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The mission of A.S.K. is to improve the
quality of life for children with special needs in Evanston and
neighboring communities, to support and educate families of children
with special needs, to establish and maintain communication and
programs within the community, and to encourage understanding,
acceptance and inclusion for all of our special kids, whether
they attend public school, private school, or home school.
- Support and educate families
of children with special needs with information, education
and parent-to-parent support
- Sponsor workshops and lectures
by professionals regarding special needs, learning
differences, the special education process, and techniques
to help parents be effective members of the Individual
Education Plan (IEP) team
- Refer parents to available community
resources
- Educate parents regarding their
rights under the Individuals with Disabilities Education
Act (IDEA) so they can become strong advocates for
their children
- Connect families with other
families in the community whose children have similar
disabilities or attend the same Evanston school
- Work with District 65 to support
special education services in our local schools
- Raise awareness for learning
disabilities in all schools and the community
- Inform the parents of disabled
infants and toddlers of their rights as early as possible.
The law requires needed services to be provided to
such children even before the age at which a child
usually starts school
- Encourage parents to see and
develop the strengths in their children
After struggling for years to get
Matthew well situated in the Evanston public school district,
Marian concluded that she must not be alone in her struggle
that other parents must also be struggling with the labyrinth
that is special education. So she established A.S.K.
as a way to (1) share information and resources, (2)
work for a better special education system in this district,
and (3) help parents turn themselves into effective advocates
for their children. The mother of 8 year old twins, Marian
has long played an active role in community and school
affairs. Her son Matthew was diagnosed with a non-verbal
learning disability at age 4; he currently attends Lincoln
Elementary and receives both private and school-based
services. Matthew's diagnosis is what led Marian to focus
her energies on special needs education, and what ultimately
motivated her to establish an organization to help other
parents of special needs children. In May of 2002, A.S.K.
was awarded a grant from the Evanston Community Foundation
to create this A.S.K. website and an A.S.K. Community
Newsletter. I want to express special thanks to the Evanston
Community Foundation for this grant and their continued
support and belief in A.S.K.
There are more than 1,100 students
attending school in District 65 that receive special
services, and there are many more that are undiagnosed
who should be receiving special services. All demographic
and epidemiological studies indicate that this number
will continue to increase, both locally and nationally.
A myriad of laws, regulations, guidelines, and policies
govern the rights of students with disabilities, and
for this we can all be thankful. However, these same
policies can introduce a level of complexity that many
parents are not prepared to navigate. Despite the large
number of special needs students in Evanston, there are
no independent groups or organizations designed to support
parents and families through this difficult and often
emotional process. Importantly, a disproportionate percentage
of special needs children come from underprivileged families;
this is unfortunate because very often, the experience
of a child with special needs is directly influenced
by the time, money, and other resources that parents
are able to bring to bear on the matter.
Evanston School District 65 provides
special education services to children from early childhood
through eighth grade, but does not offer resources about
disabilities, a referral network for parents, or an organized
parent support group. Whether underprivileged or not,
families raising a child with special needs face an immense
series of challenges, and need the resources, information,
guidance and support network that ASK has developed.
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