Summer Camp List
Thanks to ASK Resource Center for sharing this great information on summer camps! Do your families know that they have many great options to send their kids to specific camps? If not, please pass this on! Summer Camp is a fun adventure for everyone!! 🙂
Summer is all about having FUN, and at ASK Resource Center we want to make it easier for Iowa kids with disabilities to access all the summer fun their hearts desire! Whether your family is planning a “stay-cation”, a sight-seeing road trip, or a vacation to Disneyland, planning is an essential component for a smooth-sailing summer. Our annual list of Iowa Summer Camps is here to help by offering travel planning tools and information about the various summer programs and activities available across the state!
Check out these helpful resources as you prepare your child for summer camp!
- Sending Your Child with Special Needs to Camp www.kidshealth.org/en/parents/finding-camp-special-needs.html
- Time Away Preparation: Printable Worksheets www.cshcn.org/planning-record-keeping/time-away-preparation-worksheets
- A Comprehensive Guide to Special Needs Travel www.friendshipcircle.org/blog/2012/07/20/a-comprehensive-guide-to-special-needs-travel
- Tips for Family Road Trips with Kids with Special Needs www.kidcompanions.com/tips-for-family-road-trips-with-kids-with-special-needs
- Discover Camp: Sending Your Child with a Disability to Camp for the First Time www.nchpad.org/discover/preparing/index.html
- ADA Q&A from PACER Center www.pacer.org/publications/adaqa/summer.asp
- Ten Tips for Traveling with Special Needs Kids www.myfamilytravels.com/node/11177
ASK Resource Center has more great information on transition under their TRANSITIONIOWA tab too, so check out all of their great tools on their website!
Together We Can Conference – May 6th
Could be a great day of learning!!
Click CONFERENCE AGENDA to see more details.
ASVAB: There’s an App for that!
My, how times have changed! There seems to be an app for almost everything! And, if you happen to know a student who is thinking that the military is just right for them, they can now practice for the ASVAB test with the help of an app! But, unlike the days of old, a high school diploma is required to enter most military branches today.
The ASVAB test consists of eight sub-tests, so taking practice tests helps the student have a better idea of what to expect, which can increase their final test score.
The list of apps is too long to even begin to list, even just for the free ones. There are apps for Android/Google Play or for iPad/iPhones, depending on your need.
Of course, there are also free practice tests online as well, such as ASVAB Practice Test Online or ASVAB Practice Tests just to name a few! And there are many options to purchase various study guides as well.
Bottom line, it is important for students to know that each branch of the military has a required AFQT (Armed Forces Qualification Test) score. The AFQT score will determine whether they qualify to enlist in their particular branch of service. The ASVAB test also produces several line scores, which are different for each branch of service. Line scores determine which military jobs the students are qualified for, so the higher their score, the more job opportunities they have.
Students who are determined that the military is right for them should meet with the military recruiters when they come visit the school. The High School Guidance Counselor can arrange for a specific recruiter to come, and then the recruiter can explain the requirements and expectations for that specific branch of service.
As students begin to explore post-secondary options, let’s help them understand all the facets involved…. simply by helping them know the steps that they need to take!
Registration link for Special Education Symposium!
The registration link is finally up for the Special Education Symposium! Click here: “REGISTER” to sign up today! See the details on the flyer below for more information.
Registration is under way for the 2016 Special Education Symposium held in Des Moines June 13-14.
The symposium, which is sponsored by the Iowa Department of Education and is at no cost to participants, is intended for special education teachers, teacher leaders and mentors, Area Education Agency staff, administrators, and families with students with disabilities.
Breakout sessions will include topics such as enhancements for early interventions, literacy and significant disabilities, improving adolescent literacy, leadership supports in special education, teaching social emotional skills, and addressing Specially Designed Instruction through diagnosis, design, delivery and engagement.
