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A Look At The Week Ahead – July 8, 2012
Despite the intense heat, it was nice to see new and familiar faces last Friday at the playground, and the kids certainly had fun in the sand and sprinklers! It should be a little cooler over the next few days so here’s hoping for more friends to join us again:
July 13, 11:00AM at Mariner’s 84th Street Playground – Central Park Brass interactive concert and playground time, picnic lunch to follow.
July 15, 12:00-4:30PM at New York Botanical Gardens: Dig! Plant! Grow! Join us for a picnic lunch at the gardens followed by hands-on family gardening in the Ruth Rea Howell Family garden at 2:00PM.
In addition to the scheduled social events, James will be starting adaptive swim and tennis lessons this week. I believe there are still limited spots open for both programs – email me or click the links for more info.
Also keep an eye out for a bunch of new posts this week – the Monday Minute, weekly Top Ten, travel reviews near and far (watch for special tropical discounts), and stories about everything from graduations to playground meltdowns.
Special Aces Tennis Starts Next Week – Limited Spaces Still Available!
The Prospect Park Tennis Center will offer group tennis instruction for children with special needs this month. Their amazing staff of tennis professionals and physical and occupational therapists will provide children with the individual attention they need to enjoy the experience of tennis.
The Special Aces usually run during the year but for the first time they are offering summer sessions from July 9 – 12 and July 16-19, Monday through Thursday: 4 – 6 p.m.
Going to be out of town for one of the weeks? Only available on Thursdays this summer? You’re still in luck – since this is a new program players have the option of choosing how many and which days they’d like to attend during the two weeks of camp (advance registration is required). And the price is not bad either – between $30-60 per session depending on how many hours you sign up for.
Watch a short video about Special Aces
Read about Special Aces in NY Tennis Magazine
Tennis is one of the only sports that James hasn’t tried yet so he is very excited to start lessons next week. There are only a few spots left open, and unlike some of the other special needs sports advance registration is a must so that they can have the right amount of staff and equipment available for each session. You can go to http://www.prospectpark.org/visit/activities/tennis/special-aces to download a registration form. Feel free to email me or call the Paul at the tennis center (718-436-2500) for more info.
Special Needs Events in NYC – May 2012
Seminars, concerts, workouts, conferences, even yoga sessions – don’t say you were bored this month! Sorry for the last minute posting on some of these – it took forever to combine all of the May event emails (which is kind of a good thing).
MAY 2012 EVENTS:
Ongoing, every Sunday in May (and June): WSLL, Challenger’s division. Special needs baseball at Riverside Park. Late registration available – email me for details.
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Tuesday, May 8, 6:30PM
Managing Your Child’s Behavior: Tools and Strategies for Parents, with Dominick Auciello, PsyD, Child Mind Institute
WEDNESDAY MAY 9
Dr. Ravitz, “Raising Resilient Children” in partnership with Tuesday’s Children @ The Conference Center, 130 East 59th Street New York, NY 10022, 6-8pm in NYC
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THURSDAY MAY 10
Dr. Dickstein, “Raising Healthy Children in a Digital World” @ 92nd Street Y: 6:30 – 8pm
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FRIDAY MAY 11, 12:00-1:00PM
Live Speak Up for Kids Facebook Event: Dr.Fernandez, “Managing Problem Behavior: Strategies for Parents and Educators”,
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May 12 in Central Park, Achilles Kids Workout – call 212-354-0300. ext. 305 for more info.
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| Tuesday May 15th 10AM – 1PM |
Understanding the New IEP | Lori Podvesker, M.S. Ed., Family and Community Educator, Resources for Children with Special Needs |
- Pre-registration is required by calling YAI LINK at 212-273-6182.
- Parents and caregivers only! No children please.
- Location: 460 West 34th Street, 11th floor, New York, NY 10001
- Structure: 1st half (Presentation), 2nd half (Support)
- Fee: None!
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May 18, 9:00AM at PS 163 (W. 97th and Amsterdam) – final meeting of The Foorce, “Special Needs Summer Activities and Programs”
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May 19 at JCC – Achilles Kids Workout – call 212-354-0300. ext. 305 for more info.
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May 20
DMF Spring Concert – “We Will Rock You – A Musical Celebration.” It will be a high energy performance and will have you singing, dancing and “rockin out” in your seats with performances like – I Love Rock N Roll, Aquarius, This Love, a song medley from Elvis, Born To Be Wild, Bohemian Rhapsody, among many others!
The Dalton School
108 East 89th St. (between Lexington and Park Ave.)
1:00PM-2:30PM and/or 4:00PM-5:30PM.
Please RSVP if you will be able to attend by using Eventbrite – http://dmf-rock-and-roll.eventbrite.com/ or if you prefer, contact us at daniel@danielsmusic.org or 212-289-8912.
