The Chris Walsh Center for Educators and Families of MetroWest will be hosting Call-in Hours from Oct. 4 to Dec. 10 for parents, caregivers, and educators. As the center’s Graduate Assistant and a student in Framingham State University’s MA in Counseling Psychology Program, I will be taking the calls.

Calling times are available Tuesday afternoons from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and Wednesday evenings from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

In an effort to keep the lines open for other clients, these sessions will be time limited. However, longer sessions are available over Zoom by appointment.

The Call-in Hours act as a resource for parents, caregivers, and educators whose situation falls in line with the Center’s mission to serve children with unmet needs. The hours will also provide the Center with a way to connect with the community. The Center is open to community suggestions on resources, topics to look at, and other ideas for consideration.

The call can even just be to talk through a situation. Having raised two children myself who had problems arise in their education, I know how stressful it is. You don't know where to go and sometimes you just need someone to talk to.

The driving force in putting together the Call-in Hours was to provide not only a resource, but an outlet for clients to discuss their problems with someone who can relate and who can provide advice and further resources. With my education being in psychology, I am able to provide that support aspect to the Call-in Hours.

Clients should not feel reluctant to call the Center. There is a lot of availability in terms of call time with the hours just recently starting up. I encourage everyone to call in.

At the end of this month’s newsletter, you’ll find our resource of the month. Feel free to call in if you have any further questions about the Dyslexia Guidelines’ content.

Virtual Book Discussion for Parents & Educators:​ Sincerely, Your Autistic Child​ Edited by Emily Paige Ballou, Sharon daVanport, and Morénike Giwa Onaiwu​

Monday, Dec. 6th, 3:30 – 4:30 p.m. or​

Wednesday, Dec. 8th, 7 – 8 p.m.​

Online Video Chat (on Zoom)

Register on Eventbrite.

This event is open to the MetroWest community parents, family members and educators as well as FSU students, faculty and staff. Discussion will be facilitated by Dr. James Cressey’s Education Department students from his course “Inclusive Practices for Students with Disabilities.”

Sincerely, Your Autistic Child: What People on the Autism Spectrum Wish Their Parents Knew About Growing up, Acceptance and Identity is a collection of pieces by writers from the Autistic Women and Nonbinary Network. This book is a diverse collection of autistic voices that highlights how parents can avoid common mistakes and misconceptions, and make their child feel truly accepted, valued, and celebrated for who they are.

Register by November 12th, and the Chris Walsh Center will provide you access to Sincerely, Your Autistic Child.

The center's new website has officially been launched, but continues to grow each week, thanks to the work of our interns and staff. The center values accessibility and want our content to be available for everyone. Therefore, we are seeking reviewers to navigate the site and give us feedback. We are especially interested in users with a variety disabilities to test out the accessibility of the site. If you are willing to serve as a website reviewer, please contact us at chriswalshcenter@framingham.edu.