The Complete Guide to Special Education Expert Advice on Evaluations, IEPs, and Helping Kids Succeed

Provides an insider's view of the special education process for parents and teachersThis book explores the special education process-from testing and diagnosis to IEP meetings and advocating for special needs children. Step by step the authors reveal the stages of identification, assessment, and intervention, and help readers to better understand special needs children's legal rights and how to become an active, effective member of a child's educational team. Grounded in more than twenty-five years of working with parents and educators, the authors provide significant insight into what they have learned about the special education. This book fills the gap in the literature for the millions of children receiving special education services and the parents who are clamoring for information on this topic. Includes valuable tools, checklists, sample forms, and advice for working with special education students Demystifies the special education process, from testing and diagnosis to IEP meetings and advocating for childrenNew editions covers Response-to-Intervention (RTI), a new approach to diagnosing learning disabilities in the classroom; expanded coverage of autism spectrum disorders and bipolar disorder; and a revamped Resources section.

Linda Wilmshurst, Ph.D., ABPP, an associate professor of psychology at Elon University in North Carolina, has more than twenty-five years of professional practitioner experience as a clinical and school psychologist working with children and families in a wide variety of settings.

Alan W. Brue, Ph.D., NCSP has worked for many years as a school psychologist in Georgia, providing a wide range of services to metro-Atlanta school districts. A nationally certified school psychologist and university trainer, Brue has extensive knowledge of assessment, special education laws, and school organization.