As the parent of a child with special needs, you value teachers who help your child achieve as much as possible. Since this is Teacher Appreciation Week, you might enjoy this story of how one teacher changed the life of his student.

Patricia Polacco

The well-known children’s author and illustrator Patricia Polacco struggled with dyslexia for most of her elementary school years. She tells her story in one of my favorite books, Thank You, Mr. Falker, which is a must read for you and your kids. During my teaching years, when many children with learning problems were mainstreamed into my classroom, I read the book to my students each fall. It answered so many of their questions about classmates who learned in different ways. It also gave those who learned quickly and easily greater appreciation and compassion for students who struggled.

Thank You, Reading Rockets

This week, the Reading Rockets Website posted a video of several authors and illustrators and their remembrances of teachers who influenced them. One of the authors is, you guessed it, Patricia Polacco. You can hear what she said about her most influential teacher here: Thank You, Mr. Falker.

Hopefully, that story will inspire you to write a thank you to the special teachers in your child’s life!

Jolene

In the previous posts in this series, Cassandra Sines shared what she’s learned about being the parent of two children with behavioral special needs. In Part 1, she gave advice about how to work with the public school system. Part 2 described and provided downloads for five of the pages she uses in the All About Me notebook she gives her son’s teachers at the beginning of each school year. This post provides five more downloads and descriptions you can adapt for your child’s circumstances.

All About Me Notebook Page Descriptions

• About My Illness: The first page of this section is a listing of diagnoses followed by information about each diagnosis.
• Educational Information: Again, this section has a brief cover page description, followed by information about how the diagnosis affects the child’s educational experience. Parents can get information from physicians, therapists or reputable websites. Two example downloads of educational documents are also listed below.
• Resources: Lists of books and websites where educators can find more information about the child’s disorder, condition, or disease. The example contains resources about bipolar disorder. If your child has a different diagnosis, you will need to replace these resources with those pertaining to your child’s situation.
• The Storm in My Brain: Cover sheet introducing a booklet about this child’s specific condition.

All About Me Notebook Downloads

• All About My Illnesses
• Education Information
• Educational Download 1
• Educational Download 2
• Resources
• The Storm in My Brain

If all these downloads make you feel overwhelmed, don’t worry. Cassandra is an ordinary mom, just like you. She doesn’t have an education or medical degree. She created her son’s notebook page by page, and you can, too. And if you have questions about how to put your notebook together, leave a comment. I’m here to help you. And if you want to read more about life at Cassandra’s house, visit her blog, www.TwoSpecialNeedsChildren.com

Go for it!
Jolene

In the first post in this series, Cassandra Sines told her story as the parent of two children with behavior disorders. She also shared what she’s learned about being a proactive parent in the public schools. This post provides descriptions of the first six sections and corresponding downloads for the  All About Me notebook Cassandra created.

All About Me Notebook Page Descriptions

Here are short descriptions of the contents of the first five documents:

• Cover Page: Consists of a photograph of a child away from school engaged in an activity he/she enjoys. Include a caption describing what the child is doing.
• Notebook Index: This could also be called the Table of Contents. It lists the titles for each section of the book in order.
• Introduction: This section contains two pages. The first is a memo from Cassandra to the team of educators working with her son. The second is an introduction written from her son’s point of view. His diagnosis is described, along with frequently manifested symptoms, interventions that help control the symptoms and the family living situation.
• Emergency Contacts: Describes behavioral symptoms that constitute an emergency situation followed by numbers listed in order they should be contacted.
• Doctors & Therapists: After a brief introduction, contact information is listed for each doctor and therapist on the child’s team. You could also describe the specialty of each professional and his/her role in treatment.
• Medications: List of all medications, those given during school day and at home. Cassandra also puts informational print outs for each medication in the notebook.

All About Me Notebook Downloads

• Cover Page
• Notebook Index
• Memo to School Staff
• Introduction
• Emergency Contacts
• Doctors and Therapists
• Medications

Is Cassandra’s notebook starting to make sense? Can you see what a proactive tool this kind of notebook could be for your child? If you do, come back in a few days for the final post in this series and the last five descriptions and downloads Cassandra uses in her child’s notebook.

Until then,
Jolene

The topic of this blog’s February 16 post was 7 Ways to Advocate for Your Child in the Health Care Community. A few days later Cassandra Sines left a comment about an All About Me notebook she uses to be proactive at her children’s school. What she described sounded so fascinating, I emailed her and asked if she would chat on the phone about her creation.  Our talk was so enlightening and her suggestions so practical, sharing them with you is a real treat.

