UPLIFT

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They bring a wealth of lived experience to their roles and look forward to supporting your family with respect and compassion. Message us here, or send an email through our website, to connect.

Our Staff & Board — UPLIFT https://share.google/fSrlLVcCv447KGJbL

Get those tickets, now!

🎬🚗 Did you know Cars, Ci**rs & Guitars Under the Stars has been nationally televised on Motor Trend TV, Discovery Channel, and Velocity?

This isn't just Cheyenne's best car show—it's on the national radar. And this year, The Arc of Laramie County is one of four featured charity recipients.
That means every ticket, every raffle entry, every dollar spent on August 15 directly supports people with intellectual and developmental disabilities right here in Laramie County.

📅 August 15 | 3–8 PM | Frontier Park Exhibition Hall
🎟️ Event tickets: https://www.carscigarsguitars.com/event-tickets
🏍️ Kawasaki MULE Raffle: https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/motorsport-raffle-cars-cigars-and-guitars-under-the-stars
Be there.
**rs

"Empathy instead of eyesight"... 🥰

One of the strangest things in society is how quickly accommodations get mistaken for rewards when the disability is invisible.

Extra time.
Movement breaks.
Headphones.
Typing instead of handwriting.
A quieter room.
Flexible working.
Rest breaks.
Visual prompts.
Reduced sensory input.

People sometimes talk about these things as if someone has “won” something.

But accommodations are not prizes.

They are often the difference between participation and complete collapse.

It is a bit like looking at someone in a wheelchair and saying:
“Well, you’re lucky you get to sit down all day.”

That person is not sitting because life is easier for them.
They are sitting because without the chair, access becomes harder or impossible.

And yet somehow when the need is neurological instead of physical, society often loses the ability to understand this.

Because people cannot see processing speed.
They cannot see working memory overload.
They cannot see sensory pain.
They cannot see the effort it takes for some children to remain regulated in a noisy classroom for six straight hours.

They just see:
“special treatment.”

What they do not see is the child spending twice as long decoding the words on the page.
The child whose brain drifts away every few minutes no matter how desperately they try to focus.
The child holding themselves together all day before melting down completely at home from the sheer exhaustion of coping.

Accommodations are not lowering expectations.
They are often the only reason the expectation can be accessed at all.

Fairness was never supposed to mean giving every person the exact same thing.
Fairness is understanding that humans do not all start from the same place.

We understand this easily with glasses.
With insulin.
With wheelchairs.
With hearing aids.
With blood glucose monitors.

But the moment support involves the brain, behaviour, attention, processing, communication or sensory regulation, people suddenly start debating whether the person has “earned” help.

Sometimes I think the real issue is this:

Invisible disabilities force people to rely on empathy instead of eyesight.
And not everyone has learned how to do that yet.

The program takes effect July 1 and will allow students from low-income families to use federal Pell Grant money for certificate programs ranging from eight to 15 weeks that are offered through eligible colleges and universities and authorized by the federal government and state governors. Those programs should yield certificates in high-demand fields.

This spring's high school graduates who don’t want to enroll in college could qualify for new federal aid to pursue short-term workforce training programs.

💼 Read more: https://bit.ly/3PNEYHW

Did you know?

PSA Kinship foster care isn't just for relatives- it's for EVERYONE! Do you know a child in foster care? Are you the child's neighbor, teacher, daycare provider, family friend or is the child a friend of your own child? If so, YOU can be a kinship foster care provider and we need YOU!

Children do best with people and staying in homes that they are familiar with. Help keep children connected while supporting the children and families you know and care deeply for!

The Wyoming Department of Family Services can complete the certification of a kinship foster care provider AFTER placement has been made. Support services will also be provided, including financial and medical services for the child!



Learn more about kinship care at https://dfs.wyo.gov/services/child-youth-services/foster-care-foster-care-training/

The Arc of the United States | Disability Rights, Advocacy & Inclusion The Arc of the United States is the nation's leading nonprofit advancing the rights and inclusion of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Explore our programs, advocacy, and resources that promote community participation, equality, and opportunity for all.

May is National Foster Care Month. Wyoming has the highest need for foster care providers who can care for: teens, children with special needs, and sibling groups.

We work hard to keep sibling groups together. This means we need MORE homes to welcome these groups of children into their care in order to keep them together.

ALL children, no matter their age, need, or group size should have the BEST home to be welcomed into, can it be your home???

Reach out to your local foster care coordinator TODAY!
https://dfs.wyo.gov/services/child-youth-services/foster-care-foster-care-training/

Your child's behaviour may be a cry for help.....