| Services |
- Representation
- Intake
- Direct
representation
- Consultation
to other attorneys
- Attend
what?
- Court
- IEPs
- Administrative
Hearings
- Person
Centered Planning meetings
- Training/Workshops
- INTRODUCTION
TO IDEA: Rights, Resources and Results - Introduces
the concept that special education is in place to provide
additional services, support, programs, specialized
placements or environments to ensure that educational
needs of all students who have disabilities are provided
for at no cost to the parents. Explains the basic process
used to determine eligibility for special education
services and to develop individualized education programs.
- TAMING
THE IEP: How to write an effective IEP
- The Individualized Education Program [IEP] is the
“centerpiece” of the Individuals with Disabilities Education
Act. It is the forum for addressing the uniqueness that
justifies doing something different than general education
for a child with disabilities. This workshop will share
tools and strategies to help identify and describe a
student’s educational needs, identify learning and developmental
deficiencies, and propose a set of goals and objectives
for the student.
- SECTION
504: Exactly what is it? - Section 504 of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973 is a civil rights law designed
to eliminate discrimination on the basis of disability
in any program or activity that receives federal financial
assistance. In the public education arena, Section 504
guarantees certain rights to individuals with disabilities,
including the right to full participation and access
to a free and appropriate public education (FAPE) regardless
of the nature or severity of the disability. This workshop
focuses on who qualifies for educational services under
Section 504; how Section 504 can help a child; and what
are “appropriate” accommodations under Section 504.
- EARLY
INTERVENTION SERVICES: Help for Babies, Toddlers and
Preschoolers - The term Early Intervention
refers to services given to infants, toddlers and preschoolers
with special needs, generally from birth up to the age
of five. Services may include speech therapy, occupational
therapy and physical therapy, provided in the child’s
natural environment, which generally means the child's
home. The intent is that these services, provided early,
will help address delays in development as early as
possible to reduce or eliminate the need for services
later on in the child’s life.
- INCLUSION:
When ALL really means ALL - “Inclusive education”
is the implementation of the belief that all students
in a school, regardless of their strengths or weaknesses
in any area, belong to the school community of students,
teachers and support staff and should participate in
the whole educational process together. This workshop
is designed to help provide strategies on how to accomplish
inclusive education. Resources for making accommodations
will be included as well as resource lists for learning
more about inclusive education.
- POSITIVE
BEHAVIOR SUPPORTS: The Truth about Consequences
- This workshop explores the legal, educational, and
behavioral foundations of positive behavior support.
The session will discuss functional behavior assessments,
including the nature of the assessment and what role
the behavior itself plays in behavior analysis. A large
part of the session will be devoted to essential elements
of an effective positive behavior support plan, including
target behaviors, replacement behaviors, positive reinforcement,
data collection, etc.
- PREVENTING
RESTRAINT, SECLUSION AND USE OF AVERSIVES: Creating
truly safe schools - This workshop examines
recent trends in the use and abuse of seclusion and
restraint from both an educational and a legal perspective.
Participants will learn how to use Functional Behavior
Assessments and Behavior Intervention Plans to eliminate
the need for seclusion and restraints. The workshop
also will discuss IDEA 2004 and its implementing regulations
emphasizing the use of positive behavioral interventions.
- PERSON
CENTERED PLANNING: Captain of my ship, Master of my
fate - This workshop is designed to give participants
a basic understanding of Person-Centered Planning [PCP].
Participants will discuss the process for planning and
delivering services that focuses on and supports the
life outcomes chosen by the individual receiving services;
builds upon the capacity of the individual to engage
in activities that promote community life; and honors
the preferences and choices of the individual. A toolbox
of methods and resources that enable people with disabilities
to choose their own pathways to success will be discussed.
- ADHD
- Attention deficits, with or without hyperactivity,
have a tremendous impact on a child, the child’s family
and others in the child’s immediate environment. Children
with attention deficits encounter difficulty at home,
in social settings and especially at school. This workshop
concentrates on teaching a team-centered, problem-solving
approach to understanding ADHD and creating environments
and accommodations that maximize the child’s potential.
- PARENT-PROFESSIONALPARTNERSHIP:
Communicate, Collaborate, Coordinate - Parents
play a new role in today’s schools as core collaborators
with professionals because of dramatic reforms in general
and special education. Collaboration between families
and professionals is vital to success for individual
students with disabilities. This workshop highlights
strategies that develop trust between parents and professionals
and foster effective working relationships of mutual
respect.