Resources for Parents of Children with Bipolar Disorder

The two children Cassandra and her husband adopted have behavioral conditions that impact their school experiences. You can read more about their lives at their blog, Life with Two Special Needs Children. Their son was diagnosed with bipolar disorder at a young age, and Cassandra used online resources and support groups to educate herself. One of the greatest resources she found was the Child & Adolescent Bipolar Association. Through it she located both the idea for her son’s notebook and a parent support group. The experiences of other parents in the support group have been a rich source of information and practical tips.

Advice for Parents of School-Aged Children with Behavior Disorders

Cassandra had some practical, easy-to-implement advice for parents of special needs children in the public school system. Here are things she does to be proactive:

• She updates her son’s All About Me notebook each summer a month or two before the new school year begins. She takes it to the school and personally delivers it to his teachers two weeks before school begins. That way the teachers have time to look over the book and ask questions.
• A week before school starts, she takes her son to school for a tour. They walk around the building and meet the teachers.
• Cassandra says parents should be open and honest with teachers. Don’t be ashamed of your child’s needs and behaviors. Lay everything out and say, “This is where we’re at. I need all the help you can offer,” to the educators. Let school staff know you are available when they need help and information, too.
• Pray for all the people who are part of your child’s day: the teachers, para-professionals, bus drivers, lunch room staff and so on. Cassandra says, “Without prayer and God’s intervention, things don’t work.”
• Since her children are still in elementary school, she doesn’t yet have advice about how to negotiate secondary school. She recommends visiting the Child & Adolescent Bipolar Association website as it addresses the needs of adolescents.

All About Me Notebook

In the next post in this series, the nuts and bolts of Cassandra’s All About Me notebook will be outlined and the different pages will be available for you to download and adapt for your child’s situation. Until then, please leave comments about resources you use. And if you have advice for parents of kids with special needs in secondary school, let us know!

Thanks a bunch,
Jolene Philo

In the last DifferentDream.com post, you learned about Balanced Living All Year, Joan Celebi’s new book for parents of kids with special needs. In this post, you’ll hear about her favorite new IEP resources.

IEP Phone App

One of Joan’s picks is the IEP Phone App available at no charge, compliments of the Parent Educational Advocacy Training Center (PEATC). You can download the app at their website, www.peact.org. According to Celebi, “it has every step, fact, and law – arranged in easy to access categories and sub-categories, color-coded, with space for your notes.”

IEP/504 Comparison Chart

If my blog post awhile back, Which Does My Child Need: IEP or 504B, didn’t clear up your confusion between the two, onother one of Joan’s picks might do the trick. She found a handy-dandy chart that explains the difference between an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) and a 504b plan. As she says, “This simple little 3-page chart finally answers that question, with a side-by-side, point-by point comparison.” You can Download the Comparison Chart Here.

SpecialNeedsParentCoach.com

You can read about Joan’s other top picks for 2010 at her website www.SpecialNeedsParentCoach.com. While you’re there, sign up for her newsletter which alerts parents to many great finds like these, especially about IEPs. Hope they help.

Jolene Philo

Recently I sat by a little boy at our church potluck. He has some special needs, especially in the area of communication. For years, I wondered if he would ever overcome them. Our lunch together reminded me of a maxim I followed during my teaching years: Every child can learn, given enough time.

EParent.com

To read the whole story about what my potluck mate learned because someone gave him enough time, go to my most recent blog post at Exceptional Parent Magazine’s website, EParent.com. If you have a story that demonstrates the importance of patience and high expectations for kids with special needs, leave it below. We all need a reminder like that now and then.

In the previous post, you met Jennifer Peter, an Iowa professional learning and leadership consultant. If her explanation of the difference between Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) and 504b plans was helpful, you’ll also appreciate her answer to this question: What advice do you have for parents about how to maximize services for their children with special needs?

Services for Preschoolers

Jennifer explained that from birth to age three,  services are set in motion by a referral from a medical professional, usually a doctor, to the local early childhood program office. Once the referral is made, the office has 45 days to meet with the family, and determine what services are needed. From birth to three, most services are provided in the home. From ages three to five, services are delivered in a pre-school setting if possible, where children are integrated with other kids.

So if you think your child needs special services, talk to your doctor about your concerns immediately. Be persistent. Early intervention can be highly successful.

School-Aged Children

Once children reach school age, their disability must affect their educational progress to qualify for educational services. Schools are not required to provide remediation for a medical diagnosis that don’t affect a child’s ability to learn. But they must provide accommodations so a diagnosed medical condition doesn’t prevent instruction or learning. You can find a more detailed discussion of Jenn’s advice on this topic at Which Do You Need: IEP or 504b?

