“Why do students leave school? Mostly due to boredom. Yet Nintendo can hold a kid’s interest for six hours. Maybe we are doing something wrong.”~Dr. Tomorrow All that is missing from Dr. Tomorrow’s quote is #PokemonGo As a parent I’ve been sharing about how video games can help with special needs since my boys were…
Therapy
The True Story Of The Real Life Little Mermaid
“Crying was viewed by the ABA people Melanie worked with as a “breakthrough” With no alternative means of communication, and no way to talk, Melanie failed miserably on simple tasks that were well beneath her capabilities, and her confidence and energy for life, what was left of it, slipped away as well. The only thing Mel…
Planning Your Child’s Transition to Preschool
Planning Your Child’s Transition to Preschool: A Step-by-Step Guide for Families Original Paper by Lynette K. Chandler, Susan A. Fowler, Sarah Hadden, and Lisa Stahurski A publication of FACTS/LRE, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign I’ve referred to this paper for over a decade and the original website that hosted this has been gone for…
Notes From A Warrior Mom For IEP Meetings
“I went in there so prepared….. but most of all, I had a belief of what was right… and I was not going to settle for anything BUT what was APPROPRIATE for my Son…. LOL- my hubby used the word “best” a few times…. it was perfect….. and gave me a chance to say “that…
Wise Words About Stupid Standardized Testing
“I asked the district at that point to give me the closest thing they could legally to the FCAT reading and math test, and I took it. That test labelled me as a poor reader, and I have a couple of masters’ degrees, and I’ve been re-elected four times and I teach 39 graduate courses at six universities in this country.” ~John…
Sample Letters To Your Child’s New Teacher For Apraxia Autism Or Any Special Need
“Teachers need as much parentel help as they can get. I appreciate parents who become involved in the learning process and interact with me about testing. If your teachers school has email for the instructors as my school does email can be an easy way to find out just what is each teacher doing with…
The Communication Book
One of the best ways of keeping everyone in the loop is through a “communication book.” It’s the child’s diary, except that there may be half a dozen different contributors If you don’t know what a communication book and you have a child that has a communication impairment, this will be much needed information from…
VPD Support
“It’s hard to know for my guy if it’s cleft related or apraxia related sometimes. He still has the same voice. And some days I can understand more than others.”~ Amanda Your child just got diagnosed with something that had a long name. You’re driving home now and your mind is swimming in confusion,…
How To Answer, “What’s Wrong With Him?” Part 2
“Rude comments sometimes are what most of us have said before when seeing a bad display in a store-just because I now know different doesn’t mean that I used to stand behind some tantruming child and think “poor thing – I wonder if he has profound communication difficulties that impair his ability to rationalize this situation appropriately !!” LOL ..as…
How To Answer, “What’s Wrong With Him?” Part 1
“Does he ever talk? Why isn’t he saying hello? Is there something wrong with him?” Always be prepared for it if you have a child with a communication impairment. You start to get a sense of when that question is coming from a well meaning (or rude) stranger. Sometimes it’s when someone hears how your…