April 4th, 2012 – Wednesday, 7-9pm – Basic Rights in Special Education – an Amesbury/Georgetown/Groveland SEPAC meeting – The Georgetown SEPAC is pleased to co-sponsor this Federation for Children with Special Needs (FCSN) Workshop at the Amesbury Middle School, 2nd floor library, 220 Main Street, Amesbury 01913. Theresa Seip, of the FCSN, will be presenting. The Basic Rights in Special Education Workshop provides families with an introduction to their rights and responsibilities under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Massachusetts Special Education Law and No Child Left Behind (NCLB). It is designed to help parents learn how to be effective partners with their child’s school to decide the child’s eligibility for special education, and to plan, make decisions and monitor their child’s progress in school. Workshop materials are also available in Spanish, Portuguese and Chinese.
Federation staff suggest that you attend this workshop first in order to better understand our other workshops. Learn about the Special Education laws, the process of how Special Education laws play out in your school, understand your rights so that you can effectively collaborate with your professional partners and become a more effective advocate for your child. Topics presented will include laws such as IDEA 2004, No Child Left Behind, Massachusetts Special Education Law, Section 504 and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA); General Education supports; and Steps in the IEP process. This workshop is free and open to the public. Please join us and RSVP/register if possible (to ensure materials) to Kara Keleher at 978-388-9950 or Pam Lundquist @ tenhawkway@comcast.net!
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Friday, March 16, 2012
Working Memory Presentation Notes from 3-13-12
Georgetown Special Education Parent Advisory Council (SEPAC) Meeting
https://sites.google.com/site/georgetownsepac/home (access from district website)
https://georgetownsepac.blogspot.com
Meeting Minutes, March 13, 2012 – 6:30 pm, Penn Brook Library
March 13, 2012 – Georgetown SEPAC Meeting, 6:30-8:30pm, Penn Brook Library, 68 Elm St., Georgetown: Working Memory: Strengthening the Weak Link in ADD/ADHD Keynote Speaker: Rebecca Shafir, of www.mindfulcommunication.com. Did you know that Working Memory (WM) is the new IQ? Working Memory is the best indicator of academic success; better than IQ scores. Working Memory underlies several functions related to learning and is considered by researchers to be the weak link in persons with ADHD, a neurobiological condition that affects one' s ability to maintain attention. Working memory takes the information we focus on, processes, sorts, and evaluates it, and brings it together with our long-term memory to generate a response, a decision on how to act or think upon the new information. Our working memory is constantly processing new information from the environment, and the way that happens affects our recall of reading material, social interaction, names, and places. The good news is that working memory can be strengthened and improved. In this 90 minute talk, qualified Cogmed Working Memory Training coach Rebecca Shafir will describe working memory's impact on academics and social skills, plus the research behind working memory training. We will also discuss practical, specific strategies to improve and compensate for poor working memory, both at home and at school.
Speech/language Pathologist, communication consultant, and brain fitness expert Rebecca Shafir has been helping children and adults with ADHD and ADHD-like conditions communicate and think more clearly and powerfully at home, at work and in public for more than 25 years.
In the areas of cognitive health, wellness and rehabilitation, Ms. Shafir has served as Chief of the Communications Disorders Department at Choate-Symmes Health Services, Chief of Speech/Language Pathology at the Lahey Clinic Medical Center. For that past ten years she has worked as Clinician/Director of Business Development for the Hallowell Center for Cognitive and Emotional Health, all in Massachusetts, also a practicing speech/language pathologist.
Rebecca Shafir’s award-winning book The Zen of Listening: Mindful Communication in the Age of Distraction from Quest Books, will help all who read it, from families to teachers to leaders in all walks of life!
Working Memory is the ability to hold onto pieces of information in your mind and apply them to achieve a goal. Poor working memory is a core deficit in ADHD, as well as for children with learning difficulties, anxiety disorders, or brain injury. Working memory is what helps us to stay focused on task, to block out distractions, to be aware of our environment, to reason through multifaceted choices, and to perform effectively.
ADHD can mask as at least 30 different diagnoses. ADHD’s three primary symptoms are inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity, occurring in more than one setting. The disorder significantly impairs a child’s ability to function in some of the activities of daily life, such as schoolwork and/or relationships with family and friends. Symptoms are usually apparent before the age of 7.
At the Hallowell Center, we commonly see kids who have been underdiagnosed, overdiagnosed, and misdiagnosed. The right medication can be extremely helpful for about 70% of children diagnosed with ADHD. However, it generally only increases working memory function by 10%. Medication helps with focus, but not necessarily with control over focus.
Executive function is a set of cognitive processes, including working memory, problem solving, multi-tasking and more. For people with ADHD, executive functioning is often impaired in areas such as:
- Focusing/high distractibility
- making transitions
- self-monitoring
- self-regulating/decreased inhibition/increased impulsivity
- organizing materials, not losing things
- effective time management
- planning and carrying out tasks
- storing and retrieving information
- recognition of key ideas
- noticing details
- requiring high interest tasks to stave off boredom
Our society today, as it is evolving, does not do a lot to develop executive function. One particular area, family dinnertime table talk, is in great peril. With modern time constraints, we tend to compress discussions that help us think through pros and cons, evaluate new ideas and share opinions on newsworthy items, consider consequences. Conversations that encourage children to reason and develop their critical judgment tend to be shorter than ever before, when they occur at all.
In schools, teaching the information-packed curriculums of today is so demanding that time for information processing and multi-modal understanding of the material is minimal to nonexistent. Time pressures lead teachers to more of a focus on memorization and repetition than on integration of information.
Direct one-on-one conversation time in general is often minimal. What has taken its place is time on the internet, social media, texting, tweeting, facebooking. While all of these do represent a form of communication, they allow both children and adults to participate more passively; immediate response are not necessarily called for; participants are not required to take in another’s presence in a truly active way.
According to a 2009 Kaiser Family Foundation study on Daily Media Use Among Children and Teens,
- 8-18 year-olds devote an average of 7 hours and 38 minutes (7:38) to using entertainment media across a typical day (more than 53 hours a week).
- Those who say their parents do set limits on media consume nearly 3 hours less media per day than those with no rules.
- (64%) of young people say the TV is usually on during meals.
- Just under half (45%) say the TV is left on “most of the time” in their home.
- Seven in ten (71%) have a TV in their bedroom, and half (50%) have a console video game player in their room.
- “The amount of time young people spend with media has grown to where it’s even more than a full-time work week,” said Drew Altman, Ph.D., President and CEO of the Kaiser Family Foundation. “When children are spending this much time doing anything, we need to understand how it’s affecting them – for good and bad.”
One thing we know about high media use, is that heavy users of media do report lower grades in school. Which is not surprising considering that they are missing out on discussions that call on them to think critically, evaluate what is happening, and think through cause and effect.
Working Memory calls primarily on two parts of the brain, the Frontal Lobe – your “brain’s conductor,” which controls attention, motivation, emotional/social judgement, problem solving, decision making, expressive language, motor integration and voluntary movement, and also the Parietal Lobe, which controls tactile perception (touch), awareness of spatial relationships, and most academic skills. The brains of children diagnosed with ADHD tend to show reduced parietal functioning and smaller/less developed/less active frontal lobes.
The children who “grow out” of ADHD are the ones whose brains grow in these two areas as they become adults. Working memory has been found to be one of the last areas/capabilities in the brain to develop. It has also been noted as one of the first capabilities to “go.” Working memory function often begins to decline in people in their 4o’s (sorry!).
The most popular theory of Working Memory used today is Alan Baddeley’s model, which is a three part model/schematic: the Central Executive function (controls/regulates cognitive processes) is comprised of
1) The Phonological Loop – Auditory/Language
2) Episodic Buffer – Short term episodic memory/links to long-term memory
3) Visuo-spatial sketchpad – Visual semantics/movement
Children in elementary school use working memory to build reading comprehension, do mental arithmetic, interact and respond appropriately in social situations.
Middle School presents a very great challenge to working memory, as the complexity and volume of information presented for learning increases drastically. Expectations for doing homework independently, solving multi-step math word problems, writing essays and reports all require an efficient working memory.
Tutors can help students with executive functioning disorders, but they need to teach the student key organizational skills and mnemonics, or strategies to remember important information at the same time they teach the academic skills. Otherwise, their value is only temporary.
Neuropsychological testing can be of great value to parents, children, and the schools. Working Memory tests are fairly good, but they also are conducted in controlled environments. So to fully evaluate a person’s Working Memory capability, it is important for me to assess other factors, such as
- hearing
- visual
- anxiety and depression (both can cause or be caused by Working Memory issues)
- diet – fish oil and vitamin D can both help
- real life descriptions of struggles at home and in the classroom
Because improved working memory function has been shown to improve behavior at home and at school, lessen anxiety, and decrease explosive episodes, it is important to find working memory training tools that are affordable, effective, and make long-range or permanent improvements.
Several ways to improve working memory for people of all ages have been found effective:
• Medication (generally helps around 70% of people formally diagnosed with ADHD)
• Diet & Exercise – Read SPARK: The Exercise Revolution, by John Ratey
o www.johnratey.com - Try asking the kids to do 25 pushups before school!
o John Ratey is also co-author with Dr. Edward Hallowell of Delivered from Distraction.
• Stress Management – biofeedback, neurofeedback, slow/deep breathing, visualization, meditation
• Positive Immersion-based learning – using high-interest, fun game-like situations, such as chess or martial arts to build cognitive skills and learning style awareness
• Socialization - Constructive conversation and dialog to build critical thinking
• Compensation Strategies – practicing note/study/test taking strategies and time management techniques, calendars, setting schedules/deadlines, clearly define goals, monitor progress.
• Executive Function Coaching – one on one consultative support, with or without assistive technologies/computerized brain training
• Computerized brain training (of frontal and parietal lobes)
o http://www.inspiration.com/ - Inspiration and Kidspiration software For visual mapping, outlining, writing and making presentations, etc.
o http://www.positscience.com/ - Brain Training Software
o http://www.learningbreakthrough.com/ - a “strength-based” treatment for ADHD, dyslexia and other learning difficulties.
One of the most effective computer-based brain training programs, considered by many “a new breed of intervention,” is called Cogmed Working Memory Training (by Pearson). Improvements can be expected in reading comprehension, math skills, language development, on-task behavior, and more. Use of Cogmed must be supervised by a psychiatrist. Training is done at home on a PC. The program requires a commitment of 5 weeks, 30-40 minutes a day (15 for children ages 4-7). The program includes coach support for the 25 sessions, and 100 additional sessions after that.
Ideal candidate clients should basically like video games and not be too anxious. There are 3 different programs, one for 4-7 year olds, one for 7-17 year olds, and one for adults. Each has different graphics and reward systems, fishes for the younger ones, robots for the older ones, not a lot for adults.
Cogmed, supervised by a psychiatrist, runs around $1600, while Learning Breakthrough, generally much less or unsupervised, runs around $400. While LB has helped many people, its results are somewhat less evidence-based at this time than those of Cogmed.
