Archive for the ‘School’ Category
Special Education Inclusion: Blog Radio Interview Plus…
April 25th, 2013 | 
Author: 
My Superstars
Special Education Inclusion
Dr. Annie Abram interviewed me about Special Education Inclusion on her weekly blog talk radio program: “Ask Dr. Annie Abram.”
Dr. Abram talks about “Parenting Across Generations” and has been doing several topics on autism.
Check it out. Tell me what you think in the comments section. It really has been a journey for Aaron–a person with a disability, for me–the parent of an adult with a disability, and for our family. And, the choices and decisions we made when Aaron was young definitely influence our choices and decisions now that he is an adult. In my heart I know we took the road less travelled and it demonstrated to the world that inclusion is a civil right–and Aaron is a full citizen.
Inclusive Education
Expecting Academic Achievement in General Education Curriculum
April 25, 2013
2-3:30 p.m. ET
This interactive training session provides teachers with a structured time to think and plan to enhance their students’ participation in the general education curriculum. Many teams have become outstanding supporters of inclusive education. However, what are the students’ goals in that setting? How much involvement do they have with the general education curriculum? What are the goals for the student’s academic achievement? Have we fully considered all the ways the student can attain access to and demonstrate an understanding of the general education curriculum?
Presented by Stacey Skoning, University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, and Denise Clark, University of Wisconsin Oshkosh.
TASH Members $50 (Individual) $80 (Group)
Non Members $70 (Individual) $100 (Group)
This is an inexpensive way to get the latest information for an inservice or parent group.
Check out TASH for more information:
• Thriving in Transitions: Self-Directed Living, It’s Never Too Late! (Community Living)
Thursday, May 9 @ 1 p.m. ET
• Building and Sustaining our Communities through Time Bank Exchange (Community Living)
Thursday, May 16 @ 2 p.m. ET
• An Overview of Person Centered Planning: The State of the Art (Community Living)
Thursday, May 30 @ 2 p.m. ET
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Free Ideas for Inclusive Classrooms
If you want inclusive ideas for your child or your classroom, Paula Kluth is the best. Sign up for her blog. Paula Kluth
As always, your thoughts matter.
Keep Climbing: Onward and Upward
All my best,
Mary
Other Blog Radio Interviews:
Posted in Aaron, Advocacy, Autism, Disability, Disability World, Inclusion, Parents, Practical Tips, School, Teachers, Ulrich Family | Tags: Aaron Ulrich, Anne Abram, Civil rights in education, IDEA, inclusion, LRE, Mary E. Ulrich, parent advocacy, parents of children with autism, parents of children with special needs, Roncker v. Walters, special education, special education in 1970s, special education inclusion, special education teachers, TASH | 2 Comments »
Chocolate Covered Fun for All Ages and Abilities
Chocolate Covered Strawberries
Mouth watering?
Don’t these chocolate covered strawberries look delicious?
For Valentine’s Day, or any day, what about making chocolate covered treats or gifts for the people you love?
Chocolate Covered Fun for ALL AGES and Abilities
Parents, Special Education Teachers, Directors of Day Programs and Senior Centers: Everyone is looking for activities that are fun, age-appropriate, and allow people with all ability levels to participate.
Taking your favorite snack for a chocolate dip may be the answer.
The costs will vary according to the ingredients, but pretzels and marshmallows are cheap. Of course, if you want to go gourmet, hey, yum.
Partial Participation
“Partial Participation is Better than Exclusion from an Activity” (Lou Brown)
Even if the recipe says, “Easy” that doesn’t mean every person can do every part of the activity.
For instance, Aaron, my son with the label of autism, wouldn’t be able to set the timer on the microwave–but he can certainly dip the pretzel in the chocolate sauce and choose the kind of sprinkles for the decoration.
Aaron can’t read the recipe with words, but he could follow the directions with pictures and though he can’t drive to the grocery, he can partially participate by picking out the pretzels and chocolate.
When Aaron was in school and had a speech therapist, one of his goals was identifying pictures of grocery items and finding the item in the grocery aisle. When he had a physical therapist, one of his IEP goals was pushing the grocery cart without hitting anyone in the grocery store. (Not a pretend grocery store in the classroom.) When he had an occupational therapist, one of his goals was to hand the grocery clerk the money to purchase the items and put the money back in his pocket. Aaron successfully learned these skills and practiced them every week in his functional community based program and … every time our family went into the community grocery store.
There are lots of things Aaron can do to partically participate in every activity.
