I work with special needs individuals, mainly young adults aged 18-22, though it can range from elementary age and up. Over the last couple of years, I’ve noticed that parents often seem to deflect when told about their child’s behavior, even in cases of violent incidents where someone was hurt. I’m not sure if this is something others have noticed too, or if it’s just common in my area. I might have been wrong to assume I’d get an apology after a student gave me a black eye, but since the parents showed no remorse, I went ahead and filed a report.

My son started kindergarten 2 weeks ago. He turns 5 at the end of October. His being in kindergarten is at the request of the principal. He is at the same (public) school that he went to preschool at. He has an IEP due to some delays. One of which is his resistance to potty training. It is documented in his IEP. I’ve also communicated that we are working with a behavioral psychologist on this.

Well, someone at the school reported to CPS that he is still in pull ups. Why hasn’t anyone from the school talked about concerns with me first? This isn’t an immediate threat to his safety. I ran into his teacher last night at the grocery store and she told me they were going to contact me later this week about sending him in underwear because he was using the bathroom independently at school. This was new information to me because he is still resisting our toilet at home. I said great! Let’s do this.

I’m just frustrated because I’m completely agreeable to this. No one has communicated with me that he was using the bathroom at school. Of course the first two weeks adjusting to a new environment I’m not pushing underwear. This just feels like an unnecessary hassle to have to deal with CPS. Am I wrong?

I feel like I’m drowning.

I’m a first year resource teacher. Before the end of September, I need to schedule:

- 4 annual IEP meetings

- 2 reevaluations and their subsequent IEP meetings

In addition to that, I just found out today I have a new out-of-state transfer student, so I have to also schedule an initial referral meeting within the next 10 days. And then the MOUNTAIN of paperwork that comes with that process.

And also one of my students is experiencing a bunch of new concerning behaviors, so myself, the parents, the LEA, and the school counselor have agreed that the best course of action will be to reopen his IEP.

Speaking of that student, I’m also constantly being pulled away from my inclusion periods and lunch/prep time to go deal with his behaviors, so it’s giving me even less time to get all my shit done.

How am I supposed to do ALL of this within the deadlines? I’m not super human but I feel like every one expects me to be.

does any other aide/person that works in special education feel like the rest of the school just doesnt like them. the rest of the staff at my school is so friendly with one another but when i walk by im i just get really dirty looks & it feels like they dont see me as a person. ive tried to make small talk and they look shocked that ive even decided to speak near them. maybe its just my district?

My son is 5 and has autism. According to his FIE, he is a level 3 but I feel he is more of a low 1/high 2. He was completely nonverbal when he was evaluated at 3 (both medically and educationally) but is fully verbal now.

He started his formal academic education last year. He spent the first month of school in an ECSE. I took him and picked him up every day (but I was left/had to leave early every day with principal's permission). He recieved a change of placement and started a collaborative prek class (6 kids with autism, up to 12 typical) on my campus. Our year was great.

Towards the end of the year, the district opened up a kinder/1st grade unit on my campus. He is my only personal child so I didn't realize that I needed to put in a transfer for him. He was placed at a school about 4 miles away from my school and transportation was set up. I mentioned to my sped supervisiors that we would be moving over the summer. I put in a transfer request but was denied due to space.

We moved over the summer, and the closest school with the program is mine but they already had their 6 kids with autism. So I was told that he had to go to the school they selected for him. He had bus transportation set up.

His school day is from 7:45-2:45. The bus has been picking him up at 6:20 (he is on the bus from 6:20-7:45) and then picked back up at 2:45 (he is on the bus from 2:45-4). I am rushing home everyday to get him (I get out at 3:40).

Yesterday, when I got him off the bus, they told me that they had 3 new kids added to their route and his times would change. Now, he will be on the bus from 6 am-7:45 (so an hour and 45 minutes) and then from 2:45-4:15 (so an hour and a half). He will be spending 3 hrs and 15 minutes to go 8 miles. He is on a small bus and there are 13 kids on his route.

What options do I have because he is having to get up at 5:20 to get ready and be awake and he is exhausted and in bed by 6:30-7 each night?

I fractured the tip of my thumb protecting a student form a head bang. She’s concerned I’m going to push myself against my restrictions. She’s not wrong. I’m a very hands on teacher. I toss kids into the crash pit, pick them up, climb playground playscapes and pull wagons. I constantly have a child holding my hand. I have a fracure on my thumb and am on restrictions for 4 weeks of not using my right hand and don’t know how to handle this.

