AWAREness
May 2010
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Providing parents of children with disabilities with information, training, assistance, and support
1021 Delaware Avenue
Palm Harbor, FL 34683
1-888-61-AWARE
Developing Partnerships
A comprehensive and meaningful partnership meets the needs of families, schools, and communities. How do we create those meaningful partnerships?
Check out a great list of tips for developing partnerships!
In This Issue
Developing Partnerships
Q&A About Transportation
Disability.Gov
Parents Lobby in Tallahassee
2010 Legislative Session
Autism Speaks Executive on Parenthood TV Series
Early Steps
Caring for Lauren
Education Reform
Family Cafe
Assistive Technology Act
Tougher High School Graduation Requirements
TAP on FCAT
Counteracting Bad Behavior
Nathaniel’s Hope
Participating in Your Child’s IEP
CFPC Calendar of Events
Do You Have Questions About Transportation and What the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Has to Say About Transportation?
The Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) issued a Question and Answer document to provide information regarding the requirements for serving children with disabilities eligible for transportation.
Transportation is included as a related service under the regulations in IDEA. Travel training is included in the definition of special education and is specifically defined in IDEA regulations..
Question: What transportation services are available for students eligible for special education and related services under the IDEA?
Answer: Transportation is a related service and is defined in 34 CFR §300.34(c)(16). Transportation includes travel to and from school and between schools; travel in and around school buildings; and specialized equipment such as special or adapted buses, lifts and ramps, if required to provide special transportation for a child with a disability.
Question: Who determines whether transportation services are required and how those services should be implemented?
Answer: The IEP Team is responsible for determining if transportation is required to assist a child with a disability to benefit from special education and related services, and how the transportation services should be implemented.
For more questions and answers about IDEA and transportation, click here.
"The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, not to worry about the future, or not to anticipate troubles, but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly."
Buddha
Disability.gov - Connecting the Disability Community to Information & Opportunities
This site is federal Web site that contains disability-related resources on programs, services, laws and regulations to help people with disabilities lead full, independent lives. With just a few clicks, visitors can find critical information on a variety of topics, including benefits, civil rights, community life, education, emergency preparedness, employment, housing, health, technology and transportation. Information may be found by topic or by state.
Parents and caregivers in Tallahassee are lobbying hard to protect loved ones with developmental and other disabilities. Their passion is a reflection of how much is at stake.
Are you wondering what the Florida Legislature is working on in this 2010 Session? The Developmental Disabilities Council posts bills that would have impact on people with disabilities.
Take a look at 2010 Legislative Session.
Autism Speaks Executive to Appear on NBC’s ‘Parenthood’
By Michelle Diament
A top official at Autism Speaks is set to appear on an upcoming episode of NBC’s “Parenthood” in which characters in the show participate in a fund-raising walk for the organization.
Peter Bell, executive vice president at Autism Speaks, is scheduled to appear on an episode of the one hour drama in mid-May. Bell was invited to appear as a representative of the organization during a scene depicting an Autism Speaks walk to raise funds.
Autism is a significant part of the storyline on “Parenthood,” which features a family dealing with their son’s diagnosis of Asperger’s syndrome.
The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones.
Chinese Proverb
Florida's Early Steps System
Each child grows at an individual pace, but research shows that a child's first three years are the most important time for learning. Getting help early puts your child on the right path to learn and develop at their full potential.
Early Steps is Florida's early intervention system that offers services to infants and toddlers (birth to thirty-six months) with significant delays or a condition likely to result in a developmental delay.
Caring for Lauren
A mother’s journey as caregiver for a young woman with developmental disabilities
Lauren is a 24 year-old young woman with severe, multiple disabilities who requires care in every aspect of her life. Read about the struggles and joys of providing care for Lauren and the effort to try to ensure that Lauren is a respected and accepted member of her community. Share the frustrations, exhaustion, and laughter of parenting a daughter with developmental disabilities
“Mom” is Gail Frizzell, who has been an advocate for individual with developmental disabilities and their families for over twenty years. Gail notes, “Parents of individuals with developmental disabilities share many of the same experiences, fears and dreams about the lives and future of their children. Through my writing I hope that I can provide useful information and insights into this journey that so many of us are struggling to travel.”
http://www.caringforlauren.com/
Many schools in the United States are in the process of education reform.
Changes in school policy are being considered as economic, social, and technological forces make new demands on what students need to know to be successful. This brochure explains some of the major aspects of education reform and offers parents guidelines for personal involvement.
Parent participation is an important part of successful education reform--a process that will affect both parent and child.
Click here for more about school reform.
Family Cafe
The 12th Annual Family Cafe promises to be yet another memorable, informative event, with plenty resources, activities and chances to connect with other families for you to enjoy. We will look forward to seeing you there!
Assistive Technology Act
As technology has come to play an increasingly important role in the lives of all persons in the United States, in the conduct of business, in the functioning of government, in the fostering of communication, in the conduct of commerce, and in the provision of education, its impact upon the lives of the more than 50,000,000 individuals with disabilities in the United States has been comparable to its impact upon the remainder of the citizens of the United States. Any development in mainstream technology would have profound implications for individuals with disabilities in the United States.
Click here for more information.
Crist Signs Law Imposing Tougher High School Graduation Requirements
The governor signed a bill imposing tougher graduation requirements for high school students.
TALLAHASSEE -- In a dramatic education shift, Gov. Charlie Crist signed into law tougher graduation requirements Tuesday for public high school students that will eventually replace the math and science Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test.
Click here to read the Miami/Herald article.
Technical Assistance Paper
March 2010
Waiver of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) Graduation Requirement for Students with Disabilities
Click here for technical assistance paper.
The six most important words:
I admit that I was wrong.
The five most important words:
You did a great job.
The four most important words:
What do you think?
The three most important words:
Would you please?
The two most important words:
Thank You.
The most important word:
We
The least important word:
I
Best Practices for Counteracting Bad Behavior
Experts discuss the challenges – and solutions – for dealing with minor to severe behavior in the classroom
Bullies. School violence. Horseplay. Disrespectful language. Today's educators face a whole new world of bad behavior among students. And the consequences of these classroom disruptions can reach well beyond detentions and suspensions.
Students who misbehave at school could be on the road to lifelong problems — at least that's what some experts say. British researchers at the Medical Research Council, in their National Survey of Health and Development, found that severe behavior problems in adolescence more than double the likelihood that an adult will have poor mental health, difficulties in family life and relationships and financial hardships.
Click here for the complete article.
Nathaniel’s Hope
Make ‘m Smile
Make ‘m Smile is a community festival that celebrates kids with special needs (VIP kids) and their families and features a Buddy Stroll where VIP families are "buddied up" with people from around the community for a stroll around Lake Eola. Enjoy free food, entertainment, prizes, and a chance to visit exhibitors that service the special needs community.
Saturday, June 5, 2010
7:30 am – 1:00 pm
BECOMING A FULL PARTICIPANT IN DEVELOPING YOUR CHILD'S IEP
By law, parents are guaranteed the right to be full and equal participants in the development of the Individualized Education Program (IEP) for their children. However, sometimes, as parents, our level of participation is limited due to a sense that our input is not valued or taken seriously. At times, we lack confidence in our own abilities to determine appropriate goals for our children. To establish effective home-school partnerships and become full participants in the process, we as parents need to learn how to present our unique knowledge of our children to the other members of the team.
