| President’s Message
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We would like to thank the association for all the support they have
shown us since Taylor’s birth and especially during the first 2 months
of this year. We only hope to be able to give back as much as we have received.
We want everyone to know that if you ever have any suggestions for our
association please contact us!!! We are here to increase awareness, share
information with new parents and provide support to all families. We are
looking forward to our 1st Annual Buddy Walk.... this is going to be a
huge event and will really raise community awareness about Down Syndrome.
We just updated our New Parent Packs and now have them in almost all the
hospitals in the Tulsa Area. If you ever know of a family that has a child
born with Down Syndrome make sure they receive a new parent pack. This
provides a wealth of support and information to the new family. We look
forward to working with everyone on making this a great year for DSAT!
Next Meeting is March 20th
Special Olympics Building at 7:00 PM
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Come find out from a young adult about Special Olympics
Please come to visit with Chris Paynter of Edmond about his experience
in the Special Olympics. The March meeting is sure to be informational.
Chris, a young adult with Down Syndrome is involved in powerlifting, aquatics
and bowling. Kathy Morris, the Special Olympics director, will also speak
about how to get involved and information about the new under eight category.
It will be a great night!
We Have A Bright Future
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Dear DSAT members,
As Vice President and then Treasurer for the past five years, I have
had the privilege of watching DSAT change and grow. As Nathan has gone
from an infant to a toddler to a proud boy I have been blessed with advice
, encouragement, and support from so many people in our organization. Nathan
has brought so many wonderful things to my life and I count the friendships
we have made in DSAT among the best of those things. In stepping down,
I hope to be able to concentrate my efforts on raising Nathan and helping
with new ventures in DSAT. I look forward to supporting our new leadership
enthusiastically. They are all wonderful, talented people. Our future is
bright!
God Bless,
Kim Wofford, Mother of Nathan
2003 Governor’s Conference
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The deadline for registration for the Governor’s Conference has been
extended to March 19th. There are still stipends of $40 per day available
for families through the Department of Education. Most importantly, the
Governor is actually planning on attending. Please don’t miss this opportunity
to give the Governor a chance to see Oklahomans with disabilities and their
families engaged in learning and sharing information about themselves,
disabilities, and the issues that affect people with disabilities and their
families. For more information, check the Council website (www.okddc.org)
or call the DD Council at (405) 521-4984 or (800) 836-4470.
2003 Calendar
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Thanks to everyone for turning in their calendar money promptly. If
you still have money to turn in, please send it to the P.O. box. We would
like to have all of the money in as soon as possible.
2003 Calendar Puzzles
Don Sheriff, a longtime volunteer at the Little Lighthouse wanted each
child in the calendar to have a puzzle. So he handcrafted them and we have
them now. Don donated all of his time and materials for the project. He
can also make other puzzles of pictures you have. If your child was in
the calendar and hasn’t received a puzzle or if you would like Don to make
a puzzle for you..please call Erin at 355-0193 to make arrangements.
Upcoming Events
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Annual Easter Egg Hunt
We will not have a regular meeting in April. Instead on Saturday, April
12th from 1 to 3pm at Whiteside Park ( located on 41st between Harvard
and Yale) will be our annual Easter Egg Hunt. There will be activities
for everyone. All Ages Welcome. There will be a special guest visiting
so be sure to bring your camera. We will have tons of eggs to hunt and
great prizes even for the older kids! Hope to see everyone there!!
Waivered Services
For our May meeting we will have a speaker from the Department of Human
Services. She will speak about what waivered services, who qualifies and
how to apply. This is wonderful information for the future, even if you
feel like you do not need it now. It is never too early to get on the waiting
list. You do not have to decide on receiving services until they are offered.
Come find out about these resources.
2003 Tulsa Buddy Walk
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We need more members to help out on our 1st Annual Buddy Walk in Tulsa
scheduled for October 19th, 2003 from 2-5pm at Whiteside Park. Mark your
calendars now! You won’t want to miss this! The committee needs more volunteers.
If you are interested in helping or know of any companies that would be
willing to sponsor our event, please contact the chairperson of that committee.
We meet the 3rd Monday of the month at Mazzios at 51st and Sheridan (Farm
Shopping Center) at 6:30pm. Even you if haven’t been to a meeting yet...
we would love to have you. We have plenty of work still left to be done!
Committees
Food and Beverage
still needed
PR/Media still needed
T-shirts and Banners
Bailey Family contact at ANZ_SIGNS@msn.com
Registration
Kristin Pope contact at popefamily@jpopeservices.com
Volunteers
Laura Lester at 488-9331 or Sharon Joyner at 296-9278
Entertainment
Erin Paul 355-0193 or ERIN-ADAM@prodigy.net
Prizes/Raffle
Kimberly Meyers 266-3214 or kimberly@panterfinancial.com
Sponsors
Adam Paul 355-0193 or ERIN-ADAM@prodigy.net
Scrapbook
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Lori will be taking pictures at all our events and putting together
a book for us! If your child does anything that you feel needs to go into
our DSAT Scrapbook, please contact Lori Shultz at 307-2888 or LSchultz66@aol.com.
