Catch up on the latest news in the PWS community by listening to this edition of the PWS United podcast.  LINKS PWSA | USA's Podcast has a New Name! - Prader-Willi Syndrome Association | USA (pwsausa.org) Service Dog at Home and at School - Prader-Willi Syndrome Association | USA (pwsausa.org) Obtaining and Training a Service Dog - Prader-Willi Syndrome Association | USA (pwsausa.org) Getting a Service Dog - Prader-Willi Syndrome Association | USA (pwsausa.org) Home - 2025 United in Hope PWS Conference (cventevents.com) Arizona Grand Resort & Spa - Reservations - Room Availability Search (synxis.com) 2025 PWS Conference Mural Photo Submission - Prader-Willi Syndrome Association | USA (pwsausa.org) Golf | The RMC Foundation Home | Celebrate National PWS Awareness Day 2024 (justgiving-sites.com) PWS Advocates in Minnesota Meet with Rep. Angie Craig: A Meaningful Step in Advocacy - Prader-Willi Syndrome Association | USA (pwsausa.org) Narcolepsy in PWS - Prader-Willi Syndrome Association | USA (pwsausa.org) PWS Moms' Hiking Weekend - Prader-Willi Syndrome Association | USA (pwsausa.org) Ask Nurse Lynn: Food Anxiety - Prader-Willi Syndrome Association | USA (pwsausa.org) TREND Webinar Registration - Zoom Family Support Webinar: Friendships and Beyond - Navigating Relationships and Sexuality in PWS (youtube.com) Conference 2025 - IPWSO (scroll down to see Calls for Abstracts info) Project Echo - Prader-Willi Syndrome Association | USA (pwsausa.org) Residential Provider Directory - Prader-Willi Syndrome Association | USA (pwsausa.org) Share Your Halloween Tips and Tricks for PWSA | USA's PWS United Podcast - Prader-Willi Syndrome Association | USA (pwsausa.org)

In this PWS United episode, we’re reflecting on Direct Support Professionals Week, which took place between September 8th and 14th. This special week is dedicated to honoring the incredible individuals who provide essential care and support to those living with developmental disabilities, including PWS. PWSA | USA CEO, Stacy Ward, leads an important discussion on the history and significance of this week, and how direct support professionals continue to make a difference in the PWS community. Joining Stacy are four remarkable experts: Patrice Carroll from Latham Centers, Nicole Tingley from DD Homes, Lynn Garrick from AME Community Services, and Marguerite Rupnow from Prader-Willi Homes. Together, they share how their organizations celebrated the week and continue to highlight the vital role direct support professionals play in enhancing lives every day. Important Links: Residential Provider Directory: https://www.pwsausa.org/residential-directory/ PWSA | USA Website: https://www.pwsausa.org/

(Please note, this episode was recorded under the name PWS Connect, and we have since changed the name to PWS United.) We're bringing the newest edition of our Pulse newsletter, this time with some conversation and personal insight. Catch up on the latest news in the PWS community by listening to this edition of the PWS United podcast. LINKS Join PWS Connect on Discord TREND Connect Community and Research Initiative (google.com) The Importance of Newborn Screening - Prader-Willi Syndrome Association | USA (pwsausa.org) Share Your Story - Prader-Willi Syndrome Association | USA (pwsausa.org) 2025 United in Hope Conference - Prader-Willi Syndrome Association | USA (pwsausa.org) PWS Rare Aware Art Share - Prader-Willi Syndrome Association | USA (pwsausa.org) 2025 PWS Conference Mural Photo Submission - Prader-Willi Syndrome Association | USA (pwsausa.org) Arizona Grand Resort & Spa - Reservations - Room Availability Search (synxis.com) Empowering Heroes: Residential Providers Conference - Prader-Willi Syndrome Association | USA (pwsausa.org) Gavin Gill Classic - Prader-Willi Syndrome Association | USA (pwsausa.org) Answers for Audrey - Prader-Willi Syndrome Association | USA (pwsausa.org) 2024 #RAREis Global Advocate Grant (rareiscommunity.com) FDA Advisory Committee to Review DCCR as Treatment for Hyperphagia in PWS - Prader-Willi Syndrome Association | USA (pwsausa.org) Creating a Safe Home - Prader-Willi Syndrome Association | USA (pwsausa.org) Friendship and Beyond: Navigating relationships and sexuality in PWS with Patrice Carroll webinar registration Webinar Registration - Zoom Family Support Webinar: Creating an Individualized Health Plan (youtube.com) Grandparents Day 2024 - Prader-Willi Syndrome Association | USA (pwsausa.org) Call for 2025 Conference Abstracts Conference 2025 - IPWSO ECHO Feeding and Swallowing Registration Meeting Registration - Zoom ECHO Psychiatry and PWS Registration Meeting Registration - Zoom ECHO Exercise Physiology Registration Meeting Registration - Zoom VNS4PWS Clinical Trial: What You Need to Know (youtube.com) Harmony Biosciences Initiates TEMPO PWS Study - Prader-Willi Syndrome Association | USA (pwsausa.org) PWS Clinics - Prader-Willi Syndrome Association | USA (pwsausa.org) Clinical Trials - Prader-Willi Syndrome Association | USA (pwsausa.org) africke@pwsausa.org

