JACIL
Connections for March 2012
Article 1:
Planning for the future by Becky McGinnis
The
Jacksonville Area Center for Independent Living is required to develop a “work
plan” every three years. We are in the
midst of that process now and by July 1 new goals and objectives will be in
place to guide the decisions we make and the activities upon which we focus our
energies.
What
does JACIL do well? What do we need to
improve on? What do you see as the
greatest need for people with disabilities in west central Illinois? How can JACIL help meet that need?
We
are eager to have input from people with disabilities in our service area and
hope that you’ll be able to join us at one of three meetings we have scheduled:
Thursday March 15, 3:00 - 4:30 p.m.
Jacksonville office, 15 Permac Road
WEDNESday March 21, 3:00 - 4:30 p.m.
Jacksonville office, 15 Permac Road
Thursday, March 29, 2:00 - 3:30 p.m.
Havana Office, 220 W. Main
Attendance
will be limited to no more than 20 people at any of the sessions, so you will
need to call to let us know which session you plan to attend.
An
American Sign Language interpreter is scheduled for the two Jacksonville
meetings. There will also be
refreshments available at all three sessions.
Please
call Becky at 217-245-8371 or toll-free 888-317-3287 (both are voice/tty) if
you have any questions or want to register to attend any of the sessions.
March 21 at 3:00 in Jax
March 29 at 2;00, Havana ofc
l Questions? Call JACIL
Article 2:
JACIL
hosts third annual Festa Jaciliana fundraiser
Our
third-annual Festa Jaciliana was a great success once again.
The
event was hosted by Board Member Brad Fellhauer and his wife, Kim, at Bogart’s
Banquet Hall and chaired by past JACIL Director Liliana Costa.
A14k
gold diamond ring was donated by Kevin & Carolyn Denney & Precious
Jewelers for a raflle prize. It was won
by Jeanne Xamis.
Auction
items included a wine party hamper from Liliana Costa won by Dr, Guy Audet, a
wine party cooler from Liliana Costa won by Joy Becker, a patio rib party
package by A. Gaudio & Sons, Liliana Costa & Larry Whewell won by Ernie
Downey, an original acrylic abstract painting by Allison Pratt won by Adah
Mitchell and a red sunset maple tree by Happy Hollow Nursery won by Dr. Guy
Audet.
Our
thanks also to our auctioneering team of David Middendorf (with Marc Steinberg
and Chuck Savage) and our entertainers for the evening, The Rob Killiam Quartet
with Nathan Carls.
And
we salute our many table captains who filled the banquet hall in support of
JACIL.
Article 3:
Laura
Bridgman: A story of how hard work can make a difference.
By Jessica
Motley
In 1831 at
the age of 2, Laura Bridgman was struck with Scarlet Fever, a disease which
produced open sores which covered her ears and eyes and infected her mouth and
nose. Laura was left with only one
sense: touch. By the age of 7 Laura's life seemed hopeless.
News
of Laura traveled however, to Samuel Gridley Howe of the Perkins School for the
Blind. Even though he wasn't sure how he
could actually teach her, he was determined to give her a means of
communication, to lead her into a productive life. When Laura turned 8, she
moved to Massachusetts to join students at the school in learning geography,
history, grammar, algebra, physiology, and philosophy. But first, she had to
learn how to read, write and talk. There had never in history before Laura been
a deaf blind person to learn a language.
Howe
started teaching Laura to read raised print; Howe put labels on common objects
like a fork and a key. Laura examined the labels and the objects to begin to
understand that the objects had names. Howe then separated the labels from the
objects and had Laura place them on their corresponding objects. Then Howe
separated each letter to have Laura spell the name of each object. Laura wanted
to know the names of everything, and carried around a board to spell out words
and sentences.
