IDEA seeks to protect the rights of the child and their caregiver. This is achieved through a partnership between caregivers and the school. Below are some resources to help caregivers stay informed and abreast of resources and tools that can help them become advocates for their child’s special education needs.

Intervention and Response to Intervention (RtI) Resources

NICHCY – National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities
This is a link to the National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities. The site provides information on research-supported educational strategies, No Child Left Behind as well as information on IDEA and how it affects children from birth through age 21.

Involving Parents in the IEP Process
This publication covers ways in which parents can serve as advocates for their child’s special education. Topics such as barriers to effective participation, the IEP process and strategies for beneficial collaboration.

Intervention Central
This link has extensive resources surrounding research-supported interventions for academic and behavioral services.

What Works Clearinghouse
This site houses empirically supported interventions and teaching strategies that range from early childhood education to adolescent literacy and math services.

Florida Center for Reading Research
This site lists age specific strategies parents can use in their home to help progress their child’s reading abilities. The website has a link to interventions for struggling readers, as well as information on RtI.

Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA)

What is ABA?
Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) uses an understanding of why behavior occurs to address a wide range of social issues, including helping individuals to learn. Like other instructional methods, ABA can be applied in classrooms to increase student’s engagement.

What distinguishes ABA from other disciplines?
Applied Behavior Analysis focuses on behavior. It uses research-based positive behavioral supports to teach “learning to learn” behaviors by following clearly defined procedures that specify how to change behavior. The primary focus of ABA is on those behaviors that will help students be successful in school.

ABA uses asn instructional method to teach a child those skills that will help him/her achieve the greatest degree of independence possible, enabling greater opportunities for success in the classroom setting or least restrictive environment.  Although many different techniques comprise ABA, the primary instructional method is called "Discrete Trial Teaching" (DTT) or "Teaching Interactions" (TI).  DTT and TI involve breaking a skill into smaller parts: teaching one sub-skill at a time until mastery, allowing repeated practice in a concentrated period of time, providing prompting and fading as necessary, using reinforcement procedures, data collection to document progress.

Is all ABA the same?
Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) can only take a variety of different forms dependent on the needs of the child. Research shows the best option is a careful balance of flexibility while still retaining the essence of a systematic approach to teaching. It is important to incorporate ABA techniques that are individually tailored for each child

ABA Process

• Develop strong and natural reinforcers so that learning can easily transfer to the real world.  When children are motivated by activities, social interaction, and the desire to learn, one does not have to rely upon artificial reinforcers.
• Help children so that they learn not only in 1:1 situations, but in small and large groups.
• Help children learn in natural settings, with the distractions that occur in schools and in the community.  With a strong foundation of learning how to learn, students can potentially learn in a typical classroom environment.
  
• Focus on the whole child. Communication and language, social skills and academics are all important, so that students can develop meaningful and lasting relationships.
  

Note: Definition written in collaboration with Autism Partnership

Community Resources

Technical Assistance Alliance for Parent Centers
This site is funded by the U.S. Department of Education and the Office of Special Education (OSEP) to provide information for parents on parent training sessions in their area.

Parent Training Centers in Illinois
This link provides information on parent training centers in Illinois, which serve to assist parents which explains special education services as well as effective collaboration with the school.

Procedural Safeguards

Parents' Rights Guide
A link to the Illinois State Board of Education’s guide for parents in understanding special education services in Illinois.

Requesting an Evaluation for Special Education

Family Education and Rights Privacy Act (FERPA)

Information for parents regarding their rights to privacy of their child’s records.

Related Services for Parents under IDEA

Related Services for Parents
Information on services available to parents of a child eligible for services under IDEA.