Academy for Educational Development
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Special Education 101: A Q & A With Suzanne Ripley
Special Education 101: An Expert Q&A With Suzanne Ripley As parents prepare for a new school year, some may be wondering about special education services for their children. Suzanne Ripley is the director of NICHCY, the National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities at AED. For more than 20 years, Ripley has advised families and educators across the country on how best to serve children with special needs. She also has two sons with multiple disabilities who have received special education services. Here Suzanne addresses some basic questions parents may have about special education services. In addition, on Wednesday, August 31at noon, Ripley will answer questions during an online chat on the Washington Post Web site. Information specialist Sarah Escowitz assisted with the chat. What are some signs that a "school age" child may need special education services? Typically one of the clearest indications is that a child is having difficulty with something at school. It could be with learning letters, difficulty keeping track of assignments, or getting homework done. The child may also have trouble making friends or fitting into their peer group. Teachers should report that the child is not making progress, or parents may be the first to notice problems. The first thing a parent might want to do is contact the teacher and arrange for a meeting. That meeting could be on the phone if a face-to-face meeting is impractical. As a parent you want to know what is going on and what you and the teacher together can do. Indications that a child may need some special services don’t necessarily show up in just the first or second grade. School gets much more complex as children grow older. Regardless of the grade level, if the parent is concerned that the child is having trouble at school, the first thing to do is find out what is the problem, then figure out what you need to do to address the problem. One way to figure this out is testing. Once that is done parents may want to pursue some testing. Parents need to investigate early because they don’t want their child regarding school as an unpleasant experience. What advice can you give parents who are trying to get special education services for their children? Related publications: "Communicating With Your Child's School Through Letter Writing." There is a federal and state process for determining eligibility. The first step is to have the child tested. Schools provide that testing at no cost to the parents, and parents must request this testing in writing. If the child is found eligible, the parents, relevant school personnel, and the child himself, depending on his age, will meet to determine what the special education services will be. If the child is not found eligible, the parents can talk to the school about the child’s area of difficulty and what the school can do to address it. Sometimes schools provide tutoring or other instructional assistance. Parents can also have their child tested at their own expense through other facilities. What can parents do if they think their child’s services are insufficient? Talk to the school, meet with the staff who are providing the services and ask them to share with you how they are monitoring and evaluating your child’s progress. Then you can discuss the progress, and that will put the focus of the conversation on the child’s performance. How to proceed from there can be determined by working with the school to make changes in the services, or increase services, until performance improves. Measurement alone may not solve the problems, but it does provide a basis for discussion and future planning. It may not solve the whole argument but it provides a basis for discussion.
How do parents find out their child’s rights? Talk to a parent training and information center. Every state, and Washington, D.C., has at least one of these federally funded agencies, and each state picks their own name for it, so they may be called something different depending on the state. These agencies are funded to work with families to explain to them the whole special education process and how to address their child’s needs. They can link parents to local resources and programs. Also, parents can talk to their schools’ special education department, who can explain the child’s rights and the students’ rights. What are some of the challenges all children with special needs, regardless of their diagnoses, face? One of the challenges, obviously, is doing well in school and finding ways to learn and succeed. Sometimes those ways involve accommodations like using a computer or taking un-timed tests or taking more time with the curriculum. All children—and certainly kids with a disability—want to be popular, make friends, and find a place to fit in. Sometimes this can be more challenging for kids with disabilities. How can adult caregivers help these children overcome those challenges? They can help their child select extra-curricular activities that allow a child to demonstrate what he or she is good at, or just have a good time. My own son when he was in high school got a job as the water boy with the football team. That gave him the opportunity to get to know all the players and
Examples of this include trying out for a play either on stage or backstage, joining the scouts, taking up dance, swimming or Little League, or doing a project for the county fair. Find something the child is good at and build on it. For more information: |
