Welcome, welcome, welcome to Unlimited Parenting, where we discuss having children with disabilities
or special health care needs.
I'm Allison, and with me today are Sarah and Melissa, and we are going to be giving
an IPUL year in review, as well as some holiday tips and tricks.
So with that, let's jump right into it.
Hi.
Hello.
Hi.
Welcome.
Hello.
As I say that to you, like we haven't been talking all morning.
So let's talk about the things that we did this year, and it's probably how I made a
big old list.
So maybe I'll shout something out, and you guys can give some feedback on it.
Sound good?
Yep.
Okay, well.
That's a good size list.
Yeah.
It looks kind of intimidating.
Melissa's like, whoo, this is going to take more than 30 minutes.
We started a podcast.
Isn't that exciting?
By the time everyone hears this, this will be our 12th.
Wow.
I think our 12th episode.
Congrats.
That's exciting.
Yeah.
And there's lots of really exciting things.
I mean, I know this is like a teaser, but there's even like things that are so exciting
that we can't even talk about them yet that are coming up soon.
Okay.
I know we're going to just, we're going to.
Do we know?
I know.
Yeah, you guys know.
You guys know.
But we're going to be interviewing some big people.
We're hoping to get more parents.
We're going to start talking about genetics.
Very cool.
Yeah.
All right.
It's going to be super great.
I'm excited about it.
Thank you.
We're all very excited about it.
Outside, outside of the podcast.
What about monthly webinars?
And I know we always do monthly webinars, so our listeners might be like, yeah, what's
new?
You've always done that.
But they're kind of changing.
They are.
Yeah.
So I don't remember when we did our.
We did a needs assessment, I guess.
We had a call to action or call to request.
I was thinking you were going to say a call to arms.
For feedback from from our families and our professionals that that call our office or
email us or however they get a hold of us.
But and that kind of changed the trajectory of how we are going to start providing some
of our training.
Yeah, we listened to our stakeholders who overwhelmingly wanted self guided, self paced
kind of trainings available to them.
So we are last what?
Three, two.
Yeah, three.
OK, three.
All right.
Yeah.
Have been self paced modules and from the couple parents that I've had the opportunity
to speak with, they really like them.
I I missed the interaction that we get with parents.
So because of that, we have an office hours that we are still holding every month.
So there's a there's still an open zoom available for for you guys to come ask us whatever questions.
I guess.
Oh, sorry.
I'm sorry.
I'll stop moving.
Sounds like it's crying for help.
I'm sorry.
I'll stand up.
It's reinforced steel, but it doesn't like it.
So we have a nude way that we're doing our training.
This is our how we talk all day long.
OK, I am so sorry.
Office hours, self paced courses.
Yeah.
So we still have our same great trainings with our same great information.
It's just going to be delivered a little bit different.
And we're hoping that this then gives us the opportunity to continue to add more to our
our catalog, if you if you will.
And they're still accessible.
They'll come with pictures of who created the content and or who's speaking.
And speaking of speaking, there are audio files in there.
So if you'd prefer to get your information told to you, if you prefer to read it, read
it.
It's Friday.
You prefer to read it.
Good Lord.
Or there are videos.
So we're trying to get all of the different ways people learn.
And I mean, maybe this is just me.
But in my opinion, these self paced modules allow us to give more information than what
we would have been able to do in an hour.
Yeah.
And I mean, our paddlets, our resources are still linked.
But this, for example, let me just call out the IEP one that we just did.
It gives we can blow up the IEP document and look line by line by line and really dive
into each individual section and provide some really great knowledge and resources so that
in your next IEP meeting and you have a really good big question about what does LRE mean?
Now you should be able to now you should know.
Now you should know.
And to kind of go on the other side of the self paced modules, we've done a lot of special
requests in person trainings.
And so that's kind of where we've we've balanced out the self paced and the in person requests
from providers from support groups coming asking if we can come in or zoom in and do
that hour long tailored training to the needs that are being asked.
And so that's kind of how we are still able to do our in person work for those people
who are requesting it and actually have people show up.
