Hardly working

by Beth Finke

Two grad students from IIT’s Institute of Design contacted me about a class project they were working on … they had to come up with a product that helps people who are blind, and they wanted me to help with their research. One of the many, many, many questions they asked during an interview was whether there is one career that is common for people who are blind. Truth is, very few people who are blind have jobs at all. From a story in Forbes:
“Despite the technical advances made to help blind employees, there is still a staggering unemployment rate among that population. Several organizations, including the American Foundation for the Blind, put it at 70% among people of employment age, a number that has stayed constant for many years.”

Pretty grim. This week, however, I read about a poll taken by the Society for Human Resource Management and the Cornell University ILR School Employment and Disability Institute that brings a glimmer of hope. Nearly two-thirds of the 662 human resources staff who answered the poll said that their companies include people with disabilities in their diversity plans and train staff on how to interview people with various needs., in 57 percent of the cases, hiring managers said their companies have relationships with local groups that promote employment of people with disabilities.

So hey, maybe things will start moving in the right direction. We still have a long way to go, though — I also read an article in Disability Scoop this week that says that the U.S. Department of Labor reported that as of March 2012, 15.2 percent of people with disabilities were unemployed, compared to 8.2 percent of the general population.

A crafty way to help Easter Seals!

by Rachel Talen

I have a confession to make: I’m a closet crafter. Or maybe I’m more of a wannabe extreme crafter. Either way, it’s embarrassing that I browse every aisle in a craft store, even if I know exactly what I need. My family is a little weirded out that now all their birthday gifts are homemade. And Pinterest has only fueled this fire, my friends!

Crafts are fun to talk and write about, which is why I love working with A.C. Moore during April. For the third year, A.C. Moore is helping Easter Seals by supporting Make the First Five Count and Act for Autism through a register donation program and “Make and Take” crafting event.

A.C. Moore launched this campaign as part of its Crafting a Better World program in 2010, and since then customers and store team members have raised more than $300,000 for Easter Seals!

There are still a couple weeks left to visit your local store and donate $1 at checkout. (And don’t forget to thank your cashier for helping Make the First Five Count!) We also hope you can come to the in-store “Make and Take” craft event this Saturday, April 21st. There, you can buy a t-shirt and then decorate it for free to show your support for Make the First Five Count and kids with autism.

If you love crafting, or just want a fun way to help, check out the event and let us know what you think!

War, what is it good for?

by Jennifer Dexter

One of the many things I love about working for Easter Seals is that we truly take an intergenerational approach to our advocacy and services. I have taken many legislators and their staffs to our Easter Seals Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Inter-Generational Center in Silver Spring, Maryland, and have seen their eyes open to the value of older adults and children working and playing side-by-side.

My favorite thing about the center (and one thing I always, always point out) is the chairs. Each full sized easy chair for the older adults has a matching child-sized one right beside it. It is such a nice visual statement about the magic that happens there.

One of my frustrations is that too often the public debate tries to pit generations against one another. You will often hear that older adults are “bankrupting future generations” or that education and children’s services are “draining resources” for needed supports for older adults that are often overlooked. A good example of this is an article in the April issue of Esquire magazine titled “The War Against Youth.

The truth is that we are all stronger when we work together. Generations United is one group that is helping us lead the charge in the effort to end intergenerational conflict in the public arena. I am proud to serve as the co-chair of their Policy Committee. Generations United has posted a response and a call to action in response to the Esquire article and I encourage everyone to read the article and comment.

Autism on tour

by Rachel Talen

I’m reading a book by Aaron Likens called Finding Kansas: Living and Decoding Asperger’s Syndrome. It’s so interesting to see the world through the eyes of an individual with Asperger’s. Likens does an incredible job of describing his situation in a relatable way — he says it’s all about finding his Kansas, or his comfort zone.

In addition to being an author, Likens is a public speaker. He’s spreading the message about the importance of early intervention through his National Autism Understanding and Awareness Tour, echoing Easter Seals efforts around early autism diagnoses with his slogan, “Sooner Equals Better.”

