I’m a parent of a 13 year old about to finish her first year of middle school. It has been a fight all year. She has an IEP. She’s autistic, has ADHD, PTSD, and learning disabilities. She’s in the mainstream classroom and gets supports in math and LA. Her math class is on grade level and is a small class (12 kids). She’s in a regular class for English with a resource teacher that can assist her. In math and English she’s doing fantastic for her. She’s got a B in math and a high C in English. However, in Science and Social studies where she has no supports beyond her basic IEP accommodations s ..read more

I need some advice so, i started this instructional assistant job in 4 months ago. The team I have has encouraged me to work with students and make them work. However, there is this one kid that will not work for me at all and it sounds like the team is not sure I am fit for this position. He will scream, kick, throw things. I also flinch cause i'm not used to getting beat up and they yell at me and say "be tough and use teacher voice" I'm struggling to find that voice in me. i'm too weak for this it seems. I honestly chose this because I needed a job and it already won't be my career choice ..read more

I can’t believe I just heard about this loophole to vaccine requirements. I’m sure some children legitimately do need the designation, but I believe to have learned of a family who sought this primarily to avert vaccines for their child. Have you heard about this? It’s the gap between IDEA and not denying services, and California’s mandatory vaccine laws. submitted by /u/legalsequel [visit reddit] [comments ..read more

Hi! I’ve been a para for 2 year at the high school level, and I’ve done just about every position you can think of. Next year I’ll be moving to an elementary school and I’m a bit overwhelmed. My undergrad was in psychology, and my graduate degree is completely online. In short, I feel like I have no proper training when it comes to teaching, and I just now realized that I’m going to have to come up with lesson plans, activities, and grading methods. Don’t get me wrong, I’m super excited! It’s just that I don’t know what the grade/performance levels I have are, or even how many students I will ..read more

Hello everyone, I just wanted to inquire about a pattern of attitudes I have seen in the 2 classrooms I have worked at. I feel like for certain kids, the adults in the room see their behaviors as being because of their disability. Sort of as though their behaviors are forces of nature. Then for other students the adults sort of treat their behaviors as due to their personalities or results of their choices. So like where do you draw that distinction? Just curious about your thoughts. submitted by /u/Abject_Dirt4540 [visit reddit] [comments ..read more

Hey guys, I’m doing research for my school project on how/where the special education system is failing and what they’re doing wrong and why(and how to fix it). I wanted to know if you guys have any recommendations of topics I should talk about/touch on during my presentation(or any interesting statistics), as I wouldn’t want to miss any of the flaws in the system or even what is done right in special education. submitted by /u/Pretend-Ad-2256 [visit reddit] [comments ..read more

I have an interview on Monday. No junior high experience, some experience with ID/low incidence. Never really thought I’d go back to self contained, but the move would be to a better district and significantly higher pay so I’m considering it. What questions should I ask the school on Monday? I’ve already written a full page, but what to see if I’m missing anything. Also, anyone who works in ID/low incidence, I’d love to hear your experience. submitted by /u/shoelessgreek [visit reddit] [comments ..read more

I noticed my local district has 10+ para jobs unfilled for summer, and there are still 30-40+ listings for last year sitting active (and updated that they're still unfilled for the coming school year). I hope y'all don't look down too much on me for asking this (I have the upmost appreciation for those who do SPED jobs out of love -- but ultimately It'd be a job for me and a certain amount of money entails a certain amount of work..) To put it bluntly: The advertised wages are not acceptable considering the requirement of toileting students. they're offering $18-20/hr, which is more commensur ..read more

I'm nearing the end of my second year as an elementary special education teacher. I'm moving to the high school next year. As a relatively new teacher, I'm still learning the job and what it all entails. I have a very faint understanding of what resources are available for students with a learning disability. I've heard some students with severe cognitive disabilities qualify for DD services where a different, community-based case manager connects them to other resources and benefits. I've heard families qualify for social security with students with disabilities. I know there's also differen ..read more

Hi, My son is in kindergarten and has been receiving speech and OT 1x a week in school and also afterschool through private pay since he was in preschool. He has an autism diagnosis. He recently had his triennial evaluation at school for his IEP and the school OT is saying he no longer needs OT based on the results of the evaluations they conducted. So they are removing the service. He still has trouble with writing his letters, opening his lunch box, unbuttoning and buttoning his pants to use the restroom and other fine motor issues. In the private pay OT he is working on in hand manipulatio ..read more