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1.  If your child is exhibiting new behavioral problems that are interfering with their ability to access the curriculum; your school may need to implement a Behavior Support Plan to extinguish the negative or off task behavior. 2.  If your child is struggling academically in the first semester, don’t wait until second semester to address the problem.  If you have to request new assessments; keep in mind the timeline from the day you authorized the assessments.  The school has 60 days* in which to conduct the assessments and hold an IEP, so if you wait until second semester, the school year might be coming to an end; basically, your child has lost the entire year.  * Some States have different timelines so please check the timelines in your State. 3.  If your child will be attending Kindergarten, Middle School or High School the following year; you need to know all the areas of strengths and weaknesses to help them transition into the next phase of their education. 4.  If your child has been bullied in school, you need to make sure there is a safety plan implemented to protect your child from harm.  In addition, your child should know the name of the school personnel they can approach if the situation arises again; providing a safe place in the school environment. 5.  If your child’s placement is no longer working, do not wait to address this problem; otherwise, your child may lose an entire year of academics. 6.  If your child has been suspended repeatedly for behavioral problems, do not wait until the school is about to expel your child from the district.  Call an IEP to discuss changes in the Behavior Support Plan or ask for additional assessments immediately such as a Functional Behavior Assessment. 7.  If your child has been assigned an Aide that is not experienced enough to prevent your child from eloping, you need to call an IEP as soon as possible to request a BCBA (Board Certified Behavior Analyst) or additionally training for the Aide.  Remember, every time your child leaves the classroom they are not being educated! 8.  If your child is experiencing depression, lack of self-worth, anxiety…etc.  You should call an IEP and request a Social/Emotional Assessment for in-school counseling.  If your child already has in-school counseling and that’s not working then you need to request an Educationally Related Mental Health Assessment to address these issues before they escalate into more serious behavior. 9.  If the services you agreed to at your child’s last IEP meeting are not working, you need to call an IEP to ask your school to increase the amount of services, or file for Due Process if you feel it’s necessary to take the matter directly to the school district. 10. If the School has not been following your child’s IEP; therefore, is out of compliance, call an IEP right away to allow the school to remedy the situation.  If they are not willing to rectify the situation then you need to either file for Due Process or file a complaint with the State Department of Education.

Click here to download the full brochure with registration form (PDF) Region IV CSPD is pleased to offer a range of learning opportunities to assist teachers in making the curriculum more rigorous and relevant for students.  These workshops will assist teachers in the implementation of a Response to Intervention (RtI) Model in Middle and High Schools.  Workshops will help participants put a successful three-tier model into place at their schools.

You can register here to become a member! You can also download the full flyer here!What:TASH invites you to learn about Building Inclusive High School Communities by participating in this exclusive webinar series featuring leading experts on inclusive education. Creating a truly inclusive high school can be an arduous and complex process, especially as schools already face the challenge of raising academic standards through rigor and high-stakes testing. But as the gateway to adult life, high school should embrace and support all students by creating opportunities for: Self-advocacy Differentiated instruction and Universal Design for Learning Youth Engagement Relationship building and social interactions Engaging in preparation for the quality of life they deserve in the community This series is intended for anyone interested in developing inclusive schools, including parents of middle and high school students, special and general education teachers, special services staff and directors, school administrators, inclusive facilitators and other personnel. When:February 20 - March 20, 2012Accessible 24/7!Contact:Phone: (202) 509-9596Email: pallen@tash.orgWebsite: http://tash.org/conferences-events/webinars/current-webinars/

While policymakers and researchers alike have focused on improving students’ transition into high school, a new study of Florida schools suggests the critical transition problem may happen years before, when students enter middle school.

