RCM - Revitalizing Community Membership: Empowering Independence: November 2015

Monday, November 30, 2015

Put on Your Dancing Shoes…Its Almost Time for Our Annual Holiday Party!

Please remember that our Annual Holiday Party is this Friday December 4th! If you have not already please RSVP to Juliette Prioleau Michael at jprioleau@rcmofwashington.com.

We hope to see you there!

Take a look at some of the pictures from last year’s 2014 Holiday Party!

Such a wonderful time had by all!

Introducing Abilities Expo DC Metro! Real Progress for the Disability Community!

Imagine everything you need, all under one roof! For more than 30 years, Abilities Expo has been the go-to source for the Community of people with disabilities, their families, seniors, veterans and healthcare professionals. Every event opens your eyes to new technologies, new possibilities, new solutions and new opportunities to change your life. Where else can you discover ability-enhancing products and services, play a few adaptive sports, learn new dance moves, attend informative workshops and only scratch the surface of what Abilities Expo has to offer? Register for free today.

Abilities Expo is about bringing necessary products and services together under one roof for the community of people with disabilities, their families, caregivers, seniors, and healthcare professionals. It's about introducing opportunities that can enrich your life ...especially ones that you never knew were out there.

DC Metro

When: December 4 – 6, 2015

Location:

Dulles Expo Center

4320 Chantilly Shopping Center Chantilly, VA 20151

Dates:

Friday, 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Saturday, 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Sunday, 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

For more information, and to register, click here: Introducing Abilities Expo DC Metro! Real Progress for the Disability Community!

Please share!

Wheelchair Returned to 4-Year-Old Girl Born Without Legs

The parents of a 4-year-old Santa Ana, California, girl who received an outpouring of support, including a $10,000 check, after their disabled daughter's wheelchair was stolen this week, have been presented with yet another miracle.

Rosa Perez woke up Friday to find her daughter, Milagros', wheelchair had been returned.

Perez said her husband came home and discovered the wheelchair by a trash can outside their apartment complex. He told her to look outside and she immediately broke down in tears.

Milagros, or "miracle" in Spanish, was born without legs, a heart condition and other ailments.

To read more on this story, click here: Wheelchair Returned to 4-Year-Old Girl Born Without Legs

Saturday, November 28, 2015

Latest Job Vacancies

If you are interested in learning more about any of the positions listed below, click here: CAREERS

Program Coordinator

Qualified Intellectual Disability Professional (QIDP)

Part Time Employment Specialist

Bilingual Employment Specialist

Community Navigator

Registered Nurse

Part-Time Licensed Practical Nurse

Trained Medication Employee

Friday, November 27, 2015

College Football Player with Asperger's Did the 'Impossible'

Justin Hansen is 16 years old and doesn’t want to say a word. He won’t make eye contact.

We’re at Hughes Stadium. It’s the middle of July. The Colorado sun has been shining down on us for hours and I want to be done covering this CSU football camp and go home. But I can’t. Because I promised Justin Hansen’s dad I’d meet his son. And he doesn’t want to look me in the eye.

He was a big kid then. Nearly 6-foot-5 heading into his junior year at Longmont High School. Other than size, little stood out compared to the other defensive linemen trying to earn a scholarship to Colorado State University that day. So I’m tolerating this sunburn as a courtesy to a polite parent who hopes my connection to Steve Fairchild’s coaching staff will help pay for his son’s college education.

Justin doesn’t remember this story. He apologized when I brought it up last week during our first conversation in seven years. But he had no recollection.

“Tunnel vision,” his mother, Kara, calls it.

Human interaction has always been difficult for him. If his dad hadn’t dragged him out of the house and to the football field in grade school, Justin would be in his parents' basement playing video games. Strategy games. Grand strategy allowing him to study logistics and take time to consider his actions and their consequences. This kind of pro-con analysis spills into reality and makes him hesitant to conduct our interview.

