Supporting Parents of Students with Special Needs

Empower Parents to be in-charge of their children's Education and Support Systems

How we can help – Supporting Parents of Students with Special Needs

There’s often a gap in communication between educators and parents who suspect their kids have special needs. Even as young children, we’re able to identify a behavior that is not the norm for our peer group—the one kid in the class who seems a little more agitated than the rest, a little more loud and unruly. Across the room is a scared child. Another struggles with reading.

All of this may also be evident to a teacher, who can compare one child with his or her peers. But it may not be evident to the parent, who does not experience a whole classroom of children. To the parent, a particular behavior may not seem beyond the norm.

A GAP IN EXPERIENCE AND UNDERSTANDING

This opens up a GAP in experience, understanding, and communication between parents and educators. Education specialists may speak in professional jargon that parents don’t always understand. Often their caseloads are so full, that weeks may go by without contact. An educator’s perspective on how a student’s behavior differs from that of their peers and on the demonstration of behaviors can be helpful to parents.

Parents are most often not mental-health experts, but they are experts in knowing their children. When they feel that something isn’t right, there’s reason to investigate. But most parents who have shared their experiences with me about asking for help for their children have not received it initially.

Pediatricians may tell parents to have consistent consequences at home. Teachers may say, “He doesn’t qualify for services.”

Many disabilities—most learning disabilities, most mental health disabilities, and many physical health disabilities—are hidden. A hidden disability is by its nature difficult to observe. Only someone trained in psychological assessment, using prescribed evaluation methods, can determine such a disability—educators generally don’t have this qualification.

A discussion between the parent and teacher or principal may result in an evaluation, but parents are often forced to make repeated requests to push the issue. Parents may also not understand that requests for evaluation must be in writing and that each evaluation costs the school money- which in many cases they don’t want to spend unless they have documentation that will lead to a diagnosis they might receive additional funding for.

Parents new to the individualized education program (IEP) process are then confused and angry. Worse yet, some parents accept the initial denial, and then the child does not receive an evaluation.

These problems generally occur because educators lack knowledge. In preparing general education teachers, most education programs don’t require a class on children with exceptional needs (gifted, special education etc.) and if they do, then it barely scratches the surface on the scope of this vast knowledge base.

Parents look to teachers and principals to be experts. Not knowing what to do when a school declines to evaluate a child is a common dilemma for parents of children who are struggling. Advocacy groups may help, but a parent would need to understand that external help is available before they would seek it out. Many parents don’t understand the obligation of the school to evaluate their child, and they may not know how to push through a request for evaluation when facing resistance.

THIS IS WHERE WE COME IN

With our experience in the educational system and in working with hundreds of parents we join your team as a coach. Your decision on how much help or how little involvement you require is always up to you.

• Directing parents to organizations that can help

• Hopefully a parent can initiate an assessment and evaluation.

• Exploring a host of acronyms and other special terms used to now identify your child.

• The process of getting help for a struggling child is bureaucratic and complicated, and for the most part educators don’t mentor parents through it.

• If they haven’t located an education advocacy group for assistance, parents usually lack the understanding needed to represent their children well through this process. Following an assessment and evaluation of a child, which requires special services to support that child’s education, the next step should be educating the parents about this process.

• Even a school district FAQ website would be helpful. Parents should be part of their child’s education team, yet how can one contribute without a good understanding of the framework for special education services and an understanding of how accommodations can be implemented to help a child succeed?

Some educators and schools are amazing. Sadly, I have met students who have not been supported through the K–12 years or who received only minimal support to get them through the system. We can do better, starting from the first time a parent approaches a teacher and says, “I’m worried that Cassandra seems to be struggling.”

The Alberta Government has outlined a great start to understanding what is available in Alberta for Alberta Students!

https://www.alberta.ca/diverse-learning-needs.aspx

If the following link does not completely answer your questions, and you want to discuss further, fill out the contact form to start the process. The first 20 min are free and we can at the very least point you in a proper direction.

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