Disability Resources when moving to Wake CO.

One of the hardest things about moving to a new place with a child with special needs is trying to find the resources and support you need. Most of the resources are not found in one place. From my own experience, connecting with other parents who "have been there and done that" has been most helpful. Here is  a list of my top ten resources:

1. Austim Society of North Carolina  Having a young son with autism ASNC has been a great resource. They have a yearly huge conference where they bring top notch speakers. The have local chapters throughout the state for more community/local support. They have an excellent bookstore. They hire parent advocates who are very knowledgeable.
2. ECAC (Exceptional Children's Assistance Center) I used to work closely with them so I am a little biased but even before I worked with them, attending one of their workshops was one of the best educational resources in helping me become my son's best advocate. Every state is mandated to have a parent education center.
3. Wrightslaw Special Education Law and Advocacy  One of the best workshops on the IDEA & advocacy educational resources out there.
4. First in Families of NC They are the non profit that I tithe to and yes I used to work for them. They do community based grassroots support across the state of NC. They are consumer & family driven.
5. Family Support Network of NC  They have a huge central directory of resources and they can hook you up with similar parent who have children with similar diagnosis.
6. Disability Rights Center of NC Finally outside of state government where there were clearly conflicts of interests. They have the mission to ensure the rights of all NC citizens with disabilities through individual advocacy and system change.
7. North Carolina Council on Developmental Disabilities  Their mission is to ensure that people with developmental disabilities and their families participate in the design of and have access to culturally competent services and supports, as well as other assistance and opportunities, which promote inclusive communities.
8. The Arc of NC They provide advocacy and services to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The  Arc believes that all people with intellectual and developmental disabilities have strengths, abilities and inherent value; are equal before the law; and must be treated with dignity and respect.
9. Easter Seals UCP North Carolina Their mission is to advance the independence, productivity and full citizenship of people with disabilities through an affiliate network. They strive to ensure the inclusion of persons with disabilities in every facet of society — from the Web to the workplace, from the classroom to the community. 
10. TASH  They stand for Equity, Opportunity and Inclusion for People with Disabilities. I have attended their nation conferences and been blown away by what I have experience and learned there. I would recommend it to any parent of a child with significant disabilities.

By no means is this a complete list of resources but it is a good start and hopefully will help a new parent moving to the Triangle area. 

Wishing you all the best in your advocacy journey, 

Karen



 More Disability Community Resources:
 
Alliance of Disability Advocates

Promotes independence and consumer control by people with disabilities and to advance civil rights of equal access and full participation in society.

ALS Jim “Catfish” Hunter Chapter

Leading the fight to treat and cure ALS through global research and nationwide advocacy while also empowering people with Lou Gehrig’s Disease and their families to live fuller lives by providing them with compassionate care and support.

Arts Access of Raleigh

A nonprofit organization based in Raleigh, NC, Art Access of Raleigh makes the Arts accessible to people with disabilities throughout the Triangle area of North Carolina. Specifically, they provide audio description for theatre patrons who are blind or have low vision, refer arts administrators to sign language interpreters, and provide accessibility training to arts organizations and arts accessibility information to the public.

Assistive Technology

The North Carolina Assistive Technology Program (NCATP) is a state and federally funded program that provides assistive technology services statewide to people of all ages and abilities. These devices are designed to assist with everyday functions including mobility, learning, speech, hearing, vision and many others. NCATP allows people to demo these devices at their AT Centers. The centers have training seminars, demo and loan programs, and a trading post where people can exchange devices.

Brain Injury Association of North Carolina

833-9634 or 800.377.1464
The BIANC develops, supports, and/or administers programs, services, and activities that make a difference in the lives of men, women, and children and military and veterans who have been affected by the trauma of brain injury. Sadler has been an ongoing supporter of their annual walk-a-thon.


North Carolina Special Olympics

The Special Olympics organization provides year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, giving them continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy and participate in a sharing of gifts, skills and friendship with their families, other Special Olympics athletes and the community.

C.A.R.E.  (Council of Ageless Residential Environments) As part of the Wake County Home Builders Association this council is a primary resource for ageless design in home construction for HBA members, building industry professionals and the general public.

The Center for Universal Design

 The CUD is a national organization that provides information and technical assistance on universal design in housing, commercial and public facilities, outdoor environments, and products. It is in our back yard at NCSU!