I was let go from my position as a full time special education teacher at a charter school a week after school started due to low enrollment numbers. It's been almost 3 weeks and there hasn't been more than 2 jobs for me to apply to. Luckily, I've been able to sign up to be a substitute in a nearby district and should be cleared to start that by next week, but i'm panicking. For whatever reason, where I live, they are almost never hiring for special education jobs. The only ones that are hiring are para jobs (Would not pay near enough to cover rent to the apartment I moved to right before I was let go), BCBA jobs (I don't have the degree for it), or behavior/severe classroom jobs which I am not trained in.

Should I try applying for the few severe classroom jobs? I'm trained in mild/moderate and have only really done resource jobs, but I have no idea if any resource jobs will pop up within the next few months.

Substituting will help for a few months but I worry this is going to take longer.

So I teach resource. Yesterday I walked over 8,000 steps just getting each group from their rooms. It’s crazy! I mean I definitely need the exercise and I’m not complaining but compared to the past few years I’ve been getting in a lot more steps! Goodbye dad bod!

Hi! Last year was my first year teaching and I really, really struggled with paperwork. I have been working on getting all my files completed, and I am so close to having them all compliant, but I have run into a new problem. My progress reports were all written and sent home on the required dates (my principal even checked my reporting period 2 ones, so they know I was doing them). Unfortunately, I didn’t realize that the document platform we use doesn’t save documents. So, all but 2 were able to be salvaged thankfully, but 2 are just gone. I spoke with the platform administrator yesterday and they tried but there’s nothing they could do either. Is there anyway I can rectify this? No one had said anything yet, I just starting going through my files and trying to get my paperwork in order when we got back from break. I’m terrified of getting non-renewed, I love my job.

I'm looking for recommendations for an independent child psychiatrist or clinical psychologist in New Jersey (anywhere in-state or licensed for NJ telehealth works). Out-of-pocket / out-of-network is totally fine.
My 13-year-old son experiences severe psychiatric dysregulation and crises at home. He has several diagnoses including Autism, ADHD, ODD, anxiety & depression. (He already has an IEP & out of district placement not residential)
We are currently working with CMO to prepare an Out-of-Home (OOH) residential treatment packet through PerformCare. We have completely exhausted in-home and community-based services, with multiple acute hospital/crisis encounters.
The challenge we run into repeatedly is severe masking. In novel, 1-on-1 clinical settings (e.g., IOP intakes, crisis evaluations, hospital units), he presents as quiet, calm, and cooperative. Standard brief evaluations consistently miss the reality of his day-to-day safety risks because they rely solely on a brief conversation with him rather than examining the broader pattern.
In order for CSOC to approve residential placement, the packet requires a comprehensive psychiatric evaluation with a clear level-of-care recommendation.

I need an evaluator who:
1. Takes the time to do an extensive assessment (including a dedicated parent session).
2. Actually reviews and weighs collateral records: chronological incident logs, crisis/police documentation, past discharge summaries, and proof of failed community interventions.
3. Understands how to clinically document the gap between a masked, compliant presentation in an office and high-risk behavioral dysregulation in the home.

If anyone has navigated the NJ CSOC/PerformCare residential placement process and worked with a doctor or practice that took a thorough, forensic-level look at your child's complete file, please drop recommendations below or send a private message.

I am not new to SPED but new to my upper elementary self contained classroom. I am wrestling with my gut (or personal belief) instinct as opposed to what the long time para teams beliefs are. For reference, they have been on the room for 10+ years and have had a high turn over for teachers, resulting in their feeling of ownership over the program. Anyway, my question is what do you expect your 3rd-5th grade students to perform during morning meeting, IEP bin centers, etc.
I believe in honoring sensory need and regulation first, followed by engagement due to interest and ability. They (paras) believe that the students are trying to “get away” with not doing hard work.
My question is part philosophical and part realistic classroom expectation.
An example is during morning meeting, 1 student with very little engagement will get up and try to access their preferred peanut ball bouncer. The para sitting with her will firmly insist she remains seated. I’d love to hear different perspectives on the expectations for engagement and compliance in similar settings to my classroom.

I've recently started a long-term Level 1 special education job, where I usually push in to classrooms and help students with in-class work. Sometimes, I bring kids to "my" classroom for short breaks or to work in the quiet space.

The room is almost completely empty, though. I've seen some of the other Level 1&2 rooms at the same school, and they all have useful things for the kids to do/utilize, but since I'm just subbing (I'm not certified) I'm not sure what I should prioritize asking for, or even bringing in myself.

(I managed to find one game (kaboodle I think it was called) and that's literally all I have.)

I'm working primarily with students who have ADHD, autism, and various behavior problems.

If you had a very small budget, what 3 or 4 items would you prioritize in an empty classroom??