3 Parenting Tips to Advocate for Functional Skill Training for Your Child in Special Education!

Are you the parent of a child with autism or another disability receiving special education services? Is your child struggling with academics, and you think could benefit from learning functional skills? Learning to read and write are important, but so are functional skills, that can help a child live a full and enriched life! This article will be discussing 3 parenting tips that you can use in your advocacy efforts!

Tip 1: Use Federal special education law Individuals with Disabilities Education Act or IDEA 2004 to strengthen your advocacy efforts for functional skill training. IDEA states that every IEP that is developed for a child must contain a statement of the child's present levels of academic achievement and functional performance. What does this mean for your child? Your child's IEP should state what level your child is at in the area of functional skills. Make sure that these statements are based on objective data such as tests and not subjective opinion.

The law also states that the child's IEP must contain a statement of annual goals in not only academic areas, but functional areas as well. Make sure that the functional goals are specific and are measurable.

Also, make sure that any skills training given to your child is written clearly on your child's IEP and has specific amount of times that the training will be given. Training needs to be given in natural environments and at natural times. For example: Teeth brushing training needs to be given after the child has eaten, either after lunch or after a snack. Training also needs to be community based, so that the child will be able to generalize the skills to all environments.

Tip 2: Use the purpose and findings of IDEA 2004 to convince special education personnel how important functional skill training is for your child. The purpose of IDEA is to help prepare children for further education, employment and independent living. Children must have appropriate functional skills in order to be prepared for their adult life.

The findings of IDEA 2004 from Congress state that the law is to help improve educational results for children with disabilities, so that there is equality of opportunity, full participation, independent living, and economic self sufficiency.

Behavior and social skills are two areas of functional skills that are often overlooked by parents and advocates. Ensure that appropriate social skills and behavior is being taught to your child, so that he or she will be able to be a full participant in the community, when they are an adult.

Tip 3: According to IDEA parents have the right to be full participants in any decision that is made regarding their child's education. The law also includes a section under IEPs, where any information provided by parents needs to be included. Educating yourself not only on why functional skills are important but what is the appropriate type of training that a child needs is important.

Consider writing your own parent input statement about what type of functional skill training needs to be given to your child. Bring this input statement to your child's IEP meeting, and make sure that it is attached to your child's IEP.

Anticipated needs must be addressed by special education personnel and parents. This is a good time to think ahead of the skills that your child will need as an adult, and include functional skill training in your child's IEP or transition plan.

Use these three tips to help you succeed in your attempt to include functional skills training in your child's IEP. They will appreciate your efforts to make sure that they are prepared for adult life!

JoAnn Collins is a successful special educational advocate for over 20 years and author of the book "Disability Deception; Lies Disability Educators Tell and How Parents Can Beat Them at Their Own Game!" The book is filled with truths about special education, for parents, and lots of easy to use advocacy tips. Check out her blog at: http://specialeducationspotlight.disabilitydeception.com/. For more information on the book and special education as well as testimonials on her book, please go to: http://www.disabilitydeception.com/. For questions or comments feel free to E mail me at: JoAnn@disabilitydeception.com.

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Finally A Theme Park Where Everyone Can Have Fun

One of the perks of being a school bus driver is that you have a chance to see some interesting sites around the area. At times I will venture out with the group and other times I will stay behind and rest or read. One trip that I was excited about driving was to Morgan's Wonderland. Morgan's Wonderland is a new park in San Antonio. I first heard about it a number of years ago when it was only a dream. Being in the construction business for a while I knew the name Gordon Hartman Homes. Gordon Hartman is the builder and Morgan is his daughter who the park is named for. I heard about the park when it was undergoing the construction phase and I watched the special on the local TV channel informing the public about the wonderful new attraction for everyone. I was intrigued and anxious to find out everything I could.

Morgan's Wonderland is designed specifically for adults and children with special needs, their family members, caregivers, friends and the entire community. I was impressed with the price of admission. Admission is free to special needs persons. For the Person(s) accompanying special needs individuals the cost is $10.00. General admission is $15.00 and age 0 to 2 are free. The park is uniquely funded. Next to Morgan's Wonderland is the STAR Soccer Complex. The STAR Soccer Complex is a premier soccer facility located on a site that once was the Longhorn Quarry. The site was developed into 13 fully lit, quality championship size fields as well as one smaller practice field. Alongside the fields are facilities such as playgrounds, bathrooms, refreshment stands. The spacious size and outstanding quality of the STAR Soccer Complex enables San Antonio to host a variety of soccer leagues and to accommodate large local, statewide, national and international soccer tournaments. Proceeds from soccer leagues and competitions will assist the operation and maintenance of Morgan's Wonderland.

