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Wrightslaw Game Plan for New Parents

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“All of this is new. I'm overwhelmed. Where do I start?"

Charles writes, “My son Daniel is 8 years old and in the second grade. After several evaluations, he was diagnosed with learning disabilities and ADHD. Daniel has an IEP. He is in a self- contained reading class because he cannot read or spell.”

“Although Daniel has been receiving special education services for a year and a half, his progress is minimal at best. We shared our concerns with the school and asked for additional services. We are not optimistic.”

“All of this is new to us (even the Internet). A friend told us about your site – this is why I’m writing you. What information should I read to become a better advocate for Daniel?”

Charles speaks for many parents who have questions about special education.

Negotiating for Special Ed Services

There is an old saying, "Prior planning prevents problems." This is especially true for parents who want to ensure that their child gets effective, appropriate special education services.

As a parent, you negotiate with the school for services. To be a successful negotiator, you must understand the system and how it works. Many parents don’t realize that school systems are bureaucracies. Parents often don’t know how important decisions are made - or by whom.

Until now, parents have been barred from effective advocacy by lack of information and isolation. The Internet is changing the status quo. Parents who are knowledgeable about their children’s rights (and their own rights and responsibilities) and know how to use tactics and strategies are far more likely to succeed.

If you are a “new parent,” this Game Plan will help you get started.

Gather Information & Hone Advocacy Skills

As a new parent, you need to go through a period of self-study. Your first step is to download, print, and read these articles from our Advocacy Library.

1. Crisis! Emergency! HELP! will help you devise short-term solutions and do long range planning.

2. From Emotions to Advocacy: The Parents’ Journey helps parents understand their emotions and how to use emotions as a source of energy and strength.

3. Your Child Has School Problems: Whose Fault Is It? teaches you about “school culture” and how this hidden factor affects educational decision-making.

4. The Art of Writing Letters will teach you how to write letters that get results, and how to avoid common pitfalls.

5. Understanding Tests and Measurements for the Parent, Advocate and Attorney teaches you how to measure your child’s progress in special education.

6. Your Child's IEP: Practical and Legal Guidance for Parents & Advocates teaches you about the legal requirements for your child’s IEP and how to develop good IEPs.

Visit the the Advocacy Library to find dozens of articles that will help you become a more effective advocate for your child.

Learn About Your Rights & Responsibilities

1. Go to our Law Library and download the IDEA Statute that includes Pete's commentary.

2. Contact your State Department of Education – ask them to send you ALL their publications about special education.

3. Contact your State Protection and Advocacy Agency – ask them to send you ALL their publications about special education.

Get a Comprehensive Evaluation from a Private Sector Expert

Get a private sector expert involved who can evaluate your son, test him to measure educational progress, and make recommendations to the IEP team about the services he needs.

Read One Book a Month

Try to read one book a month. Select books in areas where you feel least knowledgeable. You’ll find more information about our “Book a Month” plan in the Advocate’s Bookstore.

If your child has reading problems, you need to learn about effective practices in reading instruction.

An excellent book is Straight Talk About Reading Problems by Susan Hall, Louisa Moats, and Reid Lyon. In Straight Talk, you’ll learn research-based methods of reading instruction.

You can order Straight Talk from the Advocate’s Library

Subscribe to The Special Ed Advocate Newsletter

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

Subscribers to The Special Ed Advocate receive announcements and "alerts" about new cases and news events, new uploads, conference announcements, special offers, and more.

Self-Help: Discussion Group & Wrightslaw Forum

If you have questions or need help, there are two resources on the Wrightslaw site where you can post questions or help others. You can visit our Discussion Group - instructions about how to participate.

If you have feedback or suggestions about the Discussion Group, we would be grateful if you would take a minute to share your thoughts with us. Please send your suggestions and thoughts to

Special Ed Advocacy Tutorial

Special Ed Advocacy Tutorial. This fantastic 8-part tutorial was written for parents who want to advocate for their children by Dr. Leslie Packer.

The tutorial also includes sample letters and forms, a glossary of terms, and links to dozens of resources.

More Help from Wrightslaw
Wrightslaw: From Emotions to Advocacy

"From Emotions to Advocacy is the best, practical, informative, empathetic book on the market. It's amazing and thrilling to be an advocate for 15 years, to read FETA, and feel the thrill of 'Oh, my God! that is so true', and to be able to sharpen my skills." Fran, New Hampshire

"You have given me the courage and strength to get an appropriate program for my autistic son. Your law book is my bible!" -- Susan

If you are a parent who is advocating for your child, read our book, Wrightslaw: From Emotions to Advocacy - The Special Education Survival Guide.

Introduction	Short Table of Contents
Chapter 1	Index (pdf)
Reviews	Cover (pdf)

For more resources, visit FetaWeb.com, the companion site to our book, Wrightslaw: From Emotions to Advocacy.

Wrightslaw: Special Education Law

How do you learn about “rights and responsibilities”? Where can you look up information about rights and responsibilities?

Wrightslaw: Special Education Law includes the full text of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act with extensive commentary by Pete. The book also includes Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, and a casebook of special education decisions by the U. S. Supreme Court.

Reviews
Table of Contents
Index
Order Form
Internet Orders

Online Information & Resources

In addition to resources from Wrightslaw, here are some incredibly useful sites:

Special Education Self-Help Advocacy Tutorial. This fantastic 8-part tutorial was written for parents who want to advocate for their children by Dr. Leslie Packer.

You'll learn about the personal qualities of an advocate, basic legal rights under the IDEA and Section 504, Eligibility, Evaluations, Eligibility Meetings, Components of an IEP, Procedural Safeguards (designed to protect your and your child's rights), and discipline issues. The tutorial includes sample letters and forms, a glossary of terms, and links to other information for parents. Links for new parents.

Dr. Packer's site also includes hundreds of links to excellent information about disabilities.

LDOnline. LD Online is a good source of information for parents of children with disabilities.

International Dyslexia Association (IDA).
From your description of your son's reading problems, it sounds like he may have a language learning disability that is affecting his ability to read, write and spell. For information about educational methods and techniques designed to help children with language learning problems, contact the International Dyslexia Association (formerly the Orton Dyslexia Society).

National Information Center for Children and Youth with Disabilities (NICHCY). NICHCY hosts a huge site that contains thousands of articles, including articles that focus on information from parents.

Margaret Kay. Margaret Kay is a Pennsylvania psychologist in private practice. You will find valuable information about reading, writing, and spelling problems on her site. Get information about dyslexia from Dr. Kay’s site.