A supervised program will be much more customized to the client. Targeted outcomes become our goals. We ask, if you could make your life easier in 3-5 ways, what would those be, and generally zoom in on making those ways happen in an engaging way, such as improving reading comprehension, writing skills, math skills, easily completing/keeping track of/not losing homework, confidence in taking on the challenge of a complex project, increased sense of self-control over appropriate social responses at home or at school.
Parents and teachers almost uniformly report improved social skills, taking initiative, remembering instructions and completing assignments more independently in students who have used the Cogmed program.
Cogmed can also be extremely helpful for concussion/head injury clients, as well as those diagnosed with LD NOS or certain students on the autism spectrum disorder.
Dr. Hallowell through The Hallowell Center in Sudbury, MA www.drhallowell.com is working on a series for teachers, focusing on building executive function skills, supporting children with ADHD, clarifying the different approaches.
One more helpful approach to working memory deficits, especially those caused by anxiety, is a program called Heartmath. The emWave2 desktop system helps a child or adult learn to calm themselves down before trying to focus on a goal. Through simple to learn exercises and games, with a pulse sensor that attaches to the ear, the program collects and translates HRV (heart rate variability) data into user-friendly, fun graphics. Clients find that this program, which could be used by a student to begin their day, builds resistance to stress, increases energy, promotes focus, mental clarity and emotional balance. See www.heartmath.com The system costs $229 and needs to be supervised by a trained psychologist for maximum benefit.
(yellow) Handout: Working Memory Constraint Checklist
Do you or your child…..
- Get easily distracted when doing something not so interesting? Yes/No
- Have trouble waiting for a turn to talk? Yes/No
- Struggle with reading comprehension? Yes/No
- Struggle with doing mental math calculations? Yes/No
- Struggle with getting started? Yes/No
- Struggle with completing a task? Yes/No
- Have difficulty planning and organizing with multiple steps? Yes/No
- Often seem restless and on the go? Yes/No
- Lose belongings frequently? Yes/No
If you answered yes to 3 or more of these questions, consider Cogmed Working Memory Training as an option for intervention. Call Rebecca Shafir M.A.CCC, a qualified Cogmed coach with the Hallowell Center in Sudbury, MA at 978-287-0810 x117 or her West Newbury, MA office 978-255-1817 for more information. Also see www.cogmed.com.
https://sites.google.com/site/georgetownsepac/home (access from district website)
https://georgetownsepac.blogspot.com
Meeting Minutes, March 13, 2012 – 6:30 pm, Penn Brook Library
March 13, 2012 – Georgetown SEPAC Meeting, 6:30-8:30pm, Penn Brook Library, 68 Elm St., Georgetown: Working Memory: Strengthening the Weak Link in ADD/ADHD Keynote Speaker: Rebecca Shafir, of www.mindfulcommunication.com. Did you know that Working Memory (WM) is the new IQ? Working Memory is the best indicator of academic success; better than IQ scores. Working Memory underlies several functions related to learning and is considered by researchers to be the weak link in persons with ADHD, a neurobiological condition that affects one' s ability to maintain attention. Working memory takes the information we focus on, processes, sorts, and evaluates it, and brings it together with our long-term memory to generate a response, a decision on how to act or think upon the new information. Our working memory is constantly processing new information from the environment, and the way that happens affects our recall of reading material, social interaction, names, and places. The good news is that working memory can be strengthened and improved. In this 90 minute talk, qualified Cogmed Working Memory Training coach Rebecca Shafir will describe working memory's impact on academics and social skills, plus the research behind working memory training. We will also discuss practical, specific strategies to improve and compensate for poor working memory, both at home and at school.
Speech/language Pathologist, communication consultant, and brain fitness expert Rebecca Shafir has been helping children and adults with ADHD and ADHD-like conditions communicate and think more clearly and powerfully at home, at work and in public for more than 25 years.
In the areas of cognitive health, wellness and rehabilitation, Ms. Shafir has served as Chief of the Communications Disorders Department at Choate-Symmes Health Services, Chief of Speech/Language Pathology at the Lahey Clinic Medical Center. For that past ten years she has worked as Clinician/Director of Business Development for the Hallowell Center for Cognitive and Emotional Health, all in Massachusetts, also a practicing speech/language pathologist.
Rebecca Shafir’s award-winning book The Zen of Listening: Mindful Communication in the Age of Distraction from Quest Books, will help all who read it, from families to teachers to leaders in all walks of life!
Working Memory is the ability to hold onto pieces of information in your mind and apply them to achieve a goal. Poor working memory is a core deficit in ADHD, as well as for children with learning difficulties, anxiety disorders, or brain injury. Working memory is what helps us to stay focused on task, to block out distractions, to be aware of our environment, to reason through multifaceted choices, and to perform effectively.
ADHD can mask as at least 30 different diagnoses. ADHD’s three primary symptoms are inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity, occurring in more than one setting. The disorder significantly impairs a child’s ability to function in some of the activities of daily life, such as schoolwork and/or relationships with family and friends. Symptoms are usually apparent before the age of 7.
At the Hallowell Center, we commonly see kids who have been underdiagnosed, overdiagnosed, and misdiagnosed. The right medication can be extremely helpful for about 70% of children diagnosed with ADHD. However, it generally only increases working memory function by 10%. Medication helps with focus, but not necessarily with control over focus.
Executive function is a set of cognitive processes, including working memory, problem solving, multi-tasking and more. For people with ADHD, executive functioning is often impaired in areas such as:
- Focusing/high distractibility
- making transitions
- self-monitoring
- self-regulating/decreased inhibition/increased impulsivity
- organizing materials, not losing things
- effective time management
- planning and carrying out tasks
- storing and retrieving information
- recognition of key ideas
- noticing details
- requiring high interest tasks to stave off boredom
Our society today, as it is evolving, does not do a lot to develop executive function. One particular area, family dinnertime table talk, is in great peril. With modern time constraints, we tend to compress discussions that help us think through pros and cons, evaluate new ideas and share opinions on newsworthy items, consider consequences. Conversations that encourage children to reason and develop their critical judgment tend to be shorter than ever before, when they occur at all.
In schools, teaching the information-packed curriculums of today is so demanding that time for information processing and multi-modal understanding of the material is minimal to nonexistent. Time pressures lead teachers to more of a focus on memorization and repetition than on integration of information.
Direct one-on-one conversation time in general is often minimal. What has taken its place is time on the internet, social media, texting, tweeting, facebooking. While all of these do represent a form of communication, they allow both children and adults to participate more passively; immediate response are not necessarily called for; participants are not required to take in another’s presence in a truly active way.
According to a 2009 Kaiser Family Foundation study on Daily Media Use Among Children and Teens,
- 8-18 year-olds devote an average of 7 hours and 38 minutes (7:38) to using entertainment media across a typical day (more than 53 hours a week).
- Those who say their parents do set limits on media consume nearly 3 hours less media per day than those with no rules.
- (64%) of young people say the TV is usually on during meals.
- Just under half (45%) say the TV is left on “most of the time” in their home.
- Seven in ten (71%) have a TV in their bedroom, and half (50%) have a console video game player in their room.
- “The amount of time young people spend with media has grown to where it’s even more than a full-time work week,” said Drew Altman, Ph.D., President and CEO of the Kaiser Family Foundation. “When children are spending this much time doing anything, we need to understand how it’s affecting them – for good and bad.”
One thing we know about high media use, is that heavy users of media do report lower grades in school. Which is not surprising considering that they are missing out on discussions that call on them to think critically, evaluate what is happening, and think through cause and effect.
Working Memory calls primarily on two parts of the brain, the Frontal Lobe – your “brain’s conductor,” which controls attention, motivation, emotional/social judgement, problem solving, decision making, expressive language, motor integration and voluntary movement, and also the Parietal Lobe, which controls tactile perception (touch), awareness of spatial relationships, and most academic skills. The brains of children diagnosed with ADHD tend to show reduced parietal functioning and smaller/less developed/less active frontal lobes.
The children who “grow out” of ADHD are the ones whose brains grow in these two areas as they become adults. Working memory has been found to be one of the last areas/capabilities in the brain to develop. It has also been noted as one of the first capabilities to “go.” Working memory function often begins to decline in people in their 4o’s (sorry!).
The most popular theory of Working Memory used today is Alan Baddeley’s model, which is a three part model/schematic: the Central Executive function (controls/regulates cognitive processes) is comprised of
1) The Phonological Loop – Auditory/Language
2) Episodic Buffer – Short term episodic memory/links to long-term memory
3) Visuo-spatial sketchpad – Visual semantics/movement
Children in elementary school use working memory to build reading comprehension, do mental arithmetic, interact and respond appropriately in social situations.
Middle School presents a very great challenge to working memory, as the complexity and volume of information presented for learning increases drastically. Expectations for doing homework independently, solving multi-step math word problems, writing essays and reports all require an efficient working memory.
Tutors can help students with executive functioning disorders, but they need to teach the student key organizational skills and mnemonics, or strategies to remember important information at the same time they teach the academic skills. Otherwise, their value is only temporary.
Neuropsychological testing can be of great value to parents, children, and the schools. Working Memory tests are fairly good, but they also are conducted in controlled environments. So to fully evaluate a person’s Working Memory capability, it is important for me to assess other factors, such as
- hearing
- visual
- anxiety and depression (both can cause or be caused by Working Memory issues)
- diet – fish oil and vitamin D can both help
- real life descriptions of struggles at home and in the classroom
Because improved working memory function has been shown to improve behavior at home and at school, lessen anxiety, and decrease explosive episodes, it is important to find working memory training tools that are affordable, effective, and make long-range or permanent improvements.
Several ways to improve working memory for people of all ages have been found effective:
• Medication (generally helps around 70% of people formally diagnosed with ADHD)
• Diet & Exercise – Read SPARK: The Exercise Revolution, by John Ratey
o www.johnratey.com - Try asking the kids to do 25 pushups before school!
o John Ratey is also co-author with Dr. Edward Hallowell of Delivered from Distraction.
• Stress Management – biofeedback, neurofeedback, slow/deep breathing, visualization, meditation
• Positive Immersion-based learning – using high-interest, fun game-like situations, such as chess or martial arts to build cognitive skills and learning style awareness
• Socialization - Constructive conversation and dialog to build critical thinking
• Compensation Strategies – practicing note/study/test taking strategies and time management techniques, calendars, setting schedules/deadlines, clearly define goals, monitor progress.
• Executive Function Coaching – one on one consultative support, with or without assistive technologies/computerized brain training
• Computerized brain training (of frontal and parietal lobes)
o http://www.inspiration.com/ - Inspiration and Kidspiration software For visual mapping, outlining, writing and making presentations, etc.
o http://www.positscience.com/ - Brain Training Software
o http://www.learningbreakthrough.com/ - a “strength-based” treatment for ADHD, dyslexia and other learning difficulties.
