It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas especially for the B.R.I.D.G.E.S. Class! COVID can’t stop us from spreading holiday joy. Every holiday season our B.R.I.D.G.E.S. Students participate in their class secret elf exchange which we were still able to make happen this year regardless of the circumstances. Secret Elf has been a fun Christmas tradition for kids for many years.

Prior to Thanksgiving Break, facilitators Ms. Donna and Kathy put together all of the components of this activity to make it simple for students to accomplish. Each student was given the rules and a budget of $15 for gifts. During their Community Based Instruction (CBI), the facilitators presented a PowerPoint with a variety of gift options that students could choose. A picture and the price for each gift was shown, and students marked down their top five items. This created their Wishlist. The facilitators distributed students’ lists to their respective secret elf allowing them to buy a gift they wanted. During this same CBI lesson, students also were taught how to calculate sales tax and emphasized the importance of it in order to stay under the budget.

Then, right before the students took off for Thanksgiving Break, they had to come by the school to pick up the set of rules, gift cards, gift bags, and everything else that was included for this activity. At this time, each student received their secret elf name, their secret elf’s Wishlist along with a $15 gift card to buy his/her presents. During Thanksgiving break, the students went shopping, wrapped the gifts and filled out a holiday card.

This past Friday, the students came by the school for their holiday Secret Elf gift exchange. One at a time, students came out of their car and received their gifts along with delicious treats and goodie bags from their facilitators and HDS Foundation.

We want to wish our BRIDGES students and facilitators a wonderful holiday and a Happy New Year!

Last night, the HDS Foundation hosted a successful Parent Meeting with our Homestead Senior High School BRIDGES (Self-Determination Class).  We were happy to have the opportunity to meet the parents and share the programs and resources the foundation has to offer.

The mission of the HDS Foundation is to provide services and resources to the families of teens and young adults on the Autism Spectrum. The goal of the BRIDGES program is to promote and support initiatives that create independence, employment, and the ability to access safe, affordable housing opportunities as the students transition from high school to post-secondary education.

President and Chairman of HDS Foundation, Cristina Miranda-Gilson shared important information that will help parents plan for their son or daughter’s journey as they prepare for their transition. A few hot topics that parents wanted more information about were: Legal Guardianship, Vocational Rehabilitation, Supplemental Security Income and Technical Schools.

It is important for parents to keep in mind that they play a main role in their child’s success when planning for their transition. Cristina encourages parents and students to create their own Toolbox for Success that includes skills that will benefit them as they move towards independence.  These tools can be found by visiting the HDS Foundation resource page.

We look forward to a successful year with our Homestead Senior High School BRIDGES (Self Determination Class)! If you would like to watch the meeting, click on the video below.

The HDS Foundation B.R.I.D.G.E.S. Parent Meeting was a SUCCESS! Our board members kicked the meeting off by introducing themselves and sharing their overview on how the program has grown over the years. After the introductions were made, our President and Chairman, Cristina Miranda-Gilson, took over and lead the meeting by diving deep into our mission of the HDS Foundation.

Cristina shared that as a non-profit organization, the HDS Foundation was started in support of her daughter, Kate Gilson-Miranda, and individuals who also have Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The primary focus of the organization is to support a three-prong approach to transition. Cristina emphasized that in order to successfully achieve our mission and vision statements, families, friends and the community must help create awareness. She describes how teens and young adults can be better prepared to meet the demands of transitioning with the help and participation of the B.R.I.D.G.E.S. Program. This program is structured in a form of a grant and supports the development of school-based social and community life skill activities designed to meet the needs of high school students with ASD.

Although COVID has changed our in-person community-based instruction activities to virtual, our goal continues to make this year as meaningful as possible while providing the needed support to parents, teachers and students.

Cristina continued the presentation by going over the additional programs we offer: College Mentors and Social Activities Program (SAP). These programs provide guidance and social support to enhance the lives of older teens and young adults.

She concluded the presentation by informing parents about the importance of our Toolbox for Success. Each student and family will create their own toolbox that includes family resources, skills that need to be worked on, experiences that will benefit the student and family, and planning for their post-secondary journey.

As we wrapped up the meeting, Cristina opened the floor for parents to ask any questions. It was amazing to see how engaged all parents were, and the variety of questions being asked. We were able to go through each question with an in-depth answer to guide the parents. We loved being able to have this opportunity to share, support and encourage the parents as they go through this journey with their child.

Make sure to stay informed and engaged by following our social media platforms on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter!

@hdsfoundation