Meeting Time and Location:
Thursday, February 18 at 7:00pm.    Special Olympics Building 6835 S. Canton, Tulsa
  (click here for map)
 
 

Message from the President:               Top of Page I look forward to serving this year.  We have a distinguishing qualified group of officers assisting in helping us move our organization forward.  I want to thank all those who gave of their time last year and who have agreed to extend their tour of duty this year.  Your dedication and  devotion are a blessing to so many and will be for many more to come.  I would like to emphasize the mission and objective of our organization at this time. The Down Syndrome Association of Tulsa (DSAT) is a non-profit organization that exists to enhance the lives of individuals with Down Syndrome, their families and caregivers. This is accomplished by providing support, encouragement, current information, education, opportunities for socialization and by promoting community recognition of the inherent dignity of all people with developmental disabilities.  Any parent, caregiver, professional or person otherwise interested in Down syndrome may become a member. We also encourage our members to join the Tulsa ARC and the Nationa Down Syndrome Congress.  If you haven’t been to one of our meetings or have been disconnected I would invite you to plan  on attending the next meeting on February 18th.   I look forward to visiting and helping in  anyway possible.  Sincerely,  Tracey        Good News                  Top of Page Timothy Baker had open-heart surgery and his parents report that he is recovering well.  Matthew and Theresa McFall  welcomed their third baby girl in January.  Sarah Elizabeth is the new addition.  Theresa says that Sydney and Samantha are enjoying the baby!  John and Laura Smith also welcomed a new baby, a boy, John Spencer.  I am sure that all of his brothers and sisters are excited.  Isaac officially gets bumped from baby status (even though he  has been a toddler for quite a while!)  Jesalyn Nelson participated in the State Winter Special Olympics held in Norman and received a gold medal, two silver medals and two bronze medals.  Apparently she had no trouble with nerves and loved every minute of performing.  Bart Conner presented her medals to her.  What a thrill!  Upcoming Events!                         Top of Page Our February meeting is slated for February 18th at 7:00 PM.  We have Connie from Earl's Health Food store set to answer questions about nutrition (not just about our kids) and Mitzi  Burger has some excellent nutritional  information to pass on as well.  In March we will skip our regular meeting time in lieu of our annual Easter Egg Hunt which  will be on March 27th.  We are currently booking the speakers for the rest of the year and hope to give you an advance schedule of events so you can put them on your calendar.  Miscellaneous News!                      Top of Page We still need money donated for the purchase of books for the new parent packets.  It is an excellent way to pass on a gift in honor of your child to a new family with a baby with Down Syndrome.  For a donation of $15 we will place a placard in the front of the book with you child's name and when a new family is given a new Parent packet they will receive the book free of charge.  Contact Kim Wofford for more info.  The Little Lighthouse is selling cookbooks for $11.00 and is seeking volunteers for their  classrooms. You can volunteer for as little as an hour and it would be an hour well spent!!  The kids make it a very rewarding endeavor.  Last meeting was very informative.  Diana Higgins from Tulsa Speech and Hearing Association visited with us about some of the benefits of signing using ASL as a reinforcement to the communication process of our developing children.  They are partnered with 5 organizations in Tulsa, Oklahoma that provide services for the people with disabilities and their families in Northeastern Oklahoma. These organizations are The Community Service Council of Greater Tulsa, Ability Resources, the Mental Health Association  of Tulsa, Tulsa Advocates for the Rights of Citizens with Developmental Disabilities, and the  Tulsa Speech and Hearing Association. Each organization has its own Web Page that is updated regularly with useful information about the agency, their services and topics of interest in their field.  You can get their by going to the DSAT Home Page http://www.myplanet.net/forest/DSAT.html  and then going to Miscellaneous Links and choosing Disability Network or by simply going to  their URL at http://www.disabilitynetwork.org  We also elected officers so those of you who avoided the meeting…It's safe, come on back.  Elections are over!!!You will find the new officers listed every month on the front of the DSAT News.  Their phone numbers are listed so they want to hear from you.  Suggestions, questions, complaints, and any thing else are always welcomed( OK, so the complaints aren't really welcomed but we will listen to them and respond)  Profile:                                   Top of Page Tracey and Shelley Wilson Similarly to Ken and Toni Wyrick’s profile of Joy last month, we too had dealt with the  emotional trauma of trying to understand why did this happen to us?   We too cried buckets of tears before final acceptance of our Ellen as a gift from heaven.  Fortunately, DSAT was having a conference literally days after Ellen was born.  I remember, Shelley was still recovering from caesarian and Ellen had remained in the hospital with several complications.  We had discussed it and agreed that I would attend the conference alone and  bring back as much information as I could.  I was grateful this opportunity was so immediate.  I wanted to see other kids with Down  syndrome and talk to other parents and find out how you deal with it.   Well not only did I get  to see other kids, but I talked, and I played and I hugged these kids that had Down syndrome.  I had fellowship with the parents and listened to their stories.  I will never forget one telling me  that the extra chromosome was God’s extra LOVE chromosome.  I thought to myself,  Wow.   What does he mean?  It has taken a while, but I think after 4 ½ years I understand what they meant.  Additionally, the information and sessions were well presented and I did bring home lots of material to share with Shelley.  It surely was a blessing what DSAT did for us.  I’m not sure  what I would have done had they not been there.  I guess that’s why I want to help today.  The initial support was encouraging and provided me with a sense of belonging  and purpose  where I had previously felt disconnected.  Ellen had heart surgery at just over 1 year and has progressed wonderfully since.  She is  obviously delayed, but, I have become unnoticed from the daily routines.  My patience is  challenged most regularly and I often look to God for strength for that.  I understand that we  do not have a typical child and our hopes and dreams for her have been modified to some  extent.  I also understand that typical children can be the source of great heart ache and pain, and can shatter the biggest of dreams.  I’m honest in saying I would not trade my situation with anybody.  Realizing we have a long  way to go, I say our blessing have only just begun.   For all of you, and there are many that  have shared and supported us, I say thanks and if you every need me I’ll be there.

President:                                                           Tracey Wilson  (918) 628-1872 or (918) 488-4060  224-8171                   Top of Page                   Fax (918) 663-1609         E-mail Tracey Wilson Vice President: Kim Wofford     (918)  622-6906        Kim's E-mail Secretary: Andrea Eden  (918) 224-8172            Andrea's E-mail  Treasurer: Theresa McFall 272-4406  Newsletter:  Marilyn LaPoint 371-2279  Calendar Committee: Lynette Lambert Lori Blankenship Jayne Smith Shelley Wilson  Scholoarship/Library Committee Marilyn Lapointe Andrea Eden  Jill King  Party Planner Kimberly Myers   (918) 266-3214  General Needs Assistants Karen Baker  Web Master  E-mail Tracey Wilson