New Report from the Arise Coalition - April 2009

The past seven years of education reform have not significantly improved outcomes, experiences or services for New York City’s160,000 public school students with disabilities, according to Include!  Educate!  Respect!, a report issued April 23, 2009 by the ARISE Coalition.  The report is a review of the reform initiatives and performance data as well as the experiences of parents under the leadership of Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Chancellor Joel Klein.  It describes how Mayor Bloomberg’s Children First reforms have left students with disabilities out and calls for the Department of Education (DOE) to focus on specific reform priorities. Click here to see the full press release and download the report.

http://arisecoalition.org/

6. Government ( www.nyc.gov/dcas)

7. Non-profits

Call to set up an appointment with our Job Coach Len Gross

Board Member Peter Flom's Blog

SPECIAL EDUCATION LEGAL ADVOCACY AND CONSULTATION

Is your child in special education? Do you want to improve your child’s school program?
Are you confused about how special education works? Would you like some questions
answered? If you answered YES to any of these questions, you should attend:

One of the upcoming workshops presented by The New York Lawyers for the Public Interest

Bronx – October 29, 2009
Borough President’s Office
851 Grand Concourse, Room 206

Brooklyn – November 12, 2009
Safe Horizon Community Mediation Center
210 Joralemon Street, Room 618

Manhattan – November 16, 2009
United Cerebral Palsy of NYC
120 Eat 23rd Street, Room 525

All training sessions will be from 6:00 P.M. – 8:00 P.M

Space is limited. Pre-registration is required. Call Suhali at (212) 244-4664, Ext. 348.

GED Info for Adults with LD

Accommodations for the Graduation Equivalency Diploma

Every candidate for the GED Tests should have a fair opportunity to demonstrate his or her knowledge and skills under appropriate test conditions. For some candidates, a disability may interfere with their ability to fully demonstrate what they know under standard testing conditions.

Learning disabilities, for example, can affect your ability to store, process, and/or produce information. They can also affect your ability to read, write, speak, do math, and socialize. Many physical disabilities can affect a person’s ability to sit for long periods of time, to write using a pencil and paper, or to read normal-sized print.

Accommodations in testing are available for adults with documented physical disabilities as well as learning disabilities, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and emotional or psychological disabilities. Each request is considered on an individual basis.

Accommodations may include:

• Audiocassette edition (with large-print reference copy)
• Large print edition
• Braille edition
• Extended time
• Use of a scribe
• Use of a talking calculator or abacus
• Supervised frequent breaks
• Use of a private room
• One-on-one testing at a health facility or candidate’s home
• Vision-enhancing technologies
• Use of video equipment
• Sign-language interpreter
• Other accommodations as warranted by candidate’s need

If you have a documented disability, contact your local GED Testing Center and request one of the following forms. Staff at the testing center can tell you what is needed to complete each of these forms. Return the completed form to the same location. Once the disability is documented and accommodations are approved, your local GED Chief Examiner will arrange to conduct the testing using approved accommodations. The candidate will not incur any additional charges for these accommodations.

For more info see the GED website:

http://www.acenet.edu/Content/NavigationMenu/ged/test/Take/Accommodations_Disab.htm

AHRC Free Workshops

Upcoming events and other related events of interest

Follow link to website for more information:

http://www.ahrcnyc.org/events/events.htm

Upcoming Adult Support Group

We welcome Robert M. Tudisco, Attorney at Law.  He is a practicing attorney, freelance writer and an adult diagnosed with AD/HD. 

He will be presenting on the topic: Self-Advocacy for Adults with LD

When: Tuesday January, 26th 2010

Time: 6:00pm - 8:00pm

Where: LDA NYC Suite 303

http://addconsults.com/articles/full.php3?id=1303

Celebrating Inclusion

“How can your school help to make sure all students with disabilities are welcomed and valued members of the school community?”
Poems, essays, stories, audio clips and video clips are some ways to participate

http://www.weteamteach.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/Inclusion-Contest-Flyer-PW26.pdf

Next Adult Support Group

MARCH 30th – Tuesday @ 6:00 pm – “Exploring Communication in Relationships”

Join us for an in depth look at good communication techniques

Sprout Film Festival

The 8th Annual SPROUT Film Festival

Friday April 30 - Sunday May 2, 2010

"Making the Invisible Visible"

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

http://www.gosprout.org/film/sff2010/index.html

Next Computer Literacy Workshop

Are you an adult with LD, who is interested in computer skills? If so, this FREE workshop is for you!

What: Computer Literacy Workshop

When: Friday July 9th

Time: 11:00am-12:30pm

Where: LDA Learning Lab - Room 303, 27 West 20th Street 10011

Extra Details:

• Please bring a flash drive if you own one

• If you are a new visitor, please bring documentation of your Learning Disability.