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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72"><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal>Please come and join the New York Parents of Blind Children for an informative and fun workshop at the 63<sup>rd </sup>Annual NFBNYS Convention. The NYPBC is an affiliate division of the National Organization of Parents of Blind Children, and a division of the National Federation of the Blind of New York State. We hold a division meeting and workshop(s) at our state convention each year. The 2019 state convention will take place at the <span style='font-size:15.0pt'>Holiday Inn, 4600 Genesee Street, Cheektowaga, NY 14225. </span>This year we have a great workshop for families and parents of blind children, which we hope you will find to be both educational and enjoyable. We will hold our workshop from 2:00 P.M. until 5:00 P.M. on Friday October 18<sup>th</sup> 2019 and cover the following topics:<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Come and meet our new BELL state coordinator and check-out a mini BELL where you can sample some of the neat activities that your blind child could enjoy at our New York State BELL programs, and hear about our upcoming plans for BELL 2020. There will be BELL programs held in Buffalo NY, the Orchard BELL and in NYC, the Big Apple BELL in summer 2020. Next we have three back-to-back presentations on IEP/IFSP, with three presenters who will take you through three important questions: “What can/should be on your child’s IEP?” “How does that look once it gets put down onto paper?” and “What can you do when the IEP is not being followed or you are not being given what your child needs?” In the first segment we will go over the many options to consider to make informed decisions on what is available to your blind child in the school or preschool/EI system and how to select the services, accommodations, technology and methods that will serve your child best. The second segment will look at how to read an existing IEP, how an IEP is written, how to write meaningful goals and make actionable requests in the IEP process. The third segment will explore your options from polite diplomacy to aggressive legal action, and all of the variations in between, what they are, and when to consider each, if the IEP is not being followed or if your requests for services or accommodations are not being heard or honored.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>This event is $5.00 per person, $1 for additional family members of the first paying family member, and is free to registered convention attendees. There is childcare provided during this event, and throughout our state convention. Childcare is not just babysitting to us and if your blind child attends during this workshop or any other portion of convention, they will engage in fun activities that are designed to promote a blindness positive attitude, that incorporate some of the neat activities we use in our BELL programs, and that provide opportunities for free play with peers, Braille literacy through art projects, Orientation and Mobility exploration, even physical development through an Acro-Yoga session planned for our childcare during the banquet. Convention registration is $15, however, it is not required to attend this workshop, although it will make your workshop admission free. If you are local to the Buffalo area we would especially encourage you to attend this and other events at the state convention, as the usual expense and logistical concerns of attending such a convention are virtually removed by the fact that you live locally and can avoid travel or lodging expenses, while enjoying a fantastic event right in your own backyard, as it were.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Our convention will include a town hall meeting with NYSCB, the New York State Commission for the Blind, where your children likely receive services, workshops for various groups and divisions, including the NYPBC, and also divisions for Guide Dog Users NYAGDU, Blind Students, NYABS, blind parents, blind seniors, and blind diabetics. If your child is older, of middle school or high school age, they may wish to attend the New York Association of Blind Students workshop as well which runs concurrently with our workshop. There will be an exhibit hall full of vendors of a plethora of products, and services for people who are blind, which you can check out before or after the workshop. General sessions will be held on Saturday, with a banquet on Saturday evening and business meetings on Sunday.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>If you would like to attend this workshop or the convention, please contact the NYPBC president Jim Jonas at (585) 472-2433 or email to <a href="mailto:gjonas817@gmail.com">gjonas817@gmail.com</a><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>For questions regarding the BELL program, please contact the NYS BELL coordinator, Heather Bird at (585) 739-6473, or email to <a href="mailto:heather.L.bird@gmail.com">heather.L.bird@gmail.com</a><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>for questions regarding childcare, please contact Maura Kutnyak at (716) 563-9882 or email to <a href="mailto:maurakutnyak@gmail.com">maurakutnyak@gmail.com</a><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>And for questions regarding the Blind Students Division please contact Justin Yung at (585) 310-8575 or email to <a href="mailto:nyabsdivision@gmail.com">nyabsdivision@gmail.com</a><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></body></html>