My child is struggling 
Now that my child has 
Candace Cortiella: So this process with the school probably involves a lot of meetings. Can a parent ask other people to attend these meetings with the school where decisions are going to be made about their child?
Judith Halden: Absolutely. And, in fact, it’s a very good idea because oftentimes it’s stressful to hear certain things about your children that maybe upsetting or frightening because you don’t know what they mean, and it’s very helpful to have another pair of ears with you.
It’s also helpful in that it provides the parent with support and helps eliminate the stress. Both parents should attend, if at all possible. In addition, other relatives can [accompany the parent], including aunts, uncles, and grandparents, particularly if these relatives are close to the child and involved with school performance. Some relatives routinely provide before- and after-school care. If they have first-hand information about the child, their presence could also be helpful to you.
In addition, parents can bring professionals to these meetings. This might include private tutors, private evaluators, and others who might be working with the child and have important information. It’s always a good idea to let the school know who you’ll be bringing to the meeting. The bottom line is that the parents should never feel intimidated, alone, outnumbered, or outsmarted at meetings with the school.
Candace Cortiella: Once a parent has gone through the process of having a child evaluated and identified for special education, what can they do to help themselves and other parents?
Judith Halden: Stay in touch with the school district special education department and get to know the people and the range of services offered. You might learn something that’s new and available but that never came up in discussion.
Identify key personnel in the district. Get to know who you want to work with. Become known to the special education staff, not as someone seeking services but as someone they’re working with. Determine if there’s a special education PTA (SEPTA) or equivalent and find out how to join.
Network, network, network. It’s very important to meet other people whose children are also being served by special education in your district. It’s important to know who’s in the special education office and the people in your district who do serve children [with special needs] because all of them will provide source of not only support but information.
Candace Cortiella: Thank you, Judith, for sharing this critically important information.
This transcription was made possible by a grant from the American Legion Child Welfare Foundation.
