A very interesting site on what our kids used to go through

I thank God Christopher is segregated from other kids at school. What I went through in public school will not happen to him. But for undiagnosed high functioning kids, the scenario on this website is far too common. Even in Catholic Schools, as the science fiction story Pride's Prison points out.

ASAN, ACA, and Transition to Adulthood

Hello Families of Hope! I haven't posted in a while, and this blog kind of died, but I will be handing out business cards this summer with the URL at the ArchPDX Journey Together in Hope retreats.

Today, ASAN, the Autistic Self Advocacy Network, has released a very informative policy paper on the transition to adulthood under Obamacare. While not Catholic- and in fact, as we all know, there are many moral problems with Obamacare- there are both pitfalls and opportunities in Obamacare for the ID/DD (Intellectually Disabled/Developmentally Delayed) individual turning that magic age of 26 when they can no longer be on the family health insurance. One cannot deal properly with the world, without knowing information about the world- and so I offer this link, just as much to save it for myself 16 years from now when Christopher makes that transition.

Southwest Portland Metro FACT classes

DATE CHANGE FOR OREGON CITY TRAINING!
Join FACT for its free family training,
"Understanding the IEP: Development, Process, and Your Critically Important Role on the Team!"
Monday, September 9 6:00-8:30 pm
Beaverton City Library
Meeting Room
12375 SW 5th St.
Beaverton, Oregon 97005
----------------------
TUESDAY, September 17 UPDATED!
6:30-8:30 pm
Willamette Falls Community Center
Auditorium
519 15th Street
Oregon City, OR 97045
-----------------------
Tuesday, September 24
6:30-8:30 pm
Providence Cancer Center
Amphitheater
4805 NE Glisan Street
Portland, OR 97213
------------------------------
This FREE training will cover:
Effective communication
How to understand the IEP
How it is developed
Your involvement in the process
Tips and tools for being your child’s #1 fan and advocate
Your questions and answers!
To register, click here, call 1-888-988-FACT, or email registration@factoregon.org with questions or assistance with registration.

A good place for good information

Another blog that some in this community may be interested in is Todd F.'s Autism Blog where I also moderate. I do my best to keep the spam out of there anyway. I started this blog instead of just pointing people there for two reasons- 1. We have a lot of parents with other-than-autism diagnoses 2. I wanted this to be as much about our shared faith as it is about our children.

Rachel's Vineyard Retreat

Early one morning, the conversation turned to the subject of abortion. I knew I had seen this in our church bulletin, so I'm putting it forth here for all who might need it.

Rachel's Vineyard Retreat for Healing from Abortion
Oct. 1-13, 2013 in Portland

This confidential weekend retreat facilitates spiritual and emotional healing for women and men struggling with the impact of abortion. Exercises are designed to help participants experience God's mercy, compassion, and restoration, and to reconcile with God, their children, and themselves. The retreat concludes with a Memorial Service and Mass of Entrustment. If your heart hears God's gentle invitation, take courage, for you are being called to a safe place to heal. Financial assistance is available.
For registration information, please contact
LoriEckstine at 1-800.249.807 or
email here.
For more details, go to
Catholic Charities Project Rachel homepage

God can forgive any sin, even this.

New Internet TV Station

Several people mentioned that they worry about too much screen time. For disabled people this is indeed a real danger as the world can get very narrow indeed. But it is also an opportunity. If your family can't afford cable, I'd like to recommend Grunky a Chestertonian internet TV Station in conjunction with EWTN and Theater of the Word.

A bit of end-of-summer fun

Another "I don't remember who I was talking to" post- but somebody asked where we had gone for amusement parks this summer, and I mentioned Great Wolf Lodge in Washington. Turns out they have a 48 hour sale on right now- special room rate pricing, $35/person/night weekdays, going up to $50/person/night on weekends. This is about half what this trip cost us earlier in the summer. Promo code R48HOUR, Reserve here.

For cheaper fun, some friends and I are getting together September 13th, 2013 at Cape Kiwanda RV Park, to get up early in the morning for Breakfast, Fishing, and Lunch at Whiskey Creek Fish Hatchery. My facebook event can be found here, RSVP to Tillamook Anglers.

Information from Tillamook Anglers:

Whiskey Creek Fish Hatchery.