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Wednesday, May 23
Resources for Children With Special Needs presents: Friendship, Dating, & Sexuality: A Free Symposium for Parents and Professionals
Where: Credit Suisse , 11 Madison Avenue (24th Street) Entrance on Park Avenue South at 24th Street
Panel:
Dr. Michelle S. Ballan, Assistant Professor of Social Work, Columbia University, Leading researcher, writer, professor, mentor, and advocate, disability studies and sexuality; recipient of numerous awards, including the Columbia University Presidential Teaching Award, Services for Students with Disabilities Faculty Award, Association on Higher Education and Disability Recognition Award, and others.
Dr. Chris Rosa, PhD, Dean of Students at CUNY, Serves on several local and national committees on disabilities, is a published disability studies scholar, and a faculty member at CUNY’s MA program in Disabilitiy Studies. A product of New York City public education, Chris was born, raised in, and presently resides in Flushing, Queens.
Brian Schwanwede, Student, Sophomore at Fairleigh Dickinson University (Honors List), English Major, Film Studies Minor, FDU Equinox Newspaper, National Society of Leadership and Success, The National Society of Collegiate ScholarsCOMPASS: College-based Support for Students with Asperger Syndrome
5pm Coffee Reception with Panelists, 5:30pm Program
Please do not hesitate to call RCSN with any questions: 212-677-4650
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| Thursday May 24th 10AM – 12:30PM |
Yoga and Relaxation | Laura Mitchell, LMSW, LMT, YAI LINK, Certified Kripalu Yoga Instructor |
- Pre-registration is required by calling YAI LINK at 212-273-6182.
- Parents and caregivers only! No children please.
- Location: 460 West 34th Street, 11th floor, New York, NY 10001
- Structure: 1st half (Presentation), 2nd half (Support)
- Fee: None!
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May 26 at JCC – Achilles Kids Workout – call 212-354-0300. ext. 305 for more info.
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| Thursday May 31st 10AM – 12:30PM |
“Hey! Get Back Here!” Learning to Manage Wandering and Elopement in the Community | Lana Small, MSW, Coordinator, Project A.S.S.I.S.T.
Mary Downing, BA, Senior Supervisor, Project A.S.S.I.S.T. |
- Pre-registration is required by calling YAI LINK at 212-273-6182.
- Parents and caregivers only! No children please.
- Location: 460 West 34th Street, 11th floor, New York, NY 10001
- Structure: 1st half (Presentation), 2nd half (Support)
- Fee: None!
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June 2 – Central Park Challenge – CLICK HERE TO JOIN The Foorce!!
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Feel free to email me if you need more information or if there are typos regarding any of the above events. Or, you can add your own events in the comments section below. I’m also collecting event emails for June now through the last week of May so keep them coming!
Meetups This Week – Come Play Outside Before Summer Is Over!
August 11: Higbridge Pool, 11:00am Located at 173rd and Amsterdam, easily accessible by the A, C, or 1 trains and many buses. We will be there from 11:00-12:30. Security is kind of a pain but the pool is generally pretty empty at this time – last week we had the whole place to ourselves for the first 30 minutes! Bring a suit, towel, lock and swim diaper for little ones. Admission is free! And remember, no food, gum or pens allowed inside the pool 🙂
August 12 – Central Park Brass at Robert Bendheim Playground, a “playground for all children.” Interactive concert starts at 11:00am, we’ll stay for a picnic, playground and sprinklers afterward.
August 14 – Bronx Zoo, 11:00-4:00pm Click here for a review of the Lego Safari exhibit going on now! My kids are super excited for this meetup. If you want to come later in the day and meet up, just send me an email and I will give you my cell # so that you can find us!
Hope to see/meet you at one or more of these events!
No Food, Gum, or Pens! But We Managed To Sneak In Some Summer Fun
So today was our second trip to Highbridge Pool, and as it often goes we arrived with much lower expectations and had a much better time overall. I still feel certain that we would not be making the trip for the 30 minute lesson. The instructors seem nice, James seems to enjoy it and receives a decent amount of attention in the water, but the fact remains that the lesson includes 50 other special needs children so it is chaotic in its best moments. I appreciate that James is getting comfortable in the water with other children splashing nearby, but I feel that we could have just as much, if not more fun in the pool on our own.
And today we did. After the lesson we stayed for nearly 2 hours in the enormous 1-2 ft. wading pool and all 3 kids had a blast, especially James. He would’ve stayed all day if my 9 month old wasn’t falling apart, and I wasn’t completely sunburned (always the sunscreener, never the sunscreened). The locker rooms were clean (bring your own lock) and the pool was not too crowded. Because James had trouble going through the men’s locker room alone, someone went and got him and let him go through the women’s locker room with me, which was a pleasant change from other pools we have been to.