Aaron works as an Autism Ambassador and Community Education Specialist for TouchPoint Autism Services, the oldest and largest provider of autism services in the state of Missouri. Easter Seals is partnering with TouchPoint to spread the word about the tour, so check out the media kit (PDF) to see if Aaron is speaking in your city, and please extend our invitation to others to hear Aaron’s inspiring story.

Connecting with college students

by Beth Finke

An email from a woman named Gabriela McCall Delgado alerted us to a very cool web site I’d like to share with you here — the We Connect Now website was created by Gabriela in 2008 with a $1,000 grant from YP4.

A native of Puerto Rico, Gabriella was diagnosed with attention deficit disorder and a learning disability that made reading very difficult for her. She got the idea for the web site back in high school when she became frustrated trying to find a disability-friendly college and learn what resources were available to her.

The We Connect Now website has been up and serving college students with disabilities since April of 2008, and it provides college students with disabilities access to relevant news, blogs, personal stories, information about government resources, government laws and regulations, and opportunities for contacting other college students with disabilities.

Gabriella said she developed the web site to “connect and integrate college students with disabilities as a virtual community with a voice on important issues.” The website is linked to by universities, groups and government entities serving persons with disabilities in all 50 states and in 11 other countries. Why not join the crowd and link to We Connect Now? I checked it out myself and can’t think of a better way to get a read on what’s on the minds of kids in college who have disabilities.

Families of children with autism face extra challenges while earning less

by Bob Glowacki

With tax day drawing near, I found a story in MyHealthNews Daily particularly disturbing — it’s about the financial challenges faced by families affected by autism.

The story shared the results of a study based on yearly surveys of U.S. households conducted between 2002 and 2008. It included 64,349 families with healthy children, 2,921 families of children with other health limitations and 261 families of children with autism.

On average, mothers of autistic children earn $14,755 less per year than mothers of healthy children, and $7,189 less per year than mothers of children with other health conditions (such as asthma and ADHD) that limit their ability to engage in childhood activities.

From the article: “Having a child with autism may limit the parents’ abilities to work because these children require more care. Finding quality, specialized childcare for autistic children may be difficult and costly, the researchers say.”

While fathers’ salaries by themselves were not affected by having a child with autism, the study showed that total family income was affected: on average, families with autistic children earned $17,763 less than other families, and $10,416 less than families with children with other health limitations.

The median American family income in 2010 was around $51,000, which means having a child with autism can mean a huge loss in earning potential and financial security for hundreds of thousands of families in the United States.

I have seen firsthand what can happen to families struggling to find services for their children. Before Wisconsin mandated health insurance coverage for children with autism, one family whose child served as the child representative for Easter Seals Southeast Wisconsin told me they had taken out a second mortgage on their home to finance autism services. Sadly, the Wisconsin mandate covers only half of employers in the state of Wisconsin. There is a glaring lack of respite, daycare options and other supports for families raising children with autism. Respite is a vital need to support and nurture families, strengthen marriages and balance responsibilities. I am only the messenger, but I wish I could say that this new report brought better news.

Easter Seals has prepared a state-of-the-states report on autism services that is a comprehensive and objective resource on how the fifty states, District of Columbia and Puerto Rico are responding to the needs of individuals living with autism spectrum disorders, including the 23 states that have passed autism insurance legislation. The profiles highlight the number of children with autism who have received the state’s special education services, state insurance coverage for autism if available, Medicaid services specific for individuals with autism, educational programs provided to students with autism or training that focused on autism, special education criteria, other state-led resources, and sponsors of autism legislation. I encourage you to give our State Autism Profiles a look. The profiles are a very helpful resource when you’re thinking about making important decisions for your family.

A wonderful insight into promoting a neurodiverse world

by Patricia Wright

Scott Robertson is a doctoral candidate at Penn State. He is also the cofounder of the Autistic Self Advocacy Network.

Mr. Robertson recently participated in a video interview series at Penn State called Conversations, and you can watch the interview here.

In his doctoral work, Mr. Robertson is assessing how online communities can support the transition from high school to university for individuals living with autism. What a cool topic!

The majority of his YouTube interview covers Mr. Robertson’s work in self-advocacy. He provides a great perspective on how society should “bend” to accommodate the unique needs of individuals living with autism, and he draws great parallels to ethnic, gender and LGBT diversity. Self advocates often provide wonderful insight into the world of living with autism, and Mr. Robertson provides just that in this interview promoting a neurodiverse world.

