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Articles of Stuff You NEED to know

YOUR CHILD’S CLASSROOM SCHEDULE SAYS A LOT!
January 29, 2024 Advocacy, Strategies stacey

Most parents don’t understand what a child’s classroom (or school) schedule can tell them. Have you ever asked to see yours? Do you understand what it means? Does your child have 2 schedules? – one for special education and one for regular? Don’t freak out if you have no idea what I’m talking about. This

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CHANGE WON’T COME ON ITS OWN
January 22, 2024 Advocacy, News stacey

This week’s email is a bit of a Call to Action. When my son was young, I truly had no idea about how much politics played a role in his education. In case you didn’t realize it, the Department of Education is run by and fully funded by our government. Children spend a considerable amount

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7 Things You Can Do to Change Your Child’s Future
January 16, 2024 Advocacy stacey

At the CARD (Center for Autism) conference that was held in Orlando this weekend, I spoke about “Navigating the Cliff” that is often felt by parents and individuals when they transition out of the public school system. I had the pleasure of talking to many parents both during my training and afterwards who had some

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How to Start Difficult Conversations About Inclusion
January 2, 2024 Advocacy stacey

I hope that the time off from school has been positive not only for your kids, but for you as well. For most of my readers, there’s one more week to go before the kids return to school, but for some others, today might be the BIG day. One of the most sought-after things in

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To Resolve or Not to Resolve
December 27, 2023 Advocacy stacey

There are tons of influencers out there who are very focused on the benefits of New Year’s resolutions – and a growing batch who say that making a promise to yourself that you break by January 4th is one of the most stressful and unproductive things that a person can do. Somewhere in between is

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Not All Accommodations Are Allowed on Standardized Tests
December 12, 2023 News stacey

Each year when you have your child’s annual IEP meeting, there’s a place that you need to sign that you understand that not all accommodations that your child might have on their IEP are allowable during standardized testing. Did you know that? This reminds me of Procedural Safeguards. Every year you sign a paper that

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It’s a Fidget Time of Year!
December 4, 2023 Strategies stacey

It’s December. The Poem, The Night Before Christmas, says that “visions of sugar plums danced in their heads,” but it’s not just sweets that keep kids up at night, or amped up during the day. This month is filled with excitement – parties, school shows, presents, visits from relatives, or trips out of town –

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Insights on How to Create a Happy Thanksgiving
November 21, 2023 Hello world, Strategies stacey

People tell us that the holidays are supposed to be a time of rest and rejuvenation, but for many families within the disability community it’s a time of anxiety, stress, overload, and sensory challenges. This anxiety can be triggered by: Even though you might be spending time in new and different environments this week, each

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What Makes for a Good Guest?
November 14, 2023 News stacey

Our schools spend so much time and energy teaching kids, all kids, a significant amount of information that they’ll never use. I totally understand the concept of exposing kids to different fields of study to help them identify their unique abilities or interests, but as we know, there are only so many hours in a

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IT’S NEVER TOO LATE – NO MATTER WHAT ANYONE ELSE SAYS
November 6, 2023 Strategies stacey

Unfortunately, far too often, I find both parents and teachers seem to think that by the time a kid gets to high school, they are who they are and that they don’t have the same potential for growth as they once did. DON’T THINK THAT! I have literally seen students come out of segregated “special”

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