But I’m not so proud as to not be aware of the fact that many other organizations around here also do a great job of providing opportunities for individuals with cognitive disabilities to become active participants in our community.
One example of such an organization is the Association of Community Living in Boulder County, Inc. The ACL provides many classes and opportunities for social activities, and you can learn more by visiting their online class calendar.
Another local organization we are pleased to be associated with is the Autism Society of Boulder County. The ASBC assisted us in creating one of our most unique programs, our Autism Spectrum Disorder Program, and they also host a wide variety of meetings and events, including an ongoing lecture series and support groups for parents.
There are so many other organizations we work closely with here at Imagine! that I can’t possibly list them all without this post becoming unwieldy. But we do our best to keep our constituents informed about events, happenings, classes, and lectures that may serve as resources to consumers, families who have a family member with a developmental disability, service providers, Imagine! employees, or members of the community at large through our web calendar.Please take some time to check out the calendar to see what others in our community are doing to improve the lives of local citizens who have a developmental or cognitive disability. I think you’ll come away very impressed with the depth and breadth of the opportunities that are out there!
Mark, Thank you for your recent mentions of the ASD Program. I also really appreciate your networking about the ACL & ASBC. I would add that the ACL has 3 skillful Advocates who help families to navigate IEP meetings for FREE! They also offer parent training workshops about IDEA & the IEP process as well as many other supportive services for parents of children & adults with developmental disabilities. The ASBC Parent Support meetings are held at the ACL which also offers a new support group for those transitioning from school into the world of work (which I learned from the Imagine! Calendar...). There are always so many families new to the journey of advocacy and/or new to Boulder or Broomfield Counties, I believe you can't get the word out about the other non-profits we partner with often enough.
ReplyDeleteLucy - you are so right. These additional supports you listed are great examples.
ReplyDeleteMark