Special education is a hot topic on YouTube these days, but finding the videos worth watching can be time consuming at best and futile at worst. So I am exceedingly thankful for special education graduate students assigned the task of compiling lists of worthwhile special ed videos.

Enter Matt Holden

Matt Holden is one of those grad students (or at least I assume he is) who found www.DifferentDream.com and emailed the information about an article he recently wrote for the website www.mastersinspecialeductation.org. (Did you know such a website existed? I didn’t until Matt’s email.) The article is titled – you got it – 40 Must See YouTube Special Education Videos.

And the Categories Are…

• Introductory special education teaching methods
• Effective special education teaching methods
• Effective autism teaching methods
• Other effective special education teaching methods
• Special education teaching policies

Parents Can Watch the Videos, Too

The categories make it sound like the videos are for educators only. But they are an informative resource for parents, too. Some of them discuss IEP meetings, many explain special ed lingo, and some highlight resources you may want to recommend to your child’s teacher.But check it out for yourself at www.mastersinspecialeducation.org.

Which One is Your Fave?

After you watch some of them, come back and leave a comment about your faves. Why did you like them? What did you learn? What do you wish had been addressed?

Jolene

Tammy James is the kind of educator parents want their teens encounter during their high school careers. She’s the kind of educator who sees a problem and uses ordinary, every day resources to craft an elegant, effective solution.

The Problem?

According to reporter Sarah Womer of the Yuma Sun, James moved to Yuma eight years ago. When she learned most of the students in her high school special education class had never been to a football game, she knew there was a problem. Instead of complaining, she hunted for a solution.

The Solution?

The solution was an old, unused popcorn machine owned by the band. Her class borrowed it for a few years, using it until they could earn money to buy their own. How did they earn the money? You guessed it. They sold popcorn at high school football games.

Why Is This Solution Elegant?

Here are a few reasons the solution is elegant:

• It’s simple.
• It solved the immediate problem.
• It teaches students social skills, life skills, even possible job skills.

The article does a good job of showing the benefits this solution provides for the students in Tammy James’ class. You can read it at the Yuma Sun website.

Want to Give a Teacher a Shout Out?

Do you know a teacher like Tammy James? Someone who sees problems and solves them in ways that reap great benefits for their students? Please leave a comment so we can all celebrate people making a difference in the lives of students with special needs.

Hungry for popcorn,
Jolene

Inclusion.
Special Education.
Team Approach.
Best Placement.

Are you a parent who’s been been confused by those words during an IEP meeting? If so, never fear. Help is on the way!

National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities (NDCCD) Parent Primer

The NDCCD recently posted a short and sweet primer for parents seeking the best public school placement for their children who receive special education services. Here’s how good it is: I taught in inclusive classrooms for 25 years and learned something new while reading it.

Thank You, Nancy Eredics

The article was authored by Nancy Eredics, an elementary educator who has spent 15 years working in inclusive classrooms. She’s also a parent advocate and a community support group leader for parents of gifted children. She also writes about inclusive education at her own blog, The Inclusive Class. In the Parent Primer, she defines concepts like the team approach and best placement. She explains how inclusion can benefit kids socially, emotionally, and intellectually. And she gives parents strategies to identify inclusive schools. You can read the entire parent primer at the NDCCD website.

What Do You Know about Inclusive Schools?

Okay, parents, now it’s time to hear from you. Has your child had a good inclusion experience? How did you find an inclusive school? What defining marks helped you identify it? Use the comment box to write another chapter in the Parent Primer.

Still learning,
Jolene

Last week, guest blogger Amy Stout shared some fall file folders she created for her daughter Kylie, who experiences autism. As promised, Amy is back this week with a Thanksgiving idea that doubles as a therapy tool…thought Kylie doesn’t know that!

Button Turkey

If you have followed my blog for any length of time, you know that I am the queen of altering and adapting things.  I can’t leave well enough alone and always have to put the “Amy spin” on it. I am often inspired by things I have seen online or in my daily life, but they often don’t quite work for my family or I get creatively inspired to enhance what I have seen to suit my taste/needs. My Button Turkey is another one of those projects.

