Family Connection SC

 

Upcoming Trainings from Family Connection

Back to School: Building Strong Connections. Thursday, July 31. 6:00 - 7:00 PM Kick off the school year with strategies that foster strong, positive communication between you and your child's school. Register! Journey Toolkit: The Power of Organization. Thursday, August 7. 12:00 - 1:00 PM Learn strategies to organize medical and school records so you can communicate clearly and advocate confidently. This hands-on workshop will help you build a “journey book” to keep everything in one place. Register! Understanding the IEP. Wednesday, September 17. 8:30 - 9:30 AM This workshop will walk you through the special education process, break down key terms, explain what is in an IEP, and help you feel confident and prepared as a key member of your child’s team. Register!

SC Medicaid Waivers: A Guide for Parents. Monday, August 11. 12:00 - 1:00 PM Join our healthcare team as they discuss waivers available in SC, who they are intended for, and how to get started! Register! Let's Talk TEFRA. September 9. 12:00 - 1:00 PM Join Family Connection’s health care team for a conversation about TEFRA Medicaid. Register!

WAZE to Adulthood: Parent & Professional Training: Pathway to Success: Independent Living Thursday, August 21. 12:00 - 1:00 PM When it comes to planning for life after high school, it is important to think about working, learning, and living in our communities. These topics play a part in the various paths a person may choose to take in pursuing their independent living goals. Register! WAZE to Adulthood - Youth Training: Your Pathway to Success: Independent Living Thursday, August 21. 6:00 - 7:00 PM Join us for a live Zoom webinar as we discuss various independent living skills that will benefit you as you prepare for adulthood. Register!

Parenting with Purpose: A Positive Parenting Series Session 1: Parenting for Children with a Disability  Wednesday, August 20. 11:30 AM - 1:00 PM Discover the seven key principles of positive parenting for children with disabilities. Learn how to create a safe, nurturing, and engaging home environment that supports learning and development. Register! Session 2: Helping Your Child Reach Their Potential Wednesday, August 27. 11:30 AM - 1:00 PM Get six powerful tips to become your child’s most effective teacher at home. Support school success and daily life skills with simple, positive strategies. Register! Session 3: Changing Problem Behavior into Positive Behavior Wednesday, September 3. 11:30 AM - 1:00 PM Learn how to turn chaos into calm with six step-by-step tools to manage challenging behavior and build better routines. Register!

Support Parent Training  Saturday, September 27. 9:00 AM - 1:00 PM This training equips you with the skills to provide other parents with emotional support and helpful resources. Register!

More News from Family Connection:

	Don't Miss these Opportunities to Experience our LOOK! Photography Exhibit:  Visit the 2025! photos at the food court hallway at Columbiana Centre.  View our online gallery featuring all 2025 photos and stories. Purchase a LOOK! Book to have a copy of the collection forever! Your donation will help support LOOK! and the work of Family Connection!

Pack the Park for a Great Night of Baseball! Columbia Firefliles is offering a great night of baseball in support of the disability community, and Family Connection will be there for all the fun! . Five dollars from every ticket sold for the August 26th game, through the link below, will go to Family Connection. Enjoy a fun-filled evening and contribute to the betterment of the disability community! Gates will open at 6:00pm and the game will start at 7:05pm as the Columbia Fireflies take on the Hickory Crawdads. Buy Tickets! Segra Park is Cashless and has a clear bag policy. Please contact Matt Chernesky at (803) 888-3015 with questions or if you need ADA seating.

	Save the Date: Buddy Walk 2025 will be held on Sunday, November 2 at Saluda Shoals Park Athletic Fields. Watch your inbox and our social channels for the opening of registration! Contact Jacki Garbinsky for sponsorship opportunities!

