6 Posts Tagged ‘Special Education’

Education Apps for iPad – part 4

by Meredith      tags: ,

Ipad for Children with Special NeedsIn my classroom, I was blessed to have students from amazingly diverse backgrounds and with an array of skills and strengths. I worked relentlessly to build in supports and foster an inclusive community for all of my students. This meant cutting, laminating, velcro-ing, washing, re-making, and constructing what felt like a million supportive learning devices for my students with and without special needs. Now, having an iPad, I often play around with apps that I realize would have been incredibly beneficial for my students with special needs.

Continuing with our Education Apps for iPad series, here are some apps grouped by category that students, parents, and teachers can leverage to support all learners!

Read more View Comments

Special Needs – Resources

by Meredith      tags:

With this post we come to the end of our series on working with children with special needs. Don’t worry, I still have lots of tips and insights, we’re simply excited to begin some other really great conversations.

Thus far I have tried to relate the most strategic, general ways in which I framed my practice to deal with the ever changing demands in an inclusive classroom. To recap, I shared helpful mindsets and practical steps to take to both support struggling learners as well as get them the evaluations and services they deserve. Now, I will leave you with a list of great resources so that you know where to go for extra help, funding, and advocacy assistance.

Read more View Comments

Special Needs – Before the IEP

by Meredith      tags:

Earlier this week I wrote about getting IEPs for students that show developmental red flags. Anyone that has gone through this process knows that it can take several months to finalize an Individualized Education Plan, and even then, services may not begin until the following school year. In some really demoralizing cases, the child does not receive a diagnosis and you are left at square one, not knowing anything about why this student doesn’t seem to grasp what you’re teaching.

What is important here is that teachers are experts in child development and instruction. By the time you exit graduate school and have (about a year of) experience working with children, you should be competent in discussing pedagogy, development, and best practices for working with children. If you don’t feel confident, then you should be reading the literature, theory, and psychology on your own so that you do become an expert.

Read more View Comments
12