Wednesday, November 18^th

7:00pm-9:00pm, Swampscott High School

One of the most challenging issues facing parents of children with special needs is planning for their child’s future without them.  This Swampscott PAC sponsored workshop is presented by a panel of three people who will speak for no more than 30 minutes then open the floor up for questions. 

George O. Eisenberg and John Geraci of Northwestern Wealth Management Company, have a wealth of experience behind them. Eisenberg was a high school principal and Geraci has a son who is legally blind and will be sharing his personal story and the planning he has done to protect his family, and especially the steps he has taken to ensure that his son will be well taken care of both emotionally and financially

Moschella & Winston, LLP will have a practicing attorney presenting a discussion of the various directives that families create to assure a sound financial future for their families and especially for the child who has special needs. There will be a review of a Special Needs Trust and how and why it works as well as the difference between a trust and a will.

There will be literature available to help the participants with some of the terminology and to review their own situation.

Representatives from Best Buddies will be speaking on socialization and job opportunities for young adults.   Best Buddies is a nonprofit organization dedicated to establishing opportunities for one-to-one friendships for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Best Buddies Jobs continues the integration of people with intellectual disabilities into the community through supported employment.

Kathy Passalacqua of Project Triangle will speak on social opportunities and  networking.  Peter Flint will be discussing a variety of fun activities that are organized through the North Shore ARC.  Representatives from the new Northshore  YMCA will discuss programs available.  Information will also be available on the CASES Program, a new Integrated Skills Workshop for young adults at Swampscott High.

If you have information you would like to share pertaining to social opportunities for young adults who have special needs or if you would like further information, please contact Pat Gorham, Director of the IVY Program, at gorham@swampscott.k12.ma.us.  

Join us on Wednesday, October 14^th, 6:30-8:30, at the Swampscott High School to hear Ellen Chambers of SPEDWatch present a workshop on Special Education Advocacy 101.  If you are new (or not so new) to the world of special education this presentation will give you the basic information you’ll need to start advocating for your student with disabilities.  From building a strong independent clinical team, to working effectively with school systems, this training lays a solid foundation on which more sophisticated advocacy techniques can be built. 

 SPEDWatch, Inc. is a grassroots nonprofit social change movement fighting to secure the educational rights of all Massachusetts schoolchildren with disabilities, ages 3-21. This activist organization was founded by Ellen Chambers, a veteran special education advocate and parent of a daughter with high functioning autism.

SPEDWatch members are working to eliminate the root causes of educational discrimination against Massachusetts students with disabilities, including:

• Widespread noncompliance with, and poor enforcement of, special education laws
• Poor funding of education in general
• A pervasive misunderstanding about who these students are and what they are capable of achieving
• A parent population which is isolated, unorganized, and often too afraid of retaliation to speak out publicly

Results of the Coordinated Review with Dr. Maureen Bingham will be discussed.

Date and Place to be determined.