Parent Training and Information Center Project

The purpose of the Parent Training and Information (PTI) project is to provide Colorado parents, self-advocates, and family members with high quality information and training so that they can become lifelong advocates for their children and themselves. The PTI assists families and self-advocates to create change so that schools and communities are more responsive to the needs of all students. The PTI’s driving principle is to foster independence so that parents are empowered to participate and advocate for their children throughout their lives and so that youth with disabilities are empowered to become independent, empowered self-advocates. The PTI project:

• Helps families and youth with disabilities to increase their knowledge of their rights, the special education process, and ways to access resources so they can strengthen their advocacy.
• Helps families and youth with disabilities to be active in the Individualized Education Program (IEP) process and become skilled in accessing needed supports and services for their children/themselves.
• Assists families to understand how their children can have access to inclusive early learning program options, general education classrooms, and extracurricular and enrichment opportunities available to all children.
• Assists families and youth with disabilities to communicate effectively and work in partnership with professionals.

Here are a few of the most common ways families and self-advocates engage with the PTI Project:

• Connecting with Parent Advisors in both English and Spanish
• Attending free community workshops and webinars
• SPEAKout Blog – News for Families and Self-Advocates
• Attending the annual Conference on Inclusive Education
• Participating in the parent leadership course for families of children with disabilities
• Participating in the leadership course for self-advocates and their families

The PTI project, funded by the Office of Special Education Programs at the U.S. Department of Education, supports families who have children with disabilities ages birth through twenty-six, and self-advocates/youth with disabilities up to age twenty-six. The PTI offers services in both English and Spanish (and uses Cultural Mediators to provide support in other languages as needed) and serves families and self-advocates across the State of Colorado. PEAK Parent Center has been implementing the PTI project since 1986. Learn more about PEAK Parent Center’s vision and values! Some of the contents of this website were developed under a grant from the US Department of Education, #H328M200062. However, those contents do not necessarily represent the policy of the U.S. Department of Education, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government. Project Officer, Perry Williams.