Learn About Positive Behavior Interventions for Your Child and Family!

There are two learning events being held the week of October 20th, sponsored by  the Georgia Advocacy Office. These are value based training and these events are around behaviors in children who cannot - for whatever reason - use their voice to communicate - and instead "act out" as it may be viewed by the school, parent, caregiver.

These may include children with PTSD, Autism, Bi-Polar, Anxiety and where conventional interventions do not work. This workshop will provide a myriad of content around behaviors and positive supports.

You are invited to attend one or both of these workshops which are designed for anyone (individuals with disabilities, human service workers, advocates, family members, concerned citizens), who is involved in supporting people with significant impact of disability to fully participate in community life.  The workshops are sponsored by the Georgia Advocacy Office, the Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities, and the Georgia Microboards Association.

To receive the flyers for the event details - contact Donna Champion.

Space is limited so do not wait to sign up.   

If you have any questions you may contact the event coordinator, Donna Champion by telephone (voice or TTY) at 404.885.1234 (in metro-Atlanta) or 800.537.2329 (toll-free in Georgia) or by email at dchampion@thegao.org

Keeping Vigilant...

I have been trying to capture the right words to describe my week up in Virginia's William and Mary College of Law, for the ISEA (Institute for Special Education). While the week was both inspiring and informative, there is no doubt every parent, every family, every community will need to continue to be vigilant to assert their rights, if their child is to receive a fair and appropriate education.  After meeting attorneys and a sprinkle of advocates from across the United States, the theme across our Country is disparaging – bordering on egregious.  If you have a child with special needs, you MUST understand YOU WILL HAVE TO PURSUE these rights for your child.

One of my goals from the training, is to make sure I provide you with a road-map and resources.  Having an active Advocacy and Educational Consulting practice, kiddos come first and the blog the least important on the to do list. I now realize, to help as many as possible, I need to drop in more often. We are in this together, you are not alone and you can learn how to work with your School or District.  And if that is not possible, you can learn the best remedy you have.

Along with keeping the blog current, I am bringing back quarterly workshops.  I am sincerely grateful for the overwhelming demand for the return of my workshops.  I will be including both previous workshops (please remind me if you were on the waiting list) as well as a series where we dive deeper into individual groups. Next week I will post a calendar of subjects and dates. However, we will launch in September with the infamous "Binder Workshop".  Managing your child's paperwork NOW and not when when in crisis.  This workshop tends to be an eye opener, and where parents find out what evaluations their child is missing, or out of date. How to manage all the work samples you are saving and also how to build an effective communication log. This workshop is relevant to parents of children with special needs - as well as parents who have their children in a private school setting, and are looking to transition back to public school.

Remember to Keep Calm and Advocate!  Robin