Patti's Blog - Advocate for Elders, People with Disabilities and Their Families

Girls Write Now Has Extended the Mentee and Mentor Application Deadlines to June 15, 2012

Excerpt from Girls Write Now: (click for entire article)

Do you know a TEEN GIRL who's PASSION is WRITING? Encourage her to be a MENTEE at GIRLS WRITE NOW today!

GIRLS WRITE NOW is also seeking PASSIONATE WRITERS, TEACHERS & LEADERS who want to SHARE THEIR CRAFT with an ASPIRING TEEN WRITER.

SPREAD THE WORD with this short video to get a taste of who we are and what we do. 

Maurice Sendak is Interviewed on the Colbert Report

Excerpt from SCBWI: (click for entire article)

    Stephen Colbert:  "Every celebrity is out there cashing in on chidlren's books and I. Want. In.  What's it take for a celebrity to make a successful book?  What do I got to do?"

    Maurice Sendak:  "You're started already by being an idiot."

The Caregiver’s Bookshelf: A Law Guide for Seniors

Excerpt from The New York Times: (click for entire article)

How much can a retiree earn without compromising his Social Security benefits? How do you petition for guardianship of an incapacitated older relative (and is that a good idea)? What should you know about reverse mortgages?

Navigating the law as an older adult, or on behalf of one, is a daunting enterprise. Not only are the regulations, requirements and exceptions multitudinous and confusing, but many of them regularly change. What’s the asset limit for those applying for Medicaid reimbursement of nursing home costs? Well, it depends which year you ask.

“Everyday Law for Seniors,” written by two law professors — Lawrence Frolik of the University of Pittsburgh and Linda Whitton of Valparaiso University — guides readers through the maze. The authors take on a variety of common topics (age discrimination, Social Security, housing, pensions, Medicare and other insurance) and offer clear, careful explanations and suggestions. First published in 2010, the book’s just been updated to include the most recent federal benefits numbers.

Top 10 Ways to Tell if Your Library is Inclusive

Excerpt from ALSC Blog: (click for entire article)

A few months ago, I read this great article on how to tell if your child’s school is inclusive.  It got me thinking that there are so many things we can do to promote an inclusive library environment for patrons with special needs, too.  Here’s a list of just ten.

1.     Library Workers - staff at all levels create a friendly and welcoming atmosphere for patrons with special needs
2.     Building Design – all areas of building and library property are compliant with the most recent ADA Design Standards
3.     Library Spaces – bathrooms, furniture, drinking fountains, meeting rooms, and program rooms are accessible to someone with special needs; aisles between bookshelves are wide and info desks are low enough to assist patrons with wheelchairs

Daughter’s disability prompts mom to write young adult book

Excerpt from Inforum: (click for entire article)

As a writer and editor, Sarah Yates had worked in a number of genres, including histories, mysteries, textbooks and memoirs.

It wasn’t until she started writing for her daughter Gemma in the 1990s that she found herself in a new genre: disabled lit.

Gemma, who is in her 20s, has cerebral palsy, and when Yates was reading books to her young daughter, the mother was disappointed in how she saw children with disabilities treated in stories.

“I was just horrified how passive any disabled characters in books appeared to be,” Yates says from her Winnipeg home. “Old and young, I didn’t find the literature much different, and I just found it very discouraging.”

Reading Accommodations

Excerpt from EdTech Solutions: (click for entire article)

So often we believe text-to-speech is the answer for students who struggle with reading issues, whether due to decoding, fluency or reading comprehension challenges. Today, a high school senior with learning disabilities taught me a valuable lesson.

We met during her academic support period to see if there were assistive technology solutions to support her learning. She is a bright student with reading disabilities. The first words out of her mouth were, "I don't read." Hmmm. I immediately thought, "Well let me come to your rescue and show you text to speech!" When I showed her how she could access text and then listen using a service such as Bookshare, she told me it wouldn't work for her. She explained she found the voices too annoying which would distract her and cause her to lose focus. Therefore, learning would not occur.

In working with her, I wondered if changing the size of text or using Readability features would be of benefit. I showed her the Reader feature on the iPad since she has one. She immediately reacted with horror, "But we lost the pictures!" It turns out she needs the pictures that accompany textbook or science articles as they help anchor her learning.

American Action Fund Makes Free Braille Books Available Online

Excerpt from Planet of the Blind: (click for entire article)

We have received the following press release. Good work from the American Action Fund:

Baltimore, Maryland (February 28, 2012): The American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults (AAF) is making its free Braille books for blind children available online as downloadable BRF files.  Since 1997, the AAF has provided popular and award-winning children’s books, including titles from popular series, to blind children throughout the United States as well as to libraries and other organizations that serve blind children. The books have been and will continue to be distributed by mail, but now readers and libraries will also be able to download them from the American Action Fund Web site. The BRF files are ready to be used on Braille notetakers and other Braille-aware devices.

Berenstain Bears co-creator Jan Berenstain dies

Patti's Comments:  Rest in Peace; what a legacy to leave!!

Excerpt from The Detroit News: (click for entire article)

Jan Berenstain, who with her husband, Stan, wrote and illustrated the Berenstain Bears books that have charmed preschoolers and their parents for 50 years, has died. She was 88.

Berenstain, a longtime resident of Solebury in southeastern Pennsylvania, suffered a severe stroke on Thursday and died Friday without regaining consciousness, her son Mike Berenstain said.

The gentle tales of Mama Bear, Papa Bear, Brother Bear and Sister Bear were inspired by the Berenstain children, and later their grandchildren. The stories address children's common concerns and aim to offer guidance on subjects like dentist visits, peer pressure, a new sibling or summer camp.

Colbert Penning Children’s Book

Excerpt from The Daily Pest: (click for entire article)

Stephen Colbert has made a career out of making adults laugh, so now he figures it’s time to move on to kids. The publisher for the famed political-satire comedian confirmed Tuesday that he would pen a children’s book, I Am a Pole (And So Can You!) after Colbert previewed the book on his TV show. Colbert had famed children’s author Maurice Sendak as a guest last month on the show; Sendak called the book "terribly ordinary," adding: "The sad thing is I like it."

Quiet, Please: Unleashing 'The Power Of Introverts'

Excerpt from NPR: (click for entire article)

From Gandhi to Joe DiMaggio to Mother Teresa to Bill Gates, introverts have done a lot of good work in the world. But being quiet, introverted or shy was sometimes looked at as a problem to overcome.

In the 1940s and '50s the message to most Americans was: Don't be shy. And in today's era of reality television, Twitter and widespread self-promotion, it seems that cultural mandate is in overdrive.

Susan Cain — who considers herself an introvert — has written a new book that tells the story of how introversion fell out of style. She talks with NPR's Audie Cornish about Quiet: the Power of Introverts in a World that Can't Stop Talking.