A month ago I was very fortunate to meet a guy called Vaughn Lauer. He has developed a structured collaborative IEP (Individual Education Programme) process that allows parents to work with schools in order to get the needs of their child met. Not an easy task in many cases but Vaughn seems to be changing that (particularly in the USA). He has helped so many families using his process. Families who were literally pulling their hair out because the school were not listening or they were refusing to co-operate with what was needed by the child for them to be happier in terms of education. Vaughn has beautifully documented his process in a book about how to secure special education services for children with special needs – children who are autistic, have ADHD or have a disability. It is called ‘When the school says no..How to get the yes’. A fitting title as too many schools will say no to requests from parents when they have specific requests for their child in the classroom/within the school setting.
Help With The Education Services Parents And Children Need
I am not a great one for books that have more than 200 pages but once I started reading Vaughn’s book, I was compelled to keep going with it. The book looks at many case studies of families who have fought to get the right support for their child (through IEP’s). Each story takes you on a journey with the family and the process they used to finally get to the place they needed to be in terms of their child’s education that satisfied the family and made the child happier. There is so much a family needs to know to reach their destination and I feel that anyone who has a child with special needs should read this to make sure they are getting the kind of service they should be getting from their child’s school.
Every family mentioned in the book I feel I have met. I have been through their journey and felt their pain and struggle of wanting to do the best for their child but not knowing what that is. There has been trial and error of some parents keeping their child at home and home-schooling, to then putting them back into school and having some lessons out of the main classroom. You just don’t know what to do when all you hear is ‘No – we can’t accommodate that’. Why is it so hard to get a realistic IEP that will work?
The book is brilliantly written and easy to understand. I recommend any parent who is struggling to know what is available to them in terms of education when they have a child with Autism for example to read this. It will really make you think about whether the place of study your child is currently and the resources being used are the best for your child.
Buy When the School Says No…How to Get the Yes! book on Amazon
