Newsletter 06/09/20 "My child has Autism Spectrum Disorder. His IEP provides for him to receive speech language therapy and occupational therapy. When the school closed, his teachers said it is impossible to deliver speech therapy and OT virtually. I believed them. "There is a 'window of opportunity' for my child to learn these skills. He cannot afford to wait. We need help now." You and your child should not have to wait. In this issue of The Special Ed Advocate, we will . . . * examine options for children to receive the instruction and related therapies they need, including teletherapy; * provide Position Papers, Statements and Recommendations about teletherapy from professional organizations whose members work in schools; * demonstrate how you can learn about special ed law and advocacy at home; and * provide a "Sample Letter to Document a Problem and Request the Services in a Child's IEP." *********************** 1. One of the Best Kept Secrets in Special Ed: How Schools Can Use Teletherapy to Provide Services in IEPs https://www.wrightslaw.com/info/virus.virtual.tx.htm Parents and school staff need to know that speech-language therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, tutoring, behavioral health therapy -- even speech-language and pyscho-educational evaluations -- are provided virtually. Teletherapy has allowed children with disabilities to receive these services remotely for years. If you are distressed about the services your child has not received since the schools closed, read How Schools Can Use Teletherapy to Provide Virtual Speech Language Therapy, OT and PT in IEPs. How Schools Can Use Teletherapy to Provide Services includes resources you can use to support your request - including position papers, statements and recommendations about teletherapy by the professional organizations whose members work in schools. https://www.wrightslaw.com/info/virus.virtual.tx.htm ************************** 2. Learn at Home with Wrightslaw Special Education Law & Advocacy Training https://www.wrightslaw.com/webex/law.adv.index.htm Learn in the comfort of your home with Wrightslaw Special Education Law and Advocacy Training. https://www.wrightslaw.com/webex/law.adv.index.htm All you need is a computer or device and speakers! Now Available as an MP4 Video! Receive a FREE PDF of the book, Wrightslaw Special Education Law, 2nd Edition, with your order! https://www.wrightslaw.com/store/selaw2.store.html Earn CEUs (continuing education units). Read more! https://www.wrightslaw.com/webex/ceu.info.delta.htm Required Books - Wrightslaw: Special Education Law, 2nd Edition and Wrightslaw: From Emotions to Advocacy, 2nd Edition. https://www.wrightslaw.com/bks/selaw2/selaw2.htm https://www.wrightslaw.com/bks/feta2/feta2.htm Training and Book Combo - $89.95 https://www.wrightslaw.com/store/index.html#training If you already own the two required books, you can purchase the Download Training Program separately - $49.95. https://www.wrightslaw.com/store/index.html#training Check out all Wrightslaw products! https://www.wrightslaw.com/store/index.html ***************** 3. Sample Letter to Request School Provide Therapy Services in Child's IEP https://www.wrightslaw.com/info/ltr.virus.teletherapy.htm You can request that your school district arrange for school staff to provide your child's instruction and therapy services virtually. If school staff are unavailable or are not trained to do virtual instruction and therapy, you can request that the school provide these services through teletherapy. Before you request that the school provide services in your child's IEP, you must educate yourself. You must assume that your child's school will be reluctant to do anything new. (Read Chapter 21 - "Rules of Adverse Assumptions" in Wrightslaw: From Emotions to Advocacy by Pam and Pete Wright.) https://www.wrightslaw.com/bks/feta2/feta2.htm You must also realize that you need to write a persuasive letter. Before you write a letter to request services, please read The Art of Writing Letters to the School https://www.wrightslaw.com/advoc/articles/letters.draft.htm And 12 Rules for Writing GREAT Letters https://www.wrightslaw.com/advoc/articles/12rules_letters.htm You can use this new Sample Letter to Request Schoool Provide Services in the IEP as a template. Change the facts and details to fit your situation. You will find our comments and suggestions are in blue lettering. Learn more about letters, documenting problems and paper trails. https://www.wrightslaw.com/info/ltrs.index.htm 3. How One State Is Using Teletherapy to Solve a Special Ed Learning Challenge On May 6, 2020, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) announced that its partnership with AmplioSpeech", a provider of speech pathology technology, has reached 10,000 Texas students with special education needs." "Among the greatest challenge that schools have faced is finding the most effective way to serve students with special education needs when classroom learning is not an option. TEA's partnership with AmplioSpeech greatly aids such efforts. The platform allows licensed Speech-Language Pathologists to interact remotely with students to provide speech therapy required by the student's special education individual education program." "TEA made the tool available for free for school systems who signed up to enroll the first 10,000 students in the service. Within 24 hours, more than 100 school systems had signed up. Hundreds of trained SLPs are enlisted to provide students with a range of speech-language services." Read article. https://tea.texas.gov/about-tea/news-and-multimedia/news-releases/news-2020/tea-helps-solve-a-critical-covid-19-special-education-distance-learning-challenge Special Ed in the COVID-19 Era Contingency Learning Plans (CLPs): What Are CLPs? Why Make Them? How to Respond? https://www.wrightslaw.com/info/virus.clp.htm Advice About 10-Day Notice Letters to the School https://www.wrightslaw.com/info/dp.10day.ltr.htm Sample Letter to Document a Problem or Request an IEP Meeting https://www.wrightslaw.com/info/ltrs.virus.clp.htm Procedural Safeguards & Parent Notice https://www.wrightslaw.com/info/safgd.index.htm Writing the Due Process Request Letter or State Complaint https://www.wrightslaw.com/video/dueprocessrequestvideo.htm