CAMAS — Heather Dehghan said she sometimes doesn’t feel comfortable taking her son, Nova, to regular school events.
Nova, a second-grader, has autism, and his parents said he can often become overwhelmed in large, busy settings.
“When you attend an event where there’s not kids with special needs, you’re always thinking what people think about your child, what they think about you, where you might need to go if it’s too much,” Dehghan said.
Like many other parents of children with special needs, Dehghan said she sought a place where she and Nova could be more comfortable — where there might be other parents who better understand their situation.
Last year, a group of parents in Camas felt the same way and formed the Camas School District Special Education Parent-Teacher-Student Organization. The organization operates similarly to a normal parent-teacher organization, but it provides events and services tailored to parents of children with special needs.
On a Wednesday afternoon after school this month, the organization hosted a holiday event at Dorothy Fox Elementary School in Camas. Parents and students met a therapy llama, Beni, from Mountain Peaks Therapy Llamas, took pictures with Santa Claus, played with toys and more.
“What we really want to do is connect families,” said Summer Livermore, the group’s president. “Oftentimes we feel very isolated, a lot of times there are things we can’t participate in. We want to have events provide sensory opportunities and spaces for kids to take a break if they need, too.”
Coming together
It’s no secret that life as a parent is hard. It can be even tougher without a team.
“Being in the special needs community, you often feel alone as parents,” said Stacy Leorna, who helped found the group with Livermore and others. “You think, ‘This struggle is mine. I don’t know where to turn.’ ”
When Leorna and Livermore launched the organization as a Facebook page, they weren’t sure what kind of response they’d get.
“We know there are other parents out there that feel the same way as we do, but how would we know where they are?” Leorna said. “How do we meet these parents to create this community?”
Within a few weeks, the group found dozens of members and began hosting events more frequently — such as the holiday party and group dinners at members’ homes. What Leorna and Livermore quickly found was that special education-specific parent-teacher organizations weren’t common in Washington; their group in Camas is the only formalized group in Clark County.
In consulting with existing groups in Highline and Issaquah, Livermore said they found what parents were asking for the most was advice on how to approach meetings about their student’s individualized education forms. The forms help evaluate any additional special services a student might need — from extra time on tests to one-on-one paraeducator assistance at certain times of the day.
Since students returned to the classroom after a year and a half of remote learning, school districts in Clark County and beyond have reported an increase in student behavioral issues. In turn, more students than ever are requesting such support plans.
In Camas, for example, 13.1 percent of students in 2022 were classified as students with disabilities, compared with 11.2 percent in 2019.
The group provides resources on its website to connect parents with organizations such as PAVE or civil rights lawyers to better understand the plan-making process to support their child’s education.
“When this group formed, I had gone through the (individualized education plan) process a dozen times, but in just a year, I’ve learned so much about it,” said Sara Bauer, the group’s treasurer and a parent of two children supported by special education services. “Everything we learn, we work to share with our community, especially for parents with younger kids.”
Fundraising and further support
Livermore said the group is always welcoming new members and has recently had parents and members of parent-teacher organizations in other districts reach out to her for guidance on special education.
“The feedback we’re getting is that this is something that’s really needed everywhere,” she said.
The group’s biggest struggle, like many nonprofits, is consistent fundraising. In the past, the group has been dependent on cookie sales during the holiday season but is seeking long-term sponsorships for more stable funding.
So far, she said the Camas School District has been supportive of their mission and voice in the community; the district has had administrators speak at group events about education plans and other special services available in the district.
“One of our biggest things was that none of the elementary schools have accessible playground equipment,” Livermore said. “We have kids with complex needs. If they can’t swing on the swing, how’s that accessible? We approached the district about it, and they were already putting it into the budget.”
In the meantime, the group will continue to host events like the one at Dorothy Fox. Something as simple as a space to relax and connect with other parents goes a long way for parent mental health, they said. Adding a llama to the mix doesn’t hurt, either.
“This has provided me somewhere where I can take my son and feel like I don’t need to constantly guard him or explain things,” Dehghan said. “It’s really been so welcoming.”