Howe
enlisted the help of Julie Brace, a graduate from the American School for the
Deaf to teach Laura sign language while she was learning Braille and all the
other classes the school could offer. Laura's achievements were so impressive
that Charles Dickens dedicated 5 pages of his book American Notes to the
message that anything can be done, regardless of disability.
Laura
lived at the school until she died. She
taught the sewing class and cleaned buildings on the campus. She got close to
many of the students including the famous Anne Sullivan and taught her how to
use Sign Language. Anne Sullivan, of
course, became the teacher for Helen Keller, the most well-known deafblind
American.
Article 4:
HOME
SERVICES - IL Philosophy for PAs
Having
trained Personal Assistants is important if you rely on the services of a PA
for your independence. While you are
responsible for training each PA on how to complete the tasks on your DRS
service plan (the consumer is the employer, after all), there are other several
topics that you would like the people you employ to be familiar with. The PA union, the SEIU, offers seven of these
areas to PAs who are actively working.
The
Illinois Network of Centers for Independent Living (INCIL) developed the curriculum
for one of the topics, Independent Living Philosophy, which includes
information on what the philosophy is, and what it means for you the
consumer. We are very proud of the
quality of the module we created.
Training
will be provided monthly in our Jacksonville office starting on Weds March 28, 4:30 - 8:00. Our trainer is Kim Pate, who uses PA services
herself, and will be an excellent instructor for the class. PAs are paid to
attend this 3-hour class and do not have to be members of the union to
participate. They must be working DHS/DRS PAs and registration MUST be made by
calling 866-933-7348 (press 3 for events).
JACIL
plans to offer this training to consumers in the future - but for now,
encourage your PA(s) to attend.
Article 5:
Knowledge
Is Power:
Secretary
of State Services for People with Disabilities
by Larry
Whewell
JACIL's
monthly Knowledge Is Power workshop is scheduled for Tuesday, March 20, from
2:00 to 4:00 p.m. in the conference room at the Jacksonville office.
Among
the services to be covered: Circuit
Breaker, License Plates and Placards, Parking Abuse Complaints, Publications,
Talking Books and Braille Service.
If
anyone needs materials in alternate format contact JACIL by March 16. A sign language Interpreter will be
present. For more information contact
JACIL at (217) 245-8371 (voice/tty).
Article 6:
Autism
and the IEP
by Susan
Nolls
On
March 22 at our Parents of Children with Autism group meeting, we will have
Tiffany Leischner from Family Matters speak about the IEP process for special
needs students.
Tiffany
said her daughter, Lindsey, will be able to join her and speak about her
experience with the IEP process as well. Lindsey has Autism and has spoken to
several parent groups about her experiences as a child and as a young
adult.
We
will have some time for questions and answers.
Here is an opportunity for all parents to learn about life from the
perspective of a young woman with autism and how the school experience impacted her.
Please
join us on Thursday, March 22, at 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. at JACIL. Please contact me at (217) 245-8371 and let
me know if you plan to come so that I can prepare for all of you.
Dan
Thompsons Technology tips
How
to send a text message from your computer’s e-mail
You
can send a text message from your computer to someone’s cell phone via your
e-mail program.
The
table at the right provides a list of cell phone suffixes for the most popular
cellular carriers used here in the midwest.
Here
are the steps to use in sending a text message by e-mail:
1. If you want to send a text message to
someone using A T&T, for example, and their cell phone number is
555-555-5555. You open a new email message and in the “ To “ field type in the
person’s number including area code followed by @text.att.net.
2. Put in a subject line if desired.
3. Proceed to the edit field and put in
your message. Then send as usual.
That
phone will receive the text message and
when they reply it will be sent back to your e-mail inbox.
If
you have any questions about the tips posted in Dan's Tech tips, please contact
Dan at this email address: dthompson5@mchsi.com.
