Special Needs

Articles

...Developmental timelines aren't rigid, but certain patterns signal the need for professional assessment. By 18 months, most children use at least 10–20 words and combine...timelines aren't rigid, but certain patterns signal the need for professional assessment. By 18 months, most children use at least 10–20 words and combine two...

...both. It doesn't. Seeking a second opinion isn't about doubting the first professional's competence. It's about confirming that a complex diagnosis has been...fast. A thorough developmental evaluation takes time. If your child's assessment lasted less than an hour and resulted in a definitive label, that's a...

...been helping. They worry about their struggles in understanding what the assessments mean and they become anxious over whether or not goals will be written...these meetings and how to participate at them. It means having a calm and professional voice. This means parents must 1) Understand the current level of performance...

...can take up to three hours and may even include a classroom visit. The professionals who administer the test want to be sure to get a thorough overview of...learning and processing disorders, can be the cause of reading problems. A professional will...

...Time for Us and Them...one professional's perspective Fear,...attended by families and the professionals that develop and implement...therapeutic jargon found in assessments, progress reports, behavior...digest the information. Professionals where is your empathy and...these items? Why is it that professionals think the IEP shouldn't...

...use a standard set of guidelines for testing for ADHD. These healthcare professionals will use subjective and objective information from parents, caregivers,...parents, caregivers, schools, and the individuals themselves to make their assessment. ADHD, the common phrase for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder,...

...have difficulty processing visually presented material, yet their eyes test textbook normal. This is frustrating to family, teachers, involved professionals, and most of all, the child. Prior examinations of this boy's eyes are only the beginning of diagnosing, especially considering he is a special...

...carving creates roles that match what your child can do instead of forcing them into roles they can't. What a Job Coach Does. A job coach is a trained professional who works one-on-one with your young adult at their job site. They don't do the work for them. They teach how to do the work, how to interact with...

You've heard it from one professional: Braille is outdated. Screen readers do everything Braille used to do, and they're faster. Why spend years teaching your child a tactile code when...

...rights, and share what worked for their own child. They can't represent you in due process or provide legal advice. Educational advocate: A trained professional who specializes in special education law and IEP processes but isn't a lawyer. Educational advocates know IDEA inside and out. They can review your...

...physically avoiding disabled people, or mocking someone's disability are microassaults. These are the most obvious form and the least common in professional or public settings where social norms enforce baseline politeness. Microinsults are rude or insensitive comments that demean a person's disability...

...meetings at impossible times. You're ready to create something yourself, but you don't know where to start. Starting a support group isn't about having professional training or therapeutic credentials. It's about structure, consistency, and clear boundaries. The groups that survive their first year share specific...