Community Connections: December 2004 Newsletter

The Community Connections Communicator -- December 2004

In this Issue:

The theme of this month’s issue is Advocating with Grace. Advocacy is sometimes viewed as adversarial. However, as the information in this issue will discuss, advocates are very passionate. They want what’s best for children with disabilities. This issue will discuss how to advocate with grace by fostering a collaborative relationship with school personnel and community providers.

What is an advocate? How can parents, teachers and community providers become advocates for children with disabilities? How can I find an advocate? Is there training available to learn more about advocacy? If you have ever asked yourself any of these questions, this newsletter is for you. You will find information on what advocacy is and the importance of advocating for children with disabilities from parents’, educators’ and community providers’ perspectives. So if you would like to learn more about advocacy, the rights and responsibilities of the Individualized Education Program (IEP) team, and how to advocate for opportunities in community activities, look no further. This newsletter will give you the foundation you need to be on your way to successfully advocating for children with disabilities.

	Tip Sheet: How to Be a Good Advocate for Your Child
	Check out these seven great tips that address the importance of being involved, keeping good records and finding advocacy resources as parents begin to take on the tough role of advocating for their children. To view the tip sheet in full, please click on the following link: http://www.elc-pa.org/brochures/Advocacy%20FS%20(text%20only).htm
	Additional Tip Sheet:How to Be Your Child’s Champion
	This tip sheet will provide information on the special education system and how to seek help from educational advocates. The following link will provide the entire tip sheet: http://familyeducation.com/article/0,1120,23-9499,00.html
	Article:
	Advocating for Your Child - - Getting Started
	Check out this article, published by Wrightslaw, which provides a general overview of what advocacy means and how to become a successful and empowered advocate for children with disabilities. To view the entire article click on the link below. http://www.wrightslaw.com/advoc/articles/advocacy_intro.htm
	Spotlights of the Month:
	AMS Educational Consultation Services (AMSECS) The spotlight of this month is the AMS Educational Consultation Services located in Silver Spring, Maryland. Dr. Arthera Shell, Educational Consultant of AMSECS, provides educational consultation services to families in the Washington Metropolitan Area.
	Advocating for Your Child in Special Education Workshop This workshop on advocacy, presented by the Parents’ Place of Maryland, will be held on December 14, 2004.
	Recommended Websites:
	Wrightslaw For an abundance of information on advocacy, special education, IDEA and resources, check out Wrightslaw at www.wrightslaw.com
	You can also view great information in connection with the Wrightslaw book From Emotions to Advocacy: the Special Education Survival Guide by Pam and Pete Wright at www.fetaweb.com
	Coping Tools To get great tips on coping with various issues and learning how to advocate, please check out the following website. http://www.coping.org/copingbook/advocacy.htm
	The Parent Advocate This site provides information to families to help them become advocates for their children providing them information on the laws governing special education and resources for advocacy. You can view the entire website at http://www.theparentaladvocate.com/
	Spotlight a Welcoming Business:
	Community Connections would like to “Spotlight” businesses who are welcoming to children with disabilities and their families. If you would like to spotlight a business, please click on this link and we will post it free of charge on our website. Thank you.

Tipsheet

How to Be a Good Advocate for Your Child
Would you like to learn how to be a successful advocate for your child? The seven points provided in this tip sheet are a great first step. The tips include learning how to keep accurate records, finding resources and becoming involved in your child’s education. If you would like further information on how to become an advocate for your child, these quick tips will get you started. To view the tip sheet in full, please click on the following link:
http://www.elc-pa.org/brochures/Advocacy%20FS%20(text%20only).htm

Additional Tipsheet

How to Be Your Child’s Champion
The special education system can often be difficult to understand and to maneuver. Advocating for a child with disabilities requires knowledge of the rights and responsibilities of the parents, teachers and school system. The following link provides some helpful information on the special education system and how to seek help from educational advocates.
http://familyeducation.com/article/0,1120,23-9499,00.html

Article

Advocating for Your Child - - Getting Started
For a detailed definition of an advocate, please read the article provided by Wrightslaw entitled “Advocating for Your Child - Getting Started”. This article defines advocacy and who can be an advocate. This article provides definitions on different types of advocates, including lay advocates, educational advocates, schools advocates, and parent advocates. In addition, you will find information on how advocates strive to provide support to children with disabilities through ensuring that they have a voice in decisions affecting their lives. To view the article in full, please click on the following link.
http://www.wrightslaw.com/advoc/articles/advocacy_intro.htm

Spotlights of the Month!

