For those living in the Northern Hemisphere, this is the darkest time of the year. Perhaps this fact is the underlying inspiration for winter festivities, the need to create light where it has receded temporarily beyond the horizon. The days are short, the nights are long, and yet we push ourselves to gather and plan and celebrate and repeat. Many of us enter the new year ragged, spent, and overwhelmed, dragging ourselves across the threshold of the changing time.
Take a Moment to Rest
For many animals, winter is the time to hibernate. To settle into a deep sleep of rest and replenishment so they can awaken when the world is brighter and survival a bit easier. Of course, humans can’t hibernate like bears, but we can accept this time of year as a time to slow down. Take those peaceful moments and quiet evenings and let them be the cup-filling moments we need. The new year is coming, and the sun is already returning, spreading its glow across the horizon. Before we know it, the world will awaken again to spring and the buzz of life. Find peace in the darkness of mid-winter and fill your stores for the year to come.
Welcoming 2024
As we head into 2024, PWSA | USA has some exciting plans ahead! From powerful advocacy work to continuing family support, fundraising campaigns, convention preparations, and creating a space for our loved ones to share their artistic voices. We are looking forward to a fruitful year!We will also be focusing blog posts on monthly themes relevant to families and individuals in the PWS community. With the long nights and a few months of winter still to come, January is a great time to think about mental health and self-care. To this end, our blog posts will focus on tips, techniques, and reminders to prioritize mental wellness.
Ways to Connect with the PWS Community
We also have some fun, new ways to connect with you all! In January, we will begin offering Facebook Live events to help teach and enhance specific self-care practices (more details coming soon!). If you’re interested in participating, please make sure to follow us on Facebook (@PWSAUSA). And if you’re not already, follow and engage with us on Instagram (@pwsausa).
Forging Effective Paths of Communication
As a final request for the 2023 year, to help us learn more about effectively meeting family’s needs, please take a moment to complete our 2023 PWSA | USA Communications Feedback Survey. Your responses will help us understand and create more effective avenues of communication to ensure our community receives the information and support you need.
New Year Wish
May you all have a wonderful New Year celebration! Remember to step back and breathe when necessary. Find moments to relax and recharge. See you in 2024!
Jennifer Bolander has been serving as a Special Education Specialist for PWSA (USA) since October of 2015. She is a graduate of John Carroll University and lives in Ohio with her husband Brad and daughters Kate (17), and Sophia (13) who was born with PWS.
Perry A. Zirkel has written more than 1,500 publications on various aspects of school law, with an emphasis on legal issues in special education. He writes a regular column for NAESP’s Principal magazine and NASP’s Communiqué newsletter, and he did so previously for Phi Delta Kappan and Teaching Exceptional Children.
Evan has worked with the Prader-Willi Syndrome Association (USA) since 2007 primarily as a Crisis Intervention and Family Support Counselor. Evans works with parents and schools to foster strong collaborative relationships and appropriate educational environments for students with PWS.
Dr. Amy McTighe is the PWS Program Manager and Inpatient Teacher at the Center for Prader-Willi Syndrome at the Children’s Institute of Pittsburgh. She graduated from Duquesne University receiving her Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Education with a focus on elementary education, special education, and language arts.
Staci Zimmerman works for Prader-Willi Syndrome Association of Colorado as an Individualized Education Program (IEP) consultant. Staci collaborates with the PWS multi-disciplinary clinic at the Children’s Hospital in Denver supporting families and school districts around the United States with their child’s Individual Educational Plan.
Founded in 2001, SDLC is a non-profit legal services organization dedicated to protecting and advancing the legal rights of people with disabilities throughout the South. It partners with the Southern Poverty Law Center, Protection and Advocacy (P&A) programs, Legal Services Corporations (LSC) and disability organizations on major, systemic disability rights issues involving the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and the federal Medicaid Act. Recently in November 2014, Jim retired.