Social Thinking

Is your child struggling to make and keep friends?

One of the big problems for children in Special Education is social skills. The schools can talk about social skills, but "talking" about them doesn't help much. Students can hear about them, but they have to have opportunities to use them in safe environments.

Recently I was looking for programs to help students learn social skills, and a friend in Huntley recommended Mary Topolinski and her Social Thinking program.

Mary conducts Social Thinking instruction, training, coaching with teens and with other age groups. This friend told me that she knows several parents who said Mary made a big impact on their kids.

You can check out Mary's work at www.mjthinkssocial.com/

I don't know Mary yet, but she probably has ideas about places to make and find friends and to socialize.

Years ago a therapist recommended social skills training by the University of Illinois at Chicago, but I was never able to track down classes. They might have been in Skokie or some other town miles and miles away - a lot of good that does the student in Woodstock who is trying to develop social skills!

Parent survey - do it now

The Family Resource Center on Disabilities has passed along information about an important surveys prior to US Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), visits in Illinois before the end of 2010. I highly recommend the FRCD. Back in 1997 I attended one of its Special Education Rights workshops, and it was a solid foundation for my advocacy for my stepson here in Woodstock.

Parents of children ages 0-3 and 3-21 are invited to complete the surveys. FRCD wrote:

Dear Illinois Families:

On November 2, 2010, the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) will be visiting:

the Illinois Department of Human Services to review the effectiveness of Illinois following the rules and regulations for Early Intervention Services under Part C (0-3) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA);

OSEP will also be visiting the Illinois State Board of Education to review the effectiveness of Illinois following the rules and regulations under Part B (3-21) of IDEA.

OSEP has requested the Parent Training and Information Centers of Illinois to survey parents about their experience and knowledge with the special education system in Illinois. This is a great opportunity for you to contribute to the improvement of the delivery of special education services for the children with disabilities in Illinois.

Please take a moment to complete the survey if you have children who have recently received or are currently receiving special education services. We invite you to forward this survey to other families for their input.

The survey links are:

Part C (0-3 year old)
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/W77JN97

Part B (3-21 year old)
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/FDJ5Z76

If you have any questions, please contact the Family Resource Center on Disabilities at (312) 939-3513.

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The Family Resource Center on Disabilities (FRCD) offers parents of children with disabilities birth to 21 years old, their helpers, relatives, professionals, and interested community members no-cost training and workshops, telephone and e-mail assistance, and resources to help claim their role as the child's most effective and significant advocate.

You are invited to contact FRCD for information, resources, support and training. FRCD is located at 20 East Jackson Blvd., Room 300, Chicago, IL 60604. For information, visit www.frcd.org/, call 312-939-3513 or write to info@frcd.org

Service Animal OK in school

An Illinois appeals court smacked down a school district recently.

The Fourth District Appellate Court considered a case brought to it to allow a first-grade student to have his service dog, Chewey, in school. The Villa Grove School District (located southeast of Champaign, Ill.), in its infinite wisdom, apparently had thought the dog was a pet and didn't want the student to bring the dog to school.

The court, however, ruled in favor of Kaleb Drew and ordered that the school allow him to take his autism helper dog to school. The family's argument was that the boy's yellow Labrador retriever is a service animal. (Pictured is an example of a service dog.)

How does this animal help Kaleb? According to the boy's mother, the "dog prevents the boy from running away, helps him focus on his homework and calms him when he has a tantrum."

Service dogs wear vests that identify them as service animals. Please do not approach a service animal or attempt to pet it. The animal is not a pet. When it is wearing its vest, it is working. Usually the owner will ask you to step back, if you approach a service animal for the purpose of petting it.

Please be considerate of service animals. You don't have to go out of your way to avoid them; just act as if they aren't there.

Tonight - anti-bullying vigil

Tonight at 7:00PM there will be a vigil in memory of a Johnsburg boy and other children who have committed suicide after being bullied, sometimes for years.

The candlelight vigil will begin at 7:00PM at the Midwest Bank, 3805 N. Johnsburg Road, in Johnsburg.

Bullying is occurring in many McHenry County schools. My own experience with the Woodstock School District is that heads nodded when bullying was reported, and District officials re-affirmed the Safe Schools policy.

And bullying continued.

It starts in the grade schools, and there is where it should be nipped in the bud. When it occurs in middle and high schools, discipline should be swift and firm.

It's not. And so it continues.

In one case of which I have personal knowledge, a consultant from the Illinois State Board of Election had been called in and she herself observed bullying in the classroom - by staff!!!

It's a good thing she was called in. What teacher would have ratted out another teacher for bullying a student?

Parent Empowerment Call - August 5

Illinois Department of Human Services, Division of Mental Health, Child & Adolescent Services would like to invite all Illinois parents of children with emotional and/or behavioral health concerns to join in on the upcoming Parent Empowerment Call.

Parent Empowerment Calls are held monthly on the first Thursday of the month. Two sessions are available, available times and dial in numbers details are listed in the attachment included with this notice.

The next Parent Empowerment Call is scheduled for Thursday, August 5, 2010 from 12:00-1:00 PM
Toll Free Access 1-800-260-0712
Participant Access Code: 120964

This is a toll free educational call being offered to all parents in Illinois who have a child with an emotional and/or behavioral concern, and will focus on giving parents information they need to advocate for and support their children.