Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Pam Wilson

@pamw143.bsky.social

Remembering Mike Raymond
"Mike was an iconic founding member of People First of Washington."
Mike's funeral will be November 24, 2025 in Gig Harbor, Washington, at 2PM until 4PM.
Foursquare Church
Watch it on zoom: Link

www.facebook.com/share/1Kcxif...

www.altogetherfuneral.com/obituaries/d...

Photo of Mike Raymond wearing People First of Washington cap.
Forever in our hearts.
Memorial information.
Mike's funeral will be November 24, 2025 in Gig Harbor Washington, at 2PM until 4PM.
6659 Kimball Drive.
You may also watch it on zoom.

Mikes funeral will be November 24th at gig harbor foursquare church at 2PM you may also watch it on zoom below
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82545963671
Meeting ID: 825 4596 3671
Passcode: 571202

Photograph of Mike Raymond wearing glasses.. Rest in Peace. Pave board member. To learn about his life please watch his video made by Disability Rights of Washington.

PAVE - Partnerships for Action Voices for Empowerment ·
·
Celebrating the life & legacy of Mike Raymond 1947 to 2025.
Esteemed board member, treasured friend, fierce advocate, proud husband, father, grandfather and uncle there is no replacing you! Simply put we adore you and we feel the weight of the torch you passed to all of us. We will smile through our tears, reminisce, and keep your legacy alive. Thank you good Sir, thank you. To watch Mike's Story go to link.

November 24, 2025 at 5:52 PM

Pam Wilson

@pamw143.bsky.social

Happily found our favorite Hand-made Christmas Spider crafter at our local Holiday Bazaar, and discovered they have new beaded Kraken / Octopus designs. Capiz shell wind chimes, crystal sun catchers, and crystal watering cans were all tempting. Pretty little delights.

www.etsy.com/shop/Happyns...

Seahawks Green and Blue Silver Body Beaded Spider from the pleasant, funny, welcoming Happynstance on Etsy. I liked all the colors, with rainbow beads or team colors. No photo of the little watering can with beads as the water pouring out, or the quiet wind chimes with sparkles- or one other item that slipped barely out of my awareness.

Octopus / Kraken in clear red bead, from the pleasant, funny, welcoming Happynstance on Etsy.

Ladybug Spider in red and black, also available in pink and green, at the Etsy shop of the delightful Happynstance.

November 23, 2025 at 5:19 PM

Pam Wilson

@pamw143.bsky.social

Timberlawn, the North Bethesda home where in the 1960s Eunice Kennedy Shriver launched the early foundation of what would become the Special Olympics, has been granted historic status.
(Photo credit: Montgomery Planning)
The first Special Olympics games were held in 1968

wjla.com/news/local/r...

ROCKVILLE, Md. (7News) — Montgomery County’s newest historic site isn’t a grand museum or a national monument. It’s a quiet Rockville home tucked behind a row of trees — a place where, more than 60 years ago, a global movement for people with intellectual disabilities began to take shape.

This month, county leaders officially approved historic preservation status for Timberlawn, the North Bethesda home where Eunice Kennedy Shriver launched the early foundation of what would become the Special Olympics.

In the 1960s, when her brother John F. Kennedy entered the White House, Eunice Shriver moved to the Timberlawn estate in Montgomery County. While the president tackled national and global crises, Eunice worked quietly but forcefully on an issue that had touched her family personally: the rights and opportunities of people with intellectual disabilities. Her sister, Rosemary Kennedy, had special needs, shaping Eunice’s lifelong mission to confront stigma and expand access to education, sports, and inclusion.
In the backyard, on fields and open space around the property, Eunice Shriver began hosting summer camps focused on physical activity, play, and confidence-building for people with intellectual disabilities. These informal gatherings laid the groundwork for the first Special Olympics games in 1968 — a movement that now spans more than 190 countries and serves millions of athletes each year.

A rare piece of disability rights history:

Despite the sweeping impact of the Special Olympics, few physical places tied to disability rights have been formally protected. That’s part of why local historians pushed so strongly for Timberlawn’s designation.

“We don’t know of any other locally designated sites for their association with disability rights,” planning historian Serena Bolliger noted. “So it is so important for us to recognize this moment in their history.”

