Texas Governor's Committee on People with Disabilities-Input Needed!

From the Texas Department of State Health Services:

The Texas Governor’s Committee on People with Disabilities (the Committee) seeks your input on issues facing Texans with disabilities. Every two years, the Committee makes policy recommendations to the Governor and the Legislature on issues related to Texans with disabilities. Your input will help the Committee create policy recommendations that respond to the needs of the community.

The Committee wants to hear from Texans with disabilities, family members, caregivers, and professionals in the field of disability issues. If you would like to include outside data in your responses, please feel free to paste the data or link to the data in the open-ended response sections. This survey is anonymous. It will be open from August 27, 2014 to September 10, 2014. Survey responses will then be reviewed and considered as the Committee creates its policy recommendations for the 84th Texas State Legislative Session, which will begin in January 2015. We estimate that the survey will take about 5-10 minutes to complete. Thank you for participation in this important survey.

Link to Survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/C79S2DL.


We encourage you to forward the survey in your communities who may be interested in taking the survey. Thank you.

Calling All Pediatric Therapists-2015 Medical Mission Trip to Costa Rica!

Are you a therapist who has a passion for working with children with disabilities?  Do you love adventure and the travel?  Why not combine the two!!

Speech Therapist Cathy Alexander is organizing a medical mission trip to Alajuela, Costa Rica with tentative dates of July 18-July 26, 2015.  Volunteers will be working with children with disabilities at their school, Escuela Enseñanzana Especial Marta Saborio, providing therapy services to the children as well as caregiver education to the families and the staff who care for the children every day.  Therapists will also make adjustments and modifications to donated adaptive equipment to fit the needs of individual children who may benefit from the equipment.

Volunteers are not required to be bilingual but if you are it is definitely a plus!

The exact cost of the 2015 trip has not yet been determined.  The cost of the 2014 trip was $1425 per person which included airfare, lodging, and the majority of meals.  Scholarships may be available for those who qualify!

Volunteers will also have several opportunities during the trip to have fun as well!  Activities on the 2014 trip included touring a coffee plantation, Poas volcano national park, and free time for exploring and enjoying all that Costa Rica has to offer!

If you can't attend the trip but would still like to contribute, donations are welcome!!  All of the equipment given to the children is generously donated so if you or someone you know has pediatric wheelchairs, walkers, gait trainers, standers, bath chairs or other equipment they are no longer using please consider donating it to this great cause.

For more information on the trip, please contact Cathy Alexander at CathyLAlexander@hotmail.com or (281) 923-0441. Informational meetings will be held in January 2015!

Alajuela, Costa Rica

With modern amenities, local charm and a close proximity to the international airport, Alajuela is a convenient base for sightseeing in the Central Valley. Although Costa Rica’s second largest city, Alajuela maintains a provincial atmosphere where locals relax on front porches greeting passersby, and mango season incites a lively festival city wide. Boasting a movie theater, mall, internet cafes and plenty of shopping, Alajuela has all the frills of a modern city, but moves at a gentler pace and is easier to navigate than nearby San Jose. 

Surrounded by farms and coffee plantations, Alajuela serves as capital of Alajuela Province and remains a principal trade center for cattle, sugar and coffee. Locals are known for their friendly demeanor and penchant for bestowing amusing nicknames on friends, neighbors and even strangers. People watching is best in the picturesque central park, where children play near the fountain and vendors sell granizados, shaved ice topped with sweet syrup, fruit and condensed milk. 

Every Saturday morning, Alajuela hosts one of the largest outdoor farmers' markets in the country. Flowers, fresh produce, handicrafts and local music are offered at this traditional event. Whether exploring the maze of stalls at the Saturday market, or sampling authentic Costa Rican fare in the central market, Alajuela gives visitors a glimpse of rural Costa Rican life with all the comforts of a contemporary city.

Our Very Own Cathy Alexander Is A Published Author!

MedCare is excited and so proud of one of our very talented speech therapists, Mrs. Cathy Alexander, M.A., CCC-SLP!  She has just published a book of reproducible word cards for articulation and vocabulary with Super Duper Publications!

Teach essential core curriculum vocabulary and reinforce articulation skills at the same time! Core Curriculum Articulation is a reproducible book of word cards with grade-level core curriculum vocabulary words targeting the S, R, and L phonemes!

The 752 research-based, core curriculum vocabulary words include: 192 /L/ cards – 64 each for grades K–2 240 /R/ cards – 48 each for grades 1–5 320 /S/ cards – 64 each for grades 1–5 Each card includes a: Core curriculum vocabulary word for that grade. Definition of the word. Phrase using the target word. Sentence using the target word with at least one more occurrence of the target phoneme. Simple picture to help the student learn and remember the vocabulary word. The book can be purchased here on Super Duper Publications website! Cathy also has another wonderful product available here, a board game called "WH" Question Blastoff!  3…2…1…Blast Off! Everyone from rocket scientists to students will love playing this "Wh" Question Blast-Off game. Astronaut players travel in orbit around the board. As they answer "Wh" questions, they launch their space rockets into space to reach the moon. First person to launch all 10 rockets wins!  Congratulations Cathy on your accomplishments!!  Your MedCare family is very proud of you!