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The special education lawyers at Education Law Advocates understand how frustrating it can be to try to find individuals and organizations that can really help you get the services your child needs. We know that sometimes it can seem overwhelming.
Help is available! There are support groups of parents. There are resources in local, state and federal government. There are advocacy organizations for children with ADD and ADHD, such as CHADD, and parent groups for children with autism, learning disabilities, including dyslexia and other reading problems, blindness, hearing impairments, physical disabilities, Asperger’s, and many other disabilities.
There are private attorneys who can help you obtain all of the educational services that your child needs and is legally entitled to receive. There also may be a publicly-funded attorney who can help you. In addition, there are non-attorney advocates, some of whom are mothers who faced some of the same challenges with their own children that you now face. They may be able to help you get organized. They may be able to attend IEP and other school meetings with you, and to work with you in other ways.
The important thing to remember is this: You are not alone! There are no “magic bullets,” of course. Nothing can make achieving your goals for your child "easy." But help is available.
The table below sets forth just a few of the resources available to parents in southeastern Pennsylvania. Of course, we do not know you. We do not know your child. We do not know what it is you are trying to achieve. We do not know the "facts" about your situation. So we cannot "recommend" any of the individuals and organizations below as being the "right" one for you. Whether you decide to contact or seek additional information or help from any of them therefore is entirely up to you. We are simply trying to provide you with more information about potentially useful resources.
If you have any questions, call us or email us. We will be happy to try to help you.
We are confident we can help.
Education law is virtually all we do.
Call us now at 610.696.5006 or email us now!
Who Will Help Me?
| What kind of help do you need? | Person or Organization That Can Help |
| I need an 800 number to call for information on special education services, my legal rights, and IEP's. | Pa. Dept. of Education, Special Education "Consult-line," 800.879.2301; Parent Education Network, 800.522.5827 |
| My child has been waiting more than 30 days for a placement the school agrees is necessary but claims it cannot offer. | Cordero Support Office, 800.222.7372 |
| I need a non-lawyer, education advocate who can attend school meetings and/or help me obtain the special education services my child needs. | No-Fee Advocates and Sliding Scale Fee Advocates Arc of Chester County: Connie Mohn 610.696.8090, cmohn@arcofchestercounty.org (must meet income requirements to qualify for free assistance); Arc of Delaware County, Kelly Connell 610.544.6600, ext. 110, kconnell@thearcofdelco.org (fees based on sliding scale), The Arc of the Montgomery, Berks & Bucks Counties, Eagleville Office, 610-265-4700, http://www.marcpa.org, Eagleville, PA, tdarneau@marcpa.org; Reading Office, 610-603-0227, info@marcpa.org, Reading, PA http://fspub.findlaw.com/mowens@marcpa.org; Autism Alliance of Chester County, Brenda Eaton, 484.237.5354, brendae@cciu.org; Child and Family Focus: Kim Booz,kbooz@childandfamilyfocus.org, Karen Brenneman, kbrenneman@childandfamilyfocus.org, Phone - 484 881-1749, Ed McKenna, 610.783.1788 (work), 610 999-6826 (cell), emckenna@childandfamilyfocus.org; Melissa Cotton,484.797.3370, mcotton@childandfamilyfocus.org; Pat O'Connor, Elks Home Serv. 814.594.4823 (every PA county); Parent Involved Network, Elizabeth Starks, 610.279.8511, ext. 114 (Norristown); Sandy Wadsworth (Delaware County) 484.494.5984, wadsworthss@hotmail.com, Debbie Willett,dwillett@childandfamilyfocus.org, 484 238-4594,610 741-8084 Fee-Based Advocates: Advocacy and Consulting for Education, Inc., Melissa Bilash, 484.580.8079, melissa@acfeinc.com (southeastern PA); ARC of Chester County: Christine Hesling, 610.696.8090, chesling@arcofchestercounty.org; Debbie Badawi, Ed.D., 570.236.8428, mailto:%20dbadawi1984@comcast.net (http://www.theeducationbeat.com/) (Chester County); Kelly Barton,610.696.6018, Bartonconsulting@Gmail.com (Southeastern PA); Alexandra Bricklin,behavior specialist alexsolre@mac.com, 610.415.9629 (Chester County); Paul Clifford, 717.304.0569, pcbigreddog@msn.com (Mt. Gretna; handles cases state-wide); Nicole Cogdell, 267 982.0145, nicolecogdell2@aol.com (Delaware County); Barbara Cuff, 610.461.1152, cuff_8@msn.com (Delaware County); Rita Denis, 610 428 2119 (Southeastern PA) dreams4mychild@yahoo.com, Becca Devine, 610. 