December 2013

Founding FATE leader Vicki Nagengast called Jeannie Bolstridge in November 2013 to discuss the confusion that has arisen from the rumors being spread in Douglas. Multiple attempts have been made by telephone, personally, and e-mail to connect with members of FATE since the fall of 2013 with no success.  Our lawyer  and our Board wishes to see peace and unity for both sides of the merger- the nonprofit side who tutors different learners and the FATE group who supports families affected with Autism.

Jeannie Bolstridge spoke with the pastor of the churches who will be involved with providing an after-school program for children in Fitzgerald and Douglas.

Brittany Ammons added 27 apps to her Apps on Sale blog during December. She also e-mailed members a Christmas Letter to thank them for their support of our non-profit. Brittany contacted Jon Durkovic, the manager of the Grand Theatre in Fitzgerald, Georgia, and arranged for members to watch the movie “Walking with Dinosaurs” privately.

November 2013

Jeannie Bolstridge joins the forum of Halo-Soma, home of this dedicated mother’s rapid prompting methold (RPM).

Brittany Ammons added many apps to her Apps on Sale blog.

Brittany Ammons created the following posts on her  Autism 4 Life blog: Autistic Brothers in New York City Marathon, Cheaper is Better, and Belk Charity Sale.

Brittany Ammons sent out an e-mail to inform nonprofit members about the Belk Charity Sale.

Jeannie Bolstridge created the post “Teaching Plans Unite with Technology” on her Social Prompter blog.

On November 9, Jeannie Bolstridge and Brittany Ammons sold tickets for the Belk Charity Sale from 6 A.M. to 10 A.M. to raise money for the nonprofit.

Brittany Ammons contacted the Grand Theatre and asked if nonprofit members could watch the movie “Frozen” privately. A newsletter was again sent out to all Douglas and Fitzgerald nonprofit supporters, but there was no response from anyone in Douglas.

Vicki Nagengast, the original founder of the Douglas group FATE with whom SFL merged, called Jeannie to talk about the concerns Douglas parents had with the August 2012 merger written by our lawyer. Vicki suggested that it may please everyone in Douglas if we dissolved the merger and left the FATE parent group free to operate in the casual manner that they have since 2007. She suggested that these folks were not comfortable with the state structure or IRS designation under which our nonprofit needed to operate.

Monthly Douglas Meeting – September 2013

Clear your calendars on Saturday, September 14, 2013 because this is the day of Sensory Friendly Learning’s meeting in Douglas, Georgia! The meeting will begin at 11:00 AM in Conference Room 2 of the Coffee Regional Medical Center in Douglas, Georgia. The meetings have no set end time, but they usually end by 1:00 PM.

There is never an admission for these meetings and you are welcome to bring your children.

If you need any help to get to Coffee Regional or finding the Conference Room, e-mail me at autism4life@outlook.com and I will e-mail you the directions.

Monthly Fitzgerald Support Group – July 2013

SFL meets on the second Saturday of each at the Coffee Regional Medical Center in Douglas, Georgia. Starting this month, there will also be a meeting on the fourth Saturday of each month at the Phoebe Dorminy Medical Center in Fitzgerald, Georgia.

These get-togethers will more for sharing ideas to help our kids. The first one will be on July 27, 2013. It will begin at 11 AM and end at 12 PM and will be held in the hospital’s conference room.

Monthly Douglas Meeting – August 2013

SFL is having its monthly meeting on August 10, 2013 at the Coffee Regional Medical Center in Douglas, Georgia. The meeting will be in Conference Room 2 next to the cafeteria and will begin at 11 AM. There is no set end time for the meetings, but they usually end between 1 PM to 2 PM.

You do not have to be a SFL member to come to the meetings. Anyone is welcome to attend. There is no entrance fee for the meetings or to even join SFL. Some members bring their children to these meetings since it is hard to go out in public without getting whispers or strange looks directed at them, but at these meetings, most everyone either has a child with Autism and or ADHD or has some kind of experience with a child with these learning disorders.

July 2013

On July 8, Brittany Ammons sent an e-mail newsletter announcing the date and time of our non-profit’s monthly meeting for July at the Coffee Regional Medical Center.

On the 2nd Saturday of the month, July 13, our non-profit held its monthly meeting at the Coffee Regional Medical Center in Douglas, Georgia. The meeting began at 11 AM and ended at 1 PM in Conference Room 2. Jeannie Bolstridge, Brittany Ammons, and Moe Tucker attended the meeting. Jeannie showed them a $40 Android tablet she had bought from Walmart and was trying out. She also showed them an app she had on her iPad called Feedly, which shows her when any of her favorite websites and blogs update. Jeannie and Brittany agree to arrange a date to watch a movie at the Grand Theatre in Fitzgerald, Georgia.

Two days after the non-profit meeting, Brittany Ammons sent an e-mail newsletter explaining what had been discussed during the meeting for those who could not attend.

Brittany Ammons posted information about the apps LetterSchool Lite, LetterSchool, Count-A-Licious Toddler, Sight Words by Photo Touch, Bugs and Buttons, Thomas & Friends: Diesels and Steamies, ClearUpThings lite, ClearUpThings, Word Magic Lite, Word Magic, Bugs and Bubbles, ABC Theater: The Alphabet Song, Touch and Write, Sight Words Games & Flash Cards for Reading Success, Math Kid, Learn-A-Licious Preschool, Thomas & Friends: Hero of the Railway, Toca Doctor Lite, and Toca Doctor on her blog Apps 4 Education.