One of the most effective computer-based brain training programs, considered by many “a new breed of intervention,” is called Cogmed Working Memory Training (by Pearson). Improvements can be expected in reading comprehension, math skills, language development, on-task behavior, and more. Use of Cogmed must be supervised by a psychiatrist. Training is done at home on a PC. The program requires a commitment of 5 weeks, 30-40 minutes a day (15 for children ages 4-7). The program includes coach support for the 25 sessions, and 100 additional sessions after that.
Ideal candidate clients should basically like video games and not be too anxious. There are 3 different programs, one for 4-7 year olds, one for 7-17 year olds, and one for adults. Each has different graphics and reward systems, fishes for the younger ones, robots for the older ones, not a lot for adults.
Cogmed, supervised by a psychiatrist, runs around $1600, while Learning Breakthrough, generally much less or unsupervised, runs around $400. While LB has helped many people, its results are somewhat less evidence-based at this time than those of Cogmed.
A supervised program will be much more customized to the client. Targeted outcomes become our goals. We ask, if you could make your life easier in 3-5 ways, what would those be, and generally zoom in on making those ways happen in an engaging way, such as improving reading comprehension, writing skills, math skills, easily completing/keeping track of/not losing homework, confidence in taking on the challenge of a complex project, increased sense of self-control over appropriate social responses at home or at school.
Parents and teachers almost uniformly report improved social skills, taking initiative, remembering instructions and completing assignments more independently in students who have used the Cogmed program.
Cogmed can also be extremely helpful for concussion/head injury clients, as well as those diagnosed with LD NOS or certain students on the autism spectrum disorder.
Dr. Hallowell through The Hallowell Center in Sudbury, MA www.drhallowell.com is working on a series for teachers, focusing on building executive function skills, supporting children with ADHD, clarifying the different approaches.
One more helpful approach to working memory deficits, especially those caused by anxiety, is a program called Heartmath. The emWave2 desktop system helps a child or adult learn to calm themselves down before trying to focus on a goal. Through simple to learn exercises and games, with a pulse sensor that attaches to the ear, the program collects and translates HRV (heart rate variability) data into user-friendly, fun graphics. Clients find that this program, which could be used by a student to begin their day, builds resistance to stress, increases energy, promotes focus, mental clarity and emotional balance. See www.heartmath.com The system costs $229 and needs to be supervised by a trained psychologist for maximum benefit.
(yellow) Handout: Working Memory Constraint Checklist
Do you or your child…..
- Get easily distracted when doing something not so interesting? Yes/No
- Have trouble waiting for a turn to talk? Yes/No
- Struggle with reading comprehension? Yes/No
- Struggle with doing mental math calculations? Yes/No
- Struggle with getting started? Yes/No
- Struggle with completing a task? Yes/No
- Have difficulty planning and organizing with multiple steps? Yes/No
- Often seem restless and on the go? Yes/No
- Lose belongings frequently? Yes/No
If you answered yes to 3 or more of these questions, consider Cogmed Working Memory Training as an option for intervention. Call Rebecca Shafir M.A.CCC, a qualified Cogmed coach with the Hallowell Center in Sudbury, MA at 978-287-0810 x117 or her West Newbury, MA office 978-255-1817 for more information. Also see www.cogmed.com.
Friday, January 27, 2012
Update: New Interim Director of Special Education for Georgetown
At the 1/26/12 School Committee meeting, Dr. Cathleen E. Estep was unanimously approved as our new Interim Special Education Director for Georgetown. The appointment required a joint approval by both Superintendent Carol Jacobs and the School Committee.
Dr. Estep has extensive experience in Special Education, and in fact, plans to retire after a 30+ year career at the end of this school year. Her last nine years were spent as Director of Pupil Services for the Burlington Public Schools in Burlington, MA. Dr. Estep will be working two days a week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, plus one Wednesday a month for the Georgetown School District for the remainder of this school year.
The Georgetown SEPAC would like to congratulate and welcome Dr. Estep to our Special Education Community at our next SEPAC Meeting, which will be on FEBRUARY 14th, Tuesday night, 6:30-8:00pm, at the Penn Brook Library, 68 Elm St.
Please join us that evening to welcome, meet, greet, and speak with Dr. Estep. Bring any general questions you may have for her, along with ideas for what you see as important directions for our Special Education Department to develop in. New understanding, positive direction and fruitful progress for our overall special education programs depends on establishing an open, vital, mutually respectful, and continuing dialog between parents and our school administration. Come be part of the discussion!
We can also have fun wishing each other a Happy Valentine's Day! Light refreshments will be served, but any homemade Valentine's goodies will be welcome!
Dr. Estep has extensive experience in Special Education, and in fact, plans to retire after a 30+ year career at the end of this school year. Her last nine years were spent as Director of Pupil Services for the Burlington Public Schools in Burlington, MA. Dr. Estep will be working two days a week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, plus one Wednesday a month for the Georgetown School District for the remainder of this school year.
The Georgetown SEPAC would like to congratulate and welcome Dr. Estep to our Special Education Community at our next SEPAC Meeting, which will be on FEBRUARY 14th, Tuesday night, 6:30-8:00pm, at the Penn Brook Library, 68 Elm St.
Please join us that evening to welcome, meet, greet, and speak with Dr. Estep. Bring any general questions you may have for her, along with ideas for what you see as important directions for our Special Education Department to develop in. New understanding, positive direction and fruitful progress for our overall special education programs depends on establishing an open, vital, mutually respectful, and continuing dialog between parents and our school administration. Come be part of the discussion!
We can also have fun wishing each other a Happy Valentine's Day! Light refreshments will be served, but any homemade Valentine's goodies will be welcome!
Monday, January 16, 2012
SEPAC 1-10-12 Meeting Minutes
Georgetown Special Education Parent Advisory Council (SEPAC) Meeting
Meeting Minutes, January 10, 2012 – 7:00pm, Penn Brook Library
January 10, 2012 – Georgetown SEPAC Meeting, 7-9pm, Penn Brook Library, 68 Elm St.: Bullying Prevention & Special Education
Did you know that while bullying is a problem for all students, special needs students suffer disproportionately? MA General Law 71 defines bullying as… defines bullying as “the repeated use by one or more students of a written, verbal or electronic expression or a physical act or gesture or any combination thereof, directed at a victim…” Richard Lavoie’s film, “Last One Picked…First One Picked On,” will help us better understand how students with special needs fare socially. “For most children, playing with friends is a daily ritual. But kids with learning disabilities are often isolated and rejected, lacking the social skills to make and keep friends. This 62 minute film will show how to help these kids succeed in everyday situations LAST ONE PICKED…FIRST ONE PICKED ON give parents and teachers greater understanding of social skills deficits and specific strategies for developing and fostering social competence.”
Before we show the film, Ms. Julie DeRoche, Director of Curriculum for the Georgetown School District, will speak for about 30 minutes on our district’s bullying prevention plan, professional development for teachers on bullying prevention, and how we as parents can support our children.
***************************************************************************
The Georgetown SEPAC thanks Georgetown District Curriculum Director Julie DeRoche very much for sharing with us her summary of the current Bully Prevention Curriculum our district has place. Ms. DeRoche noted that extensive teacher training in anti-bullying curriculum and classroom management techniques take place at regular faculty meetings as well as professional development programs. One focus has been on identifying “gateway behaviors,” such as eye-rolling, kids left to themselves, excessive giggling, and learning how best to respond to those in order to prevent bullying situations. Another concern of faculty has been how to teach children to advocate for themselves or others, how to speak up in dangerous situations to an adult for help. One parent questioned, “If we think our child is being bullied, who should we go to?” “That is a question many parents wonder about. I would advise first contacting your child’s teacher. If the problem continues, you should contact the school adjustment or guidance counselor, and then the school principal.” The handout Ms. DeRoche brought included the following information:
Georgetown Public Schools
2011-2012 Bullying Prevention Curricula
Perley & Penn Brook
• Bullying prevention curricula: Bully-proofing Your School – Thematic lessons include
o Friendship
o Making and Keeping Good Friends
o Caring Acts
o Kindness
o Concept of Bullying
o Rules of Bully-Proofing the Classroom
o Teaching Strategies for Victims
o Teaching Strategies for Helpers/Bystanders
o Creating and Maintaining the Caring Majority
o Collaboration with Parents, Family, and the Community
• Integrated lessons are taught in Physical Education classes (carry over to sports)
• Responsive Classroom Program, which teachers cooperation, assertion, responsibility, empathy, and self-control.
Georgetown Middle and High School
• Bullying prevention curricula: Bully-proofing Your School, taught in Wellness Classes, which are required at every grade level. Thematic lessons for the Middle School include:
o Adolescent Development
o Bullies, Victims, and Bystanders
o Teasing and Sexual Harrassment
o Avoiding Victimization
o Creating Caring Communities
Thematic lessons at the High School include:
o Legal and personal consequences of bullying
o Bystanders
o Emotional Impact of Bullying
o Bystanders: How to be part of the solution and not the problem
• 6 additional bullying prevention lessons for the high school were created and added to Bully-proofing Your School during district Professional Developments through collaboration between Guidance and Health teachers.
• Monthly staff meetings are held to assess and improve on the implementation of these lessons.
Resources and Training:
http://webhost.bridgew.edu/marc/ - MARC: Massachusetts Aggression Reduction Center-Bullying and Cyberbullying Prevention
http://www.englanderdownloards.webs.com/ - MARC: Parent Resources
www.elizabethenglander.com - What To Do If Your Child Is Being Bullied, and more….
http://www.bettereducator.com/program.aspx?programId=15
Everyone was fascinated by Rick Lavoie’s movie! Here are a few notes from it:
“Last One Picked…First One Picked On”
The greatest pain parents have does not spring from their children’s academic deficits, it comes from their social deficits.
Academic deficits affect your child in certain situations. A math or reading problem is not an issue at soccer. But social deficits affect the child in every situation, so there is no getting away from them.
People with particularly good social skills often make the worst teachers of social skills, because they cannot break down the skills for kids in order to teach them. The skills come too automatically to people who are socially comfortable. We assume a child will understand something that we teach them, but unless we have the vocabulary to break the behavior down step-by-step for them, they don’t. We have a hard time teaching what we don’t have to think about doing.
Learning disabled (LD) kids must be taught everything step-by-step.
The way most adults get interactions and conversations going is by asking questions of each other, through interrogation. That is extremely difficult for LD kids. Conversations for LD kids usually consist of a few declarative sentences, no questions. This causes huge social problems for them.
One big misconception that people have about kids with ADHD is that they have short attention spans. Many ADHD kids will hyper-focus on some things, often highly visual stimuli. In fact, high distractibility much more often characterizes ADHD kids than a short attention span. A child with a short attention span pays attention to almost nothing, and often functions at a lower cognitive level. A child with high distractibility pays attention to everything, often at a high cognitive level. Everything interests the highly distractible child, which leads them to view the world with a wide-angle lens. This lens can produce great creativity and energy. But when the world is requiring the child to focus on one thing in particular for a long time, that creates a challenge. For instance, instead of hearing a whole lecture, the child’s mind will start out on the lecture, then move to someone’s watch, their clothes, the curtains, the clock, etc.
