Pizza Party Eve

Hello out there!

 

Pizza party eve, you ask? We answer - we are so happy to have won the RQHR World Aids Awareness Day competition! The prize? A pizza party happening tomorrow afternoon in A!TLC. !!! It will greatly add to our first PATH Wednesday, where we will help Student Researcher Kennen set some goals that will help her reach all of her big dreams!

 

Today we selected a book for our new A!TLC Book Club - We will be reading a book called "This is What Happy Looks Like" for a portion of each Thursday. This is a book where a young male celebrity is anonymously exchanging emails with a small town girl. Will they not so anonymously fall in love? Is this "You've Got Mail" for the next generation? Stay tuned to find out.

We also took some time to answer more of your UN day questions! Here are a few to consider....

 

What are some of the biggest barriers that Astonished! faces?

The awareness barrier. Although we have been on campus at the U of R for one full year now, there are lots of people who do not know who we are or what we do here. We have come a very long way in a year and there are many friendly faces and friends of the A!TLC in the hallways, but we would like to do much more. Kin students Jenny and Chelsea were a great help to helping to break this barrier during the Fall 2013 Semester, as they represented and presented Astonished! in classrooms and in the community at large. Thanks so much, ladies!

 

 

How can we work on eliminating stigma regarding disabled students?
The more awareness that is raised around campus, the less stigma there will be. We at the A!TLC are happy to contribute to the diversity on campus and show that the average person who would like to learn in a  wonderful place like the University of Regina comes in all shapes and sizes. The stigma is only as big as you make it. Be patient and be kind.

 

What advice can you give someone who is communicationg with someone who does not use speech as their main form of communication? Specifically, what can they do if it is their first time?  Again, please be patient and be kind. And take your time. Establish how they communicate (Maybe a head nod for yes and a shake for no) and design your questions around yes/no answers. Be creative and look the person who you are communicating with in the eye. Pay attention to any visual cues that you can. And be good to yourself, you are doing your best and communicating with someone that you have just met takes effort (and might be awkward!), no matter if you are using speech or not! Do not get discouraged and keep making that effort. It counts!

 

Thanks so much for reading and take care!

New Year! New A!TLC Semester! New (to us!) questions....

Hello out there! 

We are back! And thrilled to be here. The A!TLC Winter 2014 Semester is filled with many things to look forward to. And tough work, this is our first Thursday back but it being Jan 9th is the second Thursday of the month....making it an INCLUSION CAFE today! We are headed to the pub shortly. 

But before we head out - we have some business! We have been promising since (last year!) December 3rd, 2013 to answer YOUR questions from the UN International Day of Persons with Disabilities. 

Here's one: What are some of your favorite recreational activities?

Kelsey: Shopping! 
Kennen: Getting out and doing stuff! I love fishing...and ice fishing! 
Kaitlyn: Being social! Hanging out with friends and being out and about. 
Rebekah: Hosting parties and serving. Riding my bike at the Field House. 

And another: 

How can I adapt my lesson plans to reach students with disabilities?

Ask us! Talk to us to find out what our individual needs are. There is a way to make it work. Be willing to explore the situation and offer accessible office hours. We are happy to work with you! 


Thanks so much for reading and stay tuned for the rest! 

Holiday cheer...and then some!

Hello out there! 

It is the final day of the A!TLC Fall 2013 Semester and we cannot believe it. It has been a pretty epic few months! We have done so many things and feel like a great team. We are also so excited to see what the next semester (starting on January 7, 2014!) will bring. But for now, let's all stop and enjoy our holiday break....

