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Fall 2009
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Welcome to In SINC, the e-News newsletter from the Ohio Coalition for the Education of Children with Disabilities! Topics in this issue: 2009 VSA of Ohio Young Soloists Selected Matt Cohen is a founding partner in the Chicago law firm, Monahan and Cohen. His practice is concentrated in representation of children and families in special education and discipline disputes with public schools. He also has extensive experience in mental health and confidentiality law.
Back to School Tips 1) Learn what you can about your child's new teacher(s) and other professionals and classroom. Check the school's website to learn about the class, curriculum, and staff, talk to other parents, make contact with the case manager. 2) Try to arrange an informal visit with the key staff people prior to or shortly after school starts. Alert them to any important developments with your child that occurred over the summer. 3) If your child has trouble with transitions, it may be helpful to arrange a visit with the new teacher before school starts. If your child has not attended the school before, set up a chance for them to take a tour of the school before school starts. One strategy is to work with the teacher to devise a treasure hunt type activity, where your child has the chance to find different key places in the building (classroom, lunchroom, locker, bathroom, library.). 4) Prepare a one page summary of your child's strengths, learning style, needs and key IEP provisions and share it with the school staff. Check to make sure that they have copies of the IEP or attach it to the one page summary. 5) Identify key friendly faces at school for your child and for you. It is always helpful to have people that your child is more familiar with and trusts that they can greet, seek out if needed and will be "keeping an eye on them." As this may not be part of the IEP, you may need to arrange this informally, though at times a mentor or "go to" person can be written into the IEP or 504 plan. 6) Check out the curriculum for your child's grade level. Make sure you know what materials are required. If the District is using a computerized system for accessing homework assignments and the like, make sure you are aware of how it works and are monitoring it. 7) If your child has complex medical or learning issues, is using specialized methodologies or technologies, or has other more unusual needs, try to determine, in a non-threatening way, whether the staff has experience and training in relation to these issues. It doesn't help your child to have a sophisticated reading program or hi-tech computer system if the staff are unfamiliar with how to use it. 8) If your child has learning, communication, health or behavioral issues that respond well to strategies you have developed over time, offer to share these with school staff, including providing demonstrations of techniques you have found successful.
9) If your child has complex health or behavioral issues that require that all supports be operational day one, try to work this out in advance wherever possible. Unfortunately, most schools have a several week period where things are still being organized after school starts. If this puts your child at risk, work (collaboratively) to try to assure that the preparation for your child's special needs occurs in advance. Similarly, if your child has high risk needs, seek to have back up plans in place with the school, including identifying additional staff that will be available and trained if the primary staff are absent. 10) Monitor how things are going for your child during the first 4-8 weeks of school. Give things a chance to settle in, but if there are any concerns, seek information from the staff. Try to communicate in a flexible and non-accusatory way, but keep notes of all communication (email is a good way to do this, but make copies). Try to build relationships with the school staff, but don't assume that silence is golden. If problems are developing, reach out to the staff to try to work them out in a positive way that helps everyone, but be aware of whether the needed solutions are being implemented. Get involved in the school, via being a classroom volunteer, lunch monitor, booster club helper, tutor, or through the PTA. The more positive involvement you can have and the more connections to the school, the more you will be able to build relationships, while also making sure that things are going as they should. Legal Briefs from Matt Cohen http://www.ldonline.org/experts/cohen/current?theme=print The new OCECD training, A Guide for Parents and Educators of Deaf and Hearing Impaired Children is one of our newest trainings. You will learn about:
The information provided is extensive and there is also a list of resources. The training was developed with input from a parent of a hearing impaired child and her experience provides valuable insight for both parents and educators.
