(Taken from the www.r-word.org website fact sheet pdf)

Spread the Word to End the Word®Fact SheetWHATSpread the Word to End the Word®is an ongoing effort by Special Olympics, Best Buddies and our supporters to raise the consciousness of society about the derogatory use of the R-word and encourage people to pledge to stop using the R-word.

The campaign, created by youth, is intended to engage schools,organizations and communities to rally and pledge their support at www.r-word.org and to promote the inclusion and acceptance of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

The annual day of awareness is held the first Wednesday of every March. While most activities are centered on or near that annual day in March, people everywhere can help spread the word throughout their communities and schools year-round through pledge drives, youth rallies and online activation.

Spread the Word to End the Word was founded by college students Soeren Palumbo (Notre Dame 2011) and Tim Shriver (Yale 2011)in 2009, and continues to be led by passionate young people, along with Special Olympics athletes and Best Buddies participants across the United States and in many other parts of the world.

Why? Respectful and inclusive language is essential to the movement for the dignity and humanity of people with intellectual disabilities. However, much of society does not recognize the hurtful, dehumanizing and exclusive effects of the R-word. Language affects attitudes. Attitudes impact actions.

Make your pledge to choose respectful people-first language today by visiting www.r-word.org to learn how you can Spread the Word to End the Word.

For more information, contact:
Christy White, Special Olympics
[email protected]
202-824-0307

The Arkansas Governor's Developmental Disabilities Council hosts the Family Leadership Project. Typically this program is held in Little Rock. The Arkansas Governor's DDC contacted several agencies in NW Arkansas and stated they would like to have the Family Leadership Project in Northwest Arkansas if there are enough participants.

This is a FREE program for parents, guardians and individuals with developmental disabilities.

The Family Leadership Project's primary objectives are to:

• Provide participants with increased knowledge of and information on how to better access services and supports needed by individuals with developmental disabilities.
• Help parents, family members and guardians better understand their rights under IDEA, how to work with school officials to write a more effective IEP, gain a more complete understanding of the Medicaid and Medicaid waiver system, and how to identify and make use of the many resources available to them;
• Assist participants in gaining a better understanding of how to make more effective use of the strategies that affect systems change, including legislation and governmental rules and regulations;
• Help participants understand how to work more effectively with local and state service agencies, and
• Assist participants in understanding their role in influencing systems change.

I encourage you to review the attached document Leadership Project.pdf and contact the DDC if you would be interested in having this event in NWA. You may mail, email or call the DDC. Call 800-462-0599 or go to www.ddcouncil.org

NWA Community Parent Resource Center gets this question a LOT and the answer is almost always YES! In the unlikely event that we don't have any information on what you're looking for, we will either do research and obtain that information or push you in the right direction in order to find it. We have information on all sorts of subjects pertaining to our families and their children that have all sorts of special needs stashed all around our office. Here are the main places we keep our information:

1. OUR WEBSITE - we have a lot of information through the "Parent Resources" link on our website, divided into categories to make it easy to find what you're looking for.  www.nwacprc.org

2. PINTEREST - recently we have begun a pinterest board to collect all of the information we come across in a visually appealing way - if you don't like searching down through long lines of text to find resources on what you need, this might be a good option for you because you can easily scan pictures on boards set up into different categories to find lots of useful information. We started this less than a month ago, though, so we're steadily but surely collecting more information. www.pinterest.com/nwacprc

3. LIBRARY - Did you know we have a library with thousands of books located in the JTL shop, a building very close to the Jones Center? The Library is open Monday through Friday at 614 E. Emma, suite 131 in Springdale, AR. You can browse Tuesday through Thursday from 12 to 5pm or request an appointment to go in with us at any other time during the week. The instructions on checking out a book are simple to fill out and are hung up next to our office inside the Library (Suite 127). Most materials can be checked out for a month. We have books, binders, dvds, brochures, tapes, and cds on specific disabilities, special education law, inclusion, special education, assistive technology, parenting, activities, and much more. We also have an entire section devoted to materials in Spanish as well as a kid's section where they can go play and sit down while you're browsing!

4. ON SITE DATABASE - we have a server in our office where we collect all of the loose pieces of information we get by email, conference, or trainings. This includes scans of documents, PDFs, Power Point files, Word documents, videos, and a lot of other media. All of those loose pieces of information are separated into categories and are filed under their own specific folders in our server. If you don't find what you need on our website, library, or our pinterest page, please contact us in our office because we more than likely have something for you. You can e-mail [email protected] or call (479)927-3283.

5. OUR TRAININGS or WORKSHOPS - we have many trainings or workshops that cover all sorts of subjects of highly requested items in English as well as Spanish throughout the year. Contact us or visit the calendar section of our website to find out what's coming up next.

6. OUR STAFF - We have an experienced and knowledgeable staff that have a lot of information and are more than happy to guide you - some of their knowledge you can find in books, but a lot of it is practical experience that you would not be able to find elsewhere. Always feel free to call, to set up an appointment with one of them, or to e-mail us.
You can e-mail [email protected] or call (479)927-3283.