November 22, 2025 at 6:05 PM

Pam Wilson

@pamw143.bsky.social

Dennis Adams noticed that his grandmother’s sister, who was mentally disabled yet present at every event, was not visible in any of the pictures. After careful study, he discovered snippets of her presence in the outer frames as the camera swept over groups of people.

www.lamar.edu/public-art/a...

Photograph in black and white, so mostly gray, from above, of a dark-haired man in a suit dancing on a floor filled with spread out photos.

Dennis Adams (b. 1948) is an internationally recognized artist known for creating site specific installations that encourage the viewer to explore and question their meaning. Adams does not work in a particularly recognizable style, although much of his work involves photographs or videos, some of which are integrated within architectural structures. At the heart of his oeuvre is a fascination with selective memory.

In a 1991 interview with the Journal of Contemporary Art, Adams revealed that in his 20s while looking through family films, he experienced a breakthrough moment in the direction his art would take. He had noticed that his grandmother’s sister, who was mentally disabled yet present at every event, was not visible in any of the pictures. After careful study, he discovered snippets of her presence in the outer frames as the camera swept over groups of people.

It was from that moment that I began to focus on the notion of exclusions – what is being left out or unsaid. And then on the other end, behind the camera, there was my father. He was also absent from those films. It’s fascinating how those in power and those outside of power share the same condition of invisibility.

Adams began to explore the ways media images manipulate the viewer and affect collective memory – what we as a society choose to remember and to forget. Some of his most popular installations are specially designed dysfunctional city bus shelters with the bench on the outside rather than under the protected roof. Instead of the typical commercial advertisement on the walls, he installs politically charged images such as a boat full of refugees paired with an unrelated quote like “Become the Symptom.” The objective is to make people actual look at and question what they’re seeing.

Article continues at link.

November 22, 2025 at 4:35 AM

Pam Wilson

@pamw143.bsky.social

Sad to share the passing of Wise colleague and friend, Joyce Dean.
"Her leadership played a vital role during Wise’s collaboration with the State of Oregon on the Lane V. Brown settlement agreement, which led to the closure of sheltered workshops across Oregon." ...

www.facebook.com/gowise.emplo...

Image Description: A photo of Joyce Dean holding a dog in a polaroid style frame. There is a blurred background with a teal overlay in the background. The text reads "In Memory of Joyce Dean."

Above the image is a Facebook message from Wise:

We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of our colleague and friend, Joyce Dean, who was a respected member of the Wise team. Joyce’s warmth, dedication, and commitment to our mission positively influenced many people and left a meaningful legacy within our community.
With decades of expertise in supported employment and quality systems management, beginning at the University of Oregon’s Specialized Training Program, Joyce co-authored important publications and wrote Quality Improvement in Employment and Other Human Services: Managing for Quality through Change. Her leadership played a vital role during Wise’s collaboration with the State of Oregon on the Lane V. Brown settlement agreement, which led to the closure of sheltered workshops across Oregon. Joyce has always served as a guiding light for Wise, offering insights into data, grant writing, quality assurance, and much more. Most recently, she lent her expertise to our North Carolina project, helping to design evaluation and data tracking systems and making significant contributions as a member of the Wise Development Committee.
Joyce’s intelligence, strength, calm presence, rigor, and affection will continue to inspire us. She provided training and consultation across the United States and internationally, advocating for a shift toward competitive integrated employment. Her passion for innovation and commitment to quality assurance has molded Wise’s work and inspired countless professionals and families.
Please join us in keeping Joyce’s loved ones in your thoughts during this difficult time. We will share details about any memorial arrangements as they become available.

