Special Education Resources
Every one of us is an individual with our own unique style and personality. We all have our own learning styles as well? some of us are more visually-oriented, some more audio or tactile. This uniqueness is especially apparent in children.
Our education system is burdened with the awesome task of teaching a specific collection of information (curriculum) to a large group of highly individual students, while also managing the different behavioral styles of those students. Perhaps that is why it seems that more and more children are being identified as having 'special needs' or needing 'special education' services.
The more informed we are as parents, the more helpful we can be to our children. Sometimes it may seem that 'the schools' don't want to be bothered providing the right services. That may be true, or it may be that educators are feeling over burdened with the responsibilities. While the school system has a duty to provide whatever education our children need, it is our responsibility as parents to make sure we advocate for our children.
Here are a few resources to help you become familiar with the education system:
- http://www.doe.mass.edu/sped/
- http://www.masspac.org/"
- http://www.spedschools.com/
- http://www.massadvocates.org/special_education
- http://www.fcsn.org/
- http://www.lawlib.state.ma.us/speced.html
If you visit these sites and find them helpful, or have any criticism about these organizations, we welcome your feedback and will try to pass it along to other FTBL visitors. Please provide feedback through our 'Contact Us' page.