Keynote speakers are Don Deshler, a nationally known expert is Specially Designed Instruction and Todd Whitaker, who specializes in staff motivation for teachers and administrators. Another keynote speaker is Tim Harris, a 26-year-old with Down Syndrome who owns and runs his restaurant in Albuquerque, Ariz. He also runs a nonprofit, Tim’s Big Heart Foundation, which helps people with intellectual disabilities and their families.
In addition to the keynote speakers, there also will be nationally renowned speakers at the breakout sessions.
The symposium will be held at the Iowa Events Center. When making hotel reservations, be sure to mention that you are attending the Iowa Department of Education Symposium.
We look forward to learning and networking with you there!
WIOA what?!?
No… that is NOT Iowa spelled incorrectly! If you have heard the acronym “WIOA” it stands for Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. WIOA is designed to help job seekers access employment, education, training, and support services to succeed in the labor market and to match employers with the skilled workers they need to compete in the global economy.
There are still lots of details to work out as this new process moves forward, so to help you have some basic information, here are several documents that may help you understand some of these changes:
- Memorandum of Agreement notice between IVRS & the DE
- WIOA Webinar Powerpoint – Dec. 2015
- WIOA Webinar – approximately 30 minutes
- FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
All of the information above may be found on the Department of Education website under Special Education/Secondary Transition.
As more information comes out, we will keep you posted!
Job Interests Picture Inventory & Strengths, Interests, & Preference Visual
The Job Interests Picture Inventory is another great tool you can use with your students that may need a visual cue on possible employment options.
This form was created by a fellow teacher, so a special thanks for both his creativity AND his willingness to share! Helping and learning from others…. now that’s what we want to model for our kids, right? 🙂
So, since he showed us a great example, if there are other careers that you want your students to have to choose from, you now have a guide for creating one on your own.
You could do something similar by using pictures from a computer program like Board Maker, etc. to make a visual representation to help your students determine their strengths, interests & preferences. Click Strengths, Interests, Preferences Picture Options for yet another great sample that was shared!
Keep all your great ideas coming! Together, we can help make our kids/student’s transition as seamless as possible!
Look, Cook & Eat: Great Digital Cookbook option!
Check out this great website Look, Cook & Eat and then share it with your friends & families! And it’s nice to know that this site was developed by a local Des Moines person. It’s a great resource to utilize with our schools who teach more of a life skills program, so be sure to pass this site along to others, including your school’s Family and Consumer Science (FCS) teachers!
- It costs $30 for a year subscription to a digital step by step cooking magazine for individuals with disabilities.
- It shares easy to follow videos, and is a great resource!
- It’s about being able to fix well-balanced but easy meals… something many of us (well, at least myself!!) can always use!
So, check it out, and see if this is a perfect tool to help our students/children become even more independent!
Age of Majority – TRANSLATIONS are done!!
The Iowa Department of Education has just posted the Age of Majority documents in multiple languages on the DE Website! This is 
great for our families who need to understand these important topics in different languages. The links include not only the parent and student guides, but also copies of the Power of Attorney (directions and actual form) and a copy of the revocation of Power of Attorney (both directions & actual form).