A photo of Joyce Dean holding a dog in a polaroid style frame. There is a blurred background with a teal overlay in the background. The text reads "In Memory of Joyce Dean."
Above the image is a Facebook message from Wise:

We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of our colleague and friend, Joyce Dean, who was a respected member of the Wise team. Joyce’s warmth, dedication, and commitment to our mission positively influenced many people and left a meaningful legacy within our community.
With decades of expertise in supported employment and quality systems management, beginning at the University of Oregon’s Specialized Training Program, Joyce co-authored important publications and wrote Quality Improvement in Employment and Other Human Services: Managing for Quality through Change. Her leadership played a vital role during Wise’s collaboration with the State of Oregon on the Lane V. Brown settlement agreement, which led to the closure of sheltered workshops across Oregon. Joyce has always served as a guiding light for Wise, offering insights into data, grant writing, quality assurance, and much more. Most recently, she lent her expertise to our North Carolina project, helping to design evaluation and data tracking systems and making significant contributions as a member of the Wise Development Committee.
Joyce’s intelligence, strength, calm presence, rigor, and affection will continue to inspire us. She provided training and consultation across the United States and internationally, advocating for a shift toward competitive integrated employment. Her passion for innovation and commitment to quality assurance has molded Wise’s work and inspired countless professionals and families.
Please join us in keeping Joyce’s loved ones in your thoughts during this difficult time. We will share details about any memorial arrangements as they become available.

November 21, 2025 at 6:09 AM

Pam Wilson

@pamw143.bsky.social

Covenant of the Salmon People is a 60-minute documentary portrait of the Nez Perce Tribe as they continue to carry out their ancient promise to protect Chinook salmon, cornerstone species and first food their people have subsisted on for tens of thousands of years.
www.kbtc.org/watch-on-dem...

https://covenantofthesalmonpeople.com/about

November 21, 2025 at 3:47 AM

Pam Wilson

@pamw143.bsky.social

Adrian Kennedy
No office do I have here, no rules & no restrictions
I decide who to employ to a vacant situation
I decide on where I want to store my medication
I have the right to keep my mother out of my accommodation
& I don't need to have a weekly fire evacuation
www.facebook.com/OpenFutureLe...

Screenshot of Facebook message from Open Future Learning that shows photo of writer Adrian Kennedy, a light-skinned dark-haired man with brown eyes and well-groomed facial hair who may have Down syndrome. He is wearing a blue shirt.
His image and verse appears in the image attached to the post.

Hands Off. It's my home!

I don't have a Rota tacked to my wall.

I don't expect to find one anywhere at all.

If the telephone is ringing, I pick up to see who calls.

I don't have great big posters about slips and trips and falls.

I decide what happens, when I go to bed, or eat.

I decide who enters in, which people I will greet.

I decide on furniture, which bed, which bath, which seat.

I decide the temperature and when to turn up heat.

All the things around my house, they all belong to me.

I don't have strangers coming in changing channels on TV.

All the post I get is opened by the addressee.

I have dominion in my castle, I have my privacy.

I don't use my home for meetings, training or interviews.

The colors in my carpet are my favorite chosen hues.

All records kept about me are accurate and true.

And, if I really want to, I will own 100 shoes.

I will make my choices; I will make my own decisions.

And any Plan I make contains my own wishes and visions.

Any person in my home is only here from my permission.

No office do I have here, no rules and no restrictions.

I decide who to employ to a vacant situation.

I decide on where I want to store my medication.

I have the right to keep my mother out of my accommodation.

And I don't need to have a weekly fire evacuation.

No risk assessments stop me from trying something new.

I make my own mind up about everything I do.

When I need support I will let you know if it is you.

Hands off, it's my home or Sam Sly and I will sue!

Adrian Kennedy. Open Future Learning.

November 20, 2025 at 5:46 PM

Pam Wilson

@pamw143.bsky.social

Wise Webinar: The Dignity of Choice: Tools for Making your Own Decisions, with David Murahashi
Wednesday November 19, 2025
11am-12pm PT Live webinar, no cost
ASL & Closed Captioning
In partnership with Washington State Developmental Disabilities Community Services DDCS
www.gowise.org/home/trainin...

November 19, 2025 at 4:09 PM

Pam Wilson

@pamw143.bsky.social

National Down Syndrome Congress:
"Request Bipartisan Oversight Hearings for Dismantling of US Dept of Education
Students with disabilities will be particularly harmed if education programs are scattered among separate agencies"
Contact Members of Congress here:
www.votervoice.net/mobile/NDSCC...