- TRANSTITON:
Building Bridges to Opportunities - Transition
planning is the process through which schools, parents
and their children identify the child’s long-term needs
and desires and identify the services, systems and people
who can best help the child maximize his or her adult
life. It is critical to define the “dream” for post-school
life. Parents need to see a system and its participants
concentrate on their child’s abilities and life goals,
rather than focusing on the child’s deficits.
- BEAT
THE CLOCK: Grief and the Double Bind - Parents
of children with disabilities are in a double bind.
They move mountains to stabilize or cure their child’s
disease or disorder while simultaneously acting to maximize
the child’s life experiences. This workshop concentrates
on the emotions that surround those efforts, including
the joys and sorrows and how to survive the grief.
- ALL
IN THE FAMILY: Siblings and Sustaining a Happy Family
- This workshop discusses two major areas of need: the
need for simple, clear explanations about the cause
and nature of disabilities; and the need for reassurance
and support for the feelings of siblings about their
brother or sister who has special needs. This workshop
shares insights on solving family challenges that brothers
or sisters commonly confront. It is about the siblings,
too.
- LEGISLATIVE
ADVOCACY: Influencing Public Policy - This
workshop presents strategies to influence decision makers,
organize public opinion and influence and/or create
a public policy. The political process can be exciting
and challenging, particularly when families are equipped
with the appropriate knowledge and tools to work to
advance advocacy and public policy goals.
- RECORD
KEEPING: Parents as Central Data Banks
- To create an effective educational plan for meeting
a child’s needs, parents will need all records, past
and present. This workshop discusses the requirements
of the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act [FERPA];
demonstrates how to acquire and organize the child’s
records; and identifies how and with whom to share the
child’s records.
- PARENT
REPORT: Going from Recipient to Participant
- Parents of children with disabilities have a unique
understanding of their child, a keen sense of what types
of services their child needs and the most effective
service delivery methods. It is important for families
to have effective ways to convey that information to
others. Participants will learn how to use the Parent
Report to communicate effectively with professionals
to obtain the best programs for their children.
- RESPITE
CARE: Give me a Break!
- Caring for a child with disabilities or severe health
problems can be a full-time job. It is easy to become
overwhelmed with their care needs. Often, families who
would not hesitate to call for relief from the constant
care of their typical children hesitate to call for
relief from the care of their child with a disability
or special health care need. This workshop will describe
the respite care process and help identify respite care
sources.
- SELF
DETERMINATION: Supporting the Promise of Freedom
- The purpose of self-determination is to make it possible
for individuals to create personally meaningful lives
in their community. This workshop will explore the principles
of self-determination and the tools needed to make this
a reality.
- ALTERNATIVES
TO GUARDIANSHIP - This workshop demonstrates
how to promote development of meaningful relationships
and use the principles of person-centered planning and
self determination to help people with disabilities
make decisions for themselves with support from others
without the need for court intervention or the creation
of guardianships or conservatorships.
- WHAT
DO YOU MEAN IT’S NOT COVERED? - Accessing Community
Resources - One of the largest barriers to community
living for people with disabilities is the challenge
of finding and maintaining adequate community support.
This workshop identifies problems that arise in accessing
and using such community resources as health insurance,
Medicaid, home health care, child and adult waivers
and other programs; and discusses strategies for resolving
the problems.
- ADVANCED
SPECIAL EDUCATION - This two day workshop walks
the participant through the major components of special
education law including establishing eligibility, evaluations,
developing Individualized Education Programs, early
intervention and transition services, problem resolution,
due process and other legal remedies, Section 504 and
other special education concepts.
- SAME
LAKE, DIFFERENT BOAT - This workshop, designed
for professionals who provide educational, medical,
community, respite and other services to people with
disabilities and their families, introduces the participant
to the unique cultural, emotional and practical issues
that define and challenge the families they serve. This
course is a “Welcome to Holland” for service providers.
- TIME
STRESS MANAGEMENT - Life already is unpredictable
and stressful enough for families who have family members
with disabilities. This workshop teaches how to maximize
time and effort by using time management and stress
reduction techniques that help the family to operate
more efficiently in general and to be better prepared
to handle crises when they arise.
- THE
CULTURE OF DISABILITY - This workshop identifies
common misconceptions and stigmatizing beliefs and practices
that operate to isolate people with disabilities from
their general community. The workshop then provides
strategies that can be used to educate service providers
and members of the general public on the harm that such
practices and attitudes cause and how those practices
can be changed.
- Writing
- Systems
Advocacy
- Juvenile
Court
|
|
|