Hopefully this sheds some light on the multitude of information we have to offer here at the NWA Community Parent Resource Center. So, if you're wondering "Do you have information on..." the answer is most likely "YES!" and we would be glad to help you!


- Staci Bell, Technology Specialist / Librarian
NWA Community Parent Resource Center

My child is a freshman in high school. Her IEP includes this goal and objectives.

Judy will improve reading comprehension skills by using graphic organizers to access the curriculum with 70% accuracy per quarter.

The short term objectives are:

1. Judy will summarize or bullet important information in a variety of reading material with 70% accuracy.

2. Judy will recall specific facts, information & details after reading a variety of texts with 70% accuracy.

3. Judy will summarize a passage or story, relating essential components with 70% accuracy.

4. Judy will use vocabulary to identify the characters, setting, events, problems & solution in a story passage with 70% accuracy per quarter.

This goal doesn’t make sense to me. It seems vague. Shouldn’t an IEP goal include the child’s present levels of academic achievement or functional performance? 

Writing Measurable Goals

You are right. This IEP goal makes no sense. Yes, before you can create any goal, you need to know the child’s present levels – that is the starting point.

Your child has problems with reading comprehension. How can teachers work to improve her reading comprehension skills by using “graphic organizers to access the curriculum with 70% accuracy? “ Even this goal was appropriate, how would you and the IEP team know if she “improved to 70% accuracy”? What will happen if her improvement in using graphic organizers was 62% or 57%? What do these numbers mean?

Change the facts. Assume that a goal states that the child will type 40 words-per-minute. She currently types at a rate of 38 words-per-minute. While improving typing skills by 2 words-per-minute may be acceptable as a weekly goal or objective, it is completely inappropriate as an annual goal. If a child’s present level of performance in typing is 20 words-per-minute, then an annual goal of 40 words-per-minute may (or may not) be appropriate.

How will a child  ”summarize with 70% accuracy?” How will we know that she didn’t “summarize with 40% accuracy?” In addition to being inappropriate, you cannot measure progress with this goal.

Resources

Barbara Bateman wrote an excellent book about  Writing Measurable IEP Goals and Objectives.

She also wrote Writing Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) for Success.

Check out this material about Writing IEP Goals - this is from a school district so it may be more acceptable to the IEP team members.

You’ll answers to your questions about present levels of performance and how to write IEP goals  in Wrightslaw: All About IEPs.

Your Assignment

Study the two articles about writing IEP goals and objectives.

1. Print the articles. Review each goal.

• What is the present level of performance for each goal?
• Does the goal include a plan to improve the skills up  to grade level? (or at least more than one year of progress in an academic year)
• How is the child’s progress being measured? What objective measurement shows that the present level of performance improved?

2. Print a copy of your state curriculum or academic standards. Your state curriculum tells you and the team what a child in a particular grade should be taught during the year so the child is prepared for the next grade. You will find your state curriculum frameworks or academic standards on your state Department of Education website.

3. After you revise the IEP goals, you need to review your child’s most recent evaluations.

• Are the concerns noted in the evaluation addressed by goals in the IEP?
• Does the IEP include accommodations that should be IEP goals? Example: Assume that your child’s reading comprehension skills are deficient. Does the IEP include a plan to improve these skills? Or, does the IEP provide accommodations that do not address her deficient reading skills?
• If your child masters all the goals in her IEP, will she be at grade level in these areas?
• How will you know if she is making progress?

By law, an IEP is required to address all the child’s needs that result from the disability. Does your child have needs that are not addressed in her IEP?  If the IEP does not address all her needs that result from the disability, ask that these needs be included in her IEP. Better yet – write a short letter to the IEP team to request that these needs be included in her IEP.

Looking Forward to Graduation

Since your child is in high school, she may need an extended day or extended year program so she can get the specialized instruction she requires without missing classes she needs to earn credits toward graduation. If your child plans to attend college, make sure you know what classes the college expects applicants to have, so she has time to meet these expectations before graduating from high school.

At age 16, a child’s IEP is driven by the transition plan. Make sure the transition plan is comprehensive and complete. Barbara Bateman’s article addresses transition. You will find answers to questions about transition plans and transition assessments in Wrightslaw: All About IEPs.

The New Hampshire Department of Education publishes a Transition Manual that includes a checklist and a good worksheet that you can use to review transition issues. Note: This document is from NH where the age for transition planning is 14. You need to check your state special education regulations to find the transition age requirements in your state.

Comprehensive Evaluation

Has your child had a comprehensive psycho-educational evaluation recently?

When you review her  recent evaluations, you may see that the “comprehension goals” in her IEP should really focus on weaknesses in decoding, oral language, or phonological awareness.

• Do the most recent evaluations confirm that reading comprehension is the primary problem, and that your child’s decoding, phonological awareness and oral language are not problem areas?
• Do the most recent evaluations indicate that your child has problems in spelling and written expression?

