Fifteen years ago, when my son Hugh was not quite three, he was identified as needing early intervention. This turned out to be just the start of our family’s long-term relationship with special education. To demonstrate how much I didn’t know then, here’s a confession: Although at the time Hugh didn’t have a diagnosis, I […]

Since the 1980s, there has been a strong movement toward “alternate dispute resolution” of legal cases. Our court system is overloaded and, as a result, the U.S. Supreme Court has encouraged parties to try to resolve their battles somewhere other than in a courtroom. This is particularly true in special education matters. After parents are […]

As we inched closer to the classroom door, I found myself tightly gripping my daughter’s hand. Beads of sweat dripped down my forehead. “Too tight,” my 4-year old declared as she slid her hand from mine and raced to her classroom. I trailed behind, walking down the long familiar hallway covered in student work, eyes darting […]

History When Congress reauthorized and revised the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, IDEA, in 2004, they had several goals. One was to do something proactive to change historically low graduation rates and correspondingly high dropout rates among children with disabilities. The idea of a transition plan had been introduced in the 1997 re-authorization of this […]

Your child is not receiving the attention or services he or she needs in school. As a result, your child is doing poorly in school. You’re not even sure of the cause of the problem, but you know something is wrong. What do you do? If you are the parent of a child with special […]

It’s not always easy to find tools that let students with communication or intellectual disabilities express their intelligence and capabilities, that let those students shine while also encouraging independence.  That is why I appreciate learning and communication iPad apps like NeoPaul, Ice Is Nice, Kid in Story, Write My Name, and Park Math. Their dynamic […]

This blog is intended for professionals who either teach special education or general education. It is intended to give tips on how each teacher can maximize his or her contribution to the team.

When my daughter was first diagnosed with dyslexia, I was scared. My expectations immediately went from her being a doctor or lawyer to praying that she could just finish high school. I didn’t understand enough about what dyslexia was; I just heard that scary phrase “not curable” and immediately gained the doomsday mindset. Dyslexia is […]

In recent months, I’ve been approached by more than a few parents seeking to support their autistic children through challenges that come in the teen years. For any kid, the changes that come with this phase of life can be difficult to deal with. For those of us on the autism spectrum, it can be […]

A fistful of damp tissues clenched in my hand and mascara running down my face, my mother’s voice whispered soothing advice in my ear as I delicately balanced the phone on my shoulder. Of all the scenarios that I had envisioned, this was not the scene I had in mind when I thought of what […]