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Date: Sept. 6, 2006
Issue: 364
ISSN: 1538-3202

In this Issue


1. 9 Ways to Boost Your Child's Attitude Before the Bus Arrives

2. 10 Tips for a Successful School Year

3. New! Early Intervention, Juvenile Justice, College, Military & DOD, and More

4. Parent Advocacy - What You Should Do, and Not Do

5. Wrightslaw Programs in MI, WA, NC, WV, OH, PA, IL - Boot Camps in FL & MD

6. Great New Autism Case - JP v. Hanover County Schools

7. Subscribe & Contact Info

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At Wrightslaw, our mission is to help you gain the knowledge and skills you need to navigate the confusing, changing world of special education.

In this Back to School Issue, you will find articles to help your child (and you) make the transition back to school, new topics pages, and links to a great new autism case.

Download this issue. All issues published in 2006. Archives (1998-2006)

Subscribers on September 6, 2006: 46,320

1. 9 Ways to Boost Your Child's Attitude Before the Bus Arrives by Jackie Igafo-Te'o

What can you do before your children leave for school to help them feel they can conquer anything?

In 9 Ways to Boost Your Child's Attitude Before the Bus Arrives, Jackie Igafo-Te'o of Bridges4Kids offers no-nonsense pointers that will help you eliminate the last-minute stress that comes with every weekday morning. Read article. (At the end of this article, you'll meet Jackie's amazing family.)

Learn how to anticipate problems, manage conflict, and avoid crises in our Special Ed Advocacy section.

2. 10 Tips for a Successful School Year by Pat Howey

Help! School is starting. I want to make sure I have done my homework so this year is better than last year.

Pat says, "You need to view your role as your child’s 'case manager.' You must be watchful, even when things appear to be going well."

Pat offers ten tips to help you get off to a good start at the beginning of the new school year. Read article.

Read more articles by Pat Howey in Ask the Advocate.

3. New! Early Intervention, Juvenile Justice, College, Military & DOD, More

You asked. We listened ... and took action.

You requested information on new topics - early intervention, juvenile justice, services to children with disabilities whose parents are in the military, college and continuing education, restraints and abuse. Over the summer, we built new topics pages to meet your needs for information in these areas.

College: Continuing and Higher Education

Whether your child is a 14 years old and you are contemplating the dreaded "C" word ("C" is for College) or you are a tireless self-advocate who is determined to take the logical next step in your life (the "C" word again), this page is for you.

We've hand-picked some of the best content on the web for those who are just getting started, seeking the "perfect" college fit, navigating financial aid, or are simply curious about what's available and when to start planning. For in-depth information, be sure to follow the links at the end of the articles, guides and resource booklets listed on this page.

Early Intervention (Part C of IDEA)

We receive many questions from parents, teachers, therapists, and health care providers about early intervention services. What is early intervention? Does my child qualify? What should I do if I am not happy with evaluations, programs or services? What is Part C? How does an IFSP differ from an IEP?

If you are a parent, you need to educate yourself about your child's disability or delay, effective educational methods, therapies and medical treatments, and how to present your child's needs to school staff so they want to help. Your path to learning starts here.

Juvenile Justice & Delinquency Prevention

When the federal special education law was passed in 1975, Congress found that most children with disabilities were not receiving an appropriate education - and that millions were excluded from school altogether. Today, schools continue to suspend and expel students with disabilities for behaviors that are directly related to their disabilities. These children feel worthless, are labeled"failures," stop trying, act out, become depressed or delinquent, and/or end up in the juvenile justice system.

If you are charged with the education of a child with these issues, take a moment to think about the child's educational problems. You can make a difference in that child's life. Start here.

Military & Department of Defense (DOD) Education

Children whose parents are active in any branch of the military often have non-traditional educational experiences. They transfer schools often and may attend school overseas. These children are still entitled to a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE).

The sections in the Military/DOD Education page describe various aspects of military education, including the unique issues that military children face -- frequent transfers to different schools with varying levels of instructional programming at each stop, and the emotional issues that arise when family members are deployed.

Restraints and Abuse

Physical restraints are becoming more prevalent in public schools. Deciding whether or not to physically restrain a child requires an understanding of legal requirements, professional standards, and health and safety issues. You will find information about these issues on the Restraints & Abuse page.

