PARENT RESOURCE CENTER (PRC)
2316 William Reid Drive, Mobile Unit 1
(On the campus of Elephant’s Fork Elementary)
925-5785
April / May / June - 2013
Happy Spring & Summertime!
Free Sign Language Classes
With Holly Boyce & Reinee Goetsch
Our next Sign Language Classes will be held Wednesdays, April 10, May 8, and June 12, 2013. All
classes will begin at 6:30 P.M. at King’s Fork Middle School. Please call or email: 925-5785 /
[email protected].
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Special Education Advisory Committee (SEAC)
Come out and join us for our last two SEAC meetings for the 2012-13 school year. The dates are: May
15th and July 17th. All meetings are held on Wednesday evenings at 6:30 P.M. at King’s Fork Middle
School. For more information or if you have any questions about SEAC please email or call Antoine
Hickman, Director of Special Education at [email protected] or 757-925-6764 or Debra
Bagley, Parent Resource Center Facilitator at [email protected] or 757-925-5785. If you would
like to serve on this committee please let us know that too! It’s time for new members!
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Parents Encouraging Parents Support Group
Try something new. We will be offering a “Parent-To-Parent” talk group. Anything you wish it to be. It
will be a group of parents for parents. No holds barred. Whatever you want to talk about or discuss.
One parent suggested a “What I Wish I Knew Then” type of class. It can be what you want it to be but
one thing is for sure ~ it will be an Encouraging Parent Class. After all, when it is all said and done, we
are all in this together. Let’s support one another!
What: Parents Encouraging Parents
When: Monday, April 29, 2013
Time: 6:30 P.M.
Where: Parent Resource Center
OH, WHAT INFORMATION, NETWORKING, FUN WE WILL HAVE ~ SUPPORTING EACH OTHER!
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The Motivation Breakthrough DVD Workshop
What does it take to motivate the “forgotten” student that traditional methods just don’t seem to reach?
Educator Rick Lavoie draws on decades of teaching experience to demonstrate six basic motivational
styles and strategies for inspiring the most withdrawn and reluctant student. In this lively workshop DVD
presentation for parents and teachers, based on his recent book The Motivation Breakthrough: Six
Secrets to Turning on the Tuned-Out Child, Lavoie touches all the bases. He explains how to tap into
an apathetic or learning-disabled student’s secret need for prestige, power, praise, or reward.
Please join us: Monday, May 20, 2013, 6:30 P.M. At The Parent Resource Center
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Summer Planning for Students with Special Needs
Come out to the Parent Resource Center and we’ll go over some summer activities that may be
available to your children. There are lots of local things to do during the summer. Also available will be
a copy of camps for children with special needs. Lots of info to take home – don’t miss this one!
Monday, June 10, 2013, 6:30 P.M. at the Parent Resource Center
What is Extended School Year (ESY) and what does
it look like?
Extended School Year (ESY) is the service or services
provided to a student with an individualized education
program (IEP) beyond the normal school year of a
school division for the purpose of providing a Free
Appropriate Public Education (FAPE). Determining the
need for ESY services must be presented n the context
of the IEP process and completed at an IEP meeting.
The IEP team should consider the need for these
services initially and at least annually, but the
consideration for ESY services should be an integral
part of any IEP meeting. In addition, the parent,
student, the student’s teacher(s), related services
providers, or administrators may request an IEP
meeting for this purpose
Federal regulation, OSEP guidance, and case law in
Virginia support the fact that procedures used by local
school districts must prohibit the postponement of the
decision by the IEP team regarding ESY services until
after the summer in order to gather data or determine
what would happen if the services were not provided.
In addition, the ESY decision should be made early
enough to ensure that parents can exercise their due
process rights if they wish to challenge the decision.
According to the VDOE Technical Assistance Resource
Document, “Extended School Year Services:
Implementing the Requirements of the I:ndividuals with
Disabilities Education Improvement Act, 2004 and
Federal Regulations, 2006 (Revised December 2007),
there are six factors that are to be considered by the
IEP team when determining the need for ESY services
for a student:
1. Regression/recoupment Is there a likelihood
of substantial regression of critical life skills
caused by a school break and a failure to
recover those lost skills in a reasonable time
following the school break?
