Be The Exception In Special Education

Discrete trials are basically the use of repetition and reinforcement. The idea sounds fancy, especially when you start pairing it with data collection, but in reality it is a very simple process.   In this week's episode I am chatting with one of my favorites, Sasha Long from the Autism Helper, about using discrete trials for data collection. She breaks down the process for us and gives tons of u...

Winter break was wonderful, wasn't it? Are you back already or about to go back? The routine of getting the new semester started is always a welcome time for me. I like my schedule and the growth that always seems to happen between now and the end of school. Speaking of the routines and schedules, it never fails that my students seem to forget everything they know in the two weeks we were off for...

Whew! Can you believe that the new year is basically here? There were several times during 2021 that I wasn't sure we would make it to January 1st, but here we are, all survivors! Actually, more than survivors, rock stars! I am so proud of all of us for overcoming the bouncing between virtual and in-person, quarantines and no quarantines and just establishing some normalcy for our students.   In t...

Whew! 2021 has been hard y'all! I am literally counting down the hours until winter break. I love my kids, but I am tired! I have been thinking a great deal lately about how to prepare for 2022 and to make sure that I don't experience the same kind of burn out.   In this week's episode I am sharing some ways that you can set boundaries for yourself at school. We all want to do our best, but to do...

Tis' the season…of giving! Does your gift list seem a little endless? You want to give everyone something special but sometimes you just run out of ideas. Especially for your paraprofessionals or the therapists (OT, PT, Speech, etc) who are in and out of your room making your life so much easier.    In this episode I am sharing some ideas that are budget friendly for all of these amazing colleague...

Working with parents in the special education process can go several different ways. The parent can be supportive of the teacher, they can be indifferent to the journey or they can be a thorn in the teacher's side. So how do we help build the rapport necessary to make the parent a true supporter of the process?    In this week's episode I am chatting with Elaine Krift. She is a parent of a child w...

This week's podcast is a little different! I have some super special Black Friday sales going on and I wanted you to make sure that you knew exactly what you are getting!    So listen in and find out what is included in each special this week. Connect with Dawn Find me on IG Etsy Shop TpT Store Ultimate Sales Page Subscribe Are you subscribed to my podcast? Trust me, you definitely want to do that...

Alternative Communication can feel so overwhelming. There are so many different options and it seems impossible to understand them all or have a good grasp on how to best use them with your students.    In this week's episode I am chatting with Lucy from The Alternate Way to Pre-K. She is sharing her expertise in AAC Devices and giving 3 different steps on getting started. In this episode you will...

November is one of my favorite times of year for so many reasons as we head into a season of being thankful. There are so many different things happening in my classroom right now, but my very favorite is the Thanksgiving feast.  And what makes it even more special than just the yummy food is that my students plan and prepare the entire event.   It may sound overwhelming to have your students plan...

Do you know the most important thing that you can do as a teacher outside of forming relationships with your students? It is forming relationships with their parents! But how are you supposed to do that when there seems to be so many obstacles in the way...time, language barriers, and so much more.   In this week's episode I am chatting with Heather from Full Sped Ahead to help you overcome all th...

These are the days of pumpkin spice, flannel shirts and crisp, cool mornings. I love fall..both in and out of the classroom. There are so many fun ideas that you can do with your students to help them learn during this time of year. The pumpkin life cycle, cute story books and so much more add excitement to your day.    In this week's episode I am sharing some ideas on Halloween fun that is safe f...

So what are wordless books anyway? It sounds like too simple of a question, right? They are actually a little more complex than you might imagine and they can have such a huge impact in your classroom. But how do you use them? What makes them important to special education teachers?   In this week's episode I am chatting with Hanna Stroud of My Literacy Space to answer all of these questions and m...

Positive reinforcement is presenting a motivating stimulus to a person after a desired behavior is exhibited with the idea that the positive behavior will happen more often when rewarded. Whew, that seems like a mouthful, right? It doesn't have to be difficult to use positive reinforcement in your classroom, I promise!    In this week's episode I am chatting about how to figure out what motivates...

The start of school is behind us for most of my friends and our students are starting to form routines. As we settle into this new norm you may be noticing some behavior issues from a few of your students. As you are tweaking classroom routines, these behaviors are going to create some challenges that you need to handle quickly.   In this week's episode I am chatting with Sam Keen, the ED Queen ab...

Do your students work hard for you each week? Do you think they have earned the right to a little fun...maybe a fun Friday? Each week in my classroom we hit the academic side of things hard on Monday through Thursday and then reward all the hard work with fun activities on Friday. My students love it!   In this week's episode, I am sharing some ideas and resources that you can use for fun Friday w...

Are you a new teacher? Or maybe you feel like a new teacher in this crazy space we are living in right now? We all need some help now and then with figuring out how to get clear on a new school year.   In this week's episode I am chatting with Kayla Durkin from North Dakota Teaching about what you can do to feel in control of the new year.  In this episode you will learn: The benefits of building...

Are you feeling overwhelmed with the organization of all the technology you are using on a daily basis? I know that it gets difficult to keep up with all the username and passwords for our students while still allowing them the independence of logging in themselves.    In this week's episode I'm sharing tons of ideas on how to keep everything ready to go no matter the level of your learners.    In...

Are you working in a classroom with paraprofessionals? Maybe you have several adults in a self-contained classroom with you? Are you struggling with feeling like you have to be the boss of others when all you want to do is teach?    This week's episode will give you a plan on facilitating teamwork with paraprofessionals in your classroom. I'm joined by Jennifer Hofferber with Sped Prep Academy and...

Have you started your new year? How is it going...does it feel chaotic? I have just finished my first week and there were definitely some ups and downs. One thing that I was able to really nail down was my morning meeting time. It is what sets the tone for the rest of the day in my classroom.   On this week's podcast I'm sharing a recap of my first week and some ideas for morning meetings to get y...

Are you one of those teachers who feels like you have to be perfect at everything in order for your students to make gains? Well, me too some days! But, as the saying goes, Rome wasn't built in the day.  We are allowed to be less than perfect and our students will be okay.   In this week's episode I am chatting with Miss LuLu, otherwise known as Laura, is joining me to chat about all things specia...

So what is a sensory room anyway? It is a space that allows students with sensory needs to receive an immersive sensory experience. The space does not have to be an entire room, a corner is better than nothing. It is also not limited to a special education classroom, but rather can serve a purpose in a general education classroom as well.   This week I am sharing ideas of what to put in a sensory...

Inclusion teaching has many names, but always the same purpose. As an inclusion teacher you partner with a general education teacher to accomodate students with disabilities in the general setting.    This week I'm joined by Ashley Lutz from Spedtacular Days to share some tips on being a better inclusion teacher. Whether you have worked in special education before or this is your first year, I gua...

Students need independent work. It is so important for so many reasons. We need to be able to work one on one with other students during this time and independence builds confidence in our students. But what can we give our students for independent work?    In this week's episode of the Be the Exception Podcast I am discussing the use of task boxes in the special education classroom. They do requi...

The end of summer is almost here...which means the beginning of school is right around the corner. Preparation for the new school year will be your best friend. But what are things can you do now that will be the most effective in the long term?   Erin Hagey from You AUTa Know is joining me this week to share with me what she has learned about starting the year in her eleven year journey. She love...

Back to school, back to simple. Make every day easier with a few handy tips for special ed teachers. Summer is halfway over and I'm having a difficult time adjusting to that fact. But, I know that I need to put my big girl panties on and start preparing for what is to come. In truth, I miss my kiddos and my co-workers and I am looking forward to having a better routine again. So how do we get read...