The Special Education Advocacy Blog

Finland continues to provide the gold-standard of success when comparing national education systems. From my perspective, the wisdom of Peter Pan* provides valuable insight within this inquiry: "All you need is a little faith, trust, and pixie dust", when developing a...

"True love is understanding."  Thich Nhat Hahn  Within the context of special education and the development of school-based interventions, understanding provides the foundation for our work as a team between parents, staff, teachers, and community.  Seems so obvious....

The idea of ESY (Extended School Year during summer) services is not appropriate for everyone on an IEP.  However, for those students who experience a significant skill loss and drop-off during extended breaks, ESY support is critical for the IEP to explore.   For...

Navigating the Special Needs path tends to be a maze through an alphabet soup of  IEP, 504 Plan, and RTI intervention.  Something so important as your child's education should be much easier then what unfolds. So we created The INSIDERS GUIDE TO SPECIAL EDUCATION...

The simplest way to define "effective advocacy" is founded upon the notion of working from the heart, a position of love and appreciation.  In contrast, divisive advocacy, often thought of as adversarial, is grounded in fear and doubt.   This plays out everyday in the...

With the annual General Education Fall Conference period upon us, I am frequently asked by parents, "How can I make the most out of these conference sessions?" By co-creating the format with your child's teacher, you will be standing out as your child's best advocate...

A lot of parents do not know that IEP-supported students who have opted for Home School or Private School placement may be eligible for services through the public school. For example, a student who has an IEP for Autism-related specially designed instruction, like...