Special Ed on Special Ed

"Back to school" elicits images in my head of long lines in stationery stores, exorbitant shipping fees for backpacks I forgot to order, and the promise of a great new school year.  None of that, however, was part of back to school 2020, at least not for us. As we have learned, nothing is written in stone with COVID-19. Here in CT, we heard schools had to open at full capacity. Then they were allo...

Being a mom is hard on a good day but just because something is hard doesn't mean it can't bring you joy! Today I talk with Meredith Masony, a work-from-home mom of 3, helping other woman through one of the most isolating jobs they have: motherhood. We talk about her new book, her quest for self-discovery, & the fun that disabilities adds to the joy of parenting! Maredith is a wife, mother to thre...

What is the least restrictive environment? The one that is appropriate! And which one is that in the world of hybrid models where no one even knows what regular education looks like? Great questions. Join Stacey Tié and me as we discuss LRE, what that might look like now, and how to advocate for your child. More information about Stacey can be found on her website: https://wholechildadvocates.com/

As parents contemplate their options for Fall 2020, the terms "online learning" and "virtual instruction" have become more commonplace than "unprecedented." Many students struggled to access their education in Spring of 2020, which made parents wary of the new digital components for Fall 2020. But what is that digital component and how can you advocate for the teaching modality your child needs? L...

Raising a child with Autism can be difficult for anyone, however, in the Black community there are additional challenges that may affect you. Although early intervention is key, African American children with autism are one to two years older than white children before they're even diagnosed! Maria Davis-Pierre is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor with extensive experience working with children o...

Where are your kids hanging out these days? Are they learning the social skills they need to navigate the world in-person AND online? To be a friend? To get a friend? To maintain a friend? And, what do Applied Behavior Analysis, Precision Teaching, Natural Environment Teaching (NET) have to do with any of this? This episode is what you need! Today I speak with Meghan Cave, M.Ed. BCBA LBA (CT) and...

Amy Pleet-Odle is an inclusion coach and founder of Inclusion Focused Coaching. She brings nearly 50 years of experience in education to her coaching work. She's been an English teacher, special educator, department chair, secondary transition coordinator, state department specialist, college professor, and parent. And in this episode she talks to me about what inclusion really is, what it should...

ESY, or extended school year, provides students with services beyond the end of the school year for those who need it. While these services typically happen in the summer, they are not summer school. ESY is for students who would otherwise regress (more so than typical peers) over the long summer break or for students whose disabilities are such that they require services beyond the typical school...

Schools closed due to a global pandemic. If that's not enough to trigger you, what about having to stay home, having to go out, having to work, not working? And the cherry on top? You now need to oversee your child's education, whatever that is right now. Speaking of your child, their schedules have been obliterated, the people who support them daily gone, and the people caring for them now (that'...

The purpose of transition goals and objectives is to prepare your child for life after high school, whatever that may be for them. So now, all you need to figure out is what life after high school will look like for your child AND what skills your child will need to be there AND how to successfully teach those skills to your child. No pressure. Luckily, we have people like Muncie Kardos, Ph. D., O...

The science tells us we feel AND do better when we attend to our own nutrition, physical activity, and mental health. So, what have you done for yourself lately! Dr. Marney White, clinical psychologist and Associate Professor at the Yale School of Public Health, joins us and she's going to tell us what we need to know about self-care! Especially now that parents are home with children all day due...

What is compensatory education (comp ed) and who needs to know about it? It's what children with disabilities are entitled to when they don't get the services in their IEP (sound like anyone you know?) and the person who needs to know about it is YOU! Comp ed is educational services awarded to students with disabilities to make up for services they missed because of the school's failure to provide...

What is crisis schooling? Exactly what you are doing now! Distance learning, educational opportunities, work packets, zoom sessions, and (in all your free time) don't forget you have to work too! Catherine Whitcher is the founder of Master IEP Coach Mentorship®, a program that teach parents, educators, and any member of the IEP team how to build IEPs that truly prepare students for their future. C...

The most important skill you need as a parent of a child with a disability is communication. Communication with your child, communication with outside providers, and communication with your school! Today we talk about essential components of your communications and how to make them as transparent, efficient, and successful as possible! Good communication skill are of tremendous value for us in the...

Executive functions (EF) are much more than just organization! We need executive functions to be able to be flexible, generate ideas, problem-solve, hold information in our brain while completing a task, manage task demands, and monitor our own performance against some standard of what is needed or expected. Today we speak with Kit Savage, founder and managing director of Savage Advocates ( https:...

What you need to know about Animal Assisted Play Therapy™! Today we talk with Diane Dioguardi, LPC, RPT, CAAPT, about what animal play therapy is, how it works, and who should do it. Diane is a Licensed Professional Counselor in Connecticut and a Licensed Mental Health Counselor in New York. She partners with her eight-year-old golden retriever, Shannon, who is AAPT-Approved and a Certified Facili...

Episode link: Special Education Legal Fund: Can I do this myS.E.L.F. or will I need help? Today we talk to Christine Lai whose journey as a parent led her to co-found Special Education Legal Fund (S.E.L.F.). We talk about challenges parents experience while advocating for their child(ren) and why they need special education legal services. You can find Christine at Christine@spedlegalfund.org You...

Today we are speaking with Randy Ewart, also known as the CT Sped Math Dude ( CTSpedMathDude.com ), and he is going to tell us what we need to know about math and special education. Randy is a veteran math teacher whose son's diagnosis of Autism helped shape his path into special education. Today, Randy works with students of all ages with disabilities of all kinds. He conducts assessments, provid...

Episode Link: https://ntkwdj.libsyn.com/episode-5-do-you-want-some-lime-with-that-corona Today we are discussing Coronavirus and how the pandemic effects your child's program and what you can do to preserve your rights during this uncertain time. As you all know by now, the school closures are not about preventing Covid-19 but rather slowing down the spread so that our healthcare system can manage...

There are so many reasons parents consider alternative programs for their children. I'm not talking about special education schools today, I'm talking about alternative programs that have the freedom and flexibility to offer out of the box schooling. While not specifically designed for students with disabilities, sometimes the nature of such programs (small classes, individual attention, smaller b...

Initially published at "Need to Know with Dana Jonson" - the podcast was rebranded as "Special Ed on Special Ed" but I kept the old episodes so you don't lose any content! Enjoy! Transcript can be found at SpecialEd.fm Today we are with Erik Mayville, PhD, BCBA discussing the components of psycho-educational evaluations and what role independent evaluators play in the special education realm. Dr....

Initially published at "Need to Know with Dana Jonson" - the podcast was rebranded as "Special Ed on Special Ed" but I kept the old episodes so you don't lose any content! Enjoy! Stay tuned for the transcript, which will be available shortly after publication on  SpecialEd.fm . "What makes an IEP different from a 504 Plan in special education?" "How can understanding these distinctions empower par...