surprise gift for man with Down syndrome

from khsltv.com by Alan Marsden:

A Christmas wish for an iPad is giving a young man with Down Syndrome the gift of speech.  Matthew Levert, 26, and his family were surprised by Santa Sunday evening during a dinner at Applebee's in Chico. It was put on by a non-profit from New York called  "Gifts From the Heart for Downs." In addition to granting his wish for an iPad the organization gave Matthew $200 worth of iTunes music. The iPad will be used to help Matthew communicate with others by improving his reading, writing and speaking skills. Lacey Levert, Matthew's sister says "When he heard Santa say his name, he was looking around like what... And then when he saw it, his eyes lit up. It was so well worth it, so well worth it. I can't put it into words how grateful my mom and I are"

"Gifts From the Heart for Downs" was created by, and is run by a single mom with two children who have Downs Syndrome.  The group has granted 64 wishes to people with Down Syndrome all over the country since it began in 2010.

The Next Chapter Book Club

from The Next Chapter Book Club (NCBC):

The Next Chapter Book Club (NCBC) offers weekly opportunities for people with developmental disabilities (DD) to read and learn together, talk about books, and make friends in a relaxed, community setting.  A program of The Ohio State University Nisonger Center, NCBC was established in June 2002 to provide adolescents and adults with DD – regardless of reading ability – the chance to be members of a book club.  NCBC has become the preeminent program of its kind.  Today there are NCBC programs in over 100 cities across North America and Europe.

Individual Next Chapter Book Clubs usually consist of five to eight people with disabilities and two volunteer facilitators, some of whom also have disabilities.  The clubs meet in local bookstores, cafés, and similar gathering places to read aloud and discuss a book for one hour each week.  Much like members of any other book club, NCBC members choose the book they want to read and howthey would like to structure their club.  NCBC members read adapted classic novels (i.e. Little Women and Treasure Island) as well as current, popular literature.

Get Involved in the Next Chapter Book Club
Do you live in Central Ohio?
Is there an NCBC Affiliate in your city?
How can I bring the NCBC to my community?

Jot It Down is a writing club for adults and adolescents with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Following the model of the Next Chapter Book Club, Jot It Down promotes social interaction and full community inclusion for its members. Members of Jot It Down work individually and collaboratively to write stories, poems, letters, MadLibs, and other projects.

Chapters Ahead, Inc. is a nonprofit organization providing training, consultation, and a variety of materials to promote lifetime learning, social interaction, and full community participation for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. We are particularly interested in developing practical strategies and solutions that allow persons with disabilities to become valued and productive members of the community. Chapters Ahead grew from our experience developing and disseminating the Next Chapter Book Club, an internationally recognized literacy program for adolescents and adults with disabilities.

Opportunity for writers and aritists with Down syndrome

Calling All Creative Teens and Adults
with Down Syndrome!

  

Many writers and artists with Down syndrome are incredibly talented! But most of them don’t get the recognition they deserve. That’s why Woodbine House is holding a contest for creative teens and adults with Down syndrome. We plan to publish the winning entries in a high quality, full-color book showcasing the artistic and literary gifts of people with Down syndrome. If you’re interested in entering the contest, read on:

Who can enter?

Entrants must satisfy all three criteria:

1. Have a diagnosis of Down syndrome (trisomy 21 or mosaic Down syndrome)
2. Be a resident of the U.S., Canada, or Mexico
3. Be at least 12 years old at time of submission

What to submit:

• Photos or scans of your paintings, drawings, cartoons, collages
• Photos of your sculptures, pottery, ceramics, mosaics
• Photos of your weaving, embroidery, or other fabric art
• Short stories (fiction) (750 words maximum)
• Poetry (750 words maximum)
• Song lyrics (750 words maximum)

Each contestant may submit a maximum of 3 entries in any combination of these genres. For example, 1 painting, 1 story, and 1 poem OR 3 paintings OR 3 poems.
Please do not send anything not listed above. In particular, do not send nonfiction (e.g., autobiographies), scripts, photographs, films, music, or anything made with a kit.