Today the A!TLC  will be going off campus to celebrate and to get a little bit festive! :) 
We will begin by toasting one another over lunch and then head to the Southland Mall to do some of that Christmas Shopping that we mentioned in our last blog entry. This is Christmas giving in real time - we will have half an hour to seek out the perfect gift for whoever we have been assigned to be a Secret Santa for. Then, everyone will meet up to do the big exchange. As we are a bunch of extremely thoughtful (and modest!) people, this Secret Santa gift exchange is a pretty big deal to us and we are so excite to see the look on our lucky gift recipient's face as they tear into their present! Good vibes all around and a very high note to end the Semester on. Huge thanks to everyone who made this Semester possible, and to our brilliant and ever-so hardworking Student Researchers. It is a beautiful thing to get to work together like this each day. 

We would all like to wish you (yes, you!) a wonderful holiday and a Happy New Year!  HO HO HO! 

All the best, 

The A!TLC 

Christmas is Coming to A!TLC

Hello Out There!

Christmas is coming to the A!TLC .....on December 19th to be precise!  Together we are going to celebrate the holiday season by going out for lunch and then participating in a Secret Santa Exchange. After we have lunch we are going to jaunt over to Southland mall to do our shopping!

Today we drew names for the exchange and then participated in an activity to help our Secret Santa decide what to purchase for each of us.  

Kennen:

Top 3 Colours: Orange and Purple

Scented or unscented products: Unscented

Clothing: Shirts (small) & scarves 

Top 4 Accessories: Necklaces, hair clips, scarves and PURSES!!!!

Movies Comedy/Action/Romance: No thanks!

Music: Christmas music, itunes card!

Rebekah:

Top 3 Colours: Purple, Purple and Purple

Scented or Unscented products: Scented!!!

Clothing: Shirts (size medium has to be 100% cotton), zip-ups and socks

Top 4 Accessories: Earrings with backs, lip-chap or lipstick , necklaces and rings!

Movies Comedy/Action/Romance: No movies please! 

Music: Country preferably Taylor Swift.  I have a Ipod so itunes cards are always great!

Kaitlyn

Top 3 Colours: Pink, Green and Blue

Scented or unscented products: Prefers Scented not picky with the type of scent

Clothing: Furry socks, likes scarves (pretty ones),  

Top 4 Accessories that you like: nail polish, hair accessories, earrings, anything girly!!!!

Movies Comedy/Action/Romance: anything but horror! 

Music: Loves country!!! 

*** I also like books! 

Wendy

Top 3 Colours: Blue, Green and Teal

Scented or unscented products: Depends...I like scented candles and body wash I prefer to buy my own perfume :) 

Clothing: Gloves (black), scarves & socks (furry)

Top 4 Accessories: earrings, nail polish, & scarves 

Movies: any king including horror (I don't like James Bond) 

Music: some country mostly rock and rock blues!

Jenna

Top 3 Colours:  Blue, Black and Green

Scented or unscented products: Scented please (love vanilla)

Clothing: Scarves, shirt (medium/large)&  hoodies, 

Top 4 Accessories: Rings, necklaces, shoes, & purses

Movies: Anything with a cute boy in it!

Music: Country! 

Sylvia

Top 3 Colours: White, Black and Red

Scented or unscented products: Unscented!

Clothing: Gloves, slippers (size 6), shirt (medium) & scarves

Top 4 Accessories: Earrings!

Movies: Romance

Music: No thanks!

Kelsey:

 

Top 3 Colours: Pink, purple, and blue
Scented or Unscented Products: Scented!

Clothing: Anything! Medium, pants size 7 or 11

Accessories: Purses, wallets, and any jewelry except earrings

Movies: Comedies, anything with a handsome male lead in it!

Music: Pop, rock, and country

Bonnie:

Top 3 Colours: Black, purple, silver (hates blue!)

Clothing: Scarves, mitts, toques

Accessories: Scarves, earrings, nail polish

Movies: Romance, comedies, or anything Disney

Music: Backstreet Boys

Ella:

Top 3 Colours/Shades: Black, grey, and white

Clothing: tall socks, tights, toques

Accessories: bracelets, rings

Movies: Comedies

Music: Anything!



 

UN International Day of Persons with Disabilities

Hello out there!