CHART (Chapel Hill Area Resources and Tools)

CHART’s purpose is to connect families with the people, tools, and services that will help them to support their loved one with autism or a sensory processing disorder.  They have a wealth of information and resources.

Estate Planning & special needs trusts   Jeff

Jeffrey G. Marsocci is a life and estate planning attorney who has been helping couples, families and individuals with planning matters for more than a decade. He has worked on hundreds of cases to plan for the future while successfully avoiding hidden tax traps, unnecessary legal expenses, and burdensome red tape caused by the probate process.

The Miracle League of the Triangle

This is quite a special organization, whose sole mission is to provide opportunities to all children with special needs to play baseball regardless of their abilities. They have constructed special facilities that meet the unique needs of players and their families. My son has played on their teams before and the support is incredible.  If you have a child with special needs, or would like to participate in one of their game events, feel free to reach out. They can always use volunteers.

National MS Society Carolinas Chapter

The Carolinas Chapter serves nearly 17,000 people living with MS and their families in 97 counties of North Carolina and all of South Carolina.  There are three driving goals behind this change:
To offer more education, support, advocacy and services for people affected by MS
To raise more money and increase our commitment to MS research
To improve operating efficiencies so we can spend more time providing the superior programs, services and fundraising events that you have come to expect from us

UnitedHealth Care Children’s Foundation

The UnitedHealthCare Children’s foundation has grants of up to $5,000 will be awarded to parents and legal guardians of disabled children for health care services and medical equipment inadequately covered by insurance.

Veteran Resources:

Project Healing Waters

Dedicated to the physical and emotional rehabilitation of disabled active military service personnel and veterans through fly fishing and fly tying education and outings.



Senior Resources:
 
Gold Coalition

Gold Coalition is a public/private organization focused on Wake County Aging issues, including housing. One of their most important outreach missions includes arranging for home improvements and repairs for seniors in need on an as-needed basis. Volunteer programs can also assist with painting and other minor repairs. For more major repairs, loan and grant programs are available through the City of Raleigh, Wake County, and the USDA.


Resources for Seniors

Provides home and community-based services and information in the Wake County area so that they can maximize their choices for independence, comfort, safety, security and well-being. They provide information and support for decision-making, and also direct services such as home care, adult day care, senior centers.

CAPS  (Certified Aging in Place Specialist) contractors:


Blue Ribbon Residential Construction

Blue Ribbon™ Residential Construction is a fully-licensed award winning residential contracting company in Raleigh, NC that provides a full-range of remodeling services that can improve your current space — from original designs to complete construction. They are very versed in accessibility & working with seniors

Sadler Construction

Sadler Construction is the Triangle’s only CAPS certified home builder that is focused exclusively on designing, renovating and constructing barrier-free/accessible  homes and remodels. Owned and operated by Lewis Sadler, Lewis believes that we all deserve to live as independently as possible for as long as possible.

Stanton Homes

Stanton Homes builds exceptional living experiences in the Raleigh/Triangle area. Featuring extras like accessible homes, military programs, green building techniques, and lots of unique features.

Homes that work for ALL: Builders please listen

I have written before about how hard it is to find an accessible home. It is tough but it can be done. I'd like to share  this video of the clients perspective on the process.

I am part of the C.A.R.E. (Council for Ageless Residential Environments) through our local Home Builders Association and we are trying to make a difference in the way that builders build homes in the Triangle area. If builders stepped back and looked at our society's demographics, they would see the huge tsunami of baby boomers that are coming into the market. The longer we live and the more chance we will have a disability. This is not being dark and foreboding, this is being proactive. 


We need to build homes that will take care of ALL people, no matter where they are in their life cyle or what their physical abilities. 

Accessible Home & a Love Story

Dual roll under sinks

    Every fall, Wake county has the Parade of Homes where the builders put out there very best examples of their work for the public to come out and see. The homes are judged by the Home Builders Association and win prizes. The majority of these homes are for sale (95%). This fall there was a very unique & beautiful home that was featured on the Parade. This home was not for sale, in fact it was built specifically for a couple with unique needs. This home was not your average home in that it was valued at 2.5 million dollars. It also was not just an average home because it had an amazing story behind it.




Through my coworkers at Go Realty, I was  lucky enough to meet the owners and learn the heart warming  story behind the home. Because of my specializing in accessible homes they knew I would want to meet them. The home was built for Shane and Jennifer who both have Cerebral Palsy from birth. Shane uses cruches to help him walk and Jennifer does not need canes but still has her struggles. The home was build & designed with many Universal Design elements in mind. There is an elevator from the 1st to the 2nd floor. The doorways are at least 36 inches wide. The halls are extra wide. In the master bath room there are roll under sinks and a roll in shower.