How to enter:
Via email (preferred)

1. For visual art:

• Remove artwork from frame, if possible.
• Make a good quality scan or take a high resolution, close-up photo (at least 300 dpi) of your creation. Photograph your art against a solid-color, non-reflective background, if possible. You may get the best result by photographing it outdoors, in natural lighting.
• If your work is 3-dimensional (ceramics, sculpture, etc.) feel free to take 3-5 photos from different angles.
• VERY IMPORTANT! Name the file with your last name and title of the work. For example: Smith_Flowers_in_June or Jones_PlanesTrainsBoats

  For creative writing:

• Type your submission on a computer.
• Save it as a Word or plain text file.

2. Fill out both Part 1 and Part 2 of the entry forms. Download either format below, fill in, and email to submit your entry. Microsoft Word Forms--If you have Microsoft Word on your computer, you can click on the links below to open the files in Word, fill out the forms, save them to your computer, and attach the filled-out forms to an email with your creative submission.
   

   • Form 1 (Microsoft Word version)
   • Form 2 (Microsoft Word version)

   PDF Forms--Click on links below to open forms in Adobe Acrobat. You will need to print these out, fill in by hand, scan the completed forms, and attach these scanned filled-out forms to an email with your creative submission. If you do not have Adobe Acrobat on your computer you can download it for free from here.
   

   • Form 1 (PDF version)
   • Form 2 (PDF version)

3. Attach the following to an email:

a) the digital file for your artwork or literary work;
b) the scanned-in entry forms or saved Word files of the forms (Parts 1 and 2);
c) a digital photo of yourself.

   Please ATTACH these items to the email rather than embedding in the body of the email.

4. Address your email to DScontest@woodbinehouse.com. In the subject line, put DS Contest Entry. In the body of the email, type the title of your creation and your name. Send it!

Via mail

1. If you do not have access to email or a scanner, you may mail your entry to:

Down Syndrome Contest
Woodbine House
6510 Bells Mill Road
Bethesda, MD 20817.

2. Enclose a) a print-out of your writing OR a scan/photo of your artwork printed on good quality paper OR a scan/photo of your art saved to CD; b) Parts 1 and 2 of the entry form (download forms from Step 2 above and fill in); c) a photo of yourself (digital photo saved to CD or print). Do NOT send original artwork under any circumstance! No artwork will be returned!

What NOT to do: 

• Do NOT send us your original artwork! It will not be returned, and it may be lost or damaged in the mail. Woodbine House assumes no responsibility for loss or damage to unsolicited artwork.
• Do NOT send us your only copy of a story, poem, or other creative writing. It will not be returned, and it may be lost or damaged in the mail. Woodbine House assumes no responsibility for loss or damage to original copies of creative writing.
• Do not send artwork that incorporates copyrighted or trademarked images created by others (e.g, Buzz Lightyear; Coca Cola).
• Do not photoshop the image of your work.
• Please do not call us or write us to check whether we have received your entry or whether you are a winner. We will contact you to let you know if you are a winner. If you are a winner, we may ask you for more information or to send us your original art.
• Please do not fax entries or entry forms to us. Either email or mail them to us, as described above.

Selection criteria and prizes:

• Winning entries will be selected on the basis of creativity, originality, artistic merit, and overall impression.
• Woodbine House hopes to select about 100 winning entries. Each winner will receive one copy of the published book and $25 for each winning entry selected (up to a maximum of 3 books and $75). Woodbine House reserves the right not to publish a book if insufficient entries satisfying the selection criteria are received.

Please note: inclusion of your work in our book will not in any way prevent you from selling, distributing, or exhibiting your work elsewhere. You will retain the copyright to your work.

Deadline to enter: January 31, 2012. Winners will be notified by March 1, 2012.

from Woodbine House:

Camp Buddy bridges the gap between school years

from effinghamherald.net:

Brenna Heape’s tiny 7-year-old frame balanced atop two scooter boards as she glided across the floor, pushing and pulling a rope. After a few successful reps her face lit up, and she knew that she’d done well.

