Special ed committee works in obscurity

Marisa O’Neil

Parents of special education students in local schools have a

committee that wants to support them, even though most of them don’t

know it.

The Special Education Community Advisory Committee for the

Newport-Mesa Unified School District, which meets nearly every month

of the school year, aims to inform parents about programs and

resources for their children. Few parents, however, realize it

exists.

“When your child is diagnosed with a developmental disorder, it’s

pretty devastating” said Costa Mesa Mayor Gary Monahan, who chairs

the committee. “The doctor doesn’t know where to tell you to go, no

one knows where to go. Resources are so important to parents.”

Monahan, whose son his autistic, joined the committee last year.

Although it has been around for nearly 20 years, that was the first

he’d heard about it.

Greta Anderson-Davis, who has worked with special needs children

for 30 years and cares for 10 herself, only heard about the committee

in September. Now, she’s a member.

“There’s a wealth of information for parents [at the meetings],

but only a very small portion of parents of special needs children in

the district know about it,” Anderson-Davis said.

In a district in which about 11% of students are in special

education programs, parents need all the support they can get, she

said. The committee gives them another avenue to get things done

besides the school district.

The committee hopes to serve as a liaison between parents and the

district and let them know where they can find help.

“What I like about this group is it feels like family,” said

school board member Linda Sneen, who attends every meeting on behalf

of the district. “Everyone is there to support each other. If you

have a special needs child, that’s a lot of work. [The committee] is

trying to find out what they can do for them.”

At Wednesday night’s meeting, representatives from local

organizations like Special Olympics, Comfort Connection Family

Resource Center and the Orange County Learning Disabilities Assn. met

and spoke with parents about programs they have available. Last

month, the committee held a workshop about ways parents can ensure

their children’s Individual Education Programs, a vital part of

special education classes, are being met.

The committee is also lobbying the district to provide every

parent with a handbook that outlines programs and parent and district

responsibilities for students. Right now, only parents who

specifically request them from the district get the handbooks.

With the number of children with special needs rising every year,

Monahan said that children need care and extra attention as early as

possible. The longer they miss out on services and education, the

more of them they will need when they are older.

“If they’re not provided these services now, when they are young,

they become more needy and more expensive,” Monahan said. “It’s only

going to get worse if you ignore the problem.”

The committee will hold its next meeting in January.