News & Events

HAPPY NEW YEARS!!!!

We are so excited today because we are launching Friends of SKI!!!

Friends of SKI is a new program of Special Kids, Inc designed to fortify the support base of SKI. Your membership will guarantee your “In the Know” place on our mailing list, e-blasts, and special engagements list. We will keep you updated on how SKI is doing in the community, financially, and with services we provide. You will be privileged to volunteer/community service opportunities, updates from the Dept of Ed’s Office of Special Education Program (OSEP) and buzzes of information from other parent centers around the country.  You will also receive VIP invitations to all SKI events.  Friends of SKI are valuable supporters of Special Kids, Inc. Your membership confirms that you believe in our mission to empower parents/families of all children with disabilities. Additionally, your membership with Friends of SKI gives us the support we need to seek funding opportunities to further our work. 

We promise, we will not flood your mail or email with junk mail, sell, or give your information to anyone as your membership status will be kept private. With your permission, we will only list your first name and your city and state as a Friends of SKI member on our website and in newsletters.

The 1ST 100 members will be a CHARTER MEMBER. Do it today, send us a letter stating your belief and support of our mission. Please include your mailing address, email address, and a onetime membership fee of just $25.

Become a Friends of SKI member today! Mail membership information to P.O. Box 266958 Houston TX 77207-6958.

Thanks in advance for your support Special Kids, Incorporated.

Rose Ferguson, Director

Helen Davis, Co-Director

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from. Special Kids, Inc.
Many thanks to all of our donors, volunteers, and supporters. Without you we could not do what we do to serve families of children with disabilities.
God bless you all now and throughout the New Year!!

Take a peek at some of our party pics.  Enjoy!!!!!

Join Pete Wright, Esq., in Mansfield, OH on May 4, Cincinnati, OH on May 7, Atlanta, GA on May 12 and Arlington, VA on May 19. Wayne Steedman, Esq., will be presenting in Roanoke, VA. on May 20.

Check out the rest of our spring and summer conference schedule.

Special Kids, Incorporated 21 Annual Winter Forum event was a huge success. Over 150 Parents and children from all over the City of Houston were present.  SKI’s Co-Director, Helen Davis, provided 30 minutes of training on Bullying Prevention. The parents and children interacted by sharing their experiences and giving feedback. We had a special performance by Dionysus Theatre Troupe on “Bullying” that the crowd really loved.  Santa visited with gifts for the children and then gave candy and fruit to everyone. A special thanks to our sponsors, The Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities (MOPD)www.houstontx.gov/disabilities, SKI board members, the staff at Holiday Inn Reliant and most important the families we serve for making the event most enjoyable. We hope to continue providing this event for many years to come. christmas-party-2011

South Lawn

6:26 P.M. EDT 
     THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.  Good evening, everybody.  (Applause.)  Thank you so much.  Well, we have a gorgeous day to celebrate an extraordinary event in the life of this nation.  Welcome, all of you, to our White House.  And thank you, Robert, for the wonderful introduction.  It is a pleasure and honor to be with all of you on the 20th anniversary of one of the most comprehensive civil rights bills in the history of this country — the Americans with Disabilities Act.  (Applause.)
 
I see so many champions of this law here today.  I wish I had time to acknowledge each and every one of you.  I want to thank all of you.  But I also want to thank our Cabinet Secretaries and the members of my administration here today who are working to advance the goals of the ADA so that it is not just the letter of the law, but the spirit of the law, that’s being applied all across this country.  (Applause.)
 
I want to thank the members of Congress in attendance who fought to make ADA possible and to keep improving it throughout the years.  (Applause.)  I want to acknowledge Dick Thornburgh, who worked hard to make this happen as Attorney General under President George H.W. Bush.  (Applause.)
 
And by the way, I had a chance to speak to President Bush before I came out here, and he sends heartfelt regards to all of you.  And it’s — he’s extraordinarily proud of the law that was passed.  He was very humble about his own role, but I think it’s worth acknowledging the great work that he did.  (Applause.)
 
