Earlier this month I had the privilege of meeting with parents of Hispanic special education students at the Falls Church City office of PEATC (Parent Educational Advocacy Training Center). I was there for a two hour session to talk about the basics of Functional Behavior Assessments (FBAs) and Behavior Intervention Plans (BIPs). It was a great opportunity for me to meet with these parents and to discuss the unique needs of their special needs children in Spanish. Although my Spanish fluency can certainly use improvement, we had a very interactive meeting and I learned much from these parents.
The needs of Latino parents for assistance and advocacy can be seen from several perspectives. English as a second language makes it more difficult to participate in IEP meetings where all the school staff is speaking English. Even with translators, it can be hard for parents to keep track of the team discussion while trying to review English language documents. Issues of behavior management cross the boundaries of discipline procedures and special education concerns. Understanding the scope of due process rights and remedies can also be daunting if you don’t speak the same language as a mediator. The Virginia Department of Education has a number of very useful free publications in Spanish that are available for parents and advocates online.
PEATC has been an effective education and advocacy presence in the Hispanic community for a long time and it was a real pleasure to work with them. We hope to do some more collaboration soon.