2. Degrees of progress Without ESY services,
will the student’s degree or rate of progress
toward the IEP goals be significantly
jeopardized?
3. Emerging skills/breakthrough opportunities
Are IEP goals that target critical life skills at a
breakthrough point?
4. Interfering behaviors Without ESY services
will any interfering behavior(s), such as
ritualistic, aggressive or self injurious
behavior(s) targeted by IEP goals, prevent the
student from receiving benefit from his/her
educational program during the school year?
5. The nature and/or severity of the disability
Without ESY services, will the nature and
severity of the student’s disability be likely to
significantly jeopardize the student’s receipt of
benefit from his/her educational program
during the regular school year?
6. Special circumstances or other factors
Without ESY services, are there any special
circumstances that will significantly jeopardize
the student’s receipt of benefit from his/her
education program during the regular school
year? (i.e.: ability of the child’s parents to
provide the educational structure at home,
ability of the child to interact with children
without disabilities; and areas of the child’s
curriculum, which need continuous attention).
Extended School Year for Children Receiving
Special Education Services, Could it help My
Child?
Are you the parent of a child with a disability who thinks
that your child needs an educational program during
the summer? So long summer breaks cause your child
with emotional disabilities to regress in behavior? Do
you think that your child needs before or after school
educational services? This article will discuss the
definition of Extended School Year (ESY), what
services your child may be eligible for, and how it could
help your child.
Extended school year is a term used to describe any
special education and related services, which are given
outside of the regular school year. This includes before
and after school, special education services. School
districts are required under the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), to offer extended
school year services, if the child needs it to receive a
free appropriate public education (FAPE).
There have been quite a few court cases about ESY as
well as policy letters from state boards of education,
and the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP).
Check your board of education for any policy letters on
ESY. On February 4, 2003 OSEP released a policy
letter that states a public agency may not limit
extended school year services to particular categories
of disability, or unilaterally limit the type, amount, or
duration of these services. ESY must be provided to
the child, at no cost to the parent.
Children with disabilities can receive a lot of different
services during ESY. They can receive educational
services (reading, math, written language), self help
skills, functional skills to help them become
independent, critical life skills, behavioral interventions,
related services (occupational therapy, speech therapy,
physical therapy). The list can go on and on.
You must keep in mind that, your child must need ESY
in order to receive FAPE. School districts are supposed
to bring up ESY to parents in a timely manner, so that
any disagreements can be resolved at a due process
hearing.
Make sure that at your child’s annual review ESY is
discussed. If your child tends to regress during the
summer, has behavior that interferes with their
education, behavior regresses during the summer
break, your child could benefit from ESY. Also, if your
child is just learning to read, they may need ESY to
keep the progress going. By understanding what ESY
is and how your child can benefit, will help you
advocate for needed services for your child.
PEATC
16 Things Siblings Would Like Parents and Service Providers to Know
In the United States, there are more than six million people who have special health, developmental, and mental health
concerns. Most of these people have typically developing brothers and sisters. Brothers and sisters are too important to
ignore, if for only the following reasons:
 These brothers and sisters will be in the lives of family members with special needs longer than anyone else.
Brothers and sisters will be there after parents are gone and special education services are a distant memory.
If these brothers and sisters are provided with support and information, they can help their siblings live dignified
lives from childhood to their senior years.
 Throughout their lives, brothers and sisters share many of the concerns that parents of children with special
needs experience, including isolation, a need for information, guilt, concerns about the future, and care giving
demands. Brothers and sisters also face issues that are uniquely theirs, including resentment, peer issues,
embarrassment, and pressure to achieve.
Despite the important and lifelong roles they will play in the lives of their siblings who have special needs, even the
most family-friendly agencies often overlook brothers and sisters. Brothers and sisters, often left in the literal and
figurative waiting rooms of service delivery systems, deserve better. True family-centered care and services will be
achieved when siblings are actively included in agencies’ functional definition of “family.”