Yeah.
So and that's a really good I'm sorry.
I know I was gonna say win win win.
Yeah, because it gives us the opportunity to make them like Sarah said, a lot more specialized
for those specific groups.
So yeah, it is it's win win win.
Hopefully, we want to hear the feedback.
So if you have feedback, let us know.
Yep, there's a form in the description box at the bottom that allows you to give any
kind of feedback on this podcast in specific or anything you'd like to see in the future.
So shout out to that.
Okay.
Another program that we have that we've been doing for a while is cultivating readers.
And I'm going to let you talk a little bit about that.
Not a lot of huge changes, but some small things.
Yeah, so cultivating readers is a state professional development grant that we partner with our
State Department of Education to run several districts around the state participate.
And it changes from year to year which districts are participating.
But it the intention of the grant is to increase literacy scores in kids K through three, those
specific with disabilities.
Because if we are if we're helping our kids K through three with disabilities, that means
we're helping everyone, right?
So it's it's kind of a universal help and a push and it's using a multi tiered systems
of support.
So from the administration to the instructional coaches to the teachers themselves and the
librarians, but our piece and we're really excited about having the opportunity to partner
with the State Department.
And these also these districts is a family engagement piece.
So the cultivating readers parent representatives are family representative family engagement
representatives that should be representing each school that's in the program.
And they are kind of that liaison between school and home and they're they're they're
they're creating newsletter blurbs just really trying to get information into the hands of
their school community into their parents hands and parent friendly language about how
to help their kiddos and K through three with literacy, whether it is phonics or you know,
just increasing literacy in their everyday lives and home, you know, literacy in the
grocery store literacy, just wherever it is organically organically.
Yeah.
What would you say if someone was listening right now and they were like, is my school
doing that?
How can I find out?
I would touch base with your school not.
Can any school any school can sign up?
Absolutely.
Yeah, they do an application and then the application I think starts in May and then
they start recruiting parents.
So the State Department will start recruiting other districts.
It's some of this can fulfill some of their alleged their dyslexia training components.
Not all of it, but some of the components fulfill some of that training.
But yeah, if you don't if you want to find out if your districts, this is something that
you can ask your administrator, your principal, probably if you're building or you can call
us and I could tell you if your district is involved and they have a parent representative
and if they don't, I can sign you up and say exactly, but it is a really cool program and
the schools that are participating are absolutely seeing the gains in their scores.
And so we know it's working and the more family engagement that we have, the higher those
scores so it's translatable.
And once upon a time I was a family engagement on the team and it was fun.
You were and your school was very successful.
And I think it was all just kidding.
And then we stole you.
Who wants to talk about Fred Riggers Disability Awareness Day?
I would love to talk about that.
Fred Riggers Disability Awareness Day is a really wonderful opportunity for all of us
within the disability community.
So in the Consortium for Idahoans with Disabilities, we are a member of, don't say that word right?
No you did.
I'm just going to say.
You looked at me and I was like.
We really mean all of us.
There are so many people there.
Yeah.
And this is an opportunity.
So Fred Riggers was a staple at the Capitol for those of our listeners who may not know.
Born and raised in Idaho, lived on a farm.
Absolutely.
And he went blind late in life and was just a staple at the state house really trying
to just push for, you know, bills, legislation that would help people like him and Idahoans
like him.
And he had that real long red tie before it was cool.
It was exactly, exactly.
So Fred Riggers Disability Awareness Day is an opportunity for all of our organizations
to come together to bring the legislators down to talk about the issues that are really
affecting our community, our disability community.
So some of those issues this year were the direct care shortage, workforce shortage,
transportation.
Just, there was quite a few issues and then we brought those to the forefront, had legislators
come so that we could speak to them about those issues.
And they could learn about who we are as organizations, which is really important.
And how we support the community and our state.
And I don't want people to think that we were at the state house and we put on a presentation
and then no one came.
There were quite a few legislators that wandered by me.
Hey, what's all this?
What are you guys talking about?
Oh, I'm going to talk about that with someone else later.
There were, there was a lot of give and take.
