Wrightslaw: From Emotions to Advocacy: The Special Education Survival Guide

This book offers a systematic approach to obtaining, tracking, and evaluating information about your child's education history, needs, and school assessments. It also includes relevant law, and a discussion about the national culture of school systems that highlights the fact that the schools are not designed for kids with learning differences or special needs. Parents don't need to take school ignorance or indifference personally - it's a waste of energy to go down that path when you realize it is not about you or your child - but is a part of the pervasive beliefs embedded in national education culture that everyone should learn the same way, and anyone who doesn't is a bad person, etc. Putting aside the fear, blame, anxiety, and resentment frees up mental real estate that can be better used for taking measured, methodical action steps - an inexorable force (your applied will to get your child an education) meets an immovable object (schools that don't care, don't know how to help, and/or don't have the resources, and/or view you and your child as inherently evil wombats). In my opinion, the book is an essential resource - very critical to understanding how to get support for your child.My caveat there is that I'm not sure that1) even with the best intentions and execution it is possible to get blood from a stone, even if that stone is legally obligated to provide blood; (by the time this is accomplished, the child will have flunked out of school and deteriorated past the point of retrieval?)2) as an adult with ADHD, I found the information extremely challenging to wade through. It took me eight hours just to read the first 20% of the book, much of which triggered me emotionally, and was hard to understand. I am a forest-first-then-trees learner. It's easier for me to learn if I can see the context first, the big picture. This book is organized for people who learn best when information is presented in a piecemeal sequence - who are able to assemble the pieces themselves and understand intuitively what those pieces add up to. It would have been easier for me to use the book if there were an overview of the entire process at the beginning. There is not. It was extremely painful and difficult for me to wade through this book. It took months to get through - not days, not weeks - months. There has to be a faster, easier way. Despite the fact that CHADD recommends this book, it is not, in my experience, even remotely ADHD-friendly. If you have a different learning style, or if you do not have ADHD, you will probably find it extremely useful, well written, and well organized.I highly recommend this book for its content and the ways it can contribute to your sanity as you attempt to navigate a frustrating process through an indifferent or even hostile system, but not for its structure or presentation.

There is a lot of things in this book that really resonated with me and helped me become both a better advocate. One was the approach to organizing and reviewing materials in order to be better prepared for IEP and IEE meetings. Another was the evaluation of testing data to determine whether real progress was being made. ln that case, I learned a lot about the tests in general and where gaps may have occurred in my child's education. The section on negotiation strategies also proved helpful to me and I'm sure the letter writing section will be something I will need at some point.This book is full of homework for you, so you don't sit down and read it cover to cover. But, if you do the work, you are going to be a much better advocate. The legal experience of the Wrights is invaluable, and they are sharing it with us for a very reasonable amount.While I didn't need many sections of the book, I'm certain there are others out there who do and I hope they are as helpful as the ones I've completed.

I found Wrightslaw online as I was searching in desperation for ways to navigate the waters of special education in US public schools; a cold and murky ocean I never anticipated needing to enter. The website's articles were incredibly helpful but I needed much more. This companion book was recommended over and over, and not always by the authors! All over the internet were grateful parents pointing towards this book. Now, I am one of them! Using the information I read here led to well-written letters and successful negotiations with our school personnel. As a stay-home mom who is naturally anxious, uncomfortable with schools and somewhat feisty, I could have really ruined things for my boys as I went through the whole process, *if* I'd gone into their spec-ed meetings ignorant of the procedures and full of my own emotions and tensions. Thanks to Pete and Pam and their clear, easy to follow and detailed information, I was able to go into the meetings informed, confident, calm and cooperative, and all sides were able to win. It's frustrating watching kids who are smart and motivated struggle in school; it's extremely rewarding figuring out why and getting them the help they need. I could never have done so alone.

This book was really helpful. The legal side is laid out in easy to understand terms, and the advice really helps you to connect with the services your kid needs in a straightforward manner. I thought I knew what I was doing before, but realize how much I didn’t know and how much better things could be. Highly recommend!

I wrote a review for the first edition and this edition just gets better. It includes IDEA 2004. So not only will you learn how to create call logs and master lists you learn the MOST CURRENT law. IDEA goes into effect July 1,2005 and this is an AWESOME book for anyone who is new to the special education maze, but also is an EXCELLENT resource for those that have been in the system for awhile. I've learned to write letters that have been recognized and not filed under a pile, I've learned to keep a complete call log that has helped me when trying to obtain services for my son, and I've learned to understand the many complexities that come with the special education system.I have MANY, MANY special education books, but this is this is the book I return to over and over again. I reccomend getting the Wrights Law Book and the Wrights Law IDEA 2004 to go with this. This book does reference some of the special ed law and it is great to be able to flip to the specific paragraph in the law book to help fully understand what Emotions touches on.An awesome book!

Thank you Amazon i am a struggling student and the discounted books are a godsend. They are quick to arrive and have all the content i need for my studies.