Parenting a child with special needs means negotiating the special education system—a daunting challenge whether you’re a seasoned veteran like me or a new to parenting a child with learning differences. The system is crowded with professionals, acronyms, and meetings. Parents are thrust into the special education arena as members of a team (teachers, therapists, school administrators, etc.), creating an annual educational plan that’s mandated by federal law and tailored to meet the unique needs of the child. Like death and taxes, there are some unfortunate guarantees in special education. What the letter of the law requires and what the spirit of the law intends is not always found at school. Reality often means interest groups: regular versus special education, athletics versus academics, trained and untrained personnel, required curricular modifications but a lack of personnel to create them, and the need for technology which is found lacking.

Somewhere in the middle sits the child. Parents of children receiving special education services are destined to deal with disappointment. Deflated hope breeds frustration, borne from a feeling of powerlessness and an inability to achieve what has been determined to be best for their child. The experience can leave even the informed and involved parent feeling overwhelmed and desperate. Parents of children with special needs are likely to wear other hats as well—nurse, social worker, advocate—and the experience can be mentally and emotionally draining. In my despair, I often asked myself, “What happened to just being Ashley’s mom?” Rather than allowing myself to be paralyzed by anger and frustration, I was ultimately empowered by becoming actively engaged in determining my child’s future. I learned my parental rights and my daughter’s rights, understood how my child learned best, and identified (even created) what she needed in order to benefit from special education. To accomplish these tasks, I frequently turned to my personal computer.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Start Your Computers!
Home computers can be an incredible asset to parents of children with learning differences. They can run specialized software programs, providing adaptability and endless repetition. Computers can be used as communication devices, providing speech output and a voice for a child struggling to speak. The Internet offers access to chat groups, bulletin boards, list servs related to special education law, and disability-specific information.

Computers as a Creative Tool
The computer can do more than run specialized software and provide Internet access. Learning materials can be quickly designed and created using a home computer. With access to a personal computer and printer, parents can create materials for teaching visual perception, math, language, communication, reading, handwriting, and self-help skills. The images needed to create these materials are usually only a few mouse clicks away. And with access to the Internet, and a quick lesson in Copyright Law and Fair Use, it is possible to incorporate images from our daily lives, like a favorite restaurant logo, a book cover, or a vacation destination, into these learning materials. With such images, a computer, a printer, and a few necessary materials found at craft or office supply stores, you can be off and running.

Make Your Own Learning Tools
Create a set of playing cards using meaningful images in place of clubs or spades. Make a durable board game piece using a head-to-toe image of your child. All you need is printable inkjet shrink plastic, available at your local craft store or online at MCGPaper.com and ShrinkyDinks.com. Adapt the menu of your family’s favorite restaurant using pictures in place of text so your child can easily and independently order. Create lotto cards and flash cards or a fill-in-the-blank activity using inkjet decals and a set of custom word magnets. Print a set of two-sided flash cards for practicing math facts or vocabulary words.

Create a multi-piece jigsaw puzzle of your favorite family photo. Once school starts, share the effective learning strategies you have used with your child’s teacher. Send along a box of materials that represents his or her work. And rather than just writing goals as a member of the team, suggest strategies for teaching and implementing those goals—that’s often the forgotten piece of special education plans.

It goes without saying that parenting a child with special needs is a challenge but being informed, involved, and adept at using a personal computer can make the experience more rewarding for both you and your child.

Help from a Parent Who’s Been There

•Request a copy of the manual of Policies and Procedures for Special Education from the Oklahoma State Department of Education, Special Education Services (or download one at sde.state.ok.us) so that you are informed of the rights of you and your child.

• Collect images of family members, favorite foods, books, movies, etc. Create a booklet of images or scan them into your computer and copy them to a CD. Sharing meaningful images such as these with school personnel is a wonderful way to incorporate them into school journals and creative writing assignments. They help children struggling with verbal communication skills by developing speech and language.

•Familiarize yourself with available learning materials, equipment, and assistive technology by placing your name on the mailing lists of catalogs that carry these products. Here are some I’ve found helpful:
Don Johnston: DonJohnston.com
FlagHouse: Flaghouse.com
Intellitools: IntelliTools.com
Mayer-Johnson, LLC: Mayer-Johnson.com
NASCO: enasco.com 

 Kimberly S. Voss is the author of the award-winning book Teaching by Design: Using Your Computer to Create Materials for Students with Learning Differences (Woodbine House, 2005), and the creator of School Fonts for Beginning Writing and Transitional Fonts for Emerging Writers (Mayer-Johnson LLC). She is also the founder and president of Ashley’s Mom, Inc. (AshleysMom.com) and speaks nationally on the use of computer technology in special education and rehabilitation. Kim lives in Tulsa with her husband and three daughters. Her oldest daughter Ashley (age 22) has multiple disabilities