Above the posters is a Facebook message from the National Down Syndrome Congress
On November 18, 2025, the White House announced that they are transferring important education programs out of the Department of Education to other federal agencies. Among other offices being relocated, many Office of Elementary and Secondary Education programs, along with much of the work of the Office of Postsecondary Education, will be moved to the Department of Labor. We also hear from reliable sources that Interagency Agreements to transfer the Office of Special Education Programs to the Department of Health & Human Services, to send the Rehabilitation Services Administration to the Department of Labor, and to transfer the Office of Civil Rights to the Department of Justice will be signed imminently. Dispersing the Department of Education's core functions - especially those responsible for special education and civil rights - will be particularly harmful to students with disabilities.

On October 10, 2025, the Administration informed 95% of the US Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) that their jobs would be eliminated, adding to the firings that occurred in March 2025. Additional key offices within the Department were also gutted, including the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA), the Office for Civil Rights (OCR), the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE), and the Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE). Although the government shutdown has ended and these terminations have been suspended through January 30, 2026, the Administration has made clear its intention to dismantle the Department of Education, and its latest actions further this intended outcome.

We urge Congress to hold bipartisan oversight hearings to address the devastating consequences that these moves will have on all students, especially students with disabilities.  

Why This Matters:

November 19, 2025 at 9:48 AM

Pam Wilson

@pamw143.bsky.social

ADSC: Executive Function and Down syndrome

Setting goals, making plans, managing schedules, and navigating daily life require certain skills and mental processes, including working memory, flexible thinking, self-control, and problem solving.

adscresources.advocatehealth.com/resources-on...

Poster. Executive function and Down syndrome.
Resource list is available in the ADSC library.
Advocate Medical Group Adult Down Syndrome Center.
Above the poster is a Facebook message from the Adult Down Syndrome Center.
Setting goals, making plans, managing schedules, and navigating daily life require certain skills and mental processes that are collectively called "executive function" or "executive functioning." Executive function includes working memory, flexible thinking, self-control, and problem solving.
Some people with Down syndrome benefit from additional support to learn and develop executive functioning skills and/or to access and use accommodations for tasks that require executive functioning skills. Our Resource Library has a list of articles and videos that provide more information about executive functioning in people with Down syndrome. Check out the list at the link below. Link.

November 18, 2025 at 12:53 PM

Pam Wilson

@pamw143.bsky.social

FB message by Alice Wong, March 27, 2024.
Death is my intimate shadow partner.
It is a disability intimacy.
I wrote for Time magazine about my relationship with mortality as someone who just turned 50 as a disabled person.

Her lip color is dark and vampy, never ending plum

time.com/6960765/alic...

Image description by Alice Wong, March 27, 2024.
Asian American woman in a wheelchair with a tracheostomy at her neck with a tube connected to a ventilator. She is wearing a pink flowy silky top with pleats and faux black leather pants. At the top is a black collar with a large black flower on the side. She’s giving a mysterious smile. Her lip color is dark and vampy, by Makeup Forever in never ending plum.
Below the image is a Facebook message from Alice Wong.
Skull emoji.
Death is my intimate shadow partner.
It is a disability intimacy.
I wrote for Time magazine about my relationship with mortality as someone who just turned 50 as a disabled person.
Shit has been rough but I’m still fucking here
Link.
Image description: Asian American woman in a wheelchair with a tracheostomy at her neck with a tube connected to a ventilator. She is wearing a pink flowy silky top with pleats and faux black leather pants. At the top is a black collar with a large black flower on the side. She’s giving a mysterious smi

November 18, 2025 at 11:38 AM

Pam Wilson

@pamw143.bsky.social

The Architect's Newspaper:
Night Chapel, a mobile timber structure by Michael Bennett and Studio Kër, reimagines sacred architecture as a traveling space for healing, reflection, and community rooted in the African diaspora.
By Ilana Amselem.
Photo by Lara Swimmer.
www.archpaper.com/2025/09/mich...

The Architect's Newspaper.

Holy Building.
Michael Bennett uses timber to reimagine sacred architecture with Night Chapel.
By Ilana Amselem. September 19, 2025. Architecture, Art, On View, West.

Night Chapel, a mobile timber structure by Michael Bennett and Studio Kër, reimagines sacred architecture as a traveling space for healing, reflection, and community rooted in the African diaspora. Photo by Lara Swimmer.

