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Sparkle Light Festival at Impact Field in Rosemont is the premier holiday destination for families this winter. Guests can immerse themselves in millions of sparkling lights as they stroll through illuminated villages with custom holiday features. While visiting Sparkle Light Festival, guests can take a ride on the 2-story ice slide, enjoy free train rides, and celebrate the holidays with a menu of festive food and beverages. Sparkle Light Festival also offers interactive children’s activities, letters to Santa and more.

Time: Choose your date with advance tickets

Cost: General Admission $24 adults (13+) and $18 for ages 2-12. Addisional fees for Alpine Slide ($22 unlimited)

Ages: All ages

This time will provide an inclusive atmosphere for individuals of all ages and abilities to enjoy a meal in a relaxed and crowd-free dining experience with limited people and contact. The sensory friendly hour creates a safe and comfortable environment for people with autism, sensory input disorders, sensory sensitivities, or other physical, cognitive, or development disabilities, and their families, friends, and caretakers.

We want to give neurodiverse restaurant patrons a positive dining experience in a welcoming environment. Patrons can bring fidget objects, noise-reducing headphones, and other sensory tools or devices. Noise will be limited and lights will be dimmed. Our staff provides efficient service with minimal contact but are always available if you need extra assistance.

Chef Sarah designed a special limited menu that eliminates long wait times. (Please be aware that beef dishes ordered well done will take longer to prepare). At 5 pm, the servers will provide all customers with their checks and alert them that the restaurant opens for regular business at 5:15 pm and guests will begin arriving, lights will be turned up, and the music will go on. Guests are welcome to stay as long as they like.

Reservations are required. Please call to make a reservation by the Wednesday prior to your desired dining date (847) 205-4433.

Wednesday, December 6 | 6pm
5140 Golf Road | JCFS Seigle Building | Skokie

This event welcomes families, providers, educators, youth, and others who support young people to join in a conversation about drug use, prevention, teen development and recovery. A panel of experts, community stakeholders and teens will lead the conversation.

RSVP HERE by December 1 to join this informative discussion. Light refreshments provided.

December 13, 2023 6:30 - 7:30PM

Board games offer an excellent opportunity for both fun and learning at home! Did you know many high quality board games can be adapted to support all children, while still being fun to play?

Come learn about play, skills that can be embedded into common board games to support children of varying abilities, and how to share that information with your child's teacher in order to support your child's learning in the classroom and at home.

Mark your calendars for a new series geared towards teens and young adults (ages 16-35). Please feel free forward this email to your children or grandchildren, ages 16-35, that may be interested in participating. This 3 part series will include the following classes:

• Class #2 Investment Choices - "What are the Differences?" to be held on 02/13/2024 from 7:00pm - 8:00pm.

• Class #3 Powers of Attorney - to be held on 05/14/2024 from 7:00pm - 8:00pm.

Full class description provided here.

Registration is required. Click here to register for the first class. Each webinar will be recorded and sent to the registrants.

Looking for a warm and cozy place to hang out on a Monday morning, either by yourself or with friends? Come by to enjoy a hot cup of coffee and fresh scone while you support TrueNorth Transition students demonstrate their amazing job readiness skills at this job training site. We're open for business every Monday that school is in session, from 9-11 am. Curt's Cafe is located at 1766 2nd Street in Highland Park.

Due to limited availability, only two SoundShirts are available at a time.

The Illinois Autism Taskforce (IATF) is seeking feedback from parents and guardians on their understanding of the high school (Secondary) transition process.

The Autism Transition Subcommittee is conducting The IATF: Transition Sub-Committee Survey 2023 to assess parent/family knowledge when it comes to understanding services available for the autism population leading up to and during their high school transition years. By gaining understanding of this, the IATF as well as autism-based service entities and schools can target their messaging and parent education to better guide parents, students, and families with the goal of improving student success after high school.

This Survey makes no distinction between educational classification of autism or medical diagnosis, all are encouraged to complete the survey.

The survey will be available beginning September 1, 2023, ending December 1, 2023:

The survey should take 15 minutes and your responses are completely anonymous.

For example, dentists or doctors available to families.

Several times each month, our mobile pantry visits 6 locations to distribute free diapers (babies, toddlers and adults) and period supplies to families who are struggling to afford them. ONLINE REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED 24 HOURS PRIOR TO YOUR FIRST VISIT TO A DISTRIBUTION DAY and must be completed using the form below.

