Special education for kids with Lyme

[Guest guest]

Education

Advocacy for Children with Lyme Disease

2010 Annual

Conference

The Council of

Parent Attorneys and Advocates(COPAA)

March 11-14 St. Louis,

Missouri

Judith Leventhal, PhD, Exman, Education Advocate

and Sandy Berenbaum, LCSW, BCD will be presenting Complex Multi-System Medical

Illness: Educational Needs and

Advocacy Strategies. Using Lyme

disease as the model, the presentation will provide information about the

complexity of symptoms and resulting cognitive and functional impairments that

can interfere with a child’s ability to learn and attend school regularly.

This presentation will provide

participants with valuable information about the challenge children with

tick-borne diseases face when navigating their learning environment and the

accommodations and services to which they are entitled. There will be an

emphasis on the need

for a deep understanding of Lyme disease and other tick borne illnesses to

effectively advocate for the educational needs of students with tick borne

illnesses. With Lyme disease as a model this presentation will serve as a guide

to support the educational needs of children with other complex multi-system

medical illnesses.

This is an exciting opportunity to have an impact on the

lives of students with Lyme disease around the country, through developing a

network of advocates and attorneys who understand the devastating impact of

this disease. The inclusion of our presentation and associated materials in the

Conference Compendium will provide this important information to all Conference

attendees. We hope that medical

and mental health professionals and advocates around the country will encourage

education advocates and attorneys in their communities to attend this

conference.

We gratefully acknowledge an Education Grant from the Lyme

Disease Association supporting our presentation. In addition, Time for Lyme and

the Lyme Disease Association are co-sponsoring an exhibit table at the

Conference.

Please refer to the COPAA website, www.copaa.org for conference details.