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Health & Fitness

The Committee

Special education advocacy requires preparation.

If you think that it is easy for a special education parent to obtain therapeutic servives for her child, you had better think again. Services cost money. The decision to classify a child with a disability is only made after an extensive evaluation and review by a school district committee of professionals. The committee on special education (CSE) is governed by procedural rules with specific timelines and requirements that can be overwhelming to many parents, especially those who do not speak English. Although the parent is a member of the CSE it is important to keep in mind that most parents are not professionals and it can be quite daunting to disagree with psychologists, speech language pathologists and special educators at an open meeting. Parents cannot go into these meetings unprepared because if they do, they are going to leave the decision making in the hands of professionals. Parents need to be informed if they are going to advocate effectively for their child at a CSE meeting. This means that parents need to read evaluations and ask questions to understand what their child needs before they go into the CSE meeting.

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