{"id":1399932,"date":"2026-06-26T19:25:25","date_gmt":"2026-06-26T23:25:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fcsn.org\/?p=1399932"},"modified":"2026-06-26T19:25:25","modified_gmt":"2026-06-26T23:25:25","slug":"toolkits-to-adulthood-unlocked","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fcsn.org\/pt\/toolkits-to-adulthood-unlocked\/","title":{"rendered":"Toolkits to Adulthood: Unlocked!"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>By Meghan Chapman, Federation for Children with Special Needs<\/em><\/p>\n<p>What an amazing time we shared at FCSN&rsquo;s Youth Visions of Community (Youth VOC) conference! Thank you to all the young people, families, presenters, exhibitors, volunteers, and staff who helped make this in-person event so special.<\/p>\n<p>We had a record number of attendees and volunteers! From start to finish, the day was filled with connection, curiosity, smiles, and memorable moments. The goal of the day was to help young people with disabilities (ages 14&ndash;26) and their families to build toolkits of resources, connections, knowledge and skills that they can use to build the adult lives they want.<\/p>\n<p>Some highlights included:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Young adults from #TeachDisabilityHistory program at EasterSeals led a fun trivia game about icons from the disability civil rights movement.<\/li>\n<li>Sweet treats at breakfast and burritos for lunch. Many thanks to Stop &amp; Shop in Somerville for donating all our fruit!<\/li>\n<li>Wound down the day with a chance to laugh and move led by the inclusive theater group, All Voices Count.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Community Spotlight<\/h3>\n<p>Each of us needs other people and organizations to build the lives we want. Independent living is really interdependent living, isn&rsquo;t it? At Youth VOC, twenty-one exhibitors filled the halls with resources, offers of support, newsletter sign-up sheets, free stuff, and ways to connect. Thanks to each and every one of them for being available from 9:00 am to 2:30 pm. Who was there offering transition-to-adult life resources?<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>State agencies and tools like: Massachusetts Educational Financing Authority (MEFA), Department of Public Health (DPH), Department of Mental Health (DMH), Massachusetts Behavioral Health Helpline, and Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR).<\/li>\n<li>Financial planning supports like PLAN of MA and RI Special Needs Trusts.<\/li>\n<li>Social and community connections: Access 2 Community and Friendship, #TeachDisabilityHistory, Special Olympics, and Empowering People for Inclusive Communities (EPIC).<\/li>\n<li>Education: Massachusetts Inclusive Postsecondary Enrollment (MAIPSE).<\/li>\n<li>Training and information services: FCSN, Autism Housing Pathways (AHP), Parent\/Professional Advocacy League (PPAL), and Boston Center for Independent Living (BCIL).<\/li>\n<li>Transition services providers: TMD Consulting, Run the Gamut, Bridging Independent Living Together, Inc (BILT), Northeast Arc, Perkins School for the Blind Transition Center, and EasterSeals.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Thanks to our Presenters<\/h3>\n<p>Where would we be without our presenters? These dynamos delivered information, interaction, and activity! Our young people:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Imagined their future in a session about housing with FCSN&rsquo;s Andria Entsminger from Autism Housing Pathways (AHP).<\/li>\n<li>Learned about SMART Goal Setting in &ldquo;One Step at a Time&rdquo; with Tabitha Desjardins from TMD Consulting.<\/li>\n<li>Practiced Every Day Self-Advocacy with Jeff Lafata-Hernandez from Empowering People for Inclusive Communities (EPIC).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>FCSN Transition-to-Adulthood events are attended by young people and caregivers who learn similar information but in separate spaces. That way, each group learns with their peers and has a chance to connect. Our youth have volunteers to help them navigate the sessions in small groups. Our families learned about:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Multiple housing options, ways to fund them, and ways to increase their children&rsquo;s independent living skills with FCSN&rsquo;s Cathy Boyle from Autism Housing Pathways (AHP).<\/li>\n<li>Ways to give their kids both roots and wings from FCSN Youth Advisory Board (YAB) alumni Austin Carr and Kamisha Heriveaux, and current YAB leadership mentor Ewidji Vincent. Families hung on every drop of wisdom shared in their panel session on &ldquo;What We Wish Parents Knew.&rdquo;<\/li>\n<li>Where to find and how to use Charting the LifeCourse&rsquo;s person-centered tools to help with life planning, and FCSN transition resources.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Gratitude for our Volunteers<\/h3>\n<p>Words cannot express our thanks. A record number of volunteers made this event possible. Sadly, we still could not accommodate every family due to space restrictions. But each volunteer increased our ability to include 8 people at the event. They were gracious, enthusiastic, caring, kind, and so generous. And a lot of fun!<\/p>\n<h3>What&rsquo;s Next?<\/h3>\n<p>Youth VOC will be back in Spring 2027. Spaces are limited, and registration can open as early as January. If you&rsquo;d like to receive an email when registration opens, you can sign up for FCSN&rsquo;s newsletter.<\/p>\n<p>Next event: Planning A Life (PAL): College and Beyond on Saturday, July 25th.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Meghan Chapman, Federation for Children with Special Needs What an amazing time we shared at FCSN&rsquo;s Youth Visions of Community (Youth VOC) conference! Thank you to all the young [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":62,"featured_media":1387282,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[38],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1399932","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-news"],"translation":{"provider":"WPGlobus","version":"3.0.3","language":"pt","enabled_languages":["en","es","pt","ar","zh","vi"],"languages":{"en":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"es":{"title":false,"content":false,"excerpt":false},"pt":{"title":false,"content":false,"excerpt":false},"ar":{"title":false,"content":false,"excerpt":false},"zh":{"title":false,"content":false,"excerpt":false},"vi":{"title":false,"content":false,"excerpt":false}}},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Toolkits to Adulthood: Unlocked! - Federation for Children with Special Needs<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/fcsn.org\/toolkits-to-adulthood-unlocked\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"pt_PT\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Toolkits to Adulthood: Unlocked! - Federation for Children with Special Needs\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/fcsn.org\/toolkits-to-adulthood-unlocked\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Federation for Children with Special Needs\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-26T23:25:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/fcsn.