We Saved You a Seat

Lauren Alvarez, M.A. helps us look at great information from experts in the field of neuroscience and ADHD to build a better understanding of what is going on in the ADHD brain and effective strategies for individuals, parents and schools to help manage the brain and behaviors to benefit all involved.

Presentation:  https://canva.link/5s93ffiy8l8l0m9

 

 

Sam The I Can Man Foundation | Grant Giving Non-Profit

Featuring the Sam, The I Can Man Foundation

Learn about:

• Services and Opportunities offered by the Sam, The I Can Man Foundation
• Honor the life of Sam “The I Can Man” by giving people with differing abilities the opportunity to realize they can too!​

"Sam Weyrich (2000-2024) was a vibrant, fun, young man who had significant disabilities due to a demyelinating disorder called Aicardi Goutieres Syndrome (AGS). Sam lived each moment of each day fully. He sported a huge smile, never complained, and inspired us to live…

​Sam coined the name "The I Can Man" when he taught us that despite his differing abilities, he was capable of anything. 

​Because of Sam’s “I Can Too” mentality, these are many things that Sam did and we hope they might give you inspiration as to what YOU can do…

• Horseback Riding

• Adaptive Baseball

• Grand Canyon River Rafting

• Skiing

• Ropes Courses

• Zip Lining

• Rock Climbing

• Running

• Swimming

• Dancing

• ​Art Class

• Boating

• Fishing

• Swimming with Dolphins

• Archery

• Biking

• Tubing

• Attending Concerts and Musicals

• Attending Sports Games and Tailgates

• Going to the Kentucky Derby

And so much more!

Welcome to the sixth and final release of my conversation with Salena King-Coughlin. As an educator and researcher, Salena digs into the numbers of Oklahoma families who are tied to maternal morbidity. She shares ideas and additional ways to plan or advocate when you truly feel like you have exhausted all advocacy avenues. 

I am so grateful to Salena for sharing her story and experience. She is a wife, educator, infant mental health specialist, Oklahoman, and mom who wants to better her community and state for those giving birth!  

I know we are both hopeful that by Salena sharing her experience it will provide awareness, education, and conversation to the topic of maternal morbidity and mortality, as well as support for others who have experienced similar birth trauma and postpartum complications. 

We don’t have all the answers, but I know we should all feel comfortable becoming part of the conversation and solution to help keep mothers and babies safe throughout pregnancy, delivery, and the postpartum period. 

On behalf of Salena and myself I want to say thank you for listening to the hard conversation describing what Salena and her family walked through. 

 

Every mom matters; every life matters!

Part five of Salena’s story continues to focus on her postpartum journey of advocacy, CT scans, readmission, and survival.

Thank you for listening to one story that represents many more. It’s not easy to walk back through the trauma of what happened, and we are incredibly grateful that Salena could share her story with us, and you felt brave enough to listen.

This is part five of six of my conversation with Salena. Thank you for joining us and helping us provide a little context to maternal morbidity and mortality. 

Welcome to part four of my conversation with Salena King-Coughlin. In today’s episode, we begin our discussion on the postpartum experience and care Salena had.

Salena has walked us through her pregnancy, delivery, NICU, and now we begin hearing about what it was like for her in the period of postpartum, or what has been termed, "the 4th trimester". 

Thank you for allowing us to break down a long conversation into smaller, digestible episodes, each shedding a new light on different aspects of maternal morbidity and mortality.

Welcome back for part three with Salena King-Coughlin. If you haven't had the opportunity to listen to parts one and two, we hope you'll go back and listen to catch up on how we got here.  Salena's daughter, Sophia, landed in NICU, and this episode walks us through the emotional stress of this experience from someone who understands and studies infant mental health and attachment.  

 

We are so thankful for Salena sharing her story and helping so many others understand how heavy this is to carry as a parent.

We continue our conversation with Salena King-Coughlin as she shares details about her delivery and some of the chaos that ensues. She shares ways she advocated for herself and her baby, as well as some moments that are hard for many to comprehend.  

Salena King-Coughlin is mom to Sophia and wife to Tyler. She has her PhD, Infant Mental Health Endorsement, is a Certified Family Life Educator, and at the time of our recording was pursuing her graduate certificate in public health. Her journey through pregnancy, delivery, NICU, and recovery is the focus of this series tied to Maternal Morbidity and Mortality.  

 

Thank you, Salena, for sharing your experience and helping others learn how to advocate for themselves or the mothers and babies in their lives.

Today we’re diving into an issue which is important to Meske and affects thousands of Oklahoma families, though it doesn’t always get the attention it deserves: early developmental screenings.

Meske provided We Saved You A Seat with lots of statistics:

• 65% of Oklahoma children between 9 and 35 months old are not receiving developmental screenings.
• Early intervention from birth costs ≈ $37,000 per child. Delayed intervention starting at age 6 costs ≈ $53,000. ➝ $16,000 more per child when we wait.
• In a 2016 Quality of Care report, OHCA shared that only 16.4% of children received a developmental screening during their first three years of life.
• The same 2016 report also noted that 56.5% of children aged three to six covered by SoonerCare received recommended well-child visits, compared to 72.2% nationally. https://www.okhca.org/about.aspx?id=22619
• Every $1 spent on early screening and intervention yields up to $17 in societal savings. (Healthcare, special ed, justice system)

When kids are identified early for developmental delays or challenges, it can change the entire trajectory of their lives. They can get the support, resources, and interventions that help them thrive at home, at school, and in their communities. When screenings don’t happen — or happen too late — children and families are left struggling, and often the cost to both the family and the state is much greater down the road.

This conversation is especially important right now, because an interim study on developmental screenings is scheduled at the Oklahoma State Capitol on October 2nd from 9:00 to 11:30 AM in Room 5S2. 

This study was introduced by Representative Ellen Pogemiller and it grew from a constituent’s story — Meske and her boys’ journey through the system. Meske knows firsthand why early screenings matter, and today she’s here to share how her family’s experience is shaping policy conversations at the state level.

If you care about giving kids the best start in life, here’s one simple action you can take whether you are able to show your support in person or not- contact your legislator and ask them to attend the October 2nd interim study. The more lawmakers hear these stories and see the data, the better chance we have of building a system that works for families across Oklahoma. 

We encourage people to be there for this interim study or watch online-if you're a parent on this journey, an educator, therapist or someone who just wants to learn more, there is something for all of us to learn.

If there is a resource out there, there's a good chance Meske has found it. Meske has been trained in Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI), Partners in Policymaking (PIP), Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT), Circle of Security and so many others.

In this episode, Meske provides us with a glimpse into her experience with SoonerStart, Early Head Start, the struggle of trying to navigate public transportation, and highlights so many other wonderful resources Oklahoman's have access to, but doesn't always know where to find them or who to ask.

This episode truly mentions and speaks briefly on some of the resources Meske has utilized or knows about and we have provided links to all of them below, should you want to know more.

TBRI:  https://child.tcu.edu/about-us/tbri/#sthash.sO4iWECF.dpbs

 

Lilyfield: Lilyfield

 

Empower OKC:  EmpowerOKC

 

Circle of Security:  Circle of Security International 

 

Sunbeam Family Services:  Homepage | Sunbeam

 

SoonerStart:  SoonerStart

 

Making Sense of your Worth: Making Sense of Your Worth - Halo Project