GREENVILLE — New York State provides services to the families of disabled people, children and adults; Susan Helmer wants to help those families get the help that’s available.
"The system runs on a don’t ask, don’t tell policy," she said, meaning that people often don’t know how to access the services. The group she chairs, Parents of Special Children, is hosting a seminar at the Greenville Public Library on Sept. 27 to help people understand and navigate the system.

The group has held similar sessions, on topics like housing and special-needs trusts, over the three years since it was founded, said Helmer. For this seminar, Jack Fenton, of the Taconic Developmental Disabilities Services Office, will be presenting information, starting at 7 p.m.
"The world sees different as bad," said Helmer, who is the mother of a 10-year-old boy with autism. "People are afraid of what they don’t know," and she’d like to change that, she said.

Anyone who would like to attend should call to Helmer at 797-3570 or [email protected].

— Saranac Hale Spencer