Many children with learning differences often have disinhibition, which means that their inhibitory responses are low. Whatever is on their mind, comes out their mouth. There is no “edit” button on their speech. This is a huge social deficit that creates problems.
The impulsivity that ADHD kids experience produces an attitude in school, “If I can’t do it right, I’ll do it fast.” Ready, fire, aim. Thoughts of consequences are minimal. This also causes social problems.
In order to help our children learn from social situations, we help them conduct a “social skills autopsy.” What is an autopsy? A postmortem examination to discover the cause of death or the extent of disease. What is a “social skills autopsy”? A post social situation examination to discover the cause of a social situation gone awry. What was the action that caused the problem? What social choices could have been made that might have resulted in a better situation?
Two researchers, Fox and Weaver, broke students down socially into four groups:
- the rejected
- the ignored
- the controversial
- the popular (a person who others say they like even if they don’t know him)
Then they studied the popular group to find out what do these kids are doing right. What positive behaviors do they exhibit that make others like them? The Seven Positive Behaviors were:
- smiling and laughing
- greeting others
- extending invitations
- conversing
- sharing
- giving compliments
- maintaining a good appearance
Teach these to your kids, and their social standing will improve.
In another study, they found teacher pleasing behaviors, which included:
- being punctual
- establishing eye contact
- participating in class
- using the teacher’s name
- submitting work on time
- using the required format
- not crossing a lot out
- requesting explanations
- thanking the teacher
Teachers see all of the above as common courtesy. Teach these behaviors to your child to help him get along better with his teachers.
General teachers at a certain school told special education teachers that the most important skills they wanted special education students to have in class were 1) listening, 2) following directions, 3) staying on task, and 4) knowing how/when to get help.
What is the “hidden curriculum of the school”? It is the unwritten, unspoken rules of the school which make up the culture of the school. Embarrassment is what adolescents fear most, and understanding the school’s hidden agenda is critical to avoiding that.
The key to raising adolescents is to realize that 1) you cannot win, and 2) adolescents are not to be embarrassed. Every day, your adolescent starts off their day with some form of the plea, “Please God, do not let me be humiliated today.”
Kids reject other kids that teachers reject. Teachers need to set the example in accepting special needs kids. It helps if a teacher rewards the whole class for one student’s accomplishments, for example, if a teacher might say, “Wow, John, you turned your homework in on time, in the right place. Terrific job. Now we’re all doing well at that, so let’s celebrate with a movie (or a game, or group work, etc).” Then the other kids feel that John helped them get a reward.
Kids think, “Wow, Mr. Jones likes John, he likes me, so maybe there is something to like about John.” A teacher’s acceptance of a child fosters mutual respect.
Parents need to prepare the child for the situation and the situation for the child. To do that, we need to see things from the child’s perspective.
Some relevant websites include:
http://www.ricklavoie.com/gateindex.html
http://www.ricklavoie.com/aboutrick.html
http://ricklavoie.com/batteries.pdf - article, Batteries NOT Included, “I can’t,” versus “He won’t.”
http://www.ldonline.org/lavoie/_From_the_Mouths_of_Babes%3A_What_Kids_Tell_Us_About_Friendships
http://www.edpubs.gov/document/ed005207w.pdf?ck=9 - Jonathan Cohen on School Climate: Engaging the Whole Village, Teaching the Whole Child.
Recommended Books:
Motivation Breakthrough: 6 Secrets to Turning on the Tuned-Out Child, by Richard Lavoie, 2008, 416pp
It’s So Much Work to Be Your Friend: Helping the Child with Learning Disabilities Find Social Success, by Richard Lavoie, 2006, 448 pp
The 6 Success Factors for Children with Learning Disabilities, by the Frostig Center, Foreward by Richard Lavoie, 2009, 232pp
Educating Minds and Hearts: Social Emotional Learning and the Passage into Adolescence, by Jonathan Cohen
Bullying, Prevention & the Law
http://www.georgetown.k12.ma.us/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=9uVO2vhgCjg%3d&tabid=824 - The Georgetown School District’s Bullying Prevention and Intervention Plan
http://www.olweus.org/public/laws_massachusetts.page - MA State Laws
http://www.wrightslaw.com/info/harassment.index.htm - Wrightslaw: Bullying & Harrassment
http://www.abilitypath.org/areas-of-development/learning--schools/bullying/articles/walk-a-mile-in-their-shoes.pdf - Bullying and the Child with Special Needs
http://parentingsquad.com/five-ways-protect-your-child-with-special-needs-from-bullying
Let’s Get Along – Use kind words. Be quick to forgive. Listen. Share. Encourage others. Take turns. Think before acting. Talk it over. ☺
Meeting Minutes, January 10, 2012 – 7:00pm, Penn Brook Library
January 10, 2012 – Georgetown SEPAC Meeting, 7-9pm, Penn Brook Library, 68 Elm St.: Bullying Prevention & Special Education
Did you know that while bullying is a problem for all students, special needs students suffer disproportionately? MA General Law 71 defines bullying as… defines bullying as “the repeated use by one or more students of a written, verbal or electronic expression or a physical act or gesture or any combination thereof, directed at a victim…” Richard Lavoie’s film, “Last One Picked…First One Picked On,” will help us better understand how students with special needs fare socially. “For most children, playing with friends is a daily ritual. But kids with learning disabilities are often isolated and rejected, lacking the social skills to make and keep friends. This 62 minute film will show how to help these kids succeed in everyday situations LAST ONE PICKED…FIRST ONE PICKED ON give parents and teachers greater understanding of social skills deficits and specific strategies for developing and fostering social competence.”
Before we show the film, Ms. Julie DeRoche, Director of Curriculum for the Georgetown School District, will speak for about 30 minutes on our district’s bullying prevention plan, professional development for teachers on bullying prevention, and how we as parents can support our children.
***************************************************************************
The Georgetown SEPAC thanks Georgetown District Curriculum Director Julie DeRoche very much for sharing with us her summary of the current Bully Prevention Curriculum our district has place. Ms. DeRoche noted that extensive teacher training in anti-bullying curriculum and classroom management techniques take place at regular faculty meetings as well as professional development programs. One focus has been on identifying “gateway behaviors,” such as eye-rolling, kids left to themselves, excessive giggling, and learning how best to respond to those in order to prevent bullying situations. Another concern of faculty has been how to teach children to advocate for themselves or others, how to speak up in dangerous situations to an adult for help. One parent questioned, “If we think our child is being bullied, who should we go to?” “That is a question many parents wonder about. I would advise first contacting your child’s teacher. If the problem continues, you should contact the school adjustment or guidance counselor, and then the school principal.” The handout Ms. DeRoche brought included the following information:
Georgetown Public Schools
2011-2012 Bullying Prevention Curricula
Perley & Penn Brook
• Bullying prevention curricula: Bully-proofing Your School – Thematic lessons include
o Friendship
o Making and Keeping Good Friends
o Caring Acts
o Kindness
o Concept of Bullying
o Rules of Bully-Proofing the Classroom
o Teaching Strategies for Victims
o Teaching Strategies for Helpers/Bystanders
o Creating and Maintaining the Caring Majority
o Collaboration with Parents, Family, and the Community
• Integrated lessons are taught in Physical Education classes (carry over to sports)
• Responsive Classroom Program, which teachers cooperation, assertion, responsibility, empathy, and self-control.
Georgetown Middle and High School
• Bullying prevention curricula: Bully-proofing Your School, taught in Wellness Classes, which are required at every grade level. Thematic lessons for the Middle School include:
o Adolescent Development
o Bullies, Victims, and Bystanders
o Teasing and Sexual Harrassment
o Avoiding Victimization
o Creating Caring Communities
Thematic lessons at the High School include:
o Legal and personal consequences of bullying
o Bystanders
o Emotional Impact of Bullying
o Bystanders: How to be part of the solution and not the problem
• 6 additional bullying prevention lessons for the high school were created and added to Bully-proofing Your School during district Professional Developments through collaboration between Guidance and Health teachers.
• Monthly staff meetings are held to assess and improve on the implementation of these lessons.
Resources and Training:
http://webhost.bridgew.edu/marc/ - MARC: Massachusetts Aggression Reduction Center-Bullying and Cyberbullying Prevention
http://www.englanderdownloards.webs.com/ - MARC: Parent Resources
www.elizabethenglander.com - What To Do If Your Child Is Being Bullied, and more….
http://www.bettereducator.com/program.aspx?programId=15
Everyone was fascinated by Rick Lavoie’s movie! Here are a few notes from it:
“Last One Picked…First One Picked On”
The greatest pain parents have does not spring from their children’s academic deficits, it comes from their social deficits.
Academic deficits affect your child in certain situations. A math or reading problem is not an issue at soccer. But social deficits affect the child in every situation, so there is no getting away from them.
People with particularly good social skills often make the worst teachers of social skills, because they cannot break down the skills for kids in order to teach them. The skills come too automatically to people who are socially comfortable. We assume a child will understand something that we teach them, but unless we have the vocabulary to break the behavior down step-by-step for them, they don’t. We have a hard time teaching what we don’t have to think about doing.
Learning disabled (LD) kids must be taught everything step-by-step.
The way most adults get interactions and conversations going is by asking questions of each other, through interrogation. That is extremely difficult for LD kids. Conversations for LD kids usually consist of a few declarative sentences, no questions. This causes huge social problems for them.
One big misconception that people have about kids with ADHD is that they have short attention spans. Many ADHD kids will hyper-focus on some things, often highly visual stimuli. In fact, high distractibility much more often characterizes ADHD kids than a short attention span. A child with a short attention span pays attention to almost nothing, and often functions at a lower cognitive level. A child with high distractibility pays attention to everything, often at a high cognitive level. Everything interests the highly distractible child, which leads them to view the world with a wide-angle lens. This lens can produce great creativity and energy. But when the world is requiring the child to focus on one thing in particular for a long time, that creates a challenge. For instance, instead of hearing a whole lecture, the child’s mind will start out on the lecture, then move to someone’s watch, their clothes, the curtains, the clock, etc.
Many children with learning differences often have disinhibition, which means that their inhibitory responses are low. Whatever is on their mind, comes out their mouth. There is no “edit” button on their speech. This is a huge social deficit that creates problems.
The impulsivity that ADHD kids experience produces an attitude in school, “If I can’t do it right, I’ll do it fast.” Ready, fire, aim. Thoughts of consequences are minimal. This also causes social problems.
In order to help our children learn from social situations, we help them conduct a “social skills autopsy.” What is an autopsy? A postmortem examination to discover the cause of death or the extent of disease. What is a “social skills autopsy”? A post social situation examination to discover the cause of a social situation gone awry. What was the action that caused the problem? What social choices could have been made that might have resulted in a better situation?
