The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Amendments of 1997 requires each State to ensure a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) is available to all children with disabilities. To assist Local Education Agencies (LEAs) in the provision of FAPE, the Arkansas Department of Education (ADE) provides financial support to the Easter Seals Outreach (ESO) Program for consultative services to students with severe disabilities and students requiring assistive technology (AT) devices and services or who may be considered for an AT need.
ESO consultants provide a range of services designed to assist school personnel in the development and implementation of appropriate educational programs for students with:
- mental retardation
- orthopedic impairments
- multiple disabilities
Available services include:
- Student-specific Consultation
- Teacher or Team Consultation
- Assistive Technology: equipment loan, resource information, use and training
- Supplementary Psycho-educational Evaluation and Training targeting local capacity-building
- Augmentative Communication Evaluation
In order to provide these services in the most effective and efficient manner and to ensure the development of local capacity, it will be important for local school districts to commit personnel to be available for on-site consultations and to follow through on the plan of action agreed to during the initial assistance conference. It will be the responsibility of the local special education supervisor or early childhood coordinator to notify parents and/or to invite them to participate in the initial assistance conference.
To access services from the ESO Program, the attached Assistance Request Form must be completed, signed by the local special education supervisor or early childhood coordinator and by the School Principal. The form should then be faxed to the number shown on the form.
For further information, contact George Elliott or Bryan Ayres at 877-533-3600 or bayres@ar.easter-seals.org.