Events

On Thursday, October 22nd the Coalition was proud to be represented so well by its own Courtney Jenkins-Atnip at a rally in support of health care reform. Below are snippets of a report from National Public Radio who interviewed Courtney as well as video clips from the Rally that include excerpts of her comments.

NPR Reporting: Advocates of an expansive health care overhaul demonstrated Thursday in Washington in front of a hotel where a large trade group of major health insurers is holding a conference. Their target was America's Health Insurance Plans, an industry trade group.

Here in Washington today, there was a protest over the health care overhaul. The demonstrators gathered not in front of the White House or the Capitol, but in front of a hotel on K Street. Why? Because that's where a powerful group of major health insurers is holding a conference.

NPR's Andrea Seabrook took in the scene.

ANDREA SEABROOK: Washington hotels are always busy with conferences, but today, the Capitol Hilton had dueling advocacy groups inside. Down one plush hallway was the trade group AHIP, America's Health Insurance Plans. Their section was cordoned off with security checkpoints. At the other end of the hall: HCAN, Health Care for America Now, a coalition of labor and left-leaning groups pushing health reform. They were holding a press conference with people who say they've been victims of bad health insurance policies like Courtney Atnip(ph) from Tennessee.

Ms. COURTNEY ATNIP: I'm just tired of health insurance dictating your quality of life.

SEABROOK: Atnip has Crohn's Disease. It's a chronic disorder of the intestines. Her doctor wanted to increase her dose of a medication that was preventing the disease from flaring up, but her health insurer deemed the drug medically unnecessary and cancelled the prescription altogether. She went for a month without it.

Ms. ATNIP: In January, they re-instated the medication, but it was too late. I was already getting really sick. May 1st, I had massive surgery at Vanderbilt Hospital that cost upwards of $750,000. 

To read the rest of the article and listen to the NPR Report.

To see rally video with Courtney's comments.

To read the stories of key speakers, including Courtney.

Congressional Meetings

In addition to the rally Courtney had a chance to meet personally with many of Tennessee's Congressmen including Representative Cooper,  pictured above right with her.

The National Council on Disability (NCD) will hear presentations and discuss employment, health care, and restraint and seclusion issues affecting people with disabilities during its quarterly meeting at the Holiday Inn Express, 920 Broadway, Nashville, TN, which begins at 8:30 a.m. on Monday, October 26, and concludes at 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, October 28, 2009. This meeting is open to the public.

The employment session will be held on Tuesday, October 27 from 9:15 a.m. until 10:30 a.m. Speakers include:

• Andrea Cooper, Assistant Commissioner, Vocational Rehabilitation Services, Tennessee Department of Human Services, Nashville, TN
• Lillian Burch, Executive Director, DisABILITY Resource Center, Knoxville, TN
• Carol Westlake, Executive Director, Tennessee Disability Coalition, Nashville, TN

A discussion on seclusion and restraint will be held on Tuesday, October 27 from 10:45 a.m. until noon. Speakers include:

• Holly Lu Conant Rees, Education Advocate, ARC of Davidson County, Nashville, TN
• Steven Glowicki, Family Educator, STEP (Support and Training for Exceptional Parents) Inc., Nashville, TN

A presentation on health care for people with disabilities will be held on Tuesday, October 27 from 2:00 p.m. until 3:15 p.m. The presenter will be:

• Tony Garr, Tennessee Health Care Campaign, Nashville, TN

NCD will also host a reception at the hotel for meeting participants, audience members, and stakeholders from the disability community on Tuesday, October 27 from noon until 2:00 p.m.

Additional details about the meeting, including full agenda, are available at http://www.ncd.gov/newsroom/quarterly/2009/agenda_oct26-28,2009new.htm. Written comments for Council consideration can be submitted at any time by writing to ncd@ncd.gov.

Specific times are also designated to receive public comment, supported by a toll-free call-in line, and input is encouraged and greatly appreciated. Individuals or organizations can also provide written comments by e-mail, fax, or mail.

The public comment session will be held on Monday, October 26 from 4:30 p.m. until 5 p.m. CST. The toll-free call-in number is (888) 790-6568, and the pass code is “NCD Meeting.”

The purpose of NCD, an independent federal agency, is to promote programs, practices, policies and procedures that ensure full inclusion of people with disabilities into all aspects of society. NCD accomplishes this mission by providing advice and making recommendations to the President, Congress, governmental agencies, and other stakeholders.

For more information, please contact NCD’s Director of External Affairs, Mark S. Quigley, at mquigley@ncd.gov or by telephone at 202-272-2004.

The Chattanooga Autism Center at the TEAM Centers offers a free workshop on the DIR/ Floortime approach on October 5th, 2009 from 6:30pm - 8:30 pm.

The primary challenges for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are in how they relate, communicate, and think. DIR/Floortime enables parents and professionals to enter a child’s world and foster the child’s ability to relate to others, communicate meaningfully, and think creatively and logically.

For example, as children learn to respond to and enjoy the warmth of a parent’s smile, they are motivated to learn important cognitive skills. The principles of DIR/Floortime enable parents and professionals to grasp these moments and expand the child’s emotional and cognitive worlds.

DIR®/Floortime is an intensive and comprehensive approach that is based on recent developmental and neuroscience research. This research shows that the core deficits in ASD are related to 1) compromised mastery of early stages of emotional interactions and 2) underdeveloped pathways connecting different parts of the brain.

DIR/Floortime is appropriate for and helpful to even the youngest children diagnosed with ASD. It is widely used throughout the United States and abroad by parents, therapists, and schools.

Presenter: Barbara Dunbar, Ph. D.
Developmental Psychologist

Where: The Chattanooga Autism Center
at the TEAM Centers, Inc.
1000 East 3rd Street Suite 100
Chattanooga, TN 37403

When: Monday, October 5, 2009
6:30 pm - 8:30 pm

Who: This free event is open to the public. Parents, caregivers, teachers, day care staff, direct support professionals, clinical professionals, anyone who wants to know more about this approach are welcome!

RSVP is required!

Call (423) 622-0500 or email info@teamcenters.org

To download an event flyer in PDF.

To download an event flyer in MS Word.