Children with autism and their families got long-awaited support from the 2013 Minnesota Legislature as the House and Senate passed legislation enacting autism insurance reform. Gov. Mark Dayton signed the measure as part of the omnibus health and human services bill. It takes effect in January 2014. The reform measures are expected to provide financial relief ...

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[caption id="attachment_16714" align="alignleft" width="201" caption="Lillian Lampros: a seventh grader at Capitol Hill Magnet School in St. Paul"][/caption] A 1974 legal case that was a turning point in the lives of individuals with developmental disabilities in the United States was a Minnesota History Day project. Lillian Lampros, a 13-year-old seventh grader at Capitol Hill Magnet School in ...

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What a crazy spring! It seems like every day we have had rain and far too many thunderstorms disturbing one’s sleep. My dog is even showing frustration with the constantly damp grass. He likes to roll around in grass when it is dry to scratch his back and face. What is a poor dog to ...

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Here's a .pdf of the June 2013 newspaper issue.  Please note you may need to create a log in to view the paper.

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By the time you read this, the Minnesota Legislature may have gone into special session, or we might have gotten lucky and our 2013 legislative session will be completed. There were rumors on May 3 that the legislators wanted to wrap up within two weeks. Time will tell if they make it—but only a little ...

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The Arc Minnesota position During this legislative session, the Minnesota Legislature should approve and Gov. Mark Dayton should sign a two-year state budget that increases revenues. Revenue increases raised fairly are necessary to help prevent further cuts to disability services and supports and to increase investments in those services.   Why revenues should be raised For a decade, Minnesota ...

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Over the past decade, disability services bore a significant burden when balancing the budget; hundreds of millions of dollars were cut from these services or fees for those services were increased. Here are a few examples from the past five years:   Cuts in 2011 • Funding for disability services was cut by 1.5% in 2012 and another ...

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Many years ago I drove a yellow 1972 Monte Carlo, one in a long line of beaters or as they used to be called in my neighborhood, a hoop-dee. At one point I decided to write things on that hoop-dee. It had quotes from Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan and a few quotes from friends who ...

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Here's a .pdf of the entire issue for May 2013.  Please note you may need to create a log-in to read and/or download the file.

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Spring may be finally here, with the melting of the snow in the southern parts of Minnesota and the lakes nearing ice-out. We’re also at the halfway mark of our state legislative session. With only a couple months left, our legislators have a lot to do. At the beginning of the session, it looked like we ...

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People with disabilities and the challenges they face with employment was the topic when Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) Commissioner when Lucinda Jesson met with a group of employers and employees in downtown St. Paul to talk about a part of Governor Mark Dayton’s 2013 budget. Among the employees was Scott, a 17-year employee at ...

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Ramberg a musician and showman Musician Dick Ramberg is remembered as a showman who wowed a lot of people with his musical skill and heartfelt performances. Ramberg, 72, died March 7 of cancer. After losing his sight to retina cancer as a young child, Ramberg learned Braille and took up piano. His mother would play chords and ...

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Here’s the entire April 2013 Issue  in .pdf format. A log-in may need to be created to view the file.

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For most families the search for a good children’s summer camp program, sports teams or activity program starts when snow is still on the ground. Children with disabilities need not be left out of the fun and traditions of camp, crafts, sports and field trips but it does take planning to make an enjoyable summer. Finding ...

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The Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) needs to find new ways to manage state-operated facilities and services for persons with chemical dependency, mental illness and developmental disabilities. The call for change is made in the wake of a critical report by the Minnesota Legislative Auditor’s Office. The report details problems ranging from a rise in ...

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This legislative session has been a different experience for me. Usually, I am much more involved in tracking what is happening on many issues, following whose bills are going where, researching what committees are meeting, and scheduling my time to be at the particular floor debates I want to hear. And of course I want ...

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Oh, my stomach hurts! I just had my first pizza in several months. Even though it tasted great, several hours later my gut was saying, “This hurts!” And the next day I was sick. I was little when I sat on my grandmother’s knee and ate rye bread dunked in sweet, light (with milk) coffee. It ...

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Joe is able to transfer from his bed to his wheelchair with limited assistance from his support staff. While it may be faster some days for his support staff to complete the transfer for him, Joe and his support staff plan enough time for him to complete as much of the transfer as he can. ...

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Pedestrians get more time People don’t walk quite as fast as once thought, so within the next two years, most Twin Cities area counties and cities plan to give pedestrians more time in a crosswalk, anywhere between two and six additional seconds to cross the street. Conversion of the signals will take a few years ...

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Use a wide range of tools, devices to help children learn Assistive technology and accommodations for autism are not expensive but do require creativity and the use of everyday objects. Courage Center recommends using a wide range of tools to help children with ASD learn the building blocks of robotics. By building LEGO structures in new ...

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Here's the entire March 2013 issue in .pdf format.  A log-in  may need to be created to view the file.

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In a recent column, I wrote a bit about what a mild winter we were having so far. Well, as usual in Minnesota, the shoe (a snowshoe) dropped, and we have had a boatload of snow and frigid weather. There have been several days and nights of record cold temperatures, and snowfalls that we haven’t ...

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The Minnesota Department of Human Services is designing new health programs for people with disabilities. As part of that process, DHS staff wants to use insights, ideas, and lessons learned from current and past efforts, including the former Minnesota Disability Health Options (MnDHO) Program. But efforts to reach former MnDHO clients are being met with ...

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This last December, 60-year-old Dan Hacker of Sleepy Eye had a busy holiday season. He and his wife of 38 years, Lynn, own and manage one of the Midwest’s largest wholesale/retail Christmas tree, garland, and wreath operations. Last year, they sold more than 30,000 Christmas wreaths in 40 states, and over 10,000 fresh Christmas trees. In ...

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[caption id="attachment_15983" align="alignleft" width="275" caption="Jane Donnelly Birks, Sally Swallen Helmerichs and Molly Woehrlin are three of the Heroes honored by The Arc Minnesota. Courtesy of The Arc Minnesota"][/caption] Three women, regarded as among The Arc Minnesota’s earliest and most effective lobbyists, were honored last month at the organization’s Second Annual Heroes Luncheon. In the 1960s, the ...

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