Victory Junction Needs Campers!
Victory Junction has openings for Session 1, from June 14 to 18. This session serves children with bleeding disorders and GI-related diagnoses, including but not limited to: Crohn’s Disease, Ulcerative Colitis, Biliary Atresia, liver transplant recipients, Hemophilia, von Willebrand Disease, and Idiopathic Thrombocytopenia Purpura (ITP).
Camp is provided free of charge for campers and their families, and offers a medically-safe environment where children can build confidence, make lasting friendships, and simply get to be kids. You can learn more about Victory Junction at the website.
Families are encouraged to begin the application process as soon as possible. Please contact the camp at ReferAKid@VictoryJunction.org.
Sports for All in the Triangle Area
Endless Sports, a non-profit based in the Triangle area, provides inclusive sports programs for individuals with special needs and disabilities with a mission to create a fun, safe, and supportive environment where participants of all abilities can experience athletics, teamwork, and social connection. Adaptive programs include lacrosse, bowling, golf, and Esports. Programs are open to ages 4 to 50 and emphasize participation, enjoyment, and peer-to-peer support. The organization offers scholarships to remove barriers to participation and welcomes volunteers, who mentor and coach athletes.
NC Adapted Sports (NCAS) is a non-profit organization that offers adaptive and inclusive sports opportunities for children, teens, and adults with physical disabilities in the Triangle area. Programs include youth wheelchair basketball, boccia, adapted kayaking, adapted climbing, adapted mountain biking/off-road cycling, swim evaluations and aquatic access programs. The focus is on helping athletes build confidence, independence, fitness, and community through recreational and competitive sports. NCAS collaborates with local parks departments, YMCA, adaptive recreation groups, and national adaptive sports organizations.
Summer Fun with a Purpose
Looking for ways to keep your child learning while enjoying the summer? Here are some ideas that can help with learning retention, add variety to your days, and have fun together:
- Nature scavenger hunt: Create a visual checklist including words for items such as a smooth rock, a colorful flower, a spider web, ants, ladybugs, different types of leaves, a leaf with a hole in it … the possibilities are endless!
- Take a nature walk at a quiet park, which is great for early risers!
- Sensory bins: fill a plastic bin with dry rice, beans, or kinetic sand and hide small items for rainy day scavenger hunt.
- Artistic endeavor: Use water paints or sidewalk to take the fun outdoors and decorate the driveway, sidewalk, or fence.
- Blow bubbles with or for your child and have fun popping them, which can work on hand-eye coordination.
- Baking: Involve your child in measuring ingredients for simple recipes or have them use a butter knife to cut a roll of cookie dough.
- Build an indoor fort using chairs, pillows, and blankets to plan adventures.
- Create a calming corner or sensory space: Use blankets, pillows, fidgets, headphones, books, soft lighting or calming music to give your teen a comfortable place to recharge and self-regulate throughout the day.
- Create a sensory scavenger hunt: Hide items with different textures, colors, sounds or scents round the house and give simple clues or picture prompts to help your teen find them.
- Create an obstacle course using hula hoops, cardboard boxes, and pillows to support gross motor skills.
- Don’t forget visits to the library! Learn if your local library has summer activities planned that would be appropriate for children. Most libraries host a summer reading program open to all ages.
- Keep reading throughout the summer: Visit ReadWorks.org, a nonprofit educational technology organization that provides free, research-backed reading comprehension materials for K-12 educators and students.
- Make a summer memory project: Help your teen create a scrapbook, photo journal, or short videos about their summer experiences, favorite foods, friends, or goals.
- Schedule a regular create hour: Rotate activities like painting, LEGO builds, bracelet making, or music playlists encourage self-expression and focus.
Summer activities don’t have to be costly: use items you already have, purchase supplies at discount retailers, or join forces with another family to keep your children’s minds active and curious.
NC College Connect Launches this Fall
NC College Connect is a program that admits every North Carolina public high school senior on track to graduate from high school to participating UNC System universities, North Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities, and their local North Carolina community college where they already meet admissions requirements.
Students will receive an admission letter in September with a list of colleges and universities that have admitted them. Students can also log into the NC College Connect portal to learn about their personalized list of colleges.
