Rating: 
Summary: Pete Wright's FETA book is excellent!
Review: I recently attended Pete and Pam Wright's "Boot Camp" advocacy training in which their books, "From Emotions to Advocacy" and "Special Education Law" were used as part of their training. The books, as well as, the training are exceptional.In order for parents to become effective advocates for their child, these books are essential. I would highly recommend these books (and the training) to any parent of a disabled child. Pete's added comments contained within his "Special Education Law" book helps parents better understand just what the laws are saying without all the "legaleese". And the information contained in the FETA book is outstanding as well! It includes valuable information on how to interpret and understand your child's testing scores and to know what areas your child may be struggling in. I'll be using the information I gained from these books often! In fact, I already have!
Rating:
Summary: The Definitive Guide to Special Education
Review: If you are new to the Special Education maze or a seasoned veteran, this is the book to read. Pete and Pam Wright have collaborated on a book that is a must have for every parent, teacher, special education director, administrator and school board member. Parents will appreciate the easy navigation of the book, and attorneys and advocates will value the succinct nature of the laws and regulations. This is a great resource for parents and professionals, I cannot recommend it high enough. I will never leave for another meeting without it!!
Rating:
Summary: A Must Have for Parents of Children who have Disabilities!
Review: If you have a child with a disability,I cannot emphasize enough the importance of having this book. I happen to have two children with different disabilities. It does not matter what disability your child has, this book will help you. I wish I had it sooner. This book shows you how to write good letters to school personnel, an easy way to organize your childs files and the importance of doing this, how to measure testing to see if your child is progressing and how to use that information to help your child and the creation of the Ed Plan, how to prepare for an IEP meeting and participate using the right skills to get what is best for your child and so much more. Before I read this book I never thought I would have been able to get the services and modifications I wanted with such ease and success. By employing the strategies in this book I have found the school really listens to what I have to say and considers it. What a nice change from years past! Don't get me wrong you have to prepare, but this book shows you how. If you follow the advice in this book, it makes it very difficult for the school system to refuse you (if your requests are legitamate).
Don't be intimidated as I was, thinking: "I will never understand the information in this type of book." The authors write this in very easy to understand language. They actually make the laws interesting to learn and easy to remember. If only I had this book at the beginning of my Special Education journey? My wish is that you do!
Rating:
Summary: You will not regret this purchase-please buy it!
Review: If you have a child with a disability,I cannot emphasize enough the importance of having this book. I happen to have two children with different disabilities. It does not matter what disability your child has, this book will help you. I wish I had it sooner. This book shows you how to write good letters to school personnel, an easy way to organize your childs files and the importance of doing this, how to measure testing to see if your child is progressing and how to use that information to help your child and the creation of the Ed Plan, how to prepare for an IEP meeting and participate using the right skills to get what is best for your child and so much more. Before I read this book I never thought I would have been able to get the services and modifications I wanted with such ease and success. By employing the strategies in this book I have found the school really listens to what I have to say and considers it. What a nice change from years past! Don't get me wrong you have to prepare, but this book shows you how. If you follow the advice in this book, it makes it very difficult for the school system to refuse you (if your requests are legitamate).
Don't be intimidated as I was, thinking: "I will never understand the information in this type of book." The authors write this in very easy to understand language. They actually make the laws interesting to learn and easy to remember. If only I had this book at the beginning of my Special Education journey? My wish is that you do!
Rating:
Summary: ATTENTION: ALL PARENTS OF CHILDREN WITH LEARING DISABILITIES
Review: If you have a learning disabled child, this book will become your Bible. It is an excellent resource book and it has helped me tremendously in the IEP process. My son is in the seventh grade now. I wished I had purchased this book earlier. I suggest that anyone who is going through an IEP for the first time to buy this book. There is alot of information that is not provided by the school. Alot of parents accept what the school says without question. I suggest purchasing The Complete IEP Guide: How to Advocate for Your Special Ed Child as well. These two books will enable you to become more educated in the difficult journey through special education politics. It will guide you, offer suggestions and ultimately you will feel more confident as you approach the school department to get an appropriate education for your child. Along with these books, I highly recommend getting an educational advocate. They know the laws and they can interpret the test results that seem like they are written in a foreign language. To all parents with sped kids...good luck and I wish you and your child the best!!!
Rating:
Summary: TEACH YOURSELF TO BE AN EFFECTIVE ADVOCATE!
Review: Learning to be an effective advocate for your special needs child IS work! Special education is a "right", but must be assiduously pursued. But there are definite tactics and strategies to assist the parent. From Emotions to Advocacy [FETA] is a wonderful map for every parent. The book follows a logical and well organized road, beginning with preparing the reader for understanding the complex interplay of parents, schools, disabilities, and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and other disability laws. Among the important lessons that authors Pamela and Peter Wright teach are how to organize your files using a document management system, how to use private sector expert evaluations of your child and why they are essential, and how to understand the critical role of testing, percentile ranks, and the Bell Curve, and how to use those results to work for your child's "SMART IEP". The use of the "Columbo Strategy" to build valid IEP goals by asking "who, what,why,where, when, how and explain" [5Ws+H+E] is taught. The critical skill of letter writing and documenting all conversations, agreements, and decisions with your school administrators is part of the strategy of writing calm, factual letters as if they will be read by a "Stranger". Lessons to bolster your self confidence and achieve results in IEP meetings are carefully discussed. The sample letters in the appendices and the numerous strategy discussions lay out how to avoid letting anger and other emotions interfere with keeping your focus on improving your child's education. Numerous other appendices and cross references throughout FETA provide additional resources, including the informative Q&As of the federal IDEA Appendix A. As an attorney who has a child with special needs, I have benefited greatly from Peter and Pam Wright's insights and apply that knowledge in my own practice. FETA is the "how-to" starting point and compass for all parents entering the special education struggle.