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/DSC00372-1-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1707\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Federation For Children With Special Needs\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Federation For Children With Special Needs\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/fcsn.org\\\/toolkits-to-adulthood-unlocked\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/fcsn.org\\\/toolkits-to-adulthood-unlocked\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Federation For Children With Special Needs\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/fcsn.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7400b35d769416c79887ebe9a563df56\"},\"headline\":\"Toolkits to Adulthood: Unlocked!\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-26T23:25:25+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/fcsn.org\\\/toolkits-to-adulthood-unlocked\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":693,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/fcsn.org\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/fcsn.org\\\/toolkits-to-adulthood-unlocked\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/fcsn.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/07\\\/DSC00372-1-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1707&ssl=1\",\"articleSection\":[\"Latest News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"pt-PT\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/fcsn.org\\\/toolkits-to-adulthood-unlocked\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/fcsn.org\\\/toolkits-to-adulthood-unlocked\\\/\",\"name\":\"Toolkits to Adulthood: Unlocked! - Federation for Children with Special Needs\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/fcsn.org\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/fcsn.org\\\/toolkits-to-adulthood-unlocked\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/fcsn.org\\\/toolkits-to-adulthood-unlocked\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/fcsn.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/07\\\/DSC00372-1-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1707&ssl=1\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-26T23:25:25+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/fcsn.org\\\/toolkits-to-adulthood-unlocked\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"pt-PT\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/fcsn.org\\\/toolkits-to-adulthood-unlocked\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"pt-PT\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/fcsn.org\\\/toolkits-to-adulthood-unlocked\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/fcsn.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/07\\\/DSC00372-1-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1707&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/fcsn.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/07\\\/DSC00372-1-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1707&ssl=1\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1707},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/fcsn.org\\\/toolkits-to-adulthood-unlocked\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/fcsn.org\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Toolkits to Adulthood: Unlocked!\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/fcsn.org\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/fcsn.org\\\/\",\"name\":\"Federation for Children with Special Needs\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/fcsn.org\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/fcsn.org\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"pt-PT\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/fcsn.org\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Federation for Children with Special Needs\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/fcsn.org\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"pt-PT\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/fcsn.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"\",\"contentUrl\":\"\",\"caption\":\"Federation for Children with Special Needs\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/fcsn.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/fcsn.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7400b35d769416c79887ebe9a563df56\",\"name\":\"Federation For Children With Special Needs\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"pt-PT\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/f178045617c28f11b8e8af29954bf6e54e26e2a82f84c1563b72df719677292c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/f178045617c28f11b8e8af29954bf6e54e26e2a82f84c1563b72df719677292c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/f178045617c28f11b8e8af29954bf6e54e26e2a82f84c1563b72df719677292c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Federation For Children With Special Needs\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/fcsn.org\\\/pt\\\/author\\\/jvf_fcsn\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Toolkits to Adulthood: Unlocked! - Federation for Children with Special Needs","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/fcsn.org\/toolkits-to-adulthood-unlocked\/","og_locale":"pt_PT","og_type":"article","og_title":"Toolkits to Adulthood: Unlocked! - Federation for Children with Special Needs","og_url":"https:\/\/fcsn.org\/toolkits-to-adulthood-unlocked\/","og_site_name":"Federation for Children with Special Needs","article_published_time":"2026-06-26T23:25:25+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2560,"height":1707,"url":"https:\/\/fcsn.