Although there are a variety of school-based services available for children with learning, emotional, and social disabilities, one critical need often goes unfulfilled: providing guidance and strategies that instill self-advocacy.       Most students have only a superficial notion of the reasons they receive these special accommodations, and many children are completely uninformed. Resource teachers and specialists do not generally have the authority to label and enlighten students about their disabilities, the foundation for building self-advocacy. If children are to learn how to become better consumers of educational resources, especially as they grow older, someone must take the lead.      Parents of children with disabilities can fill this role by doing the following: Introduce children’s diagnoses to them in elementary school so that they can make sense out of their struggles Use a matter-of-fact tone of voice when explaining to children that they learn/behave/relate differently from other students and, therefore, need extra help to ensure that they can succeed just like their classmates Don’t leave out the disability label—such as writing disability, ADHD, or Aspergers Syndrome—since labels are a reality of their educational life Emphasize that the teachers and special staff at school who help them will be aware of this label and prepared to help in certain ways to make school a fairer place for them to learn and grow      It’s important to review with children the ways in which their school must provide special help and services. Emphasize that these accommodations are rules the school must follow. “You have the responsibility to do your best job, and teachers must follow the learning/behavior/friendship helping rules that make things fair for you,” is one way to put it. Explain how extra time on assessments, decreased homework, or social skills groups are examples of the helping rules that schools must follow. Discuss how there is a written promise called the individualized education plan (IEP), which includes all the helping rules and makes all of this clear.      Find child-friendly resources—such as books, websites, and videos—that explain in detail their specific disability and the ways other children have learned to cope and achieve despite these limitations. Use these materials as a springboard for deeper discussion about past times when their disability created significant stress or barriers to success. Reassure them that this was before their problem was known and that there is so much that can be done to build a plan for success now that it has been identified.      Point out that one of their most important responsibilities is to be able to discuss their disability with teachers and ask for extra help and accommodation when struggles are too great. Make sure that these discussions take place before middle school, when developmental factors make it harder to get such discussions started. Ensure that they know what practical steps are in their IEP at each grade so that they can respectfully remind teaching staff if necessary.      Having a disability is like having to wear glasses; students with glasses have accepted this fact as necessary to seeing clearly.

The Connecticut classroom of the future may not be limited by a traditional school year, the four walls of a classroom, or even the standard progression of grades, based on a proposed package of unusually bold changes that are being advanced by the state’s school superintendents. Instead, the current system would be replaced by a “learner-centered” education program that would begin at age 3; offer parents a menu of options, including charter schools and magnet schools; and provide assessments when an individual child is ready to be tested, rather than having all children tested in a class at the same time. The superintendents’ recommendations also promote the long-resisted idea of consolidating some of the state’s 165 school districts, 21 of which consist of only one school.

What: The Division of Special Education has scheduled an All Teacher Training on the dates and locations below. The training will review the special education process and forms. All trainings will be from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Locations: September 13 September 14 September 15 Browning, September 13 Browning Public Schools Board Room Ronan, September 14 Ronan Middle School Auditorium Butte, September 15 Alternative School Auditorium (1050 S. Montana Street) Lewistown, September 13 Fergus County High School Auditorium Terry, September 14 Terry High School Hardin, September 15 Hardin Middle School Auditorium To register, please go to: http://www.opi.mt.gov/regforms/speced/

After waiting 57 days since the school year began, Henry Frost will be able to cross the street and walk less than the length of two football fields to attend his neighborhood middle school.

Jocks don't have a reputation for always being nice to the little guy. But this middle school football team went above and beyond for a teammate, and their plan to lift up a student with behavioral and learning disabilities is an amazing example of kids' kindness.

Working and non-working parents alike are forced to scurry to school in the middle of the day to pick up children for issues that the school could have typically handled internally. These repeated pick-up calls beg the question as to whether the school can legally require parents to come get their special needs children before the school day concludes.

Looking back on the past three years, I wanted to document the critical factors that seemed to make a difference in my son’s experience. Some of these factors parents can influence, and some are more difficult. I can personally attest to difficulty of rolling the ball up hill so-to-speak, when it comes to implementing change in schools. But if we start identify what is working well, then, perhaps, we can start to advocate and change schools so that they work for kids with autism instead of against them.

What: The Division of Special Education has scheduled an All Teacher Training on the dates and locations below. The training will review the special education process and forms. When: All trainings will be from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Where: Browning, September 13 Administration Building Lewistown, September 13 Fergus High School Auditorium Ronan, September 14 Ronan Middle School Auditorium Terry, September 14 Terry High School Butte, September 15 Location to be determined Hardin, September 15 Hardin Middle School Auditorium