The Wrightslaw Way

Jackie Igafo-Te’o says she had a “surreal feeling” when she saw two of her children on television. Melody, 13, and her brother, Michael, 15, were featured in a two-minute Disney Channel segment called “The Time I Realized My Brother was Different.”  In the film,  Melody describes what it’s like to live with a brother with autism.

Melody says she hopes the short film gives people a better understanding of the disorder. The film is based on a book Melody wrote several years ago, chronicling her own tales of playing games and eating pizza with her brother. To see the video… [Read more →]

Tags:   autism · Disney Channel · Melody Igafo-Te'o · Michael Igafo-Te'o · My Brother Has Autism1 Comment

When I asked the IEP team about my daughter’s Summary of Performance, I got the “deer in the headlights” look - they didn’t even know what it was.  We finally got one in late summer when my daughter was already out of high school. What is the intent of a Summary of Performance?  What should it look like?

When your child graduates from high school with a regular diploma or “ages out” of special education, IDEA requires the school to provide a “summary of academic achievement and functional performance.” The Summary of Performance (SOP) should include recommendations about ways to help your child meet post-secondary goals. [Read more →]

Tags:   aging out · College and Continuing Education · graduation · regular diploma · Summary of Performance · Transition1 Comment

My son is in his senior year and has ADHD. We had an IEP. If he cannot pass the competency test the school will give him a certificate, not a diploma. He will continue to take the tests, but time is running out for him.  Is there anything I can do to help him?

If your son has an IEP, he is eligible for special education until he graduates from high school with a *regular high school diploma* or ages out at age 22.

Do not accept a certificate. A certificate is meaningless and will not help him get a job, get further education or be self sufficient and independent. [Read more →]

Tags:   aging out · certificate · competency tests · graduation · regular diploma · Transition5 Comments

I read your article “Can a Child With an IEP Fail?“  My son has LD and is in high school. He has an IEP, but the school has not evaluated him since 4th grade. He failed algebra and English, even though he had an instructional aide. I’ve questioned the school about the appropriateness and effectiveness of an IEP that allows a child to fail. I asked for an aide for summer school, but the school refused.

Your son had an aide this year. Despite having an aide, he failed English and algebra.

How will an aide help your son pass English and algebra in summer school? What education and training are aides required to have? What is the difference between an aide an a highly qualified teacher? Kids with learning disabilities have complex needs. They kids need teachers who are trained in effective, research based methods to teach skills like English and algebra.  [Read more →]

Tags:   aide · diploma · FAPE · Goals · IEE · IEP · Independent Evalutions · Instructional Aide · Summer School7 Comments

What does the law state regarding a student who is in mainstream classes yet refuses to do any assignments. He just doesn’t care.

The staff has made extra effort to “bend over backwards” to provide assistance, extra help, make additional copies of materials lost or discarded by the student. IEP accommodations have been addressed, FBA and BIP have been written, yet have not been successful.

I am a high school special educator. We want to consider an alternative placement in an environment that would help teach the student responsibility, help improve self esteem, and get the student ready for the workplace at another school. The student and parents refuse.

You say the staff have “bent over backwards” to help this student. Assignment refusal is not a discipline issue. Behavior is communication. What is the student trying to communicate by this behavior? [Read more →]

Tags:   Alternative placement · Behavior · Comprehensive Psycho-Educational Evaluation · Discipline · FAPE11 Comments

The Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. Foundation Public Policy Fellowship Program is seeking professionals and/or family members of persons with intellectual or developmental disabilities currently working/volunteering in the field of inclusive services and supports.

The  2010-2011 Public Policy Fellowship Program offers an intensive one-year Public Policy Fellowship in Washington, D.C.  The experience is a unique chance to understand how public policy, disability advocacy, and the political process intersect.

The application deadline is March 5, 2010 by 5:00 P.M. EST

[Read more →]

Tags:   disability advocacy · intellectual and developmental disabilities · Joseph P. Kennedy · Jr. Foundation · public policy · Public Policy Fellowship Program 2010-2011 · public policy leadership2 Comments

When it comes to special education, Becky McGee and her 19-year-old son, Kyle, feel as if they’ve seen it all. Ms. McGee hopes her hard-won lessons might benefit other parents.

Kyle was born with orthopedic and neurological problems. In elementary school he was found to have several learning disabilities that included severe dyslexia and attention-deficit disorder. Becky and her husband Chuck sought therapy and interventions to help Kyle succeed in the York County Public School system in Yorktown, Virginia.
[Read more →]

Tags:   Dyslexia · IDEA · IEP · IEP Meetings · IEP Team · Learning Disabilities · McGee · Parent advocacy · Parent Role · Reading · success story · Walecia Konrad2 Comments

I work at a small private school and two of our students have a current IEP.  The staff was told that because we are a private school, we are not obligated to service the IEP. This doesn’t sound right, is it correct?

It depends. IDEA 2004 does not apply to private schools. Private schools are not covered under IDEA, the special education law.

If a public school places a child with an IEP in a private spec ed school as a part of the IEP, then the public school remains responsible for ensuring that the private school implements the IEP. [Read more →]

Tags:   ADA · IDEA 2004 · IEPs · Private Placement · Private Schools · Section 50410 Comments

Federal minimum standards are needed so that school children are protected from abusive seclusion and restraint practices, regardless of where they live.

On February 2, 2010,The National Disability Rights Network (NDRN) released a follow-up to its January 2009 report School is not Supposed to Hurt. The report, a shocking investigation chronicling the abusive use of seclusion and restraint on schoolchildren and a lack of state and federal regulation is updated with progress made in 2009. [Read more →]

Tags:   Isolation Rooms · National Disability Rights Network NDRN · school abuse · Seclusion and restraint · Timeout Rooms4 Comments

Two questions keep coming to mind as I participate in IEP meetings for my daughter and for clients of William & Mary School of Law’s PELE Clinic:

1.  How can I get my daughter’s IEP Team to take my suggestions more seriously?

2. How can I develop a record for clients whose children need extensive accommodations?

Essentially, IDEA 2004 requires the IEP team to formally and logically accept or reject any suggestions that a member of an IEP team makes.  34 C.F.R. § 300.503.  And parents, we are members of the IEP team!

PWN is a powerful tool when skillfully used.  [Read more →]

Tags:   Parent IEP Attachment · Parental Rights · parental role · Prior Written Notice · PWN13 Comments