THE SPECIAL ED ADVOCATE, OCTOBER 17, 2001 (V. 4, N. 31)

[Guest guest]

THE SPECIAL ED ADVOCATE, OCTOBER 17, 2001 (V. 4, N. 31)

Highlights: Learn about persuasion and letter-writing; paper trails; new

" Letters to the Stranger; " FETA Owner's Manual; help with FetaWeb; Houston

conference.

Subscribers on Oct 16 2001: 31,542

Please forward this newsletter or the subscription link to your friends so

they can learn about special education advocacy. Thanks!

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slaw flyer: http://www.wrightslaw.com/flyers/wrightslaw.pdf

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1. USING STORY-TELLING TO PERSUADE

2. READ " LETTERS TO THE STRANGER "

3. PAPER TRAILS & ADVOCACY SKILLS

4. GET FETA OWNER'S MANUAL

5. YOUR HELP WITH FETAWEB.COM

6. P2 COMING TO HOUSTON ON OCT. 20 - ACT NOW

7. SUBSCRIPTION AND CONTACT INFO

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1. USING STORY-TELLING TO PERSUADE

When you advocate for a child with a disability, you write letters to:

* Request information

* Request action

* Provide information or describe an event

* Decline a request

* Express appreciation

You also use letters to build relationships, identify and solve problems,

clarify decisions that are made or not made, and motivate people to take

action.

Make your requests in writing. Write polite follow-up letters to document

events, discussions, and meetings. Train yourself to write things down!

When you read this new article about story-telling and persuasion, you

will see how a father used the story-telling approach to ask the school

district to help his son and reimburse him for the costs of his son's

special education.

http://www.wrightslaw.com/info/ltrs.persuade.james.htm

Pay attention to your emotional reaction as you read this letter. Do you

see Joe through his father's eyes? What happened to this happy child? Do

you understand why the parents removed Joe from the public school program?

What do you believe should be done to help Joe and his family?

http://www.wrightslaw.com/advoc/stranger/joejames.ltr.pdf

This letter is an exhibit in ph v. Upper Arlington School

District. In September, 2000, the U. S. Court of Appeals issued a decision

in Joe's case:

http://www.wrightslaw.com/law/caselaw/6th_james_upperarlington_00_0928.htm

When you write a Letter to the Stranger, use facts to tell your story and

offer support for your solution. Do not blame, criticize or find fault.

Your goal is to create a desire to help from the decision-making Stranger.

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2. NEW " LETTERS TO THE STRANGER "

Read the original " Letter to the Stranger " by Pete and Janie

Bowman. In this article, you will read the letter from the school, the

parents' first angry letter, and the parents' revised letter that elicited

a desire to help.

http://www.wrightslaw.com/advoc/articles/Letter_to_Stranger.html

Read the letter that Brody's parents wrote to request a due process

hearing. Do you see how the parents told the story of ' education?

Pay attention to the use of test scores in the letter.

http://www.wrightslaw.com/advoc/stranger/brody.html

After you read the letter, read the decision in Brody's case:

http://www.wrightslaw.com/law/caselaw/case_Brody_RO_decision.html

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3. PAPER TRAILS & ADVOCACY

Good records are important to effective advocacy. In an earlier issue of

The Special Ed Advocate, you learned to use logs, calendars and journals

to create paper trails and how to document phone calls and meetings.

If you have a dispute with the school, your log and letters are

independent evidence that support your memory. Documents that support your

position will help you resolve disputes early.

http://www.wrightslaw.com/advoc/articles/advo.create.trails.htm

Visit our new topics page about Letter Writing & Paper Trails:

http://www.wrightslaw.com/info/ltrs.index.htm

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4. FETA OWNER'S MANUAL NOW AVAILABLE

Our new book, FROM EMOTIONS TO ADVOCACY, has a companion website at

http://www.fetaweb.com/

Yesterday, we received an email from who wrote: " Just received your

book and am impressed with the organization and simplicity of

presentation. You make references about going to Fetaweb.com for more

information. I can't find this information. Am I doing something wrong? "

No, you aren't doing anything wrong! Yesterday, we posted the FETA Owner's

Manual that has links to references in the book at -

http://www.fetaweb.com/owner.manual.htm

Learn more about FETA Book: http://www.wrightslaw.com/bks/feta/feta.htm

Read Chapter 1: http://www.wrightslaw.com/bks/feta/feta.ch1.pdf

Order FETA: http://www.wrightslaw.com/bks/orderform.htm

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5. YOUR HELP WITH FETAWEB

We need your help. Please exlore the new FetaWeb site. Send feedback and

links to your favorite sites to myhelp@...

If we work together, we can make FetaWeb.com a great resource for parents,

educators, and child advocates!

Here are the main links on FetaWeb:

* Main Page: http://www.fetaweb.com

* Getting Started: Advocacy & Advocates, Master Plans, Project Managers

http://www.fetaweb.com/get_started.htm

* Advocacy 101: Rules of Game, Obstacles to Success, Conflict, Crisis

http://www.fetaweb.com/101.htm

* Free Resources & References: Appendices, Glossaries of Terms, Sample

Letters, etc

http://www.fetaweb.com/free.htm

* Getting Help: Directories, Contact Info

http://www.fetaweb.com/help.htm

We are working on these pages:

* Parent as Expert: The File, Learning about the Disability, Tests &

Measurements, IEPs

http://www.fetaweb.com/expert.htm

* Special Education Law: IDEA, Section 504, ADA, FERPA

http://www.fetaweb.com/law.htm

* Tactics & Strategy: Assumptions, Image & Presentation, Paper Trails,

Letters, Meetings

http://www.fetaweb.com/strategy.htm

Please send your ideas, feedback and links to myhelp@...

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6. ACT NOW! P2 COMING TO HOUSTON ON OCT. 20

Are you interested in learning about special education law and advocacy?

Do you want an autographed copy of FETA?

Join Pete and Pam on Saturday, October 20 for a full day of advocacy

training. The conference is approved for 6 hours of CLE credit.

Conference organizers advise that attendance is limited and they are

running out of space.

Download the conference brochure:

http://www.wrightslaw.com/flyers/houston_flyer.pdf

For details, call

COMING SOON:

November 2: Colorado Springs

November 3: Denver

December 7 & 8: Honolulu

To get our speaking schedule, please go to

http://www.wrightslaw.com/schedule.htm

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7. SUBSCRIPTION AND CONTACT INFO

The Special Ed Advocate is a free online newsletter about special

education legal and advocacy issues, cases, tactics and strategy, and

Internet resources. Subscribers receive announcements and " alerts " about

new cases, events, and special offers on slaw books.

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CONTACT INFORMATION

Pete and Pam

slaw & The Special Ed Advocate

P. O. Box 1008

Deltaville, VA 23043

Website: http://www.wrightslaw.com

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