Night Chapel, a mobile timber structure by Michael Bennett and Studio Kër, reimagines sacred architecture as a traveling space for healing, reflection, and community rooted in the African diaspora. (Lara Swimmer)

November 17, 2025 at 3:49 PM

Pam Wilson

@pamw143.bsky.social

Adult Down Syndrome Center on FB:
Pneumonia is more common in people with Down syndrome They are more likely to have a severe case.
There are ways to prevent or reduce the risk of developing pneumonia.
Symptoms, diagnosis, treatment and other info:
adscresources.advocatehealth.com/resources/pn...

Blue poster.
Drawing of lungs. Pneumonia.
Arrow up. Pneumonia is more common in people with Down syndrome.
Drawing of brown haired young person with oxygen mask. People with Down syndrome are also more likely to have a severe case of pneumonia.
Syringe. Vaccine.
There are ways to prevent or reduce the risk of developing pneumonia.
Learn more in our Resource Library.
Advocate Medical Group Adult Down Syndrome Center.

Above the poster is a Facebook message from the Adult Down Syndrome Center

Pneumonia is more common in people with Down syndrome compared to people without Down syndrome. People with Down syndrome are also more likely to have a severe case of pneumonia.
Symptoms may include:
▪ cough
▪ fever
▪ fatigue
▪ chest pain
▪ confusion
▪ shortness of breath
▪ low oxygen level
▪ and others
A person with Down syndrome may have difficulty reporting symptoms of pneumonia so observation by others is important. There are ways to prevent or reduce the risk of developing pneumonia. Brian Chicoine, MD, provides more information about pneumonia in adults with Down syndrome in the article linked below.

November 16, 2025 at 5:29 PM

Pam Wilson

@pamw143.bsky.social

The Arc of King County on Facebook::

Administration overhauls homelessness policy.
Big changes from the federal government could mean people with disabilities lose long-term housing support, or never get it.

www.facebook.com/arcofkingcou...

Link to NPR story:

www.npr.org/2025/11/14/n...

The Arc of King County on Facebook::

Trump administration overhauls homelessness policy
Big changes from the federal government could mean people with disabilities lose long-term housing support, or never get it.

November 16, 2025 at 1:37 AM

Pam Wilson

@pamw143.bsky.social

Getting serious about autism in a Tylenol-tinged comedy show
Federal officials have called a recent rise in #autism diagnoses “tragic” and “an epidemic.”
We’ll hear from local autism advocates who are taking on these statements at a comedy event
Via Arc of King County FB
www.kuow.org/stories/gett...

Screenshot of actors on a stage. A man holds a poster board that has autism scientist written on it. A woman holding a light source in each hand illuminates the poster board. A man in the foreground on the opposite side also holds a cell phone asif illuminating or photographing the poster.
Above the photo is a Facebook message from the The Arc of King County. It says:
 
The Arc of King County's Tylenol PM Special comic event, and our very own Zack Siddeek, were featured on KUOW earlier this week. We're so proud to be educating the community on science based facts related to autism, and to be bringing some levity during these difficult times. Click the link below to check out the story, which starts about 2 minutes in.
Link to KUOW story.

November 16, 2025 at 1:12 AM

Pam Wilson

@pamw143.bsky.social

Threads that Bind — The Story of the Woolly Dog
Film Screening
Friday, November 21, 2025
6:30–8 p.m.
General admission: $10
Burke members: FREE
30-minute documentary
Soft fur used to create intricate textiles and regalia by PNW tribes
Burke Museum
Seattle, WA

www.burkemuseum.org/calendar/thr...