We also remember those we’ve lost who helped make this law possible — like our old friend, Ted Kennedy.  (Applause.)  And I see Patrick here.  And Justin Dart, Jr., a man folks call the father of the ADA — whose wife Yoshiko, is here.  (Applause.)  Yoshiko, so nice to see you.  (Applause.)
 
I also notice that Elizabeth Dole is here, and I had a chance to speak to Bob Dole, as well, and thank him for the extraordinary role that he played in advancing this legislation.  (Applause.)
 
Let me also say that Congressman Jim Langevin wanted to be here today, but he’s currently presiding over the House chamber — the first time in our history somebody using a wheelchair has done so.  (Applause.)
 
Today, as we commemorate what the ADA accomplished, we celebrate who the ADA was all about.  It was about the young girl in Washington State who just wanted to see a movie at her hometown theater, but was turned away because she had cerebral palsy; or the young man in Indiana who showed up at a worksite, able to do the work, excited for the opportunity, but was turned away and called a cripple because of a minor disability he had already trained himself to work with; or the student in California who was eager and able to attend the college of his dreams, and refused to let the iron grip of polio keep him from the classroom — each of whom became integral to this cause.
 
And it was about all of you.  You understand these stories because you or someone you loved lived them.  And that sparked a movement.  It began when Americans no longer saw their own disabilities as a barrier to their success, and set out to tear down the physical and social barriers that were.  It grew when you realized you weren’t alone.  It became a massive wave of bottom-up change that swept across the country as you refused to accept the world as it was.  And when you were told, no, don’t try, you can’the — you responded with that age-old American creed:  Yes, we can.  (Applause.) 
AUDIENCE MEMBER:  (Inaudible.)
 
THE PRESIDENT:  Yes, we can!  
Sit-ins in San Francisco.  Demonstrations in Denver.  Protests in Washington, D.C., at Gallaudet, and before Congress.  People marched, and organized, and testified.  And laws changed, and minds changed, and progress was won.  (Applause.)  
 
Now, that’s not to say it was easy.  You didn’t always have folks in Washington to fight on your behalf.  And when you did, they weren’t as powerful, as well-connected, as well-funded as the lobbyists who lined up to kill any attempt at change.  And at first, you might have thought, what does anyone in Washington know or care about my battle?  But what you knew from your own experience is that disability touches us all.  If one in six Americans has a disability, then odds are the rest of us love somebody with a disability.
 
I was telling a story to a group that was in the Oval Office before I came out here about Michelle’s father who had MS.  By the time I met him, he had to use two canes just to walk.  He was stricken with MS when he was 30 years old, but he never missed a day of work; had to wake up an hour early to get dressed – 
AUDIENCE MEMBER:  So what. 
THE PRESIDENT:  — to get to the job, but that was his attitude — so what.  He could do it.  Didn’t miss a dance recital.  Did not miss a ball game of his son.  Everybody has got a story like that somewhere in their family.
 
And that’s how you rallied an unlikely assortment of leaders in Congress and in the White House to the cause.  Congressmen like Steny Hoyer, who knew his wife Judy’s battle with epilepsy; and Tony Coehlo, who waged his own; and Jim Sensenbrenner, whose wife, Cheryl, is a tremendous leader and advocate for the community.  And they’re both here today.  (Applause.)
 
Senators like Tom Harkin, who’s here today, and who signed — (applause) — who signed part of a speech on the ADA so his deaf brother, Frank, would understand.  And Ted Kennedy, whose sister had a severe intellectual disability and whose son lost a leg to cancer.  And Bob Dole, who was wounded serving heroically in World War II.  Senior officials in the White House, and even the President himself.
 
They understood this injustice from the depths of their own experience.  They also understood that by allowing this injustice to stand, we were depriving of our nation — we were depriving our nation and our economy of the full talents and contributions of tens of millions of Americans with disabilities.
 
That is how the ADA came to be, when, to his enduring credit, President George H.W. Bush signed it into law, on this lawn, on this day, 20 years ago.  That’s how you changed America.  (Applause.)
 
