End-of-Year Gifts to xMinds Are Being Matched!
DOUBLE YOUR IMPACT THIS HOLIDAY SEASON! |
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How do you measure a year? That’s the question asked in the song “Seasons of Love” in the Broadway musical “Rent,” and the question we’ve been asking ourselves at xMinds as we finish 2023.
Do you measure it by how many parents connected at our monthly discussion groups? Is it the number of smiling children at our playground meetups and open gyms? |
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Is it measured by our satisfaction on seeing families empowered to advocate for their autistic child’s educational needs, thanks to a free xMinds consult? Is it based on how many parents were informed by our speakers series, or how many families used our online resources to find the perfect summer camp, tutor, social skills group, or job-training program? Or, do you measure it by the number of fidgets, bouncy chairs, and noise-canceling headphones that teachers purchased through our Educator Grants program?
No matter how you measure it, we couldn’t do any of this important work without the help of our volunteers, community partners, professional members, and generous donors. We operate on a shoestring budget, and provide all our resources, services, and events for free so that we can serve the whole community.
If you’ve benefited from our work, we encourage you to give back at this time of the year with a donation that fits your budget. Donations are being matched until we raise $2,750, thanks to a generous grant from the xMinds board and staff. So, if you’re still measuring, that means your donation will go twice as far. We look forward to working in partnership with you in 2024, as we continue to support MoCo autistic students and their families.
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Get the Facts on Restraint and Seclusion
SAVE THE DATE FOR OUR JANUARY 23 WEBINAR |
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Did you know that autistic students are more likely than other students to be restrained and secluded in school? Restraint and seclusion are harmful disciplinary approaches that traumatize and injure students each year, including right here in Montgomery County.
Join xMinds on Tuesday, January 23, at 7:00 PM, for our online presentation “Restraint and Seclusion: What Parents of Autistic Children Should Know.” Guy Stephens, founder and executive director of the Alliance Against Seclusion and Restraint (AASR), will arm you with the facts about what is permitted, so that you can stand up for your child and advocate for their rights. He’ll also discuss how surprisingly often these strategies are still used in our classrooms. |
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Guy founded AASR in 2019 after advocating for his own son, who had been subjected to these traumatizing practices at a school in Calvert County, MD. Guy will share how Calvert County has turned around its abysmal record by implementing trauma-informed, neuroscience-based approaches. Come find out about these alternatives, which support students, instead of hurting and shaming them. We’ll leave plenty of time for your questions.
The webinar is free and will be presented with simultaneous Spanish interpretation. Register here to receive the Zoom link.
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New Teen Social Group – We Want Your Input! |
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xMinds is forming a social group to give teens a chance to make friends in a safe, neurodiversity-affirming environment. To help us get started, please fill out a short interest poll and let us know what activities your teen enjoys—be it geocaching, Dungeons & Dragons, video games, arts-and-crafts, or more. Click here to take the survey; please share the link with other families with autistic teens.
If you, or your teen, would like to be part of our planning committee, please contact mcarlos@xminds.org. Stay tuned for more details about the xMinds Teen Social Group! |
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Join Us for Our FIRST Open Gym of 2024
FAMILY FUN FOR ELEMENTARY AND PRESCHOOL FAMILIES |
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Save the date for our first indoor open gym of the new year: Saturday, January 20, 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM at the Glen Haven Elementary School gymnasium, 10900 Inwood Avenue, Silver Spring, MD.
Our open gym meetups are geared toward families with autistic elementary and preschool students, and offer a fun way to get your kids moving on a winter day. We will have balls, mats, parachutes, and other gym equipment, as well as organized children's activities. It’s also a wonderful opportunity to connect with other parents and share resources. We will provide snacks, and will have volunteers on hand to answer any questions.
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Everyone is welcome, including siblings, and there’s no cost to attend! Registration is not required, so feel free to just show up. If you would like to receive event reminders and an email if we need to postpone due to inclement weather, sign up here.
Please note that due to the holidays, there will not be a December meetup. |
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xMinds Team Fighting for Autistic Students |
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We are excited to announce that we have recently created a legislative advocacy team to champion disability rights and school policies that support the education of autistic students. Top on its agenda: working with MCPS and local leaders to develop strategies to address the shortage of special education teachers in Montgomery County. Midway through the school year, classrooms are still short-staffed and vacancies are being filled by long-term substitutes. |
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The team is working hard to advocate for policies and funding that will shine a light on those who are disproportionately impacted — autistic students in alternative learning outcomes (ALO) programs in schools that are predominantly lower income and people of color. The team is meeting with several County Councilmembers and school administrators proposing strategies to curb the fallout.
