Laws

IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act)


IDEA is part of Public Law 94:142 which was passes in 1975 and updated in May 2003.  It provides appropriate special education services to students with disabilities through age 21.  Qualified students with disabilities are entitled to specially designed instruction, accommodations and modifications, but only until high school graduation requirements are satisfied and IEP goals are met.

SECTION 504 OF THE REHABILITATION ACT



This law is about access.  Persons with a documented disability who are enrolled in or working for a school, company or organization that received federal funding may be entitled to accommodations in order to access their job or education under Section 504.  There is no age limit for receiving services under this act.

AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT



This law was passed in 1990.  Section 1 of this law protects persons with disabilities in any employment setting, whether the setting receives federal funding or not.  This law applies to people of any age.





1) Click on the website link entitled Special Education Law and read the information provided.

2) Read the handout "Knowing Your Rights and Responsibilities".

3) Save the document Special Education Law to your network account.  

4) Fill out the table based on the handouts that you read.

Worker Characteristics

It is important to know the differences between school and work.  
When you know what to expect, than you can prepare yourself to do well.

WORKER CHARACTERISTICS

Adaptable
Flexible
Dedicated
Collaborative
Skilled
Organized
Innovative
Responsible
Confident
Resilient


1) Download the document Worker Characteristics to your network account.

2) Make a Word chart to list and define the 10 Worker characteristics.

3) Put the 5 you think are the most important in red lettering.
Describe to your group why you chose those 5 characteristics.

4) Put the 3 characteristics that you need to improve in bold lettering. 
Describe to your group why you chose those 3 characteristics.

5) Answer the following questions:
What are your emotions about leaving school?
What will be different about your life?
What will a typical day look like for you?

6) Make a Word Chart to document your current responsibilities based on the example.
Determine which responsibilities are transferable beyond the school environment.

Self Advocacy

How can I be an effective SELF ADVOCATE?

• Ask for help

• Use strategies

• Keep learning

• Speak up

• Job Partners

• Accept Support

DISCLOSURE

• Telling someone about your learning differences

SELF-ADVOCACY

1) Complete the Self-Advocacy Checklist.

2) Open a Word document called Self-Advocacy and answer the following questions.

• What is your disability?
• Describe how your disability affects how you learn.
• Describe how you learn best.
• What accommodations are supported by your IEP documentation?

Age Appropriate Transition Assessment

AGE APPROPRIATE TRANSITION ASSESSMENT

1) Download the document Age Appropriate Transition Assessment to your Self Determination Folder. 

• Needs
• Strengths
• Preferences
• Interests

2) Use the following questions to help you fill in the information in our chart.

NEEDS

What are the accommodations that help me?

How can others help me?

What are some things that are difficult for me?

STRENGTHS

What do I do well in school?

What do I do well at home or in my community?

What do other people say are my strengths?

PREFERENCES

What works for me? What helps me be successful?

Where do I see myself in the future?

INTERESTS

What do I like to do when I am not in school?

What activities or organizations do I enjoy participating in?

What are my hobbies?

3) Compare your answers with what is already in your IEP.

Accommodations

1) In the Links section of the blog, click on JAN.

2) Save a Word document to your network account called "Job Accommodations".

3) Write a description of what the resource JAN provides for people with disabilities and their employers.

4) Click on the title "A-Z of Disabilities and Accommodations" and read through the list of disabilities.

5) Choose one of the disabilities listed below.

• Autism
• Intellectual Impairment
• Developmental Disabilities
• Learning Disabilities
• ADHD

6) Write a list of the accommodations that an employer can provide for someone identified with that disability.

Values

What Is A Value?

A value is an idea that someone believes to be important and rates highly in their lifestyle.

"Values play an important part in our lives. They help us decide what we expect of ourselves and of others. Our values help us to make decisions."

achievement	appearance	creativity
courtesy	cleanliness	family
friendship	justice	liberty
knowledge	love	patriotism
power	religion	respect
skill	wealth	wisdom

1) Which 4 values are the most important to you? Explain why.

2) In the United States, two values are seen as very important. Which do you think they are?

• "Liberty" says that a person is free to do whatever he decides, within the bounds a society (home, school, city, county, state, nation) has established. 

• These boundaries are called "Justice", which sets limits for personal liberty on the basis of truth, fairness, right, and benefit to all concerned.

3) Draw a large rectangle to represent a football field.

"Liberty" allows a person to run around anywhere he or she wants on that field.

"Justice" is the two sidelines and the two endlines. 

These four boundary lines could be called:

            

Illegal

Verbal abuse

Hurting self 

Hurting others

Persons who step on these lines are "out-of-bounds." They choose to suffer a consequence.

RESOURCES:

http://www.freewayfoundation.org/

Peacemakers Violence Prevention Curriculum

Self Esteem

“Self-esteem is appreciating one’s own worth and importance, and having the character to be accountable for one’s self and act responsible towards others.” 

(US state task force on self-esteem, personal and social responsibility) 

“A confidence and satisfaction in oneself.” 

(Webster’s dictionary) 

COMPONENTS OF SELF-ESTEEM 

1) TRUST



Trust starts early in life and is based on how we are received into the world. We learn to trust ourselves and begin to have a realistic trust of others. We begin to develop confidence in the self’s ability to choose others who are safe or who will 
not injure or exploit us. 


2) SELF-NURTURE



Self-Nurture is born of trust. We learn how to be caretakers of ourselves. 

3) AUTONOMY




Autonomy comes from mastery. We work through necessary dependencies to a growing independence. We find interdependence when we can separate ourselves from other around us and yet retain vital connections to others. 


4) IDENTITY



Identity grows. We begin to know who we are and who we are becoming. In each stage of life, self-esteem undergoes change and growth. We feel more solid as our identity grows. 

5) INTIMACY




Intimacy develops from identity and the need for connection. It is the ability to relate closely and to know the limits of closeness. We yearn to lose ourselves in love and yet we need to retain our own separate essence. 


Healthy self-esteem involves all of the above basic elements. If we lose those characteristics or never develop them, there is a significant absence of self-esteem. 

Low self-esteem affects our body, mind, and spirit. 

RESOURCES
http://www.steppingstonesforvets.org/Self-Esteem/Understanding_Self.pdf
Dianne Barham, Call Centre for Youth Program, YWCA of Greater Toronto





1) MY BEST

Write down the answers to the following questions on a piece of paper.

• What is my best feature?
• What is my best talent?
• What is my best work skill?
• What is my best relationship?
• What is my best memory?
• What is my best achievement?
• What is my best recreational activity?
• What is my best recipe I make?
• What is my best subject in school?
• What is my best time of day?

2) REINFORCEMENT

• Stand in a line facing each other.
• One person at a time walks through the middle of the line.
• Each person on the outside states something positive about the person walking through.

3) FEELINGS

Self-esteem fluctuates at various times in one’s life. 

Think of a time when your self-esteem is high. 

• How do you feel when your self-esteem is high? How do you behave? 
• How do you feel about others when your self-esteem is high? How do you behave? 

Think of a time when your self-esteem is low.

• How do you feel when your self-esteem is low? How do you behave? 
• How do you feel about others when your self-esteem is low? How do you behave?