Special Needs Advocacy Training for Parents and Professionals
in Montgomery County, Maryland

Get 3 Graduate credits for this course!

Parents:  Do you want to become more effective advocates for your children with special needs?

Graduate Students and Professionals:    Are you interested in a career as a Special Needs Advocate?

School Staff and Administrators:    Have you been looking for an opportunity for a deeper understanding of special education law, and what you can do with the resources that you have to work cooperatively with special needs families?

This is more than just the cursory overview of special education law offered by others. . You will gain an in-depth understanding of all facets of advocacy through supervised practice and application of skills, both during and between sessions taught by practicing advocates, attorneys, psychologists and other related service providers. You will receive individualized feedback from practicing professionals. Learn what advocates know so that you, too, can get results that make a difference for each child's future. You will leave this course with the knowledge and skills you need to advocate effectively for children. This is the opportunity you have been waiting for!

Outcomes:
By the end of the Training Institute participants will:

• Demonstrate proficiency in each of the tasks performed by an advocate
• Investigate outstanding classrooms and educational programs and demonstrate how they would utilize this knowledge in the IEP and 504 process
• Utilize primary and secondary sources to describe the historical and current importance of the laws, including the major concepts of each, related to people with disabilities and education of people with disabilities
• Demonstrate an understanding of each stage of the IEP process by articulating how each stage relates to the provision of Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE)
• Evaluate the efficacy of sample individual student plans and apply this knowledge to the 504 and IEP process.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the similarities and differences between eligibility for an IEP and a 504 plan by articulating the key points of each, with special attention to response to intervention (RTI) and evidence based methods .
• Demonstrate an understanding of student need for assistive technology devices and services.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between student behavior and programming decisions, including functional behavioral assessments (FBA), Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP) and manifestation determination processes.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the types, purposes and implications of student evaluation by applying these practices to the IEP process.
• Demonstrate understanding of dispute options available to parents and the pro and cons of each.
• Analyze effective strategies for working with parents and demonstrated ability to utilize them in parent meetings and school team meetings.
• Explore options for school offerings both within and beyond the public school sector and articulate these options during a simulated IEP process.
• Demonstrate understanding of the dynamics of school meetings by utilizing meeting strategies and interpersonal strategies to respond to the seminal issues faced by advocates.
• Identify and analyze examples of how parents have successfully organized to effectively advocate for their children.
• Understand their own individual dispute and conflict-resolution personal styles and demonstrate the ability to utilize effective strategies in simulated school meetings.

Register Online Now for the Fall Semester or Call Us with your questions: