Of all the terms in special education, two of the most confusing for parents are “accommodation” and “modification.” We always saw these terms on our son’s IEP and, like most parents, never fully understood what they meant. This is unfortunate, because knowing the difference can have a significant impact on a child’s education.
Read moreThe Yin and Yang of Inclusion
Inclusion is a special education term that parents hear a lot, and one that they need to understand. As we look back over the almost half century of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), we have come to realize that the word inclusion has had many meanings and interpretations over the decades.
Read moreThoughts on the 40th Anniversary of IDEA
In 2015, the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) reached an anniversary milestone of 40 years. We have been reflecting on this law, the enormous impact it has had on education, and the daunting task of fulfilling its promise for all students with disabilities.
Read moreThe Role of a Special Education Advocate
When we entered special education many years ago, we had never heard of a special education advocate. And if we had, we probably wouldn’t have hired one because we felt comfortable with our son’s Team members. Later, however, we realized that **we had missed important opportunities by not having an experienced professional** explain our son’s rights and the school’s responsibilities to us.
Read moreThree-Year Reevaluation Strategies
Team meetings are a major part of the special education experience, none more important than the three-year reevaluation. The evaluation reports and subsequent Team meeting to discuss them set the course of your child’s next three years in special education.
Read moreSpecial Education Advocacy and the Quality of Life
There comes a moment when you realize that what you’re advocating for is more than just accommodations. You’re really advocating for someone’s quality of life. That’s the moment you realize you won’t give up.
Read moreA Parent Journal
As a parent, you have an important tool right at your fingertips to help you in your special education experience. This simple tool, developed over time, can be one of your greatest assets in advocating for your child. It is your parent journal in which you record your impressions and descriptions of your child’s behaviors, moods, struggles, achievements, and any other notable information.
Read moreWhy We Wrote Our Book
We entered the world of special education like most parents, with concerns about our child and a diagnosis we didn’t understand. Our experience began in preschool and continued through high school graduation, a span of fifteen years. Over these years we met many other parents of children receiving special education services. We listened to their stories and heard many themes emerge that corresponded with our own observations.
Read moreSpecial Education From an International Perspective
In the fall of 2014, professor Sarah J. Denman of the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia, wrote an article for the International Journal of Disability in which she reviewed our book in the context of special education around the world.
Read morePlanning for Transition Before Graduation
Graduation is usually a time of celebration, when young people complete their high school studies and move on to work or college. For parents of students on IEPs, graduation has an additional significance because it ends their child’s right to special education. Once a student accepts a high school diploma, special education services end. This makes planning for the transition to adult life especially important. Transition planning needs to happen first, followed by transition services, and only then by graduation. The goal is not to graduate on a schedule, but for the student to acquire the skills necessary to function independently in adult life and to become a productive member of society.
Read moreGatekeeping 101: Withholding Needed Services
Schools sometimes rely on a parent being unaware of their child’s rights to deny services that might cost money or be inconvenient to provide, as illustrated by a case that occurred in 2013 in the city of Somerville, Massachusetts.
Read moreGetting FAPE: Asking the Right Questions
In a recent conversation, a parent asked us a question that was hard to answer. Her son’s school was changing his grades after they had been posted on the school’s website, raising them in an apparent effort to make it appear that he was making more effective progress than he actually was. She wanted to know what to do about it.
Read moreThe Social/Emotional Component of Special Education Eligibility
One question that we have gotten more than once during our presentations on “Empowering Parents in Special Education,” has to do with the relationship between social and emotional deficits and eligibility for special education.
Read moreHow to Use a Paper Trail
As we wrote in our previous article, How to Create a Paper Trail, special education generates an enormous amount of paperwork. There are many different types of documents such as letters, meeting notices, IEPs, consent forms, and evaluations, that your school district creates as well as documents from outside sources, such as your pediatrician and independent evaluators. All this paperwork shows the chronology of your child’s educational experience and you must file it and organize it so that you can find important documents when they are needed.
Read moreHow to Create a Paper Trail
Special education generates an enormous amount of paperwork. The longer your child is on an IEP, the more paperwork you will accumulate. It is essential that you organize and manage this paperwork.
Read moreSpecial Education and “The Art of War”
Special education can turn into a battle for many parents, which is an unfortunate reality. This happens when parents and school administrators have different beliefs about a child’s needs.
Read moreThe Three Essential Parts of an IEP Goal
The Individualized Education Program (IEP) is the cornerstone of special education. The individual goals created for a student on an IEP are the way that the student makes progress toward the Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) guaranteed by special education law. An effective goal is both specific to the student and measurable by objective standards.
Read moreEight Evaluation Essentials
Evaluations are a major part of the special education experience. The purpose of evaluations, aside from determining eligibility for special education, is to inform parents, teachers, and other specialists how a student’s disabilities may be affecting his or her ability to learn and interact socially with peers.
Read moreYour Role as Your Child’s Advocate
As the parent of a child with special needs, one of your most important jobs is to be an advocate for your child in the school setting. You are vital to the success of your child’s education. You cannot be a passive observer; you need to be involved.
Read moreIDEA and Expectations Part II – The Importance and Promise of High Expectations
In our book, we describe how important it is for both parents and schools to have high expectations for children in special education. Without high expectations from all involved, the education process fails the child. Part II of our article describes the importance and promise of high expectations.
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