As a parent, do you need help knowing what comes next after high school for your child with a disability? As a young adult, do you wonder how you can be free to do what you want when you want to do it? The PEAK Parent Center RSA transition team headed by Beth Schaffner and Sherrell Bethel has been hard at work over the last several months! They, along with lead author Sami Peterson and contributing author Shirley Swope, areRead more

Your child or student with a disability has been placed in the general education classroom. You may have concerns or hesitations about their learning and progress in this setting. How do we set them up for success? How do we make this work all day, in every subject, and in extracurricular activities? First, let’s review the concept of placement in IDEA (the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) which emphasizes that children with disabilities are to be educated to the maximumRead more

At a recent meeting a question was asked to a group of Parent Training and Information Centers: How do we get families to think and talk about having high expectations for their children with disabilities? The world of parent advocacy is cluttered with many different viewpoints and our children have varying medical and educational needs. No matter our beliefs or where we happen to be on the evolution of our advocacy journey, we all care deeply about our children. SomeRead more

October is Halloween month. This time of play and fancy can be a great chance for kids to participate with others in their neighborhood as they dress up and imagine themselves as new beings. When my kids were little, Halloween was a holiday I looked forward to and dreaded. My friends’ kids had playful, imaginative, amazing costumes which they planned for weeks, if not months, in advance. This mother, who doesn’t sew, struggled to find fun costumes especially for myRead more

By Guest Author Mary Schuh Close your eyes for a moment and think about the most important skills you use to navigate through your day. What comes to mind? Is it the way you neatly make your bed? Cross the street? Provide the correct change when you purchase your morning coffee? Answer "yes" or "no" to basic questions asked of you? Or perhaps getting yourself dressed or using the microwave to heat up your lunch? I'm doubtful these are theRead more

By Guest Authors Amanda Bock, PhD and Karen Erickson, PhD Center for Literacy and Disability Studies, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill For years, students with significant support needs (SSN) received little or no literacy instruction as their education programs focused on life skills, social skills, and vocational training. The little literacy instruction they did receive relied on teaching methods that we now know helped them learn simple component skills in isolation. For example, students matched upper and lowerRead more

By Emily A. Nusbaum, University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, Julie Maier, San Francisco State University, and Jeanne M. Rodriguez, California State University, East Bay Note: This article has been adapted from its original version. The design and implementation of an effective and meaningful educational program depends on which lens team members use to a view a student. If a deficit lens is used, the team will likely design a program and goals that limit a student's learning opportunities, accessRead more

Editorial Column from Guest Author Michael Bailey PEAK Parent Center has, for a generation, empowered families to participate fully in special education advocacy. The lessons of family integration and full inclusion have not been lost on the children who have benefited from the advocacy of those families. A new generation of people with disability pride and high expectations is the result. "Nothing about us without us," is far more to these young people than just a slogan. It is aRead more