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Teaching to Diversity

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Series on Designing Literacy Development in the Hybrid Classroom

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Series on Designing Literacy Development in the Hybrid Classroom

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Session 1: Becoming Expert Readers & Writers
Session 2: Accessibility in Hybrid Literacy
Session 3: Engaging in Literacy
Session 4: Executive Functions
Session 5: Building Comprehension

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Transitioning Back to School Visual Support Video

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Transitioning Back to School Visual Support Video

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This is a Story About Safety Procedures at My School

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This is a Story About Safety Procedures at My School

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Modeling Wearing Masks for Older Students

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Modeling Wearing Masks for Older Students

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Antecedent Based Intervention Info Packet

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Antecedent Based Intervention Info Packet

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From the State Director of Special Education

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From the State Director of Special Education

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The Educator Workforce Investment Grant (EWIG) Special Education (SE) grantee, the Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST), has created a video series on Universally Designing assessments in the virtual classroom and is planning to release one video in the series every two weeks. The series comes with a playbook that is also available for free.

Information on the second video is below:

Have you ever given a literacy assessment and thought, “Gosh, I’m just not sure the results of this assessment really show what my students know.” You’re not alone. Assessments are challenging, and knowing how to evaluate assessments to find out how effective they are is a skill we all need to build.

In this video from CAST, you will learn:

·         The importance of evaluating our assessments to ensure they accurately measure our learning goals

·         The differences between construct relevant and construct irrelevant information in assessments

·         How to align your assessments with the learning goals, materials, and methods in your instructional design

·         The steps for evaluating assessments effectively to ensure they’re really measuring what students know and can do

Beyond the bubble sheet, let’s make assessments that are useful, engaging, and a true reflection of literacy learning.

Watch Evaluating Assessments today.

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Cutting isn't new, but this form of self-injury (SI) has been out in the open more in recent years, portrayed in movies and on TV - even talked about by celebrities who have admitted to cutting themselves at some point.

Cutting is a serious issue that affects many teens. Even if you haven't heard about cutting, chances are good that your teen has and might even know someone who does it. Like other risky behaviors, cutting can be dangerous and habit-forming. In most cases, it is also a sign of deeper emotional distress. In some cases, peers can influence teens to experiment with cutting.

The topic of cutting can be troubling for parents. It can be hard to understand why a teen would deliberately self-injure, and worrisome to think your teen - or one of your teen's friends - could be at risk.

But parents who are aware of this important issue and understand the emotional pain it can signal are in a position to help.

What Is Cutting?

Someone who cuts uses a sharp object to make marks, cuts, or scratches on the body on purpose - enough to break the skin and cause bleeding. People typically cut themselves on their wrists, forearms, thighs, or belly. They might use a razorblade, knife, scissors, a metal tab from a soda can, the end of a paper clip, a nail file, or a pen. Some people burn their skin with the end of a cigarette or lighted match.

Most people who self-injure are girls, but guys do it too. It usually starts during the teen years and can continue into adulthood. In some cases, there's a family history of cutting.

A sense of shame and secrecy often goes along with cutting. Most teens who cut hide the marks and if they're noticed, make up excuses about them. Some teens don't try to hide cuts and might even call attention to them.

Cutting often begins as an impulse. But many teens discover that once they start to cut, they do it more and more, and can have trouble stopping. Many teens who self-injure report that cutting provides a sense of relief from deep painful emotions. Because of this, cutting is a behavior that tends to reinforce itself.

Cutting can become a teen's habitual way to respond to pressures and unbearable feelings. Many say they feel "addicted" to the behavior. Some would like to stop but don't know how or feel they can't. Other teens don't want to stop cutting.

Most of the time, cutting is not a suicide attempt. But sadly, people often underestimate the potential to get seriously sick or hurt through bleeding or infections that go along with cutting.

Why Do Teens Cut?

Teens cut for many different reasons:

Powerful overwhelming emotions. Most teens who cut are struggling with powerful emotions. To them, cutting might seem like the only way to express or interrupt feelings that seem too intense to endure. Emotional pain over rejection, lost or broken relationships, or deep grief can be overwhelming for some teens.

And many times they're dealing with emotional pain or difficult situations that no one knows about. Pressure to be perfect or to live up to impossible standards - their own or someone else's - can cause some teens unbearable pain. Some teens who cut have been deeply hurt by harsh treatment or by situations that have left them feeling unsupported, powerless, unworthy, or unloved.

Some teens have experienced trauma, which can cause waves of emotional numbness called dissociation. For them, cutting can be a way of testing whether they can still "feel" pain. Others describe cutting as a way of "waking up" from that emotional numbness.

Self-inflicted physical pain is specific and visible. For some, the physical pain of cutting can seem preferable to emotional pain. Emotional pain can feel vague and hard to pinpoint, talk about, or soothe.

When they cut, teens say there is a sense of control and relief to see and know where the specific pain is coming from and a sense of soothing when it stops. Cutting can symbolize inner pain that might not have been verbalized, confided, acknowledged, or healed. And because it's self-inflicted, it is pain the teen controls.

A sense of relief. Many teens who cut describe the sense of relief they feel as they're cutting, which is common with compulsive behaviors. Some people believe that endorphins might add to the relief teens describe when they cut. Endorphins are the "feel-good" hormones released during intense physical exertion. And they can be released during an injury.

Others believe the relief is simply a result of being distracted from painful emotions by intense physical pain and the dramatic sight of blood. Some teens say they don't feel the pain when they cut, but feel relieved because the visible SI "shows" emotional pain they feel.

Feeling "addicted." Cutting can be habit forming. Though it only provides temporary relief from emotional distress, the more a person cuts, the more he or she feels the need to do it. As with other compulsive behaviors, the brain starts to connect a momentary sense of relief from bad feelings with the act of cutting.

Whenever the tension builds, the brain craves that relief and drives the teen to seek relief again by cutting. So cutting can become a habit someone feels powerless to stop. The urge to cut - to get relief - can seem too hard to resist when emotional pressure is high.

