Sponsor Children Across The Globe

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of SEO 5 Consulting. All opinions are 100% mine.

Too many children in our world are deprived of life’s basic necessities such as food, clean water, medical treatments, clothing and proper shelter. These are things that Canadians and Americans take for granted. It is estimated that approximately 25,000 children ages five and under die every day from unsanitary water, malnutrition, illnesses and diseases that can be treated with preventable vaccinations. With your help especially residents of Canada, you can help a desperate child in need. It all starts with helping that first child. We desperately need help from the Canadian residents. All it takes is thirty five dollars to sponsor a child. Your thirty five dollars will go towards teacher education, dig fresh water wells, open new schools, access to health care, embody the empowerment of girls, help start new businesses and develop trades. sponsor a child

Maybe that one child you help will grow up to help other people in need or but a future world leader that can make a difference in the own country. Many people spend thirty five dollars a month on entertainment or family night at McDonald’s. Giving up a small thirty five dollar a month luxury will change the life of a person, which eventually will change a generation and even a nation. I highly encourage you to check out http://bit.ly/hrRkR

Special Olympic Athlete Accepts Award

I have spent the last five years as a parent/coach for Special Olympics Events. I have met some wonderful people. Here in this video a young lady from Eugene, Oregon Amelia Abel accepts an award for Special Olympics Athelete of the Year. I don't claim to know her personally, but her story is inspiring.

Unforgotten: 25 Years After Willowbrook.

I realize that many people would rather watch an up beat video about the lives of people with disability issues. However, we cannot forget about those who suffered through years of isolation and abuse at the hands of institutions. Many of these people were institutionalized and abused because of their disability and they will spend the rest of their lives re-living horrific memories. One man recalls it being a prison sentence after spending 18 years of his life in an institution.

Mediation in the Special Education School System

The mediation process in the public school system can be a powerful resource for parents, but it can also be intimidating as well. Although the mediation process can be intimidating for parents, mediation provides an environment for open communication between parents and school district personnel.

An informed and involved parent is vital to the success of their child’s special education program. All too often, I have heard parents say that they weren’t aware of what is in their child’s curriculum. When the finally decided to pay a visit to their child’s class, the special education instructor had nothing to offer the parent for what their child is supposed to be learning. I must make this clear that there are plenty of excellent and qualified special education instructors that keep excellent records and open communication lines for parents. Federal laws and Washington State regulations enable a parent to play an important role in the special education process. The parents make an important contribution to the child’s education by sharing what they know about their child and help make decisions instead of handing over the educational decisions to the professionals.

A parent’s decision should based on knowledge and understanding of their rights and responsibilities. This requires trust and open communication with the school district. If problems and misunderstandings do arise, there are several ways to address them.

First, a parent may want to talk with the school personnel directly involved with the problem and discuss their concerns. If problems and misunderstandings do arise, there are several ways to address them. First, a parent may want to talk with the school personnel directly involved with the problem and discuss their concerns. If the problem is not resolved, they may request a mediation meeting, file a formal complaint, and/or request a due process hearing. Each of these options has a specific purpose for helping parents with their concerns, so it is important for parent to choose the best option for them (Wright 2006). Mediation with in the special education spectrum is when parents of a child with a disability and the staff sometimes disagree about the child’s special education or section 504 This process assist those individuals in reaching an agreement. It can be a quick and positive method for resolving disputes. Mediation can help by giving both parties equal opportunities to solve their problems by developing an agreement which reflects the best educational interest of the child (Wright 2006).

The characteristics of special education mediation are: 1) Voluntary. 2) Confidential. It is open communication in a confidential setting. There is no disclosure of information given by either party unless permission is obtained from the party. 3) At no cost to the parent, the state shall bear the cost of the mediation process, and 4) An alternative may occur prior to or concurrent with a request for a complaint investigation or a due process hearing. It does not interfere with the right to due process or due process time lines. Mediation in most cases will help resolve differences between parents and school personnel (Wright 2006).

Albeit, mediation is under the umbrella of special education, but it is also available under the Disability Law Section 504 and for other equity/discrimination laws such as gender and race/national origin. However, the laws do not provide the same level of support to the process as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

In June 1997, IDEA was reauthorized and signed into law. Under the reauthorization, all school districts are required to make special education mediation available to parents of children with disabilities. In Washington State, the use of mediation is strongly encouraged as a means to resolve disagreements between parents and school districts.

School districts are responsible for the cost incurred in mediation of Section 504 or equity disputes. Mediators have familiarity with these disability and equity laws. There are available to provide mediation services in these cases.

If a mediation session results in an agreement which would require changes to a student’s Individual Education Plan (IEP), and IEP team should be assembled as soon as possible to consider incorporation of elements of the agreement into the student’s IEP. The agreement may specify other agreed upon actions that are able to be taken. Not all mediation sessions result in agreements. If agreement is not reached, the mediator will certify to all the parties in writing that mediation has been unsuccessful. Even if an agreement is not reached, there is the potential of both parties leaving the session with an enhanced perspective of the issues and with the focus on the student. Most mediation results in better communication between the school and the parents. This often leads to an improved situation for the student (Wright 2006).