And then we handed out awards.
I shouldn't say we, it wasn't an eye poll.
It was, it was the, it was the constitution.
Yep.
Yeah, we did, so we recognize some really great individuals who've done really great
things in our community for numerous years.
And that was, that was exciting.
So it was really exciting.
It was a good experience for me as someone who hasn't worked a lot with our partners
to kind of get to know everybody and assign some roles and learn what it means to work
together with a lot of other people who do a lot of different things, but they all revolve
around systems for individuals with disabilities.
So it was a really good experience.
And it's coming up real quick again, because it was in February, right?
It's going to be in February again.
Yeah.
It always in February.
Why are you looking at me?
We're not in charge of it this year.
I'm looking at you like it's all, it's already November.
It's just frightening.
Another thing that we did in February was PBIS for foster grandparents.
Oh, that was so fun.
That was fun.
We've been invited back.
Have we?
Yay.
To the same group.
Oh, oops.
That was the wrong one.
Hold on.
Everyone strike that from your memories.
Just a second.
We've been invited back.
They loved us.
So we're going to be, we'll talk about that in our, another upcoming event that we're
doing in our in-house strategic planning.
So we'll talk about, talk about that.
But yeah, it was really fun to talk to and listen and hear and share with the foster
grandparents program and helping those volunteer grandparents that go into the classroom and
work with, work with the kids.
It's a really cool program.
Yeah.
I didn't know it existed till we got in front of them and there are some cool people.
I really, really liked it.
And they were really interested in what was new.
Because again, we're talking about grandparents and they remember what it was like to parent
their own children and what school was like for them.
But then when we would talk about kind of some of the new techniques that they were
using, they were like, oh, that's really interesting.
Thank you for explaining that to me because we were wondering what was happening.
And for anybody who may not know PBIS stands for Positive Behavioral Interventions and
Supports.
So it was supporting students as they navigate and work through emotions and behaviors.
Teach not punish, right?
And then I'm going to let you guys completely take the lead for this.
But I think the next big event was Tools for Life.
It was in Boise this year.
And that is an annual transition.
I would say so.
It's it's like a summit.
It's like a conference for youth with students with disabilities attending school or not
that can come and learn how to navigate life.
Moving in to the adulting.
It's kind of a summit on how to adult with a disability.
All of our partners were there providing workshops.
And I think one of the one of the favorites is Reality Town where I'm laughing because
I called it Life Town the other day.
And I'm like, it's not right, but I'm so close.
Which is a is a program that will assign will assign students with a career, household income
and certain tasks that they that they get.
And then they have to navigate through the tables of where it's like the game of life.
It's like a simulation.
It's exactly a simulation simulation where they have to figure out how to manage a budget,
hold a job with with what they've been given as a as a situation that they've been assigned.
And so it really teaches some of those practical self advocacy skills, what you need to navigate
your day as an adult.
Never personally attended, but I've heard about it for the last two years now.
And it seems like it's a it really engages youth.
Like you know, a lot of times they come in and they're like, oh, yeah, I'm here with
my school.
We're doing we're listening to this presentation.
But it's actually something really hands on and it's so engaging that they're like, I
got a lot out of that.
There's youth presenters that really, you know, their audience is their audience.
So it it's for the youth by the youth.
And they do they walk away with some really practical, I think skills.
We've had the opportunity to really talk to them about taking the lead in their own health
care situations.
What that looks like.
Have you scheduled your own doctor's appointment?
Does your mom still do it for you?
Do you know how to if your wheelchair breaks, do you know how to fix that?
So we have had the opportunity as a family to family health and information center to
provide some of those practical resources and the training.
But it is really fun just to see the kids and see them interacting and have conversations.
Yeah.
And it's it's one of our favorite favorite events.
And next year, it's going to be in Idaho Falls.
Yes.
And it's beginning of March, right?
It is the I think it's the end of the first week.
It's that last into February, the last Monday, Tuesday of February.
So I don't have the dates right in my head right now.
But I'll put you on the spot.
All right.
That's OK.
