The Special Education Advocacy Blog

"Being Present …" "Staying in the moment …" "Keeping calm …." "Being in the here and now."   Likely, these Yoga-like phrases are familiar to you.  They are helpful when we need mental reminders leading to a form of relaxation and stress reduction.  However, in my...

Elephants are best observed in their natural habitat.  Or in the zoo.  Then again, there are still a number of elephants found in the circus.  However, within special education meetings, sometimes, elephants are also in the room.  Here's what I am talking about:...

Building success upon "what already works" is the way to go when it comes to motivation, reward systems, and inspiring the best from our children.  They are no different than the larger, older forms of humanity; we all like positive feedback and respond accordingly....

What I am trying to do here is share a perspective: Autism is part of the human experience. We all share similar behaviors and responses, especially, when stress, anxiety, or the general feeling of being over-whelmed is at the core. From my point of view, the...

Simply, behavior is a form of communication.  Unfortunately, when behavior escalates to the point of causing a distraction to learning, often, schools  forget about this important premise and handle the situation through cease & desist or containment.   As an...

Are our kids really a bunch of snowflakes, buttercups, and simply too sensitive?  It's a relavant question when you take a look at children today and see so many impacted by anxiety, depression, or a general sense of being over-whelmed. It's epidemic!  Just today,...

Many of our younger children struggle with learning to read at epidemic levels..  According to a recent study,  "A majority of fourth graders in the United States are still not reading proficiently, according to a “Kids Count” report from the Annie E. Casey...