Conference set for siblings of developmentally disabled

Pioneer Center for Human Services is holding a one-day educational and support conference for siblings and other family members of individuals with developmental disabilities.

It is being co-sponsored by the Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Aging with Developmental Disabilities at the University of Illinois in Chicago.

The conference will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sept. 15 at the Pioneer Center for Human Services' facility, 4001 Dayton St., McHenry.

Lorraine Kopczynski, president and CEO of Pioneer Center for Human Services, and Tamar Heller, director for Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Aging with Developmental Disabilities at UIC, will welcome attendees after a continental breakfast.

The agenda includes a full day of information and networking for people who will ultimately become the primary caretakers for their siblings as they age.

The morning sessions will include a sibling panel made up of Margaret Fox-Hawthorne, Lt. Jeff Murphy and Tara Kosieniak, who will speak about their experiences with their siblings.

A second informational panel will speak on the three parts of the Developmental Disabilities Network and what they do for people with disabilities and their families.

Members of this panel will be Zena Naiditch, president and CEO of Equip for Equality, Heller and Katie Kelling, community support coordinator at the Institute on Disability and Human Development, UIC.

The lunch keynote speaker will be Charlotte Cronin, executive director of The Family Support Network, who will speak on, "Talking to Your Policymaker, If We Can Do It, So Can You!"

Afternoon sessions include a presentation on learning how to get and protect benefits by Sherri Schneider, president of Family Benefit Solutions, and members of the Self Advocacy Council of Northern Illinois will talk about their experiences and how to get other siblings involved.

Jessica Kramer, a Ph.D candidate for Disability Studies, UIC, will end the day by leading a discussion of "Next Steps, Where Do We Go From Here?"

Everyone is invited to attend. Cost for the conference is $25, which includes a continental breakfast and lunch.

To register, call Olga Moore at Pioneer Center for Human Services at (815) 759-7200.

Pioneer Center for Human Services is a not-for-profit agency that provides services to more than 1,300 individuals annually in McHenry County. It has grown and enriched the lives of many since it was founded in 1958.

Pioneer Center for Human Services serves people with developmental disabilities, mental illness, traumatic brain injury and provides early intervention therapies for children from birth to age five.

It also serves victims of sexual assault through the VOICE program and the homeless through the PADS program.