Here's the latest article from the Children with Special Needs site at BellaOnline.com.

Advocating for Inclusion - Unexpected Benefits
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art172131.asp
While many parents advocate for inclusive classrooms and community programs in hopes of giving their children the opportunity to make friends and grow up with opportunities to participate in social activities throughout their lives, the unexpected benefits of inclusion are just as valuable.
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art172131.asp

I hope that you can find the time and place to spend with other parents at least once a week so that you can enjoy face to face time with them, push strollers or carry sports gear together, and take pictures of one another's children to enjoy when they are teens and adults. You have so much to offer the world! Print up business cards with your email address for when you meet kindred spirits in a grocery aisle or restaurant. We are everywhere.

Please visit specialneedschildren.bellaonline.com for even more great content about encouraging and advocating for children with disabilities, developmental delays or chronic health conditions.

This month as so many of our sons and daughters start a new school year, let's take a look back at how early intervention and educational support started four decades ago. There is an amazing website dedicated to the 40th anniversary of the University of Washington Down Syndrome Program that all families of children with special needs should visit and share with our families and friends.

We have known that individuals with developmental disabilities are unique, complex, talented and able for decades and still need to spread awareness in our communities and in our families. Our children are woven into the fabric of this history and will carry their own accomplishments into the future. How amazing is it that we can be part of such an incredible era! Now if only we could get more rest and relaxation during the actual adventure...

A New Era for Down Syndrome
http://www.anewera4ds.org/dsp.php

Follow the Children with Special Needs editor on Twitter for disability
information, resources and support, at
http://www.twitter.com/downsynadvocacy

Join our parenting and advocacy community on Facebook at
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Children-with-Special-Needs-at-Bellaonline/232298623459587

To participate in free, fun online discussions, this site has a community forum all about Children with Special Needs located here -
http://forums.bellaonline.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=postlist&Board=57

I hope to hear from you sometime soon, either in the forum or in response to this email message. I thrive on your feedback!

Have fun passing this message along to family and friends, because we all love free knowledge!

Pamela Wilson, Children with Special Needs Editor
http://specialneedschildren.bellaonline.com

Shopping on Amazon.com?
Please use a link that benefits the Children with Special Needs website
via a link in any article or at Amazon aStores:

Down Syndrome Advocacy
http://astore.amazon.com/downsyndrome-20/

Children with Special Needs
http://astore.amazon.com/specialneed0e-20/

Welcome to Holland - Today and Yesterday
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art172314.asp

Traumatic Birth and Motherhood
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art170924.asp

Future Sibling Support and Down Syndrome
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art172126.asp

School Bus Rides - Children with Special Needs
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art45298.asp

Raising Awareness About Disabilities
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art172361.asp

Kindergarten Transition
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art49718.asp

Transition Planning for Teens w/ Disabilities
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art57505.asp

Encouraging Friendship - Childhood Disabilities
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art171290.asp

Inspirational Mothers - Down Syndrome Advocacy
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art172101.asp



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