To read more on this story, click here: College Football Player with Asperger's Did the 'Impossible'

Donald Trump Mocks Reporter With Disability, Receives Backlash

Has Donald Trump gone too far this time?

The Republican presidential hopeful is under fire for mocking a New York Times reporter with an 'outrageous' impression of the journalist's physical handicap during a campaign speech on Wednesday.

Not only has the New York Times come to the defense of their reporter, Serge Kovaleski, but the journalist's colleagues and the public at large have taken to social media to register their disgust with the brash candidate.

'Donald Trump making fun of a handicapped reporter. How sorry can one get. This guy wants to be president? What a joke!' one Twitter user named Richard Kirby wrote on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Trump has refused to back down from his mockery and has even demanded an apology from the Times.

He released a statement on Thanksgiving afternoon, saying: 'Serge Kovaleski must think a lot of himself if he thinks I remember him from decades ago – if I ever met him at all, which I doubt I did.

'He should stop using his disability to grandstand and get back to reporting for a paper that is rapidly going down the tubes.'

To read more on this story, click here: Donald Trump Mocks Reporter With Disability, Receives Backlash

Disabled Parents Allowed to Keep Newborn Son

Disabled parents from Mississauga, Ont., will be allowed to keep their newborn son.

At a meeting Friday between the parents and the Peel Children's Aid Society, the CAS relented, saying it would allow the couple to continue to care for their three-week old son.

The parents were fighting to keep their child after social workers threatened to take the boy away unless he receives round-the-clock care from an "able-bodied attendant."

To read more on this story, click here: Disabled Parents Allowed to Keep Newborn Son

Thursday, November 26, 2015

Autistic Boy Finds The Meaning of Love Through Pit Bull

Humans often face a lot of difficulties. Whether it’s financial, emotional, or physical, life is rarely easy. Joey, a boy with autism, had a hard time adjusting to many things. He especially had a hard time expressing love and affection, but that all changed once he met Roxy. Watch their amazing story unfold right here.

Jamie Foxx: His Sister, The Real Star With Down’s Syndrome

Actor, musician, funnyman…there are only a few things that superstar Jamie Foxx can’t do. But if you ask him who’s the real star of the family, he’ll quickly point to his younger sister, DeOndra Dixon. DeOndra was born with Down’s Syndrome, the genetic disorder typically associated with physical growth delays, characteristic facial features, and mild to moderate intellectual disability.

“She speaks her mind and knows that there’s nothing she can’t do,” shares Jamie. “She has such a special quality, and she can light up a room. I don’t know where she gets it. It’s amazing.”

Here’s how Jamie describes her as the true star in the family.

“When I’m doing the music video for ‘Blame It On The Alcohol’, my sister say, ‘Big Bro, you gonna let me get down in the video, right? I want to dance in the video’ So we’re shooting and it’s getting late, so she says again, ‘Big bro, don’t forget about me.’ So we’re there and everybody’s there Quincy Jones, Samuel L. Jackson, etc. Long story short, she killed the video. Quincy sees the video and says ‘I want to connect you to the National Down Syndrome foundation.’ He does and my sister becomes their official ambassador. She goes everywhere, she been to Congress. She’s the star. She’s amazing.'”

To read more on this story, click here: Jamie Foxx: His Sister, The Real Star With Down’s Syndrome

Wednesday, November 25, 2015

RCM's Video Resume Workshop

Annette, Steven, Selena, McCluskey, and Enyeribe participated in RCM's Video Resume Workshop last week.

Join us December 11th for the grand premier of their completed projects. Bring your lunch and enjoy the show!

Happy Holiday!

RCM has a lot to be thankful for this year! Wishing everyone a safe and happy Holiday!

Happy Thanksgiving from the RCM Family to Yours!

Tuesday, November 24, 2015

Sharing from, Quality Trust for Individuals with Disabilities

You're Invited! Our Annual Open House will be on Thursday, December 10th from 4:30-7:00pm in our offices. Please join us for mingling and light refreshments.