Two researchers, Fox and Weaver, broke students down socially into four groups:
- the rejected
- the ignored
- the controversial
- the popular (a person who others say they like even if they don’t know him)
Then they studied the popular group to find out what do these kids are doing right. What positive behaviors do they exhibit that make others like them? The Seven Positive Behaviors were:
- smiling and laughing
- greeting others
- extending invitations
- conversing
- sharing
- giving compliments
- maintaining a good appearance
Teach these to your kids, and their social standing will improve.
In another study, they found teacher pleasing behaviors, which included:
- being punctual
- establishing eye contact
- participating in class
- using the teacher’s name
- submitting work on time
- using the required format
- not crossing a lot out
- requesting explanations
- thanking the teacher
Teachers see all of the above as common courtesy. Teach these behaviors to your child to help him get along better with his teachers.
General teachers at a certain school told special education teachers that the most important skills they wanted special education students to have in class were 1) listening, 2) following directions, 3) staying on task, and 4) knowing how/when to get help.
What is the “hidden curriculum of the school”? It is the unwritten, unspoken rules of the school which make up the culture of the school. Embarrassment is what adolescents fear most, and understanding the school’s hidden agenda is critical to avoiding that.
The key to raising adolescents is to realize that 1) you cannot win, and 2) adolescents are not to be embarrassed. Every day, your adolescent starts off their day with some form of the plea, “Please God, do not let me be humiliated today.”
Kids reject other kids that teachers reject. Teachers need to set the example in accepting special needs kids. It helps if a teacher rewards the whole class for one student’s accomplishments, for example, if a teacher might say, “Wow, John, you turned your homework in on time, in the right place. Terrific job. Now we’re all doing well at that, so let’s celebrate with a movie (or a game, or group work, etc).” Then the other kids feel that John helped them get a reward.
Kids think, “Wow, Mr. Jones likes John, he likes me, so maybe there is something to like about John.” A teacher’s acceptance of a child fosters mutual respect.
Parents need to prepare the child for the situation and the situation for the child. To do that, we need to see things from the child’s perspective.
Some relevant websites include:
http://www.ricklavoie.com/gateindex.html
http://www.ricklavoie.com/aboutrick.html
http://ricklavoie.com/batteries.pdf - article, Batteries NOT Included, “I can’t,” versus “He won’t.”
http://www.ldonline.org/lavoie/_From_the_Mouths_of_Babes%3A_What_Kids_Tell_Us_About_Friendships
http://www.edpubs.gov/document/ed005207w.pdf?ck=9 - Jonathan Cohen on School Climate: Engaging the Whole Village, Teaching the Whole Child.
Recommended Books:
Motivation Breakthrough: 6 Secrets to Turning on the Tuned-Out Child, by Richard Lavoie, 2008, 416pp
It’s So Much Work to Be Your Friend: Helping the Child with Learning Disabilities Find Social Success, by Richard Lavoie, 2006, 448 pp
The 6 Success Factors for Children with Learning Disabilities, by the Frostig Center, Foreward by Richard Lavoie, 2009, 232pp
Educating Minds and Hearts: Social Emotional Learning and the Passage into Adolescence, by Jonathan Cohen
Bullying, Prevention & the Law
http://www.georgetown.k12.ma.us/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=9uVO2vhgCjg%3d&tabid=824 - The Georgetown School District’s Bullying Prevention and Intervention Plan
http://www.olweus.org/public/laws_massachusetts.page - MA State Laws
http://www.wrightslaw.com/info/harassment.index.htm - Wrightslaw: Bullying & Harrassment
http://www.abilitypath.org/areas-of-development/learning--schools/bullying/articles/walk-a-mile-in-their-shoes.pdf - Bullying and the Child with Special Needs
http://parentingsquad.com/five-ways-protect-your-child-with-special-needs-from-bullying
Let’s Get Along – Use kind words. Be quick to forgive. Listen. Share. Encourage others. Take turns. Think before acting. Talk it over. ☺
Sunday, January 1, 2012
A 504b Plan: The Right Choice for Your Child?
Are you wondering if a 504 plan can really help your child? That will depend on both the nature of your child's disability and what you, possibly your child, and the school district choose to do with it.
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the precursor to the Americans with Disability Act (ADA) enacted in 1990, protects the rights of disabled students with the 504b Plan. Section 504 prohibits programs that receive federal dollars from discriminating against individuals with disabilities. It requires public schools to make accommodations for eligible handicapped children, whether or not they qualify for special education services under IDEA. A 504b plan could therefore provide accommodations for children with disabilities in regular classrooms, such as multi-modal instruction, extra time for tests, providing examples, study guides, use of graphic organizers, facilitating small group work, checking in for comprehension, and changes in assignments and testing procedures. Accommodations change how a student is taught or tested, but not what they are taught or expected to know.
What is a 504b Plan?
A 504 plan is a legal document that outlines a plan of instructional services for students in the general education setting. It is an agreement between a public school, a student, and a teacher. The document usually describes the types of accommodations and instructional strategies that will be made for a student in school. Not all children with disabilities are entitled to services under IDEA, only those who are "eligible" under the specified disability categories, or those whose disabilities adversely impact their ability to access the general education curriculum. Section 504 is less discriminatory: it protects all persons with a disability who
1. have a physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more major life activities, such as learning
2. have a record of such an impairment; or
3. are regarded as having such an impairment.
The Section 504 regulations further define a "physical or mental impairment" as any physiological disorder or condition, cosmetic disfigurement or anatomical loss affecting one or more of the following body systems: neurological, musculoskeletal, special sense organs, respiratory including speech organs, cardiovascular, reproductive, digestive, genito-urinary, hemic and lymphatic, skin or endocrine: or any mental or psychological disorder such as mental retardation, organic brain syndrome, emotional or mental illness and specific learning disabilities.
Federal law requires that students with disabilities be educated along with nondisabled students to the maximum extent appropriate to the needs of the students with disabilities. This means that students with disabilities must be assigned to regular courses or classes if the students’ needs can be met there. Also, decisions on academic placement must be based on an individual student’s needs.
A 504b Plan, once in place, will be reviewed by the 504 Administrator and a student’s parents on an annual basis.
Who qualifies for a 504b Plan?
Student with disabilities that do not significantly impair, but may still adversely affect, their access to the general curriculum or impede their academic progress, may qualify for a 504b Plan. For these students, it is not the standards or contents of the curriculum that need to be altered, but rather the way instruction is delivered.
Following are examples of students who may be protected by Section 504, but who may not be eligible for (IEP) services under the IDEA:
• students with communicable diseases (i.e., hepatitis)
• students with ADHD but no co-occuring disability
• students with temporary disabilities arising from accidents who may need short term hospitalization or homebound recovery;
• students with allergies or asthma;
• students with environmental illnesses/allergies/exposure to environmental toxins
• students who are addicted to alcohol or drugs, as long as they are not currently using illegal drugs
• students with disabilities who are 22 or older depending on state law
What kind of schools do 504b Plans apply to?
Section 504 has a specific set of regulations that apply to preschool, elementary and secondary programs that receive or benefit from federal financial assistance. These are found at Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Part 104. Thus Section 504 applies only to organizations that receive federal funding, while the ADA applies to a much broader universe. Both statutes are administered by the Office for Civil Rights and considered essentially identical.
Identifying and providing services for disabled children.
Parents or teachers may both request student evaluation for a 504b Plan. Requests should be submitted to the school’s 504b Administrator, which is often the school principal. Placement decisions must be made by a team that includes people who know about the student and understand the meaning of the evaluation information. The placement team must consider a variety of documented information for each student. Identifying and providing services for eligible children with disabilities requires specialized knowledge in many areas. Evaluators should make sure that evaluation is free of racial, cultural, and gender bias.
Advantages of a 504b Plan vs. an IEP
For students who do not require curriculum content adjustments to make academic progress, but who do benefit from specialized instruction and support, several services are available that special education students cannot access. These include Title 1 math & reading programs, literacy programs, and math support programs. Occupational therapist, social adjustment, and guidance counseling services are available to students on either an IEP or a 504.
What are teachers responsible for?
To be able to provide an appropriate education to all disabled children, teachers must be able to recognize the symptoms of disabilities, and know school procedures for referral and evaluation. Once a 504 Plan has been filed, teachers are responsible for carrying out the accommodations required by it. In addition to classroom and teacher strategies, reporting requirements to parents or administrators may be a part of the plan to be adhered to. Teachers must also know school policies for administering the medications that are sometimes part of treatment, how to monitor the effects of medication, and how to report effects to supervisors, parents, and professionals. Finally, teachers must know a variety of academic and behavioral strategies to help children with disabilities succeed in the classroom. Lack of teacher training in intervention strategies is potentially tragic for students, who may fail because their teachers don't know how to help them learn.
Procedural Safeguards
Schools must establish procedures that allow the parents or guardians of students in elementary and secondary schools to challenge evaluations, placement procedures, and decisions. The law requires that parents or guardians be notified of any evaluation or placement action, and that they be allowed to examine their child’s records.
If they disagree with the school’s decisions, parents or guardians must be allowed to have an impartial hearing, with the opportunity to participate in the discussions. A review procedure must be made available to parents or guardians who disagree with the hearing decision.
Nonacademic Services and Activities
Students may not be excluded on the basis of disability from participating in extracurricular activities and nonacademic services. These may include counseling services, physical education and recreational athletics, transportation, health services, recreational activities, special interest groups or clubs sponsored by the school, referrals to agencies that provide assistance to students with disabilities, and student employment.
Discrimination in counseling practices is prohibited. Counselors must not advise qualified students with disabilities to make educational choices that lead to more restrictive career objectives than would be suggested for nondisabled students with similar interests and abilities.
What happens at the college level to student disability rights?
A 504b Plan can be carried on to a public university, unlike an IEP. At private schools and colleges, only the ADA requirements apply. The Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities at work, at school, and in public accommodations, and is not limited (like Section 504) to those organizations and programs that receive federal funds. The ADA requires all schools, both public and private, to make reasonable accommodations for handicapped or disabled persons.
Section 504 Online Resources
www.wrightslaw.com/advoc/articles/504_IDEA_Rosenfeld.html - Section 504 and IDEA
http://www.ldonline.org/article/Understanding_the_Differences_Between_IDEA_and_Section_504
http://www.ldonline.org/article/5975
http://www2.ed.gov/pubs/parents/Including/chapter3.html - Finding Services and Supports Under the Law
http://www.doe.mass.edu/sped/links/sec504.html - Section 504 and ADA
Title 1 (reading & math)
http://www2.ed.gov/programs/titleiparta/index.html - US Dept. of Education, Title 1 description
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the precursor to the Americans with Disability Act (ADA) enacted in 1990, protects the rights of disabled students with the 504b Plan. Section 504 prohibits programs that receive federal dollars from discriminating against individuals with disabilities. It requires public schools to make accommodations for eligible handicapped children, whether or not they qualify for special education services under IDEA. A 504b plan could therefore provide accommodations for children with disabilities in regular classrooms, such as multi-modal instruction, extra time for tests, providing examples, study guides, use of graphic organizers, facilitating small group work, checking in for comprehension, and changes in assignments and testing procedures. Accommodations change how a student is taught or tested, but not what they are taught or expected to know.