When Aaron is part of the group, when he does purposeful, functional activities, he develops self-esteem, he is a doer. He is not just a passive observer. If he is treated as a baby, or as someone who cannot do anything but watch, then he loses his skills and his self-esteem. The people who think they are being nice and helpful to him, are not–they are actually causing him to lose skills/self-esteem.
This is a functional activity because if Aaron doesn’t go to the grocery to get the supplies someone else will have to do it.
If Aaron is actively involved in the shopping, the decorating, and gives the chocolate covered pretzels as a gift HE MADE–then this activity becomes much more than an easy activity to fill the day. It can become a learning and social enhancing experience. When he gives Grandma a package of pretzels he made, it is a joyful celebration for everyone. You should see his smile 
Be Creative: Lots of Ideas
Dip White or Dark Chocolate Ideas:
Dried Fruit (apricots, raisons…)
Fresh Fruit (strawberries, cherries with stems, apples (whole or slices)…)
Pretzel Rods or any size
Marshmallows
Cookies
Graham Crackers
Candy Canes
Rice Krispie Treats
How to Make Chocolate Covered Pretzels:
Activity for All Ages and Abilities
Things You Might Need:
Microwave-safe glass or measuring cups
Cooking spray
Bags white and dark chips (12 oz.)
Spoon
Pot Holders
Cookie Sheet
Wax paper
Bag of pretzel rods (12 oz.) or other food
Small candies or sprinkles
You Tube Video Demonstration
Task Analysis or Recipe
Chocolate-Covered Pretzels with Sprinkles
Recipe courtesy Paula Deen for Food Network Magazine
Prep Time: 20 min, Inactive Prep Time: 24 hr 0 min
Cook Time: 2 min; Level: Easy
Serves: 24 pretzelsIngredients:
• 1 12-ounce package milk chocolate chips
• 1 12-ounce package white chocolate chips
• 24 large pretzel rods
• Assorted holiday sprinklesDirections:
Place the milk chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl and the white chocolate chips in another. Microwave one bowl on high for 1 minute. Remove and stir with a rubber spatula. (The chips should melt while you are stirring, but if they don’t, you can continue to microwave for 15 more seconds, and then stir again.) Wash and dry the spatula. Microwave the other bowl on high for 1 minute, and stir until the chocolate is melted.Dip one pretzel rod into the milk chocolate; use a spoon or butter knife to spread the chocolate about halfway up the rod. Twist the rod to let the excess chocolate drip off. Hold the rod over a piece of wax paper and shake sprinkles on all sides. Place the pretzel on another piece of wax paper to dry. Coat another pretzel with white chocolate and sprinkles. Repeat until you’ve coated all the pretzels, half with milk chocolate, half with white chocolate, and let dry completely, about 24 hours. (Cover any remaining chocolate with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator.)
Copyright 2011 Television Food Network G.P. http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/chocolate-covered-pretzels-with-sprinkles-recipe2/index.html
All Rights Reserved
Gifts and Favors, Holiday Variations
President’s Day, Halloween, Easter, 4th of July, Christmas Variations
All American Holiday
Gifts and Favors
Stick Pretzels
Paula Deen’s Christmas Pretzels
Halloween chocolate covered pretzels
Comments:
Does it make sense that an activity as simple as making a chocolate covered pretzel can be a learning and self-esteem project? Can teachers, parents and directors of day programs make this more? Can they blow the opportunity?
Have you any ideas on this or other projects?
Keep Climbing: Onward and Upward
All my best,
Mary
Other Related Articles:
It’s a Jungle Out There| Inclusion in the Grocery Store
Language of the Heart| Heartaches and Heartsongs
Busy vs. Bored| Life Space Analysis for People with Disabilities
The Animal School| Differentiated Instruction
Test Questions| Inclusion or Segregation?
