Advocating for your child’s needs in school

Join us for a free seminar on Sunday, September 18, 2016 ( 3- 4 pm) in rural Ottawa south to learn how to advocate for your child’s needs in the school system. For parents in the communities of North Gower, Kars, Metcalfe, Manotick, Greely, Vernon, Osgoode an...

Free Seminar for Parents of Children with Autism

How to Navigate the School System,  September 22, 2016, 7-8 pm location: Thinking in Pictures Educational Services (TIPES)               31 Nadolny Sachs Private, 2nd floor, Ottawa, Ontario Communicating  with school personnel Your child’s rights to support for...

When sticking up for your child hurts your career

The Ontario Ministry of Education promotes good communication between home and school and encourages parents to participate in schools to foster success for their child. However when parents advocate for their child, particularly a special needs child in the schools,...

Access to Special Education in Ontario in a Social Justice Context

Our research identified the following barriers and obstacles to access Special Education:

• Inability to access adequate programming to accommodate for learning disabilities, psychological and mental health factors and other special needs;
• Inability to build and sustain open, responsive, and reciprocal communication between parents and schools;
• Teachers working with special needs children lacked training, understanding and empathy;
• Schools lacked transparency by not presenting parents with the full spectrum of placements and services available to their children;
• Lack of implementation of Individual Education Plans (IEPs); and
• Schools being unable or unwilling to offer the full spectrum of programs and services provided for in their Special Education policies, either due to lack of openness or lack of resources.

No apologies for Special Education

As Canadians we are known for our unwavering outreach to others, our progressive initiatives, and our instinctive apologies when we perceive that we may have been remiss. Why is it then, that when parents seek services for special education there are no apologies-...

Chinese school could lose Ontario accreditation

Private Schools abroad are only subject to inspection by the Ministry of Education every two years according to the article below, but what happens when those schools establish rogue campuses in other locations under the same title banner of a school? We recently saw...