Identification for the parent/guardian and child(ren) is required.

Diapers are provided for children up to age 3. Pull-ups are provided for children up to age 4.

Incontinence products are provided for seniors and disabled adults (65 years old and up). Individuals from 4 - 64 years old can receive products with a doctor's note/diagnosis.

WAUKEGAN (10am - 12pm)

Lake County Health Department

2400 Belvidere Rd. Waukegan, IL 60085

December 20

HIGHWOOD (3:30pm - 5:00pm)

Fort Sheridan Metra Station

461 W. Old Elm, Highwood, IL 60040

December 1 & 15

Winnetka Voices is a podcast hosted by The Winnetka Public Schools, featuring candid conversations on issues relevant to education and shared resources to support our students and families.

Listen Here

This fall we will be offering Sibshops for both children and teens at our Northbrook location. We will begin each Sibshop as a large group for an opening activity and then separate into age groups (children and teens).

Fall In-Person Sibshop Dates for Children/Teens, ages 6-16 are as follows:

August 27
October 15
November 12
December 10

All In-Person Sibshops are on Sundays from 1pm to 3:30pm at our Northbrook location, 255 Revere Drive, Suite 200.

Virtual Sibshops, ages 7-12 (will be offered for Teens if there are enough participants)

Thursdays, 6-7pm

September 21
October 26
November 30

*Virtual Sibshops are for children who cannot participate in person AND for siblings who wish to connect between the in-person Sibshops.

In-Person Sibshops are $30 per session; partial scholarships are available. Virtual Sibshops are free of charge. Pre-registration is required for in-person and virtual Sibshops. Please contact Yuto Kanii or Tammy Besser if you have any questions and/or to request registration materials.

Registration is per Sibshop. Virtual Sibshops are free but registration is required to attend.
Children can attend one, two, three, or all of the Sibshop series. To register email: mailto:TamaraBesser@JCFS.org

LOCATION

Elaine Kersten Children's Center

This month's hang-out will be at 7:00pm at Spears in Wheeling.

Email: hello@cityofsupport.org with any questions or to sign up for email alerts. No RSVP required.

Are your child's mental health struggles impacting you and your family? Are you wondering how to start finding help?

We recommend seeking support for yourself first with a CATCH Conversation.

Sign up and a CATCH volunteer will reach out to schedule a time to talk, meet for a cup of coffee, or go for a walk to give you a chance to share what's going on and learn how CATCH can support you.

Sign Up Here

Join us for information, resources, tips and strategies on a variety of topics to empower you in your parenting or caregiving journey with your child with autism. Come to connect and interact with others navigating a similar journey! Parents of newly diagnosed children are strongly encouraged to attend.

Lurie Children's Sound Experience is a social experience for families of children with hearing loss. We offer Sound Experience four Saturday afternoons throughout the school year at our Outpatient Center in Westchester.

The program aims to provide:

• A network of parents of children with hearing loss who are going through or have gone through similar situations and to share experiences and information
• Information for families about hearing loss and how it affects our children
• An opportunity for children with hearing loss to meet other children with hearing loss

What to Expect at Sound Experience

• Parents informally share information and stories before the formal breakout sessions
• Children and siblings of all ages are entertained with a dedicated staff of volunteers
• Parents meet in an adjoining room to discuss the meeting’s topic

How to Get Involved

To learn more about Sound Experience, ask your audiologist or contact Cara Donahue at 312.227.3061 or cdonahue@luriechildrens.org.

APH FamilyConnect and The Chicago Lighthouse are pleased to offer this virtual support group for parents and families of children who are blind or visually impaired. These monthly sessions are for families to connect with and learn from each other about the joys, challenges, and adventures of raising children with visual impairments and blindness. These sessions are open to families. You only need to register once for this ongoing series. The No ACVREP or professional development credits will not be available.

Register Here

The Association of Parents and Staff (APS) is an organization of parents who have children in any of TrueNorth's 18 member school districts, and the staff who serve them. Our mission is to make a difference in the lives of our children with disabilities through advocacy, partnership and support. Together with our staff partners, we hope to heighten awareness and understanding of learning differences, provide ongoing training and education, and offer support and connections to all.

Whether children are enrolled in a TrueNorth instructional classroom or receive services through their local school district, all parents of children with learning differences are welcome.

If you would like to connect with your district representative or have questions for our Parent Engagement Facilitator, Nicole Magesis, please email us at apsnewsletter@truenorth804.org