Tag: special education

Tag: special education

Envisioning an Improved Continuum of Services
April 16, 2024 Advocacy stacey

As many parents are participating in their child’s matriculation meeting at this time of year – transition meeting from preschool to kindergarten, elementary to middle, middle to high – there are a few things to understand about what’s referred to as a “continuum of services”. What’s This All About? Those 3 words basically mean that

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Special Education Checklist for Parents
March 26, 2024 Advocacy stacey

According to IDEA, Special Education is “specially designed instruction, at no cost to the parents, to meet the unique needs of a child with a disability,” which includes everything from making classroom adaptations to off campus travel training, and everything in between. Parents need to be aware of some of the hallmarks of special education

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How to Track Your Child’s Progress from Home
March 5, 2024 Advocacy, Strategies stacey

Did you know that your school is responsible for providing your child with what they need to make educational progress? This means ALL kids, not just those who are on regular standards and spend their day in a regular education classroom setting. Oftentimes, parents hear messages from their school that sound something like, “His disability

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The Often Overlooked Importance of Literacy
February 20, 2024 Advocacy stacey

Unfortunately, our educational system grossly underestimates the potential of students with disabilities, especially those who don’t verbally communicate. That means that parents must take a very active approach in ensuring that their child has access to proper curriculum that is in line with the way that they process and learn. I’m sure most of you

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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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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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Explaining Specially Designed Instruction
October 17, 2023 Advocacy stacey

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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Recognizing and Responding to Anxiety in Children with Special Needs
September 26, 2023 Strategies stacey

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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