Anderson, W., Chitwood, S., Hayden, D.  (1997).

Negotiating the Special Education Maze:  A Guide For

Parents and Teachers (3rd ed.).  Bethesda, MD:

Woodbine House.

Retail price - $16.95

     The book entitled Negotiating the Special

Education Maze – A Guide for Parents and Teachers is a

wonderful, no-nonsense resource for parents and those

professionals who work with children who have special

needs.  The book is a comprehensive practical guide in

helping understand and advocate appropriate special

education services for children from the pre-school

age through post-secondary education.  The book

emphasizes information to ensure families and

educators are knowledgeable of all available

information so that they can become educational

advocates for their children and make sure that

children with disabilities obtain complete educational

opportunities.

     The core of this book covers many issues which

are centered around Part B of IDEA which stands for

(Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) which

entails school-aged children.  Each chapter contains

information which helps parents and professionals

understand their roles and rights as educational

advocates.  The book is written in an easy to read and

understand format which excludes the technical

“jargon” which often leads to confusion and

frustration for many individuals, especially parents.

The chapters include topics such as “People and

Procedures”, “You and Your Child”, “Referral and

Evaluation”, “The Individualized Education Program”,

“Early Intervention”, and “Transition” just to name a

few.  The chapters include very useful charts and

graphs which incorporate what each chapter has

reviewed.  There are also charts which can be filled

out by the parents and students such as the “Key

People Chart” and the “Transition Planning Chart”.

The book ends with five appendixes which include

invaluable information such as parent programs, state

offices, national organizations serving persons with

disabilities, selected readings, and the 1997 changes

to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

     As stated earlier, Negotiating the Special

Education Maze is a terrific resource for parents and

educators in helping children with disabilities from

pre-school through postsecondary education.  One

chapter specifically goes into every parents fear of

“How do I begin to plan for my child’s future?”.  This

is covered in Chapter Nine which is entitled

"Transition”.  This chapter reviews such important

topics as post-secondary education, continuing and

adult education, vocational training, integrated

employment, adult services, independent living and

community participation.

     The chapter on transition reviews the impact that

the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act has on

students lives after they leave high school.  This

chapter focuses on the variety of options that

parents, educators and the students need to look at

for life after they leave the public school setting.

The chapter is very well written and clearly explains

all of these options.  The chapter also goes into the

transition meeting as well as the Individualized

Education Plan and transition.  It also touches on

placement and transition and person-centered planning.

 This chapter is an invaluable resource to help

parents deal with the difficult decisions involved in

transitioning and in understanding their rights as

well as their child's.  It’s a tool that both parent

and child can use together in planning their future.

     I feel this book is an invaluable resource for

any parent who has a child with disabilities.  The

information is easy to read and understand.  It is

very user friendly.  I would suggest that all special

educators make this an available resource for the

parents of their students.  I would also suggest

parent support groups using this book as a reference.