Article 7:
Here are the e-mail suffixes from various area carriers
you add to the cell number:
Verizon Wireless:
phonenumber@vtext.com
AT&T:
phonenumber@txt.att.net
Sprint:
phonenumber@messaging.sprintpcs.com
Nextel:
phonenumber@messaging.nextel.com
Boost Mobile:
phonenumber@myboostmobile.com
Virgin Mobile:
phonenumber@vmobl.com
T-Mobile:
phonenumber@tmomail.net
Tracfone:
phonenumber@txt.att.net
US Cellular:
phonenumber@email.uscc.net
Cellular One:
phonenumber@mobile.celloneusa.com
Comcast:
phonenumber@comcastpcs.textmsg.com
Qwest:
phonenumber@qwestmp.com
Alltel:
phonenumber@message.alltel.com
Southwestern Bell:
phonenumber@email.swbw.com
Midwest Wireless:
phonenumber@clearlydigital.com
Article 8:
JACIL
conducts disability awareness event at Our Saviour
The
students of Our Saviour School recently enjoyed an afternoon of Disability
Awareness training staged by members of the JACIL staff.
Under
the direction of Associate Director Larry Whewell and Our Saviour
Representative Sarah Robinson, the program introduced a variety of disability
situations to students through the eighth grade.
These
sessions are similar to the presentations JACIL offers every year for Turner
Junior High School’s eighth grade classes.
Article 9:
Ask
Kathy Used equipment available
Don
Rankin has a few pieces of equipment he would like to sell.
They
include: a gently used electric hospital
bed, a four wheeled walker with brakes and a bed side commode.
If
you are interested or have questions, please call him at 217-320-8778 for more
information.
March Calendar of Events
1 Knollwood 20/20 Support
Group - 10:00 to 11:00 a.m.
8 VisAbility Support Group -
10:30 a.m. to Noon
15 Visions
Support Group in Havana - 2:00 to 3:00 p.m.
15 Friends
Helping Friends Action Club - 1:30 to 2:30 p.m.
15 Deaf
Silent Club - 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.
16 People
First Aktion Club - 3:45 to 4:45 p.m.
20 Knowledge
is Power - 2:00 to 4:00 p.m.
Topic:
Secretary of State Services for People with Disabilities
Speaker: Kevin Nichelson
21 Personal
Assistant Training in Havana, 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Pre-registration
required
21 Laborer’s
for Greater Vision Support Group - 1:30 to 2:30 p.m.
Laborer’s
Home Development (in the meeting/craft room).
22 Parents
of Children with Autism Support Group - 6:00 p.m.
Speaker: Tiffany Lieschner from Family Matters
Topic: Autism and the IEP
28 SEIU
presents Independent Living Philosophy Training
JACIL
Conference Room - 4:30 to 8:00 p.m.
MUST
CALL 866-933-7348 TO REGISTER
Usual Stuff:
“JACIL Connections” is published by
the Jacksonville Area Center for Independent Living. JACIL is organized to serve people with
disabilities in Morgan, Scott, Cass and Mason Counties. JACIL is committed to serving persons with
disabilities to gain control and direction of their lives in the home,
workplace and community. JACIL’s goal is
to stimulate and promote a growing sense of personal dignity through
individualized services designed to provide the tools necessary for maximum
independence and community participation.
We invite your comments and suggestions.
JACIL is a Prairieland United Way
Agency and a proud member of the Jacksonville Area Chamber of Commerce.
Jacksonville Area Center for
Independent Living
15 Permac Road, Jacksonville, IL 62650
Office Hours: Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
217-245-8371 Voice/TTY l
217-245-1872 Fax l 888-317-3287 Toll Free
866-790-5311 Deaf Advocate’s Toll Free
Videophone Line
E-mail: info@jacil.org l
Website: www.jacil.org
JACIL - Mason County Office
220 West Main Street, Havana, IL 62644
Office Hours: Tuesday & Thursday, 8:00 a.m. to noon
309-543-6680 Voice/TTY, 309-543-6711
Fax, 877-759-2187 Toll Free
E-mail:
jacil@casscomm.com