I first saw a Button Turkey here, here and here. As you can tell (if you click on those links), there are only about 5 feathers for the child to work with.  This would be great for beginners, but I felt my daughter needed more of a challenge.

So, I began to brainstorm how I could alter the design to better suit my daughter’s needs.  Most of you already know that Kylie has poor strength in her hands, wrists and upper body in general, so I am constantly in search of activities that will work her fingers and help to increase that strength and coordination while also being fun, tactile, and visually appealing.

Once I came up with my idea, I began to search for a pattern for the Button Turkey but never was able to find one, so I decided to create my own. Yes, I am going to share it with you.  You can print it by clicking on the below image:

After clicking the image, click on the printer icon at the top right of your screen.  Select the size you wish to print (I suggest a full page).  You may also want to laminate the pieces for durability.  I found this to be very helpful.

Another reason I loved this idea/craft is that it is soooo inexpensive to make.  You probably have half the things you need right at home.

Supplies you will need:

• Felt.  You can see the pics in this post to see the colors I chose.
• A good pair of scissors that cut felt easily.
• A disappearing ink felt tip pen for tracing (I found it at Walmart in the sewing section)
• A needle and various color threads to match your felt turkey body colors.  I used mainly brown, red, orange and cream from a travel sewing kit I had stashed in a closet.
• 24 buttons (I found mine at Michael’s).  22 for the feathers (you can do 11 front and 11 back) plus 2 smaller buttons for the Turkey’s eyes.
• astuffing (optional) (Kylie had a stuffed animal with a hole in it, so I “borrowed” some stuffing from our formerly stuffed friend.)

The one thing that I think is REALLY neat is the stamped/pressed felt that I used for the body.  It is called “cobblestone” and I found it at Michael’s Craft Store.  I thought it really added some good texture and dimension to the project. I also found some sparkly and patterned sheets of felt at Hobby Lobby.  All these little touches help keep it fresh and exciting when your child is buttoning 22 feathers.

Directions:

1. Print, laminate and cut out your pattern.
2. Trace 11 large feathers and cut them out before the ink disappears.
3. Trace 11 small feathers and cut them out before the ink disappears.
4. Trace  2 circles and cut them out before the ink disappear.s
5. Trace 2 eyes, 1 waddle, 1 nose/beak and 1 head/neck and cut out before the ink disappears.  You may want to keep these pieces in a plastic baggy to keep them from getting lost.
6. Label the circle that will be the front of the turkey.
7. Position the small feathers around the front circle of your turkey.
8. Sew on the buttons to the front circle so the buttons correspond to your feathers.
9. Cut slits in the feathers to be used as button holes.
10. Repeat steps 6-9 for the back circle and the large feathers.
11. Set all of those pieces aside for now.
12. Sew the 2 buttons onto the eyes. I used blue small buttons on cream circles.
13. Attach the eyes (felt and buttons) to the head/neck. You can either sew by hand or use fabric glue.
14. Sew or glue the waddle on to the head/neck.
15. Sew or glue the nose/beak to the head/neck.
16. Sew or glue the head/neck to the front circle.
17. Optional step: place a little stuffing in the head/neck toward the end of your sewing to give it some “plump.”
18. Glue or sew (I prefer sewing by hand) the front circle of the body to the back circle of the body making sure all of the buttons are on the outside of the circles.
19. Optional step: place a little stuffing between the circles before your sewing is complete to give it a little “plump.”
20. Attach the small feathers to the front of the turkey.
21. Attach the large feathers to the back of the turkey.
22. Take a picture and send it to us.  =0)

For more pictures of the different steps, visit Amy’s blog entry with the complete button turkey tutorial.

Let’s Talk More Turkey

Once again, more educational games for fall can be found at Amy’s blog, www.histreasuredprincess.blogspot.com. Have you developed holiday-themed activities for your kids with special needs. Would you like to share them for other parents to adapt? Just leave a comment!

