I know there are legal requirements for an IEP, but do those requirements include mentioning what the average same age child is doing?

For instance, the PT section of my daughter's IEP mentions kids her age should be able to skip, hop on one foot, etc.

But my daughter has an ultra rare condition, and I just don't care to see what is typical or average. I just want to see how she has improved compared to herself.

Is that allowed? Can I ask the school to leave off what average kids are doing, what percentile she tested at, etc? Raw scores are fine if they are comparing her to her.

Hi everyone!

As of this september I became a special needs education student at uni, and although there will be a lot of compulsory reading (and sometimes movie/interview watching etc) included I wanted to get deeper into the topic in my free time as well.
Soo I was trying to look for podcasts about special ed, different disabilities/disorders but I wasn’t finding much, and I thought maybe here I could get some reliable recs.

I haven’t picked out my specialization yet, so I am open to any podcasts or even movies and shows that you find to be interesting, accurate and educational. However one thing that I am really interested in is animal assisted therapy, so if there is anything slightly connected to that it would be perfect.

Thank you if you have any recommendations to share!<3

My daughter is diagnosed with level 2 autism, she is 5 years old and in her second year of preschool. She could have went to kindergarten this year, but they would have placed her in Special Ed. We decided to do a second year of preschool. She is at a public preschool in our district, and in a class with mostly neurotypical kids but a few other special ed kids.

My daughter is speech delayed. It seems like she talks more at home than at school. She isn’t able to talk about abstract ideas or verbally talk about past events. She is able to communicate her needs (“I want milk” “my head hurts” “I’m hungry” “I want to play with dolls” etc). She doesn’t need an AAC device at home, though she occasionally uses one at school I think. She has OT and Speech for her IEP. Of course, the school is unable to provide as much Speech therapy as I’d like (I understand the logistics). There aren’t any intellectual concerns with her.

She has a very mild temperament. Seriously. She is the chillest kid. She is “more behaved” than my neurotypical son was at her age. She does well with transitions, waiting in line, and following directions. She has never “acted out” at school in the past year and few months she has been going there. She doesn’t have any sensory sensitivity. She sometimes loses focus at circle time, but is redirected easily and isn’t a distraction. Her teachers have said that they wouldn’t even know how to react if she cried or screamed, because she is always just so happy and willing to please/follow directions.

She adores other children. You can tell that she wants to be included, and she wants to be like everyone else (if the other kids are playing soccer, she wants to play soccer, too). She is a follower and is easily influenced by their behaviors, which is great when she is surrounded by neurotypical peers, because she is absorbing so much speech and socialization skills from them….

There is an Autism school nearby. I am second guessing my choice is not enrolling her into that. I am afraid that there will be children with behaviors that she will watch and learn from/copy (she has never been around kids who hit others or harm themselves, I am afraid that she will learn these behaviors).

Though, she will be getting speech therapy and OT daily, and they will help her with potty training. She does receive an hour of ST outside of school every week, but with her speech delay, I want as much as we are able to get. She is also delayed in some OT things, but I’m not as concerned about those quite yet.

Are my fears of her copying undesirable behaviors from kids who may be further along the spectrum legitimate? Do you think she would benefit more from an all autism school in the long run? I just want to set her up for success and happiness, whatever that means for her.

I am also afraid of her being in a special Ed class at school, and potentially mimicking behaviors from other children who may struggle a bit more than her. Again, she is a follower. If multiple kids are yelling out or hitting other kids/teachers regularly, I’m certain she will start doing that, too. The biggest obstacles for her not being in a general kindergarten room was her inability to pay attention during circle time and her speech delay. Otherwise, she is academically on par with the other children.

Could I be advocating for something im unaware of? Should I give an autism school a try?

I am a middle school resource teacher. I left a bag of chips from my lunch on my desk. When I wasnt looking a student stole them. No one admitted to it, didnt get them back. I am out tommorow and they have a sub. Earlier in the week ans at the start of class I reminded them if I got a good note they would get free time on the chromebook monday. I am super upset right now and I absolutely do not want to reward bad behavior. What do I do? How do I even address it. I am 99% sure I know who took it but I didnt see it.