Other mental health conditions. Cutting is often linked to - or part of - another mental health condition. Some teens who cut are also struggling with other urges, obsessions, or compulsive behaviors. For some, depression or bipolar disorder can contribute to overwhelming moods that might be difficult for a teen to regulate. For others, mental health conditions that affect personality can cause relationships to feel intense and consuming, but unsteady. For these teens, intense positive attachments can suddenly become terribly disappointing and leave them feeling hurt, anger, or despair too strong to cope with.

Other teens struggle with personality traits that attract them to the dangerous excitement of risky behavior or self-destructive acts. Some are prone to dramatic ways of getting reassurance that they are loved and cared about. For others, posttraumatic stress has had an effect on their ability to cope. Or they're struggling with alcohol or substance problems.

Peer pressure. Some teens are influenced to start cutting by another person who does it. For example, a teen girl might try cutting because her boyfriend cuts. Group peer pressure can play a role too. Some teens cut in groups and might pressure others to cut. A teen might give in to group pressure to try cutting as a way to seem cool or bold, to belong, or to avoid social bullying.

Any of these factors may help to explain why a particular teen cuts. But each teen also has unique feelings and experiences that play a role. Some who cut might not be able to explain why they do it.

Regardless of the factors that may lead a teen to self-injure, cutting isn't a healthy way to deal with even the most extreme emotions or pressures.

Confronting Cutting

Some teens call attention to their self-injury. Or if the SI requires medical attention, that might be a way others find out. But many teens cut for a long time before anyone else knows. Some teens eventually tell someone about their self-injury - because they want help and want to stop, or because they just want someone to understand what they're going through.

It can take courage and trust to reach out. Many teens hesitate to tell others because they fear being misunderstood or worry that someone might be angry, upset, disappointed, shocked, or judgmental. Some teens confide in friends, but ask them not to tell. This can create burden and worry for a friend who knows.

If confronted about the cutting, teens can respond in different ways, depending partly on the teen and partly on the how they were approached by it. Some might deny the cutting, while others might admit to it, but deny that it's a problem. Some might get angry and upset or reject efforts to help. Some teens are relieved that someone knows, cares, and wants to help.

Bringing a Halt to Cutting

Whether or not anyone else knows or has tried to help, some teens cut for a long time before they try to stop. Teens whose cutting is part of another mental health condition usually need professional help. Sometimes cutting or another symptom leads to a teen's admission to a mental health hospital or clinic. Some teens have more than one hospital stay for self-injury before they feel ready to accept help for cutting or other problems.

Some teens find a way to stop cutting on their own. This might happen if a teen finds a powerful reason to stop (such as realizing how much it hurts a friend), gets needed support, or finds ways to resist the powerful urge to cut. To stop cutting, a person also needs to find new ways to deal with problem situations and regulate emotions that feel overwhelming. This can take time and often requires the help of a mental health professional.

It can be difficult to stop cutting and a teen might not succeed at first. Some people stop for a while and then start cutting again. It takes determination, courage, strength - as well as support from others who understand and care - to break this powerful habit.

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Cutting isn't new, but this form of self-injury (SI) has been out in the open more in recent years, portrayed in movies and on TV - even talked about by celebrities who have admitted to cutting themselves at some point. Cutting is a serious issue that affects many teens.

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How to Use Google Jamboard for Remote Teaching

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Best Practices for Educating Online by eLuma  CEC.pdf

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Special Education Distance Learning Innovative Solutions Work group

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Special Education Distance Learning Innovative Solutions Work group

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Author's note: Versions of this article have appeared in LDA Today (formerly LDA NEWSBRIEFS), as well as archived on www.LDonline.org . It is also included in serialized form in the author's blog on The Huffington Post.. Minor modifications have been made in this version, so that it could be shared as part of the LDA Calendar "31 Days of LD" that has been created to celebrate October as Learning Disabilities Awareness Month. I am pleased to have it included in this creative repository of helpful and informative materials. I hope you enjoy it. I would appreciate hearing your response to it. The best place to do that is to post on my twitter account (@docschultz), so that others can join in the discussion. -Jerome J. Schultz, Ph.D.
For many students with brain-based learning disabilities, the unrelenting frustration involved in taking in, processing and producing information is a rather chronic condition. The cycle of challenge and defeat is not unlike the punishment of Sisyphus, the king of Corinth who according to Greco-Roman mythology was punished in Hades by having to push a huge boulder up a steep hill, only to have it roll incessantly back down. For kids with LD, there may be occasional plateaus or small ledges on which this stone can rest (summer vacations?), but most of these kids experience school as a difficult, frustrating and emotionally unsettling place. Too few know the joys that come from repeated successes; too many are beaten down very early by the implied message that they are supposed to be able to do what the other kids do, and do it as easily.
Pre-Inclusion

In the pre-inclusionary times of the mid-seventies and early eighties, college graduates who had trained to be special educators found work in learning centers, resource rooms or self-contained programs that were designed to meet the needs of students with Learning Disabilities. They had the time to work with a relatively small number of students and provide them with intensive, direct instruction-an approach that these newly-minted teachers had learned would be effective with these students. When well implemented, that model of service delivery worked amazingly well. Kids with learning disabilities learned. They moved through school with a feeling of competence, and many became successful, happy and productive adults. Many of us who worked in schools at this time thought that these were the "glory days" of the field of Learning Disabilities. But as it often does in special education, the pendulum of change began to swing.

The Inclusion Movement

Over the next several decades-primarily as a consequence of the inclusion movement and the ascension of high stakes testing-we have witnessed a dramatic reduction in specialized, intensive instructional programs for students with LD, and a corresponding large-scale return of students with LD and other types of disabilities to regular classes. While the intentions of the inclusion movement were admirable-a long overdue chance for handicapped individuals to experience the dignity that comes from equal opportunity-the efficacy of so-called inclusion for students with learning disabilities was, and continues to be a huge disappointment.