Thanks,
Jolene

Guest blogger Amy Stout and her husband Dan decided to home school their daughter Kylie who experiences autism. On her blog, she showcased some of the fall activities Kylie has enjoyed using this fall. Here is Amy’s run down of resources that work from September through Thanksgiving.

Fall Fun File Folders

My fabulous hubby gave me some time to put together Five Fall-Themed File folder Games for Kylie. These ideas are not original with me.  Most of them come from Preschool Printables, Learning Center World and File Folder Fun.

I was unaware of how much TIME it takes to put these together.  It looked so easy (well, it IS easy, but they take a long time to make – especially if you make them to last by laminating everything)

Here are a few pics of our Fall File Folder Fun in action.

Halloween Number Game:

The Ghosts have the numbers written on them alphabetically.  You match those to the numeral on each pumpkin stem.

Pumpkin Alphabet

Pumpkin Alphabet was a real draw for Kylie.  I modified this one so that you fill in the missing letters, but then also so you can match all the letters to their pumpkins.

Scarecrow Colors:

This one, I also modified so that not only do you match the colors, but I also made a color free set with just the alphabetical wording on them so she matches the color words to their colors.

Turkey Lurkey:

I made her two Turkey Lurkey games – one for colors and one for numbers/counting.  She is boycotting the number one because you have to “work” to count the dots on the Turkey’s chest and then match the correct number.  She will do it with prompting only. However, she loves the color one. This isn’t just solid colors either.  The Turkeys are very colorful making it a bit more challenging.

We have had a really productive weekend and Kylie has really enjoyed this addition to her learning/therapy tools.  She gets them out as she wants them and she has been really good about putting the pieces back into their bags.

However… This pic better sums up our weekend…. Very little work and a whole lot of SILLY!!

More Fall Fun!

Thanks, Amy, for your fall fun ideas. Another of Amy’s ideas will be featured on DifferentDream.com on Monday, November 21. But if you can’t wait until then, buzz over to her blog, www.histreasuredprincess.blogspot.com where she has many more ideas posted.

Do you have favorite fall activities that are fun therapy or learning tools for your kids? If so, leave a comment about what works for your family.

Jolene

More pics to come and

Happy Halloween!!

Terri Mauro has done it again. She’s put together more parent-friendly education-related resources at about.com. Of all her resources featured here at DifferentDream.com (to discover how many times she’s been featured, type “Terri Mauro” or “about.com” in the search box), these take the cake. At least so far.

State By State Special Education Eligibility Guide

Yep, you read it right. The first resource is an online guide that includes every state in the union. A very complete online guide. It lists the states in alphabetical order and provides the following links for each:

• A PDF of the state’s special education legislation.
• A link to a summary of each state’s special education services. The summary includes links to more information and lots of contact information. (This is still a work in progress.)
• A link to each state’s legislature site.
• A place for you to write about your special education experience.

It is truly amazing. Someday, I’d like to look at Terri Mauro’s closets to see if they’re as well-organized as her website!

Sample IEP Forms

A second helpful resource web page has sample IEP forms from a half-dozen states and some specific to certain special needs. Though they may not be exactly like the forms used in your school district, they are a way for you to become familiar with the general IEP format. (Please don’t blame teachers for creating these confusing, intimidating forms. They’re government issue!)

What Special Education Resources Have You Found?

Maybe you’ve found some special education resources to share, too. If so, please leave a comment and a link, if the resources are online. Anything to improve the education of our kids with special needs is appreciated!

Glad I’m not filling out those forms,
Jolene

The start of school can mean a break during the day while kids are at school. But it can also mean homework battles every afternoon and evening during the week. Guest blogger, Rebekah Benimoff came up with a unique cease fire in the homework wars at her house. See what you think.

Homework in a Bucket

The quietness of my day ended when the school nurse called me. Tyler’s blood glucose level was high– off the charts. Perhaps the “set” was kinked. (That’s insulin pump lingo.) We made it almost to the end of the school day, so that was a blessing!