“As a collaborative partnership of parents, educators, and service providers, we at xMinds have our ear to the ground and can help relay the concerns parents have about the education of autistic students,” says xMinds Executive Director Melanie Carlos. The committee includes a powerhouse team of volunteers who bring complementary skill sets, including Stacy Ganz Kahn, co-founder of Educational Resources Group of Greater Washington and a former MCPS administrator and special education teacher, and attorney, Dan Amodeo who brings professional experience in the fields of law and government.
As the 2024 Maryland state legislative session gears up in January, xMinds is part of a broader coalition advocating for policies that support students with disabilities in Maryland. We will keep you posted about how you can show your support. If you would like to join the xMinds legislative advocacy team, contact Melanie Carlos at mcarlos@xminds.org. |
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Feeling Overwhelmed This Holiday Season?
DE-STRESS WITH OUR “HOLIDAY SURVIVAL” WORKSHOP |
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Are you feeling stressed and overwhelmed this holiday season? Certified mindfulness teacher and autism mom Magüi Moreno is leading a free three-part “Holiday Survival Guide for Parents” over Zoom for the xMinds community, and has already guided parents through some strategies during the first two sessions of the program. Please join us for the third session on Tuesday, December 12, noon – 1:00 PM, even if you weren’t able to attend the first two. Register here for this free online event.
Each session includes a presentation, a brief mindfulness exercise, and discussion time. The presentation portion from each of the first two sessions is available to watch on demand on the xMinds YouTube channel. |
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Magüi Moreno and her son Adrian
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The third session will focus on practical mindfulness tools. As a preview, xMinds spoke with Magüi about the importance of mindfulness for parents of autistic children. The interview is lightly edited. xMinds: How did you decide to become a mindfulness teacher specializing in helping parents of children with special needs?
Magüi: Mindfulness saved my life when my son was diagnosed with autism at age 4. It allowed me to go through an extremely difficult period in a much better state than I would have otherwise, and allowed me to focus on what we needed to do to help our son. When we moved to the U.S. [from the U.K.] in 2018, I decided that this approach had such a positive impact in my life that I wanted to share it with others. I started teaching mindfulness informally to some moms, and received good feedback. I decided to get properly trained to teach mindfulness. I completed a two-year course and recently graduated from the Greater Awareness Institute of the University of California at Berkeley.
xMinds: What exactly is mindfulness?
Magüi: Mindfulness is an ability to be present with the here and the now. Our normal mode of brain functioning is to always be anticipating the future, or remembering the past. It's quite rare for people to have moments where they're just fully in the present without judging what's happening.
xMinds: How did you become interested in mindfulness?
Magüi: I first became interested when my husband and I were trying to conceive. It took us four years, and I was extremely stressed out. I had done yoga years before, so I re-established that and got interested in mindfulness and meditation as a way to reduce my stress.
xMinds: Why is mindfulness important for parents of children on the autism spectrum?
Magüi: We tend to get caught up in anxiety-inducing thoughts: What's going to happen to my kid at school today? Is he going to be OK in life in 20 years? We’re also thinking back to what we could have done, years ago or months ago. This ongoing internal mental dialogue creates anxiety and stress. There are a lot of outside stressors that we can't control. But there is a lot that is actually created by our own minds, and that is why mindfulness can be such a powerful ally.
Magüi will be leading a monthly mindfulness group for xMinds starting in early 2024. We’ll announce more details in the January issue of the "xMindsWire" and on social media. (Follow xMinds on your favorite platform.) |
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New Resource: Guides to Special Ed in Maryland
FREE BOOKLETS AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD
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The Maryland State Department of Education has released a new series of parent information booklets about special education services in Maryland. The four-part series includes booklets on the special education process, parental rights, IEPs, and secondary transition planning. By staying informed on these important topics and procedures, parents can better advocate for their children’s needs. To download any of the free publications in English or Spanish, click here. |
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The series also includes A Companion Guide to The Alternate Education Framework. Maryland law recognizes that a small group of students with the most significant cognitive disabilities may not achieve the same standards that apply to all diploma-bound students, even with intensive special education services. These students may participate in the Alternate Education Framework, which offers instruction and assessment with modified achievement standards. Students who continue with the Alternative Education Framework throughout high school typically earn a Maryland Certificate of Program Completion upon graduation, rather than a high school diploma.
For information on which MCPS special education services are geared toward diploma-bound students and which are geared toward certificate-bound students, see the xMinds Guide to MCPS Special Education Placements for Autistic Students.
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Book Spotlight: Holiday Gifts Galore!