Avril Lavigne rocks with Safeway — one of my coolest days at work

by Kristen Barnfield

At the beginning of every April, Easter Seals’ top corporate partner Safeway launches its Support for People with Disabilities fundraising campaign during a fun-filled national kick off and media event close to its corporate headquarters in Pleasanton, CA. This year, the campaign hit the grocery retailer’s shelves with a little extra zing and serious star-power as Easter Seals brought its friend and singer, songwriter, and philanthropist Avril Lavigne to the party.

I could describe the day in great detail (it was so exciting to be a part of and great to watch Avril compete against Easter Seals’ Jim Williams and Dwight “the Catch” Clark of former Super Bowl 49ers fame during the celebrity bagging competition) but watching this clip from San Francisco’s KTVU-TV Channel 2 will give you a better sense of the action.

So here’s what’s really cool about this year’s campaign: as a way to thank customers who donate, Safeway and Easter Seals partnered with Avril Lavigne to bring a new, exclusive video element and enhanced fundraising to the effort. Customers who donate $5 will receive a coupon and code to view exclusive videos of Avril on tour, behind the scenes, performing from her dressing room and visiting Easter Seals programs for kids with disabilities. There’s also an exclusive acoustic version of one of the singer’s most popular songs. Just look for this image when you enter the store, and bring one of these Behind The Scenes passes to the register with you.

Safeway’s campaign means so much to Easter Seals and the millions of families living with disabilities we serve. To date, the company’s raised and donated more than $121 million to support our services. Add “support Easter Seals” to your shopping list and help us make this year’s effort the best yet!

And, if you need any more convincing, check out this teaser video Avril created for us. It gives you a glimpse of the backstage pass videos you’ll see if you donate!

Watch your heads — we’re raising the ceiling

by Bob Glowacki

To a parent, a child is everything. Each child is hope for the future, not just for one family, but for the entire community. Finding out last week that as many as one in 88 children who were 8 years old in 2008 had an autism spectrum diagnosis just reinforced our commitment to work hard to see that individuals with autism can achieve the best outcomes in life.

Too often, we define the opportunities people have. To me that is limiting. Here at Easter Seals Southeast Wisconsin, we believe in unlimited possibilities for our kids, and our new message “Easter Seals connecting children to a world of possibilities” is our commitment to raising the ceiling in each child’s life, which raises the ceiling on our future as a community.

Like so many other Easter Seals affiliates across the country, our autism services at Easter Seals Southeast Wisconsin grow with the children we serve. Autism services do not end once a child reaches a certain age — we offer an array of therapeutic and recreational programs for children and families throughout their lives.

We are fortunate to have corporate and individual support in opening up these possibilities to our kids and individuals we serve of all ages. Many are taking part in very tangible ways by supporting our April Act for Autism campaign to raise awareness and educate people on early symptoms of autism.

Nearly a dozen businesses across Southeast Wisconsin, including our national partner CVS Caremark, have joined us to raise awareness and money to help children and families living with autism by selling autism awareness pins created right here at our Workforce Training Center. Throughout the month of April we’re featuring fun and engaging activities to make others aware of the many ways our autism services open up new worlds of possibilities.

Thanks to Parents Magazine for spreading the word

by Rachel Talen

We’re so happy our friend Kara Corridan at Parents Magazine included us in her blog post, Is Autism Being Diagnosed Too Late?

Kara shares our concerns about the age of diagnosis for kids with autism. We’re thankful she’s helping us get the word out and letting people know that Easter Seals is here to help!

Through generous support from CVS Caremark, we’re able to offer free access to Brookes Publishing’s Ages & Stages Questionnaires (ASQ). When parents and caregivers go to the questionnaire, they can complete the online screening to see whether their child is developmentally on track.

Personally, I’ve had a lot of fun creating materials, pitching and writing about the ASQ — I think it’s such a cool tool! I’ve sent the link to all my friends with young kids.

Like Kara said in her post, the ASQ does not offer a diagnosis, but it can definitely help you share your concerns with your child’s pediatrician. We hope that you’ll share the link with your friends — and we can all help lower the age of diagnosis.