Teachers| Segregation or Inclusion
Posted in Advocacy, Autism, Caregivers, community, Disability, Inclusion, Leisure/Recreation, Parents of Adults with Disabilities, Practical Tips, Residential, School, Teachers | Tags: activities for seniors, adults with autism, adults with disabilities, age appropriate activities for adults with disabilities, age appropriate activities for special needs adults, age-appropriate, chocolate covered marshmellows, chocolate covered pretzels, chocolate covered strawberries, community based functional curriculum, day program activities for adults, easy activity for people with disabilities, functional curriculum, functional skills, gifts, Handicapped, parenting people with autism, parenting special needs adults, parents of special needs children, partial participation, President's Day Activity, special education teachers, task analysis, Valentine's Day activities for people with disabilities | 2 Comments »
When Schools Say “NO” to Inclusion
The Inclusive Class Podcast presented a panel with Tom Mihail, Paula Kluth, Torrie Dunlap, Lisa Jo Rudy, Frances Stetson, Kathleen McClaskey and myself. The Title was: "When Schools say 'NO' to Inclusion" Topics include Universal Design, Technology, Differentiation, Inclusive after-school and community recreation, and in the last few minutes I talked about Inclusion as a Civil Right and strategies for getting inclusion with your IEP. Below is the supplemental material for my topic. If you have any questions please contact me. Here is a recording of the broadcast:
So, you are sold, you have heard all the information about inclusion, you know in your soul this is what would be great for your child. You talk to the teacher, the principal, anyone who will listen and they tell you it won't work for your child, it's a passing fad, it is too expensive, it will hurt the other kids in the school...blagh, blagh, blagh. What do you do? Here are the 5 Points I outlined in my part of the panel: 1. Learn the History of People with Disabilities. Society and Schools have been saying “No” to Inclusion for hundreds of years for many people, not just for people with disabilities. 1800-1900s. Institutions and Forced Segregation were common for those with the labels of mentally defective, feeble-minded, idiots, uneducable and untrainable. Individuals and Parents had no say. People who were different were removed for the health and safety of the community. Today we still have prejudice against minorities, young women who are unmarried and pregnant, gang members, young people who are gay or lesbian, immigrants, poor, people who don't speak English, Native Americans, homeless, children of migrant workers... Our society is more diverse every day, we need inclusion for everyone. Check out the section in Parallels 2 A PLACE TO LEARN. (Page 59-60 has the definition of Inclusion) (p. 61 has reference to Paula Kluth and a picture of my son Aaron) 14th Amendment: “The 14th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified on July 9, 1868, and granted citizenship to “all persons born or naturalized in the United States,” which included former slaves recently freed. In addition, it forbids states from denying any person "life, liberty or property, without due process of law" or to "deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” By directly mentioning the role of the states, the 14th Amendment greatly expanded the protection of civil rights to all Americans and is cited in more litigation than any other amendment.” Citizenship: Is someone who has an intellectual or other disability, a person? (consider the slaves, Native Americans, women, immigrants, prisoners…) Due Process: If you have a disability, do you have the right to due process? (consider people with physical, intellectual disabilities, people who are deaf, blind… can’t read/write/talk, people who can’t pass IQ tests…) Equal Protection: If you have a disability, are you entitled to the same rights and benefits other people have? (go to school, live in community, get jobs…) Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) Separate is equal. 50 years of Jim Crow Laws. Brown v. Board of Education (1954) “Separate is inherently unequal.” (Interviews with Tom Gilhool and Gunner Dybwad are also in Parallels in Time 2) Video and transcript Tom Gilhool at Temple University: Testimony of Tom Gilhool before the Joint Subcommittee Hearings on “the Events, Forces and Issues that Triggered Enactment of the Education of All Handicapped Children Act (EHA) of 1975” in TASH newsletter, 1996 p. 11-15. The Requirement that Schools Know and “Adopt” “Effective” “Promising” Practices. Requires the delivery of an “effective” education. One, the Act (EHA) requires states and districts to see to it that all teachers, both “regular” and “special” are fully informed of and continuously trained in “promising practices” in the education of children. “Second, the Act requires every district as well as the states to “adopt promising practices’ Third, the Act’s requirement of “a free appropriate public education has been help by the Unites States Supreme Court to mean an education “reasonably calculated to enable the child to achieve education benefits” NOTE: Remember to NOT just look at the current regulations, go back into the Congressional Hearings before each law was enacted, the legislative history, court cases… “Inclusion is a right, not a special privilege for a select few” (Federal Court, Oberti v Board of Education). You will want to quote the most relevent and recent cases. 2. Become an Expert on IDEA The best resources I know are Partners in Policymaking’s series of lessons on IDEA. Free, online, study at your own pace. National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities (ages 3-22). 