The Age of Majority materials are now in English, Arabic, Bosnian, Laotian, Serbo- Croatian, Spanish, and Vietnamese. (Hint: One district gives both the English copy, as well as, the copy in the family’s language to help them learn the words – – via the parent’s request!) Below are the links, which are also found on the DE web site at the top of this page:
Age of Majority Materials in English
- Parent Guidance–October 2015
- Student Guidance–October 2015
- Power of Attorney Decision-Making (Directions)–October 2015
- Power of Attorney Decision-Making (Actual)–October 2015
- Revocation of Power of Attorney Decision-Making (Directions)–October 2015
- Revocation of Power of Attorney Decision-Making (Actual)–October 2015
- Transfer of Rights Decision Tree & Charts–October 2015
Arabic Age of Majority Materials
- Arabic Parent Guidance–October 2015
- Arabic Student Guidance–October 2015
- Arabic Power of Attorney Decision-Making (Directions)–October 2015
- Arabic Power of Attorney Decision-Making (Actual)–October 2015
- Arabic Revocation of Power of Attorney Decision-Making (Directions)–October 2015
- Arabic Revocation of Power of Attorney Decision-Making (Actual)–October 2015
- Arabic Transfer of Rights Decision Tree & Charts–October 2015
Bosnian Age of Majority Materials
- Bosnian Parent Guidance–October 2015
- Bosnian Student Guidance–October 2015
- Bosnian Power of Attorney Decision-Making (Directions)–October 2015
- Bosnian Power of Attorney Decision-Making (Actual)–October 2015
- Bosnian Revocation of Power of Attorney Decision-Making (Directions)–October 2015
- Bosnian Revocation of Power of Attorney Decision-Making (Actual)–October 2015
- Bosnian Transfer of Rights Decision Tree & Charts–October 2015
Laotian Age of Majority Materials
- Laotian Parent Guidance–October 2015
- Laotian Student Guidance–October 2015
- Laotian Power of Attorney Decision–Making (Directions)–October 2015
- Laotian Power of Attorney Decision–Making (Actual)–October 2015
- Laotian Revocation of Power of Attorney Decision-Making (Directions)–October 2015
- Laotian Revocation of Power of Attorney Decision-Making (Actual)–October 2015
- Laotian Transfer of Rights Decision Tree & Charts–October 2015
Serbo-Croatian Age of Majority Materials
- Serbo-Croatian Parent Guidance–October 2015
- Serbo-Croatian Student Guidance–October 2015
- Serbo-Croatian Power of Attorney Decision-Making (Directions)–October 2015
- Serbo-Croatian Power of Attorney Decision-Making (Actual)–October 2015
- Serbo-Croatian Revocation of Power of Attorney Decision-Making (Directions)–October 2015
- Serbo-Croatian Revocation of Power of Attorney Decision-Making (Actual)–October 2015
- Serbo-Croatian Transfer of Rights Decision Tree & Charts–October 2015
Spanish Age of Majority Materials
- Spanish Parent Guidance–October 2015
- Spanish Student Guidance–October 2015
- Spanish Power of Attorney Decision-Making (Directions)–October 2015
- Spanish Power of Attorney Decision-Making (Actual)–October 2015
- Spanish Revocation of Power of Attorney Decision-Making (Directions)–October 2015
- Spanish Revocation of Power of Attorney Decision-Making (Actual)–October 2015
- Spanish Transfer of Rights Decision Tree & Charts–October 2015
Vietnamese Age of Majority Materials
- Vietnamese Parent Guidance–October 2015
- Vietnamese Student Guidance–October 2015
- Vietnamese Power of Attorney Decision-Making (Directions)–October 2015
- Vietnamese Power of Attorney Decision-Making (Actual)–October 2015
- Vietnamese Revocation of Power of Attorney Decision-Making (Directions)–October 2015
- Vietnamese Revocation of Power of Attorney Decision-Making (Actual)–October 2015
- Vietnamese Transfer of Rights Decision Tree & Charts–October 2015
Thanks, Iowa DE, for translating these for our families!!
Updated Junior/Senior Postsecondary Checklist
The Junior-Senior Checklist – for Postsecondary has recently been updated to
better reflect a “to do” list for students before they head off for additional training after graduating from high school.
If you have copies of the original sheet, please recycle those and use this revised version. The major change is due to the shift in Iowa Vocational Rehabilitation Services.
Your high school counselor is also an excellent resource for other postsecondary considerations.
Driver’s license – great online practice tests!
The Iowa Department of Transportation has some great ways for students to practice for their driver’s license test.
Iowa Driver Practice Test site
There is also a new option that has an additional link you can open easily on your desktop! 
Click on the DOT Motor Vehicle Link and you can also access the other options (Android, iPad, Kindle Fire) here as well. These are very easy to use sites that your student/child can practice when they have some spare time.
The entire Driver’s License Manuel may also be viewed online (and printed in sections, if desired) for easy access.
Thanks, Iowa DOT, for making this available for use!
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