Free coffee, donuts, and hot chocolate for breakfast starting at 9 am.

Then fishing at 10 am! Every kid, even normal friends and siblings, gets to fish. Limit 4 fish per kid. Everything furnished POLES, BAIT, FISH CLEANING, ICE AND BAGS TILLAMOOK ICE CREAM, PEPSI, BARBEQUE HAMBURGERS AND HOT DOGS ON FRANZ BUNS, DONUTS, FRED MEYER CHICKEN, HOT CHOCOLATE AND COFFEE

WHERE
WHISKEY CREEK VOLUNTEER FISH HATCHERY
7660 WHISKEY CREEK ROAD
TILLAMOOK, OR 97141
Follow signs to Cape Lookout State Park
Under Cover and Fully Handicap Accessible
Watch for signs that say “FISH”
Please RSVP to Heidi Hartman at 503-846-3127 with the number of kids before 8-31, or you can email Jerry Dove, president of Tillamook Anglers, with your kid count.

The truth about who gets to Heaven

Catholic teaching is not what some people think. Extra Ecclesiam nulla salus, is indeed a doctrine of the Church- outside the Church there is no salvation. But when Fr. Leonard Feeney began preaching an extreme version of that point of doctrine back in 1953, he found himself excommunicated over it! The Feeneyite Heresy as it came to be popularly called, was one of the major causes of the Second Vatican Council, and sure enough they produced two documents on the subject: Nostra Aetate (In Our Time) and Lumen Gentium. These two works together revolutionized forever our understanding of the relation between God, Man, the Roman Catholic Church, and other religions. I highly recommend that any parent worried about non-Catholic spouses or children who do not appear to be taking part in the Visible Church Militant, read these; membership in the Visible Church Militant certainly does prepare us for Heaven, but is NOT the last word in whether or not we will join in the Church Triumphant. As Father Raul read to us from the Gospel- in Heaven, the Least shall be Greatest- and the Greatest shall become the Least.

Having said that- of course it's a lot easier to get to Heaven with the grace of the Sacraments than without- Jesus, I trust in you, and in your divine mercy.

In times of spiritual desolation

We all feel it from time to time. We feel like God has abandoned us. He never does. But at times it is hard to trust. In three different conversations this weekend, St. Sister Marie Faustina's Chaplet of Divine Mercy devotion came up. I had some details wrong- it wasn't Sister Faustina who presented her painting to the Pope, and Pope John Paul II canonized her, it was Pope Pius X who received the painting from this Polish Nun who died in 1938. But by all means- explore this link, and let us know how the Chaplet of Divine Mercy has helped YOUR family.

New to what Catholics mean by "Social Justice"?

Here's a "I do not remember quite who I was talking to" topic, but I remember mentioning Pope Benedict XVI's wonderful Encyclical, Caritas In Veritate, and that it had a long history of tradition behind it (well, long by American Standards) stretching back over a century. We have wonderful Popes teaching us how to follow Christ in the midst of modern economics, I encourage you all to read it.

If this is too heavy, then I highly recommend All Things Considered, by GK Chesterton.

And God works in mysterious ways! In my e-mail this morning, in my daily reading of the Catechism and the Youth Catechism, was the reference for Catholic Social Doctrine in the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

Welcome to the Families of Hope Community

This blog is for the participants of the Journey Together In Hope English Retreat at Turner, OR. This blog is NOT sponsored by the Archdiocese of Portland, and is run by the participants.
It is my hope that we can use this blog to share concerns and information about raising Special Needs Catholics in Oregon, including help for the "kids" who transition into special needs adults.
The first few posts over the next few days will be continuations of conversations I had on the retreat. Due to my face blindness, I won't remember who I was talking to, but you can bet I'll remember what we were talking about; besides, what we were talking about might help somebody else.
You can e-mail me if you want to make a top level post. Otherwise, just use your DISQUS account to comment on a post. Due to the sensitivity of our community, heavy moderation is in effect, so don't be surprised if it takes 24 to 48 hours before your comment posts, and you might get an e-mail from me for clarification. Want to speed that up? Sign up for a Disqus account and volunteer to be a moderator!
Remember- NO judgements. Same as on our retreat. But we should be able to keep flame wars at a minimum due to the heavy moderation. --- Edit: The blog name has been changed to protect, well, I don't know who, but somebody.