So if you're interested, go to Idaho at dot org, which is Idaho Assistive Technology Project.
And they I think is Idaho ATP dot org.
It'll be in the notes.
And then you can.
And if not, you can always reach out to us and we can help you send you the link or whatever
the case may be.
Yeah.
And this year it follows around our universities.
So last year, so the kids will take university tours and really get to see what I've gotten
about that part.
Yeah.
So they'll go to Pocatello or are they going to go to?
I'm not sure.
We're sorry.
BYU Idaho.
You can tell how old I am.
I just said that.
I'm like, I don't even know what you're talking about.
BYU Idaho used to be called Ricks.
Yeah.
Like that makes it sound like Jakers, like a like a restaurant.
I'm going to Ricks.
They're looking they're trying to organize some of those college tours, Eastern Idaho
College and things like that.
So we can get kids on a campus and CTE career technical education is a big push this year,
especially with the project launch, getting kids involved and trying to fill some of those
those jobs that require those specialty jobs that.
Because post secondary education doesn't have to look like a university.
Right.
It can look like being a welder or an electrician or follow your heart.
And that's what those transition IEPs are for.
Yep.
Not to plug that, but check it out.
That's what we're saying.
One of the next for everyone.
One of the next fun things that we did was a meet and greet at the sensory place.
And for those of you who have never been, it is in Boise, close to the Walmart on Overland.
Yes, right up there by Social Security Office.
People usually know where that is.
Hopefully behind the KFC.
Yeah.
There we go.
Now you know, across the street is a Starbucks.
Is that true?
It's true.
And behind that Starbucks is the Starmitty Enterprises.
They're the people who own a lot of the McDonald's.
I die.
Random facts that we know.
Random facts with Alison.
For those who don't know, the sensory place is actually owned by our board chair.
Correct.
Yeah.
So that's a really nice partnership that we have so we can go and we set up a little booth
and we, any of the parents who were in there kind of wandered in like, Oh, what's going
on in here?
And we were like, told them who we were.
You know, obviously a lot of those parents are accessing occupational therapy or they
might have the Katie Beckett pathway to Medicaid and they had some questions and it was the
time that we did it.
So it must have been March.
The spring break.
That was advantageous.
And the other thing that made it really advantageous is it gave us the opportunity to really start
talking to people about what the unwinding of the public health emergency might look
like and what that might do to services and really just get a lot more of that information
out there.
Yeah.
And then I'm working on another one, a sensory Santa in a partnership with the sensory place
for some time in December.
So I'm really hoping that we can pull that off, but we have a Santa in mind and so he's
looking at his calendar and we'll ho ho ho baby.
Exactly.
And on that note though, for sensory Santa's, it's not just gonna, we're not just gonna
post what we know about voice here, Ada County will also include any sensory Santa's we hear
about so let us know if they're in your community and we'll shout them out.
The next thing that we did is huge.
It was parent leadership.
And that is, it is not a retreat.
It is an intensive four day learning opportunity.
Exactly.
And it's big.
And so it was up in regions one and two, so we're talking about north, Moscow to Sandpoint
basically Bonners Ferry.
And we held it in Athol, which I had never been that far north.
So it was really fun for me.
The little highway looks like a Hot Wheels track.
I was like, this is a little confusing if I remember.
It was a little confusing, we had to put on our driving skills and pay attention.
And that's another thing you can learn at tools.
Tools for life.
How to figure out how to drive over a train track and not lose the pizza receipt.
So obviously you can tell it's a lot of fun and we have a lot of fun and we make it fun
and we bring between what is this?
How many people we bring in?
10 to 12.
We have a little bit of a smaller group this year, which is going to affect it's caused
us to think about how we're going to do parent leadership in 2024.
And maybe we'll have another podcast about that.
But it's a good idea.
Yeah, so really, we talk about all things, health care and education for our families
in Idaho and how to be an effective advocate, sharing your story and turning that into building
up your community and the things that are important in your community related to your
area for kids with disabilities or special health care needs.
Because struggles that are in Boise might not be the same as the struggles up in Julietta
or Bonners Ferry Sandpoint.
