#39 Delaying Access to Special Education: How Parents and Special Educators Can Work Together to Prevent It

On last week’s show, I talked all about how to build relationships with parents and how to work together as a team for the benefit of the child so I thought having a parent on the show and getting their perspective and their input would be beneficial.

Today’s special guest is Aaron Wright. As the parent of an autistic teenager, Aaron Wright's daughter was initially denied access to special education support. So he began a quest to expose the flaws within the system that harm disabled children and deny them an appropriate education. His award-winning memoir,Thirteen Doors: A Family’s Fight for Equal Access to Education, offers inspiration, hope, and hard-won insight for parents who are determined that their disabled kids get the education they deserve. His authentic perspective allows parents of disabled children to find validation as well as provides a window insight for parents of all children, regardless of their experience with the school system.

Within this episode, Aaron and I discuss 

• The negative impacts of waiting until a child is older to qualify them for special education
• How a parent can be an advocate for their child
• What compelled him to write his book
• What advice he has for closing the gap between parents and the school system

I can tell by Aaron's story and his Instagram posts, that he is so passionate about helping other parents know their rights and understand the laws of special education to prevent this from happening to them.

In fact, that's how I came across Aaron was from one of his Instagram posts that said...“The wait and see approach in special education causes undue harm. Why do we have to wait until a child is in crisis before we intervene.”

This statement really stuck with me and caused me to reach out to Aaron to learn how we can begin to support each other.

Aaron mentions that building a relationship with the parents you work with is highly important. This Parent Handbook for Special Education in my TPT store is the perfect opener for new parents or a good reminder for you current parents.


Mentioned in the Show...
What's Your Special Educator Superpower Quiz

You can find Aaron here https://www.authoraaronwright.com/  or get a  Free audio chapter and a pdf of the first 3 chapters of Thirteen Doors: A Family's Fight for Equal Access to Education

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