A majority of the teachers working in general education classrooms had been trained as "regular" teachers and not as special educators. Despite excellent training and praiseworthy teaching skills, many of these professionals find themselves insufficiently prepared or inadequately supported to meet the special needs of students with LD who have been assigned to their classes. If you doubt this, all you have to do is ask them when their boss is not listening. The public assertion that inclusion is an effective approach for students with LD is simply an updated version of Hans Christian Andersen's tale of The Emperor's New Clothes. The failure of a general education delivery model for students with LD continues to result in long waiting lists at many excellent independent LD schools across the country. Just ask any special education director whose budgets are busted by "out-of-district" placements!

Intensive Instruction

Despite abundant research and clinical observations that students with LD require and benefit from intensive instruction, this model is not often offered in public schools. Intensive instruction is characterized by flexible teaching approaches, use of a wide variety of instructional materials and technologies, and a belief that the goal of teaching is to accelerate student progress by any means possible. This is a species of education that would be headed for extinction, were it not for the visions of a few brave souls who are breeding the few remaining specimens in an effort to increase the herd. And there is a correlation between those out-of-district placement budgets and the efforts to breathe life into an old model. (Which, incidentally, turns out to be much less expensive than the private school option. Ask special education directors how many parents would be overjoyed if the school set up a self-contained, highly specialized, well-staffed in-house LD classroom.)

Suffice it to say that I am worried. As a neuropsychologist specializing in the interaction of stress and learning disabilities, I am worried about the mental health of kids and I am worried about their families. And as a teacher educator, I worry about teachers. A lot. Thousands of good general educators are being asked to educate millions of kids who need more than they have the time or expertise to give. And don't get me started about the over-use of inadequately trained instructional aides to solve this problem!

All is not gloom and doom. There is hope. From my perspective, one of the major contributions of inclusion which is well conceived and well supported, has been the transformation that takes place when talented and motivated regular and special educators work together as members of a collaborative team. In schools that have "done inclusion right" I have witnessed the emergence of a new breed of professional who creatively builds bridges between curriculum and kids with learning disabilities, ADHD, Asperger Syndrome and other conditions that can derail learning. In the paragraphs that follow, I would like to introduce you what I have come to call the Hybrid Teacher. This might not be a solution for the dearth or (death) of self-contained specialized programs in which intensive specialized instruction can take place, but perhaps it's a way to do some damage control.

Let me use this opportunity to share the characteristics of this new breed of teacher, so that you will recognize one when you see her or him. In my view, a professional with many of the traits listed below is the closest thing I can find to a "great teacher" for kids with learning disabilities.

The Hybrid Teacher...

Understands the relationship between emotion and cognition.

Unless she's working with a child who is known to have primary emotional disturbance, she does not assume that learning difficulties are the consequence of being upset. Rather, she understands that emotional reactions and in many cases, negative behaviors are coping mechanisms triggered by the stress generated by frustration and fear of what a child sees as inevitable failure. She does not use this understanding to excuse, or allow the student to excuse this behavior, but to help explain it and work through it or around it. She also understands that many of these negative emotions and troubling behaviors go away when students feel competent and successful.

Knows that students learn in different ways.

This does not trivialize by saying: "He's a visual learner." The Hybrid Teacher says things like: Because testing and my observations have confirmed that Jamilla can't hold on to the auditory images of [sounds, syllables, words, sentences, paragraphs, my voice, the voices of many kids and teachers in the cafeteria, the sequence of directions, etc. etc., etc.), I need her to understand that (1) this task is going to be difficult and (2) that she has the skills, or that I am going to teach her the skills to handle this task, and (3) that some of the other kids may not have to use these tools, but that she does, and (4) that she will be successful if she does.

Focuses on the learner first and the curriculum second.

He takes the student to a place of cognitive and psychological safety before venturing into deeper waters of new material. He reviews not what was taught yesterday, but the student's feeling of success with that material. This teacher understands the importance of creating a positive connection to prior learning, of tapping into a student's positive emotions about a task or a topic, and helping students recognize and reduce negative influences on learning (e.g., automatically saying or thinking: I can't DO math!") by practicing thought-stopping techniques and generating positive self-statements that are tied to actual successful experiences.

Demonstrates the ability to expose students to a variety of stimuli.

He also knows when students are connected emotionally and cognitively to the experience. The Hybrid Teacher also gives students the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned in a variety of ways, and publicly values these alternative ways to display knowledge and skills.

Is guided and energized by finding out what facilitates effective learning and what gets in the way.

The focus of teaching is to minimize the impediments by educating the learner about his own cognitive style, modifying the curriculum without lowering standards, and creating a learning space in which students can feel safe and competent.

Praises the process that students use as often or more than the product they create.

Teachers who ask kids "how did you get that answer" generally get a scowl or a "huh?" response, which isn't very reinforcing. When Hybrid Teachers get a blank stare in response to this question, they give the student a couple of possible choices ("because you took all the distracting things off your desk," or "I noticed that you put on the headphones to block out the noise from the classroom." This can generate an "Oh, yeah" response; the next time the question is asked, that student is more likely to come up with an answer that address how she figured something out. That's the behavior of a successful learner.

Understands that it's not about having kids work harder, but rather that they work smarter.

Hybrid Teachers ask kids what strategies they have used in the past to be successful in any kind of learning (in school or outside of school) and helps to translate that skill and recreate that positive learning experience in the classroom. We all know the student who can take apart and rebuild a computer but can't read. The Hybrid Teacher focuses on how the student learned to do the former and uses that knowledge as a basis for specialized instruction in reading. If a child says "I remember everything I see" the Hybrid Teacher capitalizes on that strength by developing a sight word vocabulary or a symbol system that supplements weak language processing skills. This kind of "mining for assets" leads to increased success and the confidence that comes from it.

Knows that it's important to separate skill instruction from content acquisition.

