For Families

The Ability Center’s educational advocates are a cross-departmental team dedicated to working with students, their families, other service providers and school districts to ensure that students with disabilities get the education and services they need. We work with students from ages 3 through 22 who need special education services (an IEP) or accommodations (a 504 Plan). We address both individual issues and systemic issues, which affect a number of students with disabilities. Our focus is on helping schools and families resolve issues, but we also pursue administrative remedies when warranted.

Our Team includes:

Jennifer Kirby (resume pdf)
Suzanne Van Hee (resume pdf)
Tory Heilman
Educational Advocacy Program Flyer (pdf)

We have a variety of backgrounds, and collectively, have over 30 years experience helping students with disabilities and their families. All of us have either personal experience with disabilities and/or family members with disabilities. We have extensive training in special education law, and specific disabilities including, but not limited to learning disabilities, mental health, autism spectrum disorders, and fetal alcohol spectrum disorders. We also have extensive training on best practices in special education, including, but not limited to: differentiated instruction, inclusion, and positive behavior support.

Our services include consultation with families and school districts on the needs of students, representation at meetings including mediations, student observation and classroom consultation, and referrals to and collaboration with other service providers to promote holistic family support, and assistance with filing complaints as needed. For more information, please review our Terms of Service (pdf) details.

Systemic advocacy priorities for the current year include identification of students with disabilities for services, placement of students in their least restrictive environment, disciplinary rights of students with disabilities, compliance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and collective bargaining agreements, which conflict with special education law. If you have other systemic issues you would like us to look into, please contact Jennifer Kirby.

We serve the counties in The Ability Center service area, but also recognize the need for advocates throughout the region. In addition to attending meetings in person, we offer the options of providing training and technical assistance to caseworkers from other agencies that may be available to attend meetings with you. We also offer the option of our advocates attending via phone, or video conference using the free service Skype. We do this not to limit our service, but rather to make our expertise more available and less dependent on limitations imposed by travel time and expense. If you are interested in the phone/video conference option, we will guide you/your school through setting it up.

Cost: Services are free for families. The United Way of Greater Toledo partially funds the program to serve families in Lucas, Wood, and Ottawa Counties. If your employer participates in a United Way pledge drive, please consider designating The Ability Center as a recipient of your pledge. Direct donations to The Ability Center are always welcome.

To fill out our In-Take, click here. If you would prefer to have our form mailed to you, please call one of our team members at the office closest to you.

For Educators

Although known as advocates for children, the educational advocacy team is committed to working with districts as well as families to achieve the best outcomes for students with disabilities. We have established our reputation for quality and fairness with families and districts over 15 years of serving Northwest Ohio.

We can assist districts through:

• Service as certified surrogate parents (all advocates have current State Support team certification)
• Consultation with families who need linkage to community supports
• Consultation with families who might benefit from advice from non-school personnel on the educational process
• Suggesting reasonable accommodations for students, family members or staff with disabilities
• Classroom observations and consultations (We presently hold no licenses, but have extensive training. See resumes on this page)
• In-services for staff or parent groups on various topics.

For more information, please contact Jennifer Kirby.

Resource Materials

Asperger’s Tip Sheet (pdf)
Parent Self Advocacy for Students with Learning Disabilities Presentation (pdf)
Transition Tip Sheet (pdf)
Ten Things to Keep in Mind if Your Child Has a Behavioral Disability (pdf)
Working Effectively with School if Your Child Has a Mental Illness (pdf)
Working With Students With Disabilities and Their Families (pdf)

Useful Websites

State and National Resources

Educational Advocacy YouTube Channel
IDEA: US Department of Education
Wrightslaw: Special Education and Advocacy
Office for Exceptional Children
Ohio Department of Education Families
OLRS Ohio Legal Rights Services

Local Resources
Double Arc
NAMI Toledo
United Way Family Information Network
The Arc of Lucas County
Lucas County Board of Developmental Disabilities
Down Syndrome Association of Greater Toledo
AOA Kinship Navigator
ABLE Advocates for Basic Legal Equality
Autism Society of Northwest Ohio
State Support Team Region 1
Wood County Board of Developmental Disabilities

Shopper’s Corner

Please take a few moments to visit our Amazon Unique Kids Store of useful resources. By completing your purchase through our website, our program will receive a percentage of your purchase from Amazon.Thank you for shopping through us, and please feel free to email us regarding resources you recommend.