By David A. Sherman; 356 pages. From the back cover: Your Guide to Obtaining a Free Appropriate Public Education for Your Child.
Regardless of whether your child has autism or another disability requiring special education, this useful handbook provides significant legal advice and information to help you take on the school district, or maybe avoid a confrontation altogether. Knowing your rights and options is a good start.
- Excellent reference for all special education negotiations, not just autism-related ones
- Letter templates worth the book's price all by themselves
- Author is both a lawyer and a special-needs parent
- Large format and magazine-like layout makes information easy to find
- Appendix quotes important areas of law and policy
- Only under the worst case would you need a lot of this information
- You'll still likely need legal counsel
- Good for reference, not so much for read-through
- Having this information may push you into a combative legal stance before you need to be
- Ch. 1: General Information & First Steps
Ch. 2: Why Do I Need to Put Everything in Writing? - Ch. 3: An Overview of Autism Methodologies
Ch. 4: An Overview of Autism Law and the IDEA
Ch. 5: Assessments - Ch. 6: Choosing a Private Expert, Expert Reports, Retaining an Attorney
Ch. 7: Early Intervention - Ch. 8: IEPs for Children With Autism
Ch. 9: Sample IEP and Sample Goals and Objectives - Ch. 10: How to Respond to an Offer of Placement and Services
Ch. 11: Extended School Year Services
Ch. 12: Stay Put - Ch. 13: Ensuring That Personnel Have Appropriate Education, Training and Experience
Ch. 14: Least Restrictive Environment - Ch. 15: Transition Services for Children With Autism
Ch. 16: Compensatory Education
Ch. 17: Asperger Syndrome - Ch. 18: Getting What Your Child Needs in a Settlement Negotiation
Ch. 19: Due Process-Winning Legal Strategies - Ch. 20: Damages
Ch. 21: Providing an Appropriate Education Under Section 504
Ch. 22: Case Law, Statues and Regulations - Ch. 23: Your Child's School Records
Ch. 24: More Than 60 Letters and Forms
Ch. 25: Financial Considerations
When considering a problem you're having with your child's school placement, have you ever thought "Boy, I wonder how I could look up the laws that apply to that," or, "I wonder if any court cases have ever been brought up about this," or, "What would be the best way to write a letter on this subject"?
If so, this information-packed volume deserves an easy-to-reach spot on your reference shelf, whether your child has autism or not. There's plenty of information about autism programs and planning, but the pages are also packed with basic strategies and negotiating tactics that will be of value to any parent doing special-education battle.
The 60-plus letter templates alone are worth the book's $29.95 price. Just about any missive you'd need to send, from thank-you notes to polite requests for information to serious demands for compliance are here with all due legal-ese and legislative attachments. It's easy to get overly emotional or angry when writing about issues as serious as your child's education and safety, but letters that may be used against you in a court of law should be as serious, to-the-point, and focused as possible. These templates will help you correspond like a pro.
Author David Sherman was a personal injury lawyer before coming out of retirement to represent parents in special education cases. He was inspired by the struggle he had getting appropriate services for his own son. As a parent, he understands the frustrations and anger that goes with having your child mistreated. And as a lawyer, he's going to recommend that you learn what you can and then hire a lawyer anyway.
There's information here that can keep you from getting to that point. With luck, that's the part you'll use most.
