Family Support

Overview

Sometimes parents have many questions, but don't know where to go to find answers. Schools do as much as possible to make connections between home life and school life, but there may still be burning questions out there, such as:

• • What kind of technology is my child using?

  • How is the technology affecting my child?

  • Where I can get resources to help my child achieve financial independence and success?

  • Where can I go to find social and community supports?

  • How do I navigate community resource enrollment and application processes?

  • What resources exist for my young-adult child once GAP is over?

  • How can I help my young-adult child gain meaningful employment once district-provided transition services have ended?

  • How can I find help if I suspect that my disabled child has been neglected or abused?

  • And many, many more

This page will house supportive information for parents and guardians. From blog posts about the latest safety-compromising apps to links for state agency support, this page aims to help parents gain information to be better informed and make educated decisions regarding existing resources that affect their child(ren).

Check back often for more helpful resources and links!

Disabled Persons Protection Commission

Under the Building Partnerships Initiative, Massachusetts developed the DPPC to help protect individuals with disabilities who are at higher risk of being victims of crime, neglect, and/or various types of abuse. The packet to the right helps outline the initiative, provide context for the types of help offered, provides contact information for the correct resources, and explains risk factors that may cause individuals with disabilities to be taken advantage of without even realizing it. It is encouraged that parents and caretakers print the packet and review the information with their disabled child(ren).

External Links & Resources

• The Autism Speaks website has a great resource called the Transition Toolkit. While you're there, look at their other resources specific to Massachusetts. 

• Google has teamed up with iKeepSafe.org to create a great resource to keep student safe online and with a healthy understanding of digital citizenship. The manual is best used for students in grades 3-6, but has had positive feedback for older students as well. Check it out here.

• Ever wonder what kinds of apps exist that may compromise your child's safety, security, and online presence? Read this blog post about some of the apps that currently exist, which may be posing an invisible threat to your child(ren).

• Every parent wonders what steps they can take to help limit online dangers. This article helps them learn about what they can do to set online limits.

• This site is used in the GAP Technology class. It has a great scope/sequence for the online presence, including how to stay safe, when sharing becomes oversharing, and how to handle online threats. It is one of the best online resources I have found, and is all-encompassing with its reach in online safety and security.

• This document, by the Organization for Autism Research, is a great resource for understanding different parts of the transition process. It discusses everything from legal information to student-centered transition plans to life skills, and much more. It is a very useful guide, and can help students as they prepare to graduate high school and move towards adult life.

• GAP staff found this site to help disseminate information to students. It has a very extensive list of external resources and links to help with all types of financial planning, budgeting, saving, investing, and more. It's a great collection of information, and one that I strongly urge parents to visit first so they don't have to scour the entire internet looking for resources to support financial independence.  

• For local and statewide support from the Massachusetts Office of Disability, check out this link. It has sub-links to help parents and guardians navigate the state's efforts to help those with disabilities stay safe and in a non-discriminatory environment (i.e. work and school).

• ThinkCollege is a great website to find information about the availability of resources in colleges for those with disabilities. It has lots of great links and articles for parents to make informed choices with/for their child's future education. 

• ESME has a great site to help parents with, well, parenting. One article in particular, found here, can help both parents and students with disabilities as they plan for college. This article is a great read, compounded by the following sentiment: "The responsibility of asking for and getting accommodations from professors is all on the student. The Disability Services Office will help the student know what they can ask for, but the student has to do the asking. The student also needs to know what they need and be willing to speak up about their needs. That’s a big difference from high school, where they may not even know what their disability is or what accommodations they receive" (Stewart "Preparing Students with Disabilities for College" 2017). 

• Alison.com has a plethora of free online courses to audit or enroll in. Once completed, students can add their successful completion to their resume. For more formal evidence of completion, students can opt to pay for a certificate of completion once they have successfully passed their course(s).

• The Institute for Community Inclusion is a great resource for individuals to look into. Through partnerships and community support, they ensure an inclusive approach for individuals with disabilities. From their website: "For over forty years, our focus has been to figure out ways people with disabilities can participate in everyday activities and all aspects of the community," explains Bill Kiernan, director of ICI. "There is still the perception out there that people with disabilities cannot work, cannot move on to higher education, and in general are limited in their activities." ICI, now based at the University of Massachusetts Boston and Children's Hospital Boston, helps change that reality with a wide range of initiatives including: training, research, consultation, community outreach, and clinical and employment services. 

State House Bill 4286

This bill, introduced in March 2018, is one measure that the state is trying to take to help colleges be more inclusive for those with disabilities.