My only complaint is that the security was pretty intense. Though we had been in the pool for his lesson, we were made to exit and re-enter for the free swim. I handed my bookbag, which had already been in the pool area, to the security guard and spent the next 5 minutes watching her go through it as though I might be smuggling explosives. By the end of her search she had removed all of the food and drink, gum and writing utensils from my bag. Yep, apparently pens and markers are banned from the pool and locker room – wrap your mind around that one. When I asked if I had to get rid of it all, she held up a pack of gum and asked, “Want to eat this right now?” She thought she was being smart, but her smirk faltered a little when I wrapped everything, including my markers in a plastic bag and set it on the ground next to the pool entry. “Can I leave this here and come back for it later?,” I asked. “The kids will want a snack after they’re done swimming.”
Let me change gears for a minute – I wanted to give a shout out to “Coach Bill,” who went above and beyond at Thomas Jefferson Park earlier this week. On Tuesday we tried out the Adaptive Track & Field program that I recently mentioned in a post, and I’m so glad we went! The session was mainly filled with typical children which is not at all what I was expecting, but Coach Bill introduced himself and quickly put me at ease. The very first class started on time and was well-organized, even with 30-40 kids participating. James spent most of the time right by Coach Bill and was able to try relay races, the javelin throw and even hurdles with his support and guidance, in a large group of typical peers (those of you who know James know how impressive this is)! Bill said he got along well with the other kids and James seemed pretty proud of himself on the way home. In the meantime, there was a nice playground right next to the track so the babies were kept busy in the shade while we waited for James to finish – a far cry from wrestling my toddler away from the water!
Still looking to fill some gaps this summer? I was told that it is very casual as far as attendance goes for special needs children, and that there will be a big track meet at the end of the season on August 17th on Randall’s Island. If you are at all interested, I sincerely encourage you to bring your special needs child to a practice to try it out – the program meets all over the city, but we have been going to the one at Thomas Jefferson Park, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10:30-noon.
Leave your pens at home and come meet us on Thursday for a swim!
July Excursions, Adventures and Other Less Exciting But Equally Fun Gatherings of The Foorce
The schedule for July is below!! If you simply can’t wait another second scroll right down to it and start filling in those blank spots on your calendar. Just do it in pencil because I am still waiting to hear about James’s summer swim schedule, and you guessed it, the two aforementioned doctors’ appointments are still flapping in the wind.
If you’re still reading, I just want to take a second to clarify the whole “group” thing. I have received quite a few emails about how to “get into the social group” or “sign up for meetings” or “is there space left to join the summer group.” I’m flattered, really, and a little sorry to tell you – it’s not that exclusive. In fact, anyone can come – just part of what makes the get-togethers so exciting. Though the group is centered around special needs families, you don’t have to have a special needs family member to “get in.” Friends, family, neighbors, classmates, anyone you think might be interested is welcome to come – any age, disabled or not. The point behind this group (for me) is to provide social and fun opportunities that are inclusive to everyone. With the spread we have in our house, you know I mean everyone.
Here’s where it gets a little bit official, though. If you signed up for the mailing list OR subscribed to this blog you will get reminders and more details as events draw nearer – you don’t need to do anything else. You will also be asked to RSVP for some meetings, especially if they involve group discounts or bringing food (nothing worse than showing up with 3 dozen brownies for 2 kids who can’t eat chocolate). If you want to receive reminders but haven’t signed up or subscribed, sign up or subscribe. Email me if you’re confused now – we’ll work it out.
Without further adieu, I present the (tentatively) amazing July schedule (subject to all kinds of change):
July 5* – Potluck picnic at the Hudson “Swing a Ring” Beach (swingaring.com) 1p.m. Bring sand toys and lawn games!
July 9* – Relax by the Natural History Museum sprinklers, 12 noon.
July 14* – Boat Basin Cafe for lunch followed by sprinklers at the Classic Playground (near 79th and Riverside on the water) 12:30pm
July 17 *- New York Botanical Gardens – hands on exhibits in the Family and Children’s gardens, 1p.m.
July 20 – New York Science Museum including the Science Playground and Rocket Park Mini Golf, 11:00a.m.
July 23 – V&T Pizzeria for lunch (110th and Amsterdam) followed by Morningside Park’s very cool playground (near 117th and Morningside) 12 noon.
*Locations may be changed due to inclement weather.
June summary: DMF at Brooklyn Cyclones, Coney Island (22), Achilles 5M Race, Central Park (26)
August sneak peek: Police Museum, Bronx Zoo, BounceU, beach trip, and Central Park Brass kids’ music series.
I hope to see you at one or all of these events this summer!
The Foorce 
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