2021-2022 Bellevue Special Needs PTA (BSNPTA) General Meetings Our next General Membership Meeting will be Oct 2022.
Also, we are hoping to host a Sept. back to school picnic! Stay tuned for more details. Past Meetings Our first meeting of the year was Oct 27th 2021. Our special guest speaker was Rachel Nemhauser from The Arc of King County. She spoke about Special Education Advocacy and Conflict Resolution. Our second general membership meeting was Jan 25th 2022. Our guest speaker was Scott Raub, the Parent and Community Liaison, Special Education from OSPI who joined us to speak about Recovery Services. Our last general membership meeting was April 28th 2022. Our guest speaker was Charmaine Thaner and the topic was "Inclusion is More Than Minutes in a Classroom". Charmaine is the author of the #1 Amazon Best Selling book, The Art of Advocacy: A Parent’s Guide to a Collaborative IEP Process. Charmaine writes, produces and, hosts the weekly Facebook Live show, The Art of Advocacy. Watch at www.facebook.com/VisionsandVoicesTogether. You are not alone... JOIN the Bellevue Special Needs PTA Membership for the 2021-2022 school year is available now. Click on the button below to find out how to sign up. |
Here's a summary of last years (20/21) general membership meetings
Our first meeting for this school year was Tuesday Oct 13th, 2020. Our second general meeting was Thursday Jan 28th 2021 and our special guest speaker was Rachel Nemhauser. She is the Community and Family Support Manager for the Arc of King County and a parent of a BSD special needs student. She talked about tips on advocating for your child during the time of COVID and included topics such as "What are compensatory services and how to bring it up". Here's a link to a recording of the Jan 28th meeting: youtu.be/VQSjJTSLqvg After watching the video, if you would like Rachel's contact information, please follow this link: arcofkingcounty.org/about/our-team/ Our last general membership meeting for this school year was April 21st 2021. Our topic for the meeting was: What will my student with a disability do after high school? Will she go to college? Will he get a job? And what support is available for them once they're there? First, we were joined by Jae Kim, MSW. Jae is the Information and Resource Coordinator at The Arc of King County and a wheelchair/AAC user. In this presentation she shares her personal experiences, insights, and observations about college considerations for your student with a developmental disability, including how to apply, how to find financial aid, and how to request the learning accommodations your student needs. Then we heard from Richard Mullen, former supported employment professional and current African American Family Support Coordinator at The Arc of King County, about the world of Employment Support and starting a career after high school. He'll explore how to find a job, what supported employment looks like, and so much more. Join Jae and Richard as they share their personal experiences and professional insights, enabling participants to walk away with a clearer sense of all the post-high school options available to your son or daughter. Here's a link to a recording of the April 21st meeting: youtu.be/lbb-Yj0_mjU |
Welcome to the BSD and Bellevue Special Needs PTA’s
Family Resource Series:
Future Events:
April 27th 2022 at 6:00 PM -> 504 Information Session
May 12th 2022 at 11:00AM -> Preschool/Elem IEP Session
May 12th 2022 at 11:00AM -> Secondary IEP Session
For more details and links to join the virtual meetings,
please visit the BSD calendar at bsd405.org/about/calendar/
Past Events:
Nov. 2020 Event: Guardianship Info Session
(Including Alternatives to Guardianship, Wills and Special Needs Trusts)
This was a family-focused informational session where
local disability attorney Christy Ibrahim presented information on guardianship and related topics.
Here's a link to a video of the presentation: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nh9Prjc1v8U&feature=youtu.be
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Dec. 8th 2020 Event: Developmental Disabilities Administration (DDA) 101 Information Session
Please join this family-focused informational session regarding both DDA Intake & Eligibility Rules and Processes and Services. Learn if your child might be eligible for DDA services. Also learn about a variety of services DDA offers, such as but not limited to: personal care, waivers, respite care, behavior support/consultation, supported employment, assistive technology, behavior support and consultation, environmental adaptations, therapeutic equipment/supplies, nurse delegation, speech, hearing & language services, specialized clothing, transportation, and more. This session is designed for parents/caregivers who want a basic understanding of DDA, which can support children from birth to adults, lifelong. |
Dec 10th 2020 Event: Arc of King County Presentation on Proposed DDA budget cuts
Learn more about this topic, and how to advocate and lobby against these cuts.
Here's a link to the slides that were presented:
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Dec 14th 2020 Event: Supporting Behavior and Organization Skills During Virtual Learning
Please join Bellevue School District Board Certified Behavior Analysts, Megan Kidder and Claire Sherman, for a family-focused informational session. We will discuss virtual learning supports including strategies on setting up your student’s learning environment, supporting your child during group and independent work, preventing behavioral challenges, and setting up rewards. Here's a link to a video of the presentation: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qm7MCwNMUg4&feature=youtu.be Here's a link to the slides that were presented: |
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And finally a link to a Family Support Checklist that is a summary of the presentation:
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March 11th 2021 Event: Helping My Anxious Child
Here's a link to a video of the presentation: www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQ-PnQKraRc
Here's a link to the slides that were presented:
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March 23rd 2021 Event: IEP Training
Here's a link to a video of the Elementary presentation: youtu.be/Zfw-RDAiZ2A
Here's a link to the Elementary slides that were presented:
Here's a link to a video of the Elementary presentation: youtu.be/Zfw-RDAiZ2A
Here's a link to the Elementary slides that were presented:
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Here's a link to a video of the Secondary presentation: youtu.be/Z9fwQb5t2Lw
Here's a link to the Secondary slides that were presented:
Here's a link to the Secondary slides that were presented:
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April 27th 2021 Event: How to Succeed in a College Setting
Hear from a panel of members from various colleges that serve individuals with disabilities
on how to best prepare students with disabilities for success in a college setting.
Colleges that will be included are:
OLS Program at Bellevue College,
Neurodiversity Navigators Program at Bellevue College,
ACHIEVE at Highline,
SAILS at Seattle Central,
and Bellevue College Disability Center.
Here's a link to a video of the session: m.youtube.com/watch?fbclid=IwAR0F-cMyG383VkjfEhUasASXodRq_OTIpn3_BEb7aWN-6gtdj7YHUs9zQWk&v=5RJNwLcg-dY&feature=youtu.be
Hear from a panel of members from various colleges that serve individuals with disabilities
on how to best prepare students with disabilities for success in a college setting.
Colleges that will be included are:
OLS Program at Bellevue College,
Neurodiversity Navigators Program at Bellevue College,
ACHIEVE at Highline,
SAILS at Seattle Central,
and Bellevue College Disability Center.
Here's a link to a video of the session: m.youtube.com/watch?fbclid=IwAR0F-cMyG383VkjfEhUasASXodRq_OTIpn3_BEb7aWN-6gtdj7YHUs9zQWk&v=5RJNwLcg-dY&feature=youtu.be
During this COVID 19 pandemic we are looking for ways to keep you informed and supported.
This is a stressful time for everyone and families with special needs children face unique challenges.
Here's a few tips for staying informed:
We recommend that you visit the
WA OSPI (Office of Superintendent of Public Instructions) website:
www.k12.wa.us/student-success/special-education
and then "Subscribe to Special Education Updates".
You will find a lot of important information on this web site,
but we'd like to highlight the following document:
Make sure that you are following the
"Bellevue Special Needs PTA" facebook group:
www.facebook.com/BellevueSpecialNeedsPTA/
and consider checking out the
"Bellevue School District Parent Discussion Group" facebook group:
www.facebook.com/groups/155881348841238/
and the
"Bellevue School District Special Needs and Disabilities Parent Support" facebook group:
www.facebook.com/groups/155881348841238/