658.9909, TEAMinclusion@msn.com (Southeastern PA) sliding scale fee; Dr. Robyn Forbes Drucker rforbesdrucker@gmail.com, 610.296.9828, (Southeastern PA); Trudy Fulmer, 215.258.3377, TrudyFulmer@comcast.net (Sellersville); Denise Johnson, 610.280.9842, accidentaladvocate@live.com (Chesco) ; Marie Lewis RN,PhD (Southeastern PA), 610-964-0143,marieclewis@verizon.net, http://www.marieclewis.com/, Leslie Lorey, School Nurse Advocate, 717.560.4263, Loreyles1@comcast.net (Southeastern PA); Amber Mintz 610.927.9904, mailto:%20amintz@ptd.net(Berks); Rebecca Moyes, 724.594.1090, bmoyes123@aol.com (Westmoreland); Lori Young, 610.593.6893, lly1988@epix.net (Chester and Lancaster Counties); Trish Luberda, 610.334.8381, Trish@advocates4U.org (Southeastern PA); Susan F. Rzucidlo, 610.659.3145, srz@dol.net (Chester-Lancaster); Jill Santiago (Chester County), hxsantiago@juno.com, 610.563.7802; Debra Schafer, 610.363.1156, ASPEDAdvocate@AOL.com (Southeastern PA); Maureen Stankiewicz, Law Offices of Caryl Andrea Oberman, 215.830.5025, edlaw@caryloberman.com (Willow Grove); Dawn Trautwein,610.213.8772, dtrautwein@epix.net, (Southeastern PA). |
| I need to talk to a special education lawyer | Private attorneys representing families: Charles Pugh, Ed.Law@comcast.net, Michalisa M. Pugh, Ed.Lawyer@comcast.net, Education Law Advocates, P.C., 610.696.5006, (Southeastern Pa); David J. Berney, 215.564.1030, djberney@berneylaw.com (Philadelphia); Michael J. Connolly, 215.340.7500, mconnolly@cjjedlaw.com (Doylestown); Dawn Marie Cutaia, 717 846-7100, dmcutaia@gmail.com (York); Phillip Drumheiser, pdrumheiser@epix.net, Carlisle); Valerie Faden, vfaden@juno.com; Dan Fennick, dfennick@acflaw.com; (Web: http://www.acflaw.com/); Ira Fingles, ira@hinkle1.com, (Yardley; New Jersey); Dave Frankel, 610.260.6055, dave@mykidslawyer.com (Conshohocken); Stephen J. Jacobson, Psy.D., 215.340.7500, sjacobson@cjjedlaw.com (Doylestown); Charles Jelley,724.838.7600, cjelley@tjwattorneys.com (Western PA); Hollie B. John, 215.340.7500, hjohn@cjjedlaw.com (Doylestown); Joshua M. Kershenbaum, 610.260.6055, Josh@mykidslawyer.com (Montco); Dennis C. McAndrews, Heidi B. Konkler-Goldsmith, McAndrews Law Offices, P.C., 610.648.9300, http://www.mcandrewslaw.com/), hkonkler@mcandrewslaw.com (Offices: Berwyn, Scranton, Wyomissing); Vivian Narehood, Ann Martin, 717.291.1700 vnarehood@gkh.com; amartin@gkh.com (Lancaster); Caryl Oberman, Liliana Yazno-Bartle, Law Offices of Caryl Andrea Oberman, edlaw@caryloberman.com , 215.830.5025 (Willow Grove); Catherine Merino Reisman, creisman@reismancarolla.com, 856.354.0071, Amy Carolla, acarolla@reismancarolla.com, 856.354.0081 (Haddonfield, NJ) (Admitted in NJ and Pennsylvania); Jill Spector, 215. 990. 7728, jillspector@verizon.net (Montgomery); Fred Stanczak, fstanczak@msn.com, 215.340.5000 (Doylestown); Jerry Tanenbaum, jtanenbaum@schnader.com, 856.482.5733 (Cherry Hill), 215.871.2000 (Philadelphia); Ilene B. Young 215.348.5448, ibyounglaw@verizon.net (Bucks). Organizations: Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia (PILCOP), 215.627.7200; Disabilities Lawyer Referral Service of the Pa. Bar Association, 800.932.0311; Legal Clinic for the Disabled, Philadelphia, 215.587.3350, http://www.legalclinicforthedisabled.org/; Legal Aid of Southeastern Pennsylvania, 1.877.429.5994. |
| I need an attorney who can help me with financial planning and special needs trusts in order to make certain that my child receives the maximum government provided services. | Nancy Pine, 610-344-7100, NPine@pinelaw.net (Southeastern PA) |
| I need information on evaluation and services for my infant, toddler or preschooler age 3-5 | Office of Child Development and Early Learning, contact your local intermediate unit |
| I need information on the special education system, key laws, and available services | General websites (Pennsylvania): Pennsylvania state government websites: Federal government websites: |
| I want to read the law and regulations for myself. | Click here to go to the law links page. Other sources: Education Law Center, http://www.elc-pa.org/; http://www.findlaw.com/; http://www.parentednet.org/. |
| I think my child may be gifted. How can I obtain more information on evaluation and special services? | Go to www.pde.state.pa.us/gifted_ed/site for information, FAQ, access to regulations (Pa. Dept. of Education); http://www.elc-pa.org/ (for fact sheet on gifted education and contact persons). |