Well....today is the day.  The Un International Day of Persons with Disabilities and we at A!TLC are proud to be part of and celebrate the day! The theme for the day is 'Break Barriers, Open Doors: For an Inclusive Society and Development for All!

Over the past two months we have been working with Chelsey and Jenni - two Kinesiology students enrolled in Kin 342 Active Living & Developmental Disabilities to highlight the day!  Leading up to today we have been going to various U of R classes to show a ten minute presentation highlighting Astonished! and providing information to students and insturctors on how they can get involved with Astonished!

Today, Tuesday December 3, we have a booth set up in Riddell Centre from 1-4pm.  With Jenni and Chelsey we will be handing out Tim Horton's coffee and snacks to those who stop by to learn more about Astonished!  To keep things interesting we also have a jar filled with candy and are asking members of the student body to guess how many pieces the jar contains.  The person who guesses correctly or is the closet will win the jar!  We are also encouraging people to ask us questions about what it is like to live with complex physical disAbility. Throughout the afternoon we will be posting their questions on the blog.   Over the next few weeks we will be answering the questions.  If you can't make it today ensure you come back to the blog to see the questions that were asked of us and our responses! .......Stay Tuned!

Thanks for Reading!

Catching up!

Hello out there! 

We have missed blogging for the past few A!TLC sessions and thought that we would throw you a line to get you back in the loop!

If you ever wondered what everyone at the A!TLC looks like wearing red, you can stop wondering now. December 1st is World AIDS Day and Student Researcher Kennen Dorgan snapped this shot (while appearing in the shot herself!) last week as the A!TLC wore red to help raise HIV/AIDS awareness. Following the picture, most everyone returned to GREEN to support our own Riders. ;) WHATTA WIN!

The 26th was our final rendezvous (for now!) with some awesome Douglas Park Students. This last visit (we went to them) had us cooking and crafting and trying out their new sensory room. The room was managed to be extremely stimulating and soothing all at the same time. We at the A!TLC give it a rave review! Thanks again for having us, Douglas Park. 

Yesterday, we popped into the CKHS 185 class to join Kin. students Jenny and Chelsea to help them hand out Menchie's flyers - remember that if you head to Menchie's Rochdale next week (Dec 1 - 7)  and show the flyer, A! will receive 20% of the proceeds. Win, win, win!  We are gearing up for the UN International Day of Persons with Disabilities and if you happen to be at the University from 1:00 - 4:00 on December 3rd, swing by the Riddell Centre to pay us a visit. We will have a table set up filled with A! information, coffee, cookies....We will also have a communication book set up for you to (anonymously or not!) record any questions about disability or our organization that YOU may have. 

Today is a big day! Not only do we have our favorite, Inclusion cafe, but we have Kennen's PATH celebration. We at the A!TLC are so excited to rally around Kennen as she sets some important goals for herself. It is going to be WONDERFUL!

And, birthdays! We would like to wish the lovely Brenda MacLauchlan a very happy belated birthday (it was yesterday!) and the excellent Jasmine Gerein a very happy early birthday (she turns the wise old age of 23 on Monday!). Good people that we would like to celebrate. Thank you for being born! 

That's it for now. We hope that you feel back in the loop and look forward to posting more updates ASAP. 

Thanks for reading! 

A Monday-Like Tuesday...

Hello out there! 

The long weekend has left us a bit worn out, actually! We were all a little silly and sleepy at today's A!TLC. Oh well. We carried on and got lots of stuff done! 

Double presentation this Monday (the 18th) - We will be coming to a SW479 and KIN 120 class near you to present on Barriers and Enablers and to share our sweet Menchies flyers! 

Our pages for the One Page Project are nearly ready to share! Stay tuned. 

Douglas Park round three is happening and we have some good ideas to share with the students! 

And Inclusion Cafe is back this week! See you at the Owl on Thursday at 2:30? SO excited! 

Thank you for reading and have a good one!