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May 25, 2008Alec Sweazy Solo Recital Wednesday, June 11, 2008, 7:30 P.M. Normandale Hylands United Methodist Church 9920 Normandale Boulevard, Bloomington, MN
You remember him from KARE-11 Extra, the young man with a passion for music. Please join Alec and friends in the beautiful, new sanctuary at Normandale Hylands United Methodist Church and treat yourself to an evening of music that you won’t soon forget. The program will feature piano works by Bach, Beethoven, Rachmaninoff, Khatchaturian, and Bartók. Alec will close with a variety of delightful numbers on accordion. Everyone is welcome to this free event, with a reception to follow.
December 31, 2006
by Karen Levine and Naomi Chedd Now available at amazon.com
Replays:
Replays integrates play therapy methods
with what we know about the roles of interaction,
communication and play in the development of emotional
and behavioral regulation. Replays can be used by parents, teachers and
therapists across all disciplines (Speech therapists,
Occupational therapists, Psychologists etc).
Whereas the book title states it is for
children with Autism, Naomi and I have developed and
used this technique for children with a broad range of
developmental issues impacting emotional and behavioral
regulation, including children with WS. For
children with Williams syndrome, it can be very
helpful for issues around anxiety and fears including
sound related fears. It can also be helpful for
sensory issues such as not wanting to wear
hats/shoes/have haircuts etc. It can also be
helpful for children who have a 'hair trigger'
response of upset to seemingly small events.
While Replays cannot cure fundamental
heightened sensitivity, it can prevent secondary issues
that develop such as anticipating feared events, and it
can also often help children be much less afraid even in
response to issues that seem to be primarily sensory
(e.g. haircuts) as often, while the child develops over
time, their actual sensory tolerance has grown, but they
have not been able to learn new response patterns to
these 'trigger' events as they have acquired so much
anxiety associated with them. The adults too
(parents, teachers) become anxious as these events
approach. Because Replays relies on a very
playful series of interactions, it can help eliminate
the secondary upset for both children and adults.
Replays
can be used in conjunction with most other techniques
such as relaxation, sensory integration, positive
behavioral supports and Social Stories TM.
When the child
is laughing and asking for repeat performances as you
playfully help them act out their fears, that means
you 'got it right'! We hope you have fun as
you use this approach and that it helps your
children or students.
November 14, 2006
October 23, 2006Free Japan-U.S. Harmonic Concert featuring Ws Musicians scheduled for Nov. 18, 2006 in Anaheim, CAClick here to see the event poster.Steve Yanez, whose child has WS, is interested in getting a large group of families together to come see the performance. If you are interested in attending as a group, please call Steve at (562) 602-2587.
879 W 190th Street, Suite 720, Gardena, CA 90248-4220 Tel: 310-525-1670 Fax: 310-525-1671
Press Release Japan-U.S. Harmonic Concert
The second annual Japan-U.S. Harmonic Concert, a joint performance by developmentally-challenged individuals from Japan and America, is scheduled to take place on Saturday, November 18 in Anaheim, California. The concert will feature nine separate performances by various groups from the two countries, including singing, dancing, and playing of various musical instruments. There will be six groups coming from the Southern California Area: Hope School, Hi-Tops Dance Team, Hope University, Creative Identity, Performing Arts Studio West, and Japanese Speaking Parents Association of Children with Challenges (JSPACC). In addition to these local groups, three groups will be coming from Japan to perform as well: Manbow, Darjiling, and Yuu Takahashi. The concert promises to be moving and entertaining—just ask anyone who attended last year’s inaugural concert! This year will be just as spectacular, with performances by both new groups and groups that participated last year who couldn’t wait to participate again. All groups feature developmentally-challenged youth and adults who put their hearts and souls into their creative talent, putting together a show that rivals performances by those without such inhibiting challenges. In addition to the group performances, this year will also feature keynote speeches by spokespeople for disabilities and the arts representing Japan and America. The representative from America will be Diana Jordan, acting coach at Performing Arts Studio West, a professional performing arts training studio for adults with developmental disabilities located in Inglewood. The representative from Japan will be Yoshihiro Kaiya, executive director of the Gold Concert, a performance contest for developmentally-challenged performance groups. Supporters of the event include the Anaheim/Orange County Visitor & Convention Bureau, the Japanese Association of Intellectual Disability, and Kyosaren (Japan Association of Community Workshops for Disabled Persons). To catch a glimpse of this exciting concert, come to the Heritage Forum, 201 East Broadway Ave., Anaheim, CA 92805. Doors open at 12:00 p.m., and the concert starts at 12:30 p.m. Keynote speeches will be followed by group performances. Admission to the concert is free of charge. If you are interested in the event and would like more information, please contact Katie Conlon at (310) 525-1670, ext. 279 or by email at Katie.Conlon@kintetsu.com.
March 9, 2006Medical Incredibles The "Discovery Health" Channel is showing a segment dealing with Williams Syndrome and Music, featuring Gloria Lenhoff. It will be part of a program series called "Medical Incredibles" and is scheduled to air on Monday, March 13. Check for your local times for your area. The synopsis that Discovery Health Channel gives that segment is: "Gloria Lenhoff has an IQ well below average but that hasn't stopped her from pursuing her dreams and singing in a Memphis Opera. Gloria struggles with every day tasks like tying her shoe laces and yet she sings with perfect pitch in multiple languages, producing every note and word from her prodigious memory. She has even performed solo with the San Diego orchestra. Gloria's gift is a by product of a baffling congenital abnormality called Williams Syndrome, a disorder scientists call a ³beautiful mystery² because of the musical gift that comes with the territory." NOTE: The show's episode is titled "Implant for Tourette's". The Williams Syndrome segment is one of 6 on the show, scheduled to air at 9PM Eastern. Please check your local listings for air times in your area.
