Ohio Coalition for the Education of Children with Disabilities (OCECD)

[Guest guest]

Dear Friend of ASO:I have been meeting with Margaret Burley, Executive Director of the Coalition on the recommendatons of the Ohio Autism Taskforce and how the autism community can collaborate with the Coailtion on making several of the recommendations a reality. I will keep you posted as to our progress. But I wanted to make sure that you all were aware of the Coalition and what has offer.

The OCECD is a great organization and should be a valuable resource for both individual parents, professionals and groups. OCECD is a statewide, non-profit organization dedicated to advancing the educational interests of children with disabilities. OCECD's staff, many of whom have children or other family members with disabilities, are available to assist individuals or groups with such areas as:

Public policy and school reform

Identification of disabilities

Early intervention for infants and preschoolers

Family support systems

Special education

Community based services

Information, referral and networking services

Transition from high school to employment/college in the community

Resources for professionals

Team work between persons with disabilities, their families and service providers

Tools used by OCECD to provide assistance include:

one-on-one consultation

group presentations and training sessions

numerous published materials, including a bi-monthly newsletter

OCECD also collaborates with local parent support organizations to offer information, training and support to parents of children with disabilities. They are also responsible for coordinating the Parent Mentor program.

You can check out their publications, training schedule (which is quite extensive and runs all over the state), and more information at their website www.ocecd.org You can also get more information on the Parent Mentor Program and a directory of Parent Mentors at http://thelinkto.com/parentmentor/.

Complete contact information for the Coalition follows my signature.

Sincerely,

Barbara C. YavorcikPresidentAutism Society of Ohio701 S. Main St.Akron, OH 44311(330) 376-0211fax: (330) 376-1226email: askASO@...home: byavorcik@...web: www.autismohio.org

Please note: This is provided for information purposes only. The ASO does not endorse or recommend any providers, methodologies or services. Providing this information should not be construed as an endorsement by the ASO, either explicit or impiled. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ohio Coalition for the Education of Children with DisabilitiesDirector: Margaret BurleyCo-Director: Lee Ann DerugenExecutive Office 165 West Center Street, Suite 302

n, OH 43302-3741 Phone (740) 382-5452 or (800) 374-2806 (in Ohio)

Fax (740) 383-6421 E-mail: ocecd@...