Stacey Hoaglund
ADVOCATE, LIFE COACH, CONSULTANT, SPEAKER, AUTHOR
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
Read MoreOur 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
Read MoreDon’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
Read MoreThe transition to middle school can be a scary one for any student and parent, let alone for a child with a disability. It’s not too late to tidy up some loose ends to make this transition as smooth as possible: • Find out who will be your child’s support staff and ask them to
Read MoreNow that the new school year is in full swing, it’s a good time for parents to schedule an observation of their child’s educational setting. In order to be proactive in your child’s educational progress, it’s important to know what’s occurring during the time they’re at school. Here are some tips for conducting observations: Look
Read MoreThe 4th of July is here, and it doesn’t have to be as stressful for your child as you might think. Yes, sensory sensitivities come to the forefront during holidays such as the 4th, and they might prefer to stay inside rather than endure what can be quite unsettling, and even painful, to them. This
Read MoreTransition back into school is tough for all kids, but for kids with disabilities the process can be more than arduous. Since several school districts go back into session the second or third week in August, this gives you a bit of time to work on ironing out the wrinkles that could get in the
Read MoreWell, it’s the beginning of the summer break from school – I won’t call it “summer vacation” because for many parents and kids, it’s not much of a “vacation” when we’re knocked off our regimented schedule and seem to have more to keep up with than we do when school’s in session. Not to add
Read MoreHelpful Hints to Get You Started • Ensure that your child’s IEP presents a good picture of who he/she is and what he/she needs • Talk about the change with your child and what they can expect. Make it as positive as possible. Your child will get their first impressions from you. • Develop a
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