When you  re-read the evaluations, you must understand the test results. If you have not had a private sector evaluation on your child recently, I recommend that you arrange to have an evaluation completed.

The Wrightslaw Multimedia Training on CD-ROM - Understanding Your Child’s Test Scores - will help you understand the bell curve, mean, and standard deviations on tests. You will also learn about standard scores, percentile ranks, subtest scores, composite or cluster scores, and subtest scatter. You will learn how to draw the  bell curve and how to use your child’s test scores to create powerful progress (or lack of progress) graphs.

Appropriate Annual Goals by Sue Whitney

- Provided by Wrights Law http://www.wrightslaw.com/blog/?p=6751

Student's with significant disabilities often do not participate in statewide exams,  but there are assessments to measure their growth and success. Not only are student's re-evaluated every three years but many are part of the Alternate Portfolio Assessment. To understand these assessments and others used to measure academic growth for all students, visit :http://www.arkansased.org/divisions/learning-services/student-assessment/assessments-for-students-with-disabilities

As we missed last FAQ Friday, we're doing a FAQ Wednesday and will return with regular programming this coming Friday. :) 2 in one week!

This excerpt is from http://www.understandingspecialeducation.com/special-education-law.html - this is an article from that explains limitations on age in public school for students with special needs:

Please do read the rest of this article at the link here - it lists and summarizes the 13 major facets of IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) which is EXTREMELY pertinent to families that have children with special needs.

What is Arkansas Support Network's Encore Kids? Find out more at the link to the video below and help support the workbridge program!

http://www.nwahomepage.com/doinggood-fulltext/doing-good-arkansas-support-network/d/doinggood-fulltext/WbHFCdCNc0eDzHMM1mqmQQ

The worry of a child wandering is great enough on it's own -- but when that child has special needs the stakes are even higher.  The online journal, Pediatrics, published a survey results from over 1200 families containing children with autism. It revealed that 49 percent of those children wandered off at least once after the age of four. Of that 49 percent, nearly half of the children who disappeared for a period of time, were away long enough to be labeled as “missing.”

The response to this needs to be diffusing this fear with information and knowledge so that parents are prepared and preventative. We have several resources that touch on what wandering can look like with kids that have special needs, ways to have them prepared if it ever happens to them, and several different resources that can help make sure that none of these situations turn dire. There are resources at the links below, and an inforgraphic with a rundown of information below that.

Packet on Missing Children with Special Needs

Autism Wandering and Elopement Initiative

Big Red Safety Toolkit

Child Locators

Why do Children with Autism Wander?

  AIM of NWA is a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization dedicated to improving the quality of life for children and adults with special needs.

AIM provides funding for a program called AIM to Help which funds grants for Benton and Washington County families impacted by an Autism Spectrum Disorder.

The grants provide individuals on the Autism Spectrum with funding that may be used for a wide variety of supports and programs. 

In order to qualify for a grant, a recipient must:

·        Be diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder

·        Reside in Benton or Washington County.

·        Not be on the Medicaid Waiver Program

·        Provide supporting documentation for the diagnosis of Autism

Grant amounts:

Grants will range up to - $500.00. 

Grant requests:

Grants are used to cover the costs of generally accepted autism treatments or equipment that are neither fully covered by insurance nor provided by school systems.

Examples of possible uses of grant money:                                        


Social skills training  
Sensory Integration
Vision services
Music classes/instruments
Educational Books/Videos
Computer software
Swimming lessons    
Therapy Services
Horseback riding lessons
Education conference fees  
Training Materials     
Sensory Equipment

Application process:

To apply for funds, please complete the enclosed application forms and return to:

AIM of NWA 16385 Armour Rd
Springdale, AR 72764


Once your application is received, it will be reviewed to determine if you meet the above guidelines. Grants will be issued by November 15, 2013. If your application is approved, we will mail you the AIM to Help grant for immediate use.   If we cannot meet your request, you will receive a letter explaining the decision.  

 

Deadlines for Grants

September 30, 2013               Deadline for all 2013 applications

October 31, 2013                    All grants will be reviewed/ notified by this date

November 15, 2013                2013 Grants will be awarded by this date

January 31, 2014                    Thank you letters for grants are due

 The Arkansas Special Education Mediation Project (ASEMP) is different from other mediation programs in that it is not court-centered. The method for resolving special education disputes is an administrative hearing process. The ASEMP gives parents and schools an alternative. Trained professional mediators assist parties in finding effective solutions to the problems affecting educational services for children with disabilities.

Mediation is voluntary and confidential. It offers parents and educators the chance to work with each other and address a child’s special education needs. Mediation helps people talk and work hard on the problem without being hard on the people. The focus is on working together to find a solution that is in the best interest of the student.

Source / Find more information here: http://ualr.edu/law/clinical-programs/mediation/arkansas-special-education-mediation-project/