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April is Autism Acceptance Month

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  Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a complex, lifelong developmental condition that typically appears during early childhood and can impact a person's social skills, communication, relationships, and self-regulation that is different for everyone.  The Autism Society of America has a great infographic  about ASD.  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has put together a toolkit to raise awareness to promote autism acceptance, celebrate neurodiversity and individual differences, and continue to advance inclusivity and connectedness throughout the community. This partner toolkit provides free resources, including social media content and links to educational materials on autism. You can share these resources with your friends, family, colleagues, and partners.  You may have heard April referred to as Autism Awareness Month in the past, so why the name change? The change occurred in 2021 promoted by the Autism Society of America . While awareness reflects the need to educat

March is Traumatic Brain Injury Awareness Month

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Every year, at least 2.8 million Americans sustain a traumatic brain injury. While many people go on to make a full recovery, there are more than 5 million people in the U.S. living with a permanent brain injury-related disability – that’s one in 60 Americans. Every brain injury is different. There’s an often-repeated adage among the brain injury community: “If you’ve seen one brain injury, you’ve seen one brain injury.” The circumstances leading to the injury, the care that the patient received, the brain injury survivor’s life before and after the injury, how the brain changes over time – these are all aspects that contribute to the unique, dynamic nature of brain injury, making the brain injury survivor’s journey an extremely personal one. Those who are affected by brain injury – survivors, their loved ones, and the people who treat them – all have their own stories to tell about how brain injury has changed their lives and set them on a different path. The parts of their lives

Random Acts of Kindness Week is February 11-17, 2024

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  Although Random Acts of Kindness week will be celebrated next week, the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation has provided a calendar for the 2023-2024 school year; that's 365 ideas of ways to spread kindness. They also provide a variety of resources for spreading kindness at school, at home, and at work, including a 2024 calendar for adults to spread kindness at work throughout the year.  Additionally, the Social Emotional Learning and Restorative Practices department has compiled a Random Acts of Kindness resource folder that includes lesson plans, kindness activities, announcements, book lists, and more.  Join the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation in their effort to make kindness the norm, not just next week, but all year long!