                         

               Built in bench & hand held shower head

Zero threshold roll in shower

 There are several zero step entries into the home. There is a ramp outside from the screened in porch out to the pool. All the rugs are recessed into the hardwood floor to prevent trip hazards. In all my years of specializing in accessible homes, I had never seen this! The hardware throughout the house is the easy grab and lever type. The tub in the master is an air tub rather than a whirl pool Jacuzzi type because it is healthier to circulate air rather than old water that remains in the tubing inside the tube. Not much was over looked.

                                       

Inlaid or recessed rug into hardwoods

   So back to the heart warming story behind the house. It was actually Shane's  dad who built the house for them. Shane and Jennifer have only been married one year. They met in church.  Having both grown up with CP, they had alot in common, they connected and fell in love.

   It is true that not many newly weds get such an amazing gift of a 2.5 million dollar home built specifically for their needs. Shane is an only child and his dad who was a high school drop out and had a sever stuttering problem built a printing empire and sold the company for an amazing profit. He wanted to give something of meaning to his son & daughter in law. What better than a custom home? Home is where the heart is!


There is one more twist to this love story. Jennifer had been a special ed teacher in Wake county for many years. She also has always loved dance and grew up taking lessons  and performing despite her  disability and how it impacted her mobility or maybe because of it. She now would like to teach special needs children to dance and there is a studio in her new home where she can do just that!

Great "Aging in place" community: Village of Aversboro

    I want to highlight a new subdivision which is for seniors who are proactive planners. They plan that this will be their last home. They want to "age in place". This community is the Village of Aversboro in Garner NC.  I think this is a lovely community and I think you will too.

All Brick homes

It has a great location: walking distance from grocery, shops, pharmacy, and restaurants. Please check out the link. map of Village of Aversboro Yes location is key! But there are many more highlights to this community.

 Some of the features:

Dental crown molding on cabinets

• Custom details
• Screened in porches
• Tile floors
• Tile back splash
• Granite counter tops
• Under cabinet lighting
• Built in bookcases
• Custom wood shelving in closets

Aging in place features:

• At least one zero step entry
• Lever handles on the doors
• HOA takes car of your lawn 
• Wide hallways & doors
• Higher toilets

• 
  

  Gorgeous kitchen with stainless steel appliances

  Hardwood floors
• Low threshold showers
• Low maintenance exterior

The community is minutes form downtown Raleigh and Cary.  It is a short drive away

from many world-renowned hospitals and RDU International Airport.

The community is not HUGE like Carolina Perserve. There are plans for 147 homes. There are walking trails and it is a short walk to Lake Benson Park.

Under cabinet lighting & tile back splash

Custom closets

Sun room with tile floor

The price range is $250,000 to $330,00.






I have talked to many of the residents and they just LOVE it. But you need to see for your self. Give me a call and we set up an appointment!

Stacked stone fireplace and built ins

Honored by an article in my local paper

I am honored and tickled pink that there was an article written in my local paper about my niche in real estate and what I do. The title is "No barriers to a dream home".  My mission is be of serve to the WHOLE disability and "aging in place" community. Hopefully the article will bring more business my way but as quoted in the article, "It's very rewarding; it's not about the money. It's more about helping people find the right home that's going to work for them."

This is a link to the article.

Cary News article

 I do, what I do because it comes from my heart. I have always been around people of "different abilities". My sister was born deaf and due to the effects of Rubella she was more fragile than most kids plus she could not speak their language. When she died in 1983. After this, I threw myself into work in the Deaf community. I learned to respect their culture and love ASL, their language. It is sad to admit, but my signing skills improved  after she died. It was because of the immersion. I was the best signer in my family but when I went to her school ( Austine School for the Deaf), I have vivid memories of saying to her friends "Say it again, slowly". Immersing yourself in a culture teaches you quickly. I owe a lot of who I am today to my sister Susan and my experiences growing up with her.

