The talk will cover the developmentally normal anxieties young children face, tools that parents can utilize to help empower their kids, and signs that suggest more significant difficulties. Dr. Stember will touch upon strategies that all parents can use, as well as approaches he utilizes to assist individuals who display more concerning symptoms (e.g., anxiety, learning and spectrum disorders).

Dr. Stember holds a Ph.D. in clinical psychology and maintains faculty appointments at Harvard Medical School and McLean Hospital. He is a recognized expert in cognitive behavioral/exposure-based therapy for anxiety, learning and behavioral disorders. Dr. Stember has given grand rounds presentations, trained educators and consults to a variety of districts throughout New England. He is the prior Director of Behavioral Medicine at North Shore Children’s Hospital, and maintains private practice offices in Salem and Arlington, MA. He can be contacted at his Salem office at (978)-745-6555.

Basic Rights
Tuesday, November 8th, 6:30-8:30
Swampscott High School-room B129

This workshop is designed to help parents learn to be effective partners with their child’s school to decide their child’s eligibility for special education, and to plan, make decisions and monitor their child’s progress in school.
It provides families with an introduction to their rights and responsibilities under:

• Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
• Massachusetts Special Education Law and
• No Child Left Behind (NCLB)

The talk will cover the developmentally normal anxieties young adults face, tools that parents can utilize to help empower their kids, and signs that suggest more significant difficulties. Dr. Stember will touch upon strategies that all parents can use, as well as approaches he utilizes to assist individuals who display more concerning symptoms (e.g., anxiety, learning and spectrum disorders).

Dr. Stember holds a Ph.D. in clinical psychology and maintains faculty appointments at Harvard Medical School and McLean Hospital. He is a recognized expert in cognitive behavioral/exposure-based therapy for anxiety, learning and behavioral disorders. Dr. Stember has given grand rounds presentations, trained educators and consults to a variety of districts throughout New England. He is the prior Director of Behavioral Medicine at North Shore Children’s Hospital, and maintains private practice offices in Salem and Arlington, MA. He can be contacted at his Salem office at (978)-745-6555.

The Swampscott Special Education Parent Advisory Council is the local parent advisory council for the Swampscott school district that is mandated by Massachusetts Chapter 766 Regulations.  We are a member of the Massachusetts Association of Special Education Advisory Councils, and SPEDWatch. 

 We host meetings and workshops through out the school year, and at times will collaborate with local PACs including Marblehead and Nahant.  Meeting announcements will be done in several ways with minimum flyers going home.  In order to receive a direct email on meetings and other pertinent information, we have a Yahoo! Group that can you can join.  We will continue to post meetings on our web page, in the print Swampscott Reporter, Wicked Local Swampscott online, our Facebook page and Swampscott Patch. We will also have meetings entered on the school district master calendar.  

 The PAC gives back to the community in a variety of ways:

• Scholarships given out to deserving seniors at graduation
• Two benches donated to the handicapped accessibleAbbottPark
• Donation to the Jackson Park Playground for sensory playground equipment
• Theater seat donated to Swampscott POPS as part of the “Save Me a Seat” campaign
• Active member in the Swampscott Respect for Human Differences organization
• Creation of the Special Needs Resource area at the public library
• Ongoing book donations to the public library and schools.
• Served on various search committees for hiring of administration
• Available to provide support to families on special education laws and resources

 Some of the workshops we are planning for the school year include:

• Meet and discuss updates in the district with our new Special Education Director, Mona Blumstein.
• Basic Rights Workshop presented by the Federation for Children with Special Needs (FCSN)
• Understanding My Child’s Learning Style presented by FCSN

 If there are other topics you are interested in being presented or would like to help out the group in any way please send us an email.

If you missed the Jump-A-Thon and still want to help out there will be a dough raiser at Uno’s on Thursday, March 17th. 

Bring to Uno's on March 17th!

The Basic Rights workshop provides families with an introduction to their rights and responsibilities under:

• Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
• Massachusetts Special Education Law and
• No Child Left Behind (NCLB). 
• Included in this workshop will be discussion on the new bullying law.

Please register in advance through your local contact person or phone the Federation’s receptionist at

617-236-7210 or 800-331-0688 ext. 0 or go online at http://fcsn.org/pti/workshops/home.php

Hallowell will discuss topics such as ADD and invaluable new approaches to helping an ADD child. His New York Hallowell Center specializes in diagnosing and treating cognitive and emotional problems in both children and adults, with particular emphasis on Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.

Hallowell will also discuss his latest book, “Married to Distraction.”

This program is co-sponsored by the Swampscott Special Education Parents Advisory Council. Copies of Hallowell’s books will be on sale and he will do a book signing at the end of the program. Free tickets for his event will be available at the reference desk beginning Wednesday, Oct. 6.

Joining us will be Assistant Superintendent for Student & Instructional Services, Dr. Maureen Bingham.  She will be giving an update of Special Education in the Swampscott school district, and will be available for questions and comments. 

To send a message to the PAC, email swampscottspecialedpac@yahoo.com

7-9 at SHS

Presented by the Federation for Children with Special Needs

This workshop provides families with an introduction to their rights and responsibilities under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Massachusetts Special Education Law and No Child Left Behind (NCLB). It is designed to help parents learn how to be effective partners with their child’s school to decide the child’s eligibility for special education, and to plan, make decisions and monitor their child’s progress in school.