Because the stakes are so high, it is sometimes difficult for parents of children with special educational needs to advocate calmly and objectively for the educational and related services their children need. Here are some common mistakes that undermine parents’ ability to obtain appropriate services: […]
Texas laws require schools and school administrators to take actions to prevent bullying and to investigate reports of bullying. The law breaks bullying into 3 components: Conduct: Physical conduct that occurs at school, a school function, or in a school vehicle. - Written, verbal or electronic expression.; Motivation: Bullying involves exploiting an imbalance of power. - Exploit: "to use selfishly for one's ends." - Exploitation involves intentional conduct.; Effect: The conduct must either 1) interfere with the student's education; or 2) substantially disrupt the operation of the school. Regarding interfering with a student's education, a school attorney said that bullying is: “Physical harm [...]
Reading problems are the most common type of academic underachievement. Especially for students with dyslexia, learning to read and write can be exceedingly difficult. Dyslexia and related reading and language difficulties are the result of neurobiological variations, but they can be treated with effective instruction. Effective instruction is instruction that is tied to student needs, as determined by diagnostic testing and evaluation. It is instruction delivered by knowledgeable and skilled individuals in a step-by-step fashion that leads to the achievement of desired outcomes or goals by targeting a student’s relative strengths and strengthening his or her relative weaknesses. Effective instruction also [...]
Stress is the reaction of the body and brain to situations that put us in harm’s way. The stressor may be a physical threat (e.g., a baseball coming quickly toward you) or a psychological threat (e.g., a worry or fear that you will make a mistake delivering your lines in a play or write a passage that won’t make sense to the reader). Stress, or more specifically, the stress response, is our body’s attempt to keep us safe from harm. It’s a biological and psychological response. When we’re under stress, the chemistry of our body and [...]
Raising a child with a disability is challenging. Raising a child with a disability who also has behavioral needs is even more challenging. As a parent, you may find yourself among competing approaches to handling behavior concerns. Planning ahead for an individualized meeting about your child’s behavior needs will help you explain your own ideas about the best way to help your child in addition to listening to the ideas of others. […]
Functional Skills are defined as life skills that people use every day, in different environments. Functional skills focus on different areas such as home, family, self help skills, social skills, independent living skills. Also, skills needed for employment and job retention, recreation, community living, as well as functional academics that can be used every day. While academic skills are important for all children with disabilities, many parents and advocates seem to overlook, the importance of functional skill training and instruction. These skills need to be addressed during a child’s school career, but absolutely during the child’s transition from high school to [...]
