Message from Executive Director

Members, Friends, and Collaborators of CIDA,

Greetings,

I hope everyone is enjoying a relaxing summer. CIDA is preparing for exciting fall season programs and reopening the office to the families. We will be announcing details on our annual event, the Very Special Art Festival, and we cannot wait to see everyone in person soon.

However, to come back to what we used to enjoy, everyone above 12 years old must be vaccinated. Vaccination is not just for your own health. It is also for people around you who you love and need to protect.

We hope to see you soon in September and we wish you a healthy and safe summer!

Young Seh Bae, Executive Director

Young Seh Bae, Executive Director

Policy News

NYC is promising expanded special education services after school and on Saturdays. Here’s what we know.
Source: https://ny.chalkbeat.org/

New York City officials have announced that every student with an IEP is eligible for extra special education programming held after school and on Saturdays in addition to any services that these students normally receive. Therapy and literacy support services will be the main focus point which will be available to students during the after school and Saturday sessions. The after-school and Saturday services for students with disabilities will begin in October or early November.

ACT Will Honor IEP, 504 Plan Accommodations
Source: https://www.disabilityscoop.com/

A major standardized test maker, ACT will automatically be granting allowable accommodations to students who have existing individualized education programs or 504 plans for the ACT exam. Starting in the 2021-2022 school year, this change will take effect which allows students who already qualify for services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act or Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act to not go through a separate process to prove their eligibility for accommodation.

What’s Up at CIDA

CIDA’s Enrichment Workshops – Music & Movement + Group Art Therapy Session

Throughout the first two months of summer, CIDA held two enrichment workshops. The first being our “Music & Movement” enrichment workshop and the second being our “Group Art Therapy Session”. With these enrichment workshops, CIDA parents along with their children were able to make music and create beautiful art while beating the summer heat!

CIDA’s 6th Annual ‘Very Special Art Festival’

Join us for our 6th annual ‘Very Special Art Festival’ and to celebrate the creativity in all of us!
This year, our most beloved event will be back in-person at St. John’s University on Saturday, September 25th. We will be following CDC’s guidelines as our event goes back to being in-person. More information on registration and details will be coming soon, so be on the lookout for our CIDA updates! To view 2020 & 2019’s Very Special Art Gallery please visit, https://www.veryspecialart.com/

Events

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 epidemic, all events are now online. Please check our event calendar for event details and registration information.

• Long Term Care Options Workshop Aug 19 at 7:00pm: Parents and Guardians of Adults with significant disabilities

Meet The Family

For our exclusive August corner of Meet the Youth, we would like to introduce Transition @ CIDA featuring Ahra Sung, Arnold Lee, Eugene Bae. Through Transition @ CIDA courses, Ahra, Arnold, and Eugene were able to learn and discuss different ways on how to deal with stress. To watch their video and to read more, please click here.