Welcome to this edition of the Down Syndrome Support Newsletter!

This months activity: Financial Planning for your child with Special Needs GiGi's Playhouse Too 10052 S Bode Rd, Unit D, Plainfield, IL 60544 June 15th • 7 pm Please RSVP to info@dssupport.net

NDSS Conference July 7–10, 2005 • Chicago, IL • Fairmont Hotel http://www.ndss.org If you are heading to the conference, be sure to stop by the DS Support Booth for a free gift! Registration deadline is June 13.

Study of how mothers of developmentally disabled children cope

The purpose this research project is to better understand how mothers of
children with Down's Syndrome cope by identifying what they have found to be
helpful. Ms. Cline is hoping that the information gained from this study will help
pediatricians be more effective in supporting their patients. Your participation will inform helping professionals provide better support and care for families with a developmentally disabled child.

All questionnaires will be treated with the utmost respect and confidentially, so that your responses will be anonymous. No names will be attached to any of the questionnaires. Completion of the questionnaires should take no longer than 20 minutes.

If you are interested in helping out please email info@dssupport.net, questionnaires are also available at GiGi's Playhouse Too.

IDEA PUBLIC MEETINGS IN JUNE AND JULY
The purpose of this alert is to emphasize the importance of participating in the public meetings to be held on the proposed regulations for IDEA 2004 in June and July. The proposed regulations are expected to be released in the first or second week of June. Every family member and friend of a child with Down syndrome should plan to attend one of the public meetings if there will be one in their region. It is worth an hour or two hour drive to make sure that our children are well represented. The text of the announcement made by the Department of Education is pasted below and provides all the relevant information.

Your presence makes an important statement even if you don't give testimony. At the last round of public meetings we were informed that there were many more educators there than parents. This time we must make sure our interest in the regulatory process is clear. NDSS will put together talking points as soon as the regulations are published. Please contact Ricki Sabia at rsabia@ndss.org if you are willing to give testimony at one of these public meetings. NDSS will also be submitting detailed comments on the proposed regulations.

IDEA Public Meeting Notice:
John H. Hager, assistant secretary of the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS), U.S. Department of Education, is pleased to share with you the schedule for a series of public meetings to be held following publication of the Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) to seek input on the proposed regulations to implement programs under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA 2004).

Wednesday, June 29, 2005
1:00-4:00p.m., 5:00-7:00p.m.
The Palmer House Hilton
Red Lacquer Room
17 E. Monroe Street
Chicago, IL 60603

Please watch the Federal Register for the draft regulations to implement programs under IDEA 2004, which will be published as an NPRM in the near future. Individuals can register to comment at the door, on a first-come first-served basis. Individuals can provide oral and written comments about the NPRM at the meetings; written comments that accompany oral remarks are optional.

Written comments or suggestions about the NPRM can also be submitted electronically to comments@ed.gov, or mailed to:
Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services
U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, S.W.
Potomac Center Plaza, Room 5126
Washington, DC, 20202-2641

Questions can be directed to OSERS' main number, (202) 245-7468, or, if a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) is needed, individuals may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339.
For a copy of the law and other pertinent information, please visit the U.S. Department of Education's Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 Web page at: www.ed.gov/policy/speced/guid/idea/idea2004.html

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If you have questions or comments about this alert, contact Ricki Sabia at rsabia@ndss.org.
If you or others you know would like to be added to the NDSS mailing list, send name(s) and email address to info@ndss.org
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National Down Syndrome Society, 666 Broadway, New York, NY 10012,
Phone: 800-221-4602; Fax: 212-979-2873; e-mail: info@ndss.org; Web site: http://www.ndss.org/

Times Square Video Call For Photos DEADLINE JULY 15
Celebrate the New York Buddy Walk's 10th anniversary by entering the Times Square Video Contest. The video, which showcases the contributions that individuals with Down syndrome make to their communities, will air on the Panasonic Astrovision screen in Times Square on September 25 at 10:30 a.m. The New York City Buddy Walk will follow the video. NDSS will be accepting photos of individuals with Down syndrome of all ages from May 1 through July 15. Please limit photos to no more than three per family.

To enter, please visit the "Times Square Video" section of www.BuddyWalk.org to upload photos and submit a consent form through the Web site. You also have the option of downloading a consent form and mailing it in with your photos to NDSS Call For Photos, 666 Broadway, New York, NY 10012. The deadline for submitting photos is July 15, 2005. We will notify you ONLY if we accept your photograph for the video, and we are unable to return any photos.

Links to interesting articles found on the web:

My Dinner With Crispin
Tucson Weekly - Tucson,AZ,USA
... is that almost all of the actors have Down syndrome, and in the case of Steve Stewart, an actor around whom the second film in the trilogy is based, severe ...

If you have a story, event, or happening email it to info@dssupport.net and we can include it in the next edition.

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