Our areas of focus continue to be education and advocacy. Our voices will continue to be used in a positive, organized effort to help parents and professionals convey information and experiences to leadership, to support the Department of Special Education in their goals, and to advise the Board of Education and top-level decision makers in Baltimore
County Public Schools.
Our meeting topics will remain fluid this year so that we can be responsive to the needs of BCPS families during these unprecedented times. We hope you will consider joining us for any or all of the scheduled SECAC meetings below.
Registration is not required. All meetings are open to the public.
Quality Trust "Hot Topics" Series: Money and Benefits Management
March 4, 2021 –
New Year, New Free Webinars from Quality Trust for DC Parents and Caregivers
Please join us for the 2021 “Hot Topics” series! We have set up free webinars on topics chosen by people with disabilities and their families. In this series, you will learn practical information and strategies to help people and families in the District to get the most out of available supports and services.
In this "Hot Topics" session, you will hear from Jonathan Martinis, Senior Legal Director at the Burton Blatt Institute, about strategies for working, saving, and spending money without losing your benefits. Rhonda White, QT Family Ties of DC Program Coordinator, will facilitate question & answer and a discussion to make sure you learn what you want and need.
If you have any questions, please contact Rhonda White at rwhite@dcqualitytrust.org or (202)302-6635.
Preparing Students with Autism to Enter the Workforce -- Dr. Temple Grandin
March 9, 2021 –
About Dr. Temple Grandin
Dr. Temple Grandin is well known to many for her trailblazing work as a spokesperson for people with autism and her lifelong work with animal behavior. Her life’s work has been to understand her own autistic mind, and to share that knowledge with the world, aiding in the treatment of individuals with the condition.
About the class
Temple Grandin, diagnosed with autism as a child, shares her perspective on what students with autism need to be doing while they are young to prepare themselves to enter the workforce after completing their education.
Finding Support for Parents of Students With Aspergers/Autism
March 16, 2021 –
Over the past 25 years the Aspergers/Autism Network has worked with tens of thousands of adults with an Aspergers/Autism profile as well as with parents of neurodiverse children, teens, and adults. They have found that parents feel that their friends who are parenting neurotypicals don't understand the journey that they are on with their neurodiverse child. Some parents have been on this journey since their child was in preschool, and others are suddenly finding out that their 25-year-old adult child is on the spectrum.
In this webinar, Michele Contara, Co-Director or AANE Adult Services will examine the strengths and challenges facing individuals with autism who do not have an intellectual disability in order to identify ways to reframe and improve the parent/child relationship and suggest ways for parents to obtain the support they urgently need.
What You Will Learn
Examine the strengths and challenges facing individuals with autism without an intellectual disability.
Identify ways to reframe and improve the parent/child relationship.
Suggest ways for parents to obtain the support they urgently need.
Quality Trust "Hot Topics" Series: Becoming a Family Caregiver Provider for DC Developmental Disabilities Administration (DDA)
March 17, 2021 –
Please join us for the 2021 “Hot Topics” series! We have set up free webinars on topics chosen by people with disabilities and their families. In this series, you will learn practical information and strategies to help people and families in the District to get the most out of available supports and services.
In this "Hot Topics" session, you will hear from Jonathan Martinis, Senior Legal Director at the Burton Blatt Institute, about the rules and strategies for being paid by DC DDA for being a caregiver to your family member. Rhonda White, QT Family Ties of DC Program Coordinator, will facilitate question & answer and a discussion to make sure you learn what you want and need.
If you have any questions, please contact Rhonda White at rwhite@dcqualitytrust.org or (202)302-6635.
Quality Trust "Hot Topics" Series: DC DDA’s New Complaint Process
March 24, 2021 –
lease join us for the 2021 “Hot Topics” series! We have set up free webinars on topics chosen by people with disabilities and their families. In this series, you will learn practical information and strategies to help people and families in the District to get the most out of available supports and services.
In this "Hot Topics" session, you will hear from Jonathan Martinis, Senior Legal Director at the Burton Blatt Institute, about the rules and strategies for accessing and using DDA’s new compliant process. Rhonda White, QT Family Ties of DC Program Coordinator, will facilitate question & answer and a discussion to make sure you learn what you want and need.
If you have any questions, please contact Rhonda White at rwhite@dcqualitytrust.org or (202)302-6635.
Health and Health Care in Autistic Children and Adults
April 1, 2021 –
Health and health care are critical issues for autistic individuals and can be highly complex. Autistic people often have multiple health and mental health concerns, frequently see specialists, and use multiple medications. Unfortunately, the current healthcare system often fails to adequately address the needs of people on the spectrum. As a result, there is more frequent need for emergency health care and hospitalization and frequent unmet needs. We must understand health and healthcare needs across the life course so that recommendations can be made about how to improve health and health care at critical points in a person’s life. This webinar presents findings from the recent National Autism Indicators Report: Health and Health Care. This report, the sixth in the National Autism Indicators Report Series produced from the Life Course Outcomes Research Program area at the A.J. Drexel Autism Institute, reports indicators of health and health care for autistic people across the lifespan. Topics covered include overall health, health services, medication, insurance, and accessing services. The report combines data from two national surveys about health, one national sample of hospital inpatient stays, and previously published findings from Kaiser Permanente Northern California patient records.
Findings highlight that autistic people have many healthcare needs that are not adequately addressed and needs for non-physical health concerns such as mental health and specialty care are more often unmet. The report also highlights the racial and ethnic disparities that persist in health and health care in the US. Specific concern arises around health care transition, with low access to health care transition for youth and limited availability of adult health care providers with autism knowledge.
The purpose of this report is to catalogue indicators to aid in decision making that improves the quality of care and quality of life of autistic persons.
BCPS SECAC Meeting
Quality Trust "Hot Topics" Series: Money and Benefits Management