Welcome to Brookline SEPAC

Ruth Arnold, a speech and language pathologist who used to work for the Brookline public schools, will give a talk on “Making friends in the inclusive classroom: emotions, communication, and social skills among special and general education students and their teachers”

Date: Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Time: 7 - 9 pm
Place: Runkle School library, 50 Druce St. [map]

In our era of building inclusive classrooms, what happens when students with different communication styles are brought together? What happens when sarcasm isn’t understood or humor goes sour? How can teachers help students develop friendly relations based on healthy communication skills? Arnold, who is an Award for Excellence recipient from the Asperger Association of New England, shares her expertise to help parents and teachers learn and use strategies to identify and manage emotions, develop a common language, and create a more effective social classroom community.

Light refreshments will be served, and this program is approved for Brookline teacher professional development credits.

We have a number of exciting and interesting events coming up which you won’t want to miss. Please read the summary of each event here, and then click on each item to learn more.

1. Don’t miss our January speaker! Ruth Levine Arnold, HELPING STUDENTS IMPROVE SOCIAL COMMUNICATION IN AN INCLUSIVE ENVIRONMENT, Tuesday, January 27, 2009, 7-9 p.m., Runkle School Library, 50 Druce St., light refreshments.
2. SEPAC-BHS February meeting with John Ivimey, Bob Weintraub and Candace McCann: Integrating students with special needs into the social fabric of BHS, Wednesday, February 4, 2009, 8:30 a.m. For location and more information contact SEPAC BHS liaison Lisa Guisbond, lisa.guisbond@verizon.net or call 617-730-5445.
3. Coalition of Brookline Autism Parents (CoBAP) Workshop. Brenda Dater, SIFTING THROUGH THE MAZE: MAKING DECISIONS THAT IMPACT YOUR ASD CHILD AND FAMILY, Sunday, February 8, 2009, 6-9 p.m., Brookline Community Mental Health Center, 41 Garrison Rd, Brookline.
4. SEPAC February meeting: Clare Vann, AN I.E.P. FOR MY CHILD, a Federation for Children with Special Needs Workshop, Tuesday, February 17, 7-9 p.m., Runkle School Library, 50 Druce St., light refreshments.
5. SEPAC liaisons needed for Driscoll, Lincoln and BEEP! Please consider volunteering to assure communications among parents of children with special needs in our schools and among SEPAC leadership, membership and school administrators. Contact one of the co-chairs if you are interested: jedavid@hotmail.com, brndakine1@yahoo.com or pueda@comcast.net.
6. Important Notice from the Massachusetts Advocates for Children regarding the new state law on Transition Planning and Services for students with disabilities.
7. Don’t forget, SEPAC meets monthly with Candace McCann, Asst. Supt. for Student Services, second Thursday of the month, 8-10 a.m., Town Hall 5th floor. These meetings are open to all, and if you cannot attend you may forward your questions or concerns to the SEPAC co-chairs to address.

In August, Governor Patrick signed a new law (S.286 - Chapter 205 of the Acts of 2008) which requires school districts to initiate special education transition planning and transition services at age 14, rather than age 16. Parents and educators applaud law-makers for this critical legislation, as delay until age 16 (the middle of high school) is too late to facilitate effective transition planning.

What to do if you are the parent of a 14 or 15 year old?

Request an IEP meeting (in writing) to discuss transition using the Transition Planning Form. Note: The IEP Transition Planning Form is simply a planning document, and is not included in your child’s IEP. Request a transition assessment (in writing) to address transition goals, objectives and services.

Make sure that your child’s IEP includes measurable IEP transition goals and objectives related to

• Training
• Education
• Employment
• Independent living, as appropriate

Your child is entitled to transition services that will help meet her transition goals and facilitate movement to post-school activities, including:

• Instruction
• Related services
• Community experience
• Development of employment (including integrated supported employment) and other post-school adult living objectives
• Acquisition of daily living skills
• Functional vocational evaluation

Be sure to list specific transition services in the IEP. Transition goals and services must be based on your child’s needs, taking into account his strengths, preferences, and interests.

Your child must be invited to the IEP Team meeting starting at age 14. Help to determine the best way for your child to participate.

For more information contact Leslie Lockhart, 617-357-8431 x 226 (llockhart@massadvocates.org) or Terri McLaughlin, 617-236-7210 x336 (tmclaugh@fcsn.org)

This Federation for Children with Special Needs workshop, presented by special education attorney Clare Vann, will help explain the Individualized Education Program.

Date: Tuesday, Feburary 17, 2009
Time: 7 - 9 pm
Place: Runkle School library, 50 Druce St. [map]

Parents who attend will learn:

• How the IEP helps children gain access to the general curriculum,
• That parents are important team members who share in responsibility for writing the IEP,
• The significance of the various sections of the IEP and how to fill them out, including writing goals and objectives and making sure they are measurable,
• How MCAS accommodations are written into the IEP,
• How placement is determined,
• What options parents have for responding to the IEP, and
• How a well-written IEP will, along with corresponding progress reports, allow parents to track progress.

Light refreshments will be served.

The Coalition of Brookline Autism Parents (COBAP), Brookline SEPAC, Village Family Chiropractic Center, and the Brookline Community Mental Health Center invite all interested parents to attend this special workshop: Sifting through the maze: making decisions that impact your ASD child and family.

Date: Sunday, February 8, 2009
Time: 6 - 9 pm
Place: Brookline Community Mental Health Center [map]

This program will be preesented by Brenda Dater, MSW, MPH, Coordinator of Children’s Services, Asperger’s Association of New England.

From our SEPAC-BHS liaison, Lisa Guisbond: A group of BHS SEPAC parents have been meeting monthly with John Ivimey, Bob Weintraub and Candace McCann to talk about ongoing issues of concern at BHS. Depending on the topic, different parents have joined in or stepped out of particular meetings.

Date: Wednesday, Feburary 4, 2009
Time: 8:30 am

Our next meeting will continue a conversation on how best to integrate students into the social fabric of BHS, i.e., for students with communication and/or social-emotional issues, what can be done to make sure these critical needs are met in an environment focused on academic achievement.

I want to encourage anyone who has comments and/or ideas on this topic to either come to the meeting, if possible, or email or phone me with your thoughts. Email me or call me at 617-730-5445.

Thanks to everyone who showed up at Sarrah Ward’s presentation on “Getting It Done” on Thursday, April 3. We had a wonderful turnout, and we’re glad so many people found it helpful.

We have copies of her presentation handout available here for download, and if you’re looking for the handout in the future you also can find it on our resources page. You may also visit her website at executivefunctiontherapy.com, where she’s posted additional materials.

And if you’re interested, please join Brookline SEPAC’s Executive Function subcommittee where you can talk more about executive function and how it affects our children.

The Coalition of Brookline Autism Parents (CoBAP) is sponsoring a presentation by Julia Landeau, Inclusion Project Director at Massachusetts Advocates for Children, about the legal rights of children on the autism spectrum.

Date: Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Time: 7-9 pm
Place: Devotion School library, 345 Harvard St. [map]

The event was very popular last year, so please RSVP to Lisel Macenka via e-mail, to make sure there are enough materials for everyone, and contact her if you have any questions regarding the event.