It is suggested that you call ahead for reservations to Morgan's Wonderland. For security purposes, and to help keep your visit as stress free as possible, entry and exit strategies have been put into place. Special bracelets will be put on each person in your party when you arrive. They have a security chip included. By scanning the wristbands at one of several location station monitors located throughout the park, you can find the location of any member of your party. This security feature is a luxury that calms the fears of caregivers in the event that a child disappears and helps to prevent the possibility of a child leaving the park without the knowledge of the caregiver. If you have ever lost a child at a park you know that the panic that will ensue can ruin and otherwise happy day.

Everything in the park is easily wheel chair and special needs accessible. The train, the amphitheater, an off-road adventure ride, sand box, a playground built especially for kids with wheelchairs in mind and a large, wheelchair-accessible playscape will make the day fun for all. A carousel has adaptive electronic animals created to serve guests who are incapable of sitting upright, and will allow a friend or caregiver to sit next to them. Custom chariots designed for wheelchairs go up and down like the other creatures on the ride. A lake allows for catch and release fishing, or you can shoot a water cannon at brightly colored spinning targets, or pilot remote-controlled boats. Providing a number of stimulating experiences is a Sensory Village which includes a simulated test drive through San Antonio and a TV station that allows guests to do a weather forecast and see themselves on TV. There is even a Village Market with fun and colorful groceries providing interactive sensory stimulation through the use of colors, sounds, lights, and textures. And the one feature that really caught my attention was that the park has more than 30 traditional and adaptive swings including wheelchair swings. Now kids and adults do not have to sit on the side watching. They can enjoy the experience of swinging.

One of my daughters said that she was getting goose bumps as I told her about the park. I asked the special needs teachers their impression of the park and to describe it, all they say is that it's incredible, and wonderful, tremendous, and the most fun, a great place to take any child too. I am anxious to take my young grandchildren there next time they visit. I can't wait.

Jacquelyn Graham is the mother of 8 children and grandmother of 5. She also drives a school bus in her spare time. She is President of Operations at Fiesta Toy Store.

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Facts About ADD and ADHD in Children

If your child suffers from Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) you may feel overwhelmed at times and even frustrated. That is why it is important to get the support you need and learn more about each one of these disorders as well.

The most common side effect of having ADD or ADHD is the inability to plan ahead so they act out on impulse and do not consider the consequences for their action. A child who acts out in public by annoying you or even embarrassing you is not willingly aware of what they are doing at the time. They don't plan to behave that way and have no control on it at all.

Instead of consistently dealing with your child's behavior in a negative way, by yelling, crying, not giving them choices, you need to understand more about how to deal with these disorders in children in a positive way. This will affect how they mature. The entire family can be affected when a child has these disorders. They can be disruptive, distracted, require more attention in the home and outside of the home. Siblings may get less attention then the child with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD). Parents tend to give the other siblings responsibility in watching the child in order to talk on the phone, take a shower, or just to have a break. This sometimes causes jealousy among siblings.

Believe it or not, as a parent you can set the controlled environment for your child. In your environment you have control and your child can become more aware of love and understanding. First, you need to remember that your child is acting out due to a behavior not because he wants to. Learn when to let go of small responsibilities because children with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) do require more attention so do what you can around the house or work when you can and enjoy being with your child the rest of the time. Be an advocate for your child, a life coach, a support group, and everything else they need.

It's important to take care of yourself when taking care of your child. Yes, you are frustrated and you feel overwhelmed but when you take care of yourself, you are able to keep a positive attitude on everything else. Create a diet plan that gives you more energy in the afternoon when he or she comes home from school, so you will be able to keep up with them. When you are tired, you may not be up to keeping up with them when they get home. Learn of way that you can meditate, calm down, or just relax.

Don't feel guilty when you need a break. Call on friends and family to give you a night out once a month or every other week. If someone offers to babysit, take them up on it. Parents tend to feel guilty when it comes to leaving their child alone with someone else especially if they suffer from Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD).

Find Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) support groups online or in your local area. Sometimes you may not have the opportunity to break away long enough to go to support meetings close by but you can find an abundant amount of support online and it is available 24/7.

For the latest videos and training information on child development as well as books and curricula please visit http://www.childdevelopmentmedia.com/.

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8 Parental Causes for Denial of Special Education FAPE for Children With Disabilities!

Are you the parent of a child with a disability receiving special education services? Have you been fighting for your child to receive an appropriate education but are afraid that you are losing the battle. This article will be addressing the definition of FAPE as well as 8 parental reasons that may be contributing to your child not receiving a free appropriate public education.

Definition of FAPE

In a US Court of Appeals Case in the Third Circuit N.R. vs. Kingwood Township FAPE is defined as: a satisfactory IEP must provide significant learning and confer meaningful benefit. The definition of FAPE in IDEA 2004 states that FAPE means related and special education services that are free to the parent, and meet the standards of the State Educational Agency. Recently, many states have passed National Core Educational Standards to make the standards more uniform from state to state.

