By Karen Kaplan
When a child learns, connects, or accesses their community differently in school, work, or recreational environments, parents are encouraged to collaborate with their education planning team, transition team, regional enter, and all outside support services.
It begins with asking to observe early intervention services. Early Start: CA Department of Developmental Services demands that you receive the training to maintain interventions outside sessions and/or school. It means establishing collaboration with all service providers and asking questions to understand your child’s strengths and differences and strategies for addressing them.
It pushes the regional center to provide in-home behavioral support, perhaps recreational activities, including accessing special needs camps and assistive technology to support communication differences and limitations. You must expect your case worker to attend IEP meetings, especially transition planning meetings. Regional Centers: CA Department of Developmental Services
Parents need to attend and actively participate in all educational planning meetings. They need to review the IEP and ITP quarterly and ensure they receive progress updates and questioning and non-progress or partial progress being made. No progress or partial means new techniques and strategies must be implemented. New materials, tools, and methods may need to be implemented to maximize progress. New goals may need to be set. Other goals adjusted or rewritten. When your child has good cognitive ability and communication skills, engage them in their planning. Help them be informed. When Students Attend IEP Meetings: What Parents Should Know - CHADD
Parents, ensure teachers realize that you need at least monthly feedback and wish to visit quarterly, minimally. Never sign off on not completing the three-year evaluation. Strengths and needs change over time, and parents need to stay informed.
Ensure your child has goals and objectives that address developing problem-solving, executive functioning, communication expression, comprehension, independent living skills, transportation, and community access. Stay informed on how to help implement those in your home.
When public schools cannot provide a program of benefit, they should realize that there are state-certified non-public schools to explore. Review these sites and keep informed about alternatives. School Directory Search Results (CA Dept of Education), Home Page | CAPSES - California Association of Private Special Education Schools
Parents, when you choose to place your child in a residential program, never stop visiting and staying informed. You must retain conservatorship if your child cannot problem-solve and maintain financial stability. You must oversee medical issues. Create a special needs trust and identify a team to help you stay informed and continue when you cannot. Overview of the Two Different Types of Special Needs Trusts (specialneedsalliance.org)
Parents, please obtain knowledge early on. Ask your pediatrician all about your individual’s diagnosis. Move to a developmental pediatrician to stay better informed when needed. Join parent associations that support your child’s diagnosis. Obtain more information and resources from those already on a similar journey. Let them inform you about their journey and what they have discovered. Parent Support for Children and Adults with Disabilities in San Jose (php.com), Welcome | Support for Families, Welcome - Matrix, A Parent Network and Resource Center (matrixparents.org)
Always be informed about how your child truly feels. Ask, include, and let them know you value their hopes, dreams, worries, needs, dreams, and interests.
Rights To Information: Resources
Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) | U.S. Department of Education
Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) | U.S. Department of Education
Parental Rights In The IEP Process | Special Education Resource (specialedresource.com)
Family Resource Centers: CA Department of Developmental Services
Center for Parent Information and Resources Library - The Arc
Karen Kaplan, MS, is a native San Franciscan. She completed her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in speech pathology and audiology at Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona. She minored in special education and obtained her speech therapist and special education credentials in California. Karen worked as a school speech therapist for 20 years before opening her own residential education program for students with autism. She worked in credential programs at Sacramento State University and UC Davis and spent 20 years directing private schools for those with autism and similar learning challenges. Karen founded a non-profit, Offerings, which helps cultures globally to understand those with developmental challenges. For seven years, she founded and facilitated an autism lecture series and resource fair in Northern California. Karen still facilitates an annual Autism Awesomeness event. She is currently consulting, helping families, schools, and centers for children, teens, and adults. Karen has authored three books: Reach Me Teach Me: A Public School Program for the Autistic Child; A Handbook for Teachers and Administrators, On the Yellow Brick Road: My Search for Home and Hope for the Child with Autism, and Typewriting to Heaven… and Back: Conversations with My Dad on Death, Afterlife and Living (which is not about autism but about having important conversations with those we love).
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