Mediators who have been involved with special education mediation have expressed that mediation is successful because it is a nurturing process. The process nurtures rather than destroys the trust and cooperation between people with an interest in the education of children with special needs. The existence of an ongoing relationship between both parties in a dispute contributes to the success of mediation. As a result, amicable settlements are more likely to occur.

Mills and Duff-Mallams (2000) examine and explain the empowerment and agreement process that contribute to the success of mediation are the well trained advocates, consistency with which statutory and regulatory requirements that have been enforced by school personnel, equality of bargaining power between the parties, a sense of empowerment, suitability of the issue to resolution through mediation, and the knowledge that the alternative to settlement is a full blown due process hearing.

For several years I have advocated for children in my community who have special needs. Parents and educators have utilized my knowledge of legal statues that are applied under 504 Disability Act. When parents arrive at the decision for mediation, their experience is not always a positive one. Parents feel they are up against the power of the institution because they are several members of the school personnel along with the mediator. The mediator is paid by the school district which leads me to believe that parents feel that the mediation process is not an equal process. Parents have shared with me that they feel empowered when they are able to utilize nonprofit organizations who advocate for parents with special needs such as the ARC of Whatcom County or other volunteer agencies. My experience with the school district is when a parent arrives with advocates, the school district appears to be more willing to find accomodations for a student.

Willowbrook and Other State Institutions

This article is authored and owned entirely by my wife Jeanette Stonecipher.

Why were the Willowbrooks able to exist? I believe that the intentions of the medical professionals were to have a safe, comfortable and productive environment for places like Willowbrook, but instead "professionals" were hired to run these facilities. There lack of training and burn out was a contributing factor that social workers and caregivers experienced. Compounding this problem is that legislation was not in place to protect individuals who were placed in these institutions.

If Kennedy stated they were snake pits in the late 1960's and Geraldo went in with his hidden camera in 1972, why did it take till 1987 to close it down completely? History has shown us that when it comes to making changes within social and health situations our government is slow to react. In my state of Washington, non-profit agencies have advocated to our state legislators for several years to close our mental institutions. Western State Hospital is currently one of the largest mental institutions in the nation. According to Wikipedia (2009), "Western State Hospital is a mental hospital on the former Fort Steilacoom in Lakewood, Washington. The largest psychiatric hospital west of the Mississippi, it is administered by Washington State Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS). It opened in 1871, predating statehood by almost twenty years, and is the second oldest state institution after the University of Washington. [1] For about three months in 1944 and much of 1945-1950 (except for a brief parole in 1946), actress Frances Farmer was committed there by her mother.

According to my co-worker who has an adult child that has disability issues, she used this institution for respite. My co-worker was extremely angry when she knew that Western State Hospital was in the process of closing its doors. I have heard from professionals as well as those who argue that Western State Hospital should remain. There argument is based from advocates that the sprawling grounds provide patients the opportunity to enjoy the plush greenery. If the patients were forced to live in community based housing, they would lose the beautiful Western Washington Grounds. In my opinion, this argument is a backwards way of thinking. This thinking continues to de-humanize the perception of people with intellectual disabilities. All people with disabilities should be afforded the right to choose to live in community based housing. They should have the right to choose where to live, who their friends are and have community access just as anyone else would.

What does this type of treatment of individuals tells me about what we thought of disabilities is that maybe society thought people were subhuman and didn’t have any rights. Parents felt they didn’t have any options and may not have wanted to know what was going on. Parents didn’t question authority because doctors and social workers are they experts.

For more on Disability issues see my friend Carol at Journey through the Cortex: Journey Through My GI System Continued: I get a Barium Swallow
Journey through the Cortex: Journey Through My GI System Continued: I get a Barium Swallow

Health and Advocacy Resources

Special health and advocacy articles and resources.

Special Education and Main-streaming
Main-streaming is the inclusion of special education students in general educational classrooms. It has been widely debated as to how successful students can be using this system. In this article, I give some personal insight to my feelings on main-streaming.

Who is Involved in Special Education Planning?
Many parents have no idea about the laws that protect special needs/disabled children's right for a free and appropriate education. This article is a parental resource for Special Education Planning.

Down Syndrome: Affects, Treatments, Resources and Life Challenges
People affected by Down syndrome have many obstacles to overcome. One of the biggest problems is resources and low societal expectations. This article includes a father's perspective who has a child affected by Down syndrome.

History, Policies and Our School Lunch Program
The history and problems with our current school lunch program. Is there any hope for change with our current budget cuts?

Disability Resources and Advocates
Resources for parents that have children with disabilities including autism, attention deficit disorder, behavior and learning disorders.

Universal and Moral Values
This is my reflection of minimum moral values.

Anxiety Disorders and Casual Factors
What many teens are dealing with today.

Treatments for Substance Abuse
When designing a treatment or prevention plan, singling out treatment and prevention efforts to the individual is virtually ineffective due to the multiple issues that are entangled with substance abuse.

Possible Connections to Autism
Some insight into autism. What are the known causes, and what types of therapy are being used?

Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy
Symptoms of Muchausen Syndrome by Proxy and statistics.

Divorce, Life Stressors and the Aftermath
The precursors and stressors to divorce.