The Children’s Museum of Richmond and the Faison School for Autism announce they will host Commonwealth Connect.

The Children’s Museum of Richmond and the Faison School for Autism will host Commonwealth Connect, an event to showcase area services and resources for families with special needs children. The event is scheduled for Saturday, November 15, 2015 from 9:30am to 3:30pm at the Children’s Museum of Richmond’s Central location (2626 W. Broad Street). Admission to Commonwealth Connect is free.

Families will have the opportunity to interact directly and learn from vendors who provide a variety of services to our special needs community. Also, you are invited to learn from experts through lectures during the event.

Morning Speaker: Dr. Gayle Smith, 10:00-10:45 AM

Panel Discussion: Valerie Bowman, MD; Adam Warman, M.S.; Liz Pearce, M.Ed.

Afternoon Speaker: DisAbility Law Center, 1:00-1:30 PM

“We are thrilled to partner with the Faison School to bring this event to the community,” said Karen Coltrane, CMoR president and CEO. “Given the very strong response to the museum’s Special Night for Special Needs program, we believe there are many families in our community who could benefit from a one-stop event to see the breadth of services available to assist.” Special Night for Special Needs events occur monthly and rotate among the Children’s Museum of Richmond’s four locations.  They are free and during these evenings CMoR is open from 5:30PM-7:30PM exclusively for families with children whose visit is enhanced through adaptive support.

“Faison’s partnership with CMoR for this special event represents the ability of two family focused programs to come together to provide valuable resources to the community at large within a safe and welcoming environment,” said Kathy Matthews, Faison VP of Education. “Families report that it is challenging to find needed resources and at Faison we are excited to announce our new Resource Navigation program at this fair, which helps connect families to resource providers both at Faison and in the greater community.” Faison’s Resource Navigation program utilizes individualized, case management strategies to support families as they seek to identify needed resources.

“Both the Children’s Museum of Richmond and Commonwealth Parenting, which is now housed at the museum, are committed to bringing all parents the information they need to do the best possible job they can as parents,” said Liz Pearce, M.Ed, the museum’s director of Parent Engagement. “This event is especially meaningful, because we know that these families need extra support, making it very gratifying to be able to introduce them to the services available to make their lives just a bit easier.”

About the Faison School

Founded in 1998, the Faison School is dedicated to giving individuals with neurodevelopmental delays the best chance to improve their life’s journey. Our philosophy is a holistic one, focusing on the individual, their family, and all those who touch and enrich their lives. Services include early intervention, educational services (lower and upper schools, life skills program, and independent learner community models), after school program, summer school and camps, outpatient services, adult day support, and residential services. Faison is located at 1701 Byrd Avenue, Richmond. For more information, please call 804-612-1947 or www.thefaisonschool.org

About The Children’s Museum of Richmond

The Children’s Museum of Richmond now has four locations, CMoR Central at 2626 West Broad Street in Richmond; CMoR Short Pump, located in West Broad Village at 2200 Old Brick Road in Glen Allen, CMoR Chesterfield at 6629 Lake Harbour Drive in Midlothian and CMoR Fredericksburg at 1275 Jefferson Davis Highway in Fredericksburg. The Children’s Museum of Richmond has been serving the community since 1981 with the mission to create innovative learning experiences for all children and those who support them that inspire the next generation of creative problem solvers.

In 2013, Commonwealth Parenting merged with The Children’s Museum of Richmond to combine the Museum’s hands-on learning experience & early education knowledge with Commonwealth Parenting’s expertise in parent education. Together and stronger than ever, CMoR and Commonwealth Parenting are helping children and their families grow & learn together.

For more information, please visit www.ChildrensMuseumOfRichmond.org or call (804) 474-7000.