In This Issue
A Night Under the Stars
Intricate Mind Institute
Meet Traci
Focus on Advocacy
Become an Advocate
Conference for Parents and Professionals at SDSU
Get Involved
Mission
We believe that every family needs community. Our mission is to promote and support the well-being and empowerment of the families
we serve.
Services
COMPASS provides an integrated continuum of services for families, all under one roof: • Custom Family Action Plan • Special Education Advocacy • Counseling and Therapy • Social Skills Group • Family Guidance
Click here to learn more about COMPASS
Services.
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Newsletter Volume 2, Issue 2
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The COMPASS Family Center, founded by Moises Baron, is a San Diego non-profit organization that provides family-centered supports for those caring for a child or adult with special needs. Services include special education advocacy, family guidance, social skills and counseling.
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Dear Traci,
Every parent wants the best for their son or daughter. Sounds simple enough, but for families who have children with special needs, it’s never simple. How do you find a preschool that understands the needs of a four-year-old with autism, a baseball team that welcomes a second baseman with Down syndrome, or a therapist skilled in helping an entire family deal with the challenge of living with a teenager with cerebral palsy?
That’s what COMPASS – COMPrehensive Access to Services and Support – is all about. We help families find direction. Families like John and Susan B, whose son Troy is on the autism spectrum. They struggled to convince their school district that Troy would do better in a less restrictive setting – until they came to COMPASS. Their COMPASS advocate helped chart a course of action that the parents and school district agreed would put Troy on the path to success.
In this issue we highlight our advocacy-related services and our upcoming annual STAR fundraising event. We also bring you up to date on COMPASS developments.
A Night Under the Stars
 Please join us on September 22, 2011 at the University of San Diego’s Jenny Craig Pavilion for our 6th Annual STAR Event.
The STAR Event recognizes an outstanding community member serving the special needs community each year. It also helps us keep our doors open so we can continue to provide crucial services to children and adults throughout San Diego County. This year’s honoree is Valerie Saraf, founder of the grassroots autism website and e-newsletter resource, Valerie’s List.
Valerie started her e-newsletter over 10 years ago to provide news and resources to the autism community. She now publishes about 3 issues per week for over 2100 subscribers. Her e-newsletter contains information about articles, events, non-profit activities, parent inquiries, programs offered by professionals and private schools, research, support groups, and other items of interest. Valerie won the 10News Leadership Award in 2010.
We open the event with a VIP Wine Tasting Reception at 5:30 PM. This is your opportunity to meet the Valerie. The main STAR Event at begins at 6:30 PM, with heavy hors d'oeuvres, refreshments and entertainment.
- Where: University of San Diego, Jenny Craig Pavilion, 5998 Alcala Park, San Diego, CA 92110.
- When: Thursday, September 22, 2010, 5:30 – 9:00 p.m. (VIP reception 5:50-6:30, main event 6:30-9:00).
- Tickets: $75/$110 ($65/$100 if purchased by Sept. 8). (619) 446-6926 or www.compassfamilycenter.org.
You can help by considering a sponsorship, purchasing an ad in our program, or contributing an item for our silent auction or opportunity drawing.
Intricate Mind Institute
An important challenge facing youth with learning differences as they transition into adulthood is the lack of services available to them and their families regarding transition issues. These issues may include housing, employment and adult living and social skills.
COMPASS is filling this
service gap through its recently formed Intricate Mind Institute (IMI). Under the direction of Dr. Mary Baker-Ericzén, IMI therapists
help individuals from youth to adulthood learn to manage life challenges,
improve interpersonal interactions and reduce stress, for an overall increased
quality of life.
IMI therapists are licensed and trained
psychologists and marriage and family therapists. Services are offered through various health insurance plans
or a fee schedule.
Meet Traci
%202.jpg "traciphoto (2) 2") We extend a warm welcome to Traci Van Wyk, the new Administrative Manager for COMPASS. She wears many hats in the organization, including everyday office management and providing information to partners and the public about COMPASS. Traci brings a broad base of experience and interests to COMPASS. She studied Theatre Arts and English at University of San Diego and worked in filmmaking, theatre productions, copyediting and administration. Traci also spent some time in Italy. She is friendly and efficient. We are glad to have her on board.
Focus on Advocacy
Betty
is a single mom of Joseph, a third grader in special education. Betty felt the
school underestimated his abilities and had expectations that were too low, as
reflected in his Individual Education Plan (IEP). Furthermore, Joseph’s IEP contained mistakes regarding his
medical diagnosis. Betty’s attempts to correct the IEP were unsuccessful. Because English is her second language,
she also felt she did not have a “voice” at the IEP. With help from COMPASS, Joseph’s IEP was modified to Betty’s
satisfaction and the school staff understands her perspective about his
academic potential. Betty felt that a “huge weight had been lifted from her
shoulders” with the assistance provided by COMPASS.
COMPASS helps many families with similar challenges. In
particular, parents and caretakers of children with special needs are often
unclear about their educational rights and have difficulty navigating the IEP
process.
Special Education Advocacy is
provided by advocates that have graduated from the Special Education Advocacy Certificate Program at University of San Diego.
Advocacy services are offered on a sliding scale, based on
ability to pay.
Click here to learn more about COMPASS Special Education Advocacy.
Become an Advocate
 You can learn how to advocate for special education privately or professionally in a unique training program offered jointly by COMPASS and University of San Diego (USD). This program provides pertinent legal knowledge for special education advocacy, insights into the impact of disability on the family, and practical preparation for special education advocacy. Upon completion, participants receive a Special Education Advocacy Certificate (SEAC) and 3 units of graduate level extension credits.
Please refer to the SEAC flyer for specific information about the Fall 2011 session. Click here for a general overview of the program.
Conference for Parents and Professionals at SDSU
COMPASS special education advocacy coordinator Erin Kenney, Ph.D., is presenting “working Collaboratively with Advocates” at the upcoming Individuals with Autism: Parents and Professionals Partnering for Success conference. This conference offers a full-day program, also featuring Rebecca and Mark Knowlden of the non-profit Vital Foundation, and Emily Rubin, M.S., a speech-language pathologist specializing in social learning disabilities. Parents and professionals are invited to attend.
The conference will be held on September 16, 2011, at Parma Payne Goodall Alumni Center on the campus of San Diego State University. It meets requirements for 7 hours of continuing professional development for Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists.
Get Involved
COMPASS is a growing organization. We are looking for energetic and committed volunteers who can help with long- and short-term projects. Some of our current needs are: - Event volunteers - assist with parking, registration, opportunity drawing, and other on-site tasks, as needed. We are also seeking volunteers for decor and photography at events.
- Desktop publishing
- Office help
- Coordinator of volunteers
If you would like to see more ways to volunteer your time, please click here.
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