Special Needs Advocacy Resource Book: What You Can Do Now to Advocate for Your Exceptional Child's Education is a unique handbook that teaches parents how to work with schools to achieve optimal learning situations and accommodations for their child?s needs. From IEPs and 504 Plans, to IDEA and NCLB, navigating today?s school system can be difficult for even the most up-to-date, education savvy parent. Special needs advocates Rich Weinfeld and Michelle Davis provide parents and professional advocates with concise, easy-to-understand definitions and descriptions of legal terms and school regulations, along with checklists, tips, questionnaires, and other tools. Topics covered in this handy guide include gathering accurate information about a child?s education, navigating school meetings, understanding education law, and best practices in the classroom, working effectively with parents and school systems, discovering educational options beyond the standard, and much more. Parents and advocates not only will feel informed by Weinfeld and Davis? vast knowledge of the inner workings of the school system--they'll be empowered to help their kids succeed in school.

Richard Weinfeld is a national leader in the education of gifted children with learning difficulties. Weinfeld was instrumental in coordinating the Montgomery County, MD, gifted and learning disabled program and is currently an educational advocate in the Washington, DC metropolitan area, serving families with both gifted and special needs children. He is the author of three previous books, including School Success for Kids With Asperger's Syndrome. Michelle Davis is an experienced special educator, leader, and teacher trainer with more than a decade of experience navigating public school systems and advocating for students with learning, attention and behavior disorders. A skilled advocate who seeks to secure school services and placements that meet individual needs and prepare children for success in life, she is the director of ABCs for Life Success, LLC, a Washington, DC area educational consulting firm specializing in serving students with special needs.