Expectations in Common: Newby to blogs and school

Monday, September 5, 2011

Newby to blogs and school

A friend told me about blogging and how easy it was to set up a page. Had no idea. So here I am.

I am a Mother, Wife, Sister, and Advocate for people and families experiencing disabilities. I often meet with new families who had just moved here. Everything, the titles, the language, the assumptions, everything is so different. The families are often a bit overwhelmed and on top of that, not sure that their child is getting what he/she needs in the new school. When we meet, we discuss immediate concerns, school expectations, expectations for their child, and their child's gifts. I usually identify a few steps they can take toward making sure their child is getting the education and support he/she needs. So here are a few typical suggestions.

Never go alone to an IEP meeting. (individual education plan)

Bring a friend, neighbor, sister; I like to call them an extra listener. It's really hard to hear everything that is being said when you are emotional (and everyone is emotional when it comes to their child... I've cried at way to many of my kids' IEP meetings. However I suggest you NOT do that when ever possible).

If you feel like you have no idea what is going on then by all means bring an advocate or educational consultant or volunteer from a disability support group. But be careful that this person uses a style that you are comfortable with. Meet with them first before ever going into an IEP meeting with them.

Email or call the school to inform them of any guests you may be bringing. It is your right to bring others, however it is only polite to let the school know.

Write a list of goals that YOU want to accomplished during the meeting, And PRIORITIZE. Then narrow it down to the top 3, or at the most 5 and no more. You'll be lucky if you get through all three. Block at least an hour from your schedule for the meeting.

Put together an About Me book for your child to share with classmates and teachers. Ask the teacher if he can share it with the whole class. Parameters for the book include

a. Should be mostly pictures with bullets of information, maybe 7-10 pages (no More)

b. Page titles usually include

Who I Am; family, self, address

What I want to be: police officer

What I am good at; giving speeches, sports, sense of direction

What I like; reading computer

What Makes me uncomfortable; sirens, unexpected noises, holding my hand

Resources

a. Handwriting w/o Tears This is a tremendously positive program and has really great results. Below are two books to begin.

Parent/Teacher book and student book http://shopping.hwtears.com ($7.50 each) Lessons are only 10 – 15 minutes at most each day.

Well, that's it for today. Have a wonderful Labor Day.
Kathy

1 comment:

Lou and Beth LaBrundaSeptember 6, 2011 at 9:17 AM
Way to go Kathy! What a great start at something that will be a marvelous help to so many. I'll I knew to do at an IEP meeting was sign, date, sign, date!
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Expectations in Common

Expectations are something we all have in common, whether we have a diagnosed disability or not.The expectations that others have for us may give us the incentive to "Be All That We Can Be" or strip us of any efforts toward achievement.

Expectations or lack of them often greatly impacts the direction of someone's life and can mean the difference between success or failure. How powerful it is when someone believes in me. And how devastating when someone, especially in authority tells me, or shows me by their actions that I am not worth their time. Expectations for ourselves is something we all have in common. It is the hope that is part of our humanity.

My son and his friend, both 8th graders really struggle with reading and math. Right now their expectations of their own success are pretty tentative. They are afraid to expect it. It is my husband's and my responsibility to show our son and his friend, that we 'expect' them to succeed. At what, we may not know yet. But expectation of accomplishment is something we all have in common. The challenge of course is finding what a person excels at.

As Parents, Teachers, Neighbors, Business Leaders, our instinct when meeting someone is to first expect competence. Except when our misconceptions about disability get in the way. We see the disability instead of the person and forget to expect ability at all. We forget that what we have in common with every individual with or without a disability is the hope, the expectation of happiness and success.

One precious treasure each of us shares is our expectation to succeed at something we are good at. And it is in our failing and yet still expecting to succeed, that we begin to sift through experiences until we find our strengths and gifts. We all have expectations for success and happiness in our lives. We have that in common, those with and those without disabilities.

Well, Welcome to my blog. I hope to reach others; families, self advocates, teachers, administrator, businesses, employers,public servants, and students and peers of children who have disabilities. that's a pretty big group, I know. As the saying goes... "It takes a village to raise a child."

I want to encourage families and teachers that children with disabilities CAN succeed if expectations are held high, in the regular classroom accessing the general education curriculum. Notice I didn't say INCLUSION? It's not a bad word, there is just a lot of confusion surrounding it.

Is there one model that works for everyone. Absolutely not. Every school has different resources, every child has different needs. The trick is identifying the supports and services needed by a child and matching them to the resources, knowledge, and staff in the child's school and district.

Expectations in Common

Experience

Monday, September 5, 2011

Newby to blogs and school

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