Rating:
Summary: TEACH YOURSELF TO BE AN EFFECTIVE ADVOCATE!
Review: Learning to be an effective advocate for your special needs child IS work! Special education is a "right", but must be assiduously pursued. But there are definite tactics and strategies to assist the parent. From Emotions to Advocacy [FETA] is a wonderful map for every parent. The book follows a logical and well organized road, beginning with preparing the reader for understanding the complex interplay of parents, schools, disabilities, and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and other disability laws. Among the important lessons that authors Pamela and Peter Wright teach are how to organize your files using a document management system, how to use private sector expert evaluations of your child and why they are essential, and how to understand the critical role of testing, percentile ranks, and the Bell Curve, and how to use those results to work for your child's "SMART IEP". The use of the "Columbo Strategy" to build valid IEP goals by asking "who, what,why,where, when, how and explain" [5Ws+H+E] is taught. The critical skill of letter writing and documenting all conversations, agreements, and decisions with your school administrators is part of the strategy of writing calm, factual letters as if they will be read by a "Stranger". Lessons to bolster your self confidence and achieve results in IEP meetings are carefully discussed. The sample letters in the appendices and the numerous strategy discussions lay out how to avoid letting anger and other emotions interfere with keeping your focus on improving your child's education. Numerous other appendices and cross references throughout FETA provide additional resources, including the informative Q&As of the federal IDEA Appendix A. As an attorney who has a child with special needs, I have benefited greatly from Peter and Pam Wright's insights and apply that knowledge in my own practice. FETA is the "how-to" starting point and compass for all parents entering the special education struggle.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant and necessary for anybody with special ed issues!
Review: Pete and Pam Wright have pulled together one of the most important how-to manuals ever written for navigating your way through the morass of special education, and for using the law to demand/get a good education for your child. (Pete is the attorney who argued and won the "Shannon Carter" case before the Supreme Court, putting ADD/ADHD on the map.) highly recommend you get and read this book: it's a goldmine of information! - Thom Hartmann, author, ADD: A Different Perception
Rating:
Summary: The perfect complement to their first Book
Review: Six years ago, well after our son was illegaly expelled from his high school, I became an advocate for parents of children with disabilities. Over the years I have gained some national recognition for my work. But It wasn't until I found Pete and Pamela's Wright's first book "Wrightslaw", that I had one single place to learn what a parent needs to understand and secure their child's "legal rights". Their books are written in plain English and not legalese which for someone with learning disabilities, as I am, made my life easy. Now the Wright's have added what is the perfect complement to their first book called, "From Emotions to Advocacy". I know, first hand, how badly I personally performed when we found out our child had two disorders and was going to be tested by our school. Our child's school did everything they could to not provide our child with the mandated help found within IDEA and the Americans with Disabilities Act. What Pete and Pamela have done in this book, is provide "All" the answers to the hundreds of questions a parent of a child with disabilities have when entering the world of Special Education. For instance, what do those special education tests scores the school gives you mean? Or, when they tell you your child is not entitled to help because your child is passing their grades, Pete and Pam tell you why that may not be accurate or legal. It not only gives you the answers to your questions, it gives you questions to ask of your child's educators that force them to be honorable. They tell you how to write a letter to teachers, and administrators, that get results, not using anger which is most parents' biggest mistake when dealing with antagonistic schools. It is a soup to nuts book covering every base of information needed to be your child's best advocate. I write a monthly column that is read by hundreds of people on various web sites. The greatest complement, I can give to any author, is when I'm personally asked by the parents I help, what they should read, my advice is buy the two books by Pam and Pete Wright ("Wrightslaw: Special Education Law" and their new book "From Emotions to Advocacy").
One gives you the legal information you need to make sure your school follows the law, and their new Book, from "Emotions to Advocacy" teaches you how to deal effectively with the school after you get them to follow the law. Bottom line, My advice is rather simple, If you are to buy any books about the World of Special Education and securing the help your child needs and is entitled to under law, then these two books are all you will ever need. They are the end all be all of Special Education help books. From Emotions to Advocacy frees us, from the pain of not knowing what to do to help our kids in dealing with Special Education issues. These books are a "MUST BUY" Steve Metz
teacher007@aol.com
Rating:
Summary: This is a Precious Resource For Child advocates
Review: The games you must play, the rules you must learn, the complex and confusing mazes you must navigate to get help for your child match the mythic mazes of antiquity, where people would wander, lost and hopeless until they died. The Wrights have created a book that, almost like magic, dispels the mists, casts bright shining light upon the dark recesses of the bureaucratic blockades the average parent, coach or advocate will find when trying to get help for a child. This is a superb book for parents. It helps them understand the laws, actually putting into print the actual legal verbiage, then interpreting it into plain English. Then they give you great advice on how to prepare for, go into and negotiate in meeting where your child's needs are being discussed. ... I bring together hundreds of health care practitioners who work with children with ADD, learning disabilities, neurobehavioral, developmental, sensory, medical and emotional disorders. It's always a pleasure to discover a valuable resource to share with colleagues and this is one of them. It deserves a space on the bookshelf of any counselor, psychologist, educator or other provider who advocates for children.
|