A blind student may not be able to read small print, but she can certainly learn content. Making modifications in that case is a "no-brainer." Hybrid Teachers keep that image in mind when they work with students with visual perceptual difficulties that get in the way of fluent reading. Remember that when poor readers rely on reading to gain knowledge, they miss a lot of information. Students who have problems holding words or sounds in working memory simply cannot benefit from a lecture that's not supported by visual cues. Remember what it's like to know just a little Spanish when you try to understand those rapidly delivered directions to the airport in Mexico City.

Is willing to take a risk when it comes for advocating for a student with LD in her classroom.

It takes courage tell an administrator that "This kid will just not be successful without some significant supports-more than I'm able to give in this classroom even though I'm awesome."

Examines his classroom practices to identify what works and what doesn't.

These teachers are more likely than other teachers to want to work with another adult, ask for feedback about performance, go to professional conferences and inservice training with the needs of individual students in mind, and be willing and able to teach others what they know.

Knows how to work as a team with the student as the key member.

Building and maintaining relationships with the family takes time and a sincere desire to hear the family's story. Giving the family the time to tell a teacher what worked and what didn't in the past, or what the struggles are around homework, yields data that may be more important than any test score. Reaching out to physicians to get and give information if medication or health issues are involved is an important skill. Working with ancillary personnel in the school (speech therapists, occupational therapists, etc.) and helping them help the teacher incorporate therapeutic interventions in the classroom is critically important.

Understands that cultural and language factors play an important role in learning.

Just because a student "speaks good English" doesn't rule out the possibility that there is confusion between the first and second language or that delays in language processing or reading are related to the simultaneous translation that's going on in the student's head. Hybrid Teachers are able to read subtle but important behaviors such as eye contact or physical proximity, and accurately interpret them in the social/cultural context of the child. She knows how to differentiate a language difference from a learning disability or knows who to ask.

Is able to cover the curriculum by understanding the child.

To consider each child as a unique individual is for these teachers not just a euphemism; this belief is acted upon minute by minute, even in large and diverse classrooms. Each child is connected to the teacher by a line. For some students, it's a gossamer spider's thread that registers every movement of the learner; for others it's a large ship's cable that takes a powerful action to get it to move. The Hybrid Teacher is connected to kids and kids are connected to this teacher most of the time. This allows the teacher to be responsive to not only the student with LD, but all learners in the classroom.

The Last Word:

I know that there are other traits that distinguish this teacher. The reader can add to this list, as I will as time goes on. By the way, I forgot to mention: The Hybrid Teacher is always a twin, or has been cloned, so that one of them can sleep, eat, do research on best teaching practices and go to the toilet while the other teaches.

In all seriousness, it is a delight to watch these teachers in action. They are everywhere if you look. They may be young or old; they can be professionally trained or "natural" teachers. Parents need to seek them out, reward them, advocate for more time, money and resources to support them, praise them for their work and bring them flowers. If your child gets one of these teachers every two or three years, he or she is probably going to be ok. Administrators need to pay these people more money, praise them more, show them off more. They are the hope for children with learning disabilities in these changing and challenging times, and my experience suggests that we have reason to be hopeful. Let me know if you know one of these exquisite creatures.

Author: Jerome J. Schultz, Ph.D.
For over 35 years Dr. Jerome (Jerry) Schultz has specialize in the neuropsychological assessment and treatment of children and adolescents with learning disabilities, ADHD, Asperger Syndrome and other special needs. He earned his B.A. and M.A. from The Ohio State University and holds a Ph.D. from Boston College. Having started out his professional career as a middle school special education teacher, he subsequently directed several hospital or university-based clinics for children and families. He is now on the faculty of the Harvard Medical School in the Department of Psychiatry, and teaches psychologists and psychiatrists about students with special needs.

In addition to his clinical work and teaching, Dr. Schultz serves as an international consultant and offers professional development to schools and organizations on issues related to the neuropsychology and appropriate education of children with special needs. He is respected for his realistic, practical and supportive work with teachers who are committed to meeting the needs of children with fragile emotions and challenging behaviors. Currently, Dr. Schultz serves as the in-house mental health consultant to several large public school systems in the Boston area.

Dr. Schultz served for many years as the Expert on Learning Disabilities and ADHD at www.familyeducation.com, a website for parents and teachers, and has been a contributor to www.ldonline.org. He sits on the Editorial Advisory Board of the LDA Journal, Learning Disabilities, and is on the Advisory Board of www.insideADHD.com, and www.myEdGPS.com. His highly praised book Nowhere to Hide: Why Kids with ADHD and LD Hate School and What We Can Do About It examines the relationship between stress and learning. Dr. Schultz is the Chair of the Professional Advisory Board of LDA and has been a frequent presenter and keynoter at LDA State and National Conference. Learn more about Dr. Schultz at www.jeromeschultz.com. Twitter: @docschultz, Huffington Post Blog: www.huffingtonpost.com/jerome-schultz/.

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Introducing The Hybrid Teacher: Hope for Students with LD in the General Education Classroom

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Author's note: Versions of this article have appeared in LDA Today (formerly LDA NEWSBRIEFS), as well as archived on www.LDonline.org . It is also included in serialized form in the author's blog on The Huffington Post..

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If you are interested, email Vikki

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DisruptED TV 213   avail, Lisa Marie Clinton

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Universal Design and Distance Learning Free Webinar via Zoom

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Universal Design and Distance Learning Free Webinar via Zoom

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Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: Implementing Universal Design for Learning (UDL) in a Distance Learning Environment. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar.

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Hosted by the Curriculum Frameworks and Instructional Resources Division in collaboration with the California Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Coalition, this webinar will provide information on UDL, a framework that can assist in the planning of instruction through a lens of equity and inclusion, whether that instruction is delivered in a classroom or from a distance.

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In special education, teachers say that schedules, sensory supports, and close collaboration with families can help smooth the transition to remote learning during coronavirus.

