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The purpose of the project is to build partnerships between parents and educators to ensure that children receive the highest educational opportunities and achievement possible.

A team consisting of a parent of a special needs child and an educator staffs each PERC

All PERCs have certain common functions and responsibilities including: Providing information, resources, and training for parents on important issues such as parenting skills, problem solving, educational planning for their child, behavior management, home learning activities, and other topics to strengthen home-to-school partnerships; Assisting families on an individual basis to better understand their children's educational needs and to discover opportunities and options for meeting these needs; Connecting families with appropriate community services; and Offering information, resources, and training to educators to increase the skills, knowledge and attitudes needed to encourage and strengthen family involvement and positive school-to-home partnerships.

Many parents don’t understand the obligation of the school to evaluate their child, and they may not know how to push through a request for evaluation when facing resistance.

Although Seesaw had much greater efficacy at the early elementary than middle school level, this may have been related to institutional factors.

Establishing meaningful relationships with families is a critical part of your work, and your communication is especially important when working with families with preschoolers with special needs.

The first step to establish strong relationships with families of children with special needs is to spend time discovering their wishes and concerns for their children and to learn about the meaningful activities they participate in at home. Maintaining this communication throughout a child’s time in your program is essential. Ask questions to learn about strategies that work at home and consider using them in your classroom.

In your collaboration with families, acknowledge and respect their strengths and unique background, while realizing their ability to make decisions that are right for them (Hanson & Lynch, 2004).

Instructional technology seeks to disprove the idea that "great teachers are born, not made."

"Students today can't prepare bark to calculate their problems. They depend on slates, which are more expensive. What will they do when the slate is dropped and it breaks? They will be unable to write." From a Teachers Conference, 1703. "Students today depend on paper too much. They don't know how to write on a slate without getting chalk dust all over themselves. They can't clean a slate properly. What will they do when they run out of paper?" From a principal's publication, 1815. "Students today depend too much on ink. They don't know how to use a pen knife to sharpen a pencil. Pen and ink will never replace the pencil." From the National Association of Teachers Journal, 1907. "Students today depend on store-bought ink. They don't know how to make their own. When they run out of ink they will be unable to write words or cipher until their next trip to the settlement. This is a sad commentary on modern education." From The Rural American Teacher, 1928. "Students depend on these expensive fountain pens. They can no longer write with a straight pen and nib. We parents must not allow them to wallow in such luxury to the detriment of how to cope in the business world, which is not so extravagant." From the Parent Teachers Association Gazette, 1941. "Ballpoint pens will be the ruin of education in our country. Students use these devices and then throw them away. The American values of thrift and frugality are being discarded. Business and banks will never allow such expensive luxuries." From Federal Teachers, 1950.

What this suggests is that all technologies, be they things that plug in or advances in thought, have various affordances that make them at times useful and at times not useful. The trick is to figure out what makes them useful in what situations in order to leverage their strengths and avoid their weaknesses.

Intellectual disability is a term used when a person has certain limitations in mental functioning and in skills such as communicating, taking care of him or herself, and social skills. These limitations will cause a child to learn and develop more slowly than a typical child.

So how can you help?

Listening to children’s feelings.

Rewarding effort, not just “the product.”

There is no known cure for PDD. Medications are used to address specific behavioral problems; therapy for children with PDD should be specialized according to need.

The diagnostic category of pervasive developmental disorders (PDD) refers to a group of disorders characterized by delays in the development of socialization and communication skills. Parents may note symptoms as early as infancy, although the typical age of onset is before 3 years of age

Symptoms may include problems with using and understanding language; difficulty relating to people, objects, and events; unusual play with toys and other objects; difficulty with changes in routine or familiar surroundings, and repetitive body movements or behavior patterns.

Minnesota's child protection system responds to situations where children are alleged to be maltreated and helps support families to safely care for their children.

In Minnesota, approximately 25,000 children are reported for abuse and neglect to the child protection system each year, which counties and tribes assess

Small steps • Meet and greet your neighbors to generate a friendly environment. • Get to know other parents in your neighborhood. • Help families under stress by offering to babysit or run errands. • Provide food to families in need. • Volunteer at schools, libraries, community centers or other locations that offer children's activities. • Talk with children one-on-one to develop a sense of connection. • Report any concerns about a child being harmed to local county social services agency or the police. Big steps