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Registration is now open for this premiere regional conference on special education and the law. Please join us! Benefits: Learn from special education law experts from around the country Build professional relationships and network with colleagues Stay current on recent legal decisions and interpretations of special education law and litigation Expand your knowledge on emerging legal issues and trends When: September 26 - Optional Mini-Courses September 27 and 28 - Institute Keynote Speaker Spotlight: Jonathan Mooney "Re-Drawing the Lines - Neurodiversity: A Compass to a Changing World" Mr. Mooney is a writer and activist with dyslexia who learned to read when he was 12-years-old. He has since earned an honors degree in English Literature at Brown University and has written and published two thought-provoking books. The Institute will feature four keynote presentations at General Sessions and offers sixteen workshops on current topics such as Discipline Under the IDEA, Untangling Manifest Determinations, and Avoiding the Pitfalls in the IEP Process. Pre-institute Mini-Courses will provide an in-depth view of special education law applicable in public schools. We are pleased to announce that the 2011 Institute will be held in downtown Portland at the Portland Hilton and Executive Towers. The hotel has offered an excellent, discounted guest room rate. More information is available on the website. Register Now for the 28th Annual Pacific Northwest Institute on Special Education and the Law, September 26-28, 2011, at the Portland Hilton and Executive Tower, in Portland, Oregon. Complete details available at www.uwschoollaw.org

A Note from Vicki S. Dohrmann: Our planning committee has been working hard at planning the annual Special Education Conference. We are pleased to announce our 2012 conference faculty and full-day course schedule.  We are bringing specialists from all over the U.S. to present current research and evidence-based interventions.  The conference is scheduled for March 7-9, 2012 (Wednesday-Friday) at the Shoreline Conference Center. We are asking local businesses interested in supporting special education to donate directly to schools to support staff development for special education teachers, therapists and support personnel.   If you have an intern or parent that may be interested in volunteering at the conference, please ask them to contact me at vickid@seanet.com; we currently have volunteer positions available for all courses.  If you have an active parent-teacher organization at your school, please share this information with them.  We appreciate your support in helping us "get the word out" about the annual conference. Sincerely, Vicki S. Dohrmann, MA, CCC-SLP Planning Committee Chairperson-Rehab Seminars When: March 7-9, 2011 Where: Shoreline Conference Center Greater Seattle, Washington Area

Raleigh County Schools Special Education Department is receiving national attention for its work providing new teachers with resources and mentorship. Special Education Programs Director Cindy Corley-Hicks explained that recruiting and retaining special education teachers is a problem nationwide because of the challenging aspects of the job, including feelings of isolation, legal liability and copious amounts of paperwork. In an effort to remedy this constant turnover, Raleigh County has partnered with the Department of Education and the federally funded National Center to Inform Policy and Practice in Special Education Professional Development (NCIPP) to develop the New Teacher Induction and Support Project.

With about six million children requiring special education services, you may very well be the parent of a special needs child. Your journey may be difficult. How can you be sure you are getting the best care for your child? Are there programs to help your child that you don’t know about? What can you do to make yourself feel better during the extra stressful moments? Here are 8 tips that were offered by special needs parents.

As a parent to a child with special needs one of the best things you can do for yourself and your child is to join a support group.  Support groups can be rich in information that can be helpful for you while raising a child with special needs.  You can learn from the experiences of parents who have been there before.  There are opportunities for emotional and social support for you and your child.

The nation's premier special-needs theme park, Morgan's Wonderland opened four years ago based on the vision of philanthropist Gordon Hartman. "I was at a hotel pool with my daughter, Morgan, who was 11 or 12 at the time, when she kept looking over at two other kids in the pool who were tossing around a ball," he recalls. "I knew she wanted to play with them, but because she has special needs she didn't have the communication skills to ask, so she hit the ball. They grabbed it from her and got out of the water." That's the moment the retired homebuilder decided that he wanted to create a place where kids with special needs and those without could have fun together. He traveled around the country, seeking input from pediatricians, families, therapists, and engineers. The result: a 25-acre oasis on the city's northeast side, where every ride and attraction -- from the carousel to the train to the off-road adventure -- can accommodate all children and adults.

Smugglers' Notch Jeffersonville, Vermont Although it's known for its skiing, this resort area offers amazing summertime adaptive programs for kids ages 3 and up. Depending on the need, children may be given a trained camp counselor and can be incorporated into the kids' program to swim, hike, climb the rock wall, and do arts and crafts, or be part of a special-needs group. If they're 6 or older, they can take part in an Autism Mountain Camp that includes horseback riding and sailing. Private swim lessons, which focus on fulfilling a child's sensory needs, are also available.

Morgan's Wonderland San Antonio, Texas

Click here to download the full flyer (PDF) What: Special Movie Event and Halloween Celebration for Families with Children with Special Needs Where: Public Library, 301 E. Main in Missoula When: October 29, 2010 Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Bring the whole family for this fun filled evening! Fun alternative to candy trick or treating Healthy snacks tailored for children with food allergies or special diets Family-friendly animated feature film Sensory-friendly movie experience Everyone is free to get up and move around

Special education used to be a place—sometimes a separate school, more often a classroom down the hall where students labeled as such disappeared for hours at a time, out of sight and out of mind for the typical classroom teacher. That’s still sometimes the case, but increasingly, special education is front and center in the regular education classroom, and the population of students with individualized education plans has shifted away from those considered learning disabled.

Fewer students have been diagnosed with learning disabilities, but more students are being diagnosed with autism. “You’re not sending a child somewhere when you provide special ed. You’re providing them a service,” says Mary Watson, director of the Exceptional Child Division in the North Carolina Department of Education. “Special education is not a place; special education is individualized instruction with supports and services.”

Special needs parenting is a lifestyle.  For many of us, it is not the lifestyle we chose.  And even if we did choose to become a special needs family through adoption, there are still plenty of reasons to be cranky – and then joke about it later.

With the summer just a month away parents are starting to feel the heat. Kids will be out of school and the challenge of providing a structured and fun summer are weighing heavily on the minds of parents. To make you a little less worried Netbuddy has collected 19 tips from parents of children with special needs on who to get through the summer break.

Family life in the military is no easy task. Spouses are gone for long periods of time, Children need to be raised, and there is constant worry about a spouse that is deployed. In addition to all this strain, some military families have the additional challenge of raising a child with special needs. Thankfully there are a number of resources available to help. Here are 10 resources and services for special needs families in the military.

Due to high interest in summer camps I have compiled 19 more great summer camps for individuals with special needs.  Many of these are hometown favorites suggested by readers of this blog, and some are specialized for individuals who would not otherwise be able to participate in summer camp. Whatever your special needs are, there is a summer camp for you!