Join the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture for a film screening and Q&A with the producer and participants of Threads that Bind, The Story of the Woolly Dog.
This 30 minute documentary examines the story of the woolly dog, a breed domesticated for thousands of years by Pacific Northwest Tribes. The soft white fur of these dogs, which went extinct in the late 1800s, was used to create intricate textiles and regalia.
Film director and producer Kirk French, Anthropology professor and director of the CORVA lab, Penn State, along with several of the participants, will be on hand to answer questions and provide additional insight. Light refreshments and appetizers included.
Producer: Kirk French, anthropology professor and director of the CORVA lab, Penn State.
Participants: Liz Hammond-Kaarremaa, author, The Teachings of Mutton: A Coast Salish Woolly Dog.
Logan Kistler, curator of anthropology at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History.
Audrey Lin, postdoctoral fellow at Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History.
Event by Burke Museum
4303 Memorial Way NE, Seattle, WA, United States, Washington 98195
Public. Anyone on or off Facebook

November 15, 2025 at 4:29 PM

Pam Wilson

@pamw143.bsky.social

President Barack Obama greets Alice Wong, Disability Visibility Project Founder and Project Coordinator
via robot during the ADA 25th Anniversary reception in the Blue Room of the White House, July 20, 2015.
(Official White House Photo by Pete Souza).
obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/photos-and-v...

President Barack Obama greets Alice Wong, Disability Visibility Project Founder and Project Coordinator via robot during the Americans with Disabilities Act 25th Anniversary reception in the Blue Room of the White House, July 20, 2015. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza

November 15, 2025 at 9:47 AM

Pam Wilson

@pamw143.bsky.social

Alice Wong @sfdirewolf.bsky.social has passed. 😢
"Hi everyone, it looks like I ran out of time.
... We need more stories about us and our culture. You all, we all, deserve the everything and more in such a hostile, ableist environment.
... Don't let the bastards grind you down. I love you all."

ID: Yellow background with black text "This is Alice's friend Sandy Ho, posting. Per Alice's wishes, this message is being shared at the time of her passing. Hi everyone, it looks like I ran out of time. I have so many dreams that I wanted to fulfill and plans to create new stories for you. There are a few in progress that might come to fruition in a few years if things work out. I did not ever imagine I would live to this age and end up a writer, editor, activist, and more. As a kid riddled with insecurity and internalized ableism, I could not see a path forward. It was thanks to friendships and some great teachers who believed in me that I was able to fight my way out of miserable situations into a place where I finally felt comfortable in my skin. We need more stories about us and our culture. You all, we all, deserve the everything and more in such a hostile, ableist environment. Our wisdom is incisive and unflinching. I'm honored to be your ancestor and believe disabled oracles like us will light the way to the future. Don't let the bastards grind you down. I love you all."

November 15, 2025 at 8:51 AM

Pam Wilson

@pamw143.bsky.social

National Down Syndrome Society
NDSS created CARE Down Syndrome, an eLearning Course with peer-reviewed articles developed by leading experts, to share trusted, evidence-based tools with the healthcare teams of adults with DS, as only 5% have access to a specialty clinic.
Learn more at
careds.org

Poster. Care Down Syndrome.
Anglo man in white coat with stethoscope is smiling at a dark haired light-skinned man with Down syndrome in a blue polo shirt and jeans.
A free clinical education and resource hub for healthcare professionals with practical strategies to improve care for adults with Down syndrome.
Free self-paced E learning course with CME credit.
Peer reviewed articles.
Download-able tools for patient support.
Get started at link.
WWW Care DS dot org.
Above the poster is a Facebook message from the National Down Syndrome Society.
As a caregiver, you know how important it is for your loved one with Down syndrome to receive informed, compassionate healthcare. But did you know that only 5% of adults with Down syndrome in the U.S. have access to a specialty clinic? Most rely on primary care professionals, many of whom lack training in their unique medical needs.
NDSS created CARE Down Syndrome, an eLearning Course with accompanying peer-reviewed articles developed by leading experts, so you can share trusted, evidence-based tools with your loved one’s healthcare team. Learn more at link.

November 14, 2025 at 1:43 PM

Pam Wilson

@pamw143.bsky.social

The King County Developmental
Disabilities and Delays Legislative Forum
7 to 8:30 pm Thursday, November 13, 2025
DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Hotel Seattle Airport - Southcenter
16500 Southcenter Pkwy, Seattle, WA 98188
Meet legislators 6:15 to 6:45 pm
Program is at 7 pm
iddforum26.eventbrite.com

Posters from The Arc of King County.
Above the posters is a Facebook message from The Arc of King County.
Show up for the disabilities community.
Thursday, Nov. 13, 6 to 8:30 PM.
Southcenter Hilton DoubleTree Suites, 16500 Southcenter Pkwy, Seattle, WA 98188.
Your presence and your voice make this annual forum a meaningful event! Legislators will be making some tough decisions in 2026, and now more than ever they need to hear from people with intellectual and other developmental disabilities, their families, and allies.
The King County Developmental Disabilities and Delays Legislative Forum is a welcoming space where everyone can connect with, share, and hear stories from community members, legislators, and county council members.
Yes, there will be a quiet space! The big ballroom space can be overwhelming for some people. If that is true for you or your loved ones, you are welcome to come to the Family Room to watch the forum.
Register today.
Link.

