News
Parent to Parent of NYS Releases a Guide to OMRDD Services
October 25, 2006
Parent to Parent of New York State recently published a Guide to Understanding Supports and Services Administered through NYS Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities. Included here is the introduction from the guide, supplied by Janice Fitzgerald, Executive Director of Parent to Parent.
"When we seek for connection, we restore the world to wholeness. Our seemingly separate lives become meaningful as we discover how truly necessary we are to each other." - Margaret Wheatley
Welcome to the Guide to Understanding Supports and Services Administered through NYS Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities (OMRDD). The Guide was developed to inform families about the wide range of supports and services available to qualified individuals and to assist them in accessing those services for their loved one with a developmental disability.
While the Guide includes a wide range of services, it is in no way inclusive of every service offered by OMRDD. New York State's "consumer first" philosophy allows qualified individuals with mental retardation and development disabilities to build services around their specific goals, needs, and desires. When services and supports are built around people and not programs, the variety of ways to support individuals with developmental disabilities becomes limitless.
The staff at Parent to Parent of NYS are not experts in service delivery. We are parents of children with special needs ourselves whose expertise lies in our desire and motivation to create a satisfying quality of life for our children and our families. Creating that life requires an understanding of the terms and acronyms associated with the provision of supports and services. While there is no one resource that can address every question, it is our objective that the Guide will provide direction and a general overview of what is available.
Everyday, we receive calls from people trying to help their loved one with developmental disabilities. The questions are endless, but they always include a heartfelt request for help. The calls include requests for help with understanding how, in one way or another, to assist the person they support and care for. Often, the questions revolve around accessing services and understanding terms and acronyms.
We are grateful to the Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities for reviewing the Guide and providing input. We appreciate their recognition of the need to support the parents and caregivers who are such an integral part of the success of every child and adult with developmental disabilities.
We believe the Guide will prove to be a valuable tool for people with disabilities, parents and caregivers. Copies of the Guide can be downloaded from the Health Care Information and Education section of the Parent to Parent of NYS website at www.parenttoparentnys.org.
"When we seek for connection, we restore the world to wholeness. Our seemingly separate lives become meaningful as we discover how truly necessary we are to each other." - Margaret Wheatley
Welcome to the Guide to Understanding Supports and Services Administered through NYS Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities (OMRDD). The Guide was developed to inform families about the wide range of supports and services available to qualified individuals and to assist them in accessing those services for their loved one with a developmental disability.
While the Guide includes a wide range of services, it is in no way inclusive of every service offered by OMRDD. New York State's "consumer first" philosophy allows qualified individuals with mental retardation and development disabilities to build services around their specific goals, needs, and desires. When services and supports are built around people and not programs, the variety of ways to support individuals with developmental disabilities becomes limitless.
The staff at Parent to Parent of NYS are not experts in service delivery. We are parents of children with special needs ourselves whose expertise lies in our desire and motivation to create a satisfying quality of life for our children and our families. Creating that life requires an understanding of the terms and acronyms associated with the provision of supports and services. While there is no one resource that can address every question, it is our objective that the Guide will provide direction and a general overview of what is available.
Everyday, we receive calls from people trying to help their loved one with developmental disabilities. The questions are endless, but they always include a heartfelt request for help. The calls include requests for help with understanding how, in one way or another, to assist the person they support and care for. Often, the questions revolve around accessing services and understanding terms and acronyms.
We are grateful to the Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities for reviewing the Guide and providing input. We appreciate their recognition of the need to support the parents and caregivers who are such an integral part of the success of every child and adult with developmental disabilities.
We believe the Guide will prove to be a valuable tool for people with disabilities, parents and caregivers. Copies of the Guide can be downloaded from the Health Care Information and Education section of the Parent to Parent of NYS website at www.parenttoparentnys.org.