What is a 504b Plan?
A 504 plan is a legal document that outlines a plan of instructional services for students in the general education setting. It is an agreement between a public school, a student, and a teacher. The document usually describes the types of accommodations and instructional strategies that will be made for a student in school. Not all children with disabilities are entitled to services under IDEA, only those who are "eligible" under the specified disability categories, or those whose disabilities adversely impact their ability to access the general education curriculum. Section 504 is less discriminatory: it protects all persons with a disability who
1. have a physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more major life activities, such as learning
2. have a record of such an impairment; or
3. are regarded as having such an impairment.
The Section 504 regulations further define a "physical or mental impairment" as any physiological disorder or condition, cosmetic disfigurement or anatomical loss affecting one or more of the following body systems: neurological, musculoskeletal, special sense organs, respiratory including speech organs, cardiovascular, reproductive, digestive, genito-urinary, hemic and lymphatic, skin or endocrine: or any mental or psychological disorder such as mental retardation, organic brain syndrome, emotional or mental illness and specific learning disabilities.
Federal law requires that students with disabilities be educated along with nondisabled students to the maximum extent appropriate to the needs of the students with disabilities. This means that students with disabilities must be assigned to regular courses or classes if the students’ needs can be met there. Also, decisions on academic placement must be based on an individual student’s needs.
A 504b Plan, once in place, will be reviewed by the 504 Administrator and a student’s parents on an annual basis.
Who qualifies for a 504b Plan?
Student with disabilities that do not significantly impair, but may still adversely affect, their access to the general curriculum or impede their academic progress, may qualify for a 504b Plan. For these students, it is not the standards or contents of the curriculum that need to be altered, but rather the way instruction is delivered.
Following are examples of students who may be protected by Section 504, but who may not be eligible for (IEP) services under the IDEA:
• students with communicable diseases (i.e., hepatitis)
• students with ADHD but no co-occuring disability
• students with temporary disabilities arising from accidents who may need short term hospitalization or homebound recovery;
• students with allergies or asthma;
• students with environmental illnesses/allergies/exposure to environmental toxins
• students who are addicted to alcohol or drugs, as long as they are not currently using illegal drugs
• students with disabilities who are 22 or older depending on state law
What kind of schools do 504b Plans apply to?
Section 504 has a specific set of regulations that apply to preschool, elementary and secondary programs that receive or benefit from federal financial assistance. These are found at Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Part 104. Thus Section 504 applies only to organizations that receive federal funding, while the ADA applies to a much broader universe. Both statutes are administered by the Office for Civil Rights and considered essentially identical.
Identifying and providing services for disabled children.
Parents or teachers may both request student evaluation for a 504b Plan. Requests should be submitted to the school’s 504b Administrator, which is often the school principal. Placement decisions must be made by a team that includes people who know about the student and understand the meaning of the evaluation information. The placement team must consider a variety of documented information for each student. Identifying and providing services for eligible children with disabilities requires specialized knowledge in many areas. Evaluators should make sure that evaluation is free of racial, cultural, and gender bias.
Advantages of a 504b Plan vs. an IEP
For students who do not require curriculum content adjustments to make academic progress, but who do benefit from specialized instruction and support, several services are available that special education students cannot access. These include Title 1 math & reading programs, literacy programs, and math support programs. Occupational therapist, social adjustment, and guidance counseling services are available to students on either an IEP or a 504.
What are teachers responsible for?
To be able to provide an appropriate education to all disabled children, teachers must be able to recognize the symptoms of disabilities, and know school procedures for referral and evaluation. Once a 504 Plan has been filed, teachers are responsible for carrying out the accommodations required by it. In addition to classroom and teacher strategies, reporting requirements to parents or administrators may be a part of the plan to be adhered to. Teachers must also know school policies for administering the medications that are sometimes part of treatment, how to monitor the effects of medication, and how to report effects to supervisors, parents, and professionals. Finally, teachers must know a variety of academic and behavioral strategies to help children with disabilities succeed in the classroom. Lack of teacher training in intervention strategies is potentially tragic for students, who may fail because their teachers don't know how to help them learn.
Procedural Safeguards
Schools must establish procedures that allow the parents or guardians of students in elementary and secondary schools to challenge evaluations, placement procedures, and decisions. The law requires that parents or guardians be notified of any evaluation or placement action, and that they be allowed to examine their child’s records.
If they disagree with the school’s decisions, parents or guardians must be allowed to have an impartial hearing, with the opportunity to participate in the discussions. A review procedure must be made available to parents or guardians who disagree with the hearing decision.
Nonacademic Services and Activities
Students may not be excluded on the basis of disability from participating in extracurricular activities and nonacademic services. These may include counseling services, physical education and recreational athletics, transportation, health services, recreational activities, special interest groups or clubs sponsored by the school, referrals to agencies that provide assistance to students with disabilities, and student employment.
Discrimination in counseling practices is prohibited. Counselors must not advise qualified students with disabilities to make educational choices that lead to more restrictive career objectives than would be suggested for nondisabled students with similar interests and abilities.
What happens at the college level to student disability rights?
A 504b Plan can be carried on to a public university, unlike an IEP. At private schools and colleges, only the ADA requirements apply. The Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities at work, at school, and in public accommodations, and is not limited (like Section 504) to those organizations and programs that receive federal funds. The ADA requires all schools, both public and private, to make reasonable accommodations for handicapped or disabled persons.
Section 504 Online Resources
www.wrightslaw.com/advoc/articles/504_IDEA_Rosenfeld.html - Section 504 and IDEA
http://www.ldonline.org/article/Understanding_the_Differences_Between_IDEA_and_Section_504
http://www.ldonline.org/article/5975
http://www2.ed.gov/pubs/parents/Including/chapter3.html - Finding Services and Supports Under the Law
http://www.doe.mass.edu/sped/links/sec504.html - Section 504 and ADA
Title 1 (reading & math)
http://www2.ed.gov/programs/titleiparta/index.html - US Dept. of Education, Title 1 description
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
December 13th SEPAC Meeting "How Difficult Can This Be?"
December 13, 2011 – Georgetown SEPAC Meeting – 7:00-9pm, Penn Brook Library
Join us for a night at the movies! We will be showing an excellent DVD by Richard LaVoie on how children subjectively experience having a learning disability. Richard D. Lavoie, M.A., M.Ed., is a nationally-known expert on learning disabilities. He has worked in special education since 1972, as a teacher, administrator, author, and consultant. The movie is called, "How Difficult Can This Be?" The F.A.T. (Frustration, Anxiety and Tension) City Workshop - 70 minutes. For kids with learning disabilities, the classroom can be an intimidating place. In this workshop, Richard D. Lavoie shows why. He leads a group of parents, educators, psychologists, and children through a series of exercises that cause frustration, anxiety, and tension . . . feelings all to familiar to children with learning disabilities. By dramatizing the classroom experience so vividly, Lavoie lets us see the world through the eyes of a child. At the end of the workshop, participants discuss strategies for working more effectively with learning disabled children. Find out more at www.ricklavoie.com. We hope everyone will feel free after the movie to discuss their impressions and related thoughts. Light refreshments will be served. We invite all SEPAC members and the public to this viewing. Please call Pam Lundquist 978-352-5407 if you have any questions, or check out Georgetown SEPAC on Facebook or at www.georgetownsepac.blogspot.com.
Join us for a night at the movies! We will be showing an excellent DVD by Richard LaVoie on how children subjectively experience having a learning disability. Richard D. Lavoie, M.A., M.Ed., is a nationally-known expert on learning disabilities. He has worked in special education since 1972, as a teacher, administrator, author, and consultant. The movie is called, "How Difficult Can This Be?" The F.A.T. (Frustration, Anxiety and Tension) City Workshop - 70 minutes. For kids with learning disabilities, the classroom can be an intimidating place. In this workshop, Richard D. Lavoie shows why. He leads a group of parents, educators, psychologists, and children through a series of exercises that cause frustration, anxiety, and tension . . . feelings all to familiar to children with learning disabilities. By dramatizing the classroom experience so vividly, Lavoie lets us see the world through the eyes of a child. At the end of the workshop, participants discuss strategies for working more effectively with learning disabled children. Find out more at www.ricklavoie.com. We hope everyone will feel free after the movie to discuss their impressions and related thoughts. Light refreshments will be served. We invite all SEPAC members and the public to this viewing. Please call Pam Lundquist 978-352-5407 if you have any questions, or check out Georgetown SEPAC on Facebook or at www.georgetownsepac.blogspot.com.
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Georgetown SEPAC Meeting Minutes, 11-8-11
Georgetown Special Education Parent Advisory Council (SEPAC) Meeting
Meeting Minutes, November 8, 2011 – 7:00pm, Penn Brook Library
The Georgetown SEPAC Presents: Transition 101 - High School to Adulthood, Tuesday, November 8, 2011, 6:30-9:00pm, Penn Brook Library, 68 Elm St., Georgetown, MA. We all have hopes and dreams, learn how to help students with disabilities plan to achieve theirs! From The ARC of Greater Haverhill-Newburyport, Kerry Mahoney, Transition Specialist and Family Support Coordinator, will speak about what transition planning is, the laws, effective use of IEP and transition planning forms (required by IDEA 2004) for students ages 14-22, transition map design, timelines, and family resources. IEP's of students 14 and over should include a post school vision statement that identifies the transition services necessary to support the vision. The workshop's goal is to help families plan for positive post high school outcomes and opportunities in education, training, and/or employment for students with disabilities. Starting the process early prepares students with disabilities to think about what they want to be able to do in adult life. Discussion includes age of majority, interagency collaboration, adult services, self determination and self advocacy, life skill development and preparing students to pursue as independent an adult life as possible. Find out more at www.georgetownsepac.blogspot.com or by calling Pam Lundquist at 978-352-5407 – Light refreshments will be served – Please join us!
Who is the Arc?
The ARC of Greater-Haverhill-Newburyport (ARCGHN) supports individuals with developmental disabilities and their families through Advocacy, Resources & Customized services.
The Arc is devoted to promoting and improving supports and services for all people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. We are a member of The Arc of Massachusetts and also of The Arc of the United States. The Arc is the world's largest community based organization of and for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. It provides an array of services and support for families and individuals and includes over 140,000 members affiliated through more than 730 state and local chapters across the nation.
Did You Know the Arc of GHN...?
• Advocates for resources and supports
• Educates and works together to shape visions and life plans
• Promotes and inspires respectful and trusting relationships
• Creates opportunities through customized services
The Arc of GHN provides individualized and customized supports to families and individuals to live and to work where and with whom they wish. Our person-centered and person-directed approach relies heavily on relationship building. We partner with families and individuals in order to recruit, hire and match support staff.
