Special Needs

Articles

You're preparing for your child's IEP meeting. The draft goals look reasonable at first...inclusion. And it's not what the law requires. Effective IEP goals for inclusive education support your child's...inclusion. The Three Core Components of Inclusion Goals. IEP goals that support inclusive education address three...

You've been navigating IEPs for years. You know the drill: meetings,...appropriate public education. No more IEP. The support structure that's been there...planning is the section of your child's IEP that prepares them for life after high...(many states require it by 14), the IEP team must include measurable postsecondary...

...It establishes minimum rights: a free appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment, procedural protections, and the right to an IEP. States can go further than IDEA requires, but not below it. What this means for your family: the services your child received in one state may reflect...

...with ADHD (which falls under "Other Health Impairment") qualifies for an IEP only if ADHD interferes with learning or classroom functioning to a degree...child may receive a 504 plan instead. A 504 plan provides accommodations. An IEP provides specialized instruction. The difference matters. The 13 Disability...

You've probably received the procedural safeguards notice at an IEP meeting: that dense packet handed across the table, usually while three other things are happening. Most parents tuck it away without reading it. That's...

...every other public school in the country: the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Under IDEA, charter schools must accept students with IEPs and 504 plans, provide a free appropriate public education (FAPE), and implement the services outlined in your child's plan. Capacity concerns don't...

You've seen the ads. Khan Academy is free and comprehensive. IXL promises adaptive learning. Boom Cards says it's built for special needs. Your child's IEP calls for technology supports, but no one tells you which platform serves dyslexia, ADHD, or autism best. The marketing is louder than the evidence....

Your child's IEP follows them from school to school. That's the law....during state assessments. You sit in that first IEP meeting at the new building, and unless you know...logistical adjustment. The staff who wrote their IEP won't be there. The institutional memory of why accommodations...

For twelve years, your child had a team. Teachers modified assignments, IEP meetings happened on a schedule, and someone in the building knew exactly what your child needed before they could ask. College ends that, not gradually...

...accommodations so students can access the same curriculum as their peers. The Registration Process. Registration isn't automatic. Even if your student had an IEP or 504 plan in high school, those documents don't transfer to college. The college can't act on them. Your student must register with the DRC as a new...

Your child's IEP lists accommodations they use every day in the classroom. Extended time on assignments. A separate quiet space for quizzes. Read-aloud support for written...

...instruction. But when you sit down to write accommodation requests for the IEP or 504 plan, "sensory support" feels too vague to be useful. Schools respond...sensory category (auditory, visual, tactile, vestibular, proprioceptive) with IEP-ready language you can adapt to your child's profile. Use it to build requests...