RCM Annual Holiday Party: Friday, December 4, 2015

Reminder: It’s almost time! Please come share Holiday joy with us on Friday, December 4, 2015, at:

Martin’s Crosswinds

7400 Greenway Ctr. Drive

Greenbelt, Maryland 20770

For Parents of Developmentally Disabled Adults, The Wait For Help Never Ends

Three families. Three different paths. Same commitment.

Each is raising a son or daughter with a profound intellectual disability.

There were times that were filled with joy for all of these parents.

Relief washed over Dawn DeMatteo of East Haven when she found the right weekday activity program for her son Anthony, 22.

With the certainty of someone born into the role, Sue Bastien of Cheshire has adopted four boys from four institutions since the 1970s, and has illuminated their lives with a mother's love.

Heddy and Bob Castelano's daughter Jessica, 42, had such a spark as a child that gestures she made to adults 35 years ago are still remembered with a smile and a tear.

But this is a story about pain, shared pain, pain from a broken promise that has clouded the lives of DeMatteo, Bastien, the Castelanos and thousands of other Connecticut parents.

There is a part of the $1 billion developmental disability system that looms larger for these families than any other piece of bureaucracy.

It is called the waiting list.

To read more on this story, click here: For Parents of Developmentally Disabled Adults, The Wait For Help Never Ends

Sunday, November 22, 2015

Enjoy! Everyone has something to say!

Meeting the Mayor

Mathew and Roger had a great time meeting the Mayor and supporting their local community at the Georgia Ave fire station groundbreaking event! Followed by a yummy dinner at Olive Garden!

10 Reasons Homeless People Sleep Out in the Cold – and Die

You can’t miss them when you walk around a city: shapeless masses pressed up against buildings or into corners. Homeless people sleeping outside, even now when the temperature is cold and dropping. The lucky ones preserve their body heat under a pile of blankets; others make do with cardboard boxes or layers of clothes.

Some die. About 700 a year in the United States. The solution seems obvious: their lives would be saved if they slept in the warmth of a homeless shelter. But there aren’t enough shelter beds to go around, and some of the beds that do exist come with very unappealing strings attached.

To read more on this story, click here: 10 Reasons Homeless People Sleep Out in the Cold – and Die

Monday, November 16, 2015

NDI Releases ADA@25 Recommendations

Joined by leaders representing a host of national disability organizations, National Disability Institute (NDI) Executive Director Michael Morris issued a list of 10 recommendations to advance the financial capability and well-being of people with disabilities and their families nationwide over the next five years.

On July 22nd, NDI convened a first-of-its-kind Economic Advancement and Financial Inclusion Summit at the Newseum in Washington, D.C. The event was both a celebration of the 25th anniversary of the ADA and a forum to build the next set of recommendations to advance economic self-sufficiency for Americans with disabilities. Participants included leaders in government and in the financial and disability communities. The afternoon was dedicated to roundtable discussions to put forward policy and practice recommendations to be implemented by the public sector, the private sector, and the financial and disability communities working together in collaboration with Congress and the federal government.

To read more on this story, click here: NDI Releases ADA@25 Recommendations

Dear Teacher Video – Please Share

Kids with a formal diagnosis, such as autism, Asperger's, ADHD, learning disabilities, Sensory Processing Disorder, and Central Auditory Processing Disorder--along those who just need to move while learning--often find it challenging to shine in a traditional classroom. The kids who collaborated to write and star in the "Dear Teacher" video represent such students. So, they wanted to share with educators how their brain works and offer simple ways teachers can help.

With a new school year starting, over 60 Brain Highways kids collaborated to write a “Dear Teacher” letter—which they then turned into a short (under two minutes) “Dear Teacher” video. School does greatly influence how kids are viewed by others and how they view themselves. So, while it may take years to change laws or how health care addresses mental health issues, these kids hope their message will be shared with as many educators as possible—knowing that teachers can truly make a huge difference, starting TODAY. www.facebook.com/kidswhynotcampaign