Many professionals are involved in the diagnosis of LD: psychologists, educational specialists, and other professionals who work in specialized fields such as speech and language. This article identifies licensure requirements and who can diagnose LD and/or ADHD.
This Q&A provides a brief overview of the responsibility of public schools to provide and pay for a student’s assistive technology under the federal IDEA law and Section 504.
There are many people at your child’s school who are there to help your child learn, grow socially and emotionally, and navigate the school environment. Here’s a selected list of who’s who at your school: the teaching and administrative staff as well as organizations at the district level. You might want to keep this list handy all year long.
Occupational therapist Roger Ideishi shares his strategies for providing supportive environments in the general education classroom for children with autism. You’ll also learn about Ideishi’s innovative ideas for collaborating with museums, performing arts spaces, and other cultural institutions to make them more accessible and welcoming for children with diverse sensory and cognitive abilities.
When students engage in “word analysis” or “word study,” they break words down into their smallest units of meaning — morphemes. Discover effective strategies for classroom word study, including the use of online tools, captioning, and embedded supports to differentiate instruction.
Word study is an approach to spelling instruction that moves away from a focus on memorization. The approach reflects what researchers have discovered about the alphabetic, pattern, and meaning layers of English orthography. This article describes nine tips for implementing a word study program in your classroom.
“Word study” is an alternative to traditional spelling instruction. It is based on learning word patterns rather than memorizing unconnected words. This article describes the word study approach.
A work system is an organizational system that gives students with ASD information about what is expected when they come to the classroom. Find out how to implement a work system in your classroom.
As children learn some letter-sound matches and start to read, they also begin to experiment with writing. These activities can be used with children to develop their writing and spelling abilities.
As children learn some letter-sound matches and start to read, they begin to write words and sentences. Seeing how words are spelled helps children in reading and writing.
Learn how to write Individualized Education Plan (IEP) goals that are SMART (specific, measurable, use action words, realistic, and time-limited) and based on research-based educational practice.
This article discusses one component of writing mechanics — finesse with sound/symbol correspondence. It describes a method, called Memory Foundations for Reading, that can be used by a parent with a single child or a teacher with a group and which helps children use many senses to recall letter sounds.
This article discusses strategies for writing poetry with ELLs, presents an overview of poetry forms that can be used effectively in writing lessons, and suggests some ideas for ways to share student poetry.
Many learners with disabilities are visual learners and are best able to understand and remember content when they can see it represented in some way; in other words, they need to “see what we mean.” Three visual supports helpful for teaching and supporting literacy development are described here: picture books, graphic notes, and story kits.
What’s typical development? And what can parent do to be sure their child is getting the stimulation he or she needs? Here’s a list of what to look for as a child learns and grows from infancy to preschool.
The development of oral language is one of the child’s most natural – and impressive – accomplishments. Get an introduction to when and how language is learned.
Evaluation is used to identify the children who are eligible for special education and the type of help they need. Find out four steps in the evaluation process, from analyzing known information to developing a program.
For young children, their home is the best place to begin learning about math, science, and social studies, build early reading and writing skills, and to stretch their creativity. Get practical tips on how to look at your home through the lens of “learning through experiences.” You’ll also find ways to connect learning from school-to-home and home-to-school.
This article from the National PTA features ideas on how to help your school age children improve their reading skills and tips on how to develop pre-reading skills in younger children.
Dr. Kerry Hempenstall, now a Senior Lecturer at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in Victoria, Australia, recalls that magic time when he first learned how to read.
