Success Stories from the Lakes Region
Making connections for kids with special needs
Plymouth area making strides in parent support
June 17, 2010
Written by Matt Perloff, Editor, Record Enterprise
As a parent of children with special needs, living here in northern New Hampshire, there may be a sense of isolation without knowledge of who to turn to for support and information.
A team representing the schools, community and area support organizations have come together to connect those seeking help and direction.
Barbara Stout of Our Trails Parent Support Group, Fran Gonsalves of SAU 48, Lisa DiMartino of Lakes Region Community Services and Audrey Burke of NH Connections are working together to promote and develop the opportunities for parents, families and others working with children that have special needs to share ideas and move forward.
The regional effort started coming together two years ago, when SAU 48 screened the documentary Including Samuel, chronicling the efforts of the Habib family to include son Samuel, who has cerebral palsy, in every facet of their lives. It was here that Stout met DiMartino, a Family to Family Coordinator and Legislative Liason for Lakes Region Community Services. DiMartino describes her role as “making connections,” bringing families together to meet, collaborate, share ideas and support on another. “They empower each other and come up with some amazing ideas,” said DiMartino.
Stout had always wanted to start a parent support group; in November 2008, that goal was realized with Our Trail Parent Support Group, providing a local opportunity for parents of children with special needs to come together. Stout felt the effort would go even further with the addition of workshops to strengthen parent training and involvement, at which point DiMartino connected Stout with Audrey Burke of NH Connections, who in turn brought the effort full circle as she connected with Fran Gonsalves, Director of Special Education for SAU 48 representing the following school districts: Campton, Ellsworth, Holderness, Pemi-Baker Regional, Plymouth, Rumney, Thornton, Waterville Valley, and Wentworth.
In the past year, NH Connections has brought workshops to the Campton, Thornton and Waterville Valley schools, focusing on topics such as Individualized Education Plans (IEPs), Envisioning Your Child’s Future and Parent and Professional Communication, among other topics. These workshops are open not only to parents of children with special needs, but also school officials and others interested. “One of the things we were trying to focus on was opening them up to a general audience, so it wasn’t strictly for parents of children with special needs,” explained Burke.
They have also held Parent Leadership Training in Special Education at the Whole Village Resource Center in Plymouth, where parents engage in a two-day, 10-hour intensive course that allow them to step up as leaders in their child’s school or in area support groups. Parents are referred to this training by the school district, allowing them to return and help support the schools in bringing in parent involvement.
“It’s important that we have parent input,” said Burke. “Come September, we’re looking to have more parent involvement in the schools, and we’d like to have that input.”
“That’s one of the things I think the state is really pushing,” added Gonsalves. “That we try to ask families what they’d like and what information they need to help their children develop.”
Though Stout, Gonsalves, DiMartino and Burke have worked together in their efforts, they have focused on different venues. For Burke and Gonsalves, the priority is promoting parent involvement and awareness at the school level, including the workshops and directing parents to other opportunities. “We try to meet the individual needs of families and have different kinds of opportunities for them,” said Gonsalves. “We try to make it happen for them so they can achieve what they want to achieve…there are lots of agencies and people and families out there that are willing to help them reach those goals.”
For DiMartino and Stout, it’s about promoting through the parent support group and other family-to-family connections. “The most wonderful thing is that this is about the families and the children,” said Stout. “It’s a collaborative; we’re hearing from the families, so it’s coming from the bottom up, not the top down. The goal is to meet the needs of the community and what the families want and the families want opportunities to be together…to have choices on the whole gamut.”
Stout’s group, in connection with the Waterville Valley Recreation Department, Lakes Region Community Support Group and Coyote Grill, has also organized a Family Fun Night for Monday, June 21, where families that have children with special needs can come together and connect while enjoying a variety of fun games and food courtesy of the Coyote Grill. The event, which runs 4-6 p.m. at Packard’s Field in Waterville Valley, is open to all, but pre-registration is appreciated. Please call Barbara Stout at 568-6442 to do so or for more information.
“We want parents to know that they don’t have to be isolated,” said Burke. “They can come in and be connected with all these activities, they can give input and make a difference for their child with disabilities. They just need to make a phone call, come to a meeting or reach out to somebody.”