ABLE SC

 

Kickin' It with Kimberly: 35 Years of the ADA, And We’re Still Explaining Why We Matter?! Friend, July 26 should be a full-on celebration, balloons, confetti, Beyoncé-level Disability Pride. 35 years ago, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) changed the game. It wasn’t just a law, it was a civil rights milestone, led by disabled people, that told this country: Disabled people exist. We matter. And we will not be pushed aside. The ADA opened doors, literally and figuratively: Curb cuts Captioning Accessible voting Inclusive classrooms Employment protections Access like nondisabled people have every day. This law reshaped our world. And I’ve lived all 35 years of it. I’m a pre-ADA baby. I didn’t even know I had rights until college because no one taught me.  Imagine if disability rights were part of every school’s curriculum. Would disability be more accepted? More understood?  I remember being a kid in a world that didn’t make space for me. Where you had to fight just to exist, let alone be included in a classroom, a job, or your own future. And today? We still meet youth and adults with disabilities who are just learning about the ADA, 35 years later. But when they do? I see it. The spark. The confidence. The pride. They begin to understand: They belong. Their voice matters. At the ADA signing on July 26, 1990, President George H.W. Bush stood before a sea of disabled Americans and declared: “Let the shameful wall of exclusion finally come tumbling down.” Those words meant something. They still do. But this year, that wall doesn’t feel like it’s falling. It feels like it’s being rebuilt, brick by brick. Why? Civil rights enforcement? Gutted. ADA compliance? Ignored or delayed. Access? Still treated like a favor instead of the right it is.  The ADA is not radical. It’s not a burden. It’s not “extra.” It’s the floor, not the ceiling. It’s the bare minimum of what equity and belonging look like. And yet, 35 years later, we still hear: “It’s too expensive to be accessible.” “It’s too hard to accommodate everyone.” “It’s too much to ask.” “We don’t have to comply.” No. Nope. Enough. It’s too much to keep asking disabled people to fight for crumbs of inclusion in a system that was never built for us. Yes, the ADA changed lives. It changed my life. I wouldn’t be where I am today without it. But a law is only as strong as the will to enforce it. And progress without protection? That’s just a promise on paper. To my fellow disabled people: You don’t have to earn your place. You already belong. The ADA was written with you front and center. Know your rights. Use your voice. Take pride as a disabled person who has the right to live in this world.  To allies: The ADA is your responsibility, too. Accessibility isn’t optional. Stop whispering it like a favor - demand it, fund it, and build it in from the start. (P.S.- It’s often free, and when it’s not, it still won’t break the bank.) To lawmakers and leaders: Y’all. If you believe in freedom, prove it. Protect the ADA. Enforce it. Expand it. Weakening civil rights isn’t budget reform, it’s discrimination. The ADA was never the finish line; it was the starting block. So yes, we celebrate what this law made possible. But we also recommit to what still needs to happen. Because we’re not going back to begging for access. Not now. Not ever. We’re proud. We’re powerful. And we’re not done yet. You with me? - Kimberly Tissot, President and CEO, Able South Carolina 35 years after the ADA, too many are still fighting just to be heard, just to belong. Your financial support brings the ADA's intentions to life, turning words on paper into a lived reality. Help us fund rights education, advocacy training, and systems change that transforms whispers into powerful voices. Because disabled people don't have to earn their place – they already belong. Show your support for people with disabilities, and donate to Able SC, now. Donate to Able SC Support Able SC: You make our work possible. Consider making a donation today. Donate by mail: Able South Carolina 720 Gracern Rd. Suite 106 Columbia, SC 29210 Speak with someone:  803-779-5121 Messages from our CEO: Kickin' It with Kimberly It’s essential to us that we keep you well-informed about current issues and barriers affecting people with disabilities. Our CEO, Kimberly Tissot, recognizes that you are at the heart of our efforts to promote disability rights, justice, and freedoms. Letters will be written to you, our key supporters, about the injustices we uncover and the solutions we can offer as a disability-led organization.

Able South Carolina 720 Gracern Road Suite 106 | Columbia, South Carolina 29210 803.779.5121 | advocacy@able-sc.org Follow Us Having trouble viewing this email? View it in your web browser