Sorry that it has been a long time since I last wrote a post….. It has been an interesting year. Every year I have noticed one thing….The students remain the same age, I am the one who is getting older. This means that high school students are the same age they were 25 years ago […]
In the general education classrooms that I work there are two separate rosters, one of general education students (or special education student who do not receive services in this subject area) and one of special education students that are being served by me. The reason why it is this way is because of Federal and […]
The “R” word, “retard” or “retarded” is heard every day in schools and in the real world. The general public, including myself uses it to describe anything/anyone that does not meet our intellectual or social standards. According to Webster’s Online dictionary (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/retard), the word retard means “to slow up especially by preventing or hindering advance […]
As discussed in previous posts, the field of special education is incrediby diverse and complex with numerous disability areas covering a vast range of students. The largest disability category is Specific Learning Disabilities, followed by Speech/Language Impairments and Other Health Impairments. Below is a chart from the US Department of Education showing the numbers of […]
As stated in the last blog posting there are numerous special education categories that students may be served in; Specific Learning Disability, Emotional Impairment, Other Health Impaired, Vision Impaired, Deaf/Hard of Hearing, Traumatic Brain Injury, Autism, Speech/Language Disorder, Multiple Impairments, and Mental Impairment. Here are some great links to get you started. http://nichcy.org/disability/categories (Lists many categories and […]
At the very core of any student’s experience in special education is the IEP, a legal document created by teachers, parents, students, and other stakeholders that details the child’s current functioning (how they are doing in school), placement (what academic and non-academic classes they have and the setting of these), goals and objectives (tasks related […]
Though there are eligibility categories that are found in all fifty states (Specific Learning Disability, Emotional Impairment, Other Health Impaired, Vision Impaired, Deaf/Hard of Hearing, Traumatic Brain Injury, Autism, Speech/Language Disorder, and Mental Impairment), the actual criteria differs slightly in each state. Here are some good links to help you find the criteria for your […]
According to Federal Law, specifically, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, special education is “Specially designed instruction, at no cost to parents, to meet the unique needs of a child with a disability.” Now that may seem like a very cut and dry definition of special education, but with any enterprise involving thousands of parents, State […]
Disclaimer and Introduction.
"Life in the Trenches" by Neil Bennett. 