Podcasts

New to Special Education? See if any of the information here can help you.

There’s so many terms and letters and information! What do you do?

How do you get a student qualified for special education?

Individual Education Plan Goals-What are they and how do they work?

IEP (Individual Education Plan) goals are what get worked on everyday for the year the IEP is active. Here is some information regarding them.

Accommodations and Modifications

Accommodations and Modifications. These things should make it on to every child’s IEP.

IEP Stories

IEP Stories : Ever wonder what they are like or if your experiences are the same? Written from the perspective of the special education teacher.

Paraprofessionals

Teaching special education can be difficult. Paraprofessionals can make your life wonderful, but sometimes they need more support. I start with the negative and move into the positive. Enjoy.

Post High School Education Options for Students with Disabilities

Most people only think of a four year university as an option for after high school education. What are the other options? When should we start preparing students for adulting?

Technology for Students with Disabilities

Thank you to Special Education Staff

Some things do go wrong when working with other special education staff, but when it goes good, it’s great. Working together makes or breaks it. A poor leader leads to a poor program and stressed out teachers and aides. A great leader and staff will work well together. Sometimes all that is needed is some acknowledgement, some personalization, and thank you’s. No matter how things are run, whether positive or negative, it always affects the students.

Functional Goals for Students

Goals should keep the future in mind. They need to be something the kids enjoy learning because it directly applies to their life. Ever said to your teacher, “What does this have to do with anything?” Let’s not do that to our students. 

Autism

What is the definition of autism? What are things that can be done when working with children who have autism? What is sensory integration and how can knowing this help?

LRE? What’s That?

Least Restrictive Environment is more important than people realize. Make sure more than one environment is discussed and that the team agrees together that they’ve picked the best one.

Getting Organized-Parents

So much information coming at you so fast, technical terms, paperwork, what are you to do?

Learning Disabilities-Part 1

This just barely touches the surface of what there is to know about Learning Disabilities.

Interview with Wolfgang

Wolfgang became disabled at a young age and started into the Special Education system of the time. It was then discovered that, although he could read, his spelling needed extra support and he was given time in special ed to help him out with that.

Learning Disabilities Part 2-Dyslexia

What is dyslexia? What is not dyslexia?

Learning Disabilities Part 3-Dyslexia

How do students typically develop reading skills?

Dyscalculia

Dys-lexia; trouble reading; dys-calculia? That’s right. Trouble with math. Listen to learn some new things about mathematics and the process of learning it.

Dyscalculia Part-2 Word Problems

I apologize for the sound difficulties in volume. I am working on it.

Word problems-we all dreaded them, but what happens when you also struggle with basic calculations due to Dyscalculia? And what if you have both dyscalculia and dyslexia?

History of Special Education Law

Where did special education law come from? It actually wasn’t a very long time ago. There are teachers and parents still alive when it first started to become enforced. Knowing the history helps you advocate for your students and children better. Tune in for a few minutes of history.

Teach Me to do it Myself-Montessori activities for you and your children by Maja Pitamic.

I threw in some ideas for IEP goals on the functional skills I discuss in this episode.

Due Process: What is it? When can I use it?

Due process is a legal procedure you can take when you feel your rights are violated. However, it’s not that simple. 

I refer to books:
-The Complete IEP Guide: How to Advocate for Your Special Ed Child by Attorney Lawrence M Siegel
-The Complete Special Education Guide to Special Education by Linda Wilmshurst, Ph.D. & Alan W. Brue, Ph.D.
-2020 Lawyer’s Reference Guide: Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) Regulations as of February 14, 2020 by U.S. Department of Education

IEP/IFSP Goals-One Way to Write Them

Ever get stuck writing an IEP/IFSP goal? Some days are just like that. Here are a few hints that help me out. Go to Podcast Notes to pick up some more examples.

Classroom Teaching Stories 1

A few stories from the times I worked in a classroom.

Community Based Instruction (CBI)

Experiences and ideas regarding Community Based Instruction. I feel CBI’s are a crucial part of the education of children with disabilities. Here are some things I did and some of the experiences I had while doing them.

Jobs 1

Jobs, Resumes, Interviews=
Oh my

Are Teachers the Problem?

So many people blame teachers for the world’s problems. Is it true?

What Happens to our Multiply Disabled Kids After Age 22?

IDEA PART C: IFSP

What is Part C? IFSP? So many parts to IDEA law! Does it ever end?

Listening and IEP Teams

Burned Out Teachers

Shoutout to Paraprofessionals & Specialists and Ever Hear: “You Must Be So Patient”

I always want the world to know para’s are underpaid angels of the IEP and classrooms.

Specialists often end up with overwhelming caseloads. Often they can barely get to all of the students they are supposed to get to. Is it their fault though? I don’t think so. I believe the districts have much to do to make the jobs of the specialists easier so the students get the full benefit of appropriately assigned caseloads.

And, of course, how many times have you heard, “You must be so patient?” I know I have spent my entire career hearing that on a very frequent basis. Have you?

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What is ABA and FC? How Does It Work?

ABA is Applied Behavior Analysis. FC is facilitiated communication. These techniques are often used with students who have autism/on the spectrum/mentally divergent. I found they worked with many students who had some behavior that needed to change for safety and/or socially appropriate.

IEP IFSP TRI and INITIAL in Special Education

There are so very many parts to Special Education! This part of special ed, despite it’s different names, is relatively similar..sort of. IEP’s and IFSP’s are annual meetings to put together the in’s and out’s of the child’s needs while an Initial is assessing to see whether or not a student qualifies as a special needs student. A Triannual is done every three years to see if the student continues to qualify for special education. Sometimes these things are done with very little fuss, but sometimes things get heated. What does your student need? Well, it depends.

Age Appropriate Behaviors and Skills

What would you, upon instinctive first reaction, think if you saw a 16 year old playing with Duplo Blocks or kissing a doll or eating with their fingers? Of course, there are always exceptions to just about every rule, but, in general, certain things are accepted at certain ages and not much longer afterwards. Now we all collect things from our youth, but they are not toys, they are objects in our collections. I even had a relative who, dead serious, had over one hundred dolls in her collection. That’s all it was, though. A collection.

If we are trying to help our students interact with their peers, then we need to make sure they won’t be bullied by others and letting them play with toys too young for them will accomplish that. By not bringing up certain hygeine tasks or other daily living skills because we don’t want to hurt their feelings will result in them being shunned. Everybody is an individual and how this gets approached needs to be coorndinated with their families. Families need to work with the school staff, but school staff need to make sure to explain why this is such an important area to work on. As always, I promote team work on accomplishing the student’s goals.