Category: Advocacy

Category: Advocacy

Cultivating Belonging Through Inclusive Education
September 17, 2023 Advocacy stacey

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
September 17, 2023 Advocacy stacey

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
September 12, 2023 Advocacy stacey

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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Services for Students Ages 14-21
July 4, 2023 Advocacy stacey

Have you ever heard your school or community support system refer to something as “Pre- ETS”, or pre-employment training services? I am gonna guess your answer is, “No,” unfortunately. Most parents that I talk to have no idea what this is, or have even ever heard of it. Generally speaking, it kicks in when kids

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Summer Road Trippin
June 27, 2023 Advocacy stacey

When I was a kid, all vacations were road trips, when we were lucky enough to have one. While there most certainly was excitement in the air to break out and go someplace I had never been before, one of the things that stands out in my mind is hearing one or both of my

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10 Ways to Have a Blasting Good Time
May 29, 2023 Advocacy stacey

The summer can be a challenge for kids who have grown accustomed to the structure of the school day.  To offset the 10 weeks of less structure, there are a variety of activities that parents can do with their kids that won’t break the bank. 1. Have a Scavenger or Treasure Hunt: Create a list

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Do You Understand The Importance Of Graphed Data?
May 16, 2023 Advocacy stacey

PROGRESS MONITORING FOR IEP GOALS Here we are in May – one more month to go until the school year is over. Do you know if your child has made progress? How can you tell? Just because someone has told you that they have? Do you have evidence? – as in assessment data? Did you

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4 Special Education Laws Parents Should Know
May 16, 2023 Advocacy stacey

……and teachers should know them too.  Hopefully you know that schools don’t offer services, supports or inclusive education because it’s the right thing to do (although it is). They do those things, or at least are supposed to, because there are laws that require them. HOWEVER, there are PLENTY of advocates, and we advocates have

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5 Signs of a Good IEP
April 25, 2023 Advocacy stacey

While there are most certainly more than 5 things you need to watch for in developing your child’s IEP, I’d have to say that these are my TOP 5 – no matter who the child is or how much special education they’re getting. If you’re not getting a draft of your child’s IEP, that’s the

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You Can’t Be Brave If You’re Too Tired
February 26, 2023 Advocacy stacey

As parents of kids with disabilities, ya know the thing that we forget about the most? Ourselves. As we stay hypervigilant on helping our kids face, and hopefully overcome, some of their biggest obstacles, the one thing that they need more than anything else is us, but some of us do a lousy job making

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