Children with disabilities may become victims of abuse when individuals charged with their care do not act to protect them or when they do not understand the difference between "bad behavior" and "behavior as communication." Parents and school personnel must realize that IDEA provides safeguards for these children. If a child's "behavior" has a negative impact on his or her education (or that of others), the IEP team must take specific steps to ensure that the child receives FAPE.

Master Directory of Topics, from A to Z.

4. Parent Advocacy: What You Should Do - and Not Do by Leslie Margolis, Esq.

As we send children back to school, parent attorney Leslie Margolis of the Maryland Disability Law Center has good advice for the parents of kids with disabilities.

Learn the five things you should do (and four things you should not do) in Parent Advocacy: What You Should Do ... and Not Do.

Assertiveness and Effective Parent Advocacy - This short article by parent and advocate Marie Sherrett describes joys and challenges of parent advocacy.

5. Special Ed Law & Advocacy Programs in MI, WA, NC, WV, OH, PA, IL - Boot Camps in FL & MD

Wrightslaw offers a variety of special education law and advocacy programs taught by nationally-known experts in the field.

The Fall 2006 schedule includes these programs.

September 22: Stevensville, MI - Special Education Law & Advocacy Training by Wayne Steedman and Pat Howey, sponsored by Autism in Berrien County Speaks. Register

September 30: Seattle, WA - Special Education Advocacy Training by advocate and paralegal Pat Howey, sponsored by the Snohomish County Developmental Disabilities Family Support Grant. How to Register

October 5: Winston-Salem, NC - Special Education Law & Advocacy Training by Pete and Pam Wright, sponsored by CenterPoint Human Services.   Download Registration Form.

October 13: Wheeling, WV - Special Education Law Training by Wayne Steedman, sponsored by Augusta Levy Learning Center. Download Registration Form

October 17: Cleveland, OH - Special Education Law & Advocacy Training by Pete and Pam Wright, sponsored by The Up Side of Downs of Greater Cleveland. Download Registration Form

October 19: Erie, PA - Special Education Law & Advocacy Training with Pete and Pam Wright, sponsored by Voices for Independence.  Download Flyer & Registration Form

October 28: Champaign, IL - Special Education Law & Advocacy Training by Wayne Steedman and Pat Howey, sponsored by the C-U Autism Network.  Download Registration Form.

* Boot Camps *

November 4-5: Ft. Lauderdale, FL - Special Education Law & Advocacy Bootcamp by Wayne Steedman and Pat Howey, sponsored by the Unicorn Children's Foundation.  Download Flyer & Registration Form

November 10-11: Columbia, MD - Special Education Law & Advocacy Boot Camp by Pete and Pam Wright, sponsored by the Howard County Autism Society.  Download Flyer & Registration Form

2006-2007 Schedule l Program Descriptions l Online Training

We are now scheduling programs for 2007 and 2008. If you are interested in bringing a Wrightslaw program to your community, please read the Conference Information.

6. Great New Autism Case - JP v. Hanover County Schools

In case you missed Friday's Alert about the new autism case, JP v. Hanover County, we wanted to provide the links again. (Many people advised that they were away from their email during the holiday weekend.)

In J.P. v. School Board of Hanover County VA, the parents lost at the due process hearing, but prevailed when Judge Robert Payne of the U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of Virginia issued another powerful pro-child decision on behalf of this child with autism.

Read the Analysis of JP v. Hanover County by Pete Wright and Pam Wright.
URL: https://www.wrightslaw.com/news/06/jp.hanover.autism.htm

Download the decision in JP v. County School Board of Hanover County VA
URL: https://www.wrightslaw.com/law/caselaw/06/peterson.hanover.va.pdf

Note: The Order and Decision is 88 pages in pdf and a very large file (1.5 mb). Please do not try to open this document online. Instead, download the file to your hard drive, then open it.

More autism caselaw: https://www.wrightslaw.com/info/autism.index.htm#caselaw

More special education caselaw: https://www.wrightslaw.com/caselaw.htm

7. Subscription & Contact Info

The Special Ed Advocate is a free online newsletter about special education legal and advocacy issues, cases, and tactics and strategies. Newsletter subscribers also receive "alerts" about new cases, events, and special offers on Wrightslaw books. Please click here to subscribe.


Contact Info

Pete and Pam Wright
Wrightslaw & The Special Ed Advocate
P. O. Box 1008
Deltaville, VA 23043
Website: https://www.wrightslaw.com
Email: webmaster@wrightslaw.com