How to Compromise with Your School District Without Compromising Your Child: A Practical Guide for Parents of Children with Developmental Disorders an [Paperback]

Gary S. Mayerson (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0966526686 | ISBN-13: 978-0966526684 | Publication Date: June 2004

The guide that every parent must have! Gary Mayerson has devoted his career in law to helping children with autism get the fair and appropriate education that they need and deserve. In this field guide, he brings parents up to speed quickly and efficiently on the ways educational bureaucracies work—or more importantly, don’t —for children with special needs. In addition to providing inside information on the "must-do’s" and "must don’ts" in advocating for your child in the educational system, there are also strategies on how to prepare for an IEP meeting, what to do when children don’t get crucial services, and how to avoid due process. Armed with solid information, parents will be empowered with all of the tools they need to advocate for their child’s education. The practical and straightforward approaches presented in this must-have guide are not only applicable to children with autism spectrum disorders, but to children with any disability.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Gary Mayerson is a 1979 graduate of the Georgetown University Law Center. In 2000, after 12 years as a commercial litigation partner with a well known Manhattan law firm, Gary withdrew from his partnership to start Mayerson & Associates, the first and only law practice in the country dedicated to representing children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders and related developmental disabilities.

To date, Gary and his staff have worked with hundreds of families in more than two-dozen states, as far away as Alaska. Gary also has consulted internationally and has presented at numerous national conferences and universities. Gary has testified before Congress on the subject of the federal IDEA statute and is the author of "How to Try an Autism Case," published in the June, 2003 edition of New Jersey Lawyer Magazine. Gary’s chapter, "Notes from the Front: The Current Wave in ABA Litigation," appears in Dr. Lovaas’ most recent book, Teaching Children with Developmental Delays (Pro-Ed 2003). Gary also wrote the foreword appearing in Science for Sale in the Autism Wars (SKF Books 2003).

Product Details

• Paperback: 140 pages
• Publisher: Drl Books (June 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0966526686
• ISBN-13: 978-0966526684
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.4 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #141,690 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Essential Guide for Parents, August 29, 2004

By 

Debora Harris "The Elija Foundation" (New York) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: How to Compromise with Your School District Without Compromising Your Child: A Practical Guide for Parents of Children with Developmental Disorders an (Paperback)

Parenting a child with Autism is challenging enough! Having to fight with your school district to get what is "APPROPRIATE" for our children is a whole other battle. Many of us so defeated from the day to day struggles of therapy schedules, doctor visits, and caring for our other family members, we rarely have the energy to start fighting for services that our special children really need. Most of the special education law resources are very complex to sift through, and retaining a lawyer to guide you can be a very costly and a financial impossibility for some families. Sometimes solutions to these problems may be as simple as writing a letter to the CSE chair. Gary has presented us with a powerful and simple tool to help parents get started in the process!!!! WOOOOOHOOOOOOO! I LOVE IT! How wonderful to share the secrets of the system! Because I run an educational foundation for children with Autism in New York, my phone rings several times on a daily basis regarding these exact issues. How can I get extended hours? Why is the district telling me they don't have the money to pay for the services? Do I have to send my son to the Special Ed school they recommended, why can't he be in the regular ed setting? etc.etc. it's endless. I keep this book in my office, so that I can easily grab it when helping families on the phone. I also keep an extra copy at home for my personal use. It's not expensive, and it's not an encyclopedia. It's simple and to the point!!! Thank You Gary for sharing your information, it is a wonderful gift to us all.

16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Knowledge is necessary, September 1, 2004

By 

Bobby Newman (Long Beach, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: How to Compromise with Your School District Without Compromising Your Child: A Practical Guide for Parents of Children with Developmental Disorders an (Paperback)

Gary Mayerson has produced a book that all parents facing school-based programmatic decisions should read. The education review process is often far from rational, and sometimes far from fair. Parents who don't know what their rights are, and what their CHILD'S rights are, may not be able to advocate for educational programming that maximizes their child's potential. This book shows parents how to be assertive, without being aggressive and making the process emotionally antagonistic on either side. This book is an exceptional guide to highly specicialized knowledge, knowledge you may not be able to come by any other way. The Einstein quote that ends the book sums it up: peace cannot be maintained through force but only through understanding.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Resource for all parents of Special Needs Children, September 11, 2004

By 

Jennica L. Velasquez (Center Moriches, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: How to Compromise with Your School District Without Compromising Your Child: A Practical Guide for Parents of Children with Developmental Disorders an (Paperback)

I have a copy and shared it with participants in my Advocacy training.
They expressed a lot of great feedback.
Very empowering tool for parents, especially those just entering the system. Examples of letters included, what
not to say and say, how to help secure extended day services, language
of intimidation Districts try to use (most of the quotes I have heard my district
say!! It was funny because I was reading them aloud to some of my training partners
on our way to Albany on Amtrak, a women in the seat in front of me looked horrified,
stood up and turned to us and said, "People actually say things like that???!!" I was
like "Yup. These are the reasons and explanations we get from many of our school districts
when we trying to secure an appropriate education for our children with developmental
disabilites")
It is very easy to read and understand. I loved the inspirational quotes at the beginning of each chapter, really driving the point home. Mr. Mayerson has a very engaging writing syle, the analogies and examples make this book extremely comprehensive.