The Sibling Support Project facilitated a discussion on SebNet, its listserv for adult siblings of people with disabilities,
regarding the considerations that siblings want from parents, other family members, and service providers. Following
are themes discussed by SibNet members and recommendations from the Sibling Support Project:
1. The Right to One’s Own Life
Throughout their lives, brothers and sisters may play many different roles in the lives of their siblings with
special needs. Regardless of the contributions they may make, the basic right of siblings to their own lives must
always be remembered. Parents and service providers should not make assumptions about responsibilities
that typically developing siblings may assume without a frank and open discussion. “Nothing about us without
us” – a phrase popular with self-advocates who have disabilities – applies to siblings as well. Selfdetermination, after all, is for everyone – including brothers and sisters.
2. Acknowledging Siblings’ Concerns
Like parents, brothers and sisters will experience a wide array of often ambivalent emotions regarding the
effect their siblings’ special needs has on them and the family as a whole. These feelings should be both
expected and acknowledged by parents and other family members and service providers. Because most
siblings will have the longest-lasting relationship with the family member who has a disability, these concerns
will change over time. Parents and providers would be wise to learn more about siblings’ lifelong and everchanging concerns.
3. Expectations for Typically Developing Siblings
Families need to set high expectations for all of their children. Some typically developing brothers and sisters,
however, react to their siblings’ disability by setting unrealistically high expectations for themselves, and some
feel that they must somehow compensate for their siblings’ special needs. Parents can help their typically
developing children by conveying clear expectations and unconditional support.
4. Expect Typical Behavior from Typically Developing Siblings
Although difficult for parents to watch, teasing, name calling, arguing, and other forms of conflict are common
among most brothers and sisters – even when one has special needs. Although parents may be appalled at
siblings’ harshness toward one another, much of this conflict can be a beneficial part of normal social
development. A child with Down syndrome who grows up with siblings with whom he sometimes fights will
likely be better prepared to face life in the community as a adult than a child with Down syndrome who grows
up as an only child. Regardless of how adaptive or developmentally appropriate it might be, however, typical
sibling conflict is more likely to result in feelings of guilt when one sibling has special health or developmental
needs. When conflict arises, the message sent to many brothers and sisters is, “Leave your sibling alone. You
are bigger, you are stronger, you should know better. It is your job to compromise.” Typically developing
siblings deserve a life where they, like other children, sometimes misbehave, get angry, and fight with their
siblings.
5. Expectations for the Family Member with Special Needs
When families have high expectations for their children with special needs, everyone will benefit. As adults,
typically developing brothers and sisters will likely play important roles in the lives of their siblings with
disabilities. Parents can help siblings now by assisting their children with special needs acquire skills that will
allow them to be as independent as possible as adults. To the extent possible, parents should have the same
expectations for the child with special needs regarding chores and personal responsibility as they do for their
typically developing children. Not only will similar expectations foster independence, they will also minimize the
resentment expressed by siblings when there are two sets of rules – one for them and another for their sibs
who have special needs.
16 Things Continued:
6. The Right to a safe Environment
Some siblings live with brothers and sisters who have challenging behaviors. Other siblings assume
responsibilities for themselves and their siblings that go beyond their age level and place all parties in
vulnerable situations. Siblings deserve to have their own personal safety given as much importance as the
family member with special needs.
7. Opportunities to Meet Peers
For most parents, the thought of “going it alone” – raising a child with special needs without the benefit of
knowing another parent in a similar situation – would be unthinkable. Yet, this routinely happens to brothers
and sisters. Brothers and sisters – like parents – like to know that they are not alone with their unique joys and
concerns.
8. Opportunities to Obtain Information
Throughout their lives, brothers and sisters have an ever-changing need for information about their sibling’s
disability – and its treatment and implications. Parents and service providers have an obligation to proactively
provide siblings with helpful information. Any agency that represents a specific disability or illness and prepares
materials for parents and other adults should prepare materials for siblings and young readers as well.
9. Siblings’ Concerns About the Future
Early in life, many brothers and sisters worry about what obligations they will have toward their sibling in the
days to come. Parents can reassure their typically developing children by making plans for the future of their
children with special needs, listening to their typically developing children’s suggestions as they make these
plans, considering backup plans, and realizing that their typically developing children’s availability may change
over time. When brothers and sisters are brought “into the loop” and given the message early that they have
their parents’ blessing to pursue their own dreams, their future involvement with their sibling who has a
disability will be a choice instead of an obligation. For their own good and for the good of their siblings with
disabilities, brothers and sisters should be afforded the right to their own lives. This includes having a say in
whether and how they will be involved in the lives of their siblings with disabilities as adults and the level, type,
and duration of that involvement.
