We recently had an idea that we would like to share with parents whose children (or grandchildren) are in special education. Have you ever considered starting a book club to read and discuss books on special education? We recently read about a parent group that was reading Pete and Pam Wright’s excellent book, From Emotions to Advocacy. That was our first book on special education and it really opened our eyes to the reality of special education and advocating for our child.
Instead of joining a book club to read the latest fiction, why not join with like-minded parents to read and discuss books on special education or any other books that would help you advocate for your child’s education? At the end of this article, we’ll suggest some of the most useful books we have come across.
How to Begin
Once you choose a book, your group can plan to read one chapter a week and discuss it at the next meeting. Books by Pete and Pamela Wright and also our book, have a lot of important information and ideas for parents, so it is important not to try to cover too much in one meeting. The weekly discussion could also include a brainstorming session about how you can use the information from that chapter to improve your child’s experience in special education.
Here’s an example: In Chapter 11 of Parents Have the Power to Make Special Education Work, we write about transition planning and graduation. This is a topic that even parents of middle schoolers need to start thinking about, since effective transition planning should begin in the IEP meeting preceding a student’s entering ninth grade.
In this chapter, we explain why planning ahead is important, and we discuss the details of transition planning and services. We also describe what we call “the graduation game,” which is how some school districts give inflated grades and overly optimistic progress reports to ensure that a student will graduate easily and on time. Many parents don’t understand that for schools, graduation ends their obligation to provide special education services, so there is a great incentive to graduate students, whether they are prepared for the next step in their lives or not. We end the chapter with eight points describing what parents can do to prepare for transition planning and graduation. This section can be a good starting point for a group discussion.
Some Book Suggestions
You may already be thinking of some books that you would like to read and discuss in your book club (Parents Have the Power to Make Special Education Work is a good place to start!), but in case you would like some suggestions, here are a few of our favorites, and why we like them (we’ve provided Amazon links to these books for your convenience only; we have no financial interest in selling them):
From Emotions to Advocacy by Pam Wright and Pete Wright. The Wrights are in the forefront of helping parents understand and deal effectively with special education. This is one of their best books for parents. The Wrightslaw web site is likewise one of the best Internet resources for parents.
Writing Measurable IEP Goals and Objectives by Barbara Bateman and Cynthia M. Herr. This is a clear and concise guide to one of the most important parts of the IEP. It contains useful examples that you can follow.
Straight Talk About Psychological Testing for Kids by Ellen Braaten and Gretchen Felopulos. This book provides clear explanations of how psychological testing works and how testing can identify specific learning disabilities. The authors go into the issues of interpreted scores, deciphering jargon-filled reports, and making sure that a report contains useful recommendations. There is also a discussion of how to choose the right professional to conduct tests.
How To Compromise With Your School District Without Compromising Your Child by Gary Mayerson. This is an engaging and candid text, written by a special education lawyer who is also the parent of a child with special needs. The book is full of first-hand accounts of dealing with school districts. Many of these accounts read like verbatim descriptions of encounters we have had with our school district, illustrating how the problems in special education are universal.
Coming Together to Increase Your Power
These are just a few examples of books that you may find helpful in increasing your understanding of special education and advocacy for your child. By reading and discussing such books with other parents, we think you will find that there really is strength in numbers and discover a great source of emotional support. We hope this idea will work for you!
Judith Canty Graves and Carson Graves