Today, as we work together to ensure that every member of our Prader-Willi syndrome community has access to the support, expertise, and resources needed to help our loved ones thrive, we need your help! Whether you have just begun your PWS journey or are well along your way, join us to help ensure PWSA | USA’s responsive and ever-evolving services and resources are always available to all. Each day, across the country and around the world, new families join our community and are in need of the assistance that only our Family Support team can provide.
PWSA | USA’s Family Support team GETS you! We are in your corner to be the light of hope as you begin your journey, the expertise at your IEP meeting, the experienced voice answering your late-night call from the ER, the counselor helping you address behavior concerns, the advocate helping you plan for your loved one’s next transition, and so much more. Every day, PWSA | USA’s Family Support team is standing by to provide an experienced ear and the most relevant tools and resources to provide support to your family, every step of the way.
Your donation, no matter the size, plants a seed of HOPE for all PWS families in their darkest moments to ensure each and every member of our community has access to the life-saving expertise and resources the Family Support team is known for. When you join other members of our community and make a tax-deductible donation to our Family Support Campaign (now through May 31st!), YOUR IMPACT WILL BE DOUBLED (up to our first $20,000) thanks to a match from a generous PWS parent.
Thank you for helping to sustain this singular resource to provide customized support for the PWS community 24 hours a day/7 days a week/365 days a year!
P.S. We are counting on you to help us raise funds to sustain this critical resource. Do you want to do more to help us reach our goal? Join our Family Support Challenge by creating your own fundraising page at hopeunited.pwsausa.org/FSC23.
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.