We would like to take this opportunity to introduce BRIGHT START Children’s Special Services, a non-profit organization helping children with special needs from low-income families in Cebu City, Philippines.

Objectives:

To provide specialized intervention services and support to low income families who may need assistance in caring for a child with special needs. Children with special needs refer to children who have developmental delays or who have an established condition that has a high probability of resulting in developmental delay.

To support existing public and private institutions or organizations such as health centers, child day cares, schools, and orphanages in promoting early identification and intervention of children with developmental disabilities.

Projects and Activities:

Lecture on the importance of early intervention for children with special needs.

Occupational Therapy Screening

Occupational Therapy Evaluation and Intervention

Supporting Other Non-profit Organizations

How You Can Help:

1. Share BRIGHT START Facebook page with your friends.

2. In-kind Donations:

The children with special needs and their families would appreciate pre-loved toys, books, and clothes.

We have collection centers in Manila, Cagayan de Oro, Austin (Texas), Los Angeles (California), and Canberra (Australia).

For those in Cebu, we would be glad to pick up your donations.

Please email us at brightstartcebu@gmail.com for more information.

3. Cash Donations:

We also accept cash donations for special projects and medical assistance for BRIGHT START patients (e.g. medicines and vitamins, doctor/specialist consultations, and laboratory fees).

Cash donations may be deposited to:
Banco De Oro Peso Checking Account # 7448-0000-20
Banco De Oro Dollar Savings Account # 7440-0012-03

Please email a copy of your deposit slip with your name and address to brightstartcebu@gmail.com so we can properly acknowledge your donation.

For those in Cebu, we would be glad to pick up your donations.

All cash donations are acknowledged with an official receipt.

Thank you for your support.

The Down’s Syndrome Association of the Philippines Inc (DSAPI) will hold its 4th and last Early Intervention Seminar for the year. This seminar is specifically designed for new parents of babies with Down Syndrome ages ranging from 0 to 3 years old. Medical and developmental concerns and issues will be discussed by top leading medical professionals in the country together with a complete paramedical team. This program, if given during the critical first year of life, have been proven – without doubt – to dramatically improve the potential of children with Down Syndrome.

If you haven’t the budget for Branson tickets, then maybe it is worth your time and money to attend this event instead. Registration fee is at P300.00 per head. For reservation, please ring telephone nos. 895-36-06 or 895-96-42.

Speaker: Venus Navarro Kesner, registered nutritionist-dietician.

Click on image to enlarge, and view full details of this event.

This is information that you normally get from textbooks. Through this forum, it will also be a great venue for people involved in caring for children with special needs to share knowledge that may be helpful with other attendees. For any inquiries, contact Miss Grace or Nino Ybanez via phone numbers (032) 2320681 or 0917 321 0105 or via email at buildabilitiesinc@yahoo.com.

Employment plays a big part in keeping you healthy – just going out to work is good for you, both physically and mentally.

Many people spend a large proportion of their time at work. It’s common to feel too busy doing your job to take
the time to consider how it impacts on your health.

Office workers particularly spend hours sitting still and carrying out repetitive tasks. The human body isn’t designed for this; we’re supposed to be moving around, so all this time spent at a desk needs to be well managed.

This leaflet will show you how to incorporate enough physical activity into your day to help you stay fit and healthy for work, and how to avoid aches and pains in the office.

The leaflet and poster comes packed with lots of information and practical advice, which is worth investing in your health savings account. Click here to download the ‘Fit for Work’ leaflet or poster from the CSP website.

• Physical activity facts
• Benefits of physical activity
• How much physical activity is enough?
• Sources on the WCPT website
• Physical therapy and physical activity
• Sleep
• Physical activity and ageing
• Physical activity and mental health
• Campaigns
• International professional organisations

Here is a snippet of trivia from the WCPT’s resource page:

How much physical activity is enough?

The World Health Organization recommends 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous intensity physical activity every day for children aged 5-18. Moderate activity includes brisk walking and cycling. Vigorous activity is exercise that makes people huff and puff – and could include dancing and household chores, as well as sports like running and football.

Source: World Health Organization

Visit the WHO website for more information on physical activity and young people.

Adults (18-65 years old) should undertake:

30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity five days per week;
or
20 minutes of vigorous-intensity physical activity three days per week;
or
an equivalent combination of moderate/vigorous-intensity physical activity;
and
8-10 muscular strengthening exercises (8-12 repetitions) at least two days per week.
Older adults (65+) should undertake:

The same recommendations as described for adults (outlined above) but considering the intensity and type of physical activity appropriate for older people;
and
exercises to maintain flexibility;
and
balance exercises.

