"Let the summer breeze carry your worries away and fill your soul with peace."
~Unknown
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Welcome to June's edition of the Buzz from the Hub! For most families, June means a change in routines and more time to relax as another school year comes to an end. While summer brings changes in schedules, it also offers children and their families opportunities to explore new activities, build friendships, enjoy community programs, and create special memories together. However you choose to spend the season, we hope your summer is exactly as you'd like it to be!
In this issue of the Buzz from the Hub you’ll find the following resources:
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Featured Resource: A Parent's Guide to Using AI for Advocacy in Special Education
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Featured Parent Center: Oklahoma Parents Center (OPC)
- Practice Improvement Tools: Practice Guides for Families
- The Science of Reading: An Overview
- "Life Beyond High School: For Young Adults with IDD" - A THINK+change Documentary
- READY, SET, SUMMER! FAMILY TOOLKIT
Finally, don’t miss the upcoming virtual events in the Upcoming Events section.
Best wishes and happy reading,
The CPIR Team
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A Parent's Guide to Using AI for Advocacy in Special Education
AI tools (like ChatGPT) can be powerful supports for parents navigating special education. This guide, by CADRE (The Center for Appropriate Dispute Resolution in Special Education), is designed to help you use AI confidently and safely — in ways that strengthen your advocacy, protect your child’s privacy, and support positive working relationships with your child’s team.
Read the guide here.
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The Oklahoma Parents Center (OPC) specializes in special education support for people with disabilities from birth to age 26 and their families. The Oklahoma Parents Center is the federally funded Parent Training and Information Center (PTI) for the state of Oklahoma. They have been providing services to Oklahoma parents and family members of children with disabilities, young adults with disabilities, and the professionals who serve them since 2000!
The Oklahoma Parents Center (OPC) created a page where you can get information about upcoming trainings and access online trainings/videos that you can watch at your convenience.
Check them out!
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Practice Improvement Tools: Practice Guides for Families
ECTA Center's (Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center) practice guides for families explain the DEC Rcommended Practices, how to use them using videos and vignettes, and how you will know if practices are working.
Access the guides here in English and Spanish.
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The Science of Reading: An Overview
There are so many pieces to the Science of Reading, that it can be difficult to know where to start. Here are a few highlights, from the National Center on Improving Literacy about what the Science of Reading is and what it’s not.
Read the article here.
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"Life Beyond High School: For Young Adults with IDD" - A THINK+change Documentary
Beck Williers is a 23-year-old young man with an exciting life ahead of him. His transition into adulthood did not happen overnight but came through a journey of self-advocacy and community-building. Resilient from the day he was born, Beck and his family show what it takes to create a life full of endless possibilities and finding success through joy.
Watch the documentary here.
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READY, SET, SUMMER! FAMILY TOOLKIT
Kids will be out of school before you know it, so it's the perfect time to plan days filled with connection, play, and possibility.
The National Inclusion Project's Ready, Set, Summer! Family Toolkit is a free resource designed to help families of children with AND without disabilities plan with confidence and make the most of the season.
Download the Toolkit here.
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Stepping forward, stepping back: How parents can support youth moving to adult health care
The process of moving from pediatric to adult health care involves legal and social changes. For youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities, this process often is delayed or incomplete. From sharing information and power to building new skills, this webinar will help families navigate the process of health care transition in ways that empower youth to step forward and take a leadership role in their health and care.
When: June 15, 2026
Time: 2:00 PM ET
Register here.
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Families in Focus: AEM Tips for Parent Centers
Family members are often the first to realize that a student with a disability is having difficulty using or learning from classroom materials. Accessible Educational Materials (AEM)Tips for Parent Centers are thirty-minute monthly information sessions highlighting resources and strategies for parents and caregivers of children who need AEM. The series launched on March 17 and June's monthly session will be on June 16, 2026.
When: June 16, 2026
Time: 2:00–2:30 PM ET
Register for AEM Tips.
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Tech tools for job success
Join the PACER Center for this workshop to learn about technology that can help teens and adults with disabilities build the skills they need to get and keep a job. Participants will see demos of apps and devices that can support them through managing time, staying organized, and getting tasks done — like alarms, calendars, to-do lists, reminders, and task directions.
When:June 29, 2026
Time: 2:00 PM ET
Register here.
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This e-Newsletter from the CPIR is copyright-free.
We encourage you to share it with others.
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Publication of this e-Newsletter is made possible through Cooperative Agreement H328R230009 between OSEP and the SPAN Parent Advocacy Network (SPAN). The contents do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Department of Education, nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government or by the Center for Parent Information and Resources.
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The Center for Parent Information & Resources at SPAN | 570 Broad Street, Suite 702, Newark, NJ 07102
800-654-7726 | parentcenterhub.org
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