Increasing Opportunities for Families with Special Needs in Greater Dallas through the Special Needs Partnership of Jewish Family Service
Jewish Family Service (JFS) is dedicated to creating more inclusive
programming for individuals with special needs and their families.
Read below to learn more about upcoming inclusive events led by the
JFS team.
Learning Fest 2013
In conjunction with the Center for Jewish Education, we are pleased
to offer a full day of programs at Learning Fest 2013 -- a series of
workshops selected especially for those families who live with
someone with special needs and those families who love someone with
special needs. Join us at the JCC for the following programs. For
more information about Learning Fest 2013 visit:
www.LearningFest.org.
Replacing the Irreplaceable Parent: The Special Needs Planning
Dilemma Melissa Cox, Certified Financial Planner
Sunday, February 10, 2013, 10 - 11 a.m.
Guardianship and Special Needs Planning Rick O'Connor, Attorney
Sunday, February 10, 2013, 11 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Overcoming Learning Disabilities: How One LD Kid Conquered
the Odds and Graduated from Yale and Cambridge Bryan Mark Rigg, Author and Historian
Sunday, February 10, 2013, 12 - 1 p.m.
Dallas Fighting Maccabees -- A Jewish Special Olympics Texas
Team Jonathan Tobolowsky, President/ Head of Delegation
Sunday, February 10, 2013, 1 - 2 p.m.
Moving, Singing and Shaking with Music Together Dallas -- A
Program for Children! Gila Vinokur, Music Together Dallas
Sunday, February 10, 2013 1 - 2 p.m.
NOTE: This event is free to families. To attend all other sessions, a
one-time $18.00 registration fee per person applies.
What is the Effect of Music on the Young Child's Mind and Soul? Gila Vinokur, Music Together Dallas
Sunday, February 10, 2013, 2 - 3 p.m.
For parents and caregivers of both typically developing and special
needs children.
What is YACHAD? Rabbi Sandy Shulkes, Director, Dallas Yachad
Sunday, February 10, 2013, 2 - 3 p.m.
Teen Peer Mentor Training Teri Kachur, Community Organizer, Special Needs Partnership, JFS
Sunday, February 10, 2013 4 - 6 p.m.
Kids just want to have fun! But for some kids with special needs, it's
hard to make a social connection without a little help. Featuring
the "Inclusion Experience" -- our interactive, hands-on inclusion
program -- participants will explore ideas to help bridge differences in
abilities and learn how they can share their hobbies and personal
interests with other kids who just want to have fun. This workshop is
appropriate for teens in grades 6-12.
Please note: $18 to attend all courses you'd like; there is no cost for
students 18 or younger. Sponsored by the Zweig Family and the
Gladys Golman/Faye Dallen Special Needs Fund of the Dallas Jewish
Community Foundation.
Inclusion in Our Faith Communities - February 25
Join us on Monday, February 25 at Preston Hollow Presbyterian
Church for the first in a series of three inclusive, faith-based
communities symposia created to share successful strategies to fully
embrace individuals with disabilities and their families. We will share,
learn and connect with spiritual and lay leaders, congregants and
consumers from a cross-section of faith communities to create
opportunities that empower an individual or family with a disability to
participate and contribute to their highest potential.
There are a variety of breakout sessions and the keynote speakers
include Erik W. Carter, PhD Associate Professor of Special Education,
Vanderbilt University's Vanderbilt Kennedy Center, and author of the
book, Including People with Disabilities in Faith Communities and
Bill Gaventa, MDiv, Director of Community and Congregational
Supports, Elizabeth M. Boggs Center on Developmental Disabilities;
Associate Editor of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities;
Executive Secretary for Religion and Spirituality Division of the
AAIDD.
Please note that attendance is free, with the exception of the
Community Celebration Dinner. Visit www.JFSdallas.org/inclusion,
or contact Teri Kachur, Project Director, Inclusive Faith-Based
Communities Symposia Project at [email protected] or
972.437.9950.
Inclusion Experience --
Taking A Walk In Different Shoes
The Special Needs Partnership of JFS continues to lead the "Inclusion
Experience: Taking A Walk In Different Shoes" program for schools,
organizations and youth groups across the greater Dallas community.
The interactive, multi-sensory curriculum is designed to simulate the
effects of specific disabilities, build awareness and create an
environment of empathy and inclusion. Participants "experience" a
variety of disabilities, including developmental disabilities (Autism,
Asperger's Syndrome, Down Syndrome, Dyslexia) and physical
disabilities (fine motor, gross motor, speech, hearing).
For more information about this program and hosting an "Inclusion
Experience" at your organziation, please contact Teri Kachur,
community organizer, Special Needs Partnership of JFS, at
[email protected] or 972.437.9950.
Special Needs Partnership at J-Serve Family Fun Day
On Sunday, April 21 Dallas Jewish teens will join in a day of
service under the auspices of J-Serve, the National Day of
Jewish Youth Service. Dallas teens, at the initiative of BBYO,
will host "Family Fun Day" -- a free, inclusive carnival for
individuals and families of all ages, abilities and faiths to be
held 1 - 4 p.m. at the JCC. Children with special needs will
share inclusive games and activities with teens who have
received specialized "buddy" training facilitated by JFS.
All volunteers who wish to be a buddy for a special friend at this event
need to attend one of our "Teen Training Sessions." Our first session
will be held on: Sunday, February 10, 4 - 6 p.m. at the JCC. Please
contact Teri Kachur at [email protected] or 972.437.9950 if you
are interested in training to become a buddy.
The Special Needs Partnership of JFS was founded by a group of local families to advocate more strongly on behalf of their special-needs children. The partnership is a grass-roots initiative that furthers awareness and inclusion through education and support for individuals and families through community programming. To learn more about the Special Needs Partnership, please contact community organizer Teri Kachur at [email protected]. The Special Needs Resource Team of JFS works with individuals with special needs to help them reach their potential at home, at school and in the community. To learn more about services for children, adults and families with special needs, please contact special needs resources team leader Malkie Schick at [email protected] or visit us online at http://www.jfsdallas.org/help/specialneeds.
Jewish Family Service 5402 Arapaho Rd. Dallas, TX 75248
www.JFSdallas.org
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