Welcome to WVDSA!

Welcome to the Willamette Valley Down Syndrome Association. Our goal is to provide support for families in Oregon’s Willamette Valley, and surrounding areas, who find themselves in the delightful position of raising a child with Down syndrome. Initially, there are so many questions and concerns you may have when you become parents of a child with Down syndrome - the kind of questions that can only be answered by other parents who have “been there, done that!” – but we also hope to provide information in many other areas. If we can’t answer your questions, hopefully we can point you in the right direction to find those answers!

Drawing for gift certificate from Starr Studios Salem School of Dance  Please send an email to Patie Taylor at info@wvdsa.org  by February 8, 2012 to enter the drawing. 

Resources list. Click here for a list of resources in the Salem Area for children with Developmental Disabilities--Thanks to Patie Taylor.

Wanna be kept in the loop with current WVDSA information?  Please send a email to WVDSA at info@wvdsa.org so we can add your information to our current email address database.

Learn about Best Buddies - a Willamette University program matching college students with individuals with developmental disabilities to form one-to-one friendships. For more information on the programs visit http://willamette.edu/org/bbuddies/index.html or apply at www.bestbuddiesonline.org.  Email Emily Johnson (ejjohnso@willamette.edu) with questions. 

Salem Kroc Center Classes.  Saturday morning swim therapy and Thursday afternoon Dance Class. For those who are in the Salem area, the Kroc Center offers a therapy swim on Saturday mornings from 8:30-9:30. The cost is $5.00 (the price of a day pass), and the person participating must have a disability. Lifeguards are on site. If you have questions, please call the Kroc Center at (503) 566-5762.  

Special needs dance class in Corvallis. Alloa Jessee and daughter teach a special needs dance class in their home studio in Corvallis.  Cost is $40 per month.  We saw the girls dancing at the Buddy Walk and everyone seemed to be having a lot of fun.  Contact Alloa at 541-738-7464 for more information. 

Oregon State University's IMPACT.  IMPACT is a motor skills fitness program for people--infants to young adults--with special needs. This popular program is held at the Women's Building on the OSU campus in Corvallis for 90 min on Friday evenings during the academic year.  A volunteer university student, frequently with career interests in special needs education or physical fitness, is assigned to each child to work on motor skills and also provide a bit of respite for parents. The waiting list for the program can be up to 2 years, so get your newborn or older child signed on. For more information and registration, visit www.hhs.oregonstate.edu/IMPACT

The Willamette ESD hosts a Friday evening get together for parents and their young children once a month in Salem, Oregon at various locations for children under 5 years old. Please contact your EI Service coordinator to find out the exact date and time. 

America the Beautiful - FREE lifetime passes available to people with disabilities to access the National Parks and Federal Recreation Lands.  Oregon has several local Federal Recreation Lands, such as the Trails at Opal Creek in the North Santiam area and the Yaquina Bay Lighthouse in Newport, and of course Crater Lake. (This pass will NOT allow free access into state parks.) You need to show proof of the disability, but they can be pretty flexible as they want to issue the pass. If you have the person with a disability with you at the time, they will usually just issue a pass.  For more information, call the Eugene office at 541-683-6600.  You can call ahead for specific requirements at your local BLM office found at www.blm.gov/or  

The Swindells Center of Salem Child disAbility Resources: a program of Providence Child Center at 2475 Lancaster NE, suite B3, Salem OR 97305. The Center provides "My Child's Life Care Notebook and Organizer", a useful tool for keeping track of your child's records, a Lending Library, a dental clinic referral, Resource Assistance, and the third Thursday evening Parent Resource Group among other programs. Come join other families for resource sharing, conversation and support.  For more information contact Dee Tafolla at 503-585-4262, call 503 585-4262, come by for assistance Monday 10-4, Tuesday 10-4 and Thursday 9-2 or email janet-dee.tafolla@providence.org.

Woodbine house offers free online resource documents.   Authors and Down syndrome experts Brian Chicoine, Terri Couwenhoven, Libby Kumin, Dennis McGuire, and Kathryn Lynard Soper provide information about children, teens, and adults on topics ranging from improving speech and language skills to discussing puberty & sexuality issues, and from promoting mental health to veteran parents offering new parents insights about Down syndrome. You'll find the master list download at:http://www.woodbinehouse.com/WoodbineHouseAuthors.asp