OHIO COALITION FOR THE EDUCATION OF CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES 1. Parents Rights in the Special Education Process - Participants will gain a functional knowledge of parents' rights under IDEA 2004. The six components of FAPE will be discussed and explained. Timelines under IDEA, as well as, the evaluation, referral and testing process will be covered. Participants also will learn the basic facts about mediation, ODE complaint procedures, resolution meetings and due process procedures. 2. Section 504 - Participants will gain a functional knowledge of parents' rights under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and how it can assist children with disabilities in the educational environment. Participants will review the history behind Section 504, learn the requirements of writing a Section 504 Accommodation Plan, and learn the differences between an IEP and a Section 504 Accommodation Plan. 3. Understanding the Evaluation Process Under IDEA 2004 - Participants will work through a step-by-step process to gain an understanding of the special education evaluation process under IDEA 2004. Participants will learn commonly used terminology. They will learn what an evaluation is, how to request an evaluation, and how to use the information included in the Evaluation Team Report. Frequently used evaluation tools will be discussed. 4. Understanding and Writing an IEP - Participants will gain an understanding of the IEP content and the documentation necessary to develop an IEP. Discussion will focus on who is required to be involved in the development of an IEP and what the parent and school roles are in the process. Each section of the IEP will be reviewed with an explanation of what information is required by IDEA 2004 and what needs to be recorded in the various IEP sections. 5. Parent/Professional Communication - Participants will review basic communication methods, techniques, and styles to utilize when communicating with parents and professionals. Hands on activities will aid participants in gaining an understanding of the various types of communication, as well as, developing listening skills and how they relate to good communication skills. 6. Behavior Focused IEP's: How Parents Can Help the IEP Team - Participants will gain an understanding of what a Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA) is and how to collect the information needed to conduct one. Participants will discuss how the environment affects behavior. They will be given ideas and suggested accommodations that may help eliminate or modify behaviors. Discussion of how to incorporate behavior plans into the IEP also will be addressed. 7. Understanding AD/HD - Participants will gain an understanding of the history of AD/HD and some statistics on AD/HD and the population. Discussion about who is qualified to diagnose AD/HD, how it affects children in school and life, and various techniques and accommodations to support children at home and at school will be presented. 8. Transition Drives the IEP - Participants will gain an understanding of the importance of transition planning for youth with special needs. Discussion will focus on the requirements under IDEA 2004 for writing a transition plan, when the process should begin, timelines, and who is involved in writing the transition plan. Methods that will encourage youth to express their interests and future plans are presented with the use of transition cards. 9. A Cultural Perspective on Special Education - Participants will gain an understanding how to respect and value various cultures and how to communicate effectively.
10. Is Your Child a Target of Bullying - Participants will gain an understanding of the different types of bullyingsymptoms that children display when they are being bullied and the characteristics of a bully. Anti-bullying 11. Deaf/Hearing Impaired - Participants will learn the different types of hearing loss and how it affects an individual in their educational and social environments. Early detection screening, audiograms and technology used to identify and support those with hearing loss will be presented. Parents will learn strategies to work with their deaf/hearing impaired children and suggestions for accommodations that can be written into their child's IEP. 12. Spotlight on the Family - Participants will discuss commonalities of family needs. Discussion will focus on techniques for parenting children with and without disabilities, keeping family balance and harmony in the home. Participants will discover how stress affects individual family members and the family unit, plus what techniques can be used to work through difficult and stressful times. 13. Individual Development - Participants will review the developmental stages of a child's growth, with common characteristics and traits being discussed. Stages of brain development and how to stimulate dendrite growth are addressed along with the emotional and temperamental needs of children. 14. Enriching the Learning Environment - Participants will develop an awareness of the need and importance of a stimulating, rich environment for children. Discussion will include Howard Gardner's Eight Intelligences Theory, with examples of how to develop the various intelligences in children. Participants will learn to play by creating various projects such as sidewalk chalk, bubble cups, and finger paint.
17. Services and Supports - Participants will gain an awareness of services and supports that are available to families of children with disabilities from local schools and from state and local agencies. The difference between a service and support will be discussed and participants will learn how to determine what services and supports the child may need by developing an individualized education program (IEP). 18. Follow the Yellow Brick Road to Transition - Participants will gain an understanding of the transition process from Early Intervention Programs to Preschool Programs as required under IDEA 2004. Discussion will focus on what transition means, why it is important to have a plan, what information needs to be written into a successful plan and how to individualize a transition plan. Participants also will learn the requirements under IDEA 2004 as to who should be involved in writing the transition plan and the required timelines. 19. A FORMula: For Keeping Records About My Child - This Make-it and Take-it workshop will assist participants in organizing records and documentation that pertain to their child's education and health needs. Discussion of parents' rights under IDEA 2004 and how the documentation can be used to assist parents in developing an IEP and how to work with other agencies will be presented.
c/o COLLEEN MILLER, Statewide Training Coord. 1-800-374-2806 1-740-382-5452 FAX: 1-740-383-6421
We are pleased to announce a series of free webinars scheduled for this year. You can join and view them on the web, or you can dial in and listen on your phone if you do not have Internet access. In the near future, these webinars will be archived so that those of you who cannot attend during the day may view them at your convenience. Oct 9, 2009 10:00 am Understanding and Writing IEP's Oct 16, 2009 10:00 am Taking the Sting Out of Behavior
Oct 20, 2009 10:00 am Is Your Child a Target of Bullying
Ohio State School for the Blind Going to the Rose Bowl Parade!
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