Thanks Lori, for doing this for our group!
Mom’s Support Group
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The TARC sponsors a support group each month for any mother of a child
with any special needs. They meet on the fourth Thursday of each month
at Kirk of the Hills at 7:00 PM. For information about the meetings contact
either Linda at 481-2956 or Sherilyn at 582-8272.
We Are Family
The TARC has started a new group for siblings age 8 to 18. They are
meeting concurrently with the Mom’s Support Group and is being led by Tracie
Marshall who is herself a sib. She is a wonderful person and works at the
TARC. Call Tracie at the TARC for more information (582-8272).
Thank You!
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Thank you to the following contributors.
We couldn’t do it without you:
Donations
Lafarge Building Materials
Spirit Bank - in honor of Makalya Wilson
Chimney Hills Vet
Dues Paid
Donna Beekman
Adam & Erin Paul
Tobjy Family
Myra Fadely
JeanAnn Wilson
David & Cindy Young
Jackie Brunsman
Virginia Cervantes
Robert Conrad
Ron Graham
Therapy Time
Mike & Becky Reese
Arthur & Vera Wendt
Dorothy Endizzi
Gina Buckley
Jacque Canady
Virginia Baldridge
Jack & Kimberly Myers
Kelly & Jerri Cook
Harold & Kimberly Voss
William & Jodie Rosner
Kim Wofford
Ron & Keni Boland
Scott & Lynn Lugibihl
Darla Ridenhour
Greg & Robin Sanders
Michael Daylor
Jim & Kelly Johnston
Alan & Angela Shaull
Jayne & Alfred Smith
Anita Whitaker
Cathy Somers
Eric & Diane Davies
Greg & Kathy Ward
Bud & Debra Dolan
Pryce & Sharon Joyner
Deborah & Curt Bradshaw
Lynette & Gary Lambert
T.J. & Tennille St. Romain
David & Rebecca Parrack
David & Jeanette Provence
CALENDAR
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March 20th
DSAT Meeting
Special Olympics
A young adult Special Olympian will speak about the program and how
to get involved
with this wonderful program
Special Olympics Building
7:00 PM
April 12th
DSAT Easter Egg Hunt
ALL AGES WELCOME!
Whiteside Park
1:00 PM to 3:00 PM
March 17th
Buddy Walk Committee Meeting
Wear your green and get involved!
Mazzio’s at the Farm in Tulsa
6:30 PM
March 19th
Registration Deadline
2003 Governor’s Conference
March 30th & April 1
2003 Governor’s Conference
Cox Convention Center, OKC
May 2th
DSAT Meeting
Waivered Services
What are they? Who needs them? How do you qualify?
Come get your questions answered!
October 19th
DSAT Buddy Walk
Whiteside Park
2:00 PM to 5:00 PM
Newsletter Deadlines
Share with us your stories, good news and interesting facts. Have your
announcements, stories and information to Kendra Pennington 889-2954 or
KendraOT@hotmail.com by April 26th for the May newsletter. It is our hope
to provide the most current information.
Notes from Dianne Craft’s
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Teaching the Right Brain Child
Spelling words are so much easier to learn, when a child learns how
to “see” the words in his head. Spelling can be a very inexpensive
and easy subject to teach to a right-brainer. Using a list of the
most commonly used words, give the student a pretest of twenty or so of
those words at the beginning of the week. Then you, or the student
can take the words that were missed and put just the letters that were
missed in the word in color, possibly with a picture superimposed on the
letter. Have them look at it with their eyes in an upward position
to more easily take a “photograph” of it. This is the technique that
spelling bee winners often use. Have them review the words daily
by looking at them, not necessarily writing them. When they
take the test, remind them to look up if they forget how to spell a word.
This leads to much longer retention of the word, since the right brain
is in charge of our long term memory storage. Kids love this easy,
pain free method of learning their spelling words. The results are
amazing!
Right Brain
Artistic and creative
Musical (often plays by ear)
Intuitive
(understands reading material, even if they don’t know all the words)
Visual
(pictures help)
Sees the “whole picture”
Often left eye dominant
“Hands on” visual learner
Visual Spelling Program
(Using your child’s “photographic memory”)
Left Brain
Likes structure
Mathematical
Analytical (needs all information from a text in order to
come to a conclusion)
Auditory
(oral repetition helps)
Sees details more easily
Often right eye dominant
Book and work book
auditory learner
Sharing Information
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This is a new section and we hope people will share important resources
that would benefit the group. If you have information that you feel would
be good to share call Erin Paul at 355-0193 or e-mail at ERIN-ADAM@prodigy.net
Free Newsletter Subscriptions/Information
OK Parent Connection
1-877-553-4332 okparentctr@aol.com
A newsletter that includes a list of several workshops
offered in OK and great info about advocating for children with disabilities.
Down Syndrome Congress
1-800-232-NDSC www.ndsccenter.org
They will send you free info about Down Syndrome
and sends out a great newsletter.
