Stacey Hoaglund
ADVOCATE, LIFE COACH, CONSULTANT, SPEAKER, AUTHOR
The Holiday Break… You can see it now – Idyllic images of snuggling by the fire, kids playing quietly with their new and exciting toys, while you and your spouse sip hot cocoa on the cozy couch. If you’re lucky, that vision will last a few hours before it’s replaced by the need to go
Read MoreIt’s tough enough to find holiday gifts for kids who are into everything, but for kids with autism who have a tendency to have more than narrow interests, holiday shopping can be as stressful as trying to keep track of whether your school is face to face or eLearning! You search and search to find
Read MoreTypically, at this time of the year (August), we’re getting ready to send our kids back into a classroom, but we know that we are quickly approaching an unprecedented back-to-school situation. While there are some kids across the nation who will go back into classrooms, hundreds of thousands (and maybe millions) will continue to do
Read MoreSo, it appears that many schools across the nation will not be going back in August or September. Some of the largest school systems in the nation will have yet another semester, or more, of their students homebound. Some kids will be working with their parents, some won’t because parents simply don’t have the capacity
Read MoreBeginning with the closings of school buildings, parents and teachers had to adjust to online IEP, behavior plan and evaluation/re-evaluation plan meetings. It was certainly a challenge at first. Different school systems chose different platforms (Zoom, Microsoft Team, Cisco Webex, etc). Given that it doesn’t look like we’ll be past Covid in the near future,
Read MoreAs parents are being asked for feedback and input into the plans to return to school, I encourage you to understand your rights and know that there are options. From all the families that I have heard from, I can sadly count on one hand the number of students whose parents report that their child’s
Read MoreThere’s so much talk these days about “trauma-informed care” – mostly because of the increase in school shootings. However, kids are traumatized by more than perpetrators from the outside coming into their school buildings to cause them harm. Children who are not able to verbally communicate are very often educated in classrooms that lack typically
Read MoreKids have limitless possibility. For most, the degree of success comes as a result of early intervention and appropriate educational strategies and supports. No parent or provider should ever view a challenge as a hopeless situation. That’s true for the parent and school relationship as well. Yes, at times there are hurdles to overcome in
Read MoreThe State Standards have been developed to prepare students for college and/or career readiness. This came from the fact that America’s students are not proving to be competitive in the global job market and more and more students are getting to college required to take remedial courses. It is necessary to align the IEP to
Read MoreWhether your child will be participating in a regular education classroom or specialized program classroom next year, there are certain things to look for when doing your tours. This list will give you hints of what to look for that encompass both sides. • Is the staff aware of the district guidelines to Best Practices
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