What's In Store at Wrightslaw?
Special Ed Law & Advocacy Training (6.5 hrs)
25% Off the Wrightslaw Bundle of 4 PRINT books for $58.35 (Sorry, coupons not accepted on this product)
Includes Wrightslaw: Special Education Law, 2nd Ed., Wrightslaw: From Emotions to Advocacy, 2nd Ed., Wrightslaw: All About IEPs and Wrightslaw: All About Tests and Assessments, 2nd Ed.
New! The Wrightslaw Bundle is now available as an immediate PDF download. All four Wrightslaw books as PDFs for just $49.95!
"Failing to prepare is preparing to fail." - John Wooden, basketball coach
You do not know about the child's disability, how the disability affects the child's learning, or how the child needs to be taught.
You do not know what services and supports the child needs. Is it reasonable to think you will figure this out as you go along?" (Chapter 2, Creating Your Master Plan, Wrightslaw: From Emotions to Advocacy)
If you are like many parents, you are
confused about your role. What do you need to learn? How can
you ensure that the school provides your child with quality, appropriate
special education services?
Long-Range
Planning
You
need to make long-term plans for your child. You are the constant
factor in your child's life. You represent your child's interests.
If your child does not receive an appropriate education and master
the skills necessary to be an independent, self-sufficient member
of the community, you will deal with the outcome.
Your Role as Project Manager
Project managers organize, plan, monitor progress, anticipate problems,
and ensure that jobs get done. On long complicated projects, project
managers are essential to success.
Your child’s special education is a long-term project. As the
parent, you are the logical person to step into the role of special
education project manager.
Learn the most common reasons why projects fail, and why you need
to make plans, define goals, organize information, and build relationships.
Learn about the skills, information and attitude you need to act as
your child’s special education project manager.
Your Program of Self-Study
Set
aside time to organize information about your child, make long-term
plans, write goals with timelines, and build working relationships
with school personnel. View your job You will negotiate with the school
on your child's behalf. Your goal is to get the school to provide
your child with a good special education program.
You need to learn about the law, the nature of your child’s disability, how your child learns, and how your child should be taught. Your program of self study includes several steps.
Learn
About Your Child's Disability
Disabilities information groups and organizations are excellent sources
of information for parents of children with all disabilities and handicaps.
Immerse yourself
in information about disabilities, handicaps, legal rights and responsibilities,
tactics and strategy, and educational remediation techniques.
When you join organizations, you will receive their state and national
newsletters. Information from these newsletters will put you on the
cutting edge of new educational, scientific and legal developments in
the field of special education. The cost of your membership will be
repaid many times as you plan for your child’s future.
Here is a short list of organizations.
The Learning Disabilities Association of America (LDAA), 4156 Library Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15234. (412) 341-1515.
The International Dyslexia Association (IDA), 8600 LaSalle Road, Suite 32, Chester Building, Baltimore MD 21286. (410) 296-0232. (Formerly the Orton Dyslexia Society, named after Dr. Samuel Orton who helped develop the Orton-Gillingham multi-sensory method that was used to remediate Pete Wright during the 1950s.)
Children and Adults with ADD/ADHD (ChADD), 8181 Professional Place, Suite 201, Landover, MD 20785. (301) 306-7070.
The ARC (formerly the Association for Retarded Citizens), 500 E. Border St., Suite 300, Arlington, TX 76010. (817) 261-6003.
The Association for Persons with Severe Handicaps (TASH), 29 W. Susquehanna Ave., Suite 210, Baltimore, MD 21204. (410) 828-8274.
United Cerebral Palsy Association, 1660 L Street, NW, Suite 700, Washington, DC 20036. (800) 872-5827.
National Association for Down Syndrome (NADS), P.O. Box 4542, Oak Brook, IL 60522-4542. (708) 325-9112.
Autism Society of America, 7910 Woodmont Ave, Suite 300, Bethesda, MD 20814-3015. (800) 3 AUTISM or (301) 657-0881.
The Tourette Syndrome Association, 4240 Bell Boulevard, Bayside, New York 11361-2820. (718) 224-2999.
Alexander Graham Bell Association, 3417 Volta Place, N.W., Washington, DC 20007-2778. (202) 337-5220 (Voice/TTY).
For a
comprehensive list of organizations and information groups, please refer to the Directory
of National Disabilities Organizations and Information Groups. on the Yellow Pages for Kids site. For state and local information, please check your state page on the Yellow Pages for Kids site.
Visit our Free Stuff Page
for links to free books and free newsletters.
Learn About Special Education
You need
accurate information about how your child learns and how your child
needs to be taught. With the Internet, you can find answers to many
of these questions. Here
is a short list of sites we recommend.
Bridges4Kids, a masterful site with hundreds of useful resources about special education and educating children with disabilities.
Council for Exceptional Children,
a site for special educators
ERIC Clearinghouse on Disabilities and Gifted Education, National Library of Education (NLE)
Families for Early Autism Treatment - FEAT publishes an excellent free newsletter.
Federal Resource Center for Special Education
LD Online is a huge site with hundreds of articles about disabilities, remediation, IEPs, legal rights and responsibilities, and links to other resources.
National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities (NICHCY). NICHCY is an excellent resource, offering dozens of free publications that you can order or download from their site.
Parent Advocacy Coalition for Educational Rights (PACER)
School Psychology Resources Online is an excellent site with hundreds of links to resources.
Learning Difficulties at GreatSchools (formerly Schwab Foundation for Learning)
Find
an independent evaluator or educational consultant to work with
you and your child.
This person can help you develop an appropriate program for your
child, evaluate your child's progress, and make recommendations
to the IEP team about the services your child needs.
Tips about
finding and working with evaluators and consultants
Wrightslaw: From Emotions to Advocacy, 2nd Edition
This article is based on a chapter in Wrightslaw: From Emotions to Advocacy, 2nd Edition by Pete Wright and Pam Wright (ISBN: 1-892320-09-6, 338 pages, perfect bound, $19.95). Learn about Wrightslaw publications and products.
Copyright © 1998-2022, Peter W. D. Wright and Pamela Darr Wright. All rights reserved. Contact Us