Katie Papaccioli, a special education teacher in New York City, holds up a student's lesson.

Around the nation, K-12 schools are frantically trying to adapt to abrupt closures during the coronavirus. But while all teachers are struggling with the new normal, special education teachers in particular are facing unparalleled challenges transitioning both their teaching-and their students and families-to home-based instruction tailored to each student's needs.

"When you say 'special education,' you are talking about an umbrella of ages, interests, abilities, and disabilities, within which are individual needs identified by their Individualized Education Program," explains Margaret Shafer, a third-grade teacher in Morton, Illinois, echoing questions raised by our readers, who wonder how they can provide sufficient support for each of their students who each have very different requirements to learn.

Unlike developing a whole-class lesson plan online, special education teachers are now tasked with developing unique plans for every student that align with their IEPs, as required by federal mandate. One huge hurdle, teachers say, is determining if both the learning and services students are accustomed to receiving in school-things like gross motor remediation and behavioral therapy-can even be offered in a home-based setting or through digital resources.

Both special education and general education teachers have also questioned how much parents and caregivers will be able to help, given that students with special needs often rely on specialized coaching and instruction like cues or sensory activities that keep them on task. "[My students] are non-verbal and need one-on-one direct instruction with multiple prompts or redirection," explained Beth McGreevy Dworak on Facebook. "Many have attention and behavior deficits and are unable to independently complete most tasks."

Additionally, many students with special needs thrive within the structure of the school day, say educators in our audience, who worry students may be disproportionately impacted by the upheaval brought on by the coronavirus.

But though the new reality is a sudden and upsetting shift, special education educators already have some ideas on how to make the best of it.

Setting up Home-Based Learning

While time is of the essence, special education educators recommend working on establishing an appropriate learning environment and objectives for students and their families before launching into a detailed list of to-dos and daily activities.

What's it like at home? Phone calls to families early on can give teachers a sense of each students' home set-up. Teachers can ask questions like: Will parents be home all day? Will they be working while at home? Is internet available? What electronic devices can students use? Is there space in the home to set aside for gross motor or sensory activities? Teachers can then map individualized plans to the available resources.

"The teacher's work transforms from a direct learning model to a coaching model: The teacher now supports the families through the process of understanding school expectations and goals and objectives," said Patti Sullivan-Kowalski, a senior director of student supports and special education in Meriden, Connecticut.

Recalibrate goals and objectives: After understanding each student's circumstances, Kathryn Fishman-Weaver, director of academic affairs and engagement for Mizzou Academy, suggests that teachers evaluate which IEP goals are achievable in the new environment, and then work with families to break learning targets into manageable benchmarks.

According to federal regulations, schools have greater flexibility in meeting IEP objectives during the pandemic and should work to the best of their ability to provide what services they can-even if they are digital-recognizing these services may not be the same as what a student receives in school.

Proactively engage (but be flexible): Parents are also likely to need continuous guidance, say educators, who advise checking in regularly with families via phone, video conference, or email to make sure they feel supported. For parents and caregivers whose first language is not English, educators encourage translation services like a three-way interpreter to ensure sufficient communication. The Meriden school district created a Google classroom group just for parents of children with special needs so they can connect to each other and swap ideas about what's working well (and what's not) at home.

Kathryn Nieves Licwinko, a special education teacher in Sparta, New Jersey, says teachers should try to be more flexible about their own hours, and make themselves available via different modes of communication to adjust to differing family circumstances.

"Many students have parents still working who are not home with them, so it becomes more difficult for them to complete assignments," she said. "I have students who haven't come into contact with me for a week now because they haven't been able to get onto their device and their parents aren't home to help."

Student Goals and Learning

Upending a regular routine can be especially upsetting for students with special needs, our audience asserted-so teachers and families should work together to create home learning activities that resemble the school day.

Emphasize structure: "Most of my students thrive under structure and routine. They benefit from having teaching staff available for constant instruction, clarification, and focus," said Eric Fieldman, a high school special education teacher in Collingswood, New Jersey. "Being at home, even with the same level of academic work, lacks the same focus and can lead to inconsistent work effort."

Fieldman and other teachers recommend creating a daily list of activities-broken into small chunks with plenty of breaks-that, if possible, follow a similar order to the schedule students had at school. Because many students with special needs respond well to visual cues, a schedule board (tactile or digital) with images of activities that prompt students what to do when can be helpful, teachers said. Fieldman also recommends using a kitchen timer, which reminds students of a bell schedule at school.

Dan Vollrath, a high school special education teacher in Flemington, New Jersey, adds that parents may even want to try having learning activities take place in different spaces or rooms in a home, as students are used to shifting locations at school depending on what they're learning.

Communicate with parents and caregivers clearly: While teachers are likely to create instructional videos (or written directions) for students, our special education educators also advise creating them for parents to teach them how to set up and support their children in various activities. Some video services offer translations for parents whose first language is not English. Teachers can also think of ways parents can use generic objects in the home to teach skills, like Cheerios, toothpicks, or pennies, which can be repurposed as math manipulatives.

Still, parents and teachers shouldn't feel everything from school can or even should be replicated. "There is not a perfect parent out there who can manufacture a full 'school experience' given the school, time, and resource limitations," said Sarah Kesty, a middle school special education teacher in Chula Vista, California. "It's OK not to replace school, and it's certainly OK not to plan every activity down to the minute."

Meeting sensory and movement needs: Educators also are keen to point out that students with special needs may need additional sensory modifications and supports-listed in their IEPs-to help them learn and grow. Teachers said parents can use simple objects like colored play dough and bubble wrap or brain-based games like Jenga if students need to release energy. Rice and beans placed inside pockets can substitute as a weighted vest or blanket to provide a sense of security, while writing and drawing in shaving cream can reduce tension while boosting language development. Even hugs, deep breathing, or allowing a child to run around outside can help.

