Options for Decision-Making When My Child Turns 18
JOIN US ON NOVEMBER 18 TO LEARN ABOUT ALTERNATIVES TO GUARDIANSHIP
Reaching the age of 18 can be an exciting time for autistic youth and their families. It's also a time when many questions arise around legal responsibilities and the need for continuing support. Join us to learn about a range of strategies to provide decision-making support for your young adult with disabilities. You'll find out about alternatives to guardianship that will allow your child to exercise more control over his or her own life as an adult -- and why that is so important.
Our speakers will be Morgan Whitlatch, Legal Director of the nonprofit Quality Trust for Individuals with Disabilities, and Adam Hoffman, an autistic adult, 32, who is living independently and making decisions for himself with help from his parents and other members of his support team. Adam's father Howard Hoffman will also speak about his experience supporting Adam. Question and answers will follow the speakers' presentations.
Ask an Autistic
THE IMPORTANCE OF LISTENING TO AUTISTIC VOICES
In this 2020-21 program year, for the first time, xMinds has made a commitment to include autistic voices in every speaker event we offer. While we have hosted self-advocate speakers annually for many years, this new stronger commitment stems from our belief that the first step to improving education for students on the autism spectrum is to listen to those autistic students. Further, we are committed to including individuals throughout the array of the autism spectrum. Nonspeaking autistics and others who require many supports are an important part of the community for who we will be providing a platform. We believe that our programming this year, and in the future, will be greatly enriched by the voices of these autistic self-advocates.
We invite you to explore the vibrant autistic self-advocate community through these websites:
Autistic Self Advocacy Network: ASAN is a nonprofit run by and for autistic people, and was created to serve as a national grassroots disability rights organization for the autistic community. They operate under the principle of "Nothing About Us, Without Us!"
I CAN Network: Australia’s largest autistic-led organization has helped thousands of autistic young people develop a stronger sense of self-acceptance, confidence, optimism and belonging.
Autistic Mama: An autistic mother of six neurodiverse children helps parents become the best parent, advocate, and autism ally they can be.
Kristy Forbes: An Australian based autism and neurodiversity support specialist works with clients around the world. Her work is informed by her extensive professional experience, but her most valuable insights come from lived experience as an autistic individual and mother to four autistic children.
Check Out our New Website Resource!
xMinds is proud to present our new interactive maps of MCPS middle and high school special education programs. If you want to find all the locations for a specific program, you can search for that program and see them on the map and also is a list below. If you want to see what programs exist at a specific school, search for that school and all that information will pop up. This will be a helpful tool for parents who want to know all their options in MCPS! Check them out!
xMinds Grant Recipients
xMinds was pleased to award grants to 11 paraeducators and 1 occupational therapist to attend the annual Innovators in Education Conference on October 17. Excellent presentations on friendships, positive psychology, social cognition, anxiety, and students' motivation provided our grantees with new understanding and insights that they will apply when supporting their autistic students.
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