Upcoming New York Family Workshop & Support Group Events

Parent to Parent New York, Inc. will be hosting a free workshop and several family support groups throughout March that you won’t want to miss! Their free workshop “Special Education Mediation: A Collaborative Option for Resolving Disputes” aims to help parents and school districts become more effective partners, offering attendees an opportunity to look at conflict differently, learn about resources that enable people to communicate more effectively, and meet with representatives from organizations to assist parents and schools with communication issues.

Special Education Mediation: A Collaborative Option for Resolving Disputes
10:00am–12:00pm EST
Thursday, March 19th, 2015
Institute for Basic Research
Parent to Parent NY, Inc.
1050 Forest Hill Road
Staten Island, NY 10314

Those who wish to attend should RSVP by calling (718) 494-4872 or emailing SIPTP@aol.com.

They will also be hosting several support groups throughout the rest of the month. The Aspergers, Mothers, and Sibling Support Groups will also be held at the Institute for Basic Research. The Fathers Support Group will be held at the Page Plaza Diner in Tottenville, Staten Island. Please find the times and dates below for each support group:

Aspergers Support Group
10:00am–12:00pm EST
Wed, March 4th & March 18th, 2015

Mothers Support Group
10:00am–12:00pm EST
Wed, March 11th & March 25th, 2015

Fathers Support Group
6:30pm–9:00pm EST
Wed, March 11th, 2015

Siblings Support Group
6:30pm–8:00pm EST
Fri, March 6th & March 20th, 2015
RSVP is required, by calling (718) 494-4872.

For more information about these parent support groups, please call (718) 494-4872 or send an email to Parent to Parent New York at SIPTP@aol.com.

2013 GRASP Benefit: “A Time for Change”

We were delighted to attend the 2013 Global Regional Asperger’s Syndrome Partnership (GRASP) Benefit last Tuesday, May 14, 2013 at the Downtown Community Television Center in New York to congratulate founder and former executive director Michael John Carley for his ten years of cultivating GRASP into the influential network of support groups it is today. Since its launch in 2003, GRASP has become a nation-wide organization that provides community outreach, support groups, advocacy, and education to adolescents and adults on the autism spectrum. The 2013 Benefit: “A Time for Change” also presented GRASP’s Friend and Benefactor Award, Distinguished Spectrumite Medal, and Divine Neurotypical Award to three prominent individuals for the work that they have done in the autism and mental health communities.

GRASP2013Benefit_Photo1 This year, GRASP awarded author Andrew Solomon the Friend and Benefactor Award for his book “Far From the Tree,” which describes the travails of families impacted by numerous diagnoses of deafness, dwarfism, Down syndrome, autism, schizophrenia, and more. His book “Far From the Tree” is considered one of the greatest tributes GRASP now has to pluralism itself. A native New Yorker, Andrew studied at Yale and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in psychology at the University of Cambridge. He has also written several other novels, including “The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression” and “A Stone Boat,” as well as pieces for the New York Times Magazine and The New Yorker.

GRASP2013Benefit_Photo2
The Distinguished Spectrumite Medal was awarded to Bob Hedin, who has contributed to GRASP’s national status by forming and leading the first GRASP network outside the tri-state area. As an individual with Asperger’s Syndrome (AS), Bob recognized the need for support groups for adults with AS and launched a membership drive in 2004 for adults with AS in Philadelphia. Since then, his group has grown to over 250 members and boasts a lending library of over 125 books on autism.

 

The Divine Neurotypical Award was awarded to scholar and researcher Dr. Barry Prizant, who has been a longtime friend to GRASP. Dr. Prizant has had forty years of experience as a clinical scholar, researcher, and program consultant to children and adults with autism and related developmental disabilities. His most recent work involved developing the SCERTS® Model for children who have or are at-risk for social-communicative difficulties, and their families. Barry also co-facilitates an annual weekend retreat for parents of autistic children each year, and has organized the ASD Symposium for parents, educators, SLPs, OTs, and therapists to address the importance of understanding interests, strengths, and talents of people with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

We want to congratulate Michael John Carley on the incredible work he has done with GRASP and as a spectacular human being. We know he will continue to do amazing things.

For more information about the history and mission of GRASP, visit their website at www.grasp.org.