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Parents start special-needs support group

by Andrea Gemmet

Being the parent of a special-needs student can be lonely. It's not the sort of thing people tend to mention to each other in casual conversation, says Catherine Jaeger of Menlo Park.

"Depending on the type of disability, some people embrace it and are all over it, and others really try to mask it," she says. "There isn't a lot of discussion about it."

But a group of parents in the Menlo Park City School District are trying to change that. They've created a grass-roots group called AIM4MP —Advocacy, Information and Mutual support for Menlo Park — to share information and advice, and to work collaboratively with the district to improve their children's educations.

The group held its first meeting in March. It featured Andrea Shor, an educational therapist, and Olivia Mandilk, the district's director of special services, and drew more than 40 people, mostly by word-of-mouth, says Ms. Jaeger.

A contingent of parents from the group spoke at the May 12 school board meeting, and asked district officials to create a board subcommittee on special education that would include parents and special education staff.

"Individual families in IEP (individual education program plans for special education students) find themselves in a silo. It's a very personal situation," said Jean-Louis Cassabonne.

He suggested forming a PTA for special ed families, not just to lend more support to the schools, but to make special education a more collective process.

Several parents said the transition from elementary school to Hillview Middle School was rockier than expected for their children.

"The bar at Hillview (is set) very high, but there's not scaffolding in place to help kids reach that bar," said Janet Weisman Goff. "The thing I've been frustrated in, is that there doesn't seem to be any channel for communication for this."

Sharing experiences with other parents can be a big help, Ms. Jaeger says.

AIM4MP is holding a networking meeting on Saturday, May 30. Anyone interested in attending, or in finding out more about the group, may send an e-mail to aim4mp@gmail.com.