1. ATTITUDE AND EMOTIONS Don’t yell. Drop your voice when you feel anger. If the other party seems to be acting in good faith, respond in-kind. Focus on how to get your partner(s) to do what you think they need to do. Never threaten anything you are not fully prepared to carry out successfully. Imagine yourself as the advocate for someone else’s child. […]
The first step in getting services for your child is being prepared to explain what you want for your child and having information that supports your request. After you decide what your child needs, you must be able to clearly communicate to the appropriate person what you are requesting. Communicating with the appropriate person is the quickest, simplest way to resolve or address issues. […]
Are you concerned your child’s IEP isn’t working? Are you worried that even though the teacher is following the plan, your child still doesn’t seem to be making the progress you expect? Here are steps from Understood.org that you can take if you think your child’s IEP isn’t working. 1. Define what “not working” means to you It’s important to pinpoint what you’re worried about. Maybe your child is still frustrated with or having trouble with his homework. Perhaps you expected things to get easier sooner or that his grades would have improved. Or maybe you haven’t heard anything from the IEP team, and [...]
Even young adults on a typical developmental path don’t immediately begin making every decision, and assuming every responsibility, the day after they turn 18. There are a variety of supports for decision-making, both formal and informal, that parents of all young adults can consider, regardless of the young person’s disability or level of independence. Decision making supports can apply to medical, financial, educational and personal decisions. There are four main factors to consider in order to make a meaningful support plan for your individual young adult with his or her own unique needs. The factors are: autonomy, capacity, responsibility for consequences, [...]
It is important to document a strength and interest-based learning approach in the student’s IEP. This will assist the whole team in using this approach and will lead to more continuity and success throughout the student’s academic career.
Federal officials said Texas should be doing even more to improve special education — and they’re planning a visit early next year to check. In a letter Friday, officials from the U.S. Department of Education dissected Texas’ proposed plan for overhauling special education for kids with disabilities — in many cases urging state officials to do even more than they had originally planned. Earlier this year, a thorough investigation found Texas had failed to provide students with disabilities with a proper education, violating federal special education law, and demanded it undertake a long list of corrective actions to shape up. [...]