Disability Solutions
1-503-244-7662 www.disablilitysolutions.org
Free magazine subscription that provides a wealth
of info about specific topics.
Down Syndrome Society
1-800-221-4602 www.ndss.org
They will send free info about Down Syndrome and
sends out a newsletter.
TARC
918-582-8272 www.ddadvocacy.net
Located in Tulsa and provides a great source of
info. They also have a monthly mom support group. They have a newsletter
also they will send you.
Special Olympics
918-481-1234 www.info@sook.org
Get on their mailing list to know about the latest
with the Special Olympics.
Stars 1-405-271-1836
www.ah.ouhsc.edu/tolbert/courses_workshops
Statewide training system for people with disabilities.
They provide many workshops in our area. For workshop schedules contact.
Neat Products
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Band of Angels
1-800-963-2237 www.bandofangels.com
These are neat books and notecards of children with
Down Syndrome.
Dolls with Down Syndrome
1-888-749-9330 www.downicreations.com
These adorable dolls have all the characteristics
of a child with Down Syndrome (including a scar from heart surgery!)
Positive Perspectives www.apositiveperspective.com
Notecards, magnets, mugs, pens... everything you
can think of with positive sayings about Down Syndrome.
Group Homes
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Faith Homes, Inc.
918-358-2273 www.clevelandcommunitycenter.org
These wonderful group homes are located in Cleveland.
Books
Special Reads
1-513-541-7617 www.specialreads.com
Specially designed books for children of special
needs.
Interactive books
918-337-0763 www.booksschool.com
Children love to interact with books.
Interactive Reading Books www.greenhousepub.com
Another company with interactive type books.
Love and Learning
1-313-581-8436 www.loveandlearning.com
Videos, tapes, books and computer games that teach
beginners and continue up through school age. A dad of a child with Down
Syndrome put these together to help their little girl learn to read. In
the videos, his daughter with Down Syndrome is the main character!!
Woodbine House
1-800-843-7323 www.woodbinehouse.com
A book company that will send you a catalog of special
needs collection of books.
Tamarack Reading Pages
1-715-549-6187 email: TamarackRP@cs.com
Neat books written by a mother of a child with a
disability.
Motor/Speech Products
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Hip Helpers
1-757-481-2407 www.hiphelpers.com
Support shorts for excessive hip abduction in babies
with low muscle tone.
New Visions
1-434-361-2285 www.new-vis.com
A catalog of oral motor programs and items.
Talk Tools
1-888-529-2879 www.talktoolstm.com
A catalog for tools for oral-motor therapy developed
by Sara Rosenfeld Johnson.
Ambucs 405-360-1521
They are creating independence for people with disabilities.
Call to obtain an application for a computer for your child. Anyone with
a disability is eligible.
Webistes
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okla-parent-network@yahoo.com
Parents of children with disabilities in Oklahoma
gives great ideas about pediatricians, dentists, schools, etc.
Down-syn@listserv.nodak.edu
Downs-Heart@yahoogroups.com
www.ideallives.com
upsndowns@yahoogroups.com
www.reedmartin.com
You
Can Support the Good Work of DSAT! Top
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There are many ways to support the advocacy & awareness programs
of the Down Syndrome Association of Tulsa.
Join DSAT: The membership contribution of $20.00 primarily supports
the postage, printing and copying of our newsletters and monthly postcard
meeting notices. Without this we would be using funds earmarked for
other services we provide.
Give a Cash Gift: This is the simplest way to give. You
can mail a check directly to DSAT at P.O. Box 54877, Tulsa, OK for any
amount. Your gift is tax deductible.
Include DSAT in your Will: Providing a charitable bequest in your
will is one of the best ways to save on federal estate taxes. Charitable
bequest are deductible for federal tax purposes.
Donate Stock: By donating stock to DSAT, you receive a charitable
deduction for its full, present, fair-market value and there is no tax
on the appreciation. In addition, there is no capital-gains tax on
transfer of stock to DSAT.
Create a Charitable Remainder Trust: A charitable Remainder Trust
provides income payments during your lifetime to a non-charitable beneficiary
followed by a gift of the remainder of the trust to DSAT after you pass
away. This type of trust allows you to reduce estate taxes, eliminate
capital gains and claim an income tax deduction.
Create a Charitable Lead Trust: With a charitable Lead Trust,
your heirs receive the residual assets after you pass away and DSAT receives
income during your lifetime. Like a Charitable Remainder Trust, a
CLT offers current income tax deductions and a reduction of capital gains.
Need more information? Contact Tracey Wilson at 288-7719.
ITEMS FOR SALE
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Items will be available at all meetings or by contacting any officer.
The items available are:
White polo shirts with DSAT logo $20
White canvas hats with DSAT logo $10
“Far Different Places”
(inspirational music) CD $10
Tape $6
Songbook $6
Video tape of all calendar
pictures set to music $10
and of course CALENDARS! $12
DISCLAIMER:
The Down Syndrome Association Of Tulsa does not promote, recommend or endorse
any service, professional or organization. Decisions regarding the
use of any service, professional or organization are the sole responsibility
of the family or guardian. Top
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