EASTHAMPTON — Founded to advocate for children with disabilities and their families in line with federal and state special education laws, the Caregiver Advisory Network for Disability Opportunities, also known as CAN-DO, is celebrating its one-year anniversary as a group and their grown foundation in the community.
Founded under the leadership of parents Kelly Brown, Sam Hunter and Pilar Goldstein-Dea, the group has spent the past year hosting essential workshops on new IEPs, family rights within the special education system and executive functioning training in collaboration with statewide parent advisory councils. These initiatives have empowered families with vital information and community connections.
Speaking with Reminder Publishing, Brown explained, as a mother of three children with disabilities in Easthampton, she started looking for a way to advocate for children like hers. With her oldest child ready to begin school in the district, she began researching a way to organize advocacy for children with disabilities after seeing there was no formed special education Parent Advisory Council in the district.
“A little over a year ago myself, Sam Hunter and Pilar Goldstein-Dea got together and said this is something that our community really needs,” Brown explained. “Easthampton Public Schools has a really robust population of children with disabilities within the district and we really felt like there needed to be some place for the families of these children to come together to ask questions and get support. We really wanted to make sure that families understood their rights as having a child with a disability in the school system.”
Brown added over the past year the group has seen success in growing a network of families that know they can go to CAN-DO for questions about the service their child receives, outside opinions and support that enables them when discussing the same things with specialist from the district.
In her own experience, Brown has firsthand experience of how overwhelming IEP meetings and other interactions with schools can be regarding a child with disabilities. This is partly why forming CAN-DO helps educate and better equip parents when having these meetings with the district.
“Any parent would probably say that they feel overwhelmed in an IEP meeting — I remember feeling overwhelmed but also confident that I had the tools and the knowledge to make decisions that were going to put my son in the best place that he needed to be. And I remember thinking, how are families navigating this who don’t have a background in education, who don’t have the privilege of having the time to sit and read about different services and support because I recognize that that is a privilege I have, and some families don’t have that.”
Brown continued, “Sam and I talked a lot about making sure that every family is coming to that IEP table or those conversations with those providers around disabilities and their child services, with the most information they can have and trying to be a resource, so all families feel empowered and connected to the services that their children are receiving.”
Brown said Easthampton Public Schools have been very welcoming to the group and their mission on behalf of district families. Additionally, different events across town have welcomed the group over the last year to attend and set up a space to speak with families and answer any questions about their work.
Looking ahead, CAN-DO plans to continue expanding its support offerings, including meetings, coffee hours and playdates to strengthen family bonds.
“We are thrilled to celebrate our first anniversary and reflect on the positive impact CAN-DO has had,” said Brown. “We look forward to continuing our mission and advocating for the inclusion and support of all children with disabilities in Easthampton.”
Brown added they will focus this year on helping parents bridge the gap in understanding the new IEP system that will be rolled out after state changes. They also will eye different events to get the community together and continuing its networking.
Brown also added she hopes parents with disabilities will be featured voices on the Search Committee tasked with finding the next superintendent. Overall, she hopes CAN-DO can continue to be a resource for families and for the betterment of advocacy for children with disabilities.
“I get messages often on Facebook, people stop me as they’re bringing their kids into school. Those are the moments that really make it all worth it, is when you can have that conversation with a family and know that they now feel just a little bit more prepared, and that they feel hopefully more supported. That’s a big part of what CAN-DO is good at,” Brown said.
According to a release from CAN-DO, the board expressed gratitude to the district, the community and especially Todd Snider who just stepped down as secretary.
CAN-DO invites anyone with ties to the special education system in Easthampton to join the community. They are also currently seeking board members for the role of secretary, treasurer and program coordinator. Interested individuals can contact CAN-DO at CAN-DO@epsd.us.
For more information about CAN-DO and its events, visit epsdcando.org. Caregivers are encouraged to reach out with any questions or concerns.
