On April 30, 1997 a group of 25 people interested in the education of children with disabilities, specifically the provision of school-based related services (e.g., physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech/language pathology), met at the Health Department in Burlington. The purpose of this group was to begin discussing existing concerns pertaining to related services in schools and to identify an agenda for action which might lead to improving education for students with disabilities through the effective use of related services.

The participants in this initial discussion were affiliated with many organizations interested in school-based related services including: practicing therapists, school administrators, as well as representatives from the Health Department, Medicaid, Parent to Parent, Vermont Parent Information Network, Vermont I-Team, Vermont Council for Families with Significant Disabilities, Vermont Assistive Technology Project, Vermont Department of Education, Vermont ILEHP, and the Center on Disability and Community Inclusion.

During the course of this two and a half hour meeting, participants generated their concerns and ideas in small groups and also discussed them with the full group. All of the ideas were recorded. Michael Giangreco, Patty Prelock and Carol Hassler agreed to organize the participants' feedback into a questionnaire that could be distributed to a wider group of Vermonters to get feedback before taking the next steps. The group asked that their input be consolidated into as concise a format as possible to increase the likelihood that people would respond. The group agreed that two questions should be asked about each area of concern identified by the group: (a) How urgent/important is the concern? and (b) How attainable are the potential solutions? It was agreed that this questionnaire would then be distributed to the group's participants who would be asked to solicit feedback from members of their own organizations and others interested in this topic. Results will be shared with the group to assist in making decisions about which concerns to address first and sustain ongoing discussion and actions to improve education for students with disabilities.

You can contact the convener of this group, Michael Giangreco, by (a) phone at 656-1144, (b) email at mgiangre@zoo.uvm.edu, (c) TDD at 656-4031, or (d) fax at 656-1357 to make inquiries or request information in an alternative format. Please take a few moments to complete the attached questionnaire and return it by mail or fax by June 13th.

1. Please complete the background information -- this is optional, so if you would like to remain anonymous, just leave this section blank. If you would like to receive a copy of the results and future mailings from the group conducting this survey, please complete the appropriate information.
2. Please respond to two statements for each of the seven categories listed by circling a number from 1 to 5 which most accurately reflects your opinion, where 1 means "strongly disagree" and 5 means "strongly agree."
3. You are encouraged to write any comments that would help us in understanding your perspective.

Click here to go to the "Questionnaire to Initiate an Agenda"