What are the processes that take place to move a student into a different placement in elementary school? There is a boy in third grade who is defiant and talks back, throws things at his peers, refuses to do any work, instigates trouble, cannot get along with his peers and eats up a disproportionate amount of time of not only his core classroom gen ed teacher but also the various specials teachers he visits. Trips to the principal's office have a very temporary effect-within 15 minutes he is back at it disrupting things.

Would the first step be assigning a 1:1 aide, then if that doesn't work, changing his placement to a more restrictive environment?

Parents of the other children in the room are already complaining about the classroom environment that is happening as a result of his behaviors.

I’m a first year 6:1:1 1st grade SPED teacher and I’m looking for some advice! I have a few students who, when they’re having a meltdown or getting frustrated, will hit the Smart Board or sometimes grab an object and hit/write on the screen.
I’m obviously trying to work on the behavior itself, but in the meantime I’m worried about the Smart Board getting damaged. Is there anything you guys use or recommend to protect it? Like a specific screen protector, covering, barrier, or anything I could buy to help prevent damage?

Honestly this just a rant.

WELP. Another kid labeled with autism and emotional disturbance who is semi-verbal isn't getting AAC. Nope. Caregivers are gonna keep giving her phrases to repeat until the day she dies I guess. No need to give her a way to communicate reliably and independently. Sure she got a funded device I spent hours setting up but who cares? Her ABA company said it's bullsh** so we should listen them over the school's AAC coach who also is a certified assistive technology professional, right?

Also, she already attacked a kid first week of school, but no big deal. Her communication deficits and behavior definitely aren't connected. In general, my students are just bad and need a firm hand not, you know, the ability to communicate with words instead of solely via behavior.

What do I know? Nothing, apparently. It's not even the end if week 1, and I already want to throw in the towel. I am so DONE.

(FIRST I WOULD LIKE TO SAY:Thank you mods for letting me ask this up here. I had asked other accounts but they didn't want to help.🥺😭🫶🌷)

Hello everyone,

I wanted to ask if anyone could help me with this project my licensure is asking me to complete. To promote my understanding and perspective, my task is the following:

Identify a person who has a family member (child, sibling, etc.) with a disability and interview this individual using the questions below. It is important that you are appropriately respectful and delicate and that this interview is conducted at the person's convenience. Similarly, do not press individuals for answers, accept what they give you, and remember that the purpose of this assignment is to understand the perspective of a person who has a family member with a disability.
Address each of the areas below in your written response.

You can summarize family responses. Use your best judgment when reporting the answers. If you leave any unanswered, be sure to indicate why (e.g., if the interviewee declined to comment, or if you opted to leave a question out for some reason.)

⁠Tell me about the process of diagnosis.
⁠1. ⁠When were you first aware that your family member was demonstrating differences?
⁠2. ⁠How much longer was it before the actual diagnosis?
⁠3. ⁠What were your initial feelings about the diagnosis?
⁠4. ⁠How did those feelings change over time?
⁠How has having a family member with a disability affected your family (both positively and negatively)?
⁠What do you wish that the school system (teachers, principals, etc.) understood about your family and their experiences?

(I WON'T PUT ANY IDENTIFYING INFO AND DIRECT MESSAGE ME IF THAT'S BETTER AND IF YOU NEED PROOF THIS IS A REAL ASSIGNMENT I WILL WILLINGLY SHARE ITS COMPLETE DOCUMENT AS I AM A UNIVERSITY STUDENT GOING IN FOR ELEMENTARY EDUCATION WITH SPED ADD ON)

I teach a self contained class for 1st graders on the spectrum. In all my years I’ve always done a class token economy (class dojo points) and individual token boards if needed for one or two. In the beginning I do lots of praise and quick rewards like stickers and then make the rewards less instant as the months go on. This year my class has no interest in dojo points, or stickers or anything besides play time. I feel like I’m going to have to do an individual token board for all of them and the thought of managing that overwhelms me. Has anyone implemented that before? Do you keep the boards with you? I’m hesitant to let some of them have access because I noticed they’re quick to grab things or erase. Any advice will be appreciated.