But another piece that I think is really, really fun to watch is a group of people that
come in and they're like, oh, hi, my name's Allison.
It's nice to meet you.
And then by the end of the four days, they're like, see you at church.
And they know each other now and they stay connected and they reach out.
And that's all fun to see because this group comes in like, oh, I'm going to share a room
with you.
And afterwards, they're all sleeping in the karaoke.
It's amazing.
It's not a retreat.
It is intense.
It is really intense.
But you leave with friendships and partnerships and goals.
Exactly.
An action plan to continue building up whatever it is that you have created in your own action
plan and goals in your area and community.
And then you've got your natural group of support system that's all close enough that
you can help support each other.
And it can go as deep as you want.
So if you're really ready to share and kind of discuss with other moms, dads who have
been there, done that, know your experiences, it's a brave, safe space to do that in.
Yeah, it does get kind of vulnerable because we do.
For sure.
I mean, we do some really cool activities like a life map that really takes you back.
And I mean, when I first did my life map, I'm not a crier, but I was crying.
I was in tears trying to share this because your journey is your journey.
And you know, but so but it also you you we dive into personality types and what kind
of leader are you.
And so you get a really good snapshot of yourself at this event and you you get some respite
as a mom.
Yeah, I pull is making your food.
I pull is washing your dishes, everything I pull is setting up the itinerary and taking
you on a walk and helping you call turkeys.
Yes, we had a group of wild turkeys on the property.
It was amazing.
I cannot get over how you guys would go out there and make the sound.
And then I went out there and I was like, and they were like, who is this woman?
No, but they would call back to you.
Not to me, not to her.
They were like, that is not a turkey.
That is a woman trying to be a turkey.
Shame, shame on your house.
Yeah.
But it's speaking of turkeys, it's coming up.
Yeah, true.
Exactly.
This thank you for that.
This is a really good time to sprinkle in maybe one tip for the holiday season just
as a little interlude and intermission, if you will.
My tip is I like on Thanksgiving a tray that so my food doesn't touch.
Oh, that's smart.
But that's for you.
Really?
I really do.
Like one of the cafeteria.
Absolutely.
Where'd you find them?
No, but that is so smart.
No way.
That is so smart.
Actually, China, I've done a total plug is making them.
They have the like I've seen them the oval with two or three different compartments.
Oh, you mean like a yeah, like a throwaway.
Oh, no, I have mine's pink from the kids section.
It's not.
I think it has a unit.
It had a unicorn.
I use it.
Everything's going.
I don't like my food to touch.
And I know there's a lot of kids out there that don't like their food.
So after that, after PLDI, we really started focusing as an organization on what the public
health emergency unwinding is going to look like.
I think we did two lunch and learns, so the first one was with Lana from the Center for
Independent Living in our region.
And we also had a lot of conversations about what is this going to look like for individuals
with disabilities?
What is this going to look like for individuals as adults, as youth who are supported by Medicaid?
I think it was an hour and a half long.
It's probably still existing on our website somewhere.
And then I know that I did one with a former I know Parents Unlimited employee who now
works at A New Hope in Pocatello.
And she was kind of communicating what that might look like for individuals who seek ABA
therapy.
And how is that going to look when you get your letter with like the blue or the pink
window, how to reach out and contact.
So that was a really big focus for us for a while.
We also had a representative from the Department of Health and Welfare on another lunch and
learn to where we discussed what the same thing kind of what those letters are going
to look like.
I totally forgot about that.
And what to be looking for.
This was kind of way before and when we were getting our guidance on what to be looking
for.
We tried to be super proactive like hey, this is coming.
I think I hope that it went as well as could be expected.
We didn't get a ton of calls with disruptions.
Which is almost good, right?
It is.
But also kind of scary.
Yeah.
Maybe we didn't know.
Right.
The next thing that we did was for the Idaho Prevention Conference and in a partnership
with Idaho Anti-Trafficking Coalition.
That was fun.
