Legal Documents Letter of intent: a personal document expressing your wishes for your child which are not included in the will. It has no legal standing, but acts as a guide for guardians, Power of Attorney agents, and trustees. It can be provided to your selected guardians and a copy can be saved with the Read More
Category: Disability Pride
Information based on the idea that people with disabilities should be proud of their identity and their disability.
What’s Next? High School Transition Planning Timeline
Description of the above graphic: What’s Next? High School Transition Planning Mapping the Future Check these milestones to ensure high school paves a pathway for young adult success and achievement! Ages 13-14Student begins High School and Beyond Plan in Middle School—a WA State requirement for all students. Ages 15-16IEP includes a Transition Plan, aligned with Read More
Self-Advocacy: Becoming an Active Member in Your Community
Brief overview: If you have ever defended your rights or the rights of other people, you were acting as an advocate. Self-advocacy means taking responsibility for telling others what you need and want in a respectful and direct way. Anyone can be a self-advocate. Speaking up for yourself or someone else can help you be Read More
ABLE: An Account to Overcome the SSI Resource Limit for Adults with Disabilities
A Brief Overview Full Article Living with a disability can be difficult and costly. Adults who receive benefits from the Social Security Administration because of disability often are challenged to improve their life circumstances because of a $2,000 resource limit. This limit means that a person receiving payments from Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or the Read More
Special Education Terms
Glossary of Terms Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR): also known simply as dispute resolution or procedural safeguards; options for resolving disagreements between parents and school districts; Washington’s options include facilitation, mediation, community complaint, and due process hearing. Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA): the federal law that makes it unlawful to discriminate against individuals with disabilities in Read More
Movers, Shakers, and Troublemakers: How Technology Can Improve Mobility and Access for Children with Disabilities
A Brief Overview Connecting to the World through Mobility I want to invite you to take 30 seconds and think back to when you were a kid. What did you love to do? Why did you love it? How did this contribute to who you were, and how see yourself now? For me, it was Read More
School to Adulthood: Transition Planning Toolkit for High School, Life, and Work
Looking to the future can feel exciting, hopeful, confusing, overwhelming—or all emotions at once. For families supporting a young person with a disability, it’s never too soon to begin planning to ensure a smooth process from the teen years toward whatever happens next. This toolkit supports families as they organize this multiyear project. Presenting our Read More
Supporting literacy: Text-to-Speech and IEP goal setting for students with learning disabilities
A child who struggles to read can quickly fall behind in school. Nearly every academic area includes some reading, and children might become confused or frustrated when they don’t get help to make sense of their schoolwork. Behavior challenges can result, and sometimes schools and parents struggle to understand why the student is having a Read More
Sample Letter to Request a Functional Behavioral Assessment
When a student’s behavior gets in the way of their learning and/or the learning of others, the school is responsible to figure out how to support behavioral expectations. One way to do that is to assess why the student might be acting out and use that information to consider how positive behavioral interventions might teach Read More
Supported Decision Making is an Option for Adults with Disabilities
A Brief Overview Full Article When a young person turns 18, most decisions are now up to them. In Washington State, age 18 is the “age of majority,” which means a person 18 or older has the right to make their own decisions about education, work, money matters, voting and more. Note: In Washington the Read More
Stay Stubborn! One Girl’s Self-Determination while Navigating Healthcare
By Kyann Flint Being stubborn is the right approach when it means self-determination. Having the drive to learn what you want and need and then speak up for yourself gives you control over your life. I learned that lesson young. By age 6, I was advocating in my own healthcare. My doctor wanted to stick Read More
COVID-19 and Disability: Access to Work has Changed
By Kyann Flint The world of work is generally not built for the disability community. Federal laws guarantee the right to work and the right to accommodations, but modern-day jobs do not always give each person an opportunity to succeed. Many workers with disabilities must try harder to make the job fit, and some employers Read More
How to Testify in a Committee Hearing during the 2021 Washington Legislative Session
Learn about the new ways in which you can testify in a committee hearing of the Washington State Legislature. Due to COVID, advocacy or testimony with the Washington State Legislature this year will have to be done remotely, through zoom, which means there are new rules. When testifying over zoom, there are some special things Read More
Attention Students: Lead your own IEP meetings and take charge of your future
A Brief Overview Full Article If you are a student with an Individualized Education Program (IEP), read this article to find out how you can be a leader on your IEP team. Your future is counting on you! By the time you are 16 years old, the school is required to invite you to your IEP meetings. Read More