Admissions is based on GPA, being on-track to graduate, having a 2.8 GPA or higher, being enrolled in a fourth-level math, and meeting program requirements for participating universities and colleges. Essays, test scores, and recommendation letters are not needed.
Learn more about this opportunity at the NC College Connect website.
Council on Educational Services for Exceptional Children
The Council on Educational Services for Exceptional Children (CESEC) meets quarterly and advises the NC State Board of Education (SBE) with respect to the unmet needs of children with special needs and in the development and implementation of policies related to the coordination of services for students with disabilities.
The Council meets virtually on June 17, 2026, at 9:30 a.m. The agenda and a link to the meeting are posted 10 business days prior to the meeting on the CESEC section of the website, linked here.
Any individual may submit a comment via written letter or email, which must be received at CESEC Email or Johanna Lynch by 4 p.m. 10 business days prior to the meeting date. Any comments submitted after that time will be read and/or distributed at a later date.
Additional information and requirements specific to public comment can be found on the CESEC website.
Family Support Opportunities in the North Central and Sandhills Regions
Family Support Network of North Carolina University Office pairs parents seeking support with a trained Parent Mentor with similar life experiences who provides one-to-one emotional and informational support. Other resources include support groups, workshops, service system navigation support, and information and referrals to additional resources.
Counties served: Wake, Durham, Orange, Chatham, and Person
GiGi's Playhouse Raleigh offers free therapeutic, educational, and research-driven programs to individuals of all ages with Down syndrome. Educational and social groups include services for speech, math, and literacy; social groups; music; cooking; dance; and career development.
Counties served: Wake
North Carolina Adapted Sports provides sports opportunities for individuals with disabilities. They focus on promoting inclusion and participation in various athletic activities, offering programs in sports such as wheelchair basketball, adapted cycling, adapted climbing, adapted kayaking, and more. The organization aims to enhance physical fitness, social interaction, and overall well-being for participants, fostering a supportive community and encouraging athletes of all abilities.
Counties served: Triangle Area
Coastal BUDS-Bringing Up Down Syndrome supports, connects, and provides resources and opportunities for people with Down syndrome and their families. Programs include swim camp, a book club, mom’s night out, support meetings, a lending library for parents, and a life skills program Down to Cook.
Counties served: Columbus
Family Support Network of Southeastern NC provides training and resources to families of children who have special healthcare needs or disabilities, including parent-to-parent support, information and referral, support groups, inclusive community-based family activities, and workshops and training for families and service providers.
Counties served: Brunswick. Bladen, Columbus, Cumberland, Robeson, and Sampson
There’s Still Time to Complete the Parent Survey!
The 2025-2026 Exceptional Children Parent Survey will accept responses until June 30, 2026. If you have not yet completed the survey, please consider doing so. Your participation in your child’s education is very important to us. As a parent, family member, or guardian of a student with a disability, you know firsthand what is working and what is not. Therefore, each year, the Office of Exceptional Children (OEC) gathers feedback from families through a survey to improve services. We want to know your views on how your school involves you in your child’s education: Let your voice be heard, Complete the 2025-2026 Exceptional Children Parent Survey Now!
The survey is voluntary and anonymous, and is available through all Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) and open to all parents in the state. If you have more than one child with a disability receiving services, you may complete the survey for each child. The survey is open to parents with children from preschool through high school.
The survey consists of six questions and takes fewer than two minutes to complete. The information is confidential and will not be shared with anyone. The information from all families will be compiled to create a report about your school system, the state, the efforts to involve families in their children’s education, and the impact of that involvement on educational results for students with disabilities. The report is shared with LEAs so they can make improvements. We hope you will participate.
Agencies of Interest:
Office of Special Education Programs (U.S. Department of Education)
N.C. Department of Public Instruction
Upcoming Events:
Autism Society of North Carolina
Autism Speaks
The Center for Appropriate Dispute Resolution in Special Education
Exceptional Children's Assistance Center
Family Support Network
National Alliance on Mental Illness
NC ABLE
NC Down Syndrome Alliance
Special Olympics North Carolina
Triangle Disability & Autism Services
Do you have an event you would like to share with the community? Please email with information.
Contact information:
Johanna Lynch, IDEA Parent Liaison
Office of Exceptional Children, NCDPI
Email: johanna.lynch@dpi.nc.gov
Historical newsletters can be found in the Parent Newsletter Google Folder.
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