Equal access — to the classroom, the workplace, and the transportation required to get there.  Equal opportunity — to live full and independent lives the way we choose.  Not dependence — but independence.  That’s what the ADA was all about.  (Applause.)
 
But while it was a historic milestone in the journey to equality, it wasn’t the end.  There was, and is, more to do.  And that’s why today I’m announcing one of the most important updates to the ADA since its original enactment in 1991.
 
Today, the Department of Justice is publishing two new rules protecting disability-based discrimination — or prohibiting disability-based discrimination by more than 80,000 state and local government entities, and 7 million private businesses.  (Applause.)  And beginning 18 months from now, all new buildings must be constructed in a way that’s compliant with the new 2010 standards for the design of doors and windows and elevators and bathrooms — (applause) — buildings like stores and restaurants and schools and stadiums and hospitals and hotels and theaters.  (Applause.)
 
My predecessor’s administration proposed these rules six years ago.  And in those six years, they’ve been improved upon with more than 4,000 comments from the public.  We’ve heard from all sides.  And that’s allowed us to do this in a way that makes sense economically and allows appropriate flexibility while ensuring Americans with disabilities full participation in our society.
 
And for the very first time, these rules will cover recreational facilities like amusement parks and marinas and gyms and golf facilities and swimming pools — (applause) — and municipal facilities like courtrooms and prisons.  (Applause.)  From now on, businesses must follow practices that allow individuals with disabilities an equal chance to purchase tickets for accessible seating at sporting events and concerts.  (Applause.)
 
And our work goes on.  Even as we speak, Attorney General Eric Holder is preparing new rules to ensure accessibility of websites.  (Applause.) 
AUDIENCE:  Yes, we can.
 
THE PRESIDENT:  Yes, we can. 
We’re also placing a new focus on hiring Americans with disabilities across the federal government.  (Applause.)  Today, only 5 percent of the federal workforce is made up of Americans with disabilities — far below the proportion of Americans with disabilities in the general population.  In a few moments, I’ll sign an executive order that will establish the federal government as a model employer of individuals with disabilities.  (Applause.)  So we’re going to boost recruitment, we’re going to boost training, we’re going to boost retention.  We’ll better train hiring managers.  Each agency will have a senior official who’s accountable for achieving the goals we’ve set.  And I expect regular reports.  And we’re going to post our progress online so that you can hold us accountable, too.  (Applause.)
 
And these new steps build on the progress my administration has already made. 
To see it that no one who signs up to fight for our country is ever excluded from its promise, we’ve made major investments in improving the care and treatment for our wounded warriors.  (Applause.)  To ensure full access to participation in our democracy and our economy, we’re working to make all government websites accessible to persons with disabilities.  (Applause.)
 
We’re expanding broadband Internet access to Americans who are deaf and hard of hearing.  We’ve followed through with a promise I made to create three new disability offices at the State Department and Department of Transportation and at FEMA.
 
And to promote equal rights across the globe, the United States of America joined 140 other nations in signing the U.N.  Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities — the first new human rights convention of the 21st century.  (Applause.)
 
America was the first nation on Earth to comprehensively declare equality for its citizens with disabilities.  We should join the rest of the world to declare it again — and when I submit our ratification package to Congress, I expect passage to be swift.  (Applause.)
 
And to advance the right to live independently, I launched the Year of Community Living, on the 10th anniversary of the Olmstead decision — a decision that declared the involuntary institutional isolation of people with disabilities unlawful discrimination under the ADA.  (Applause.)
 
So HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan have worked together to improve access to affordable housing and community supports and independent living arrangements for people with disabilities.  And we continued a program that successfully helps people with disabilities transition to the community of their choice.  (Applause.)  And I’m proud of the work that the Department of Justice is doing to enforce Olmstead across the country.
 
And we’ve finally broken down one discriminatory barrier that the ADA left in place.  Because for too long, our health care system denied coverage to tens of millions of Americans with preexisting conditions — including Americans with disabilities.  It was time to change that.  And we did.  Yes, we did.  (Applause.)
 
