Wrightslaw

A s the new school year begins, it's time for a refresher course in effective advocacy. At Wrightslaw, we help you gain the information and skills you need to navigate the confusing world of special education and get services for kids with disabilities.

Highlights: Wrightslaw game plan for new parents; paper chase - managing your child's documents; power struggles, meetings and follow-up letters; help for college kids flyer; learning to negotiate is part of the advocacy process; advocacy training in Richmond; free pubs about learning disabilities, bullying prevention, paraeducators, and the No Child Left Behind Act.

Online version of newsletter: https://www.wrightslaw.com/advoc/nwltr/2002/nl.0820.htm

Newsletters published in 2002: https://www.wrightslaw.com/advoc/nwltr/2002/2002.htm

---

1. Help! Game Plan for New Parents

---

2. Paper Chase: Managing Your Child's Documents

If you have kids with special education needs, you can be overwhelmed by the paperwork in no time.

This article by Massachusetts attorney Bob Crabtree teaches you what documents are important and how to organize your child's documents. Learn how to use a log and create documents to prevent problems and get better services for your child.

Download Paper Chase: Managing Your Child's Documents at:

https://www.wrightslaw.com/info/advo.paperchase.crabtree.htm

---

3. Tactics & Strategies: Power Struggles, Meetings & Follow-up Letters

Are you feeling powerless and frustrated? Parent advocate Pat Howey will teach you how to avoid power struggles, deal with IEP meeting frustrations, use follow up letters to get answers to questions - and how to use your power wisely.

Get Tactics & Strategies: Power Struggles, Meetings, & Follow-up Letters.

https://www.wrightslaw.com/advoc/guest/howey_advice.htm

---

4. Help for College Kids- New Flyer from Wrightslaw

College-bound students need to learn self-advocacy skills - how to present information about their disability and accommodations so professors want to help. If students master these skills, they are more likely to make a successful transition from high school to college.

• Rights and Responsibilities under Section 504
• Planning and Preparation
• Keys to Success

---

5. Learning to Negotiate is Part of the Advocacy Process

Vermont advocate Brice Palmer describes negotiating in advocacy; explains important rules, offers excellent advice about tactics and techniques.

Get Learning to Negotiate is Part of the Advocacy Process at:

https://www.wrightslaw.com/advoc/tips/palmer_negotiation_process.htm

---

7. Free Pubs: Learning Disabilities, Bullying, Paraeducators, No Child Left Behind Act

You will find new "free pubs" about learning disabilities, bullying prevention, the No Child Left Behind Act, paraeducators, and more topics in our Free Pubs Library at: 

https://www.wrightslaw.com/links/free_pubs.htm

Council for Learning Disabilities, On Babies and Bathwater: Addressing the Problems of Identification of Learning Disabilities by Thomas E. Scruggs and Margo A. Mastropieri (2002)

Good article about issues surrounding the identification of students with LD, published in Learning Disability Quarterly, the scholarly journal of the Council for Learning Disabilities and made available by The Advocacy Institute.

Download in pdf: http://www.advocacyinstitute.org/resources/Babies_and_Bathwater.pdf

Northwest Regional Educational Library, Schoolwide Prevention of Bullying (2001).

30 percent of American children are regularly involved in bullying, as bullies, victims, or both (National Resource Center for Safe Schools, 2001). Approximately 15 percent are “severely traumatized or distressed” by bullies . . . Despite these numbers, bullying behavior is rarely detected by teachers, and is even less frequently taken seriously (NRCSS, 1999). This booklet provides an overview of what is known about bullying behavior and successful efforts to address it; profiles anti-bullying programs and offers resources.

Download in pdf (28 pages): http://www.nwrel.org/request/dec01/index.html

Education Commission of the States, Special Report: No State Left Behind: The Challenges and Opportunities of ESEA 2001 (2002).

Good resource that summarizes main provisions and requirements of the NCLB Act: accountability and assessment, reading and literacy, school choice, flexibility. Includes information about timelines and funding levels; states' readiness to implement the law; many links to other pubs.

Download in pdf: http://www.ecs.org/html/special/ESEA/pdf/esea3-.pdf

Northwest Regional Educational Library, Working Together for Successful Paraeducator Services: A Guide for Paraeducators, Teachers and Principals (2002).

As the numbers of paraeducators increase, concerns about preparation, training and instructional roles of paraeducators has increased. Standards about paraeducator roles, supervision and preparation are rare. This booklet describes what teachers, principals, and paraeducators can do to increase paraeducator effectiveness.

Download in pdf: http://www.nwrel.org/request/may2002/paraeds.pdf

Download free publications about dozens of topics - from Autism to Zero Tolerance - from our Free Pubs Library at:

https://www.wrightslaw.com/links/free_pubs.htm

---

8. Subscription & Contact Info

The Special Ed Advocate is a free online newsletter about special education legal and advocacy issues, cases, tactics and strategy, and Internet resources. Subscribers receive announcements and "alerts" about new cases, events, and special offers on Wrightslaw books. 

To subscribe: https://www.wrightslaw.com/subscribe.htm

Read back issues: https://www.wrightslaw.com/archives.htm

Link to Us - More than 1,000 sites link to Wrightslaw. If you want to spread the word about special education advocacy, download a banner or image:

https://www.wrightslaw.com/link_to_us.htm

Wrightslaw & The Special Ed Advocate
ISSN: 1538-3202
Pete and Pam Wright
P. O. Box 1008
Deltaville, VA 23043
Website: https://www.wrightslaw.com
Email: Webmaster