Highlights from the NYS Association of Black & Puerto Rican Legislators Conference

On Saturday, February 13th, Sinergia Deputy Executive Director Michael Mitchell attended the Gouverneur Parents Association’s Twelfth Annual Seminar at the NYS Association of Black and Puerto Rican Legislators Conference held at the Empire State Plaza in Albany, New York. The event drew hundreds of parents, service providers and vendors that serve people with disabilities and their families. In attendance were many distinguished guests including Assemblyman Adam Clayton Powell IV (right) and Diana Jones Ritter, the commissioner of New York State Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities (OMRDD).


Sinergia participated in a session entitled “Parents and Consumers: Identifying Needs and Finding Alternatives”, whose main purpose was to discuss ways to continue and improve services while working under the constraints of today’s tight fiscal environment. The session, moderated by Jose Rivera of UCP Nassau (left, with Willie Mae Goodman), included various service providers and OMRDD staff who all gave examples of initiatives they have implemented to continue or even improve services while saving resources.




The final speaker was OMRDD Commissioner Diana Jones Ritter, who while reminding all of the realities of operating under a tight state budget, also pointed out that OMRDD was the only NY state agency to actually be the recipient of an increase and the restoration of the trend factor. Ms. Jones Ritter also discussed her personal concerns on continuing to provide quality services while working under fiscal constraints. See a video of this portion of the commissioner’s speech below. Also on hand was Self Advocacy Association member Tony Phillips who eloquently reminded all that the business we are all in is to provide assistance to people.

Sinergia Participates in Self Advocacy Pilot Program for Parents of Children with Disabilities

Sinergia is participating in piloting the curriculums of the Family Advocacy and Support Training project (FAST), a Project of National Significance with funding from the Administration on Developmental Disabilities (ADD). It focuses on the development of training modules to teach families and their children to become self-advocates. We invite parents to participate in one or more of the upcoming free pilot workshops listed below (for more details of each session visit our calendar of events). Your feedback will help to ensure that training materials are appropriate and effective.



Getting and Keeping the First Job
Monday, February 22, 2010 10:00am to 12:00pm
Presenter: Lizzette Dunn-Barcelona

Skills for Effective Parent Advocacy
Wednesday, February 24, 2010 10:00 am to 12:00 pm
Presenter: Cassandra Archie

Working for Change: Using the Power of a Personal Story
Thursday, February 25, 2010 10:00am to 12:00 pm
Presenter: Cassandra Archie
Please bring a picture of your child for the workshop.

The Journey to Adulthood: What Parents Need to Know (Sexuality)
Friday, February 26, 2010 11:00am to 1:00 pm
Presenter: William Bird

Location: Sinergia, 2082 Lexington Avenue, 4th Floor
Dr. Nivia Zavala Conference Center
New York, NY 10035
RSVP: (212) 643-2840

The first phase of the collaboration took place in December. It involved conducting discussions with five parent support groups at Sinergia for feedback from underserved and underrepresented families of children with disabilities.

Each focus group was conducted in Spanish, and facilitated by a Sinergia staff person that was familiar to and had the trust of the participants. The groups were held on weekdays at different times of the day and lasted for two hours. Facilitators were provided with a set of open ended questions that were asked of each focus group and recorded. These are some sample questions and answers from focus groups held at Sinergia:

Question: What type of trainings appeal to you?
"A workshop to prepare parents for their children's independence - for those parents having difficulty letting go"

Question: What would be the most successful way of gaining your participation in a survey 3 months after training to find out if the information was helpful?
"Internet - we need to know how to use the internet because our children know how to use it and we must be able to supervise them and we need to get the knowledge"

Question: What do you think your son or daughter will be doing as an adult?
"My daughter will be an artist or dancer because she is talented artistically"

Question: Have you seen or known of people with disabilities who are in relationships?
"I have seen normal people in a relationship, the thought of my child being in a relationship concerns me because I don't want him being taken advantage of"

Question: Have you ever needed to speak on your child's behalf to an educator or professional?
"Yes"

Please email us at information@sinergiany.org if you're interested in participating in the upcoming focus group sessions.

Sinergia's Children's Christmas Party 2009

Our deepest appreciation to the NYS Sanitation Department M7, the John Catsimitidis Family and Broadview Networks for a wonderful Children's Christmas Party. More than 250 gifts were given away, over 300 people attended and we had wonderful food and entertainment. Many thanks to all who attended and made it such a special evening! Take a quick peak at the festivities by clicking below.

