Wrightslaw - The Special Ed Advocate Newsletter, December 16, 1998

The Special Ed Advocate is a free online newsletter about special education legal issues, cases, tactics and strategy, educational methods that work, and Internet links.

We publish this newsletter occasionally, when time permits. Back issues of The Special Ed Advocate are archived at our web site -

http://www.wrightslaw.com

As a subscriber to The Special Ed Advocate, you will receive announcements and "alerts" about new cases and other events. Contact, copyright, and subscription information can be found at the end of this newsletter.

ANNOUNCING – NEW BOOKS AND MUSIC AT THE ADVOCATE’S BOOKSTORE

When we added the Advocate’s Bookstore to the web site, we asked you to send us your book recommendations. Many of you did – and we want to tell others about your suggestions.

The Advocate’s Bookstore is organized into several sections – each section has a separate web page and web address.

1. Learn about the Disability
2. Learn about Effective Educational Practices
3. Learn about Tests and Evaluations (How to Measure Educational Progress)
4. Learn about Your Rights and Responsibilities
5. Learn How to Negotiate and Persuade
6. Books for Parents
7. Books for Children
8. Advocate’s Gift Shop for Books and Music
9. Recommend a Book, Artist, Resource
10. Contact Us

1. LEARN ABOUT THE DISABILITY

Pamela Martens, SLP from San Diego wrote:

"There is a wonderful book that I HIGHLY recommend for professionals and parents: “Central Auditory Processing Disorders-Mostly Management”by Gay Masters, Nancy Stecker, Jack Katz (ed.)

“It gives the reader an overview of CAPD, neuroscience background and the relationship between CAPD and ADHD. The book covers a variety of strategies and approaches to remediation. This is an incredible resource. Very approachable reading too."

To read more about this and other books about disabilities, go to

http://www.wrightslaw.com/bkstore/bks_disability.htm

2. LEARN ABOUT EFFECTIVE EDUCATIONAL PRACTICES – “WHAT WORKS”

Several Special Ed Advocates asked: "How can I write good IEP goals and objectives?"

We asked our experts – and this is what we learned. Margaret Kay said one of the best books written on this subject is “Preparing Instructional Objectives: A Critical Tool in the Development of Effective Instruction” by Robert F. Mager.

“Preparing Instructional Objectives” will help you master the elements of writing a well-stated objective, including how to describe the performances you expect to achieve, identify the conditions under which you expect the performance to occur, and set criteria for acceptable performance.

To check out books on Effective Educational Practices – including “Preparing Instructional Objectives” go to

http://www.wrightslaw.com/bkstore/bks_educate.htm

3. LEARN ABOUT TESTS & EVALUATIONS – HOW TO MEASURE PROGRESS OBJECTIVELY

Remember “The Matthew Effect?” discussed in an earlier newsletter. We have received a lot of email about declining IQ scores. Keith Stanovich is the psychologist who coined the term “The Mathew Effect” ("the rich grow richer, the poor get poorer") to describe the impact of reading disorders on IQ. You can learn about the Matthew Effect at -

http://www.wrightslaw.com/ltr_Pat_falling_IQscores.html

Dr. Stanovich has written an excellent book called “How to Think Straight About Psychology.” He wrote this book for the "consumers of psychological information" - which includes you, the parents of special ed kids.

You’ll find this and several other excellent books about tests and evaluations at-

http://www.wrightslaw.com/bkstore/bks_tests.htm

4. LEARN ABOUT YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS & RESPONSIBILITIES

You’ll find several new books in our legal and advocacy section.

Check out “Legal Research: How to Find and Understand the Law” by Stephen Elias & Susan Levinkind. “Legal Research” is a step-by-step guide – you’ll learn what's in a law library and how to use it; how to find and update statutes, regulations & cases; how to explore online resources; how to write a legal memorandum.

Another excellent - and entertaining - resource is “May It Please the Court: First Amendment Live Recordings and Transcripts of Oral Arguments Made Before the Supreme Court” by Peter Irons. (Book and four 90 minute cassettes)

“May It Please the Court: First Amendment” includes a school-prayer case; a decision in which the Court upheld students' right to wear black armbands to protest the Vietnam War; a case striking down a state law criminalizing flag burning; and the 1971 Pentagon Papers case.

Other cases address display of religious symbols; "public indecency"; reporters' right to protect their sources; religious use of drugs; censorship of school newspapers; discrimination based on sexual preference; draft-card burning; and libel (including the Larry Flynt-Jerry Falwell and New York Times Co. v. Sullivan cases)

For these and other good books about law and advocacy, go to

http://www.wrightslaw.com/bkstore/bks_law.htm

5. LEARN TO RESOLVE CONFLICT – TO NEGOTIATE & PERSUADE

Beg? Threaten? We tell parents that they need to present their child’s case in a way that makes school people – and hearing officers - want to give the child what he or she needs. This is a tough concept for many parents - but it’s important to learn.