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/DSC00372-1-scaled.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Federation For Children With Special Needs","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Federation For Children With Special Needs","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/fcsn.org\/toolkits-to-adulthood-unlocked\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/fcsn.org\/toolkits-to-adulthood-unlocked\/"},"author":{"name":"Federation For Children With Special Needs","@id":"https:\/\/fcsn.org\/#\/schema\/person\/7400b35d769416c79887ebe9a563df56"},"headline":"Toolkits to Adulthood: Unlocked!","datePublished":"2026-06-26T23:25:25+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/fcsn.org\/toolkits-to-adulthood-unlocked\/"},"wordCount":693,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/fcsn.org\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/fcsn.org\/toolkits-to-adulthood-unlocked\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/fcsn.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/DSC00372-1-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1707&ssl=1","articleSection":["Latest News"],"inLanguage":"pt-PT"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/fcsn.org\/toolkits-to-adulthood-unlocked\/","url":"https:\/\/fcsn.org\/toolkits-to-adulthood-unlocked\/","name":"Toolkits to Adulthood: Unlocked! - Federation for Children with Special Needs","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/fcsn.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/fcsn.org\/toolkits-to-adulthood-unlocked\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/fcsn.org\/toolkits-to-adulthood-unlocked\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/fcsn.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/DSC00372-1-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1707&ssl=1","datePublished":"2026-06-26T23:25:25+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/fcsn.org\/toolkits-to-adulthood-unlocked\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"pt-PT","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/fcsn.org\/toolkits-to-adulthood-unlocked\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"pt-PT","@id":"https:\/\/fcsn.org\/toolkits-to-adulthood-unlocked\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/fcsn.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/DSC00372-1-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1707&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/fcsn.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/DSC00372-1-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1707&ssl=1","width":2560,"height":1707},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/fcsn.org\/toolkits-to-adulthood-unlocked\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/fcsn.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Toolkits to Adulthood: Unlocked!"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/fcsn.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/fcsn.org\/","name":"Federation for Children with Special Needs","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/fcsn.org\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/fcsn.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"pt-PT"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/fcsn.org\/#organization","name":"Federation for Children with Special Needs","url":"https:\/\/fcsn.org\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"pt-PT","@id":"https:\/\/fcsn.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"","contentUrl":"","caption":"Federation for Children with Special Needs"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/fcsn.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/fcsn.org\/#\/schema\/person\/7400b35d769416c79887ebe9a563df56","name":"Federation For Children With Special Needs","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"pt-PT","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f178045617c28f11b8e8af29954bf6e54e26e2a82f84c1563b72df719677292c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f178045617c28f11b8e8af29954bf6e54e26e2a82f84c1563b72df719677292c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f178045617c28f11b8e8af29954bf6e54e26e2a82f84c1563b72df719677292c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Federation For Children With Special Needs"},"url":"https:\/\/fcsn.org\/pt\/author\/jvf_fcsn\/"}]}},"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":12000,"url":"https:\/\/fcsn.org\/pt\/sherraine-glover-diaz\/","url_meta":{"origin":1399932,"position":0},"title":"Sherraine Glover-Diaz","author":"Federation For Children With Special Needs","date":"August 23, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"She is committed to helping young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities also diagnosed with Autism self-actualized by giving them the financial tools to imagine a better life for themselves and their loved. Sherraine is a mom of three young adults. Sherraine is a financial administrator, financial disability advocate, facilitator,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Board Of Directors&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Board Of Directors","link":"https:\/\/fcsn.org\/pt\/category\/board-of-directors\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Sherraine Diaz","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/fcsn.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/sherraine-diaz-1.jpg?fit=350%2C526&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1398734,"url":"https:\/\/fcsn.org\/pt\/andria-entsminger\/","url_meta":{"origin":1399932,"position":1},"title":"Andria Entsminger","author":"Stephanie Barrera Valdes","date":"March 24, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Andria Entsminger joins the Federation for Children with Special Needs as the President of Autism Housing Pathways (AHP). In this role, she works closely with Cathy Boyle, founder of AHP, to support the integration of Autism Housing Pathways into the Federation, strengthening housing-related transition supports and expanding resources available to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;FCSN Staff&quot;","block_context":{"text":"FCSN Staff","link":"https:\/\/fcsn.org\/pt\/category\/fcsn-staff\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"A close-up portrait of Andria smiling. she is wearing a light blue botton up shirt over a white top.