In 1998, when her daughter was diagnosed with autism, Jackie McNair found little information to help her cope with the new reality of being a parent to a special-needs child.
“The only things I knew were what I read in the library,” she recalled. “And I learned this was a lifelong disability.”
After several years of educating herself and talking to other special needs children and their parents, McNair heard about a job in the Gwinnett school system to support parents who shared her situation. In 2005, she joined the Parent Mentor team.
“I had been with the DeKalb schools, but when this job opened, I envisioned myself doing it,” said McNair, whose daughter is now 24. “I can relate to parents with a child who doesn’t speak, struggles to learn or doesn’t eat. What makes my job worth it is to hear parents say I’ve been a blessing to their family, and I’ve helped them find answers.”
Gwinnett’s Parent Mentor program launched in 2002 as one of a few in Georgia. Though not mandatory, many counties since have established mentor groups, and today, more than 100 operate across the state. Each shares the same goal: to have parents of special-needs students support and inform other parents struggling with similar issues.
“We are not educators,” said Dawn Albanese, McNair’s partner in the Gwinnett program and the mother of a 13-year-old eighth grader with autism. “We are parents of young people with special needs. In fact, that’s a prerequisite for the position – to have a child who is or was receiving special education services.
“So we connect with families differently than the way educators do. We are the parents we’re trying to help, and we have the same hopes, fears and dreams for our kids,” she said. “When you come at it from that perspective, it makes all the difference.”
McNair and Albanese primarily devise programs to get parents involved and engaged.
“A lot of research shows the best way to have positive outcomes for our students is to have parents involved in their academic journey,” said Albanese. “And we are always on the lookout for resources for our parents – funding, extracurricular activities, summer camps. We’re trying to bridge the gap between home, school and community.”
One of McNair’s goals has been to offer classes for parents to answer the most frequently asked questions and to keep them up to date on issues such as behavioral strategies and the difference between occupational and physical therapy.
“In the last few years, we’ve had a lot of questions about life beyond the high school diploma,” said Albanese. “That one tends to draw middle and high school parents who want to be know if their children are on a track to compete for a job, to live independently or to go on to secondary education. Sometimes they just don’t know what track their child is on, so it can be very eye-opening.”
For details, call 678-301-7212 or email Dawn_Albanese@gwinnett.k12.ga.us or Jackie_McNair@gwinnett.k12.ga.us.
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Each week we look at programs, projects and successful endeavors at area schools, from pre-K to grad school. To suggest a story, contact H.M. Cauley at hm_cauley@yahoo.com or 770-744-3042.
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