Is Your Child’s Disability Adversely Affecting Educational Performance? It can be confusing for parents to understand how their child’s disability may qualify...
Year: 2014
Sussan, Greenwald & Wesler >
Year: 2014
Sussan, Greenwald & Wesler >
When (and How) to create a Special Needs Trust
A Special Needs Trust is one that is designed to supplement the government benefits that your disabled child receives. Because of this, they are sometimes...
The benefits of a Supplemental Needs Trust for special needs children
As a child grows up, a parent’s biggest financial concern might be saving for college. But it might be wise to look ahead even further to help ensure your son...
Decoding 504 plans: What they mean for you and your child
Written by Jayne M. Wesler Esq. As a parent, the last thing you want is for your child’s disability to affect his or her ability to succeed in the classroom....
Using PLAAFP to help your child work toward higher achievement
Written by Staci J. Greenwald, Esq. The “Present Level of Academic Achievement and Functional Performance,” or PLAAFP, is the first written statement in the...
Understanding the dangers of seclusion and restraints in special education
The use of seclusion and restraint in schools for disciplinary and safety reasons is a difficult issue, especially in regards to severely disabled children....
What least “Restrictive Environment” means under the IDEIA?
The concept of “least restrictive environment” is a core element of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvements Act (IDEIA), and was a fairly...
Knowing when to get your child the help he or she needs
There is a wide range of severity of different childhood disabilities. Many conditions may not be readily apparent and may take years to identify and...
Researches note spike in U.S. Autism diagnosis
Autism has been a mysterious condition since it was first classified, and its cause remains largely unknown, even to this day. The fact that there is little...
Early childhood benefits under IDEIA
Much of the discussion pertaining to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA) focuses on what it provides to the parents of...
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Latest Blog Posts
The Wrong Box, the Wrong Estimate: How Paperwork Precision Can Make or Break Your Estate Plan
Two recent tax cases have caused a ripple in the estates and trusts community for two different reasons, both of which can significantly affect your will. This month, we examine the first case. The first case, Estate of Rowland v. Commissioner, demonstrates how much a...
What the Federal Special Education Reorganization Means for NJ Families This School Year
When your child has an Individualized Education Program (IEP) or a 504 plan, you’re forced to put in the hard work. The start of each school year means learning new acronyms and navigating the system to get your child the services they’re entitled to. When news of...
Special Education Just Got a New Chain of Command. Here’s What Parents Actually Need to Know.
If you're the parent of a child with an IEP or 504 plan, you've probably had a knot in your stomach this summer. Repeated headlines about transferring oversight of special education out from under the DOE umbrella have combined with frantic concerns over what this...
How to Prepare Your Child’s IEP for Next Year — or a Brand-New School
As summer days flow toward a new school year — or as a new school looms on the horizon — many parents of children with special needs feel a familiar mix of emotions: hope, uncertainty, and more than a little anxiety. Will the new teacher get my child? Will the...
Does an IEP Follow You to College? What N.J. Families Need to Know Before Graduation
If your child has an Individualized Education Program (IEP), you’ve spent years sitting in meetings, pushing back against goals that don’t fit, and learning more acronyms than you ever wanted to know. As graduation draws closer, it’s normal to assume that the...