Military families are likely to switch schools more often than other families. This can require learning new rules and finding new resources. To help plan, here are four valuable tips for a smooth PCS (permanent change of station, which is the military language for “relocation”) with a special educational or medical needs child. Tip 1: Read More
When a child has a disability, parents often learn that getting their child’s needs met requires persistence, organization, and advocacy. Advocacy is an action. A person is an advocate when they organize the work and press onward until a goal is achieved. Laws that protect the rights of students with disabilities also protect parents as Read More
A Brief Overview Keeping track of important documents for your child’s health can save you time and give you less stress. Take advantage of technology! If you choose to build a digital storage system, integrating it with your smart phone will make it easy to share information on-the-go with doctors, day care providers, school staff, Read More
Why Get Help from PTI? Parent Training and Information (PTI) is federally funded to support family caregivers, youth, and professionals. We know educational systems use a lot of complicated words and follow procedures that can feel confusing. We do our best to provide tips for communicating as members of a school-and-family team that develops a student’s Read More
A Brief Overview WISe behavioral healthcare teams serve children and youth 20 or younger whose conditions are too severe to benefit appropriately from regular visits to a community clinician and/or therapist. To qualify for WISe, the young person must be eligible for Apple Health, which is the public health program for Washington State. WAC 182-505-0210 Read More
A Brief Overview Full Article Whether on Zoom or around a conference table, sitting down with a team of professionals can feel intimidating to families. When a child’s Individualized Education Program (IEP) is on the agenda, emotions can overtake a meeting. Getting defensive or angry does not usually help, however. This article provides tools for Read More
A Brief Overview PAVE offers this article specifically to assist families navigating special education systems when they are new to our state, or if they have a child or youth who now needs special education The information in this article is available on a downloadable two-page handout. Families can get individualized help by filling out Read More
Brief Overview The National Education Association (NEA) recognizes that childhood experiences related to domestic abuse, trauma or divorce affect education. This article includes recommendations for teachers, family members or other adults who might advocate for a student who needs more help due to challenging life circumstances. Researchers agree that a trauma-sensitive approach to special education Read More
Here are our top three tips for making every conversation with your child’s IFSP or IEP team an opportunity to show them what makes your child the remarkable human being you know and love. Strengths Needs Things my child does that make me feel happy or unconcerned Things that my child does or cannot do Read More
The following information is part of the college readiness workbook. You can download this and other parts of this workbook for your personal use. Each document is fillable. Post-secondary schools each set their own procedures and requirements to request accommodations. Here are some key points and tips on effective ways to request accommodations. Accessibility is Read More
Workshops and Webinars STOMP provides a range of learning opportunities tailored to military families, including virtual workshops spanning multiple days, two-day in-person workshops, and 90-minute webinars covering a variety of topics. Our goal is to strengthen connections and knowledge among military families. Some of the topics covered include Parents Rights and Responsibilities in Achieving Education Read More
When a child struggles to maintain emotional well-being, the whole family is impacted. Parents can feel confused about where to go for help. This toolkit provides an overview of information about crisis response, school-based services, medical systems, family support networks and places to advocate for systemwide improvements. For individualized, non-emergency support, please click Get Help and someone Read More
A Brief Overview A first-time IEP document is a lot to absorb. This article provides tips to help family members read through a draft IEP and prepare to participate on the IEP team that finalizes the Individualized Education Program before services begin. Remember, the school’s first version is a DRAFT, and family members of the Read More
A Brief Overview Districts are responsible to provide a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) to students within their boundaries with known or suspected disabilities that significantly impact access to learning. Read on to learn more about FAPE and student rights. Federal and state requirements to ensure that children with qualifying disabilities can access early learning Read More