board of directors of the National Down Syndrome Congress. Each year the self advocates select one of their peers to represent them on the national board. Only one is voted in annually, and some years as many as 20 individuals run for this position.
Last year they selected Farley as their representative. He will serve a three-year term.
The 2013 NDSC convention will be held in Denver, July 19-22. This is an educational opportunity for young adults with disabilities, their parents, and educators. For more information go to ndsccenter.org.
Kelli Polatty is the communications manager for the Down Syndrome Association of Memphis and the Mid-South, 2893 S. Mendenhall Road Suite 3, Memphis.