As a high school special education teacher, I want to make sure I am preparing my students for the real world. Unfortunately, school isn’t always very reflective of real life; for example, when was the last time someone gave you a worksheet to complete while grocery shopping? That’s what I thought. As special educators, our […]
My Child is Ineligible for Special Education But Still Struggles in School … Now What?
Overview of Assessment Process Each school year a number of students are referred for a special education assessment to determine if they are eligible for special education services. Referrals can come from anyone (for example, a teacher, a parent or a grandparent), but each is treated the same way regardless of its source. Parents often […]
Solving the Special Education Teacher Shortage
Students with special needs deserve well-prepared, dedicated teachers in order to ensure that they receive a quality education. But, did you know that 47 states are currently experiencing a shortage of special education teachers? With a growing need and a dwindling workforce, it’s never been a better time to pursue a career as a special […]
Mission Possible: A Guide to College Programs for Students with Disabilities
As students near the end of their high school careers, it is completely normal and acceptable to feel a mixture of excitement and apprehension. This difficult time can be even more nerve wracking for students who struggle academically, due to learning, physical, or cognitive disabilities. If you or your child has a disability, you may […]
Numbers Matter in Special Education
I’m sitting across the table from Suzy, a fluency drill and iPad marking the distance between us. Suzy picks up the sheet of paper and looks it over. I then mark the sheet using two symbols, a dot indicating where she read to the last time and a star representing her end of the trimester […]
Three Essential Accessibility Features in Your iPad & Related Apps
What teacher doesn’t like hearing about free tools that will support student learning? Located within Apple’s mobile devices are free built-in accessibility features designed to support all learners. These free features allow teachers and students to customize their devices to read text aloud, zoom in on the screen, remove distractions from websites, use their voice […]
Motivation is the Best Accommodation: Using Student Interest to Tap into the Common Core
Like many, I have been working and experimenting with the Common Core State Standards for the last few years. I say “experimenting” purposefully because we are all learning how to shift our thinking and create the best learning experiences in the classroom. Most recently, I learned an important lesson from my students while working on […]
5 Ways to Build Awesome Relationships with Paraprofessionals
Don’t be jealous: I have the very best paraprofessionals in the world. They know exactly what to do even when I am not there. They are like an extension of my brain and I could not do my job without them. My classroom runs like a well-oiled machine. But, it has not always been that […]
May is Better Hearing and Speech Month: Do You Know Your SLP and What They Do?
May is Better Hearing and Speech Month (BHSM)! It’s time to take a moment and stop by the office of your school’s speech-language pathologist (SLP) to ask questions about what they do. Ask them about speech and language development and skills, a specific student in your classroom, language and literacy or when to refer a […]
Including and Talking to Students who use Augmentative and Alternative Communication
Beginning your career as special education teacher can be overwhelming. There are many new procedures and processes to learn, lesson plans to create, individualized education plans (IEPs) to read and students to get to know. While you will have many kinds of students in your class, it is likely that you will have a student […]