And individual who used to work for NAMI and then another individual with a grassroots
organization who are all very centered on mental health and laws, rules, regulations
and the system.
And they had put together a simulation where you will again much like tools, right?
Yeah.
The reality town.
Exactly.
You're given a task and oh you can't do that because you don't have child care.
So you can't go to that appointment and then you have to go to work and earn money and
then you'd have to earn child care.
You have to go get a signature from someone else that didn't give it to you last time.
Oops, did you like your job?
Now you have to come and pick up your child for behavior.
Right.
It was really neat and we had oh my gosh, it was packed.
When I tell you guys that an individual who was working there kind of like walked by and
saw our room and they were like, hold on, there's a lot of people in here.
There's a lot going on.
We have to come in and actually pause you and make sure this is up to fire code because
there were so many people interested in what was happening in that room.
I hadn't heard that.
There were too many people.
It was fascinating.
It really illustrated the process of a family trying to access mental health care in Idaho
and some of the roadblocks and experiences that we face.
And we had, sorry, one thing really.
We had an individual from the legislator there participating and then kind of understanding
a little bit about what parents might be going through.
So that's what I wanted to ask.
Who was the audience?
Who were?
They were social workers.
They were teachers, educators, family members, providers.
So as a teacher or as a social worker, you were really able to see what a day in the
life looks like for a parent of a child with mental health struggles.
School and community.
That is awesome.
And also remembering that you're juggling other children and cool.
It was fascinating.
We had people in lines at our tables.
We were all assigned a different job as facilitators.
I loved also, sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt.
I love that people got frustrated.
They were like, are you kidding me?
I just had to do this.
And I'm like, sorry.
That's so great because that is what we go through as parents.
Yay.
Good job, guys.
It opened a lot of eyes and minds and hearts, I hope.
Oh, absolutely.
Because one person just left.
I remember that one person, one individual who was just participating was like, I don't
have the bandwidth for this right now.
And they just went and did another, went into another presentation.
Which is true.
I don't have the bandwidth.
I can't process.
I'm out.
And that means services for your child.
So fun and so interesting to watch.
Another thing that kind of happened around that same time is Idaho Parents Unlimited found
out that a grant that we wrote for was approved.
And we are now technical assistance.
Yeah, we are Region D technical partners with our regional technical assistance center.
So we'll be providing support and technical assistance to other parent centers within
our region.
And we are Region D. So it's exciting.
It's a huge highlight and an honor.
Not only is Peak in Colorado, another parent training information center in Colorado, and
Peak and iPoll are really highlighted for their work that they're doing in their communities
such that we've been given the opportunity to share what we know with other organizations
to make them better.
All of us better together.
It's really fun.
So that's another thing where we're navigating as we go what that looks like within iPoll.
But don't think for a second that that stops anything that we were doing or going to do.
It just means that we get to do more cool things.
And I'm sure we'll hear more about that.
But it would I would be remiss if I didn't mention that that was something super cool
that happened to us.
Absolutely.
Kind of in that same vein, and it happened in later July, is that we also get the opportunity
to get a lot of professional development.
And OSEP or the Office of Special Education Programs had a huge conference for all of
the parent training and information centers in DC.
And we were able to go and it was two, three days, three days and it was so administrative
special special education state administrators also attend.
So the state special ed director and all the departments within special education at the
State Department attend parent centers.
Part C. So infant toddler.
Yeah, that's true.
Three.
Who else was there?
Some IT people.
Anybody from OSEP or that touches that kind of was there.
And it was so I mean, these people were not kidding.
They were like, you are going to learn while you're here because it was back to back.
And it was so powerful.
And everybody from the top down had presentations and kind of introduced themselves.
So we got to meet Valerie Williams, which was fun and network with people and even give
feedback to presentations and podcast presentation that you got roped into.
Learn a lot about AI.
Yes, super cool.
It was very cool.
Very cool.
It was it was it was jam packed.
It was sun up to sundown learning, I felt like.
But a really good opportunity to collaborate with our our peers and get to know.
Yeah, get to know our our centers, other centers and states.
