Special Education

Julie Eckenrode Intro. American Education April 16, 2009 Safford, Elizabeth. “A Guide to Special Education Advocacy: What Parents, Clinicians, and Advocates Need to Know.” Library Journal 134 Mar. 2009: 1. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Schmidt Library. April 2009 < http://ezproxy.ycp.edu:8000/login? url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx? direct=true&db=aph&AN=36823368&loginpage=login.asp&site=ehost -live&scope=site>

This article, “A Guide to Special Education Advocacy: What Parents, Clinicians, and Advocates Need to Know” by Elizabeth Safford is about a man Matthew Cohen, a disability rights expert and attorney who is known for the person to turn to, rather his book actually, if encountering special education problems. In his book he points out, “that special education law is ever-changing, his book is a godsend for those of us encountering FAPE (Free Appropriate Public Education), LRE (Least Restrictive Environment), and PLOP (Present Level of Performance) for the first time.” He also discusses the process and legal protections one has to get Individualized Education Programs (IEPs). Cohen’s book is highly recommended to parents of exceptional children or people interested in the topic and legal process/issues of special education. I found this article extremely helpful and useful if I was a parent of an exceptional child as it said it would be, but also I believe his book could to grab the interest of teachers who have exceptional children present in their class so they are more aware of the legal aspects of that student or students’ situation. Although this article mentioned very important details and process for instance, FAPE, LRE, PLOP, and IEPs: I believe it would’ve been much better if explained more. Also this article more promotes just the book rather then the actual legal process of special education, so it would’ve been more intriguing to have more information about the book, then just saying it’s a great book. But overall this article was very useful to a better understanding and realization of how important the legal aspect of special education is.