Susan, in some way, prepared me to be Joshua's mom (my youngest son). Joshua has autism. He is high functioning and fully included in school, but he will always struggle with his autism, social things and emotions. There have been times in his life when he exhibited classic autism: not talking till the age of 4 1/2, flapping his hands, biting himself, talking to himself with rote scripts, ect. Because of inclusion, he has done very well. He has incredible gifts to share. He is very gregarious for someone with autism and the kids in school genuinely like him. He is not afraid to stand up in front of a crowd and do his thing. You should have seen him at his poetry slam at school last year. He ROCKED the house.

Yes I am a proud mom.

Albert Einstein once said, "Everyone is a genius. If you judge a fish on it's ability to climb a tree, it will live it's whole life believing it is stupid." I love this quote.

I do what I love: helping people and being of service in my community. It just happens to be focused in real estate.  It seems to have served me well....ten fold.

Cary Pines : Why I love my neighborhood

I have lived in Cary Pines subdivision for 15 years and I love where I live! Here are ten reasons why.

1. Our homes hold their value and are easy to sell

With in the last 2 years 80% of the homes sold within 2 months or less. That is pretty spectacular.

2. We're in a wonderful location (Great commuter location to RTP, I 40, & down town Raleigh)

3. We're a 10-15 min drive to the RDU but we’re not in the flight path

4. We're walking distance to the Cary Dog Park (bow wow)

 

5. We're walking distance to Godbold Park and Cary’s Skate Park

6. There are 3 different grocery stores within a mile of our subdivision

7. Incredible neighborhood schools

8. There is a wonderful Greenway behind our subdivision

9.  Low crime & concerned neighbors who look out for each other

10.  Target is Coming! (less than 2 miles away!)

By the way we are also on Facebook!

Want to stay connected to your past clients in a unique way?

I just came up with a wonderful plan to stay in front of my clients and create blogging material showing how I'm an expert in my area!

The issue:

When we first moved to Cary NC 14 years ago from Worcester, MA the one thing that I missed was good restaurants. By good, I mean ethic, with a real chef serving good wholesome delicious food. We have many restaurants but they are chains like: Macaroni Grill, Chili's, The Outback. They were not bad but just not that exciting or novel. Over the years I have found good eateries in our community but you have to go out & find them. Then once you find them it's good to spread the word!

The solution:

OK here you go.  So I was inspired this morning when I went on Facebook and saw that my lender friend had just tried a new Lebanese restaurant in Raleigh called Sitti. I went to their website. http://www.sitti-raleigh.com  I love food and the pictures made me want to run out & try it even though I had just had breakfast. 

So my FANTASTIC idea was: why not come up with a way that I can visit these unique, local restaurants, experience their food and write about it in my blog and create a contest where I pick a random past clients to join me on my restaurant venture? Seems to me I'd be killing a bunch of birds with one stone. Reconnecting with my clients, spending quality time one on one with them & catching up on their lives AND experiencing delicious food and the local fare. It felt like a "no brainer" to me. I can also show that I'm an expert of best restaurants in Raleigh & the surrounding area (my community) while I'm reconnecting with my past clients!

 A win, win for everyone!

This plan will allow me to enjoy the best restaurants in the Triangle, while reconnecting with my past clients in an authentic meaningful way, creating a little buzz around the random winners, and being the community expert by blogging & telling folks where they can go for good eats! What new comer would not want to know that?

Moving to Cary or to Wake county with a child with a developmental disability?

 Are you planning on moving to Cary, NC and you have a child with developmental disabilities? I am the Realtor for you! My youngest son has autism and we have been in the Wake county school system since preschool. I can tell you all the good, bad & ugly. Luckily there has been very little ugly and we have been very happy with the Wake county schools that Josh has attended. He is in middle school now and doing very well!  I think I was more nervous about the transition than he was.

  I can only give you specifics about the school we have attended & I can lead you to resources about other schools. Believe me when I tell you talking to "other parents" will be your best resources. A wise early interventionist told me that and she was right.

  Another great tip is ALWAYS do a "positive student profile" for each IEP and ask to read it in the beginning of the meeting. This sets the meeting in the right tone and let the team know that you know your child well and have their best interests at heart. If you need a copy of a "positive student profile" email me and I'll send you one. Also bring food to the meeting (cookies or something) as food always brings people together. The IEP  can be nerve wracking process so being prepared and doing things that help, start if off on the right foot.

  So as I am showing you around Cary and the surrounding area you can pick my brain for resources and gems of knowledge. I will do the best to share from my experience and hook you up with other resources. Moving to a new area is hard enough. Having someone who understands special needs and the system can be worth a million. I hope I can help with your transition here.