The temperature in the mini-van reminded me of summer, and I contemplated the plan of action as I drove slowly through the school zone, along with the other parents arriving early. I reminded myself that Tyler would not die if I did not get to him in the next five minutes. “I WILL get to him, all in good time.” I repeated to myself. This is what my husband, a veteran chaplain, calls “self-talk”. Powerful tools for a worried mother. A reminder of the TRUTH of the matter.

I gathered up my gifts from God and we headed home– and for once, the chaos did not start in the car. Tyler was stuffing his face with the first food he’d been allowed in a whole two hours (due to slowly climbing BG levels after the post lunch BG check). Since he was on the way home to get new insulin, he could finally have a carb-free snack. Blaine was content to wave at the kids walking home, who were running in and out of the street like college students on Friday night. After the minivan came to a complete stop, the door opened and out tumbled my boys like two wrestling bear cubs. “Put your homework folders on the table!” I called as they headed willy-nilly through the door. And now, Homework Time begins. Ahh, the joy. Oh, the weeping and wailing. Earplugs anyone?

Homework Challenges

Homework takes a lot of trouble shooting at our house. Tyler spent the last 45 minutes of the school day in the nurse’s office (20 of which were before she called me, so I must have made reasonable time, despite the “end of the school day” traffic). He rather luckily escaped having homework actually COME HOME, but there are still the weekly requirements of middle school, which Mom is now wise to. Like reading for twenty minutes. Once his BG leveled out, I still made him read. Despite how very unfair that is. Blaine, on the other hand, did have “real” homework. And homework is hard for Blaine… he can do the work, I just have to get him focused on DOING it. And finishing it. A couple years ago he was diagnosed with Sensory Integration Disorder, and we are still discovering all the little quirks; what works, what doesn’t. Sitting at the table and writing out the twelve spelling words of the week DOESN’T. Sitting on the couch and reading for 20 minutes doesn’t either. After an entire day of sitting at a desk, he wants to wiggle. He NEEDS to wiggle- even more than most little boys. Blaine has trouble with sitting upright or reasonably still for a long periods of time. He also struggles with writing legibly. Part of the “sensory issues”. Now that the light has come on, the knowledge helps this former Kindergarten teacher understand why my third grader has a hard time doing things my most of my younger students could do– by the end of that first year, at least! We have to get creative to help him do his very best work.

So, after a wiggle break, we did “Homework In The Bucket” — otherwise known as bucket therapy. But even after getting the bucket and choosing his blankets, pillows and books, Blaine was not settling INTO to the bucket. I was helping Tyler re-fill the tubes of insulin, and re-insert the insulin pump tubing into his poor little rear (via a rather large needle), and Blaine was trying to give the cat bucket therapy. Our furry family member was not impressed.

After some trauma to his heart and his bottom (he really dreads those shots), Tyler settled into reading his OWN books (which requires wading through fussing and complaining over how NOT FAIR homework is…whether BGs are off or not.) And I eventually coaxed Blaine into his Fort. He just would not settle. In and out of the bucket, in, and out. “I need another snack”, “I need another drink”, “I need my kitty…” (who did not want to go NEAR that bucket…)

The solution? Pictures speak a thousand words.

What’s Your Best Homework Solution?

Rebekah climbed in a bucket to end her son’s homework war. No doubt you’ve discovered some unique homework solutions, too. If so, share your story in the comment box. Homework in a bucket. Homework standing on your head. Homework set to music.

You get the picture,
Jolene

Really, truly, I do not work for the Washington Post and receive no kickbacks from them for promoting their articles. And I don’t know if editors are directing their reporters and bloggers to write about special needs. What I do know is that in the past few months they’re run some bang up articles about travel with special needs kids, an area sprayground accessible to kids with special needs, and most recently a piece about setting up a homework space for kids with learning disabilities.

Ann Dolin and Educational Connections

In the article, Delece Smith-Barrow interviews Ann Dolin, a former special education teacher who now runs a tutoring service called Educational Connections. Thought I haven’t taught for several years, my special education antenna started quivering as I read her advice. It was good stuff.

