Stacey Hoaglund
ADVOCATE, LIFE COACH, CONSULTANT, SPEAKER, AUTHOR
Blog
Articles of Stuff You NEED to know
A Dozen Red Flags of a Hot Mess IEP Meeting :o
For many parents, the annual IEP meeting is something that incites a great sense of overwhelm, frustration and doom. This is probably one of the reasons that tons of parents don’t even show up. Most of you might find this really hard to believe (because you’re passionately involved in your child’s education), but it’s true,
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I wish this was around when my son was young :o
Don’t you just hate it when someone doubts that you can do something or places limitations on you before they even know who you are? Or worse yet, when we place limitations on ourselves. Now, imagine being your child who has a disability. They’re already told in school that they are “special” and perhaps go
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Explaining Specially Designed Instruction
According to the Council for Exceptional Children, “specially designed instruction (SDI) is instruction that is tailored to a particular student. It addresses their Individualized Program (IEP) goals; accounts for their disability; provides modifications or adaptations to content; and encourages access to the general education curriculum. SDI is defined in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) as
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Evaluation Time…Yes or No?
For some reason, I seem to be getting more calls this year from parents who are seeking answers in relation to their right to request a psychoeducational evaluation from their school. Yes, parents do have that right. Quite often, whether a student has an IEP already or not, the school will say that they have
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Yes, High Schools Have to Follow IEPs Too
When kids transition to high school especially, teachers (general education teachers mostly, but certainly not all) have a tendency to try to convince parents that if their kids are going to be in general education classes, that they are expected to all of a sudden behave independently. It’s hard to tell sometimes if they themselves
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Recognizing and Responding to Anxiety in Children with Special Needs
Although most of us don’t need hard-core evidence on the topic, Dr Lawrence Fung from Stanford Medicine states, “Anxiety is a very common co-occurring condition in the neurodiverse community. About 20 to 30% of male adults on the spectrum have anxiety disorder. Females with autism spectrum condition have even higher rates of anxiety. The prevalence
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Cultivating Belonging Through Inclusive Education
I am the queen of procrastination. It might look like I get things done, but it’s usually after hours, or even days, of putting them off, which is usually precipitated by either reorganizing my house or scrolling mindlessly through social media. I’m sure some of you can relate. Social media includes a ton of behavior
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Inclusive Education…. More Than Just Visiting
Certainly, one of the most advocated for settings for kids with disabilities is that of a regular education classroom. What better place to have exposure to highly verbal and social role models than that of a general education setting? If students are to learn appropriate behaviors, they need to observe them. If they are to learn sharing
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5 Red Flags That Require Parent Advocacy
It is certainly hard for a parent to know what happens at their child’s school, especially if they don’t verbally communicate or if they exhibit deficits in language skills. Compound that with a special education classroom where most or all of the students are at the same level, and you could easily experience a “deadzone”
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5 Things That Can Make a Huge Difference
There are many things that can make a difference for your child at the beginning of a new school year, but five stand out to me as more important than most of the others. Yes, IEPs and knowing your rights are important, but for the sake of the impending first day of school, I’ll stick
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