Being a special educator can be a very challenging task. Teaching, paperwork, IEP meetings and overseeing paraprofessionals leaves special education teacher drained at the end of the day. Its no wonder that 50% of special education teachers leave their jobs within 5 years. Parents can help their child with special needs succeed by helping their special [...]
Guest Post by Holly Zipperer “Summer learning loss” or “the summer slide” is what teachers call the regression in skills which takes place in the time between the end of one school year and the beginning of the next. Research shows that special education students, on average, experience a more significant skill loss than typical [...]
Communicating with your child’s teacher is a must for every parent. For parents of a child with special needs it is critical. So the big question is how and when do I speak to my child’s teacher? The answer is not so simple: Phone Calls Managing the time between when the kids come home from [...]
Guest Post by Suzanne Burchill My son was diagnosed with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) about 4 years ago. Today he is in 5th grade and still struggles with the classic symptoms of ADHD: lack of focus and attention, easily distracted, difficulty staying on task, lack of organization, blurting/ shouting out in class, difficulty sitting still/staying seated, [...]
This time of year is generally a very active one for parents of a special needs child and special education teachers. Many IEP meetings are held in March and April. We have heard a number of horror stories from parents about their IEP meetings. Now we would love to hear your IEP experiences: Please take [...]
This time of year is known as March Madness mainly because of the Colleges Basketball tournaments that start in mid-march and carry into April. For parents of children with special needs March Madness has a totally different connotation. March and April is IEP season when a number of parents have IEP meetings with the schools [...]
Have you considered having your child with disabilities fully included in a typical classroom (with their supports and services)? A Tale of Two Parents This month I met two mothers within minutes of each other that shared different experiences. As an author and presenter I meet many parents working to raise children with disabilities. Usually [...]
This past week, I presented at the Michigan Council for Exception Children conference in Grand Rapids. Two other colleagues and myself presented on peer-to-peer support and how we run the program at our elementary school in Mt. Pleasant. I thought I would share the highlights of our presentation as a blog post to help other [...]
Therapy for children has changed a great deal since the days when Anna Freud used play as a way to apply the psychoanalytic techniques of her famous father to the problems of children. Time-limited cognitive behavior modification (CBT) has largely replaced the use of psychoanalytic techniques, and open ended play therapy. Therapy occurs in many [...]
The attrition, or “burn-out,” rate for special education teachers is extremely high compared to most other professions. 50% of special education teachers leave their jobs within 5 years. Half of those who make it past 5 years will leave within 10 years. This equates to a 75% turnover rate every 10 years (Dage, 2006). The [...]