| I need information on and help with my child's specific condition | National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities-NICHCY, http://www.nichcy.org/ Information on all disabilities. Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD): CHADD (National), said it http://www.chadd.org/; CHADD of Chester County, 610.429.4060 (Chester County Chapter Coordinator: Marie Paxson). Autism: Autism Society of America (Penna. Chapter), http://www.autism-society.org/. Brain Injury: Brain Injury Association: http://www.biausa.org/. Cerebral Palsy: United Cerebral Palsy Association, http://www.ucpa.org/; United Cerebral Palsy of PA, http://www.ucpofpa.org/. Deafness/Hearing Impaired: Parent Education Network, http://www.parentednet.org/; Center for Hearing and Deafness, http://www.chadinc.org/. Down Syndrome: Down Syndrome Health, http://www.ds-health.com/; Chester County Down Syndrome Interest Group, http://www.ccdsig.org/. Learning Disabilities and Dyslexia: Learning Disabilities Information and Resources, http://www.ldonline.org/; National Center for Learning Disabilities, http://www.ncld.org/. Mental Health: NAMI Chester County, http://chester.nami.org/ (Chester County Advocate: Marilyn Baker, 610.269.9739); Wraparound Services, Children's Behavioral Health Center, 610.383.1285, http://ibc-pa.org/ National Association of Persons with Developmental Disabilities and Mental Health Needs, http://www.thenadd.org/. Mental Retardation: American Association on Mental Retardation, http://www.aamr.org/; Chester County Mental Health and Mental Retardation, 610.344.6265; The Arc of Pennsylvania, 800.692.7258 http://www.thearcpa.org/. Speech and Language: American Speech Hearing Association, 800.638.8255 http://www.asha.org/ ; Tourette Syndrome: Tourette Syndrome Assoc., http://www.patsainc.org/; Visual Impairment/Blindness: American Council for the Blind http://www.acb.org/; Pennsylvania Council for the Blind http://pcb1.org/ American Foundation for the Blind, http://www.afb.org/; |
| I need information on evaluation and services for my infant, toddler or preschooler age 3-5 | Office of Child Development and Early Learning, contact your local intermediate unit |
| I need information about Chester County Charter schools | CHESTER COUNTY CHARTER SCHOOLS CYBER CHARTER SCHOOLS Achievement House Charter School, K-8 (soon K-12) http://www.achievementcharter.com/ 222 Valley Creek, Suite 301, Exton, PA 19341 484 615 6200 CHESTER COUNTY CYBER & CHARTER SCHOOLS Agora Cyber Charter School, 60 Chestnut Ln., Wayne, PA 19087, 610-254-8218 http://www.k12.com/agora/faqs/ K-12 PA Leadership Charter School-Cyber School http://www.palcs.org/contact-palcs.html plus activities in West Chester with three locations. 610 701-3333 Leadership Center Performing and Fine Arts-211 Carter Drive, suite C., West Chester, PA 19382 University Scholars for gifted students 21st-Century Cyber Charter School, 455 Boot Road, Downingtown, PA 19335 484-237-5206 http://www.21stcenturycyber.org/ K-12 BRICK & MORTAR Avon Grove Charter School, K-12 & Early Learning Center www.agcharter.org, 110 State Rd. West Grove, PA, 484-667-5000 Early Learning Center@Kemblesville, 1769 New London , Landenberg PA,610-255-5325 Chester County Family Academy Charter School , 323 East Gay St., Suite, West Chester, PA 19380 610-696- 5910 K-2, Collegium Charter School, 535 James Hance Court, Exton, PA 19341, 610-903-1300 http://www.collegium-charter.org/ Graystone Academy 139 Modena Road, Coatesville, PA 19320. 610 383 4311 http://www.greatschools.org/modperl/achievement/pa/5279 K-8th grade public school in Coatesville. Transportation provided by district in which the child lives. Renaissance Academy, 40 Pine Crest Drive, Phoenixville, PA 19460, 610 983-4080 http://www.rak12.org/ College prep, sports teams, band and choral & various extracurricular activities |
Education Law Advocates, P.C. skillfully represents parents and their children in southeastern Pennsylvania, including the communities of West Chester, Lower Merion, Coatesville, Paoli, Downingtown and Upper Darby, and throughout the Philadelphia metro area, including Chester County, Montgomery County, Delaware County, Bucks County, Lancaster County and Berks County.
Education Law Advocates, P.C.
Special Education Lawyers
The Culbertson Building
with 590 Snyder Avenue
West Chester, Pennsylvania 19382
Voice: 610.696.5006
Fax: 610.696.6590
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