• Introduction of the PLISSIT Model to help parents understand their role
• Identifying common experiences people with Down syndrome have relating to dating
• Identifying common information that might be missing and may be contributing to confusion
• A review of public vs private and discussion surrounding what it means to be in a serious relationship
• Rights & responsibilities for all of us

Click Here to Register

Terri Couwenhoven, M.S., is an ASSECT-certified sexuality educator who specializes in developing programs and resources for people who have cognitive disabilities, their families and the professionals who support them. Through her business, TC Services, she regularly provides education and training across North America. She is author of “Teaching Children with Down syndrome about their Bodies, Boundaries and Sexuality: A Guide for Parents and Professionals,” “The Girls’ Guide to Growing Up: Choices and Changes in the Tween Years,” “A Boy’s Guide to Growing Up: Choices & Changes during Puberty” and  “Boyfriends & Girlfriends: A Guide to Dating for People with Disabilities.”

When she is not teaching or writing, she is Clinic Coordinator for the Down Syndrome Clinic at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin. In her clinic role she coordinates care and supports families who have loved ones with Down syndrome of all ages. She is the mother of two girls. Her oldest daughter has Down syndrome.

Announcing a free In Person Parent Workshop with Dennis McGuire, Ph.D

co-author of Mental Wellness in Adults with Down Syndrome

PROMOTING STRENGTHS AND ADAPTIVE RESOURCES IN
PEOPLE WITH DOWN SYNDROME

• Saturday February 4, 2023 10:00-12:00

• DSCBA- 101- J Town & Country Dr. Danville

Participants will learn of the unique behavioral characteristics of people with Down syndrome including self -talk, repetitious “grooves,” visual (photographic-like) memory, receptivity to visual cues, emotional radar and sensitivity to others. as well as concrete forms of thinking and behaving, which may greatly limit communication and flexibility. These characteristics may be very beneficial, but they may also be unproductive or too easily mistaken as mental illness by the uninformed. This workshop will clarify some of the productive and harmless behaviors from bona fide mental health problems and discuss ways and means to promote the best possible use and understanding of these characteristics. This will include a discussion on how these characteristics interact and influence each other and how to take advantage of this interaction to solve problems and to promote adaptive functioning. Given the difficult times we have lived in over the past three years the urgency for finding adaptive solutions has never been greater. 

REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED AND SPACE IS LIMITED.  

IF CAPACITY IS REACHED, A WAITING LIST WILL BE CREATED.

Click Here to Register

Email Questions for Dennis McGuire Here

This workshop supported in part through a grant from Ability Central

Dennis E. McGuire, Ph.D., Dr. McGuire is a Down syndrome behavioral expert and has more than 35 years of experience in the fields of mental health and developmental disabilities. He is Former consultant, Global Down Syndrome Foundation (Denver, Colorado) and the former Director of Psychosocial Services for the Adult Down Syndrome Center of Lutheran General Hospital in suburban Chicago, the largest, most prestigious clinic for adults with Down syndrome in the United States. He helped establish the center, which served over 4,000 unique adult patients with Down syndrome each year. Dr. McGuire keynotes at events around the world and is the co-author of two prominent books about promoting well being in adults with Down syndrome: Mental Wellness of Adults with Down Syndrome, published in 2006, a new edition in 2020, and The Guide to Good Health for Teens and Adults with Down Syndrome, published in 2011, both by Woodbine House. He received the National Down Syndrome Congress Theodore D. Tjossem Research Award in 2003 and the World Down Syndrome Day Scientific Award in 2010. Dr. McGuire received his doctorate from the University of Illinois at Chicago and his master degree from the University of Chicago.