SEE OUR GUIDE TO LITERATURE WITH AUTISTIC CHARACTERS
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Picture Books: Ways to Play by Lyn Miller-Lachmann. Riley, a little girl on the autism spectrum, has plenty of ways to play, like lining up dolls and stuffies by size and shape; tearing up newspapers and making piles; and using sharp crayons to draw big swirly patterns. Her cousin thinks those ways are wrong. Charlie the dog helps demonstrate that there are many ways to play—and all are right.
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Early Readers: Ada and Zaz by Sally J. Pla. When Ada learns that a new boy is moving in across the hall, she plans a loud festive welcome. But it's a bumpy beginning. Zaz hates "loud" and does not do well with "festive." When Zaz’s pet parrot escapes, it is Ada and her dog Marvel to the rescue. |
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Middle Grade Novels: Good Different by Meg Eden Kuyatt. Selah, an autistic middle schooler, keeps her feelings locked tightly inside. When she explodes and hits a fellow student, her comfortable, familiar world starts to crumble. As Selah starts to figure out more about who she is, she comes to understand that different doesn't mean damaged.
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Young Adult: This Is the Way the World Ends by Jen Wilde. In this thriller/speculative fiction, an autistic student attending the school's annual masquerade stumbles into a secret meeting between the dean and the school's top donors — and witnesses a brutal murder. A mysterious global blackout follows, putting the entire party on lockdown.
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Now on YouTube: Check Out the xMinds Channel |
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If you missed any of xMinds’ recent webinars, you can watch them on demand on the xMinds YouTube Channel. Recent additions include: |
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- Is This Autism? A Framework for Understanding. Tapping into their years of experience as clinicians, the authors of the best-selling "Is This Autism? A Guide for Clinicians and Everyone Else," discuss the autism diagnostic criteria and the autistic experience, delving into the role of cultural factors.
- Stress on the Spectrum. Dr. Jenny Mai Phan, a postdoctoral researcher at Children's National Hospital in the Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders, speaks about identifying and managing stress in autistic children, including how stress might look differently in autistic children compared to neurotypical children.
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Welcome to the Board, Dan Amodeo |
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xMinds is happy to welcome our newest board member, Dan Amodeo. Dan is a dedicated advocate for the rights of autistic students and their families. Dan’s connection to the autistic community is deeply personal and firmly rooted in his upbringing. From a young age, he was exposed to the needs and disparities of the autistic community through his mother’s work as a social worker leading an early intervention program in New York City. |
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Dan is the proud parent of two children, one of whom is autistic. He steadfastly draws from the teachings of his mother’s work to inform his own approach to parenting and advocacy. As an experienced professional in the fields of law and government, Dan taps into his expertise to adeptly navigate the complexities of state and local school programs to champion the rights and needs of autistic students. For more information about the xMinds Board of Directors, click here. |
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Upcoming xMinds Events
xMinds events, resources, & services are always FREE
December 12, noon – 1:00 PM
The Holiday Survival Guide for Parents
Third session in a program on reducing stress. (Attendance in the prior sessions is not required.) Facilitated by Magüi Moreno, certified mindfulness teacher. Register here.
Wednesday, Jan. 3, 7:00 – 7:45 PM
Hablemos Educación Especial
Online discussion group for Spanish-speaking MoCo parents/guardians of autistic students. Register here.
Monday, Jan. 8, 7:00 – 8:30 PM
People of the Global Majority Discussion Group
Online discussion group for MoCo parents/guardians of autistic children who are Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC). Register here.
Saturday, Jan. 20, 10:00 – 11:30 AM
Elementary and Preschool Open Gym Meetup
Meet other elementary and preschool families with autistic children. See the details here.
Monday, Jan. 22, 7:00 – 7:45 PM
Small Steps Together
Online discussion group for MoCo parents/guardians of an autistic elementary or preschool child. Register here.
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Tuesday, Jan. 23, 7:00 – 8:30 PM
Restraint and Seclusion: What Parents of Autistic Children Should Know
Online presentation by Guy Stephens, founder and executive director of the Alliance Against Seclusion and Restraint. See the details above. Register here.
Wednesday, Jan. 24, 7:00 – 7:45 PM
Let's Talk Transitions
Online discussion group for MoCo parents/guardians of an autistic child in middle or high school. Register here.
Community Calendar
Our community calendar is FULL of great offerings not only from xMinds, but from professional service providers located in Montgomery County. Check out the programs and events posted on our Events Calendar.
Note: Our Events Calendar shows events on their start date, but some community programs require you to apply before the start date, so please look ahead!
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