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Special Education Law Day
Sponsored by Talk About Curing Autism (TACA), Central California Autism
Center and Central California Autism Society
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:
• Timothy A. Adams, 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 Adams 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.
Linda 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
Timothy A. Adams, 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 Adams & 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 David 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.
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