Read how to apply this concept when you write letters to the school

Here are two books that will help you survive the next school meeting:

“How to Read a Person Like a Book” (paperback; audio-cassette version too.)

“You Can Negotiate Anything” - recommended by Florida attorney-mediators Diana Santa Maria and Marc Gregg in their article “Seven Steps to Effective Mediation” at our web site.

For more information about these and other books about conflict resolution and negotiation.

6. JUST FOR PARENTS

Kids are a “challenge” to raise – and children with disabilities are no different. Here is a book that will help you keep the lines of communication open with your children – “How to Talk So Kids will Listen, and Listen so Kids will Talk.”

One reader said "How to Talk So Kids Will Listen” should be in the Business/ Management section. It says the same things high-priced consultants say -- treat people with respect, do not deny their emotions, state the facts (only) and shut up and listen. The book talks about giving praise and recognition - another reason to use it in real life, inside the family AND outside in the "real" world."

You’ll find more books for parents

7. POP QUIZ

QUESTION: What do these people have in common? Ray Charles, Ella Fitzgerald, Percy Mayfield, Otis Redding, Aretha Franklin, Percy Mayfield.

ANSWER: All are featured artists in the New Music Section of the Advocate’s Bookstore.

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8. GIFT SHOP NEWS

The bookmaster has been busy, adding new books to The Advocate’s Bookstore. She has also added some of our favorite music to the Gift Shop – just for the fun of it. Here are some books – and music – you’ll find in the Advocate’s Bookstore.

Our Gift Shop has expanded into FOUR Sections –

* * Heroes and Heroines * *
* * The Children’s Corner * *
* * For Grownups * *
* * The Music Room * *

Here is a sample of the books and music you’ll find in the Gift Shop

* * HEROES AND HEROINES * * -

“Dream Makers, Dream Breakers” – Biography of civil rights activist and Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall.
“Hitchhiking Vietnam” – Armed with a camera and blank tapes, a youngwoman hikes through Vietnam.
“Helen Keller: A Life”
“The Endurance: Shackleton’s Legendary Antarctic Expedition”
“The Perfect Storm: A True Story of Men Against the Sea”
“Thinking in Pictures” by Temple Grandin
“Yes, You Can Heather!” Heather’s mother tells the story of her deaf daughter’s struggles to achieve her dream – to become Miss America.

* * THE CHILDREN’S CORNER * *

“All Kinds of Minds” by Mel Levine. Five children discover their strengths and overcome problems caused by their disabilities.
“Keeping a Head in School: A Student’s Book about Learning Abilities and Learning Disorders” by Mel Levine
“Eagle Eyes: A Child’s Guide to Paying Attention” by Jeanne Gehret.
“The Don’T-Give-Up-Kid and Learning Differences Book” by Jeanne Gehret.

* * FOR GROWNUPS * *

“THINK FAST!” Includes chapters about advocacy and emotions written by Pete and Pam Wright.
“Presumed Ignorant: Over 400 Cases of Legal Looniness, Daffy Defendants, and Bloopers from the Bench” by Leland Gregory.
“In the Mind’s Eye: Visual Thinkers, Gifted People With Dyslexia and Other Learning Difficulties, Computer Images and the Ironies and Creativity” by Thomas West.
“The Pretenders” by Barbara Guyer.
“The Quality School: Managing Students Without Coercion” by William Glasser.
“ADD: A Different Perception – The Hunter in a Farmer’s World” by Thom Hartmann.
“Cold Mountain” by Charles Frasier.
“Under the Tuscan Sun” by Frances Mayes.

**THE MUSIC ROOM**

Good Holiday Sounds - “Holiday Pops/Keith Lockhart, Boston Pops”
The Best of Ray Charles: The Atlantic Years
The Genius of Ray Charles
Oh, Lady Be Good! Best of Gershwin Songbook
Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Cole Porter Songbook
Beg, Scream & Shout! The Big Ol’ Box of 60’s Soul
Sweet Soul Music – Voices From the Shadows
“twenty-five” by Sweet Honey in the Rock

Check out the Gift Shop

9. RECOMMEND A BOOK, ARTIST, RESOURCE

If you want to recommend a favorite book, musical artist, or other resource, drop a line to bookmaster@wrightslaw.com

Tell us what makes your recommendation special – what you learned, how it helped you.