“IN THE KNOW” HOPE PARENTS’ NEWSLETTER January 2012
PARENT TIP CORNER: ADVOCACY. Small word, but can mean so much in the life of your exceptional child. Advocacy has many facets, and as a parent you need to be well-versed in them all (or at least knowledgeable in where to find the help). Advocacy is defined as ‘to publically recommend or support’. As a parent, you are your child’s biggest advocate until they learn to advocate for themselves. With the American’s with Disabilities Act, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Special Education laws and school policies, it is impossible for you to know all of the latest policies that govern your child’s education.
Advocating for the Champion in YOU...
Dear HOPE Families: Healing Hands of HOPE is here to serve you. We are an organization that assists individuals with disabilities with their vocational, educational and advocacy needs. By building bridges to H.O.P.E. (Holistic Opportunities for Personal Enrichment), our vision is to offer guidance and services that will provide persons with the tools necessary to meet their full potential both personally and
Let HOPE Help... Each month HOPE will have an Advocacy Section update on the website with FREE information on the laws and policies associated with your student’s education- in parents’-speak. We at HOPE, believe that you can’t advocate if you don’t understand the law and how it applies to your student specifically—so we will dissect policies into bite-sized pieces and work to make sure they are clear.
professionally. We believe there is a Champion inside of every child, especially YOUR CHILD, and our mission is to cultivate them to their full capacity. Having a student with special needs can be hard at best, and very challenging. The blessing that this child adds to your life can sometimes get lost in the daily tasks of meeting their needs. While HOPE cannot assist in every aspect of your champion’s life, we can help in the areas of education, vocation (career planning) and advocacy.
Under the Publications tab, on the website (Healing Hands of HOPE), there will be monthly uploads of manuals, resources and links to assist you as a parent of an exceptional child with special needs. Many of the publications are FREE. NEXT MONTH FOCUS: February’s Newsletter will focus on the difference between ADA and IDEA in association with your student. The disABILITY of the Month will be Autism and we will highlight key points associated with the spectrum. Transition will focus on Graduation plans.
UPCOMING EVENTS: Healing Hands of HOPE will be attending several career/transition fairs in the month of February. Pasadena -Memorial Transition Fair 2/9/12,Verne Cox Center 2/16, and Texas Transition Conference 2/20-21/12. Please check website (championforHOPE.com) for more information.
(DIS)ABILITY OF THE MONTH: AD/HD is attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, but if you are a parent of one of these exceptional students, you may recognize it as the ‘off-task, offfocus, forgetful, impulsive and inability to pay attention to details’ bug that is plaguing your child. AD/HD is one of the most (if not the most) frequently diagnosed disability amongst schoolaged students. Although there have been numerous reports of misdiagnosis, or overdiagnosis—none of this takes away from the fact that this is a very REAL disorder. As a parent, you want to help your student succeed and triumph in school, while maintaining your level of sanity. ADHD is caused by a brain chemical imbalance and as much as you may think that your teenager is being lazy or not paying attention-if they are diagnosed with this disorder-it is not a matter of didn’t, but an issue of can’t. If a person with AD/HD is given instructions while immersed in another activity, transitioning to the new task can be very difficult. What may take your other child 30 minutes to complete, may take your AD/HD child 2 hours to finish. Understanding this disability is as difficult for a teen as it is for the parent. A favorite term is ‘I don’t know’, when asked why they didn’t turn in an assignment, or stay after school when instructed, or why they have read the same page 5 times. I’m here to tell you that (in many cases), it’s not an excuse, but they may TRULY not know the answer, if the task was not committed to memory. The month of February will highlight AD/HD, coping mechanisms, common medications and therapy techniques as well as a wealth of additional information to assist you as a parent with bringing out the CHAMPION in your child. Check the WEBSITE often for weekly updates!
Which of these students is ready for life after graduation?
YOURS!!!!! AND HOPE WILL MAKE SURE OF IT! Our School Transition Program is an individualized program that will guide your students through the transition process, from as early as first year of middle school through graduation and post-secondary goals. Our mission is to ensure that the student, parent and the school district have the education and resources necessary to prepare for success in Appropriate and effective transitional planning is crucial to a student’s post-secondary success, due to the change from eligibility to entitlement upon leaving high school. Students with disabilities often face a very low success rate, if not extensively prepared before exiting the public education system. That’s where we provide HOPE… Our services for students include IEP/ARD review and advocacy, disability awareness and advocacy, career discovery and planning, educational resources, transition planning, and referrals. Schedule your FREE consultation today!!! SCHEDULE NOW! 713.364.HEAL (4325)