So the Affordable Care Act I signed into law four months ago will give every American more control over their health care -– and it will do more to give Americans with disabilities control over their own lives than any legislation since the ADA.  I know many of you know the frustration of fighting with an insurance company.  That’s why this law finally shifts the balance of power from them to you and to other consumers.  (Applause.)
 
No more denying coverage to children based on a preexisting condition or disability.  No more lifetime limits on coverage.  No more dropping your coverage when you get sick and need it the most because your insurance company found an unintentional error in your paperwork.  (Applause.)  And because Americans with disabilities are living longer and more independently, this law will establish better long-term care choices for Americans with disabilities as a consequence of the CLASS Act, an idea Ted Kennedy championed for years.  (Applause.)
 
Equal access.  Equal opportunity.  The freedom to make our lives what we will.  These aren’t principles that belong to any one group or any one political party.  They are common principles.  They are American principles.  No matter who we are — young, old, rich, poor, black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled or not — these are the principles we cherish as citizens of the United States of America.  (Applause.)
 
They were guaranteed to us in our founding documents.  One of the signers of those documents was a man named Stephen Hopkins.  He was a patriot, a scholar, a nine-time governor of Rhode Island.  It’s also said he had a form of palsy.  And on July 4, 1776, as he grasped his pen to sign his name to the Declaration of Independence, he said, “My hand trembles.  But my heart does not.”  My hand trembles.  But my heart does not.
 
Life, liberty,  the pursuit of happiness.  Words that began our never-ending journey to form a more perfect union.  To look out for one another.  To advance opportunity and prosperity for all of our people.  To constantly expand the meaning of life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness.  To move America forward.  That’s what we did with the ADA.  That is what we do today.  And that’s what we’re going to do tomorrow — together.
 
So, thank you.  God bless you.  And God bless the United States of America.  Let me sign this order.  (Applause.)
                                     END                          6:44 P.M. EDT

Special Kids, Incorporated has partnered with the FAST Project to provide family support leadership training to families of children with disabilities in Houston and the surrounding areas. A primary emphasis will be reaching underserved families from all geographic regions.

You are invited to be in a national research study of supports for families of youth with disabilities. You were selected as a possible participant because you are a parent or primary caregiver of a young person with disabilities between 12 and 22 years old. Please read this form and ask any questions you have before agreeing to be in the study.

The Family Advocacy and Support Training (FAST) Project is funded by the Administration on Development Disabilities (ADD) as a Project of National Significance (Grant number 90DN0269). FAST is a project of PACER Center in Minnesota in collaboration with Parent Centers throughout the United States and Territories and with the help of the University of Minnesota.

This survey is being conducted by: Sheryl A. Larson, Ph.D., and K. Charlie Lakin, Ph.D., University of Minnesota, Research and Training Center on Community Living. The FAST Project is coordinated by Shauna McDonald and Paula Goldberg, Executive Director, PACER Center.

If you would like to be a part of this iniative please visit: www.fastfamilysupport.org to find out more about what SKI is doing and to complete a survey. In doing so you will help to provide effective services for  thousands of children/individuals with disabilities no only in the Houston Area but in the United States. Also, be on the look out for upcoming training in late August or early September.

To obtain more information about the Administration on Developmental Disabilities (ADD) visit www.acf.hhs.gov

 “Success from Cradle to Career”

The Obama administration’s blueprint to overhaul the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) will support state and local efforts to help ensure that all students graduate prepared for college and a career.  Following the lead of the nation’s governors and state education leaders, the plan will ask states to ensure that their academic standards prepare students to succeed in college and the workplace, and to create accountability systems that recognize student growth and school progress toward meeting that goal. This will be a key priority in the reform of NCLB, which was signed into law in 2002 and is the most recent reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA).

It’s that time of year again!  Special Kids Inc will be hosting their annual christmas party for parents and children with disabilities.  Please come and join us. The Magic of Christmas on Sunday December 13 2009, 12 to 4pm.  Georgr R. Brown Convention Center, ballroom A-3rd floor, 1001 Avenida de las Americas.  This event is made possible through partnership with the City of Houston(Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities),Texas Department of Health and Human Services,and George R. Brown Convention Center.