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/fcsn.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Andria-Entsminger.png?fit=400%2C601&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9552,"url":"https:\/\/fcsn.org\/pt\/valeryia-pedersen\/","url_meta":{"origin":1399932,"position":2},"title":"Valeryia Pedersen","author":"Federation For Children With Special Needs","date":"April 22, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Valeryia finds her purpose in building supportive and accepting communities. Whether she is organizing a local parent support group or planning and implementing an innovative respite program, her focus is on bringing culturally and linguistically affirming services to children and youth with disabilities and their families. She is committed to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;FCSN Staff&quot;","block_context":{"text":"FCSN Staff","link":"https:\/\/fcsn.org\/pt\/category\/fcsn-staff\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"A close-up of valeryia smiling at the camera.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/fcsn.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Val-Peterson.png?fit=400%2C601&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1083,"url":"https:\/\/fcsn.org\/pt\/ruth-diaz\/","url_meta":{"origin":1399932,"position":3},"title":"Ruth Diaz","author":"Federation For Children With Special Needs","date":"April 15, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Ruth M. Diaz, JD, MBA, practiced law for 30 years, first at Greater Boston Legal Services, then at Harvard Law School, where she was also a managing attorney, senior clinical instructor, and a lecturer. As the Project Director of the Parent Training and Information Center, Ms. Diaz ensures that PTIC\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;FCSN Staff&quot;","block_context":{"text":"FCSN Staff","link":"https:\/\/fcsn.org\/pt\/category\/fcsn-staff\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Ruth Diaz's professional portrait.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/fcsn.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Ruth-Diaz-2-1.jpg?fit=798%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/fcsn.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Ruth-Diaz-2-1.jpg?fit=798%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/fcsn.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Ruth-Diaz-2-1.jpg?fit=798%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/fcsn.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Ruth-Diaz-2-1.jpg?fit=798%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1391557,"url":"https:\/\/fcsn.org\/pt\/plan-fcsn-press-release\/","url_meta":{"origin":1399932,"position":4},"title":"PLAN-FCSN Press Release","author":"Lydia Solodiuk","date":"October 22, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE The Federation for Children with Special Needs Announces Partnership with PLAN of MA & RI to Expand Support for Families Boston, MA \u2013 September 18, 2025 \u2013 The Federation for Children with Special Needs (FCSN) is proud to announce a new partnership with the Planned Lifetime Assistance\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Latest News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Latest News","link":"https:\/\/fcsn.org\/pt\/category\/latest-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Planned Lifetime logo","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/fcsn.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Planned-Lifetime.jpg?fit=600%2C300&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/fcsn.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Planned-Lifetime.jpg?fit=600%2C300&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/fcsn.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Planned-Lifetime.jpg?fit=600%2C300&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1399929,"url":"https:\/\/fcsn.org\/pt\/celebrating-mental-health-awareness-month\/","url_meta":{"origin":1399932,"position":5},"title":"Celebrating Mental Health Awareness Month","author":"Federation For Children With Special Needs","date":"June 26, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"By Danielle Daughtry, Federation for Children with Special Needs May is Mental Health Awareness Month! It is all about bringing awareness to and promoting mental wellness, self-care, and trying to reduce stigma. Over a billion people globally experience mental health challenges. It\u2019s much more common than we think, which is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Latest News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Latest News","link":"https:\/\/fcsn.org\/pt\/category\/latest-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Young Adult with disabilities working on a farm","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/fcsn.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Young-Adults.png?fit=500%2C500&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/fcsn.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/DSC00372-1-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1707&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fcsn.org\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1399932","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fcsn.org\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fcsn.org\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fcsn.org\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/62"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fcsn.org\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1399932"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/fcsn.org\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1399932\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1399936,"href":"https:\/\/fcsn.org\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1399932\/revisions\/1399936"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fcsn.org\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1387282"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fcsn.org\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1399932"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fcsn.org\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1399932"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fcsn.org\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1399932"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}