The Arc’s approach aligns itself with the principles and values of self-determination. Self-determination is a process that differs from person to person according to what each individual determines is necessary and desirable to create a satisfying and meaningful life.
Furthermore, the Arc embraces the beliefs of the self-advocacy movement to assist in the empowerment of individuals and their families. We work tirelessly to strengthen the voice and leadership of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities while at the same time taking our lead from the self-advocates by listening to what they need and want.
What is transition? Transition is about planning for life!
The transition your son or daughter will make from school to adult life in the community is a long journey. This journey can be difficult for anyone, but for a child with a disability, determining where to go, the best way to get there, and then completing the journey can be especially challenging. This is why it is so important for you to think, as early as possible, about the important steps your child will need to make and to develop a plan for his/her future.
Inclusive Concurrent Enrollment (ICE) is a system of partnerships between between high schools in public school districts and state public institutions of higher education (IHE) exists, as defined in Section 1 of Chapter 71B of the General Law. This program offer educational credit and non-credit courses to students ages 18-22 with severe disabilities for both those seeking to graduation from high school or college. These programs must:
be designed to promote and enhance academic, social, functional, and employment skills and outcomes;
provide opportunities for the inclusion of students with severe disabilities in credit and non-credit courses with their non-disabled peers;
provide linkages to adult agencies and organizations;
promote participation in the student life of the college community; and
include student participation in community-based employment related directly to course selection and career goals.
Numerous federal and state laws guide the delivery of transitional educational services to children with disabilities. It is important for parents to understand these laws and the rights of their disabled children and families.
For instance, upon turning 18, a student reaches the Massachusetts “age of majority.” This means he or she is “of legal age,” which means they are no longer under the custody and supervision of their parents. They are responsible for making their own decisions, including those about school. Guardianship is intended to assist individuals who need guidance in making decision in major life areas. Guardianship can be limited to education decisions, or it can include more than one major life area. Guardianship is a legal process, and the decision is made by a judge. An attorney can help you understand the ramifications in your particular case. If you have a severely disabled child, completely unable to make their own decisions, you might consider getting a health care proxy, power of attorney, and formal guardianship.
What can all parents do to prepare for their child’s transition? The road leading to a successful transition from childhood to adulthood should begin much earlier than the teenage years. It starts when children learn about themselves, their strengths and weaknesses and, so doing, begin to value themselves. It ends when, as adults, these same children can take control over choices and decisions that impact their lives and take responsibility for their actions. This is called Self-Determination. It starts with a dream! A dream for a meaning life for our children.
Age 13, 14, 15
- Talk about the value of work and teach behaviors that develop employment potential.
- Provide opportunities to see people at work in different settings.
- Allow as much independence as possible; assign responsibility for certain chores to help unstill a positive work ethic.
- Teach money management skills along with shopping experiences and banking skills.
- Promote appropriate behavior at home and in social situations.
- Provide opportunities to make choices and decisions, to explore and take risks, and to learn from experiences of success and failure.
- Assist in good grooming skills and emphasize the importance of physical fitness.
- Think about volunteer job opportunities in the community, paper routes, or other ways to develop job skills.
- Attend parent workshops on Transition to become informed about the process of Transition Planning.
- Help your child to become a self-advocate.
- Continue these activities through the teen years.
Age 16
- Encourage self-advocacy skills in your child.
- Be sure your child’s IEP addresses all the areas where skills are needed to make the biggest difference in your child’s ultimate independence.
- Have your child attend IEP meetings.
- First job experience ought to be considered if your child is not already working.
- Help your child to understand his/her disability and medical needs.
Age 17
- Develop a long-term plan (5 year) to cover educational, vocational, community experiences and independent living skills.
- If you are planning to apply for Social Security Insurance (SSI), get information about eligibility. Students with assets exceeding $2,000 are not eligible for SSI benefits. Consult an attorney or financial planner about a special needs trust or other arrangement that will protect eligibility for benefits.
- Investigate the need for guardianships and other options for legal protection. At age 18, all people are presumed to be legally competent to make all life decisions.
- Have interest surveys and vocational assessments done to determine interests and abilities.
Age 18
- Apply for SSI/MassHealth. If SSI eligible, an individual will automatically be eligible for MassHealth. If not eligible for SSI, apply separately to the Division of Medical Assistance for MassHealth.
- Help your child actively participate in his/her IEP meeting. He/she should be part of planning their learning and life goals.
- Apply for Section 8 Housing Vouchers.
- Make sure emphasis on IEP is on post-school goals that will make the biggest differences in the life of your child.
- Understand Age of Majority.
- Register men for Selective Service.
- Determine eligibility for adult services through the Department of Developmental Services, Department of Mental Health, MA commission for the Blind, and Mass Rehab Commission.
- Have your child register to vote.
- Maker sure your child has some work experience.
- Network with other families who have been through the Transition process.
Other things parents can do:
- Consider the skills that your child needs for a meaningful and purposeful life and be sure that these are included in the child’s IEP at the appropriate school level.
- Encourage your child to develop gradual independence in all areas of life including self-care activities, money management, decision-making and travel in the community.
- Attend parent trainings on transition and be informed about the process of transition planning and the law.
What happens to a child’s IEP upon entry to college? Private colleges are not required to follow an IEP, just as private high schools are not. However, most do have a Disability Services Office, that can provide support services, which ensure ADA compliance and generally improve their retention and graduation rates. Accommodations are required only at public colleges, under the 504b section; IEPs do not carry through. Appointments can be made after acceptance. Prior to applying, however, you can also set up and appointment with the Disabilities Coordinator, and ask what the process is for receiving accommodations. Colleges typically will ask for an evaluation that is no more than 3 years old; they will not usually evaluate a student themselves. The Disability office can authorize a letter of accommodations that a student may give to each professor. Typical accommodations may include: extra time/distraction-free location for tests, preferential seating, a note taker, online powerpoints, class breaks, free tutor or referral to a tutoring center but not a support teacher, flexibility with deadlines, classes in strategic reading and learning. Course requirements, such as for Foreign Languages, may be waived. Schools which are more specialized in their accommodations, such as Landmark or Curry, will have more guarantees and evaluations available to you prior to enrolling.
The Massachusetts Office of Rehabilitation and Vocational Training Program (VRP) assists individuals with disabilities to obtain and maintain employment. The Vocational Rehabilitation Program helps individuals with physical, psychiatric and/or learning disabilities face the challenges of the modern workplace. This may include identifying job goals based on individual interests and aptitudes, providing funds for college and vocational training, assessing worksite accommodations, educating an employer about the Americans With Disabilities Act, or assisting an individual returning to work after adjusting to a new disabling condition. Vocational rehabilitation services can often reduce or remove barriers to employment. Priority is given to those individuals who have the most severe disabilities in areas such as communication, mobility, work tolerance and work skills. The Vocational Rehabilitation Program is mandated and regulated by the federal government while being administered through state government. Find out more information about the VR Program's federal parent agency, the Rehabilitation Services Administration. Chapter 688 of the law identifies students in need of such services after age 22.
A few of the many programs directed under the ARC’s umbrella include:
School to Community Transition Program
The Arc of Greater Haverhill-Newburyport and The Arc of Massachusetts received one of five $100,000 matching grants through The Arc of United States School-to-Community Transition Program funded by the Walmart Foundation!
We are partnering with schools from the Greater Boston area as well as Newburyport Public Schools to implement this three-year demonstration project. The project aims to increase transition outcomes and to build inclusion and involvement of youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities in independent living, employment, post-secondary education or vocational training, and community, social and civic affairs. Specifically, The Arc of GHN project will provide 10 Newburyport Middle and High School students with person centered plans to promote partnerships, self advocacy, self determination and leadership while we encourage each student to develop his or her own talents, skills, interests, and preferences. The project focuses on concrete outcomes for students to be prepared for adult life in the community. These include employment, social & recreational activities, transportation and housing. A "whole person, systems" approach will help staff focus on individual student goals, skills and training needs while encouraging parent/family involvement and a leadership role on the part of the student. Family members will be trained to assist the student to develop collaborative relationships for the purposes of achieving the student's vision.
The Adult Family Care Program (AFC) – A program funded by MassHealth (Medicaid) that pays family members or non-family members to care for people with disabilities or frail elderly adults in a home setting. The goal of the program is to delay or prevent out of home placements for individuals who cannot live safely on their own.
AutismNOW –This program, initiated by the national ARC and funded by The Administration on Developmental Disabilities, aims to be the central point of high quality resources and information across the lifespan for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and other developmental disabilities, their families, caregivers and professionals in the field. Connects the public with information through webinars, online resources, and counselors.
Suggested Reading:
Legal Planning for Special Needs in Massachusetts, by Barbara Jackins
The Special Needs Planning Guide: How to Prepare for Every Stage in Your Child's Life / Edition 1, by John W. Nadworny, Cynthia Haddad
Preparing Students with Disabilities for College Success: A Practical Guide to Transition Planning / Edition 1 by Stan F. Shaw, Joseph W. Madaus, Lyman L. Dukes III
Helpful Websites:
http://www.doe.mass.edu/sped/links/transition.html - Special Education: Transition from School to Adult Life (includes sample transition forms, filled out)
www.thearc.org
www.thearcofghn.org
www.autismnow.org
http://finance1.doe.mass.edu/grants/grants11/rfp/235.html (ICE)
http://www.lawlib.state.ma.us/subject/about/guardian.html
http://www.mass.gov/eohhs/gov/departments/dta/ - The Department of Transitional Assistance (low income), Dept. of Health and Human Services, MA
http://www.mass.gov/eohhs/consumer/disability-services/vocational-rehab/vr-services-2.html
Questions for Kerry Mahoney? Please feel free to contact her at the
The Arc of Greater Haverhill-Newburyport www.thearcofghn.org
Kerry Mahoney 978-373-0552 ext 201. Plan for life’s changes by finding out about more great ARC workshops and when they are scheduled, such as Ready to Work! or Transition: The Emotional Journey.
Meeting Minutes, November 8, 2011 – 7:00pm, Penn Brook Library
The Georgetown SEPAC Presents: Transition 101 - High School to Adulthood, Tuesday, November 8, 2011, 6:30-9:00pm, Penn Brook Library, 68 Elm St., Georgetown, MA. We all have hopes and dreams, learn how to help students with disabilities plan to achieve theirs! From The ARC of Greater Haverhill-Newburyport, Kerry Mahoney, Transition Specialist and Family Support Coordinator, will speak about what transition planning is, the laws, effective use of IEP and transition planning forms (required by IDEA 2004) for students ages 14-22, transition map design, timelines, and family resources. IEP's of students 14 and over should include a post school vision statement that identifies the transition services necessary to support the vision. The workshop's goal is to help families plan for positive post high school outcomes and opportunities in education, training, and/or employment for students with disabilities. Starting the process early prepares students with disabilities to think about what they want to be able to do in adult life. Discussion includes age of majority, interagency collaboration, adult services, self determination and self advocacy, life skill development and preparing students to pursue as independent an adult life as possible. Find out more at www.georgetownsepac.blogspot.com or by calling Pam Lundquist at 978-352-5407 – Light refreshments will be served – Please join us!