Overall, teachers in our audience recommend keeping a level head and doing the best they can amid challenging circumstances.
Emelina Minero contributed to this article.
"I do believe that a lot of wonderful learning can take place for special education students at home," said Shafer. "However, special education is a complex web of strategies and activities dependent upon student needs, and at home, students are not likely to get the academic learning they would receive in the classroom. Still, we have no choice but to try."

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New Strategies in Special Education as Kids Learn From Home

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In special education, teachers say that schedules, sensory supports, and close collaboration with families can help smooth the transition to remote learning.

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Thanks Laura Daniel for this resource

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Your administration is asking you to teach students virtually... now what? You may be a confident brick-and-mortar teacher, but distance learning comes with a whole new set of challenges. Where to start? What resources are appropriate for an online lesson? How do we know the kids are even paying attention? This webinar will help answer these questions, and more! For this session, we will focus on online teaching basics, specifically on how to create an engaging, impactful live virtual lesson, so you can maintain that crucial personal connection with your students during this unique time.

Presenter: , CTA member and educator with 7 years of online teaching experience.

Best Practices for Virtual Teaching Recording (Recording now working! 3/26)

Best Practices for Virtual Teaching FAQ

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Your administration is asking you to teach students virtually... now what? You may be a confident brick-and-mortar teacher, but distance learning comes with a whole new set of challenges. Where to start? What resources are appropriate for an online lesson? How do we know the kids are even paying attention?

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EDUCATING ALL LEARNERS IN ALL LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS

An alliance dedicated to equity for complex learners

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Accessibility Statement

Educating All Learners is committed to providing a website that is accessible to the widest possible audience, regardless of circumstance and ability. We aim to adhere as closely as possible to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.0, Level AA), published by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). These guidelines explain how to make Web content more accessible for people with disabilities. Conformance with these guidelines will help make the web more user friendly to everyone.

Click on the blue circle widget in the upper right hand corner to change accessibility features such as contrast, highlight links, bigger text, text spacing, pause animations, dyslexia friendly, cursor, tooltips, line height, and text alignment.

1 in 5 children

in the U.S. have learning and attention issues such as dyslexia and ADHD (NCLD).

7.3 million

or 14 percent of all public school students, receive special education services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (NCES).

When supported effectively

students with disabilities grew in reading and math during the school year as much or more than never-SPED students (NWEA).

EDUCATING ALL LEARNERS IS FOR YOU.

As districts, educators, students and families continue to adjust to a variety of learning environments, the needs of students with disabilities are too often put on the back burner-instead, they must be considered from the beginning. Family communication, online instruction, teleconferencing and counseling, independent study, blended learning, needs assessment, and data tracking and analytics are each stronger and more effective when they are designed to meet the needs of all learners.

The Educating All Learners Alliance (EALA) is an uncommon coalition of organizations committed to resource sharing and community-building that supports the efforts of the education community to meet the needs of students with disabilities.

We are committed to showing the path to possible for practitioners by providing curated, searchable resources, access to experts, a tech library featuring accessibility features in edtech, and examples from the field.

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An alliance dedicated to equity for complex learners Search Resource Library Educating All Learners is committed to providing a website that is accessible to the widest possible audience, regardless of circumstance and ability. We aim to adhere as closely as possible to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.0, Level AA), published by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).

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Dr. Baked Potato: How can we scaffold complexity?

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Backwards Design: A great way to move forward!

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What are you a genius at? Getting to know our strengths

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Downloadable Resources & Strategies to Share with Parents

NEW! 10 Minute Tips from Boys Town National Training. Navigating this new normal can be challenging and we are here to help. Here are some short videos and resources that can help you as you navigate and adjust to things like working from home with your kids at home, helping your children be successful in school from home, maintaining schedules and regular routines, and all while modeling and teaching social skills.

How do I explain at home learning to my children? Try not to refer to schools as being "closed." For example, tell your children that we're learning at home for the coming weeks rather than learning in the classroom. This will help students to understand that learning isn't ending, we're just learning in a new environment.

Keeping a schedule. It's important to create a consistent and predictable environment for children at home. We've created a sample "schedule" for kids to stick to as they learn from home during the coming weeks. Click here to download.

Creating a daily plan with your kids can help them prioritize their day and stay on task. Use the "My Plan Today Is..." worksheet to help your children structure their day. Knowing what their need to's are reminds them what must get done so they can do move on to their want to's list.

Have a morning meeting with your child. Take a few minutes each morning to ask your children questions about their day. Here are a few ideas.

Establish a study place. Give school books and packets a home on a bookshelf or desk. Have students complete their study time in the same space and place while at home.

Consequences can be both positive and negative. A consequence is the outcome of behavior, which influences whether or not that behavior is likely to occur again in the future. For example, if your children are having a hard time following instructions or completing their study time, set a timer. The timer will keep track of the time it takes for the child to calm down and start the given task. Whether it takes 5 minutes or 45 minutes, your child has now earned the consequence of doing chores for that amount of time.

Another example might be, if a child follows instructions and completes their daily schedule without arguing, they get to stay up for an extra hour at night. If they did not follow instructions, they go to bed on time. Each consequence is earned.

Here are a few skills you may suggest to parents to help the completion of academic tasks at home go more smoothly for their children.

Here are a few skills you may suggest to parents to help alleviate stress and anxiety in their child.

Here are some ideas for Brain Breaks. Have your children take 5-10 minute breaks throughout the day, especially during study times.

Check back in with your child at the end of the day. Here are some questions to ask them.

Distance learning tip for teachers! Record a morning message! This allows students to watch in their own time and to hear encouraging words from their teacher. A great way to build community from a distance and help students feel connected. Seesaw is a great platform to use.

Other resources to share with Parents

Here's a great resource with tips for talking to your children about the Coronavirus.
Helping Children Cope with the Unexpected Create a Self-Calming Plan
GoNoodle - Active Screen Time. GoNoodle gets kids up and moving to fun, engageing content and games. This is a great resource to use for brain breaks in between study times.