Close
Overview
Please join us to learn about King County's intellectual and developmental disabilities and delays legislative priorities for 2026!
11/7/2025: We hope you will join us next week for our legislative forum! If you need an interpreter, please make the request using the registration form. However, with less than a week to go, we may not be able to meet all requests. Thank you for understanding!

Please join us on Thursday, November 13, 2025!
The King County Developmental Disabilities and Delays Legislative Forum is an opportunity to learn about issues that are important to our communities.

Learn about King County's intellectual and developmental disabilities and delays legislative priorities for 2026.

6 – 7 PM: Doors open; coffee, tea, & cookies available
6:15 – 6:45 PM: Optional connection time with legislators
7:00 – 8:30 PM: Forum

Please use the registration form to request an interpreter.

November 12, 2025 at 9:56 PM

Pam Wilson

@pamw143.bsky.social

Captions on TV shows have made a significant difference in accessibility for those with auditory processing conditions or hearing loss, as well as the Deaf community.
Always imperfect, as I just read 'Kiwi Cohen' as introduction for Ke Huy Quan (Oscar winning Vietnamese-born Chinese-American actor)

Movie posters of some of films with actor Ke Huy Quan.
Everything Everywhere All at Once, 2022.
Love Hurts, 2025.
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom , 1984.
The Goonies, 1985.
Zootopia 2, 2025.
The Electric State, 2025.

November 12, 2025 at 12:51 AM

Pam Wilson

@pamw143.bsky.social

Transcript from Mary Maxwell's heartfelt invocation speech. Caregiver of the Year Dinner.
"Ladies and gentlemen as a new client of Home Instead and friend and former neighbor of Laurie and Paul Hogan I am so honored to be chosen to offer the invocation this evening. ..."
coconote.app/notes/3044e1...

Transcript. Part one. Please welcome Mary Maxwell [Applause].
Oh. Sorry God as long as I have the microphone there are a few things I forgot to mention. First of all, just to introduce myself a little. Over the years I've noticed that the two things most people want to know about you are the two things they're far too polite to ask so let's get that out of the way. I'm 72 years old and I weigh a hundred and forty-five.

As you know we seniors are sometimes not very likable, let alone lovable, so lord could you please continue to keep the people of Home Instead patient and aware of why we are the way we are. And Laura please remind them that the thing about old age is that you don't get a chance to practice. This is the first time I've ever been old and it just sort of crept up on me.

There were signs: random hair growth that's special, particularly that first time you go to brush a hair off your lapel and discover it's attached to your chin. Or you turn your left turn signal on in the morning and leave it on all day. Non-life-threatening skin growths large enough to name after deceased pets and relatives begin to appear and neck tissue seems to develop a life of its own.
Last November I was afraid to leave the house Thanksgiving week. Aren't you quick!

You do strange things as you age like driving up to a curbside mailbox and ordering a cheeseburger and fries. And lord I know you're aware that one Sunday at church I put my Dillard's bill in the collection basket by mistake.

And last Easter after services at St. Cecilia's Cathedral here in Omaha my husband stopped to talk to a friend and I went on out and got in the car to go home. Gentleman sitting behind the wheel said oh are you going home with me? And I said oh Archbishop I'm so sorry.

November 11, 2025 at 8:34 AM

Pam Wilson

@pamw143.bsky.social

In the Mary Maxwell invocation at Home Instead Senior Care‘s 2009 Convention, she read a poem by Ester Mary Walker, “Blessed in Aging.”

'... Blessed are they who make it known
That I am loved, respected and not alone.
And blessed are they who will ease the days
Of my journey home, in loving ways.'