(Please note, this episode was recorded under the name PWS Connect, and we have since changed the name to PWS United.) Exercise is not a dirty word! Kat Lucero, PWSA | USA Board Member and certified Integrative Health and Wellness Coach and Stacy Ward, PWSA | USA's CEO, discuss the healthy and unhealthy ways we use exercise. Kat shares the many benefits exercise has on our physical and mental health, the variety of ways caregivers can fit exercise and movement into their busy lives, how children benefit from their parent's understanding of health and wellness, group exercise, and more. Does exercise look different as we age? Listen to find out.  Here is a clarification from Kat on the heart rate formula mentioned in the interview: "The formula to figure out your maximum heart rate for exercise is 220-your age.  However, typically if someone is wanting more cardiovascular fitness: 220- age = max HR x 60% & 75% that's when individuals can see cardiovascular benefits from their workouts."

(Please note, this episode was recorded under the name PWS Connect, and we have since changed the name to PWS United.) We spoke with PWS parents and advocates, Dini Rao and Gennelle Conway, about the growing PWS BIPOC Affinity Group. We discussed the experiences and challenges of people of color in the medical and PWS world, implicit bias, personal prejudice, and systemic racism, and how people can be allies in their own lives and public spaces. We also mention a variety of valuable and informative resources so please be sure to check out the links below! If you are a person of color or raising a person of color in the PWS community and are interested in joining Dini and Gennelle and the growing BIPOC Affinity community, email bipocpws@gmail.com. Links to Podcasts: Seeing White from Scene On Radio Intelligence Squared episodes on Apple Links to Articles: Understanding and Addressing Racial Disparities in Healthcare Reducing Racial Disparities in Healthcare Implicit Bias and Racial Disparities in Healthcare Oximeters and skin tone article The Indispensability of Race in Medicine Links to Books: Systemic: How Racism is Making Us Ill by Layal Liverpool So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo

(Please note, this episode was recorded under the name PWS Connect, and we have since changed the name to PWS United.) Carrie and Anne, from PWSA | USA's Communication Dept., share the news and resources from PWSA | USA's Pulse newsletter, edition #104. Our Pulse covers upcoming fundraising events and conferences, advocacy highlights and actions, family support resources and offerings, the latest in research, trial opportunities and more. The Pulse newsletter is published digitally every Friday. Future podcast Pulse episodes will air the following Tuesday.  Links: Planned Giving Webpage "Less Than No One" Spotlight United in Hope Conference United in Hope Mural RMC Inaugural Fundraiser Congressional Letter of Support Blog Post Military Family Form Rare Aware Art Share Submission Form Interdependence Blog Post Ask Nurse Lynn "BM & GI Concerns"  Aging research Webinar Recordings Call for Abstracts Project ECHO  Acadia Webinar Recording TREND Launch Report Harmony TEMPO Trial Sites Gastroparesis Article

(Please note, this episode was recorded under the name PWS Connect, and we have since changed the name to PWS United.) In this episode of PWS United, we sit down with Dorothea Lantz, Director of Community Engagement at PWSA | USA, for an insightful discussion about recent and upcoming advocacy efforts. Dorothea offers a recap of the May 2024 D.C. Fly-In and discusses the recent steps taken to advance our congressional requests made during the event. Looking ahead, she outlines exciting initiatives and programs for advocacy in 2025. Dorothea also discusses the crucial steps needed to ensure access to DCCR if it receives FDA approval. The episode concludes with heartwarming reflections on the special mission moments that continue to inspire and drive the community's advocacy work. Links: PWSA | USA Advocacy Efforts PWS Military Family Form 2024 D.C. Fly-In Recap  Latest Update on DCCR   PWSA | USA Advocacy Email: advocacy@pwsausa.org

(Please note, this episode was recorded under the name PWS Connect, and we have since changed the name to PWS United.) We want to make sure the PWS community is aware of the multiple resources offered by PWSA | USA to help you and your loved one with PWS have a successful school year. From suggestions to help ease back to school anxiety for both individual and caregiver, tips for IEPs, our School Success Summit and more, this episode, along with the relevant links, supports your family in having a happy, successful, and confident school year.  Links: School Success Tool Kit Donate to PWSA | USA Join our Pulse Newsletter Navigating Peer Relationships Blog Post Anxiety and School Blog Post School Success Summit Webinar Recordings

(Please note, this episode was recorded under the name PWS Connect, and we have since changed the name to PWS United.) We are thrilled to announce the upcoming launch of PWS United, a brand-new podcast from PWSA | USA, debuting Friday, August 30, 2024! PWS United will be your go-to source for the latest news, research, advocacy, and family support in the Prader-Willi syndrome community. This podcast brings together voices from across the PWS landscape, offering valuable insights and practical advice to empower and support those affected by PWS. Learn more about Prader-Willi Syndrome and PWSA | USA at www.pwsausa.org