AMS Educational Consultation Services
14907 Habersham Circle
Silver Spring, Maryland 20906
(301) 367-1017
email: docshell@amsecs.org
www.amsecs.org

Dr. Arthera M. Shell, Ph.D.
Educational Consultant

Are you a parent who needs the assistance of an educational consultant? Are you a teacher who would like training in special education pedagogy and instruction? Does your school need technical educational support in the areas of planning and evaluated school based programs or resolving conflict? If so, Dr. Arthera Shell of the AMS Educational Consultation Services (AMSECS) is available to help. As a special educator, speech pathologist and psychologist, Dr. Shell has a wealth of knowledge, which she utilizes by advocating for children with disabilities and special needs and training teachers to improve the quality of teaching and instruction.

Services provided to families include:
• helping families understand their child’s Individualized Education Program (IEP)
• observing children in school settings to determine appropriate placement
• providing resources to service providers to enhance the child’s educational outcomes

Services provided to school systems include:
• IEP Planning, Development, Implementation and Monitoring
• effective strategies for teaching Integrated Reading and Writing
• Conflict Resolution for School Faculty & Staff

If you would like further information about AMSECS services, please contact Dr. Arthera Shell at (301) 367-1017 or via email at docshell@amsecs.org

Advocating for Your Child in Special Education Workshop
Prince George’s Health Department
1701 McCormick Drive, #1
Largo, Maryland 20774
(301) 856-1224
Presented by: Sherry Tucker
Parent Educator, Parent’s Place of Maryland

The Parents’ Place of Maryland presents “Advocating for Your Child in Special Education Workshop”, which will offer practical step by step information to assist parents with their children who are receiving special education services. The workshop will be held on Tuesday, December 14, 2004 from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. at the Prince George’s Health Department (at the above address). Advance registration is required by calling Sherry Tucker at (301) 856-1224 or via email at fightingforourchildren@yahoo.com

Recommended Websites

Wrightslaw
For an abundance of information on advocacy, special education, IDEA and resources, check out Wrightslaw at www.wrightslaw.com

You can also view great information in connection with the Wrightslaw book
From Emotions to Advocacy: the Special Education Survival Guide by Pam and Pete Wright at www.fetaweb.com

Coping Tools
To get great tips on coping with various issues and learning how to advocate, please check out the following website.
http://www.coping.org/copingbook/advocacy.htm

The Parent Advocate
This site provides information to families to help them become advocates for their children providing them information on the laws governing special education and resources for advocacy. You can view the entire website at http://www.theparentaladvocate.com/

We currently offer training and technical consultation to businesses, churches, and other community organizations to help make them more welcoming to families and children with special needs. If you know of a business or other organization that would like to take advantage of these services, please e-mail us at: communityconnections@umd.edu
OR
If you know of a business that is already welcoming to children with special needs and their families and you would like to share this information with other families and professionals, please send us your name as well as the name and contact information for the business with a brief description of why you believe they are welcoming to families. If appropriate, we will post the business on our website and we may even feature it as a 'Spotlight if the Month'. E-mail your submissions to: communityconnections@umd.edu

*Questions or Suggestions about our newsletter? Have an idea you would like to submit? Please feel free to contact us at communityconnections@umd.edu

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Disclaimer
Unless otherwise noted, all referenced articles are available at no charge to you. Community Connections provides this for informational purposes only and cannot attest to the accuracy of information provided by linked sites. The opinions and views expressed at these web sites do not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of Community Connections. Any personal information requested by any of the web sites will be governed by the privacy policy at the site, and any questions you have related to the sites' use of information should be directed there. The information contained in this newsletter is not intended to make any offer or commitment to purchase, subscribe to, provide or sell any service or product or to provide any recommendations on which readers should rely.

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