3. Build Alliances Focusing on the dignity and goodwill of the people you're working with. Build trust. Create a common vision. Partners in Policymaking has programs in almost every state. The courses are designed for parents of young children and self-advocates. New groups start every year and are usually funded by your state DD Council. On the Partners website, find your state liaison. NICHCY has a list of organizations and Parent Training Centers in each state. Find people both on the National, State and Local level who think like you do and can help. National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities (ages 3-22). National Organizations for Professionals often help parents and teachers. TASH helped me. I know the ARC, United Cerebral Palsy and National Down Syndrome Association have done advocacy work. I’m sure there are others. Check out your local university. Sometimes you can find a professor or student who can help. In our particular situation, because no group existed-we started a parent group in our local school district. Set group goals: start an extended school program in the summer; make the buildings more accessible with universal design; start an after school Job Club and Key Club at the high school. By focusing on specific goals we were able to get local grants, publicity and see tangible results for our children. NOTE: In hindsight, I would have made this an ad hoc committee of the School PTO or General Education Parent Organization. I would ask parents and teachers of general education students to be on this committe so it is inclusive. 20 years later, duh, it is so obvious. Univ. of New Hampshire has great programs and resource materials. Clay Aiken's Inclusion Project. This looks good, but I haven’t tried it. 4. IEP: Educational Evaluations The first part of the IEP process is getting evaluations of current level of functioning and setting specific individual goals. Be creative. Don’t let the school psychologist run the show. Have your IEP team decide what kind of evaluations they need in order to have your child make educational progress in all the school environments. There are the formal evaluations that are the traditional testing tools of the experts. And, there are the individual informal tools also designed by experts, but cannot be standardized and put into multiple choice answers. 1. Person Centered Planning, Circle of Friends can supplement the formal evaluations and look at social relationships, before-during-after school-weekend-summer activities, this can also be used for team building, communication, transition and long term planning. 2. Educational Evaluations Educational Evaluations are usually conducted by a teacher or other educator with the appropriate teaching license. Educational Evaluations look at an individual person in their life spaces. Aaron’s evaluation started in his home, followed him on the school bus, in the classroom, in the lunch room, bathrooms, gym, after school activity and back home. The evaluation compared Aaron’s current level of functioning in each environment and then made suggestions for IEP goals. For instance, the educational evaluation shows the "individual benefit" for Aaron. Not the whole class or school, just Aaron. The Educational Evaluation determined Aaron, with accommodations and related services, could be in an inclusive class. What supports would he need? What supports would the teacher need? How would the curriculum be differentiated? What technology? Universal design strategies could be used? See the difference between this sort of evaluation and a traditional IQ or standardized test? The tricky part is that if the parent pays for the evaluation, and chooses their own “expert,” then the school district only has to “consider” the recommendations. If however, (at least this is how it used to be), if the parents or teacher ask for an evaluation, and the school district agrees to pay for the evaluation, then they have to use that evaluation to develop the IEP, or if they disagree, they have to get another evaluation saying the first evaluation was not appropriate, and why. If you go to court, the educational evaluation can make all the difference. If you are writing IEP goals, the educational evaluation gives you a practical starting point for goals and objectives. (The conversation is NOT about "Should we do this?" but rather, "How do we do this?") And, if the parent does pay for the evaluation and “prevails” in a due process hearing then the school district has to pay. Of course, it goes both ways and is risky because if the parent loses, then the parent has to pay. In our due process hearing we used our contacts from TASH (a national organization) and one of Lou Brown’s graduate students from the University of WI-Madison. This process was repeated several years later when Aaron was in Junior High, and again when Aaron graduated. We also used local university graduate students and county respite providers when appropriate, ie. They did independent studies to help us design an after-school program and going to the prom. If you are going due process, find out who the expert is in the area you are challenging. Check out professional organizations, journals, university faculty. Who is going to know how to do the job? Who is willing to testify? Who will impress the hearing officer? 