Thursday, February 27, 2014

How Parents Can Survive Special Education

By Saleem Rana


Nicole Shelton, a Special Education Advocate, was interviewed on Parent Choices for Struggling Teens, a radio show on L.A. Talk Radio about how parents can survive special education. Nicole explained to host Lon Woodbury and co-host Liz McGhee the complexities of navigating School District's Special Education rules. She talked about how factors like how strong the School District's motivation might be to do all they can for their special needs students would affect when and why parents might need the help of Special Education Advocates and Attorneys.

The host of the show, Lon Woodbury has been helping family members and teenagers since 1984. He is a well-known Independent Educational Specialist and the author of the immensely popular Woodbury Reports.

Meanwhile co-host, Liz McGhee, who is the Director of Admissions for Sandhill Child Development Center in New Mexico, has been working with adolescents for nineteen years.

About Nicole Shelton

Nicole Shelton is the founder of Shelton Consulting, and this private Advocacy Consulting firm works to provide special education advocacy across the country. Her firm also helps with individualized placement services for clients with special needs and consultative services to lawyers and therapeutic programs. Nicole holds a Master of Science in Educational Administration, as well as a Masters in Special Education. Her Bachelor's Degree was in Psychology. She is presently working towards earning her Juris Doctorate.

A Refreshing New Perspective On Just How Parents Can Survive Special Education

After introducing his guest, Lon began the show on how parents can survive special education by asking, "What is a special education advocate?"

Nicole described a special education advocate as someone who is knowledgeable and proficient with the special education rights of students in the United States. This advocate could aid parents with understanding the special education rights of their child, and, moreover, manage to initiate the steps to make sure that their child's needs were met though the school district. An attorney, was a different type of specialist, someone who handled the lawful facts of a case, and was only necessary if the situation had to be intensified because the school district showed no interest or initiative in helping a special needs child get their requirements met in the classroom.

A special education advocate was required if a mother or father really felt that the school district was denying the child a right to an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) or if the school district was supplying an IEP that was not favorable to their child's requirements. After comprehending just what a mother, father, and child needed from the school district and examining all the child's records to authenticate the parents claims, the advocate would then prepare a meeting with school authorities to determine a new course of action.




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