Who is the Arc?
The ARC of Greater-Haverhill-Newburyport (ARCGHN) supports individuals with developmental disabilities and their families through Advocacy, Resources & Customized services.
The Arc is devoted to promoting and improving supports and services for all people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. We are a member of The Arc of Massachusetts and also of The Arc of the United States. The Arc is the world's largest community based organization of and for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. It provides an array of services and support for families and individuals and includes over 140,000 members affiliated through more than 730 state and local chapters across the nation.
Did You Know the Arc of GHN...?
• Advocates for resources and supports
• Educates and works together to shape visions and life plans
• Promotes and inspires respectful and trusting relationships
• Creates opportunities through customized services
The Arc of GHN provides individualized and customized supports to families and individuals to live and to work where and with whom they wish. Our person-centered and person-directed approach relies heavily on relationship building. We partner with families and individuals in order to recruit, hire and match support staff.
The Arc’s approach aligns itself with the principles and values of self-determination. Self-determination is a process that differs from person to person according to what each individual determines is necessary and desirable to create a satisfying and meaningful life.
Furthermore, the Arc embraces the beliefs of the self-advocacy movement to assist in the empowerment of individuals and their families. We work tirelessly to strengthen the voice and leadership of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities while at the same time taking our lead from the self-advocates by listening to what they need and want.
What is transition? Transition is about planning for life!
The transition your son or daughter will make from school to adult life in the community is a long journey. This journey can be difficult for anyone, but for a child with a disability, determining where to go, the best way to get there, and then completing the journey can be especially challenging. This is why it is so important for you to think, as early as possible, about the important steps your child will need to make and to develop a plan for his/her future.
Inclusive Concurrent Enrollment (ICE) is a system of partnerships between between high schools in public school districts and state public institutions of higher education (IHE) exists, as defined in Section 1 of Chapter 71B of the General Law. This program offer educational credit and non-credit courses to students ages 18-22 with severe disabilities for both those seeking to graduation from high school or college. These programs must:
be designed to promote and enhance academic, social, functional, and employment skills and outcomes;
provide opportunities for the inclusion of students with severe disabilities in credit and non-credit courses with their non-disabled peers;
provide linkages to adult agencies and organizations;
promote participation in the student life of the college community; and
include student participation in community-based employment related directly to course selection and career goals.
Numerous federal and state laws guide the delivery of transitional educational services to children with disabilities. It is important for parents to understand these laws and the rights of their disabled children and families.
For instance, upon turning 18, a student reaches the Massachusetts “age of majority.” This means he or she is “of legal age,” which means they are no longer under the custody and supervision of their parents. They are responsible for making their own decisions, including those about school. Guardianship is intended to assist individuals who need guidance in making decision in major life areas. Guardianship can be limited to education decisions, or it can include more than one major life area. Guardianship is a legal process, and the decision is made by a judge. An attorney can help you understand the ramifications in your particular case. If you have a severely disabled child, completely unable to make their own decisions, you might consider getting a health care proxy, power of attorney, and formal guardianship.
What can all parents do to prepare for their child’s transition? The road leading to a successful transition from childhood to adulthood should begin much earlier than the teenage years. It starts when children learn about themselves, their strengths and weaknesses and, so doing, begin to value themselves. It ends when, as adults, these same children can take control over choices and decisions that impact their lives and take responsibility for their actions. This is called Self-Determination. It starts with a dream! A dream for a meaning life for our children.
Age 13, 14, 15
- Talk about the value of work and teach behaviors that develop employment potential.
- Provide opportunities to see people at work in different settings.
- Allow as much independence as possible; assign responsibility for certain chores to help unstill a positive work ethic.
- Teach money management skills along with shopping experiences and banking skills.
- Promote appropriate behavior at home and in social situations.
- Provide opportunities to make choices and decisions, to explore and take risks, and to learn from experiences of success and failure.
- Assist in good grooming skills and emphasize the importance of physical fitness.
- Think about volunteer job opportunities in the community, paper routes, or other ways to develop job skills.
- Attend parent workshops on Transition to become informed about the process of Transition Planning.
- Help your child to become a self-advocate.
- Continue these activities through the teen years.
Age 16
- Encourage self-advocacy skills in your child.
- Be sure your child’s IEP addresses all the areas where skills are needed to make the biggest difference in your child’s ultimate independence.
- Have your child attend IEP meetings.
- First job experience ought to be considered if your child is not already working.
- Help your child to understand his/her disability and medical needs.
Age 17
- Develop a long-term plan (5 year) to cover educational, vocational, community experiences and independent living skills.
- If you are planning to apply for Social Security Insurance (SSI), get information about eligibility. Students with assets exceeding $2,000 are not eligible for SSI benefits. Consult an attorney or financial planner about a special needs trust or other arrangement that will protect eligibility for benefits.
- Investigate the need for guardianships and other options for legal protection. At age 18, all people are presumed to be legally competent to make all life decisions.
- Have interest surveys and vocational assessments done to determine interests and abilities.
Age 18
- Apply for SSI/MassHealth. If SSI eligible, an individual will automatically be eligible for MassHealth. If not eligible for SSI, apply separately to the Division of Medical Assistance for MassHealth.
- Help your child actively participate in his/her IEP meeting. He/she should be part of planning their learning and life goals.
- Apply for Section 8 Housing Vouchers.
- Make sure emphasis on IEP is on post-school goals that will make the biggest differences in the life of your child.
- Understand Age of Majority.
- Register men for Selective Service.
- Determine eligibility for adult services through the Department of Developmental Services, Department of Mental Health, MA commission for the Blind, and Mass Rehab Commission.
- Have your child register to vote.
- Maker sure your child has some work experience.
- Network with other families who have been through the Transition process.
Other things parents can do:
- Consider the skills that your child needs for a meaningful and purposeful life and be sure that these are included in the child’s IEP at the appropriate school level.
- Encourage your child to develop gradual independence in all areas of life including self-care activities, money management, decision-making and travel in the community.
- Attend parent trainings on transition and be informed about the process of transition planning and the law.
What happens to a child’s IEP upon entry to college? Private colleges are not required to follow an IEP, just as private high schools are not. However, most do have a Disability Services Office, that can provide support services, which ensure ADA compliance and generally improve their retention and graduation rates. Accommodations are required only at public colleges, under the 504b section; IEPs do not carry through. Appointments can be made after acceptance. Prior to applying, however, you can also set up and appointment with the Disabilities Coordinator, and ask what the process is for receiving accommodations. Colleges typically will ask for an evaluation that is no more than 3 years old; they will not usually evaluate a student themselves. The Disability office can authorize a letter of accommodations that a student may give to each professor. Typical accommodations may include: extra time/distraction-free location for tests, preferential seating, a note taker, online powerpoints, class breaks, free tutor or referral to a tutoring center but not a support teacher, flexibility with deadlines, classes in strategic reading and learning. Course requirements, such as for Foreign Languages, may be waived. Schools which are more specialized in their accommodations, such as Landmark or Curry, will have more guarantees and evaluations available to you prior to enrolling.
The Massachusetts Office of Rehabilitation and Vocational Training Program (VRP) assists individuals with disabilities to obtain and maintain employment. The Vocational Rehabilitation Program helps individuals with physical, psychiatric and/or learning disabilities face the challenges of the modern workplace. This may include identifying job goals based on individual interests and aptitudes, providing funds for college and vocational training, assessing worksite accommodations, educating an employer about the Americans With Disabilities Act, or assisting an individual returning to work after adjusting to a new disabling condition. Vocational rehabilitation services can often reduce or remove barriers to employment. Priority is given to those individuals who have the most severe disabilities in areas such as communication, mobility, work tolerance and work skills. The Vocational Rehabilitation Program is mandated and regulated by the federal government while being administered through state government. Find out more information about the VR Program's federal parent agency, the Rehabilitation Services Administration. Chapter 688 of the law identifies students in need of such services after age 22.
A few of the many programs directed under the ARC’s umbrella include:
School to Community Transition Program
The Arc of Greater Haverhill-Newburyport and The Arc of Massachusetts received one of five $100,000 matching grants through The Arc of United States School-to-Community Transition Program funded by the Walmart Foundation!
We are partnering with schools from the Greater Boston area as well as Newburyport Public Schools to implement this three-year demonstration project. The project aims to increase transition outcomes and to build inclusion and involvement of youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities in independent living, employment, post-secondary education or vocational training, and community, social and civic affairs. Specifically, The Arc of GHN project will provide 10 Newburyport Middle and High School students with person centered plans to promote partnerships, self advocacy, self determination and leadership while we encourage each student to develop his or her own talents, skills, interests, and preferences. The project focuses on concrete outcomes for students to be prepared for adult life in the community. These include employment, social & recreational activities, transportation and housing. A "whole person, systems" approach will help staff focus on individual student goals, skills and training needs while encouraging parent/family involvement and a leadership role on the part of the student. Family members will be trained to assist the student to develop collaborative relationships for the purposes of achieving the student's vision.
The Adult Family Care Program (AFC) – A program funded by MassHealth (Medicaid) that pays family members or non-family members to care for people with disabilities or frail elderly adults in a home setting. The goal of the program is to delay or prevent out of home placements for individuals who cannot live safely on their own.
AutismNOW –This program, initiated by the national ARC and funded by The Administration on Developmental Disabilities, aims to be the central point of high quality resources and information across the lifespan for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and other developmental disabilities, their families, caregivers and professionals in the field. Connects the public with information through webinars, online resources, and counselors.
Suggested Reading:
Legal Planning for Special Needs in Massachusetts, by Barbara Jackins
The Special Needs Planning Guide: How to Prepare for Every Stage in Your Child's Life / Edition 1, by John W. Nadworny, Cynthia Haddad
Preparing Students with Disabilities for College Success: A Practical Guide to Transition Planning / Edition 1 by Stan F. Shaw, Joseph W. Madaus, Lyman L. Dukes III
Helpful Websites:
http://www.doe.mass.edu/sped/links/transition.html - Special Education: Transition from School to Adult Life (includes sample transition forms, filled out)
www.thearc.org
www.thearcofghn.org
www.autismnow.org
http://finance1.doe.mass.edu/grants/grants11/rfp/235.html (ICE)
http://www.lawlib.state.ma.us/subject/about/guardian.html
http://www.mass.gov/eohhs/gov/departments/dta/ - The Department of Transitional Assistance (low income), Dept. of Health and Human Services, MA
http://www.mass.gov/eohhs/consumer/disability-services/vocational-rehab/vr-services-2.html
Questions for Kerry Mahoney? Please feel free to contact her at the
The Arc of Greater Haverhill-Newburyport www.thearcofghn.org
Kerry Mahoney 978-373-0552 ext 201. Plan for life’s changes by finding out about more great ARC workshops and when they are scheduled, such as Ready to Work! or Transition: The Emotional Journey.
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