The Connecticut Developmental Disabilities Network (DDN) was established to provide leadership for implementation of the federal Developmental Disabilities Assistance
and Bill of Rights Act.
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People with disabilities and their families are
at the heart of how we plan, complete,
and evaluate our activities.
We also rely on a broad range of professionals, organizations and agencies
to bring about community-wide change.
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Understanding Special Education
Overview
This project provides a state-of-the-art, comprehensive instructional course designed to supply parents of children with disabilities and educational professionals across CT with the skills they need to negotiate the special education system and improve its effectiveness for students with disabilities. Over the past three years, The UCEDD, in partnership with Arc/Ct and the Connecticut Coalition for Inclusive Education (CCIE), has collaborated with 10 parent advocacy agencies in Connecticut to deliver the 10-hour Understanding Special Education (USE) course to more than 1200 parents and educational professionals in 98 school districts. The USE curriculum includes sections on: 1) special education law and regulations, 2) the Individualized Education Program (IEP), 3) evidence-based practices in inclusive classrooms, 4) parent professional partnerships, and 5) problem-solving strategies.
The curriculum for this project is delivered by training teams composed of one parent and one education professional to groups that include a mix of parents and public school personnel (teachers, administrators, and related service staff). The training design emphasizes the critical importance of collaboration between parents and professionals in creating successful educational programs for children with disabilities. In addition, this project targets under-represented groups for training, including inner city families, non-English speaking families, and African American families.
Major Activities
- Provide training to an additional 350 participants in 10 new districts.
- Market the training to school districts and agencies that are able to pay for all or part of the training and/or materials.
- Assist professionals and families throughout the coming year in understanding the re-authorization of IDEA and how the changes should be implemented. This new information will be incorporated into the training modules.
Publications
Click Here to view publications for this project.
Contact
Early Childhood initiatives at the UCEDD focus on evidenced based practices and learning outcomes. We provide training and technical assistance to early interventionists, teachers, therapists, service coordinators, policy makers and families on a variety of areas including social competence, early literacy, early childhood outcomes, service coordination practices, and evidenced based intervention practices.
School Age initiatives at the UCEDD focus on the inclusion of children with disabilities in typical school and community life. We provide training and technical assistance to families, school personnel and community members in a variety of areas including the special education process, inclusive education, adapted curriculum, assistive technology, disability awareness and person-centered planning.
Adult initiatives at the UCEDD focus on including people with disabilities in their communities. We provide training and technical assistance to individuals with disabilities, state agencies, service providers and other community members in a variety of areas including the hiring of personal assistants, accessible transportation, emergency preparedness and response, and health care.