Throughout the month, Brittany Ammons added a total of 57 apps to her blog Apps on Sale .

Jeannie Bolstridge temporarily discontinued her audio files that supplemented the blog posts to more seriously work with the nonprofit bank representative, the CPA supporting the nonprofit, and our nonprofit bookkeeper about needed receipts during the past 5 months of 2013.

On July, 23, Brittany Ammons sent an e-mail newsletter announcing that Sensory Friendly Learning (SFL) Inc. was to begin having a meeting on the 4th Saturday of each month in the conference room of Phoebe Dorminy Medical Center in Fitzgerald, Georgia from 11:00 A.M. to 1:00 P.M.

Brittany Ammons e-mailed Jon Durkovic, the manager of the Grand Theatre in Fitzgerald, Georgia, asking if he would allow SFL and FATE members to watch the movie “Turbo” privately.

On July 27, our non-profit held its first Fitzgerald Support Meeting in the Conference Room of the Phoebe Dorminy Medical Center in Fitzgerald, Georgia. The meeting began at 11 AM and ended at 1 PM. Jeannie Bolstridge, Brittany Ammons, and David Connolly attended the meeting. Debbie Polhamus also tried to connect with us for this meeting. They discussed how Jeannie and Barbara Harris had frozen our non-profit’s bank account at Wells Fargo after sending email requests for the past months for receipts.  Brittany volunteered to create a two charts to appear on the Learning Socially website. One will display the amount of money in the non-profit’s checking and savings account each month. The other will show the non-profit’s monthly expenses. Jeannie announced that she had received a letter from the Central United Methodist Church in Fitzgerald stating that the nonprofit would not be able to tutor in the Brown Activity Room now that it has been repaired.

On July 29, Brittany Ammons sent an e-mail announcing that she had arranged for all non-profit members to see the movie “Turbo” at the Grand Theatre. Since some of the people coming would be from Douglas, she included directions to the theatre.

Monthly Douglas Meeting – July 2013

This month’s SFL meeting will be this Saturday on July 13. The meeting will be held in Conference Room 2 (Floor 1, by the lunchroom) of the Coffee Regional Medical Centerin Douglas, GA. The meeting will begin at 11:00 AM and has no set end time, but it usually ends around 1:00 PM.

Summer break is coming to a close and soon school will be up and running again. Be sure to come to what will probably be our last meeting before school starts. There is no cost of admission and anyone is welcome to attend.

E-mail SFL at mrsb@socialprompter.net for any questions, comments, or concerns.

June 2013

On the 2nd Saturday, June 8, our non-profit held its monthly meeting at the Coffee Regional Medical Center in Conference Room 2. The meeting began at 11:00 AM. At the meeting, FATE members discussed possible events to do during the summer. One agreed to arrange a date to go bowling, to go to Just Jump for Kids, and to see a movie at the local theatre. Jeannie Bolstridge brought up the idea of Sensory Friendly Learning (SFL) Inc. buying a Wal-Mart $40 tablet to see how well the members do with it before possibly buying one for each member. Jeannie also told members about a site called Wright’s Law which has all the special education laws for the state of Georgia.

Three days after the non-profit meeting, Brittany Ammons sent a e-mail newsletter explaining what had been discussed at the meeting for those who could not attend.

In the end of June, Jeannie created a step-by-step guide on how to go to the Google Play (the Android app store) and purchase/download an app. This guide was designed for those who are not as familiar with downloading Android apps onto their phone or tablet.

Jeannie continued to work with the non-profit bank representative, the CPA supporting the non-profit, and our non-profit bookkeeper about needed receipts during the past 5 months of 2013.

Monthly Douglas Meeting – May 2013

On Saturday, May 11, 2013, SFL is having a meeting at the Coffee Regional Medical Center in Douglas, Georgia. The meeting will be held in Conference Room 2 on the ground floor on begins at 11:00 AM.

These monthly meetings are not for members only. Anyone is welcome to attend and feel free to bring your children.

Contact SFL at mrsb@socialprompter.net for any questions, comments, concerns, or just to say hello.

This Saturday

This Saturday is going to to be busy in South Georgia for Autism Awareness Month!

An Autism Awareness Day Celebration will be held in the auditorium of the middle school in Waycross, Georgia. It will begin at 10:00 AM and end at 12:00 PM. This year’s focus will be on education, awareness, and research. Erin Brooker Lozott, MS, CCC-SLP from the Marcus Autism Center in Atlanta will be the keynote speaker. She is going to be speaking about the research being done on brain development and social competence in Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs). There will be other speakers as well as door prizes. goody bags, and refreshments from Dunkin Donuts/Baskin Robins.

There will be time for you can come to the next event as well.

In place of the monthly meeting, Sensory Friendly Learning Inc. is having an Annual Autism Awareness Month Family Picnic at the park in Ambrose, Georgia. It will begin at 2:00 PM and has no set end time. The park is located on the corner of Highway 268 and Cypress Street in Ambrose. Come and bring your children. There are swings, a slide, a sandbox, and more for them to play in. If your child is one who likes to run off, the park is enclosed and there is only one enter/exit point. With so many there, your child won’t be able to get out. Also, be sure to bring lawnchairs as there is very little seating at the park. There will be snacks and drinks provided.

E-mail mrsb@socialprompter.net for any questions, comments, concerns, or just to say hello.