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Parents

Free Services for Families

Visits for support with your child's behavior

Support coordinating in-home behavior plans with school behavior plans

Assistance finding community resources including transition, counseling, and evaluations

Crisis assistance, such as hospitalization

Speakers for parent groups

 

Parent Connections Newsletter

This ISRC newsletter contains parenting tips, resource information and news updates.

January   

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November-December   

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October

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September   

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Parent Facilitators

ISRC Parent Facilitators have a goal of increasing meaningful involvement of parents in the education of their children who are deaf and hard of hearing. They assist with developing opportunities for parents to participate at school and coordinate parent events. All ISRC Parent Facilitators have a child with a hearing loss, so they understand the day-to-day struggles. Feel free to contact these individuals if you would like to network with other parents of children who are deaf and hard of hearing.


ISRC's Parent Facilitators are:
ECHO, South Suburbs: Shanna Sigers (otisshanna@clear.net)
Kankakee School District and Coop: Jacqueline Sylvie (jsylvie@sbcglobal.net)
District 54, Schaumburg: Edie Runnion (erunnion@aol.com)
Click here to learn more about Edie

SEDOL, Lake County: Tory Burrows (theburrows@aol.com)
"My name is Tory Burrows. I am mother of 2 teenage boys, one of whom is hard of hearing. My background is that of a parent of a child with hearing loss and as a former special education teacher. I look forward to sharing my knowledge with other families to help them navigate the school system. I am very excited to be collaborating with SEDOL, ISRC and families: working together to help kids be successful!"
South Region: Cathy Lyons-Guidish (guidish5@charter.net)
"Hello ..Let me introduce you to my beautifully typical functioning family. My son is profoundly deaf with Cochlear implant that only has 52% gainful usage with the device. He was born with Waardenburg Syndrome."
Click here to learn more about Cathy

Join the ISRC Team as a Parent Facilitator

ISRC is hiring Parent Facilitators for additional schools and special education cooperatives. Applications will be accepted until the positions are filled. For more information, see full position description.

Parent Facilitator Brochure

Parent Facilitator Yahoo Group

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ISRCParentFacilitators/

Special Education Record Keeper

This booklet is for parents to use to keep important information about their child and his/her special education and related services. It is a companion to Educational Rights and Responsibilities: Understanding Special Education in Illinois.

Records play an important role as you plan your child’s education. Dates, people, meetings and reports are important throughout your child’s educational career. The records keeper was developed to assist parents in preparing for Individualized Education Program (IEP) and transition meetings; getting ready for evaluations and reevaluations; and keeping track of paperwork and other materials.

This booklet cross-references the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) publication, Educational Rights and Responsibilities: Understanding Special Education in Illinois. At the bottom of each page, locate the page number(s) that references a section or pages in the guide. The guide offers information to increase your knowledge and understanding about the topic or issue.

To download a copy of the booklet, click here.

 

Understanding Childhood Deafness

CHOICES for Parents is a statewide coalition of parents and professionals providing immediate access to support, information, and resources to families of children with newly identified hearing loss. CHOICES has developed an online handbook of information on a variety of topics related to deafness. Topics covered include facts about hearing loss, role of the pediatrician, hearing technologies (such as hearing aids and cochlear implants), and additional resources. To view the CHOICES handbook, click here.

 

Executive Functioning Parent Interview

A parent shares their experience with a child having Executive Functioning Weaknesses and provides some strategies.

Download Interview

 

How-To Guides

Our guides provide easy to use information on a variety of topics, such as sign language, potty training, and more!

Parenting Tips

Summer Survival Tips (English)

Summer Survival Tips (Spanish)

10 Basic Signs

Potty Training Tips (English)

Potty Training Tips (Spanish)

Daily Behavior Chart

Weekly Behavior Chart

Learning & Practicing Sign Language

Behavior Expectations at Home

Positive Behavior Expectations in Sign Language

Encouraging Positive Behavior in Sign Language

 

Lending Library

ISRC has a library of over 1200 items, including books, videotapes, audiotapes, test kits and games related to deafness, deaf culture, sign language, audiology, mental health, behavior management, parenting and administration. Requested materials are mailed with return postage included.

Click here to search our library catalog

Not sure what you're looking for? Check out these lists of library items on specific topics:

ADD/ADHD                    Anger/Agression          Autism                 Cochlear Implants

Executive Functioning         Mental Illness              Parenting          Sign Language

Once you've found something you'd like to borrow, you may request it in the following ways:

In Person: ISRC Library is open to the public during business hours (9 am to 3 pm), Monday through Friday. Stop by and browse our collection, fill out a library request form and take your materials with you.

By Phone: Call us at 847-559-8195 during business hours and request a title to be mailed to you. All materials are mailed for a three week loan period, postage paid both ways. You must be a resident of Illinois.

By E-mail: Contact isrc@isrc.us and ask for your materials by email. We'll mail them to you for a three week loan period, postage paid. You must be a resident of Illinois.

By Fax: Download a library request form and fax it to ISRC at 847-559-8199 to receive your items in the mail, postage paid for a period of three weeks.

 

Contact Us

We welcome you to contact us through one of the following methods:

In Person: Our offices are located at 3444 W Dundee Rd (corner of Dundee and Huehl Roads) in Northbrook, IL. We are open from 9 am to 3 pm Monday through Friday.

By Phone: During office hours, our phone # is 847-559-8195. In case of an after hours emergency, please call 1-800-550-4772

By E-mail: Our e-mail address for general questions is isrc@isrc.us. If you have a specific need, please visit our Contact Us Page for the e-mail addresses of our team members.

By Facebook: To become a friend of ISRC on Facebook, click here. To become a fan of ISRC on Facebook, click here.