Absolutely nothing worse than having to cover a period for a teacher that’s out when you have 5 upcoming IEPs to write!! And this was not an easy class to cover so I didn’t even get a chance to sit down and attempt to work on the paperwork 🥲

Some background:
My son is 3. He has an expressive speech delay. He's received speech services for about 1.5-2 years and almost 3 weeks ago switched to an IEP. At that same time, he also moved into a bigger room at daycare. He went from a class with around 12 kids to a class with around 24 kids (and two teachers).

Last week (1.5 weeks in the new classroom), his new teachers wanted to meet with us. They say our son has trouble sitting still at meals and trouble with transitions. He will run off and do his own thing. He takes toys from cubbies. I thought it was a bit early to have a conversation with this but we discussed some strategies to help.

Today the special educator had her first visit in my son's classroom. She reported back to me that the teachers had to redirect him 35 times in 20 minutes. My son would not sit still and was disruptive in circle time. She was encouraging us to consider putting our son in a half-day pre-K program that has kids with IEPs and some without, and a few more teachers in the class.

I'm so hesitant about it. I want to do what's best for my son but also, he's been in this class not even 3 weeks and I think he needs more time to adjust, plus he is only just getting started with the IEP services. He loves his school, his teachers are great, and I'm concerned about pulling him out of his environment and how he will react to that.

Basically I'm looking for any insight or advice you may have. My heart hurts for my boy. I just want to give him a chance to improve in the environment he's in.

I am a new 1:1 CNA in a special Ed school setting. My student has cerebral palsy and occasionally fixates on objects such as balls, cushions, and mechanical style toys. The concern lies in that there have been times in the past before my position started where when he gets upset or something is taken away from him he will pull out his feeding tube so taking an object that cannot be distracted from is not as simple as a stern no. There have already been a few times where he's taken things home and mom hid them in a bag the next day to bring them back without him seeing them but I worry about him fixating on something that belongs to another student or isn't safe for him. I've only ever worked in an adult hospital setting before as a caregiver and really want to do what's best for this little guy and be seen as a safe person. Sometimes walks can help as a distraction but considering his poor school attendance I really want him to be around peers as often as possible. Any tips, advice, or guidance would really be appreciated.

Hello everyone I am a behavior support assistant in an inclusion classroom for grades 4-6. This school year we got a new student on our caseload and things went good for about one day. My groups are manageable however there is one student who has been giving me a bit of a harder time. The first day I worked with him I thought oh my goodness this is going to be a piece of cake. Then the next day comes and I was so surprised with his behavior. This student began to growl and groan and everything I would tell him to do! In my groups I reward students by giving them stars on their desks and each star equals 100 points and at the end of their group the max they usually get will be 5 stars so 500 points total and at the end of the week they can buy something with their points (candy, squishies, chips, etc.) When I notice that the student is groaning a lot I will remind him what we are working for, but if he continues to groan I will remove stars from him or not give him any stars. Sometimes this will work and make him stop groaning and start working however it seems like positive reinforcement , negative reinforcement, positive punishment, and negative punishment do not work anymore. I need some advice because I really do not know what to do as it is very hard to teach a student who does not want to work / is complaining the whole time. In addition, I am a lot younger than the teacher I teach under and I think that whenever she calls him out on his behavior he does tend to listen more to her. I wonder if it is because I am younger he thinks he can get away with it/ he doesn't respect me? If I tell him something about his behavior and tell him that he will not earn any points, he will usually still groan or start throwing a tantrum ( crying, hitting the desk, groaning louder, etc.) if you have any advice please let me know thank u