Does your young child with autism need applied behavioral analysis (ABA) treatment? Are special education personnel delaying making a decision or totally denying needed educational services? This article will discuss, how you can successfully overcome deny or delay tactics, by some school personnel.
Many research studies have shown how important early intervention is for all children with disabilities. But if you waste time waiting for special education personnel to give your child the educational and related services that they need, your child’s life will be negatively affected.
Below are a few ways, to stop the deny or delay tactics, of some school personnel:
1. Make school personnel accountable for IDEA time lines. Learn about the time lines because a lot of delays that some school personnel try and get away with, are because parents do not understand the time lines, or do not make special education personnel accountable for the time lines. After you learn about the time lines are, write school personnel a letter, telling them that you know what the time lines are, and you will be holding them to the time lines.
Some things are not covered by time lines. For these I usually use 14 days. For Example: I would like a written response to my letter. I expect to receive it within 14 days. On the 15th day I write them again, and give them a shorter time frame, 5 days. If they refuse to answer my letter in writing, I would file for a state complaint. Your complaint would be, that you school district is preventing you from being an equal participant in your child’s education and Individual Education Plan (IEP) process.
2. Get an independent educational evaluation (IEE) of your child. This evaluation will give you evidence of what services your child requires. The evaluation should include, testing on academic and functional progress, educational and related services that your child needs, and what placement they require. Once you receive the in depth report from the independent evaluator, set up an IEP meeting to discuss the results. Make sure if possible, that the independent evaluator can participate in the IEP meeting by telephone. This will increase your chances of have special education personnel accept the evaluation.
3. If the school district refuses to give your child the recommended educational and related services, consider filing for a due process hearing immediately. By getting an IEE before you file for a due process hearing, you will be able to use the independent evaluators report, as evidence at a due process hearing.
Some parents wait for months, negotiating with school personnel, only to find out that the school district refuses to give the child what they need. Do not waste your child’s precious time! File for a due process now!
While due process is not an easy thing and can be adversarial, the special education personnel will continue to delay a decision, if they know that you will let them get away with it. I have heard from some parents that have waited for years, while school personnel delayed a decision.
By using these advocacy strategies you will be stopping the deny or delay tactics, of some special education personnel. Remember all the time that you waste, waiting for a decision on whether needed services are going to be given to your child, will negatively affect your child’s life. Keep up the fight!
By: JoAnn Collins
Posts Tagged ‘Autism’
Special Education Teaching Job Interview – What to Expect
October 1st, 2009
Because a special education teacher’s job requires far more than just teaching, administrators will seek candidates who are true specialists in the field. If you’re hoping to be hired as a special ed teacher, you need to be an expert at the art of adapting lessons, an active advocate for student needs, a professional IEP writer, a wealth of information on student disabilities, and a dedicated individual who is 100% committed to doing whatever it takes to help all students reach their fullest potential.
As with any teaching interview, I recommend you familiarize yourself with possible questions beforehand. This will make the interview questions seem familiar so you’ll be more comfortable answering them. You will be asked a series of general teaching questions as well as questions that specifically relate to special ed.
Below are a few thoughts on ways to be prepare for the special education questions that will be asked.
Be prepared to comprehend and respond to all of the jargon, acronyms, and special requirements of special education. You should know exactly how an IEP and/or CSE meeting is conducted. You need to speak and act as though you are very familiar with IEP meetings, CSE meetings, child study meetings and any other special education committees the school may have. Understand how least restrictive environment works. Know what services and support the school district does and does not offer. Be sure you understand and are able to talk about a wide range of disabilities. Familiarize yourself with Asperger’s/autism, ADHD, emotional disorders, processing delays, speech disorders, physical handicaps, and every other common disability children may be classified with in the district. Emphasize your ability to work cooperatively with colleagues. Special education teachers are usually required to work closely with and/or team teach with regular education teachers. They’ll also be communicating regularly with special education administration, social workers or counselors, PT/OT teachers, and resource teachers. There’s a lot of specialized teamwork involved in educating children with special needs. You need to understand your role in acting as an advocate for each of your students and in meeting their social and academic needs. Know how to utilize support staff. Oftentimes special education students will have teachers’ aides or assistants. Be sure you know how to use the support staff in a professional way the benefits the student. You don’t want the child to become dependent on a teacher’s aide for doing simple tasks that he/she can perform himself. On the other hand, you want to be sure the student is receiving the full support he/she needs. Be sure you’re an expert in differentiation. While all teachers should differentiate their lessons based on their students’ needs, special education teachers need to be especially confident in their ability to adapt lessons to meet the very unique needs of their students. You simply can’t teach a concept and expect every child to be doing the same work, the same way. You need to individualize instruction so that it is presented in a way that all of your students can learn. You will not be able to look at the school’s curriculum or instructional materials and use them as-is. You’ll need to show that you can adapt your resources to meet the learning needs of your students.
Final thoughts: To succeed in a special education interview, you need to be able to talk-the-talk, understand how to be an advocate for special needs students, fully understand responsibilities associated with the job, and be willing to go above and beyond to meet the unique instructional needs of classified students.
By: Tim W