The Where’s and How’s of Homework Space

Dolin first addresses the issues of parents overhelping their kids with homework. (Also known as “helicopter parenting,” when parents hover and don’t allow kids to learn any independence.) Then she answers Smith-Barrow’s questions about where to set up a homework space and how to go about it. Rather than be a helicopter blogger, I’ll provide the link to the article so all you readers can become more independent, too.

Describe Your Child’s Homework Space

How does Dolin’s advice sit with you? Do you have other suggestions about how to create a homework space or how to help kids without hovering over them? Now’s your chance to share your A+ ideas!

Jolene

Guest blogger Ellen Stumbo’s three girls went to school this fall. Each daughter responded differently to the experience, partly because of their personalities, partly because of their ages, and partly because two of them have special needs. In today’s post Ellen writes about her thoughts about her girls’ first day of school and their untapped potential.

When “Back to School” Is Different

Another school year greets our family. It is the first time all my girls will be in school. They have clean, brand new backpacks, and their school supplies are neatly organized. They stand by the front door ready for me to snap a picture.

Ellie

Ellie is ready to conquer the world. The smile she wears and the hop in her step are evidence of her self-confidence. I see that, even in her picture.

Nina

Nina smiles, but I see the nervous way in which she holds on to her walker. Her knees seem a little unstable today. She has been to her school before. She has met her teacher, her aides and every single therapist that will work with her. We spent time in her classroom making sure that she could get around in her walker or wheelchair. She has a cute special chair for extra support when sitting at the table, and one for sitting on the floor. We made sure that the right adaptive equipment was available so she could use the bathroom as independently as possible. Yet, her picture reveals that despite all the help she will get, the challenges that her body and mind will face at school because of Cerebral Palsy are scary when you are only five years old.

Nicole

Nichole refuses to have her picture taken. She is angry. Angry that we have changed her routine. She does not want to go to school and demands to go inside the house again.  She holds on to her cup of milk, her bowl of crackers, and the cover of one of her favorite shows while she cries in protest as we buckle her in the car. I wish she had the words to tell me how she feels. Even more than that, it makes me sad to think that she will not be able to tell me about her day when she returns home. If I could change one thing about how Down syndrome affects Nichole, it would be her speech.

Mommy

My husband Andy and I take the girls to school. As we walk out the door, I want to cry. I know many moms cry too, I get that. But this is different. Two of my children have special needs. The complexities of their schooling careers are hard even for me to understand at times. I hold on to their potential, and to the fact that just like their big sister, my 2 “special” children also will shine.

What Were Your First-Day-of-School Thoughts?

Were your feelings similar to Ellen’s on the first day of school a few weeks ago? What potential are you holding on to regarding your children? Leave a comment if you need to vent or are encouraged about the year.

Looking for my backpack,
Jolene

Last Monday’s post featured 5 school articles from about.com blogger, Terri Mauro. This post features the 5 remaining articles that round out Mauro’s back-to-school article countdown.

Five through One

Here are articles 5 through 1, along with the links so you can go straight to them:

• Five Ways to Ease School Anxiety
• Four Things to Send on the First Day of School
• Three Ways to Fight Head Lice (Ew!)
• Two Things to Ask You Child’s School For
• One Final Back-to-School Project for Parents

Ten through Six

If you missed last Monday’s post, here are articles 10 through 6:

• Ten School Books for Parents
• Nine Ways to Help Your Child with Homework
• Eight Ways to Communicate with Your Child’s School
• Seven School Supply Suggestions
• Six Ways to Keep School in Perspective

If you like these articles, take some time to browse the rest of Terri Mauro’s website at about.com. She has some great organizational resources, book lists, and articles on a variety of topics.

Share Your Back-to-School Tips

Of course, Terri isn’t the only parent of a child with special needs who has back-to-school tips to share. You may have advice borne of experience the rest of us would love to hear. So leave a comment, if you like.

Heading back to school,
Jolene