5. Be BadAss Confident Know what you believe and how far you are willing to go. This is your child, This is your class, the time is NOW! When people see you walking in the grocery or in the school you want them to see you and immediately know what you stand for: “All means All”—“Inclusion means Belonging to the Community.” You have to model what you want others to do. Build trust, convert the doubters. It can be done--and it's up to you. And, you will join the thousands of other parents and advocates who have made a difference for one child or many and have moved history and inclusion forward. In my opinion, this is why we need a national policy, federal laws and oversight. Vulnerable people with disabilities and other minorities should not have to reinvent the wheel, every year, in every city and county. Do we want individual states and school districts to make decisions about segregation and inclusion? Would you want to live in Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana… and I include Ohio? Different school districts have different definitions of inclusion. I recently visited what was called an “Inclusion School.” To my shock, the principal proudly told me, “Inclusion means EVERYONE in the school is on an IEP.” After we won our due process hearing, we moved to a neighboring county where the school district shared our values. The move was the best thing we ever did. First, after we won our due process hearing, it was like Aaron had a tatoo on his forehead that said, "Don't mess with me." Second, I got elected to the County Board of Developmental Disabilities. One of the proudest days of my life was when I got to make the resolution to close the segregated county school. Third, because the school district was good for Aaron, it was also You can achieve Inclusion from the IEP process: bottom-up. But it is easier to work from the top-down. Try to get on influential committees, or find allies in leadership positions that will work for inclusion. If your school board and/or school administrators embraces the Inclusion paradigm, and understands how this will be better for all students, then you are well on your way. Try to get inservice for staff, parents—both general and special, about inclusion, differentiated instruction and universal design. Baby Steps: I like to think of a yard stick. On the one end is segregation, on the other is inclusion. If I think an action, a decision, anything... is a step in the direction of inclusion--I accept it. There is always tomorrow. Celebrate each small victory. There were many times when I had to take a deep breath and tell myself, "This is the best we can do today. Be happy." Moving Toward Inclusion by Michael Giangreco. Last Thoughts I wish I had a magic wand to make it easier for each of you. Twenty years ago, we thought this would all be figured out and our children would just be children, parents could just be parents, teachers could just be teachers. There is an old "Up With People" song that says, "Freedom isn't free. You've got to pay the price, you've got to sacrifice for your liberty." Wishing each of you, freedom, libety and inclusion. I hope you will share your thoughts in the comments.
When Schools say “NO” to Inclusion
Legal Segregation
Parallels in Time: A history of people with disabilities
Inclusion is a Civil Right
Questions the Courts had to decide:
Consider the implications:
PARC Class Action Case: A Game-changer
Excerpt about PARC decree and 94-142: Teacher Training and Best Practice
Hudson v. Rowley, 458 U.S. 178, 203-04V (1982).Other Court Cases:
Informal Evaluations
http://inclusion.com/ Where inclusion began, great tools.Who Pays?
How do you find an expert?
Even if you are uncertain, typically shy and withdrawn--you have to act fearless.Segregation and Inclusion by Zip Code
Our reputations guaranteed they took us seriously.
an excellent school district for my other son who had the label of "normal."Bottom-up; Top-Down: Baby Steps
Keep Climbing: Onward and Upward
All my best,
Mary
Related Blog Posts:
Note: Since this whole website is about inclusion, almost every article tells part of the story. Some are about school issues, many are about adult issues. Here is a sampling:
Dream Plan 1 for Aaron, Normalization
Dream Plan 4: Aaron is an adult
The Race Toward Inclusion: Do you see it?
Building Community| One grocery trip at a time
Test Questions| segregation or inclusion?
The Animal School| Differentated Instruction
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Posted in Aaron, Advocacy, Disability, Disability World, Inclusion, Parents, Practical Tips, Recommended Books + Videos, School, Teachers | Tags: differentiated instruction, Disability, Frances Stetson, How do I get Inclusion, IDEA, inclusion, inclusion of children with disabilities, Kathleen McClaskey, Lisa Jo Rudy, LRE, Mary E. Ulrich, Partners in Policymaking, Paula Kluth, segregation, segregation of people with disabilities, The Inclusive Class Podcast, Tom Mihail, Torrie Dunlap, universal design | 2 Comments »
Functional Curriculum: use it or lose it
To celebrate the new school year here are some of my favorite posts:
Article 1: Why Do We Go to School?
Article 2: Back to School| A New Year of Learning
Article 3: Back to School| What is Inclusion?
Aaron learning money skills to use in store
Functional Curriculum
When my son Aaron was in school, shopping was part of his curriculum. From the time he was ten years old he went to the bank and grocery one day a week as part of his special education school program.
This was best practice and came from the work of Drs. Lou Brown, Alison Ford, Sharon Freagon and many others. The idea of a functional curriculum for people with autism, intellectual and developmental disabilities is:
* it takes longer to learn skills, so let’s make sure we teach important skills and not waste their time on dumb stuff
* it takes lots of practice, so let’s give the student lots of opportunities and trials
* use it or lose it, so let’s make sure the skill is something the student will need their whole life
* transition from school to adult life will be smoother
* we only teach skills that if the person didn’t do it, someone else would have to do it for them
* the ability to purchase items would give the person more dignity, self-esteem, self-determination skills and choices in their life
The way it worked was each week, Mom sent in a check for $10.00 and a shopping list. The class went to the same grocery store (because each store is different). Each student cashed their check at the bank and then bought items from the list to take home.
