Fwd: Special Education Law Day - October 23 @ Fresno State

[Guest guest]

Special Education Law Day

Sponsored by Talk About Curing Autism (TACA), Central California Autism

Center and Central California Autism Society

Saturday, October 23, 2010, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.

Alice s Auditorium, Fresno State University

>>> Pre-registration is required

<http://www.specialedlawday.org/fresno-state-2010.html>

Early Registration closes Thursday, September 23, 2010

Early Registration (until 9/23/10)

Single $15

Couple $20 - one workbook

Couple $30 - two workbooks

Regular Registration (until 10/21/10)

Single $20

Couple $25 - one workbook

Couple $35 - two workbooks

As always, scholarships are available to families in need. Please contact

Moira Giammatteo, <http://www.tacanow.org/contactus.htm>

Advocating for your child is often a complex and sometimes counter-intuitive

process. At Law Day, parents will learn the basic concepts of special

education law, the importance of strategizing and how to use this knowledge

to gain control of their child's education.

It's an intensive day of training designed to get parents up to speed

quickly and become a more effective advocate for their child. To facilitate

this process, each participant will receive a workbook with supporting

information on key concepts, selected sections of IDEA, background facts on

case studies as well as recommended reading and resources.

The primary goal of Law Day: parents will become empowered IEP team members

by gaining an understanding of special education law, which then can be

directly applied to their child's specific needs and situation.

Presenters:

• A. , Esq., special education attorney

• Lynne Arnold, TACA mom

• Mitchel Perlman, clinical forensic psychologist

Topics include:

• Documentation, letter writing, gathering and evaluating documents

• Timelines

• IEP Goals

• Independent educational evaluations

• Extended school year services (ESY)

• NRC's Educating Children with Autism

• When and how to use the services of a special education attorney

• Stay Put

• Prior Written Notice (PWN)

• Least Restrictive Environment (LRE)

Session #1: IDEA 2004 Overview

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is federal law that

creates civil rights and substantive protections to children with

disabilities. Do you understand your school district's legal obligations to

your child under federal law? Come learn the basic framework of IDEA 2004 as

well as the implications of recent case law in the context of achieving a

free appropriate public education (FAPE) for the special needs child.

Session #2: Assessments/Evaluations

What does a thorough assessment entail? How do you know if your child's

capabilities and needs have been adequately and accurately assessed?

Assessing the child in all areas of suspected disability is the legal

obligation of the district and usually the most important building block of

the IEP. Without an accurate assessment, it can be nearly impossible to

place the child in the correct program that capitalizes on his

abilities.This session will explore common contradictions and

misinterpretations in district assessments that result in inappropriate

recommendations. The most important aspects of an independent educational

evaluation as well as critical ages for assessment will be covered.

LUNCH ON YOUR OWN

Session #3: IEP Strategy

The first step to empowerment is fully understanding the IEP process and how

to approach it from a strategic perspec- tive. The IEP process will be

broken down into components to teach parents how to evaluate the best course

of action in each situation. We will discuss how parents can more

effectively respond to district objec- tions to parental and independent

expert recommendations. Techniques for forcing district personnel to fully

explain their positions and district “policies” will be explored. Parents

will learn how to apply these concepts to their child’s individual needs and

their district.

Session #4 – Keeping Your Child Safe: Preventing Abuse at School

How can parents prevent their child be- ing abused at school with

inappropriate restraint and seclusion? Proactive IEP strategies will be

discussed from three dif- ferent perspectives: the law, advocacy and

behavior modification. Parents will learn how to take charge of their

child’s behav- ior assessment and plan while enhancing the entire individual

education plan. The importance of evidence-based method- ologies will be

emphasized with discus- sion on applying appropriate approaches to the

child’s individual needs.

Session #5: Questions & Answers

What Parents Are Saying About Law Day:

I've been to many law conferences for special ed, but this one left me

feeling that I can do this. I came out with a full plan of attack, and my

son is set up for a great coming year! Because of your thorough guide to

special ed law, we got what my son needed from the school! The portion about

"what they district can't say, but often do..." was especially helpful in

winning general education placement with an aide for my son. Your advice on

recording the meeting was also a big key, as we had the district citing

reasons they neglected giving my son FAPE in the LRE as: budget, staffing,

potty training, and even the hilarious, "If we give it to you, we'll have to

give it to other parents!" After giving them a letter citing the several

transcribed, unlawful responses, they quickly gave us all we sought out for

our son. Retained in preschool but in general ed (instead of special day

class) with aide in fall instead of kindergarten special ed. I felt strongly

against moving him forward (social promotion) when he had not met academic

preschool skills yet. Thanks to you and Lynne Arnold, so many kids are going

to get what they need! P.S. I love your twitter updates! Keep them coming!!

