Panel on Self-Advocacy for Students with Disabilities

The Lower Hudson Special Education Task force is pleased to announce its next presentation: Student Self-Advocacy Success Stories. Room is still available. These skills of self-advocacy and self-direction are so essential for young adults and it takes significant work and self-knowledge for students to develop self-advocacy skills, particularly for vulnerable youth. The panel will take place on Tuesday, February 23, 2016, from 9:30 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. (Registration begins at 9 a.m.) , at the Linda Kelly Theatre, New Rochelle High School, 265 Clove Road, New Rochelle, NY.

The panel will explore ways parents and school districts can work together to help students:

• become self-advocates,
• meaningfully participate in their CSE or Section 504 meetings,
• maximize their independence and
• make a smooth transition to life after high school.

Panel participants will include:
Naomi Brickel, Director, Hudson Valley Special Education Parent Center
Laurie Levine, Regional Special Education Training Specialist, RSE-TASC
Janine and Shana Belfast, Parent and Student Parents, teachers, special educators, psychologists, school personnel and other professionals are encouraged to attend.

The mission of the New York State Task Force is to improve educational access and outcomes for students with disabilities through a collaborative statewide network of stakeholders representing a variety of roles in addressing the special education needs of students in New York State. Specifically, the Lower Hudson Special Education Task Force will focus its efforts on enhancing knowledge and connections between parents, school districts, individuals with disabilities and service providers invested in the education of students with disabilities and providing a forum where these stakeholders can discuss issues, policies, best practices, proposed changes to law and regulations impacting students with disabilities. Through its focus on collaboration, the Lower Hudson Special Education Task Force offers a unique and effective approach to addressing the needs and concerns of all stakeholders, thereby improving understanding and reducing conflict. Nanette Saturn and Marion Walsh, Esq. serve as co-chairs of the task force.

Learn more here.