In addition, students also planned a lunch to be made in the classroom the following day. Each would purchase a couple items for that group lunch. These items were purchased with the classroom credit card.
This functional curriculum was based on the philosophy that Aaron would go to the grocery the rest of his life. Before the school year started the IEP team decided this was a high priority skill because he would need to buy food and other items when he was an adult. If he didn’t learn to purchase these items, someone else would have to buy them for him. If Aaron could purchase the items he would have more choices and say in his life and therefore a better quality of life. (Who wants someone else deciding you can only have Cheerios for breakfast all your life.)
Related Service Staff
The curriculum was designed by the IEP team including specialists and the parents. After all, who would be taking the student to the grocery on the weekends, summer, and after school. And who knew what the student liked better than their parents?
I was in the school a lot and went on many of the community training trips with Aaron and his class.
It takes a Village
The speech and language therapist helped Aaron build picture sequences of “shopping at Krogers,” check-off lists with pictures for grocery lists, and learn to interact with the cashier “Thank You” and give a High 5 to the bagger….
The occupational therapist helped Aaron figure out which coin purse/wallet worked best, learn to pay with the next highest bill, learn how to take the money out of his wallet (hold wallet in left hand and take out bills with right) and after many failures of getting the change back in the wallet–it was decided Aaron should just put the change in his pocket….
The physical therapist helped Aaron figure out how to climb up and down the steps on the bus (hold on the rail with his right hand and count the steps), how to maneuver the parking lot (and yes we had an IEP goal that said with 50% accuracy), how to enter the right door–even if there are two “in” doors,
how to reach the items on the bottom shelves (hold on to the grocery cart with his left hand and reach with his right)….
Depending on the therapists schedules, they might only be involved in periodic assessments, or they could go with the class every week. This was an excellent way for the therapist got to really see Aaron in this environment and practice REAL life skills.
The teacher and assistant teachers went every week with the 6-8 students in the multi-handicapped class. She/he helped Aaron match his pictures to the actual items in the store, find his favorite items and put them in the cart, learning appropriate social skills….
After High School
Unfortunately now that Aaron is out of school, he has lost most of those skills because adult service staff refuse to take him to the store or don’t have the knowledge or support they need. Here is a story about Aaron’s home (click here). It is not the fault of the staff. Some of them are very loving and do a great job.
So I take him every weekend when he is home with us. Here is a story of a recent shopping trip (click here).
Aaron and I are a team and we have worked out our own system. We only shop for about 10 items and Aaron puts the items in the cart. Sometimes Aaron will grab something off the shelf and if it is anywhere close to something he might want, I’ll let him buy it. ie. if it is a bag of cookies or cereal –he can keep it. If it is a box of denture tablets probably I’ll tell him what it is and put it back.
Choices: Quality of Life and “If Only”
If I had the opportunity to change things in Aaron’s life, it would be that adult services used a functional curriculum and adult residential services gave Aaron and others with autism and severe disabilities the opportunities to practice their skills. There is no question Aaron would not currently be LOSING these skills. There is no question these skills would enhance Aaron’s self-esteem and quality of life.
The reason I could insist on these skills being taught and used when Aaron was school age was because of the federal mandate in IDEA. The Individual with Disabilities Education Act said that parents were part of the IEP team and the parents had due process if they disagreed with the school personel. There is no such mandate for Adult Services, no due process for parents and/or guardians. Plus, in Adult Services the staff does not have to be trained or have any teaching license.
As my friend Deb used to say, “When I am made Queen of the Universe” I will declare it. Until then, I’ll take Aaron every weekend and give him as many functional experiences I can.
And of course, I’ll dream of the day I am Queen of the Universe. *smile*
What ifs? Comments?
Any stories about your child’s school experiences preparing them for the future? Any luck with using those skills in their adult life?
Anyone else want to be “Queen of the Universe”?
Keep Climbing: Onward and Upward
All my best,
Mary
Related Posts
Building Community| One grocery trip at a time
Posted in Aaron, Advocacy, Autism, community, Disability, Disability World, Inclusion, Leisure/Recreation, Parents, Parents of Adults with Disabilities, Practical Tips, School, Ulrich Family | Tags: adult day care, adults with disabilities, Alison Ford, choices, developmental disabilities, functional curriculum, grocery shopping, IDEA, IEP, intellectual disabilities, life skills, Lou Brown, money skills, parents of adults with disabilities, quality of life, residential staff, school curriculum, self-determination, Sharon Freagon, special education, transition | 4 Comments »