Storybooks and activity guides from the Boys Town Press. This month only spend $25 on Boys Town Press books & resources and receive a FREE copy of Making Friends is an Art by Julia Cook. This sale includes books, activity guides, and more to help with remote learning!

Daily FREE activities this month from the Boys Town Press on handling stress and developing a growth mindset. Look for a new activity every weekday developed from our social skill storybooks.

30 Great Educational Netflix Shows for when you allow screentime.

Here's a full list of Education Companies Offering FREE Subscriptions due to School Closings.

For more parenting tips, check out boystown.org/parenting

NEW! Series of remote learning experiences that are high-quality, easy to use at home, and totally free from Amplify. Click here.

NEW! Experts from the National Child Traumatic Stress Network share their recommendations for educators supporting students during the COVID-19 crisis. Read more...

We recommend checking out this article from Ed Week! Expectations for Online Student Behavior Vary During Coronavirus School Closures
How to Teach Social-Emotional Learning When Kids Aren't in School

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Boys Town National Training | Improve Student Behavior

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NEW! 10 Minute Tips from Boys Town National Training. Navigating this new normal can be challenging and we are here to help. Here are some short videos and resources that can help you as you navigate and adjust to things like working from home with your kids at home, helping your children be successful in school from home, maintaining schedules and regular routines, and all while modeling and teaching social skills.

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Open Author helps you build and publish Open Educational Resources for you and for the benefit of educators and learners everywhere.

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Microsites are custom, flexible sites that include all the features available on OER Commons. Microsites allow your users to search resource collections using a custom taxonomy at a unique URL. Contact Us

Our award-winning OER Professional Learning programs support instructors and curriculum specialists to gain the necessary skills required to find, adapt, and evaluate high quality open materials.

In-person and virtual OER workshops help focus instructors to develop a "commons" mindset, to experience the benefits of open processes using the platform's tools, collaborative features, and workflows. This can include using Open Author for creating, remixing, and publishing shared curriculum.

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OER Commons is a dynamic digital library and network. Explore open education resources and join our network of educators dedicated to curriculum improvement.

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An American whose classroom in Beijing is now online shares what she and her team have learned since the coronavirus hit, just as U.S. teachers make the same shift.

Since February 17, I've been teaching 11th-grade humanities writing to students who are self-quarantined in China. Our teachers were in the same position several weeks ago that U.S. teachers are in now-we were expecting to teach in classrooms in Beijing. Now we're teaching virtual classes remotely from our homes in China and countries around the world. We had about half a week to prepare for online school, including setting up a digital platform that none of us had ever used before.

For the first few weeks, we needed to be very flexible and patient. Everything we would have done in person took longer virtually as we learned to navigate online learning. But we've worked out many kinks and are now engaging our students in high-quality learning experiences online.

Since our students have stopped physically attending school, their Chinese classes happen in real time following the regular schedule, using a Chinese app. Our international team teaches using Moodle, an open-source learning platform that has the ability to do live video conferencing with digital whiteboards and break-out rooms. We also use it to give students feedback, do partner and group work, and publish class materials-things that can be done through Google Classroom as well.

Here is some of what we've learned so far about teaching students who must stay home. Start by continuing to use lessons that are clear and simple, and don't introduce new programs for teachers and students to learn if you can help it.

Asynchronous Teaching

Our international teachers are on four continents across eight time zones, so most of our classes are asynchronous, meaning our teachers post assignments and recorded lessons and students complete work at different times. Teachers respond using a rubric, comments, and sometimes recorded video or audio feedback through our online learning platform.

Most of our teachers have at least three live classes each week in addition to the asynchronous classes. This helps build community in the class, engages students, and makes the learning more interactive. Some teachers have found it more effective to teach live classes daily.

It's Not All About Screens

It's easy for students to spend a lot of time in front of screens for their online school. As much as possible, we're assigning students tasks that get them up and moving and away from their devices. We've also been working out ways to have students continue to create art without screens.

Videos: A first-grade class recently had a homework assignment where students needed to describe a pet. One boy's mother video recorded him while he used descriptive language to introduce the audience to his two cats. Students can also write and perform plays, or create and cook recipes and conduct interviews, and submit these assignments through video.

Workbooks and drawing: Many of our classes at school intentionally used workbooks and paper-based tasks instead of laptops to reduce students' screen time. We're continuing this by having students complete some assignments on paper, taking a picture of their completed work, and uploading the photo to submit the task. Similarly, our art classes are continuing to have students work on drawing, and they are taking pictures of their work to submit it to their teacher and share with the class.

Teacher Office Hours

In addition to asynchronous and live classes, our teachers all have daily three-hour office hour shifts. They log into Moodle for the duration and are visible as "online" for any student visiting the page. This enables students to contact a teacher for help as they're doing their schoolwork, and it helps our teachers maintain regular schedules.

This resource is comforting to both students and parents as a way to maintain instant communication with the school and teachers in real time. It's also a way for everyone to feel a little less isolated.

Office hours are not for tech support. Early on, we clearly communicated to families how to reach our IT support staff for technical help. We remind families and students regularly-at first we did this daily-who to go to for what types of support. We also have our teachers' office hours schedules and IT contact information clearly posted on our online learning site.

Tech Support

Tech support is vital to your remote learning being successful. Decide as soon as possible who will be responsible for what types of IT support, and how they will be reachable by students, families, and staff. Make sure all of your stakeholders know how to reach out for support.

Give teachers, students, and families video and written instructions on how to use your platform so they can answer some of their own questions before reaching out for help.

Many students don't have laptops at home, but in the U.S., most families have access to at least one smartphone that has internet. Fortunately, Google for Education and other online learning platforms typically have good user experiences for smartphones and tablets, in addition to computers.

Involve Families

Between having to find childcare and supervise squirmy young learners, remote learning can be a very stressful experience for parents. Proactively and regularly communicate with them in mediums and languages that you know they'll actively check and understand. Give them clear directions and resources. Solicit, listen to, and act on their feedback.

