Each month, special education lawyer Matt Cohen answers selected questions from the LD OnLine community regarding legal issues for people with learning disabilities. Below are the newest questions answered by Matt Cohen. To view all questions, organized by topic, visit the All Questions section.

When someone turns 18, they become an adult and are expected to make the right to make decisions about their medical treatment, finances and life. In order to make these decisions binding (in a legal sense), the person should be competent to understand the decision being made and the consequences of that decision.

1. The school does not want to change long-standing procedures. 2. The school does not want to make exceptions to existing policies or practices. 3. The school is afraid of setting a precedent. 4. The school does not have the staff to meet the child’s needs. 5. The staff is not trained to meet the child’s needs. 6. The school does not have a program to meet the child’s needs. 7. The school is committed to their one-size-fits all service delivery models. 8. The school believes the services your child needs are too expensive. 9. The school is overwhelmed by the complexity of your child’s needs. 10. The school does not understand the legal requirement to provide your child with an individualized program.

My name is Kathy Thompson and my son Jeffrey is a great kid and an excellent athlete. You would think that he doesn’t have a care in the world, except to make the first string on his football or wrestling team, but that is far from the case. Since kindergarten, Jeffrey struggled to read.

Here are eight important tips you should pass on to people who will be working with your special child.

When a federal judge this week threw out a copyright infringement lawsuit against universities working on a project with Google to digitize millions of books, he unleashed Google's plans and opened the door to the distribution of these books to people who are blind or have other print disabilities. The National Federation of the Blind on Thursday applauded the ruling, saying it will give blind students and scholars fresh access to the 10 million books placed in the digital library created by Cornell University, Indiana University, University of California, University of Michigan, and the University of Wisconsin.

The goal of the National Deaf-Blind Equipment Distribution Program (NDBEDP) is to ensure that every person with combined hearing and vision loss has access to modern telecommunication tools and the training necessary to use them, granting every individual the opportunity to interact with the world as an involved, contributing member of society. The program — promoted by iCanConnect — provides outreach, assessments, telecommunications technology and training free of charge to those who meet federal eligibility guidelines. For more information about the NDBEDP, including the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) consumer guide and eligibility rules, visit www.fcc.gov/NDBEDP.

Goals: To build local capacity and expand inclusive child care options for families by providing training, resources, and technical assistance directly to Montana's child care resource and referral programs (specifically the Early Childhood Specialists), licensed child care programs, LCPs (legally certified providers), PLUK (Montana parent and training information program), and CFSP (regional child/family service providers/early intervention programs).

At first, the word “bullying” conjures up images of a tough, wise-cracking kid verbally taunting and embarrassing another, pushing, punching, poking, tripping, threatening, taking his possessions, ripping his clothes, defacing his property… all behaviors that are clearly inappropriate and that demand immediate adult intervention. But what about the child who because of her small stature and difficulties with expressive language, is rejected by peers when she tries to sit next to them on the school bus and taunted when she tries to join in a conversation? Or the student who is fearful of walking through the hallways in school because of the dozens of times (by any number of peers) he has been shoved, face first, into a locker or had his backpack yanked off his body causing him to fall backwards (sometimes on the staircase!) resulting in his being late for class, not to mention the physical and emotional pain he’s had to endure.

This two-course, expert-led, series is focused on the aspects and competencies necessary in order to navigate the transition process; preparing for the transition of individuals with autism towards adulthood.

As Principal Investigators of the Center on Online Learning and Students with Disabilities, we are writing this letter to express some concerns about the present participation of students with disabilities in online learning. Several months ago we accepted the challenge of finding answers to important research questions about how online learning environments can be optimally designed and implemented to be accessible, engaging, and effective for all students, including students with disabilities.  To accomplish this goal, the Center is conducting research to identify and verify trends and issues as well as describe potential positive outcomes and negative consequences related to participation of students with disabilities in online learning.  These findings will inform our development and testing of promising approaches to online learning for students with disabilities.  This research program definitively has barely begun.

Things were so simple before. If a student was struggling in your classroom…there obviously was something wrong with them. Not your teaching methods (or curriculum for that matter). Things are not so simple anymore…nor were they ever…really. The prevailing attitude of “my way or the highway” in education is dying…albeit a slow death. There are those who cling to it because that is what they know. So…I can’t really fault them for it. As with any “practice,” one that involves a community, methods change and evolve…so the educational system of my days will look different 20 years from now.

When Oscar Pistorius crossed the finish line in last place in the 400-meter event at the 2012 Summer Olympics, his fans were elated.Pistorius, a South African who runs on carbon fiber prosthetics, made history by becoming the first double amputee to compete. Simply finishing the race was a victory.“I didn't grow up thinking I had a disability,” he says. “I grew up thinking I had different shoes.”American farmers go to work daily in a highly hazardous occupation without attracting much fuss or fanfare. But more than 1 million individuals working in agriculture today have physical disabilities that affect their essential tasks, according to a study in the Journal of AgroMedicine.

“Who needs caffeine when I can have adrenaline-fueled adventures all day and all night?” That’s what I used to say when my son was little.  By 1 or 2 pm on most days, my hands started trembling from the constant stream of adrenaline. My mind was always on alert because my hyperactive son was an escape artist with a knack for getting himself into dangerous situations.  I had to think quickly on the run.

Our mission is to provide quality educational programs to allow therapists and educators to expand their knowledge.  Application of this knowledge in the educational setting in Montana will allow children to fully participate in their educational programs.

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.

Leaders from the disability community joined U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and other senior officials from the White House and the Education Department Monday for a panel discussion celebrating the 39th anniversary of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

A federal investigation into whether East Orange, N.J., schools placed students with disabilities in segregated classrooms is now closed with a pledge from the district to change the way it decides where these students attend school. The U.S. Department of Education's office for civil rights said today that it found that during the 2009-10 and 2010-11 school years, more than 60 percent of students with disabilities in East Orange were in self-contained classrooms. Many of the students had been diagnosed as having learning disabilities. The agency found that the district didn't always consider whether these students could be successful in an integrated classroom with the right supports. The New Jersey Department of Education's goal is that about 44 percent of students with disabilities spend most of their school days with students who don't have disabilities.

At the 2012 USA Science & Engineering Festival, children swarmed a National Science Foundation exhibit booth featuring electric-powered, child-sized toy cars. Assistants carefully explained how to operate the cars, which featured unique designs and operating features. One of cars, for example, would move only if the child driver remained standing. To stop, the driver had to sit down. Excited children and their parents wondered about the cars' purpose; after all, these cars weren't being exhibited at a science and engineering event for being ordinary toys.

University of Delaware researchers had, in fact, specifically designed the cars to provide mobility to very young children with special needs.