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When We Last Spoke Review One of the things we’ve been able to do MORE of since all this

Virtual/Remote IEP Assessments This issue has been coming up in the Facebook Group often. I guess this pandemic is

Special Needs Mom Burnout On Tuesday, when my son came home from school, his newly revised IEP was in his

Best Sensory Toys for Autism This list of autism toys and gifts is great for: Developmentally Delayed Toddlers Developmentally Delayed

Special Education Classroom Observation “Can I observe my child’s classroom?” I’ve been hearing this one a lot lately.

Dolls with Disabilities Kids need dolls and toys that resemble them. Sure, it’s great to have toys that you

Managing After School Meltdowns Sometimes I marvel at the existence of my two boys. I look at them, and both

Gift for Disabled Teenager and Adults Teens and adults with autism and disabilities can be so hard to buy for!

Free Letters from Santa Claus by Mail Would your child enjoy a free mailed letter from Santa? Who wouldn’t?

Santa Letter Template When your child has a learning disability, they don’t only have the disability from 8-3 on

Swim Diaper for Adults This has been a huge struggle and colossal waste of money for us. Finding an adult

Toilet Training an Older Child I am wildly passionate about kids being toilet trained if it is a possibility. I

Dr. Seuss was Racist. Dr. Seuss is a prolific children’s book author and global icon. And Dr. Seuss has

Cost of IEP Advocates/Attorneys Your child is struggling. As a mom, you’re stressed and you’re frustrated. You

Become an IEP Special Education Advocate I never intended to become a Special Education Advocate. I merely took a course

IEP Special Education Advocate “$2000?!?!” my husband exclaimed. “Do we really need this for him?” “Become an IEP/Special Education Advocate!”

IRLP Individual Remote Learning Plan Yesterday a blog reader asked if I could further explain IRLP. IRLP stands for Individual

Cutting the Cable Cord Options Are you fed up with your cable TV bills? We were! And with technology, it

Ableist Movie Tropes and Characters I think most of us would agree that if a movie calls for a Black

Work for People with Disabilities We vote with our dollars. When you buy something, you aren’t just saying that

Early Intervention IDEA Part C Kevin is my first born. Like many new moms with internet access, I was um,

Bullying at School Bullying at school. I hate it. It’s gross and happens everywhere-on the bus, at school. My

Parent-Teacher Conference Like other areas of our life, Parent-Teacher conferences can look different for a child with an IEP. A

Want to Stop Drinking Wine every day? I did too. Since beginning this series three years ago, I’ve heard

When was IDEA passed? IDEA was first passed in 1975 as Federal legislation. However, its history began much before that. The

Emotional Disturbance Emotional Disturbance Category on an IEP is one of the most misunderstood categories. In my professional opinion, it

Online and Virtual Learning Accommodations This came up today in our Facebook Live chat, as an OT/Sensory question. Some

Communication Plan for Parents I remember I was working with this client one time. We had held an IEP meeting,

How to Write a Letter to School You will definitely want to bookmark or pin this post. I have often

14 Categories of Disabilities in IDEA There are 14 categories of disabilities listed in IDEA. Autism (and yes there is medical vs

IEP or 504 for ADHD? It is estimated that 5-12% of all American kids have some type of ADHD. If you

Special Education Transportation “It’s the bus. It’s always the bus!” My former supervisor used to say that so

Microaggressions Against Black IEP Students Most of you know I’m all in, as far as working harder to educate

An Extra $20 a Week? Sounds good, doesn’t it? Yesterday I laid out a plan to begin stockpiling for the

Stocking Up for a Pandemic My first disclaimer is this: I am not the person taking all the toilet paper.

IEP Cover Page Imagine for a moment that you are a teacher and it’s the first day of class.

Juvenile Arthritis | IEP | 504 According to the Arthritis Foundation, over 300,000 American children have Juvenile Arthritis. The most common type of arthritis

Surgical and EEG Glue Removing EEG glue from your child’s hair-is there anything worse? I cannot believe that we

Ableist Microaggressions Microaggressions have been getting a lot more attention recently, and with good cause. It’s very easy to

Life Skills Classroom | Special Education Resource Room I really hate the term life skills. I mean, after all, we ALL

IEP Data Tracking IEP data tracking and progress monitoring in special education is one of the most important things about

Independent Functioning IEP Goals for Life Skills Before I get started with this list of Life Skills Functional Goals for

ABA Therapy in Schools “I want my child in an ABA program.” ABA therapies are very popular (and controversial). Many

Can an IEP be changed without parental consent? For the purposes of this post, it assumes that you (parent) already

OHI on the IEP IDEA has 14 eligibility categories for an IEP. One of them is OHI. I find that OHI

What does LEA stand for? LEA is one of those special education acronyms that is more complex than it needs

Parent Counseling and Training on an IEP One little-known feature of IDEA is the section on parent training. Parents are

No-Spend Challenge Rules I have this friend. And I’m not judging, just using her as an example. But she

It’s who I am. When I was in high school in the 1980s, during the summers my friends and

Best Things to Grow in an Aerogarden I was an early adopter of the Aerogarden. I got one of the