10. Including Both Sons and Daughters
Just as daughters are usually the family members who care for aging parents, adult sisters are usually the
family members who look after the family member with special needs when parents no longer can. Serious
exploration of sharing responsibilities among siblings – including brothers – should be considered.
11. Communication
Although good communication between parents and children is always important, it is especially important in
families where there is a child who has special needs. An evening course in active listening can help improve
communication among all family members, and books such as How to Talk So Kids Will Listen and Listen So
Kids Will Talk (2004) and Siblings without Rivalry (1999) (both by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish) provide
helpful tips on communicating with children.
12. One-on-One Time with Parents
Children need to know from their parents’ deeds and words that their parents care about them as individuals.
When parents carve time out of a busy schedule to grab a bite at a local burger joint or window shop at the mall
with their typically developing children, it conveys a message that parents are there for them as well and
provides an excellent opportunity to talk about a wide range of topics.
13. Celebrate Every Child’s Achievements and Milestones
Over the years, we’ve met siblings whose parents did not attend their high school graduation – even when their
children were valedictorians – because the parents were unable to leave their child with special needs. We’ve
also met siblings whose wedding plans were dictated by the needs of their sibling with a disability. One child’s
special needs should not overshadow another’s achievements and milestones. Families who seek respite
resources and creative solutions and strive for flexibility can help ensure that the accomplishments of all family
members are celebrated.
14. Parents’ Perspective Is More Important than the Actual Disability
Parents would be wise to remember that the parents’ interpretation of their child’s disability will be a greater
influence on the adaptation of their typically developing sibling than the actual disability itself. When parents
seek support, information, and respite for themselves, they model resilience and healthy attitudes and
behaviors for their typically developing children.
15. Include Siblings in the Definition of “Family”
Many educational, health care, and social service agencies profess a desire to offer family-centered services
but continue to overlook the family members who will have the longest-lasting relationship with the person who
has the special needs – the sisters and brothers. When brothers and sisters receive the considerations and
services they deserve, agencies can claim to offer “family-centered” – instead of “parent-centered” – services.
16 Things Continued:
16. Actively Reach Out to Brothers and Sisters
Parents and agency personnel should consider inviting (but not requiring) brothers and sisters to attend the
informational, Individualized Education Program (IEP), transition planning meetings and clinic visits. Siblings
frequently have legitimate questions that can be answered by service providers. Brothers and sisters also
have informed opinions and perspectives and can make positive contributions to the child’s team.
No classmate in an inclusive classroom will have a greater impact on the social development of a child with a disability
than brothers and sisters will. They will be their siblings’ lifelong “typically developing role models.” Brothers and sisters
will likely be in the lives of their siblings with disabilities longer than anyone else – longer then their parents and
certainly longer than any service provider. For most brothers and sisters, their future and the future of their siblings with
special needs are inexorable entwined. Governmental agencies would be wise to invest in the family members who will
take a personal interest in the well-being of people with disabilities and advocate for them when their parents no longer
can. As one sister wrote: “We will become caregivers for our siblings when our parents no longer can. Anyone
interested in the welfare of people with disabilities ought to be interested in us.”
~ Source: “Sibshops, Revised Edition” Don Meyer and Patricia Vadasy
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Special Apps for Special Needs
During the summer months, you can encourage your child to play and learn with the following apps
that support Virginia’s SOLs (http://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/sol/standards_docs/index.shtml).
The content for these apps was developed by Virginia Interactive (www.virginiainteractive.org/) and
the GAMeS Lab at RU (http://gameslab.radford.edu/).
Master the Math: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/master-the-math/id466527655?mt=8
“Master the Math” is an educational game to help students prepare for Virginia’s Standards of
Learning (SOL) exams with a focus on the mathematics curriculum from grades 3 – 8 (years 20062009). Featuring over 800 questions from 19 released SOL tests. Master the Math can help
anybody study for the SOLs.