So we're we're super blessed like that, that we don't are Angela, the executive director,
doesn't let us say doesn't let us stay stagnant.
Yeah, she gives us all those opportunities to continue to learn, see what other centers
are doing and get more of that knowledge and professional development.
So that was super fun.
I think kind of the next big thing that happened was a facet of cultivating readers.
It was leading by convening me and serving on groups.
Yep.
That's our fall kickoff every year.
The new administrators go through our leading by convening, which is a companion training
to our serving on groups training that the parents go through.
So serving on groups is teaching parents to be serve on groups, to be good leaders on
these groups.
Yeah.
And then we give them some like we let them know what cultivating readers will look like
for them and how to take some of what they're learning back to their groups to be a great
group member.
Yeah.
And when we say cultivating readers is something we we do consistently, it's because those
parents who went to serving on groups, we touch base with them once a month.
Yes, exactly.
So yeah, so that was fall kickoff.
Can you guys because again, I wasn't there for this one.
Can you guys talk a little bit about Western partnerships?
That's how I refer to it.
But what does that mean?
So a person so rise is a developmental disabilities agency here in the Treasure Valley.
And I think they have other locations around the state.
But they put on a giant conference, usually annually, I think.
Anyway.
So it's called the Western partnerships conference, and they have people from developmental disabilities
agencies, providers, parents, family members, any anyone who wants to register for their
conference to come and learn about Idaho systems, but more and more specifically just the how
to support our loved ones or our family who have disabilities or either children or adults.
Just learning tips and techniques.
It's a really professional development for for our community members who are serving
our families who have disabilities.
And so we were able to do two workshops.
One was having high expectations when you don't know what to expect.
So helping us recognize and have high expectations on ourselves as parents, but more importantly,
expecting high high outcomes from our kid kiddos or loved ones with disabilities as
a kind of a transition to the adult sector.
Yeah.
And how to navigate those systems and what services are available for independent living.
I feel like I think it was IEP one how to read the document.
Yeah.
And then I think we littered in some components about like parent professional collaboration
to you.
What?
Yeah.
The word sprinkles gives an image that I just couldn't pass the opportunity.
Oh, a kitty litter.
Oh, OK.
I was just like, we sprinkle.
I like sprinkled better.
We've been well, it was woven in.
I'm how words are hard for me.
It's difficult for me.
Friday is a yeah.
OK.
So I think the next one that I really wanted to talk about and one is happening right now
in the Boise area.
But work of art.
Yeah, that is something that happens throughout the year.
Moscow, Boise and virtually.
Work of arts are for youth between the ages of 14 and 21.
OK, I'll let you take this.
Who are accessing special education or you can just have a student who is receiving or
who has five or four accommodations, but an identified disability that they come and they
learn those pre-employment training skills through the support of vocational rehabilitation.
So we have a partnership with VR and putting on these work.
How do you pluralize that work of art sessions?
I guess and have a different cohort of students, typically 10 in each session who come to wherever
it is.
And right now we have one happening in our office.
So the students are coming twice a week and then one on a Saturday and they are learning
how to work with an employer.
They fill out time sheets, work as a group to make decisions and provide a piece of art
for a client in the community that we that has reached out and requested that we they
be part of the program.
So they work with it's amazing and they get paid and they're learning all of these skills
and they leave with something tangible that they made like look at all the stuff that
I learned.
I got paid.
I made some cool friends.
I had a job and this is what I did.
They learn to fill out a time sheet, an application, a resume.
All of these components.
And how to disclose your disability to an employer.
Which are some really really good tools for our youth.
And we as an organization don't necessarily spend a lot of time working with actual students
and so this is an opportunity where we get to provide that learning experience directly
with the youth that are involved.
And it is really for me it's kind of like a motivator and a direct example of how what
we do at iPoll affects our families and helps in all those areas.
I just love that this brings a community client in and provides employment and I mean we were
looking at this work out there this morning.
I love coming in after they've been in this.
Absolutely.
There are arts all over the table.
Yeah it's these kids.
I mean and kids don't have to be interested in arts to be a part of this program.
