A group designed to help parents with children who have intellectual and developmental disabilities is getting its start in the area and providing answers to difficult questions.
Warren County …
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A group designed to help parents with children who have intellectual and developmental disabilities is getting its start in the area and providing answers to difficult questions.
Warren County Family Inclusion special education support group can offer support and resources to Warren County families who have a child currently with an IEP (Individualized Education Plan), and who receive special services such as physical, occupational, speech or behavior therapy.
Laura Vrabel, who is a parent of a disabled child, and Crystal Norman, a special education teacher in the Wright City School District, started the group last year, offering in-person informational programs and a private Facebook page for group members to communicate.
“The group currently has 30 members,” said Vrabel. “It includes parents, paraprofessionals and teachers. We live in a rural district. Sometimes it’s hard to get resources.”
Vrabel said the overall goal of the group is to work in cooperation with local school districts to help parents work through some of the roadblocks and challenges their families can face. She said parents can struggle to understand details of their children’s education plan and often don’t fully understand the process offered by school districts for special needs students.
Several parents attended a support group meeting on Saturday, April 16, at the Wright City Scenic Regional Library. Sally Knox, program coordinator with Missouri Parents Act (MPACT) was the guest speaker and offered resources for the parents.
“We are working to strengthen relationships with the community and schools and focus on low-level resolutions,” said Knox.
MPACT is a federally funded Parent Training and Information center. Its mission is to “empower families to advocate for themselves so that children with special education needs can reach their full potential in education and life.” MPACT is just one example of resources that will be available to parents from the SPED/Inclusion Parent Support Group.
“The support group is helping me understand my child better,” said Beth Neldon.
“It’s helping me understand my rights and what the school can do. I’m finding out I’m not alone,” added Melissa Fitzgerald.
Vrabel said as their children get older, the situation gets even tougher.
“You have a very lonely world,” said Norman. “People can’t know what we are going through. Parents in this support group understand.”
Vrabel said historically kids like theirs were sent to institutions. She believes that is why society is ill-equipped to understand what parents face.
Norman said many of the disabilities in children only show up as they age. She said she believes society is in a better place than it used to be, but these kinds of challenges are very hard for parents to take in and the solutions are not easy.
For more information about the support group, visit the Warren County Family Inclusion/SPED Support Group page on Facebook.
