Special Education
Important Resources /Links
A Guide to Parent Rights in Special Education
Ohio Department of Education & Workforce - Special Education
DEW Resources | Families of Students with Disabilities
State Support Team (Region 10)
Ohio Center for Autism and Low Incidence (OCALI)
Riverside | Miami County Board of Developmental Disabilities
Assistive Tech
Technology can be so important in the lives of people with disabilities. Many technologies, however, are very expensive. It can also be difficult to determine from a YouTube video or a sales brochure which device is best suited for your particular situation. In these days of limited resources, you don't want to make a costly purchasing mistake.
For these reasons, Assistive Technology of Ohio offers a statewide program that gives people an opportunity to try out disability technology devices, free of charge! The AT Ohio Device Lending Library is located on the west campus of The Ohio State University and covers the entire disability spectrum. There is no charge for this service-_including free shipping! Check out this service and the eligible devices by going to: www.atohio.org.
Surrogate Parents
A surrogate parent is a person who acts in place of the parent to make educational decisions on behalf of a child with a disability in all matters relating to the identification, evaluation and educational placement of the child and the provision of a free appropriate public education (FAPE) to the child. If you are interested in becoming certified as a surrogate parent, please visit ohiosurrogateparents.org for the latest training and information resources.
Child Find
Child Find is the process of locating, evaluating, and identifying children with disabilities who may be in need of special education and related services. Disability is a physical or mental condition for children ages birth to 3 that may result in a developmental delay requiring special education and related services.
For children ages 3 through 5 – A child who is experiencing a delay in one or more of the following areas: physical development; cognitive development; communication development; social or emotional development; or adaptive development; or a child who is identified with any of the conditions listed in the paragraph below.
For children ages 5 through 21 – Identification of one or more of the following conditions: autism, deaf-blindness, hearing impairment, including deafness, cognitive disability, multiple disabilities, orthopedic impairment, other health impairment, emotional disturbance, specific learning disability, speech or language impairment, traumatic brain injury, and/or visual impairment
Local school districts are required by federal and state laws to find children who may need special education and related services.
The purpose of Child Find is to:
- Alert parents, professionals, and the public to children who may have disabilities
- Guarantee that school districts find children who may have disabilities and who otherwise may not have come to their attention
- Enable eligible children to receive the special education and related services that are needed
- Promote public awareness of disabilities
Parents, relatives, public and private agency employees, childcare providers, physicians, and concerned citizens are encouraged to help school districts find any child, ages birth – 21, who may have a disability and are in need of special education and related services. If you are aware of a child who may have a disability, please notify the Special Education Coordinator at 937-473-3628 for more information.
Karol Hogue
Special Education Coordinator
937-473-3628