For more information, contact Barbara Stout at Our Trail Parent Support Group, 568-6442; Lisa DiMartino at Lakes Region Community Services, 524-1741 ext. 17; Audrey Burke at NH Connections, 848-4204; or Fran Gonsalves at 536-1254 ext. 21. Additional information is also online at lrcsc.org and nhconnections.org.
The HBO Temple Grandin Movie comes to the Moultonborough Academy on May 25th
Moultonborough Special Needs Alliance Committee (SNAC) and School District presented the HBO Temple Grandin Movie with a panel discussion - with more than 70 people registered for the event!
The HBO movie - TEMPLE GRANDIN, starring Claire Danes was shown free of charge at the Moultonborough Academy Auditorium.
The Special Needs Alliance Committee in collaboration with the Moultonborough School District, NH Connections, Asperger’s Association of New England & HBO worked for months to bring the movie to the community, encountering setbacks along the way. Thanks to the perseverance and hard work of SNAC and the Moultonborough School District all their hard work paid off! SNAC received the HBO DVD of the Temple Grandin movie in advance of its release to the public in August 2010.
Moultonborough has the honor of perhaps being the only school district in the nation to preview this movie before the August release.
The film is based on the life of Dr.Temple Grandin, a professor of animal science and a high functioning woman with Asperger’s Syndrome. Through her unique communication skills and high intelligence, Dr. Grandin dispels preconceived notions about the human condition known as Asperger’s Syndrome and Autism.
A panel discussion followed the movie consisting of individuals on the Autis
m Spectrum ranging from a middle school student to adults, and a parent. They provided insight as to how Autism/Asperger’s Syndrome has impacted their lives. Some panel members expressed relief upon learning of their diagnosis – “things now make sense.” While others remembered how they were treated in school, work and the community. The youngest panelist, a middle school student, captured the audience’s attention with a beautiful piano piece – a gift!
Flyer for the event, click here.
Parent Involvement in Special Education Forum
The world cafe style forum was held at Merrimack Valley High School in Penacook, NH on February 9, 2010. Great conversations were shared among the 33 attendees, which included parents, educators, and community members.
With the use of three guided questions, we gathered feedback and voted on top priorities under each question to be discussed and put into action plans at the next meeting March 2nd - again at Merrimack Valley High School.
Top priorities listed under each question:
1. What would your vision of parent involvement in special education look like?
Parent advisory group on special education.
Educate parents on the meaning of test scores.
Parent/teacher workshops together.
Celebrate successes.
2. What parent involvement happens in our schools today?
Parent to parent outreach (we want more of it).
Special committees to include parents.
Evening seminars for parents.
3. What challenges prevent us from improving parent involvement in special education?
Time constraints and childcare.
Parents not knowing the special education process.
The "Us" versus "Them" mentality.
Some comments from the forum:
A parent- thanks to all the professionals for coming together like this to share their perspectives - she never had this experience.
An educator - The more you share with us, the better we can communicate together.
An educator - thank you for encouraging the open discussion
Parent/educator - what a diverse group - with lots of knowledge. I gained new resources from parents and educators.
We also posed a question to participants before the forum:
What would the outcomes of parent involvement in special education look like?
Here is a small sample of the responses:
A better-informed relationship between parents, school officials and the students.
Student achievement, student self-esteem, parent knowing all about child in school setting.
Parents would know who to contact at school for answers to questions
Administrators/special education staff would be aware and sensitive to the needs/questions frequently asked by parents
Children's school needs would be identified.
The students would benefit with greater communication between home and school. The school could better serve the needs of the individual's strengths and weakness. It would be a win/win situation.
Open and honest communication - no surprises on either side of the table.
Educators would be the educational expert and parents would be the "customer."
Faster turnaround times in the process.
Parents would be treated as equals in the process. They would be involved in every step.
Frequent communication between: general education teacher and case manager, general education teacher and home, case manager and home, etc.
Parents co-writing IEPs at meeting, not sending home pre-written drafts that get revised at meetings.
Students receiving services outside of school as well as inside - collaboration of services/providers.
I believe there would be more positive outcomes for the kids, with more kids graduating.
Optimal learning for the child. Great communication with the team.
I would expect parents and professionals would collaborate in keeping the student at the center of planning, as well as the execution of those plans.
A collaborative effort between home/school, where the parent also feels empowered and truly part of the process.
