Special Education PTA (SEPTA)

The Yorktown Special Education PTA is a parent/teacher organization working in the Yorktown Central School District. SEPTA became a charter member of the National PTA and we adhere to their national guidelines and goals. SEPTA is a source of information and support for all students, parents, and teachers within the district. We help parents and children adjust to the many social, emotional and academic situations that arise when dealing with Special Education. Mainstream as well as Special Education personnel have used our library and benefited from our workshops, monthly meetings and video programs.

Yorktown SEPTA's contributions to the community include:

An annual In-District and Out-of-District Achievement Award to a graduating, classified senior student, who is continuing onto college.

Gifts to the schools which have consisted of computers, Franklin spellers, tape recorders, tapes, a lap top word processor and a TV with VCR.

Funding school trips. Sponsoring Camp Night -A winter event attended by numerous summer camps providing parents with the opportunity to learn about the upcoming summer camp season.

The SEPTA video program, which is aired on Channel 71, Thursdays at 9 p.m.

Enhancing community awareness via the Yorktown SEPTA Library located at the John C. Hart Memorial Library in Shrub Oak.

KIDS' EXPRESS, an after school program open to all children in the four elementary schools which allows them to develop better social skills and peer relationships.

Through SEPTA's continued efforts, community awareness of special education has increased, accelerating the need for information and communication. An educated, understanding community benefits all children. We live in the same community. We should work together and provide each other with help and support. SEPTA is a group of concerned individuals, wanting what is best for all children, with a focus on Special Education.

2008-2009

Gail Chen, President

Virginia Steinberg, Co-Vice President

Melissa Cancro, Co-Vice President

Terri Naumann, Secretary

Lisa Scannapieco, Treasurer

Delegate – Terri Hunt

SEPTA Meetings

APRIL 29, 2009 7:30 pm, Yorktown High School Library
When the Labels Don't Fit: Practical strategies for handling intensity, reactivity, perfectionism, and other challenging traits
Speaker: Barbara Probst, CSW
Is your child extreme, intense, erratic, complex, confusing, rigid, provocative, hard-to-handle or just hard-to-figure-out? Barbara Probst, author of When the Labels Don't Fit, will help you understand and help your child, without assuming that every "difference" or "difficulty" indicates a disorder.
Topics covered:
- Identifying and addressing the traits and needs that lie behind the problem behavior
- Empowering instead of fighting over power
- Finding concrete ways to prevent overload and meltdown

JUNE 10, 2009 7:00 pm, Yorktown High School Library
Graduating Seniors Achievement Awards
This evening is a special tribute and celebration for our graduating special needs seniors. It is a truly heartwarming and joyous evening during which the students are recognized for all their personal and academic accomplishments. Families, teachers, and friends all share in the celebration as they wish the seniors well with their future plans.

On-Line Resources

Six Steps to Improved Assistive Technology Services in Schools

Considering Your Child's Need for Assistive Technology
http://www.ldonline.org/ld_indepth/technology/bowzer_reed.html

Family Guide to Assistive Technology
http://www.pluk.org/AT1.html

Vendors

Listing of vendors
www.ataccess.org/MemberDirectory/atavendors.html

Vendors Categorized by Disability &/or Services   -   www.csun.edu/cod/conf2000/products&services.html

Assistive Technology Industry Association  -    www.atia.org

Local Vendors

Lenny Scholl, Arroyo and Associates, AAC Devices and software - home.nc.rr.com/aac/option2.htm

Lily Toback, Meisner Computing, educational software -   914-738-6000

Peter Rourke, Assistive Technologies, AAC, software and adapted access devices -   www.assistivetech.com

Chuck Cohen, C-TECH, low vision products -   www.lowvisionproducts.com

Steve Kanor, Enabling Devices, communication devices, adapted toys, switches, etc -  www.enablingdevices.com

Thanks to Patti Slobogin for resource listing

NYS Education Department

• Vocational and Educational Services for Individuals with Disabilities (VESID)
• Publications Index

Library

In 1991, the Yorktown Special Education PTA was one of the first SEPTAs in our area to open a library devoted to special education and special needs. SEPTA hoped to answer the cry from area parents desperately seeking such information and material.

In order to maximize the accessibility of this information, in 1994 Yorktown SEPTA donated its library collection to the John C. Hart Memorial Library in Shrub Oak. Since that time the John C. Hart Memorial Library has expanded the collection. Today the collection consists of books, audio, cassettes, and videotapes.

The collection shall continue to grow through the generous support of the Library, SEPTA, and the community. You can find the materials in the collection via the Library's computer index.

Updated lists of books and tape titles are available on-line or at our monthly meetings.