Possible Parental Causes

1. Some parents may not educate themselves about all of the federal and state laws that they can use to advocate for their child. These laws are: IDEA 2004, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, ADAAA, etc. It is critical that parents read books, and attend conferences to educate themselves.

2. Parents may be unwilling to confront or stand up to special education personnel who are refusing to provide FAPE to their child. This may be due to parents upbringing of not confronting authorities or educators

3. Schools have low expectations of what a child can learn in academic and functional areas. Parents must stand up to low expectations by some special education personnel, to the benefit of their child.

4. Not making sure that their child is held to the same educational standards as children without disabilities. If children do not learn academics and functional areas they could be hindered in their adult life.

5. Some parents may not learn appropriate remediation that their child needs to help them in their education.

6. Some parents may be unwilling to file a state complaint, 504 complaint, or file for a due process. As an advocate for over 20 years I have seen many school personnel draw a line in the sand, and absolutely refuse to listen to any parental input on services that their child needs. This situation requires going outside of the school district in the filing of complaints or due process, in a timely manner.

7. Some parents may accept lack of FAPE year after year without doing anything about it, even trying to find private services (and asking for school reimbursement). I recently read about a family in San Francisco that fought their school by filing for a due process hearing when the school district refused to provide their 3 year old child with Autism Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) services, even though independent evaluators stated that the child needed this service. The parents did not wait year after year to let their child fail, they filed immediately. The family won after a 7 month fight, and was reimbursed for the private ABA services, that was given to their child.

8. Parents often approach school districts asking for the best services for their child. IDEA 2004 does not require that schools offer the best, but just related and special education services that are appropriate to meet the child's educational needs.

How can parents turn this around? By educating themselves about special education law and research based remediation for their child. They also must be assertively persistent in their advocacy, for as long as it takes for their child to receive an appropriate education. Going outside the school district the first time they deny your child FAPE sends a message that you will not tolerate the civil rights violations to your child. Parents have a tough job, but if they work hard and advocate hard their child can receive an appropriate education.

JoAnn Collins is a successful special educational advocate for over 20 years and author of the book "Disability Deception; Lies Disability Educators Tell and How Parents Can Beat Them at Their Own Game!" The book is filled with truths about special education, for parents, and lots of easy to use advocacy tips. Check out her blog at: http://specialeducationspotlight.disabilitydeception.com/. For more information on the book and special education as well as testimonials on her book, please go to: http://www.disabilitydeception.com/. For questions or comments feel free to E mail me at: JoAnn@disabilitydeception.com.

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Kinaesthetic Ideas for Letter Reversals

If your child is struggling with the confusion of b and d letter reversals, you can use these multi-sensory activities to help them remember the difference.

Multi-sensory activities are the best kind of learning for children with learning difficulties - especially dyslexic children. This is because it gives the information to them in different ways other than just auditory or visual which might not be their strongest learning style. The more ways that you can think of to get the learning across, the better.

Our best memories are the ones where we have lots of fun and when we create something ourselves. As teachers and parents it can be hard to resist helping BUT it is so important for your child to have their own ideas, to produce their own work, to be proud of it AND to enable them to remember it. Keep this in mind when you are doing learning activities by letting your children have their own ideas and create their own fun for long lasting memories.

You can use any of the following ideas to have lots of fun creating letters and sounds.

String: Use string to make the shape of the sound with the string on the floor Paint: Paint and decorate sounds in the shape of the letter they are reversing. Tell the children to shut their eyes and do it, messy and fun!

Empty plastic bottles: Fill with water and draw the sounds with the water on the ground. Give the children some short words to spell. This is also a good activity for encouraging smooth cursive handwriting.

Glue and Glitter: Paint 'b' or 'd' sounds in glue and sprinkle with glitter.

Sandpit: Children can dip their fingers in and make letter shapes.

3D: play dough, pasta tubes, twigs, leaves etc, colourful (blue and red) pipe cleaners. Create the confused letter sounds using any of the above. Each child can make their own collage or a group of children can make a collage together. I've used wikki stix here in the photo. Colour is very helpful for dyslexics, try and always keep the b blue and the d red.

In the kitchen and garden there are lots of opportunities for making letter shapes in cooking and gardening

Give the children dot to dot b and d pictures to complete. They can draw in the lines with, crayons, paint, glue and glitter or any of the ideas mentioned above.

Draw lines on paper, hold up a picture of a 'd' or 'b' word and give the children big fat felt tips to draw the circle on the correct side of the line.