And, as you would with regular school, make sure to reach out to parents with news of great work their children did. Specific work-related praise goes a long way to strengthening relationships with both families and students.

Teacher Support

At school, our team has weekly professional development sessions. We've continued this using our online platform every week with consistent start and end times. Agendas are developed with our instructional leadership team and distributed to teachers in advance. We split our time between continuing to work on our year-long focus of developing our unit plans, modeling how to use our online platform, and answering questions teachers have in real time.

In addition to professional development and regular communication, we teachers are working on maintaining our sense of community. We celebrate birthdays and share photos and videos of where we are in the world. There's even talk of doing virtual yoga classes together.

Apps We've Found Helpful

When building digital lessons, it's helpful to reduce the number of external links on your online learning platform. For example, if you want students to read an article, it's safer to upload a PDF, rather than a link to an external site that may or may not work. This helps ensure that students are always able to access their digital learning resources.

Collaborating: All of our planning materials are shared on Microsoft OneDrive. Like Google Drive, this platform lets us share documents among staff and send students links to documents and folders.

Video: We download YouTube and other videos locally to our computer using the free app 4K Video Downloader, and then upload them to OneDrive (you can do this with Google Drive as well). Make sure to download captions.

Readings: When assigning students articles from sites like Newsela and CommonLit, we download the articles onto our computer as a PDF and then upload them to OneDrive. This allows us to label files by reading level and have all the resources for a lesson in the same place.

Videoconferencing: Moodle has its own video conferencing platform, but Zoom is a very convenient way to have live classes with students-and it is now free for schools. The platform also lets you share your desktop, which is helpful for PowerPoint presentations, reviewing student work with a class, and modeling how to do online research.

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What Teachers in China Have Learned in the Past Month

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An American whose classroom in Beijing is now online shares what she and her team have learned since the coronavirus hit, just as U.S. teachers make the same shift. Since February 17, I've been teaching 11th-grade humanities writing to students who are self-quarantined in China.

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Paths to literacy for students who are visually impaired or blind 

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Paths to literacy for students who are visually impaired or blind 

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Strategies to promote literacy for children with blindness or visual impairment:

Determine what medium is best for an individual child through the Learning Media Assessment. This may be braille, print, dual media, auditory strategies, objects, symbols, or some combination.

Provide books and literacy tools in a format that is accessible to the child.

Read aloud using stories and books that are interesting and appropriate for the child.

Create a literacy-rich environment, in which the child knows that others are reading and writing.

There are a variety of methods that students with visual impairments use to read. Often a single student will use different strategies in particular settings or for specific materials or content. The first step in determining what approach will be most effective for an individual student is a Learning Media Assessment. The Learning Media Assessment (LMA) offers a framework for selecting appropriate literacy media for a student who is visually impaired. This includes braille, print, auditory strategies, and dual media.

Reading Strategies for Students with Visual Impairments

SET-BC (Special Education Technology British Columbia), a provincial resource program of the BC Ministry of Education, divides reading strategies for students with visual impairment into three main areas:

1. Paper strategies, including print, magnification and braille;

2. E-text strategies, including tracking, auditory support and refreshable braille;

3. Auditory strategies, including readers and auditory books.

To learn more, see their publication: Reading Strategies for Students with Visual Impairments: A Classroom Teacher's Guide

For additional information on literacy for children with visual impairments, see:

What the National Reading Panel Says About Teaching Reading to Children with Visual Impairments
By Jim Durkel, Outreach Teacher, Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired

This article stresses the importance of collaboration by the entire education team, including the teacher of the visually impaired, classroom teacher, family, and reading specialist, to ensure that a child who has a visual impairment develops all of the skills needed to become a proficient reader.

There are additional strategies throughout this website and we hope that you will share your ideas and questions!

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Instructional Strategies for Students who are Blind or Visually Impaired

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Determine what medium is best for an individual child through the Learning Media Assessment. This may be braille, print, dual media, auditory strategies, objects, symbols, or some combination. Provide books and literacy tools in a format that is accessible to the child. Read aloud using stories and books that are interesting and appropriate for the child.

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provides thousands of free pages with social skills and behavioral regulation activities and guidance, learning songs and games, communication cards, academic material

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Do2Learn began in 1996 through a National Institutes of Health Small Business Innovative Research grant. Our team searches out the most talented and creative teachers and clinicians across the world. These gifted individuals work with our technical experts to transfer their knowledge into formats that we can make available to you.
Since beginning, we have grown into a world-wide resource with over 11 million hits a month. While based in North Carolina, approximately half of our users are from outside of the U.S. Thousands of sites link to us and we can be easily found on most search engines using topics such as 'picture cards', 'facial expressions', and 'job tips'. We hope you find our resources helpful and pass on our link to others.
We believe that simply telling busy teachers, parents, and professionals what they should be doing is not enough. If we explain how to devise a visual communication system using picture cards, we provide free cards to get you started.

When we present the Teacher Toolbox on how to adapt a classroom for children with special needs, we provide resources for behavior management plans, literacy tools, and the materials to create everything in your classroom.

Our approach is to use the latest technology and expert guidance to create innovative and usable solutions.

Learn about DiagnoseFirst, our newest project to help teachers and clinicians recognize the symptoms of ASD.

Pre-employment screening assessments are online or paper tests that some companies require applicants to complete during the application process. Read more about JobTIPS Student Version!

JobTIPS Toolbox PRO is filled with resources to help you coach your students through the challenges of assessing their skills, finding and applying for jobs, and practicing the social skills needed to do well in the workplace.

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picture exchange communication system cards

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Do2Learn: Educational Resources for Special Needs

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picture communication cards, songs, games and learning activities for autism, aspergers, fetal alcohol syndrome and disabilities

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Adapted Literature--searchable database of literature that has been adapted for students with disabilities 

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Adapted Literature--searchable database of literature that has been adapted for students with disabilities 