What's Happening?
Signing Stars
GraceSigns is happy to announce "Signing Stars" - a new program (sponsored by the Global Down Syndrome Foundation) to employ individuals with Down syndrome. Candidates are encouraged to download GraceSigns free apps and learn signs (either words or sentences) and send in their photos and/or videos of themselves signing. Participants will be paid $25 for each photo and $50 for each video.
Show your stuff and be a
Signing Star today!
Email: Valerie@GraceSigns.org
6 Steps to De-Stress
1) Smile. It is free to give and receive.
2) Sing. When you feel crazed, try singing -
it is a great way to take the edge off.
3) Be mindful of overstimulation,
overindulgence and overdoing it.
4) Be considerate about the needs and challenges of others. Being kind feels good.
5) Laughter lightens all.
6) Take time-out to recharge yourself.
Let's Learn Some Winter
Signs
It's Wintertime!
Click HERE to learn some fun
Winter Signs
Autism Now Diagnosed in 1 in Every 44 Children, CDC Says
Autism may be more prevalent among American children than believed, a new U.S. government study shows. One in 44 children at age 8 in the United States have been diagnosed with the developmental disorder, a jump from the previous estimate of 1 in 54 children, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report found.
But a second study offered more heartening news: After looking at 4-year-old children in the same 11 communities analyzed in the first report, researchers found there was progress in the early identification of children with autism. These children were 50% more likely to receive an autism diagnosis or special education classification by age 4 when compared to the 8-year-olds.
"The substantial progress in early identification is good news because the earlier that children are identified with autism, the sooner they can be connected to services and support," said Dr. Karen Remley, director of the CDC’s National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities.
"Accessing these services at younger ages can help children do better in school and have a better quality of life," Remley said in an agency news release.
“Early autism diagnosis and treatment optimizes children’s ability to learn, engage with others and develop independence,” Bilder explained in a university news release.
“That’s why these studies are so important," she stressed. "They not only help us get a better idea of the growing prevalence of autism, but can also help us improve policies, services and research directed toward helping children and their families affected by autism.”
It said that understanding the prevalence and characteristics of children with autism can help communities identify more children with autism early and enroll them in services at earlier ages.
For information:
Dec 2021
By Robert Preidt and Robin Foster
Why Learn to Sign?
POETRY CORNER
I Am Deaf
The silence of sound
doesn't silence me.
To hear nothing
is something opening
and expanding.
Everything is exposed.
I am exposed.
I am expanded and empowered,
purposeful, present.
I am deaf.
By Zachary B. Hart
One
One small dandelion-
Smiles up at the sun.
Floating in a sea of grass,
Buoyed by her beauty,
The sun shines down on Her.
She blooms.
by Anonymous
Invisible
Do you see me?
Sitting in a wheelchair.
Struggling but strong.
Here I am.
Do you see me?
Hiding under wrinkles.
Young in my soul.
Here I am.
Do you see me?
Clutching my belongings.
Hoping for a home.
Here I am.
Do you see me?
Standing in my skin.
Beautifully blemished.
Here I am.
Do you see me?
Chanting to myself.
Broken by reality.
Here I am.
Do you see me?
Here. I. Am.
By Cecelia D. Brown
This, hope.
In the darkness,
there is light.
In the silence,
sound.
Lonely, alone.
Tears of madness
and sadness.
In life,
there is death.
In death,
life.
Even in the abyss,
there is this,
hope.
by Valerie R. Carter
Poetry is a beautiful form of self-expression and GraceSigns embraces language in all formats. Share your poetry! We will showcase your creation here in our Poetry Corner. Send your short poems to us through our contact page here .
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