As Heape completed the set of therapy during the “motor labs” portion Camp Buddy, her smile was contagious, caught by occupational therapist Melinda Hawkins. Hawkins was holding one end of the rope and encouraging Heape through the exercise, and the two shared a few excited high fives when they finished.

Camp Buddy ended Thursday, after three days last week and three this week at the First Baptist Church of Springfield. The camp, sponsored by the Lowcountry Down Syndrome Society, offers a therapy-based curriculum designed especially for children with Down syndrome.

“It’s amazing,” said Molly Marchese, a founding member of LDSS and proud mother of Ella, 5, who has Down syndrome. “You watch them do something that they couldn’t do last year, and you work hard on it, and then they come back to camp and they’re doing it. So it’s really gratifying for the therapists to see their hard work pay off and for the parents.”

This is the third year that Camp Buddy has been available locally. The camp is intended to bridge the gap between school years so that these children can retain what they’ve learned in school and prepare for the next year.

Marchese said that the camp is also a way to offer essential physical, speech and occupational therapy to children whose parents may not be able to afford such specialized treatment, especially in adverse economic times.

Yet, Ella and the rest of the children continue to make strides. Wednesday morning, Marchese couldn’t contain her emotions at the thought of her husband, Joe, seeing their daughter ride her bike for the first time, a skill she conquered at camp.

“I can’t wait for him to see her ride her bike,” she said. “He’s going to be floored. But you take it for granted, you know; you think all kids know how to ride a bike.… You’re so proud of them. You love all your children; you’re so proud of all of their accomplishments, but to watch them reach a milestone, it’s just overwhelming this joy. They bring so much joy in to your life. To watch them realize they’re accomplishing something, it’s awesome, as a mom.”

Each day the children follow a regimen of therapy with special education teachers, therapists and volunteers. They work their fine, oral and large motor skills while having fun, singing along to music, working on the computer and riding bicycles, something new this year. They practice counting, reading and writing through programs designed specifically for people with delayed learning.

“They can do all of these things,” said Marchese. “It just takes a little extra effort, a little extra work, a little extra patience and time, but they can do the same things that their typical peers can do.”

The LDSS was founded in 2006 by Candy and John Bogardus, who have a 6-year-old daughter, Lainey, with Down syndrome. Candy Bogardus said that she and her husband went looking for a local support system and found the closest groups in Jacksonville and Atlanta.

In addition to Camp Buddy, which accommodates Effingham and Chatham counties, the group provides new parent packets for new parents of children with Down syndrome with information about the genetic chromosomal disease and early intervention therapy.

“When Kristen (Fears) was born, I didn’t know anything about Down syndrome,” LDSS member Wendy Fears said of her daughter. “What you did know was all negative things.”

Fears said that her mother never thought Kristen would be able to read, and that through early intervention and therapy, Kristen is able to play ball and dance at recitals like other children. She said that the expectations of this generation are far beyond those with Down syndrome before them.

“Their quality of life is going to be phenomenal because of things like (Camp Buddy),” said Marchese. “They’re going to be productive members of the community and they already are.”
The group also sponsors a Night of Champions award banquet, honoring businesses that employ people with disabilities and those employees.

“Our whole goal with that is to recognize that these people are making a difference,” said Bogardus, also secretary of LDSS, “and we invite other businesses to show them how they could become a part of that difference.”

Marchese said that the LDSS, while still only able to offer Camp Buddy to school age children, hopes that as the Buddy Walk grows, more people will offer to run camps for teenagers and adults with Down syndrome, catering to those needs.

Bogardus said: “We just want to, at this stage, help (our children) to be as successful as possible as they get older and to realize that they don’t have to place any limits on themselves. By doing that, we help the community to not want to place limits on them, because that’s another goal of ours is the community awareness that our children are just children and people with Down syndrome are just people.”