FAMILY KNOWLEDGE BY: SHELBY HASHMAN

WE WILL COVER… Americans With Disabilites Act Individualized Education Plan (IEP) Dealing with child’s feelings Transition to adulthood

A disability is an inability to do something a diminished capacity to perform in a specific way. Handicap is a disadvantage imposed on an individual.

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ADA ensures the right of individuals with disabilities to nondiscriminatory treatment in other aspects of their lives. This act ensures that the student will get the help they need without being discriminated against for the disabilities they have. With this act the students will have the accommodations they need to be successful in the class. Examples will be: getting test read to them, getting wheelchair assessable tables, large print notes etc.

Individualized Education Program (IEP) A IEP is a legal document that describes the education service a student receives. This is important for the student and the family to know exactly what services the student should be getting. Being aware of these and taking advantage of the program can be beneficial to the student and family. Knowing what accommodations the teacher is making can help for at home situations as well. Seeing what works and collaboratintion of the parent and teacher.

Dealing with the Child’s Feelings Talking with the child Questions the child may have When taking to the child about the disability they have be honest. Telling the child the information they need to know is important. Don’t overwhelm the child but also don’t sugar coat the disability. If at all possible wait for the child to ask specific questions first. The questions that the child might ask are: “Will I get worse?” “will I get better?” “how did I become this way?” and “will I ever be able to live independently.” Knowing that these hard questions are coming you should prepare what you may say to answer them. If the child asks you something you don’t know the answer to don’t lie tell them you will find out.

Transition to Adulthood Knowing that the child has a disability and knowing the extreme of it may cause you to start thinking of the child’s future and the transition to adulthood. Students that have disabilities should start transitioning to programming that will help them with this. Professionals think starting in the elementary age is most effective.

Transition to Adulthood Continued Transition to adulthood for older students in secondary education is split into three different categories. First is Vocational skill trades. Learning these trades and learning a skill might help them get a job in the future. Second is domestic education. This consist of doing dishes, cleaning, cooking and other things that people without disabilities take for granted. Third is community skills. This entails the student knows how to use transportation services, banking, going to restaurants, and grocery shopping.

Additional Support GCPD.in.gov is a website dedicated to people and families of those with disabilities. This is for the state of Indiana. It has a bounfull list of resouses on the Resourse tab for you to look over. Parentcenterhub.org is a website that has the education disability laws. This is a great tool for any body that may need to over look to see if they are getting treated fairly.

Closing remarks Knowing where you stand with your child’s disability is very important. Collaborating with the teachers in the child’s life is very important. We are a team here to help each other help the student. I am here for any questions you have. If I do not have the answer to anything I will tell you and look for the best way to answer it. I will also do what is best for the student and the families.

I chose to explain in more details these topics because of the revelence of them. With the ADA I think it is important for families and students to know there are laws and rights for individes with disabilities. Having a IEP is important for the student, parents, and teachers to know. This is a key componite to the students success. Dealing with a students feelings can be very challenging. Being caught up in everyday situations and challenges may make this slip by. Knowing what you will say when they start asking questions can help you. Transitioning into adulthood may be something you were not thinking of at. As you saw in the slide it is something that should be started in elementary ages. Knowing what kind of education your student should be getting is important.

Recourses Center for Parent Information and Resources . (n.d.). Retrieved from parentcenterhub.org: http://www.parentcenterhub.org/?s=indiana Daniel P. Hallahan, J. M. (2015). Exceptional Learners. New Jersey: Pearson. IN Gov. (n.d.). Retrieved from in.gov: http://www.in.gov/gpcpd/