Take a few minutes to read this letter from Bradley Lum President & Chief Operating Officer, Special Olympics International

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Jaquelyn Mason-Special Olympics

Dear Friend of Special Olympics, Jacquelyn Mason Slideshow
I want to share an amazing story with you about the power of Special Olympics to change lives. It’s about a 21-year-old Special Olympics athlete named Jacquelyn Mason.
In elementary school, Jacquelyn was known as “slow.” But as a preteen she was finally diagnosed with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS).
Family friend Mary Jane Welton explains, “FAS results when an expectant mom drinks alcohol during her pregnancy. It causes brain damage to the developing fetus. Jacquelyn has cognitive impairment, a very short attention span and lots of memory problems. It really impacts every part of her life.”
Mary Jane remembers when they first met: “She was 12 years old, too shy to speak and kept her eyes looking down at the ground. She could barely balance on a bike. Then she started with Special Olympics. She began to blossom.”
Her first sport was skiing and she loved it. At first, she needed extra encouragement but she practiced and practiced. Skiing was followed by golf. Then she began to make friends as her confidence started to grow.
Mary Jane says, “It’s just amazing that Special Olympics has given her this opportunity to flourish. With each success, her self-esteem and self-confidence increase. Now, she goes to school, works and competes in two sports. The change is dazzling. It’s really a caterpillar turned into a butterfly.”
See Jacquelyn in action in this photo slideshow.
Jacquelyn is one of nearly 3.5 million athletes around the world who are learning and growing from the life-changing power of Special Olympics sports training and competitions.
Thank you for being part of the Special Olympics family. Special Olympics couldn’t accomplish nearly as much without the valuable support and involvement of people like you!
Brady Lum
J. Brady Lum
President & Chief Operating Officer, Special Olympics International
P.S. Please help us with a gift today so more athletes like Jacquelyn have a chance to compete and train.
Thank you.
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Southern New Jersey Perinatal Consortium  (SNJPC) is presenting a Video Conference  called Vaccine Preventable Diseases: Facts of Vaccine Science, Safety and Surveillance. This conference will be in three locations including Vineland, NJ. This informative video conference will held at Montclair State University, Monmouth University and Cumberland County College.

Registration for this conference involves filling out this form.

In addition you must go online and complete this form on Rutger University’s site  Because this conference is in conjunction with SNJPC. Once you connect to the site search for the keyword “VPD”

For more detailed information about the conference please click on this link. It will open as a pdf document.

For questions, please contact Juana Canela at canelaju@umdnj.edu or call 732-235-4958

The Organization for Autism Research will host the 8th Annual Applied Autism Research and Intervention Conference October 29-30, 2010 in Arlington, VA. With the theme “Evidence-Based Education and Intervention across the Lifespan,” attendees will choose from 16 presentations by leading autism professionals regarding issues from early childhood to adulthood.

This event is designed to provide parents, educators, clinicians, students, and researchers with access to the latest in autism intervention research and evidence-based practice. BCBA, ASHA, and APA continuing education units will be available. Scholarships are available on a case-by-case basis. For more information, please visit the conference website.

SOURCE: Friends of NCBDDD Online in support of the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities- June 2010  SUBSCRIBE TODAY!

The National Perinatal Association’s (NPA) Annual Meeting at Georgetown University Conference Center, Washington, DC is scheduled for November 4-6, 2010. Among this year’s highlighted themes are: Social issues of missing dads, single moms; babies, birth, and the media; positive advances in neonatology and perinatology; parents sharing their experiences of raising a child with special needs; proactive palliative care; stress and coping mechanisms that work for family and staff; ethical and cultural issues; maternal mortality and safe motherhood; new findings on late-preterm birth risks; new insights on vaginal birth after cesarean; maternal mortality and safe motherhood initiatives; and many others. The mix of speakers draws from the community of parents, the National Institute of Child Health & Human Development at NIH, Capitol Hill, the medical/nursing/public health/social work communities, universities, the media, and hospitals from around the country and abroad. To learn more about submitting a poster abstract, or to take advantage of early registration benefits, go to National Perinatal Association’s  Website