The website I had gone to was PACER. PACER is an organization that focuses on children with disabilities and acts as an advocate for children with special needs. The site has articles about bullying, parent training and information center, the benefit that the organization will be having on May 7th and a health information center. One of the newest articles it has is an update e-booklet called Possibilities: A Financial Resource for Parents of Children with Disabilities. All these links took you to stories about these topics.
The one area of the site I had searched thouroughly was the The National Bullying Prevention Center. One of the stories I had read was called Tangled Ball. The story talks about what people can learn to do to prevent bullying. The PACER organization got involved in the bullying issue because more people with disabilities are getting bullied and it is a sad situation. The organization knew that they needed to take action so they could educate and bring awareness to people about this horrible topic. The organization was invited to the White House to discuss bullying and talk about their journey to help kids with disabilities and to discuss how bullying diminshes lives. It also gives links to the sites Kids Against Bullying and Teens Against Bullying.
The only thing I could find that is related to early childhood is about Health Care. One of the missions of the PACER Center is to give out sources to families with young children who need special health care and have disabilities so they can get the support and advocacy they need. According to the site "Children and youth with special health care needs (CYSHCN) are those who have or are at risk for chronic physical, developmental, behavioral, or emotional conditions that require health and related services of a type or amount beyond that required by children generally. PACER promotes family-centered care and family and professional collaboration at all levels of health care. The F2F HIC also has a strong commitment to promote and support the needs of families from racially, culturally, and linguistically diverse communities" (pacer.org).
The website gave me some great insight about children with disabilities and how they deserve to be treated the same as everybody else. Children with disabilities need someone to stand up for their rights and to help them achieve their educational goals. I think it is great that there are many organizations that help stand up for children with disabilities. The other insights I have learned about is that this group helps kids stand up for bullies and how parents can make sure that their child is receiving the proper medical care.
Source:
PACERS Center-Champions for Children With Disabilities. http://www.pacer.org/
Darlene,
ReplyDeletePacers sounds like a great website for children and families with special needs. Is it based in the U.S? You are right when you say that special needs children need someone to help them stand up for their rights. I also think the topic of bullying is at the forefront right now. I will have to check out the website, thanks.
Yes, it is actually based out of Minnesota. I feel that working with children with learning disabilities is very rewarding and that these children need help. Many children who have disabilities are made fun of because they are different and most of the time they do not receive the best care because not many teachers are aware of the types of disabilities out ther and they do not always know the best way to help a child.
ReplyDeleteWhat an amazing site. I am always interested in knowing what more I can do as a teacher to stop or prevent bullying! I'm glad more organizations are working toward stopping this horrible victimization of our children.
ReplyDeleteI have an Uncle with Down Syndrome, and my grandma often talks about life 50 years ago for him in education. It worked for him than, but it's great to see the tremendous progress we've made to be more inclusive. I still think we have some work to do, but it is thanks to organizations like PACER that we are closing the gap!