State Vocational Rehabilatation

As a child approaches adulthood, Jenn encourages parents to explore all available avenues for support and services. If your child needs adaptive equipment to achieve gainful employment, your state’s vocational rehabilitation program may have the funds to pay for them. They may also pay part of college tuition. Other state programs provide funding to make a van handicapped accessible. Organizations like Easter Seals provide portalifts. If there’s a national foundation for your child’s condition or disease, they may have equipment loaner programs or education scholarships, too.

The key, no matter the age of your child, is persistence. Keep at it. Keep looking. Keep an open mind, and see what you find. If your persistence has paid big dividends, or you’ve found assistance in unexpected places, please share your story. Maybe it can help someone else, too.

Jolene

In a recent interview with Iowa professional learning and leadership consultant, Jennifer Peter. She explained the difference between an Individual Education Plan (IEP) and a 504b plan. Her explanation was so elegant and clear-cut, you deserve to hear it, too.

IEP

Schools are required by federal law to create IEPs for any school-aged student who has been tested and identified as needing special education assistance. IEPs are educational tools. They focus on remediating significant learning problems through instruction, not through medical treatment or physical means. Many students with IEPs have no physical disabilities.

504b

504b plans are for students who need environmental accommodations so their physical disability won’t hinder their education. Students with disabilities requiring 504b plans may need no extra learning assistance, just some simple accomodations to remove physical barriers. Or they may need help with a physical disability or condition such as extra room for a child in a wheelchair, insulin shots for diabetics, an amplification system for a child with hearing loss, or help with a colostomy bag for a student with spina bifida.

Educational vs. Medical Diagnosis

Students with IEPs have an educational diagnosis, usually through the school system. Students with 504b plans have a medical diagnosis from a health care professional.  Jennifer gave this example.  “Learning disability is an educational diagnosis. Dyslexia is a medical diagnosis.”

Which One’s Right for Your Child?

Some students, those with both learning and medical issues, may have an IEP and a 504b plan. But if your child has learning issues, you need to pursue school testing, not a medical diagnosis. If your child has a medical condition that needs accomodation, you need a 504b plan from a doctor.

If you’re still puzzled, don’t feel bad. I taught school for 25 years and didn’t fully understand until Jenn cleared up my confusion. But if you have questions or another way to explain the difference between IEPs and 504bs, leave a comment. I’ll be glad to get back to you!

Jolene

PS – I found the cute t-shirt in the picture at www.5minutesforspecialneeds.com. Check it out!

The saying, “once a teacher, always a teacher” certainly holds true for me. I left education in 2003 after twenty-five years in the classroom, but the mention of new and effective teaching tools still excites me.

Speech-Language Pathology Sharing

Recently I stumbled upon a blog where speech pathologists share methods, ideas, and technology. One of the blog entries is a nicely organized catalog of educational apps for the iPod and iPhone. Someone did a lot of research and organized the apps into the following categories:

• Communication
• Organization
• Reading
• Writing
• Math
• Music
• Song
• Art
• Game
• Assistive Technology

An App for Every Occasion

As you can see, there are apps for different learning styles and for a variety of educational levels – from preschool letter recognition to graphing calculators for college math classes. A few of the apps are free, and the rest are inexpensive, ranging from $.99 to $2.99.

Check out the blog page and see what you think. If you find an app that assists your special needs child, leave a comment so more families can decide if it’s worth their time.

Thanks,
Jolene

Being a teacher is hard work. Being a special education teacher is very hard work. I know. For twenty-five years I was an elementary teacher who integrated lots of special education students into my classroom. I also collaborated closely with their teachers and observed the challenges they faced.

Fifty Best Special Education Blogs

Therefore, I was tickled pink the other day when I found this website that lists what it considers 2009′s fifty best special education blogs. The blogs are divided into several categories:

• Special Education Teaching Tips and Strategies
• Technology and Assistive Technology
• Specific Disabilities
• Special Education News and Policy
• Special Education Law
• Various Topics on Special Education

I’ve checked out some of the websites listed there, but not all of them. So this isn’t a blanket endorsement of the list. It’s a list of resources for teachers to consider and use as they see fit.

It’s for Parents, Too

It’s easy to see how this website could help special education teachers, but parents of special needs kids should check it out, too. The blogs will give you a new perspective on what teachers do and the pressures they face. Others can alert you to changes in special education laws and practices. And you can enhance your relationship with your child’s special education teacher by passing on the URL.

One of the best things you can do for your special needs child is become an informed parent. These special education blogs are a good place to start.

Happy surfing,
Jolene Philo