Pass the Past: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pass-the-past/id392637590?mt=8
“Pass The Past” is an educational game to help students prepare for Virginia’s Standard’s of
Learning (SOL) exams with a focus on World, United States and Virginia history, civics, and
geography.
Number Line: https://itunes.apple.com/app/number-line/id319589184?mt=8
“Number Line” is an educational game app to help students learn about fractions, decimals, and
percents by ordering equivalent fractions, decimals, and percents on a number line.
Freddy Fraction: https://itunes.apple.com/app/freddy-fraction/id320728417?mt=8
“Freddy Fraction” is designed to enhance the student’s ability to determine equivalence
relationships among fractions, decimals, and percents, as well as improve fractional computation.
Fraction Factory: https://itunes.apple.com/app/fraction-factory/id320616509?mt=8
“Fraction Factory” is designed to enhance the student’s ability to find and order equivalent fractions
and decimals on a number line. In addition, Fraction Factory targets fraction computation.
Governomics: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/governomics/id393668738?mt=8
“Governomics” is designed to enhance the student’s ability to improve the quality of public services
by researching the US economy and readjusting the state budget every round (fiscal quarter) for 16
rounds. Virginia Standard of Learning (SOL) areas targeted: Civics and Economics CE.11.CE.12,
and CE.13
Regulations Governing Parental Consent to Bill Public Insurance
Did you know???
On February 14, 2013, the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) within
the United States Department of Education promulgated revised regulations regarding the use of
public benefits or insurance to pay for services under Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act (IDEA). The implementation date for these regulations is March 18, 2013, with full
compliance by July 1, 2013. This date aligns with the IDEA Part B grant FY13 funding cycle. You
may find the revised regulations in their entirety at: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2013-0214/pdf/2013-03443.pdf.
OSERS has provided a summary and a Question and Answer Sheet regarding the revised
regulations. You may go to http://www2ed.gov/policy/speced/reg/idea/part-b/part-b-parentalconsent.html to review these documents.
In summary, local education agencies must obtain a one-time written consent to bill public benefits
or insurance, with an annual notification to follow thereafter.
The one-time written consent must specify (a) the personally identifiable information that may be
disclosed (e.g. ,records or information about the services that may be provided to a particular
child): (b) the purpose of the disclosure (e.g., billing for services); and (c) the agency to which the
disclosure may be made (e.g., Medicaid). The consent also must specify that the parent
understands and agrees that the public agency may access the child’s or parent’s public benefits or
insurance to pay for services.
If the required parental consent is in your division’s current IEPs, or in a parental consent form that
met the prior consent requirements, you may continue to use that consent until there is a change in
the type of services (e.g., physical therapy or speech therapy) to be provided to the child or the
amount of services to be provided to the child (frequency or duration). For IEPs developed on or
after March 18, where consent to bill has not previously been given, adherence to the new
regulations is required.
Regardless of whether consent has been previously obtained, school divisions must provide a
notification to all parents before billing for services, and must then provide a subsequent notice
annually.; This notice must be provided in language understandable to the general public and in the
parent’s native language.
~ Superintendent’s Memo #068-13
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~ CHALLENGER LITTLE LEAGUE ~
Baseball Anyone???
If your child (between the ages of 4 – 18) wants to play baseball - no matter what their ability,
please call Mr. Floyd Byrd at 757-262-6857 or email Mr. Saul Godinez [email protected] .
Games are typically played at the Bennett’s Creek Complex/Driver Field, behind Driver Elementary.
It’s all fun as well as skill building for the entire family.
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If you have any PRC materials on loan, please return as soon as you can. This enables us to keep
count and, if possible, order new materials accordingly.
The PRC will be open once a week during the summer. Please call 925-5785 if you plan on coming
out or to make an appointment.
IT’S BEEN A PLEASURE WORKING WITH ALL OUR WONDERFUL FAMILIES!!!
(Have a fun, safe summer!)
Suffolk Public Schools do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, or age in its programs and
activities. The following person has been designated to handle inquires regarding the nondiscrimination policies:
Kevin L. Alston, Assistant Superintendent of Administrative Services
100 N. Main Street
P.O. Box 1549
Suffolk, VA 23434