Home Based Services Extended for the Disabled

On September 24, 2009, the New York State Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities (NYS OMRDD) received approval from the Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to continue to operate the Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) Waiver for another five-year renewal period, running from October 1, 2009 through September 30, 2014. In addition to continuing to operate existing programs, OMRDD is planning to increase the types and amounts of services that can take place in the homes of individuals rather than in residential facilities.  This effort will help to make it possible for individuals with disabilities to remain in their own homes while still receiving the benefit of some services that, to this point, had only been available to individuals living in OMRDD certified residential settings.  As always, the initiatives are designed to foster an individual’s independence and to help them become more active and participatory members of their communities. Below is a partial list of the services. 

Intensive Behavioral Services
For those individuals with severe behavioral issues this service will allow them and their families to access intervention services that were difficult for families to obtain in the past.  This service will allow for professionals in this area to come to the home of these individuals and work with them and family members with strategies that will help to reduce the demonstrated behavior.  

Community Habilitation
This service is intended to be a more efficient mechanism for the delivery of habilitative services in the community (non-certified settings). Community Habilitation will facilitate community inclusion, integration, and relationship building. It is designed to offer a self-direction option to provide individuals with enhanced opportunities to choose and manage their own staff to the extent possible

Pathway to Employment
Will provide time limited supports for participants to explore work that might lead to paid competitive employment and/or self-employment/microenterprise.

Community Transition Services
This service is intended to support an individual transitioning from a provider-operated living arrangement to a living arrangement in a private residence where the individual is directly responsible for his/her own living expenses.  This includes shared living arrangements where a disabled individual may chose to live with a non-disabled person who may or may not be a member of his or her immediate family.

Self-Directed Service Options
OMRDD will enhance self-direction opportunities offered under the waiver by expanding the use of the co-management model in which individuals have more opportunities to choose and manage the staff that supports them through a formal agreement between the provider and the individual.


To read the full press release on the OMRDD site click here.

Workshop Recap: Understanding Psychological Learning Disability Testing

On Tuesday November 10th Sinergia's Metropolitan Parent Center held a workshop entitled “Understanding Psychological Testing: Getting the Most from Your Child’s Evaluation.” The workshop was conducted by Dr. Ed Petrofsky, a licensed psychologist who specializes in dyslexia / learning disability testing as well as assessments of behavioral and emotional concerns. Dr. Petrofsky covered the different types of psychological tests that are currently used and discussed the various components for each test. For information on upcoming workshops visit our calendar of events.

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Sinergia Participates in Race to Deliver

Sinergia 's Day Habilitation and Up-Living Programs have but one mission: to assist individuals in improving their quality of life and integration into their community.  One of the more recent success stories we have is about the individuals who participated in the Race To Deliver, sponsored by God’s Love We Deliver, who are prominent figures in the program.  Frank, Sol, Vanessa Jay, Terri, Edith, Maria, Joseph and Michael have been active participants in activities that have improved their health and fitness. By joining the YMCA, Riverbank State Park and enjoying fitness walks in their community, they have improved their overall health and became motivated to participate in the 4-mile walk.

During the race, which was held in Central Park on Sunday, November 22nd, Sol was cheerful and kept greeting other marathoner’s and was determined to complete the race, which he did with a big smile on his face.  Frank, who in the past has been adamant about not leaving his residence, was free spirited and engaging during  the walk.  Once he got to the finish line he said, “I will do this again”.  Joseph and Michael kept a steady pace and were leaders among some of their peers and staff.  Terri, Vanessa and Edith walked a brisk walk and kept far ahead of their peers.  Maria and Jay, were stars among the group and completed the 4 mile walk with a smile on their faces.  Needless to say, the staff, coordinators and administrators of Sinergia are very proud of all the participants,  not only for completing the walk-a-thon but for also giving back to their community and helping others in need.

Peter Sartori
Up Living Assistant Coordinator, Sinergia

Workshop Recap: Behavior Management for Parents of Children with ADHD

On November 13th, Criando Nuestros Hijos, one of Sinergia's Metropolitan Parent Center (MPC) programs, hosted a workshop on Behavior Management Strategies for Parents of Children with ADHD. The presenter, Miriam Cusicanqui-Messoud, LMSW at St. Lukes Roosevelt Hospital, provided an introductory parent skills training that focused on a methodology that emphasizes the liberal use of praise and rewards, having clear household rules and consistent follow through. Research supports the effectiveness of behavior therapy for parents and has shown that teaching parents these techniques is one of the best predictors of success in adulthood (See US News & World Report article "ADHD Medication: Can Your Child Go Without? Behavioral therapy for ADHD—and parent retraining, too—can be good alternatives to medication).

MPC parents receiving this type of therapy have reported incredible improvement in their child’s behavior and helped to maintain their child in a less restrictive environment.

For a full list of upcoming workshops visit Sinergia's calendar of events.