Here are 10 tips to help students be successful in completing their homework for you:

1) Make sure your students and their parents understand homework policy. 2) Assign work that students can do. If your student has a learning disability in written language, chances are you won't get 10-page written report you assigned. Perhaps he could tape information or present it in a different way, such as through use of pictures or a skit.

3) Make sure student understands assignment and has written it down correctly. That may mean you'll have to spend a little extra time with student to show him examples of what you want and to answer any questions he might have. Often, this involves an element of trust, especially as child gets older. He needs to be able to go to you and know that he will get help, not rejection.

4) Don't overload student with homework. Remember, it takes these students longer to complete assignment in first place. So, it might be a good idea to cut number of multiplication problems you assign him in half. Or, perhaps you would reduce amount of reading you want him to do in his reading book for night.

Those were words of more than one parent I spoke with whose children had been tested to see if they needed special education services. I could always hear discouragement in their voices as they spoke.

I heard same tone of voice in a person a little closer to home just recently. A relative of mine has a son who has just been evaluated, and parents had been given a copy of report. He and his wife both have college educations, and they still had difficulty understanding what was being said. He looked totally helpless as he showed me paperwork.

It's important to realize that every occupation in life has it's own terms, and special education is no different. Unless you work in that occupation on a daily basis, you can't be expected to know what those terms mean - not much consolation when it's your child's education and success that are at stake.

The good news is that there is help out there.

Here are some suggestions for how you can become an informed, active participant in meeting:

1) Contact special education office in your school district. Either someone there can explain it to you, or they can tell you who to talk with to help you understand report.

2) Set up an appointment to speak with special education person in your child's school.