la esquinita (li'l corner)

Welcoming remarks by Lore Barcelona:                                                                                                                                            

We proudly present this year’s Sinergia’s Black History Month Presentation. The participants collaborated with our staff on many different projects including recreations of artwork by Rose Piper and Elizabeth Catlett. Oral presentations on Oprah, Nelson Mandela, Rosa Parks, and, Bob Marley. On display, Washington Carver and Madame CJ Walker. The participants worked all month-long learning about their black innovators.

Very seldom are Parent Centers mentioned in a White House press briefing, but please see the the current Fact Sheet as the "Administration Announces New Actions to Address the Needs of People with Disabilities and Older Adults in Response to and Recovery from COVID-⁠19." 

Sinergia, Inc.

I would like to express on behalf of the agency and board that, while we are thankful for our DSP’s and other staff members every year, 2020 has brought new challenges for Sinergia, and their dedication and professionalism has been crucial in our response to the pandemic. This is an unusual Thanksgiving for two reasons.  One, although many or most of us know someone who is among the more than 250,000 Americans whose lives have been lost to the pandemic, we can all be thankful to have been spared, and for those who are close to us who have also been spared.  The Thanksgiving holiday is especially precious because it is an occasion to reflect on those things we are grateful for, even if we generally take them for granted. The other reason this Thanksgiving is unusual is that, while we want to celebrate, we need to be extremely cautious in how we do so.  We know that travel and large gatherings with others from outside our households are not responsible at this time, and we owe it to ourselves, our loved ones and our communities to follow public health guidance. 

This article published in Disability Scoop outlines the sharp divide between parents and also between parents and school officials regarding the provision of in-person services to students with disabilities.The article focuses on parents whose children attend District 75 programs and are mandated to receive services during the summer. Please note Chancellor Carranza's comments regarding this issue. Apparently, there are no easy solutions.Original Article: https://www.disabilityscoop.com/2020/06/16/parents-educators-split-in-person-special-education/28478/ 

Dear Friends, As you know, we are all facing a difficult public health situation, the spread of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) and we know that updates about COVID-19 continue to cause concern and raise questions about how all of us can keep our communities safe and healthy. In support of our city efforts to limit the spread of COVID-19, The Autism Initiative Project will postpone the After-School Art Program “We Are Friends!” and the Integrated Transition Program for the following dates: 03/14, 03/21 and 03/28. We will reassess the situation at the end of the month and we will contact you. This temporarily suspension will affect those two programs as well as any other workshop schedule by the Metropolitan Parent Center. Our agency will continue to monitor the situation and update our website calendar and social media regarding our plans to re-schedule the missing sessions. 

Our Integrated Transition Program had a guest speaker today, Ms. Jacqueline Handy from Lincoln Center Education. She presented an opportunity for one of our participants to apply for a 150 hour paid internship opportunity. Next month, our participants will have their job interview, wish them luck!!! 

Sinergia, una organización que ofrece servicios a familias que tienen seres queridos con discapacidad de desarrolloDe acuerdo a Paola Jordán, coordinadora de programas, los beneficios pueden ser obtenidos por niños, jóvenes y adultos. La entidad fue fundada en los años 70 y un 98% de sus clientes son latinos. También ha creado una serie de programas innovadores entre los que se encuentra ayudarle a las familias a conseguir vivienda.

Francine Almash was not especially surprised when an investigator from New York City’s child welfare agency showed up at her door. A few months earlier, her then-10-year-old son, Shawn, who is autistic, had been pinned to a wall by a crisis counselor in his special education classroom and come home with a broken thumb. Almash refused to send him back, and so the school called the State’s child abuse hotline to report her for neglecting Shawn’s education. What shocked Almash was not the phone call—which she saw as retribution for criticizing the school—or even the ensuing investigation, which she was able to counter with proof that Shawn was being homeschooled. The stunning part was what came next: Shortly after her case was closed, Almash received a letter informing her that her name had been added to a registry of people investigated for child abuse or neglect. Though she’d never been proved guilty—or even had her case heard by a judge—the record would last until her youngest child turned 28 years old, and it would show up on background checks for any number of jobs where she might come into contact with children or other vulnerable people.