By Journal Staff
he Revere Commission on Disabilities held its regular monthly meeting last Tuesday (September 10) via Zoom. Chair Ralph DeCicco, vice-chair Pauline Perno, and fellow members Annemarie Fiore, Jason Barone-Cichocki, and Mario Grimanis were on hand for the session.
The guest speaker was Karen Gage, who is the CEO and founder of KidvoKit. Gage, a Newton parent and education technology specialist who has a child with learning disabilities, launched KidvoKit to support parents of special needs children in managing their child’s education. According to the KidvoKit web site, AI is utilized “to make it easier and faster for parents to get the insights they need to advocate effectively for their kids with disabilities.”
KidvoKit organizes documentation from the school and utilizes an AI assistant that can answer parents’ questions about special education policies. “Parents of special ed. kids struggle in trying to advocate for their child’s educational needs and feel lost, and schools lack time to educate parents,” said Gage, who also noted that parents typically do not share their child’s Individual Education Plan (IEP) with other parents, which means that parents do not have the benefit of learning from each other’s experiences in achieving an appropriate Individual Education IEP for their child.
“The idea is that a Digital IEP Assistant can help parents navigate this complicated process that can take parents up to five or six years before they understand it,” Gage added.
Gage then gave a demonstration of KidvoKit for the members of the commission. “We want to empower parents to feel like they understand the process and that they are able to advocate for their child,” said Gage.
“You have put a lot of heart and soul into this and I commend you,” said Perno.
DeCicco noted that he had sent information about KidvoKit to the Director of Special Education for the Revere schools and to the local Special Education Parents Advisory Council (SEPAC).
DeCicco presented a recap regarding the All-Abilities Day Out that was held at Revere Beach on Saturday, August 17, in conjunction with DCR with grant funds provided by Save the Harbor/Save the Bay. DeCicco thanked the Revere Parks and Rec. Dept. with setting up the equipment and Fire Chief Chris Bright for having two firefighters on hand.
“There was one woman who was in tears because she was able to get in the water for the first time by using the accessible wheelchair,” said DeCicco, a sentiment echoed by Perno, who noted that others who attended the day also were grateful for being able to have access to the water and be safe.
“To see so many people happy in one place was a nice change of pace,” said Perno.
DeCicco added that two accessible beach chairs are available at the DCR’s Shirley Ave. bathhouse and said he will be advocating to increase that number to four or five.
“It was really a nice day,” said Fiore. “The crowd there was really having a good time.”
DeCicco reported to the commission about the most recent CODA (Commissions on Disabilities Alliance) monthly Zoom meeting that was held on Wednesday, September 4.
Julie Brown, the President of the local SEPAA, did not provide any new updates, but said that SEPAC always is looking for any and all interested parties to join them, either as board members, volunteers, or overall support. Anyone interested in getting more involved with SEPAC Revere can send an email to [email protected] or call Julie Brown at 617-817-265
Perno read the commission’s usual reminder to close the meeting:
“The Commission on Disabilities office number is 781-286-8267. Residents can also call Revere 311 directly and speak to their staff Monday through Friday. They will answer most questions, but if they are unable to or if you want to speak to our department directly, ask to be transferred to the Disability office. Please leave a detailed message and someone will get back to you as soon as possible.
“As always, please tell us if you want something discussed or added to our monthly meeting agenda. You can let us know if you would like to speak on any issue or concern. The Commission is here to help and assist all the disabled residents and families of Revere.”
The commission’s next meeting: (via Zoom) will be Tuesday, October 8, at 6:00 PM.