Robin in San Diego

We knew things weren't going right for our daughter. She had been "thrown

under the bus" as my husband says. After my husband and I attended Law Day

two years ago we realized that our daughter's was one of those cases that

was so badly handled it was to our benefit at this point. The district had

done almost nothing right so we got to work. We hired some wonderful experts

to evaluate our daughter and we hired an attorney (okay it was and

Associates) and we got to work to get her educational needs met. After a

year and a half our daughter is getting what she needs, she is starting to

use words and her behaviors are getting better all the time. She has a long

way to go, but spent years trying to get done what we've finally

accomplished armed with the right information and a great team behind us.

Law Day was the turning point to hope in our daughter's life.

in Chino, CA

I just wanted to say that I attended Law Day last year, and it was unlike

any other IEP conference I have ever attended. Rather than focusing on the

details of the IDEA law, the conference concentrated instead on IEP

strategies which are immediately usable.

Many IEP workgroups/seminars are lead by schools or administrators. This

seminar is led by a super smart mom and her lawyer and an extremely

knowledgable psychologist (regarding evaluations). Every minute of the

presenation contains something worth writing down. It was equally as

entertaining, as Ms. Arnold speaks from experience and tells it like it is

with regard to the struggles parents face in formulating an IEP which fits

their child; she is coming from a place where many of us have been and can

definitely relate.

Diane in Florida

The year I attended Law Day at TACA (2007) was the year my son's program at

school imploded. It was a complete disaster. Learning to "write a letter to

a stranger" was a huge help. Learning what questions to ask in an IEP was

huge! What a difference it makes when you ask "How many children are in

group speech" and realize the school personnel is squirming because it is

the entire class!!

After 3 IEPs and 3 resolution meetings we ultimately received a great offer

from the school district and have been able to keep the program for two

years. I think the "Letter to a Stranger" made a huge difference and even

the district personnel commented on how well written it was.

Mom in Southern California

Presenter Biographies

A. , Esq. received his Bachelor’s degree from the University of

California, Irvine and his Juris Doctorate degree from Pepperdine University

School of Law. He has served as an adjunct professor and Associate Director

of the Special Education Advocacy Clinic, Pepperdine University School of

Law. He is actively involved in educating parents through presentations to

disability rights organizations and parent support groups including speaker

at Autism One (2005-2010), the National Autism Association (2005 and

2007-2009) and the National Epilepsy Foundation Annual Conference (2001). He

has been interviewed and quoted in publications including the Daily Journal

(2001), the Orange County Register and the nationally published magazine

Parenting (March 2003); He is & Associates’ Chief Executive Officer.

Lynne Arnold is the coordinator of Talk About Curing Autism (TACA) of

Visalia, CA. Through conference presentations and mentoring, she helps

parents to understand their child's rights to appropriate interventions and

education. Lynne is the editor of Autism: Asserting Your Child’s Rights to a

Special Education by A. Sherman. She has presented at Autism One

(2005-2010), National Autism Association Conference (2005 and 2007-2009),

Families for Effective Autism Treatment (FEAT), Autism Society of America

and other autism groups.

Mitchel D. Perlman, Ph.D., focuses on the assessment and treatment of

children and adolescents who have specialized needs and/or who are involved

in chaotic-intense-traumatic-critical situations. Known for the

comprehensiveness of his investigatory assessments (psychodiagnostic,

psychoeducational, neurocognitive), Dr. Perlman is often called on to be the

impartial independent examiner in juvenile, family, civil and special

education proceedings. He lends his expertise and keen insights to

children/teens who have stepped away from the mainstream and/or who have

gotten themselves in over their heads – emotionally, legally or in relation

to others. He is involved in assessing some of the most fascinating

individuals, and he has a knack for detecting and/or explaining things that

have often gone unnoticed or that have been misunderstood. For example, in

many children who had been diagnosed with autism and mental retardation, Dr.

Perlman has found near-gifted to gifted intelligence and has been

instrumental in guiding parents to the resources to unlock it.

See <http://www.SpecialEdLawDay.org> for FAQ and more info