OCCTAC News - July 2020
OCCTAC Gives Back!
OCCTAC received a generous donation of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to distribute during this public health emergency and we were blessed to share it with our OCCTAC families and community! A huge thank you for donating face masks and hand sanitizer to Eva Casas-Sarmiento, Attorney for the non-profit legal advocacy organization called the Office of Clients' Rights Advocacy, a unit of Disability Rights California AND the CA Department of Developmental Services (DDS). On two separate dates in June and July 2020, OCCTAC employees volunteered a portion of their Saturday to distribute PPE to families in a drive-thru setting at our center. We distributed a total of 2000 face masks and 300 hand sanitizers to our community! Randy Ruiz, OCCTAC instructor & videographer, captured some of the joy of the experience here in these videos, both in English and Spanish versions:
English https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNvR2nGm1qs&t=60s
Spanish https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ngm2PuEP-eI&t=8s
OCCTAC Early Start Program Offers A Summertime Creativity Break for Young Artists
Even the youngest OCCTAC students have transitioned to online learning and activities. This July, our Early Start & Pre-K Coordinator, Claudia Maravilla, adapted the annual summer program for virtual learning with the “Summer Storytime” 4-week interactive program based on the art and literature of beloved children’s author Eric Carle. Here are what some of our Early Start parents had to say about this year’s program:
“As a mom I’m so thankful for the art class that Miss Claudia is having this summer. My son had brain surgery last year at the age of 3. His recovery has been amazing! Therapeutic art has helped him tremendously with his recovery. We have watched him really enjoy expressing himself through art. He gets very excited when it’s time to join our Zoom class. He gets his art material ready by himself and even reminds me that I need to print out the activity for that day. As a family we just love to see how much he loves this art class. We would love for this class to continue as we know how much he enjoys it. Thank you so much Miss Claudia!” –Maria Delgado
Interview With the Family Mentoring Program
OCCTAC’s Family Mentoring Program’s purpose is to increase access to services and support the families who have a child or a youth with special needs. The program empowers caregivers to become active, knowledgeable advocates for their children by providing health navigation support and increase the families' access to services to help their child reach their fullest potential. One of the FM program staff stated the following:
“Many of our families have experienced joblessness and food insecurity, causing mental stress. We have been scouting out resources in the community for our families, including food, financial assistance and technology assistance. Our caseload has increased by 50, and our case managers have leaned even on more art therapy for our clients to help with their stress. One client, Sydney M., who is on the autism spectrum, learned how to use a task analysis Velcro chart to help with organizing their day. Victor M.’s mother received rocks and paint and taught Victor how to create special art projects."
“With the arrival of COVID-19 and the challenges it brings, it is not a surprise that everyone is experiencing difficulties. It is a time for us to focus on the basics and build upon that.”—Angie Vasquez, FM program.
OCCTAC ONLINE FALL CLASSES!
For more information please visit our website at:
Or call (714) 547.5468 to speak with our staff.
Free Virtual Mental Wellness Workshop For Parents And Teens/Youth
Through OCCTAC’s commitment to mental wellness and our partnership with OC MECCA, we are offering a series of educational Mental Wellness workshops via Zoom to our community. Zoom is a virtual conference app that is free to download and use.
