Meditation, Mindfulness, and Self-Care
Contributed by Emily Felt Hi PWSA Community! Every month, I collaborate with the PWSA communications team to contribute ideas that enhance the remarkable ways PWSA educates and supports our community. Like many volunteers, I am also a mother to an adorable 11-year-old girl named Olivia, who is living with PWS. In addition to my volunteer...
When Friends Turn Into Family
Contributed by Jennifer Lloyd When it comes to finding people who understand PWS, it can feel isolating – especially after a new diagnosis. Silas and Nora met at Physical Therapy at a few months old. I remember his PT telling me there was a little girl with PWS that was going there and I knew...
Exercise, Movement, and Mental Health
In the PWS community, we emphasize the importance of exercise and movement as management strategies and life-saving habits for people living with PWS. With the complications of hyperphagia and a slower metabolism, exercise is critical for care. But our loved ones are not alone in this. Physical fitness is incredibly valuable and needed for parents...
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.