We've had kids who are like I don't I don't not an artist but they might have a skill
in another area to be part of this cohesive team that puts together these projects and
it's not always all painting and things like that.
It really is directly related to what the client needs and wants.
Because they've done screen printing, they've made t-shirts, they've made murals up north
and Moscow so if you're ever up there and there's a business up there that they've created
a full length wall mural.
And then in Coeur d'Alene they're part of the art walk every year for the community.
It's really neat.
It's amazing.
I think the last thing I just really wanted to highlight is Parent Voice Summit.
Heck yeah.
And so that was September 29th and 30th.
There was a pre-summit which is where we really targeted transition to adulthood for youth
and so we had some got transition people.
We had some of our centers for independent living.
We had a charting the life course presentation.
We had a presentation by a well-respected lawyer in the KW versus Armstrong lawsuit
talking about changes to the adult developmental disability eligibility process and budgets
and that was well attended and there were so many individuals who were just so curious
and came with their questions.
Oh and mental health transition from mental health services.
It was so powerful and then if you thought it couldn't get better the day two was just
unreal.
It was awesome.
Learning how to advocate.
Learning how to communicate.
Learning how to be respectful.
How to be an effective listener.
And that day was really spent on advocacy in all things children in Idaho.
We had partners.
So not just with disabilities.
Yeah so all children.
So we talked about so we had the partnered with the Idaho Children's Trust Fund and
Idaho Voices for Children really about advocacy and the issues that are facing our families
today from child care all the way through services that you know our families are eligible
for that might need some strong advocates and strong advocacy efforts in making change
for Idaho's families.
And we had a wonderful keynote from a dad who started his own nonprofit called DadSpeak
from a community in western Idaho.
Yeah from Head Start and he shared his story and what it was like.
Sorry East Idaho and I pointed East.
How his experience being a dad and not knowing what to do and it was so powerful.
It was child so powerful.
Disability rights.
Idaho was there to provide resources on both days.
There was a lot of networking.
It was a phenomenal experience.
I think the part that I liked the most is that that day that second day was not just
session after session after session.
It was conversation after conversation and it was in yeah it was it was interacting.
You were learning how to tell a story and how to use your story to drive change and
100 percent.
It was cool.
Yeah it was fun.
It was a lot of work.
It was and there's a lot of other things that we're doing for the end of the year that we're
not going to mention right now but you might also be wondering to yourself what are you
doing next year and coming soon is going to be a whole lot of information on what next
year looks like for Idaho parents unlimited and where we're going and what some of our
goals are.
So we're very excited to bring that to you in another episode.
But before we end this here Sarah do you want to give a tip for the holidays.
Some things that I do for my kiddos or in just in my house is we really prep and talk
about things that are coming up.
Kids are going to be out of school so we try to find activities to fill those to fill those
gaps of knowing our kids are home and the second day everybody's bored and it's cold
outside so we try to find and plan activities to do as a family and things like that.
So that's really how I spend my time getting ready for the holidays.
Planning talking and really just getting ready for that time where there's no schedule again
I agree.
Because that's what I want to try to do.
Our kids really thrive on consistency and scheduling and so when the routine is not
when the routine is disrupted.
When it's off they're off.
So we try to be really proactive in planning out our time.
I agree.
I think that the one main thing that I just wanted to share was just to have a plan for
the inevitable meltdown.
If you're going to a house for the holidays that's not yours kind of map out a space that
you can go to for some quiet and even if you just schedule little breaks like hey let's
you and I just go into grandma's walk-in closet and just have a small quiet break for a little
bit.
I think that that's really important.
So at Christmas you might find me in the closet all by myself.
I'll be in the closet consistently.
They'll be like Alison we're opening presents.
I'll be like what?
I'm good.
Thank you so much everybody for listening in.
If you are in Idaho or planning on moving to Idaho and have any questions on systems
or services for children with disabilities please reach out to us at ipulidaho.org.
That's I-P-U-L Idaho.org.
Be sure to come back next time and until then this has been Unlimited Parenting.
Thanks for listening.