Source: World Health Organization

Having read the information from the WCPT resource page certainly made me re-assess the amount of physical activity I engage in each day. As they say, “if there is a will, there is a way,” so even if you are in your favorite Joe’s jeans or not, it doesn’t really matter, does it?

Finding The Voice Within

As we wait for spoken language to develop, we can teach our children other means of communicating with us. As our children learn speech, we can help expand their language and utterances. Come learn about the Fundamentals of Augmentative / Alternative Communication.

Speaker: Terese Jimenez- Manalansan MA,CCC/SLP

When & Where
August 26, 2009 (Wednesday)
8:00am – 12:00nn
Auditorium 1, Lay Force Complex,
San Carlos Seminary, EDSA,
Guadalupe, Makati City, Philippines

Seminar Fee
P50.00 for Parents/Relatives of child with Down Syndrome
P150.00 for Professionals (inclusive of Certificate)

For registration, please e-mail the Down Syndrome Association of the Philippines, Inc (DSAPI) at dsapi@hotmail.com or contact them at (632) 895-36-06 / 895-96-42 / (63915) 578-40-69.

For 2009, these are the following podcasts available (in MP3 format) for download on the AOTA website.

• Fall Prevention (January 2009) by Liz Peterson, clinical associate professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and Lynn Beattie, vice president of injury prevention at the National Council on Aging.
• Low Vision (February 2009) by Mary Warren, an occupational therapist and Director of the Graduate Certificate in Low Vision Rehabilitation at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and Linda Goodwin, an occupational therapist and an instructor in the Graduate Certificate program.
• Brain Injury (March 2009) by Dr. Gordon Giles, a professor of occupational therapy at Samuel Merritt University, and Shawn Phipps, president of the Occupational Therapy Association of California.
• Autism (April 2009) by Ellen Harrington-Kane, OT, MS, HSM, assistant vice president of autism and medical rehabilitation at Easter Seals, and Janie Scott, MA, OT/L, FAOTA, an occupational therapy and aging-in-place consultant and lecturer at Towson University.

You can also dig in the podcast archive and see if you have missed out on any important topic. Click here to access the list of podcasts available for download.

When & Where
25 April 2009
1:00 to 5:00 PM
Saint Pedro Poveda College,
EDSA, Quezon City, Philippines

For inquiries, contact the AD/HD Society Secretariat at (632) 426 8568, (632) 927 3463, (63) 9189079159 or at info@adhdsociety.org.

Date & Time
19 May 2009
7:00 – 9:30 PM EDT

Who Should Attend
Parents, families, caregivers, teachers, school nurses, developmental disability nurses, police, firemen, first-responders, coaches, primary care practitioners, pediatricians and all who work with children and adults who have epilepsy and seizure disorders, Exceptional Family Member Program of the U.S. Military.

What To Expect
Learn about the need for a seizure readiness plan; available treatment options within the setting of institutions serving the ND/ID population (state and private-held facilities); unique issues and challenges faced by physicians and allied health care professionals in controlling seizures in the ND/ID Environment.

Grantor Support
This program is made possible by a sponsorship from Valeant Pharmaceuticals.

Faculty
Orrin Devinsky, MD
Professor of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry
New York University Langone Medical Center
New York, New York

Dr. Devinsky’s epilepsy research includes quality-of-life, cognitive and behavioral issues in epilepsy, surgical therapy, and new medications. He has published widely in epilepsy and behavioral neurology and has served on the board of the American Epilepsy Society.

To register for this event, click here.

Helping people of all ages live life to its fullest—the goal of occupational therapy—is the fundamental purpose of this monthly series.

Each 15-minute podcast will address a different way in which occupational therapy helps people prevent—or live better after—illness, injury, or some form of disability.

Occupational therapy practitioners: We encourage you to download the audio files and share them with your current and potential clients. Additionally, visit OTConnections after each episode to continue the discussion.

Click here for current podcasts.

Quoted below is an excerpt of the AOTA news article featuring the OT’s brand: “Living Life To Its Fullest.”

No one can control the hands of time.

No one can slow down the hands of time.

Occupational therapy practitioners however, can do something even more special—maximize the time they are fortunate enough to spend with clients to ensure those clients are doing their best no matter what challenges they face.

Indeed, occupational therapists and occupational therapy assistants enable people to thrive, adjust to disability or limitations, and design their lives as they want.  Occupational therapists and occupational therapy assistants create ways for individuals to live life to its fullest…no matter what.

“Living Life To Its Fullest”™ is what occupational therapy is truly all about.

Read more