In the now-famous Mary Maxwell invocation at Home Instead Senior Care‘s 2009 Convention, she read a poem by Ester Mary Walker entitled, “Blessed in Aging.”

Blessed In Aging
~Esther Mary Walker
Blessed are they who understand
My faltering step and shaking hand
Blessed, who know my ears today
Must strain to hear the things they say.
Blessed are those who seem to know
My eyes are dim and my mind is slow
Blessed are those who look away
When I spilled tea that weary day.
Blessed are they who, with cheery smile
Stopped to chat for a little while
Blessed are they who know the way
To bring back memories of yesterday.
Blessed are those who never say
“You’ve told that story twice today”
Blessed are they who make it known
That I am loved, respected and not alone.
And blessed are they who will ease the days
Of my journey home, in loving ways.

The poem speaks to the millions of caregivers, both professional and unpaid, whose patience and understanding provide the dignity and respect that our elders deserve.

November 11, 2025 at 7:38 AM

Pam Wilson

@pamw143.bsky.social

Cholesterol in Down syndrome
Do people with Down syndrome have the same risk of atherosclerosis (buildup of plaque in the arteries resulting in reduced blood flow to the heart muscle) as others?
Screening
Statins?
DSCWP Podcast 212. No transcript.
adscresources.advocatehealth.com/down-syndrom...

Blue poster. Down Syndrome Center of Western Pennsylvania podcast.
Cholesterol in Down syndrome.
Colorful drawing of unidentified internal organs. Heart and arteries?
Host: Dr. Kishore Vellody, Medical Director of the Down Syndrome Center of Western Pennsylvania.
Guest. Dr. Brian Chicoine. Advocate Medical Group. Adult Down Syndrome Center in Chicago.

Above the poster is a Facebook message from the Adult Down Syndrome Center.
Brian Chicoine, MD, Medical Director of our Adult Down Syndrome Center, was the guest on a recent episode of the Down Syndrome Center of Western PA's podcast. Dr. Chicoine discussed cholesterol in people with Down syndrome with Kishore Vellody, MD, the host of the podcast and the Medical Director of the Down Syndrome Center in Pennsylvania. Some of the questions they address in the episode include:
Do people with Down syndrome have the same risk of atherosclerosis (buildup of plaque in the arteries resulting in reduced blood flow to the heart muscle) as people without Down syndrome?
What are the cholesterol screening recommendations for people with Down syndrome?
Are statins commonly recommended for people with Down syndrome?
Links to the episode and other episodes related to health of adolescents and adults with Down syndrome are available in our Resource Library.

Episodes Related to Adolescent and Adult Health. No transcript.

#212. Cholesterol in Down Syndrome: Should We Worry About It?
Nov 6, 2025.
Show Notes.
Dr. Brian Chicoine from the Adult Down Syndrome Center in Chicago joined the podcast again today, this time to discuss a listener question on cholesterol. There's data that people with Down syndrome do not seem to get cholesterol related plaques on the arteries around the heart. Knowing this, should we be checking cholesterol levels? Is there an association between cholesterol and Alzheimer disease? Listen to find out more.

https://downsyndromecenter.libsyn.com/dsc/212-cholesterol-in-down-syndrome-should-we-worry-about-it

November 10, 2025 at 6:44 PM

Pam Wilson

@pamw143.bsky.social

...
Between the crosses, row on row
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks still bravely singing fly,
Scarce heard amidst the guns below.

We are the dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

- John McCrae
May, 1915

In Flanders Fields
by John McCrae

In Flanders fields the poppies grow;
Between the crosses, row on row
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks still bravely singing fly,
Scarce heard amidst the guns below.

We are the dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from falling hands we throw,
The torch; be yours to hold it high
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

In Flanders Fields
May, 1915
- John McCrae
1872 – 1918

In Flanders Fields
by John McCrae

In Flanders fields the poppies blow;
Between the crosses, row on row
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks still bravely singing fly,
Scarce heard amidst the guns below.

We are the dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from falling hands we throw,
The torch; be yours to hold it high
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

In Flanders Fields
May, 1915
- John McCrae
1872 – 1918

November 10, 2025 at 1:24 AM

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