Education

Children with disabilities are usually eligible for extended school year (ESY) programs. What help your child can get is up to you, the school and the Individualized Education Plan team (IEP) of professionals who chart your child's school program. Some ESY options include summer school, tutoring at home, a private residential program, or a summer camp. Whether you are trying to justify an ESY for your child, or are working with the IEP team to create an effective and enjoyable program, attend the IEP team meeting armed with your documentation and several different ideas on how to implement a summer program.

Qualifying your child for ESY could get tougher this year. New regulations published by the Department of Education can make it easier for schools to deny ESY services families say. It's no secret that parents of children with disabilities usually have to fight for services whether or not they are mandated. For more information, review the publications on this page. Click here for more tips on qualifying for ESY programs

Extracurricular activities
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act ("IDEA") requires that a students' IEP include services to ensure that the student is given opportunities to participate in extracurricular and non-academic activities with non-disabled peers, such as school sports, extracurricular clubs and programs, or activities such as field trips or community service projects. The IEP must specify the extent to which the student will not be permitted to participate in extracurricular activities.

In addition, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act requires school districts to make accommodations to ensure that students with disabilities are provided with meaningful access to extracurricular activities, and that students be provided with aids or supportive services to assist in participating if necessary.

For more help
Extended School Year Services (ESY): What Special Education Advocates Need to Know. A web based seminar offered by The Advocacy Institute. Thursday, April 17, 2008, 2:00 to 3:30 PM ET. $40.00.

Parent Training and Information Center. The Rhode Island Parent Information Network (RIPIN) offers families and professionals individualized support, information, training workshops, transition planning and guidance to help improve educational and life outcomes for children with disabilities, from birth to age twenty-one. A special emphasis is placed on the special education process, laws and basic rights.

The Paul V. Sherlock Center on Disablities. Promotes membership of individuals with disabilities in school, work and the community. Initiatives provide training, technical assistance, service, research, and information sharing.

Autism Spectrum Disorder Support Center. Offers services and supports to individuals with ASD, professionals and families. Support includes professional development opportunities, workshops and in-service training, technical assistance to classrooms and/or individuals, resource library and web site, best practice guidelines, demonstration classrooms, data systems, and comprehensive planning.

Some Specifics
Bradford L. Dunn Institute Summer Program. Skill-strengthening academic camp for students with learning differences that can be combined with afternoons at the Wheeler Summer Camp Program, (transportation provided). Designed for students in grades 2-7 using multi sensory teaching techniques including an Orton-Gillingham-based approach to reading.

The Kent Center's Eleanor Briggs School. Nine-week extended school year program offers recreation, academic classes and clinical services in a summer camp atmosphere for students whose behavioral and emotional difficulties significantly impede their progress in public school.

Linden Hill School. Residential summer program for boys and girls, 7-16, who have language based disorders and/or dyslexia. Involves morning academics, afternoon and evening traditional camp activities, and weekend overnight trips.

The Groden Center, Inc. Community Support Services. Social Group for Children and Adolescents with Asperger's Syndrome. Four age groups. The program will focus on teaching individuals with A.S. the social skills needed to promote positive peer interactions, friendship development and stress management and of course, meet and interact with peers with similar strengths and needs.

The Sensational Child. Offers an array of services designed to improve the quality of life of children with disabilities and their families. Expects to become a leading Rhode Island support center for parents who have a child with a disability.

The Narragansett Bay Classroom. URI's Office of Marine Programs offers short courses, lectures, tours, field trips, interpretative programs, camps, and training opportunities for people of all ages. It publishes a catalog in September and February.

Museum of Natural History and Planetarium. Visitors to the Cormack Planetarium will witness the planets, stars and galaxies projected on to its 28 foot domed ceiling. The Museum houses specimens and objects from all over the world including preserved plants, animals and insects. Museum educational programs include ones about American Indians, fossils, rock hunting, sunlight, seeds and soil.

Sargent Rehabilitation Center. 800 Quaker Lane, Warwick, RI 02818. (401) 886-6600. Offers a professionally guided summer program in July and August for school-aged children in need of intensive therapy in the areas of speech/language, education, sensory and peer integration. A day school program for children 3 - 21 years with language/learning disabilities, genetic disorders, traumatic brain injury or other neurologic disorder helps prepare them for school or independent living. The Center also offers a comprehensive outpatient program which includes services in audiology, occupational and physical therapy, speech therapy, and specialized groups for children (Action Zone). Sargent Center also offers free parent education workshops (Link to Learning) and a brain injury support group for adults and families.

TechACCESS of RI. Provides comprehensive assistive technology services for people with disabilities. Resources include more than 250 assistive technology catalogs, a data base with 20,000 items, and assistive technology videos and books. Provides orientation sessions for small groups of professionals who are interested in the center's resources and services, public demonstrations of technology solutions and demonstrations by technology vendors.

The New England Assistive Technology Marketplace. Provides 25,000 square feet of space for product demonstrations, expos, classes, computer use, research and equipment restoration. Operates under the auspices of The Connecticut Institute for the Blind/Oak Hill. Offers periodic product and services expos. Can help school districts develop Assistive Technology training programs for special education teachers, support staff, AT teams. Conducts a speaker's series which includes titles such as Assistive Technology Tools and Services for Students with Pervasive Developmental Disorders.

Down Syndrome Awareness Project. Down Syndrome Society of Rhode Island. This interactive project, with the students, can be tailor made for individual needs of students and schools. The Awareness Project is presented during two 45-minute to one-hour sessions. The first session is a discussion about Down syndrome that deals with questions like: What things might be difficult for our friends with Down syndrome? And How can we be a good friend to our classmate(s) with Down syndrome? The second session consists of activities through which children experience what it's like to actually have Down syndrome.

Putting Creativity to Work: Careers in the Arts for People with Disabilities. Whether you are a visual, literary or performing artist with a disability this publication provides valuable information to help you pursue not just a job, but a career that is creative and challenging. Career development, vocational rehabilitation, and special education professionals will also find this to be a helpful resource.

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