More Kinaesthetic Ideas: You can use all sorts of textured materials to cut out letters that your child is confusing. The texture will help embed the memories deeper, helping them to remember more frequently.

Like these ideas and want more? Get your free demo pack and complimentary worksheets that your child can start using right now to help with b and d confusion And for more ideas for dyslexic children, signup to my newsletter and download your complimentary Dyslexia Playbook.

Sue Kerrigan is a teacher and private tutor helping children with dyslexia and dyscalculia in the UK.

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IT Freelance Jobs For Web Development and Design

It is common knowledge already that IT freelance jobs for web development & design are one of the most lucrative occupations on the internet. In the world wide web, websites are mediums used by entrepreneurs in order to convey their messages to the public. Whether these websites are disseminating important information, promote all sorts of products or services, used in e-commerce business, and etc., there is only one thing that is very certain. All of them need web development & design professionals in order to make their presence a reality.

To become a website design developer, one needs to have some special training in a school or a university, although it is quite possible you can learn the subject all by yourself on the internet. Opportunities for IT freelance jobs for web development & design are so plentiful that it's not hard for anyone who has this skill to find a job. If you have some artistic inclinations, then mastering this trade is a breeze.

The following is a list of some top freelance sites who are offering opportunities for IT freelance jobs for web development & design. You have to bear in mind that all of these opportunities cater to all freelance professionals all over the world.

Freshwebjobs.com

This is actually a job board where companies and website design developers, who all share the same interests and passions, converge and conduct their businesses for their own benefits. The former arrives at this site in order to recruit, while the latter is there in the hope of finding a job. There is a $75 fee for a 60 day job listing, but it's free just to browse through the same.

Krop

This is also a job board like the previous one, except that it is much more expensive to post a single 60 day job listing which starts at exactly $199. But then, the site boasts of the quality of the creative talent that they can provide is unmatched, and the employers are assured that their offers are extended to the most qualified candidates only. Browsing through the job listings is free and you can send in your application through the contact info being provided.

Authentic Jobs

Again, this site is no different from the previous two just mentioned. Job listings are classified into four types such as internship, freelance, contract, and full-time. Fees are quite reasonable which starts at $99 for internship and freelance job types, and $249 for contract and full-time job types. This site distinguish itself from the others by offering a no question asked 100% money back guarantee in the event of an unsatisfactory result from the job listing. As usual, browsing through all of these listings is free and you can apply for any position by clicking the apply button.

Coroflot

A single job listing will cost $265 but it runs online for a much longer period of 90 days. Creating a portfolio is free and easy and you will be in business in no time. It has a full site support to respond to different inquiries which will be answered within 24 hours. Anyone can go over the job listings without any problems, and a contact information can be found from each one of the same for sending your applications.

Conclusion

IT freelance jobs for web development & design has been a boon to many and the envy of others. Whichever side of the fence you are in, it is indisputable that websites are the only reasons why the internet has become of what it is today. Without them, the world wide web will be an empty space where no one knows that it existed.

Any one can make a good amount of money with IT freelance jobs and web development & design is most profitable one of all.

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Alphabet Stencils: Innovative Uses

The application and uses of wall stencils can be a very attractive and easy means of giving an entirely new look to your home walls. These are inexpensive and affordable for the variations that they are capable of providing. Apart from designs, there is also an equal use of stencils for writing purposes on the walls.

You will be amazed to see a huge stock of quotes and sayings to even creative messages that have been categorized for the different areas of a house. These are sometimes incredibly funny and hilarious and at other places extremely meaningful and loving. It is just what your home needs to put a smile on your face every time you see them.

There are companies where stencils are made professionally. If you are looking for the right message or design, you can avail their stocks as well. There are also plenty of resources to be availed on the internet through the websites of some companies.

Alphabet Stencils

Designs and patterns or even continuous writing isn't the only thing that can be made for a stencil. There are other types of stencils available and these are put to a numerous different uses too. Let us consider alphabet stencils. These can replicate alphabets in various designs and sizes. And they are also available in capital letters and lower case letters.

You can use them not only on home walls but also in classrooms and school nurseries. Their application on the walls of the children's room can enable a better learning and recognition of the same for your child who is in the process of learning alphabets. Nevertheless, their uses in schools are multiple.

You can use them in crafts classes for cutting and coloring work among children of certain age groups. These can also be downloaded in various sizes for placement on the walls and boards of the classes. Children can be more interested in learning from these.

You can customize them as per your needs regarding font sizes and the use of styles and color in these stencils.

Large Alphabet Stencils

There are stencils that can be made for large alphabets. These are useful for signage uses and notification purposes. Here too you can make a choice of different fonts of the alphabets as well as the style.

For more information on alphabet stencils, check out the info available online; these will help you learn to find the large alphabet stencils!

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