October 16, 2005Naomi’s Corset (co-presented by the Disability Network of New York City)A Williams syndrome movie-- set to participate in the Margaret Mead Film Festival in New York City at 8:00 PM November 5, 2005In the movie Naomi talks about herself and her experiences . It is a very beautiful movie and Naomi is very proud of it. The movie passed on Israeli TV and was selected in several festivals in Israel and Europe. In France, at the FIPA in Biaritz, it received a special mention from the jury. We think that this movie can interest you and you may-be know other people or organizations, who could be interested. We think it is an important movie and that it contributes to the understanding and the great possibilities of our WS children. --Henriette Allon, Director Williams Syndrome Israel
SynopsisAt age ten, Naomi faces one of the most trying times in her life. As a result of severe scoliosis (spine curvature), she is forced to wear a stiff orthopedic corset 23 hours a day. Diagnosed at infancy with Williams Syndrome, a rare genetic disorder, Naomi is especially sensitive to extreme emotional and physical situations. Facing the audience she expresses her thoughts candidly; ‘The worst thing is the corset; so, watch out doctors, I can be very tough with you…’ Naomi and her father Gérard, an accomplished artist, decided to make a film about the corset with the hope of alleviating her anxieties. For over two years the camera follows Naomi: she shares her innermost feelings, poses and dances, studies, travels and finally enters into the operating theater where she undergoes an extensive spine surgery. Naomi’s Corset combines day to day documentation, stills, X rays and true accounts of medical procedures, juxtaposing “cinéma vérité” and “video art”. This complex and provocative filmmaking transforms a father-daughter relationship from the private to the public sphere.
August 13, 2005Special Olympics is releasing research on the barriers
to health care for people with intellectual disabilities.
The research clearly shows that dentists and doctors are
not providing access to health care for people with
intellectual disabilities and people with intellectual
disabilities have some the worst health care of any
minority population. Please click here to read the complete article.
April 18, 2004CD by Gloria Lenhoff inaugurates the Music Minus One new series in Inspirational Music.Music Minus One, Inc. (MMO), is the premier record company that started the Karaoke rage in 1950 by producing records and cassettes of classical music. Later they branched out to their Karaoke series, Pocket Songs, for popular music and show tunes. In 2003 they introduced Williams syndrome musical savant Gloria Lenhoff to the commercial world of CD through her Pocket Song CD 1600, Religious Classics. In April. 2004, they "upgraded" PS 1600 to MMO 4040. The latter album not only has the CD, but also an attractive book which has the complete notation of the music accompaniments of the songs Gloria sings on the CD. The CD PS 1600 can be obtained from the WS Foundation for a donation. To purchase the CD and music book (MMO 4040), see www.musicminusone.com.
December 7, 2003Tokyo Broadcasting airs Williams syndrome specialTokyo Broadcasting System, which owns one of Japan's major televisions, aired a program on Williams syndrome on November 29, 2003. The Japanese TV crew was at the last session of the WS Music Camp at Belvoir Terrace in August, at Gloria Lenhoff's concert in San Diego in June, and at a number of the laboratories of WS researchers. Masahiko Sugimoto, a WS father who runs the WS web page in Japan, wrote that after the program, the web site had a record over 10,000 hits, and he received many emails from new WS families. He also wrote that the program was informative and gave a true picture of WS.
September 8, 2003Gloria Lenhoff's music featured on Public Radio Classical Music ProgramAlthough Gloria Lenhoff and numerous musicians with Williams syndrome have been interviewed on Public Radio in the past, today, September 8, 2003, marks a landmark event for musicians having Williams syndrome. This morning, Jefferson Public Radio, which serves a vast area in southern Oregon and Northern California, played a CD track featuring Gloria Lenhoff singing Samuel Barber's "Sure on This Shining Night", the words coming from a poem by James Agee. She was accompanied by Jeff Burnam of the University of Mississippi faculty. The piece is from one of the two CDs produced this year featuring Gloria. This one, "Gloria Lenhoff Live", will be available for donation/purchase from the Williams syndrome Foundation on October 7.
February 22, 2003BHMA, Tori Ackley and Lisa Walsh featured on NPROn February 19, 2003, the Berkshire Hills Music Academy was featured on local radio NPR affiliate WFCR 88.5FM. "In the next few months, college-bound high school seniors will hear from the schools and universities where they hope to spend the next four years. But it's a different story for young people with special needs, who have very few options available to them. The Berkshire Music School, in South Hadley, Massachusetts, has been established to help fill the gap. WFCR's Charlene Scott reports." (2/19/03)
January 18, 2003Trieana Moon Update -- MUSIC IN HER SOULTRAP/ Gifted Records is releasing our first CD. The CD
is entitled Trieana. The CD is available via internet at Planet CD. With my deepest gratitude and respect, To learn more about Gifted Artists Records, go to
http://www.giftedartistsrecords.com.
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Please send mail to williamssyndrome@insightbb.com with questions or comments about this web site.For additional information about Williams syndrome, please send an e-mail to hlenhoff@uci.edu.For contact with other Williams syndrome families --In the USA: please send e-mail to info@williams-syndrome.orgOutside the USA:
please visit our
International Williams Syndrome Support Groups page for
contact information.
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