If you haven’t yet discovered the Disability.gov website (www.disability.gov), the start of a new school year would be a perfect time to bookmark it. This website is the federal government web portal for comprehensive information on disability programs and services in communities nationwide. On the website you can request email alerts on a variety of topics. You can also subscribe to their newsletter, Disability Connection, which focuses on a different topic each month.
The August 2013 newsletter highlights “Ten Things You Need to Know for Back-to-School.” Some of the “Ten Things” covered seem a little basic for parents and educators already involved in the special education system, but the topics summarized below are, in my opinion worthy of a full read on the website.
National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities (NICHCY) is a great starting point for anyone living or working with a child with a disability. Their website (www.nichcy.org) offers Fact Sheets on specific disabilities as well as extensive links to other organizations with helpful websites.
The Individualized Education Program (IEP) is the written document that maps out the goals, services and supports for a student with a disability. At its best, it results from a collaboration between the family and the school. NICHCY offers a guide on “Developing Your Child’s IEP”, as well as a fact sheet on “10 Basic Steps in Special Education.”
Accessible Instructional Materials (AIM), such as large print, Braille, audio and digital text, are required (by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 2004) to be provided in a timely manner to K-12 students who need them to achieve in the classroom. The National Center on Accessible Instructional Materials website (http://aim.cast.org) includes a Q&A section for families and educators.
Power Up! Apps for Kids with Special Needs and Learning Differences is available on the Common Sense Media website (www.commonsense.org). This educational guide is designed to help parents choose the best online supports for children who have difficulty with traditional learning. The apps discussed are organized into six categories: Reading, Math, Motor Skills, Organization, Communication and Social Interaction.
Reading Help: Reading Rockets (www.readingrockets.org) is a website that contains information for parents and teacher about strategies, lessons and activities that help young children learn to read and build comprehension skills.
Teaching Resources: The Do2Learn website (www.do2learn.com) offers free social skills activities, songs and games for students with special needs. Another resource, Edutopia (www.edutopia.org), contains blog topics and articles addressing the needs and challenges of students with disabilities.
Physical Education: In early 2013, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights released guidance on this topic. Under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, public elementary and secondary schools are required to give students with disabilities an equal opportunity to participate, alongside their peers, in extracurricular athletics.
Under these regulations, students with disabilities can’t be excluded from trying out for and playing on a team. To achieve this goal, schools are not required to change the essential rules of a game or provide an unfair advantage to a student with a disability, but they are required to provide reasonable modifications.
“Back-to-school” is a phrase that stirs in all of us memories of new school supplies, “clean slates,” new adventures, new challenges. For students with disabilities and their families, online resources such as Disability.gov are invaluable in helping to navigate the special challenges each new school year holds.
DID YOU KNOW?
• On Thurs., Aug. 29 from 3 to 4 p.m. there will be a free webinar on Self-Advocacy Online, an educational and networking website for teens and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Register at www.aucd.org
• The Statewide Parent Advocacy Network (SPAN) and Family Autism Support Network are offering a free workshop, Transition from School to Adult Life, on Mon., Sept. 9 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Ocean Academy Special Services School, 148 Crest Haven Road in Court House. For more information contact Dave Hagan (908-451-7749; dmhagan@comcast.net)n Dream – Voices of Americans with Disabilities Video Contest has been announced by the National Disability Institute. Deadline for uploading your video to YouTube is September 10th. For guidelines and contest rules visit http://dream.realeconomicimpact.org
• The Council of Citizens with Low Vision (CCLVI) is accepting applications for its Dr. Sam Genensky Memorial Video Magnifier scholarship. This award provides multiple video magnifiers of varying brands and styles to students and adults demonstrating a need. Deadline for applications and support materials is Sept.13. For more information visit www.cclvi.org/scholarships or email genensky@cclvi.org
• The Brave Kids website (www.bravekids.org), a new initiative of United Cerebral Palsy, serves children with disabilities and chronic/life-threatening illnesses and their families by providing a support community, information, and resources about medical conditions and more
Pierson writes from the Cape May County Department of Aging and Disability Services
Cape May – Governor Murphy says he doesn't know anything about the drones and doesn't know what they are doing but he does know that they are not dangerous. Does anyone feel better now?
