Wrightslaw: From Emotions to Advocacy, second edition will teach you how to plan, prepare, organize and get quality special education services. In this comprehensive, easy-to-read book, you will learn your childs disability and educational needs, how to create a simple method for organizing your childs file and devising a master plan for your childs special education. You will understand parent-school conflict, how to create paper trails and effective letter writing… More >>
#1 by Patricia Luker on July 2, 2010 - 5:55 pm
It is the night before Jessica’s first big IEP Team meeting and her parents are scrambling to find something – ANYTHING – that can help them prepare for the meeting. Try Wrightslaw. Sally’s advocate is packing her briefcase as she heads out the door for the IEP Team meeting. She checks for her most critical resource. Wrightslaw. Susan, a school district attorney, checks her bag before heading off to her next meeting. Yup. Wrightslaw. Is there no one who hasn’t heard of Wrightslaw?
Actually, we are sure that many readers have not, so today we review two new books from Wrightslaw. Both are second editions of books Pam and Pete Wright first released several years ago. The Wrights have updated both books to reflect the 2004 changes to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act [IDEA] and its implementing regulations. We use both books in our regular course of business and highly recommend them to parents, educators, advocates, attorneys and anyone else who has a need for quick but comprehensive manuals on special education law.
Wrightslaw: Special Education Law, 2nd Edition [Wrightslaw] is a wonderful and ready resource for all who want to be able to find and then quote chapter and verse of IDEA law and regulations. The book includes the complete text of all four parts of IDEA as enacted in December, 2004. Wrightslaw also contains the complete implementing regulations for IDEA that became effective in August, 2006. These texts alone are worth the cost of the book.
But Wrightslaw does not stop with the IDEA statute and its implementing regulations. Wrightslaw also includes the complete text of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act [FERPA]; the text to Section 504 [the Rehabilitation Act of 1973]; and the text of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act. These inclusions ensure that the Wrightslaw user always has the key educational laws right at her fingertips at a moment’s need. We have cited our Wrightslaw at IEP Team meetings, due process hearings, client meetings and the like.
Pam and Pete Wright make Wrightslaw even more valuable by including commentary on how to apply the included laws to typical special education circumstances. They talk about the No Child Left Behind Act and show how it fits into the special education law scheme. They cite and include the text of the major court cases that have shaped how special education law should be interpreted and implemented. And they have included a glossary of special education terms and acronyms with a user-friendly index.
We regard Wrightslaw as an essential resource in our practice. We believe the book should be part of every parent’s [and educator's, advocate's, attorney's] special education library because of its rich and vital contents.
We also heartily recommend Pam and Pete’s second book, Wrightslaw: From Emotions to Advocacy, 2nd Edition. The Wrights call this book “The Special Education Survival Guide.” And well it is. The Wrights designed this book primarily for parents who need a one-stop how-to resource that will teach them to be strong and effective advocates for their children.
We cannot say enough about the contents and organization of this book. The Wrights have divided it into five sections. Section One helps parents to organize their thoughts and ideas, creating a mindset for them in their undertaking as advocates for their child. Section Two highlights the practice of advocacy, outlines the players, identifies common traps and provides strategies for resolving conflicts and managing crises. Section Three gives parents nuts and bolts information needed to make parents experts on all facets of their child’s education; from file organization to testing to writing strong IEP’s. Section Four walks parents through the broad principles found in IDEA’s major provisions, touching on Section 504 and the No Child Left Behind Act. Finally, Section Five shows the now-well prepared parent how to advocate in the trenches: at the IEP Team meeting, collecting and documenting information; and managing and winning disputes.
We like From Emotions to Advocacy because it is loaded with sage advice that most parents will find easy to understand and apply. We especially like that the Wrights pull no punches in telling parents what they are in for as their child’s advocates. Their “Rules of Adverse Assumptions,” discussed in Chapter 21, are particularly powerful and to the point – don’t expect others, especially educators, to see things your way. Plan and prepare to win your case on your own, using your own wits and resources. They then show you how.
Through Wrightslaw and From Emotions to Advocacy Pete and Pam Wright have provided a great service to parents, educators, advocates and attorneys, providing them with hands-on resources that pack power to the punch. We proudly award both books the EP Symbol of Excellence
Rating: 5 / 5
#2 by Shannon Hoff on July 2, 2010 - 6:43 pm
I wrote a review for the first edition and this edition just gets better. It includes IDEA 2004. So not only will you learn how to create call logs and master lists you learn the MOST CURRENT law. IDEA goes into effect July 1,2005 and this is an AWESOME book for anyone who is new to the special education maze, but also is an EXCELLENT resource for those that have been in the system for awhile. I’ve learned to write letters that have been recognized and not filed under a pile, I’ve learned to keep a complete call log that has helped me when trying to obtain services for my son, and I’ve learned to understand the many complexities that come with the special education system.
I have MANY, MANY special education books, but this is this is the book I return to over and over again. I reccomend getting the Wrights Law Book and the Wrights Law IDEA 2004 to go with this. This book does reference some of the special ed law and it is great to be able to flip to the specific paragraph in the law book to help fully understand what Emotions touches on.
An awesome book!
Rating: 5 / 5
#3 by Joan on July 2, 2010 - 7:00 pm
I’ve been involved in advocating for my special needs son for 14 years and this is the BEST book I’ve ever read on the subject. A real “how-to.” I just walked away from an IEP meeting with MORE than I asked for and it all happened in less than an hour. I was SO prepared. In particular, the chapter on the Rule of Adverse Assumptions helped me prepare. Thanks to this book, I had the confidence and the information that allowed me to effectively go to bat for our son. I’m using FETA in a parent training class I’m conducting now and it’s SO helpful. From Emotions to Advocacy is a real treasure and should be the bible for every parent of a special needs child.
Rating: 5 / 5
#4 by Kathleen Larson on July 2, 2010 - 8:45 pm
I am a paralegal who has been an advocate for children with disabilities for 13 years. I have read and studied From Emotions to Advocacy since I bought it about a year ago. It has become one of my first choice references because of its straight forward and easy outline of what I would call a preponderance of material. Having also attended Wrightslaw BootCamp and used their website search engine for language, cases and legal cites, I think Pam and Pete Wright are truly revoluntionary in their ability to make the law and information easily accessible. I can always count on my now well worn From Emotions to Advocacy manual, as well as the Wrightslaw site when I need some quick information before a meeting, or some indepth research on a certain point. It doesn’t get any better than this.
Rating: 5 / 5
#5 by Robert on July 2, 2010 - 11:28 pm
Maybe it’s just me, but I didn’t find the book that helpful. I think that some of the information is good, but many parts were a bit condescending to parents. Now, I may not be an attorney, but I have more than a 5th grade education, so I don’t need every little thing explained in order to make the book so repetitive that reading it is a chose and quite boring. Choose another book, one that actually thinks parents are intelligent and that is not as repetitive.
Rating: 2 / 5