JA Family Education Day

JA Family Education Day features medical professionals from Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford University and the University of California, San Francisco.  If there are other hospitals/medical professionals that would like to be involved, we always need additional help!

Parents enjoy interactive discussions with pediatric rheumatologists and workshop leaders from both of these outstanding universities as well as other health professionals from around the Bay Area.  Children’s activities are educational and fun. To register for JA Family Education Day, click here.

Juvenile Arthritis National Conference, Indianapolis, IN

The JA National Conference provides both educational and fun experiences along with many new resources for families.  The Arthritis Foundation, Northern California Chapter does have some scholarships available on a first come, first serve basis.  Below are the different tracks available to families.

Children and Teen Program: This program is organized by age groups, and each group is supervised by a team of highly experienced program activity leaders (PALs) including pediatric rheumatology health professionals, teachers, and parents of children with rheumatic diseases.  All activities are designed to help children and teens overcome obstacles, recognize and accept differences in themselves and others, and to build and maintain rewarding friendships that can last a lifetime.

Young Adult Program: A young adult track is offered to people ages 18 and older and focuses on special concerns such as communication, social issues, health management, and self-advocacy as they relate to young individuals.

Parent Program: The parent program is designed to help parents learn as much as possible about their child’s arthritis and/or related conditions and their care, as well as the effects on the whole family.  The workshops help answer many of the questions parents have about treatment, the role of the family, school issues, dealing with emotions, coping mechanisms, and support groups. 

Scholarships are available, download the JA Conference scholarship application.

Camp Milagros, Valley of the Moon Camp, Glen Ellen, CA

Established in 2002, Camp Milagros (Spanish for “Miracles”) is the only camp in Northern California developed specifically for children ages 8-13 with JA or related disease.

The purpose of this five day-four night camp is to educate children on how to manage their life-long disease by building self-esteem through sports, arts and crafts, and other camp activities.

Camp offers a positive learning and growing environment for children with arthritis and related diseases.  The camp provides opportunities for children to discover and develop new skills and ways to interact with their peers.  This discovery and personal growth will enable the children to continue developing their lifelong skills in disease self-management.

Families are requested to contribute a $50 registration fee, which can be waived upon request.

Click here to download the Camp Milagros registration packet.

Please note:  There will be bus pick-up locations in Walnut Creek and Los Gatos at no extra charge to families.

 
View the 2010 Camp Milagros Video.

Teen Retreat, Headlands Institute, Sausalito, CA

Established in 2007, the Teen Retreat has already proven to be a very positive addition to our current JA Programs.

The idea to start a retreat specifically for teens, ages 14-18, with Juvenile Arthritis came after our JA Committee decided a program was needed to keep our Camp Milagros (which caps at age 13) participants involved with the resources of the Arthritis Foundation.  In addition to offering a mechanism for former campers to stay involved, the committee wanted to provide this age group with continuing information on self-managing their arthritis, at a time when independence, self reliance and peer pressure become important parts of a teenager’s life.

The Teen Retreat offers a safe environment for teenagers to get to know one another and grow individually as well.  We hope that they will increase valuable life skills, such as utilizing public transportation, staying safe in a new city, and the value of connecting with other teenagers who understand personally the challenges that their peers work through daily.  This discovery and personal growth will assist each of these teens in developing lifelong skills in many aspects of life, including self-management of their disease.

Families are requested to contribute a $100 registration fee, which can be waived upon request.  Download the Teen Retreat application packet.