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December 17th, 2017
Revised May 10, 2021. I visited a kindergarten classroom to observe “Byron”, a child with behavior problems. When I arrived, the little boy was busying himself with an art project. He and his classmates were building towers out of cardboard box pieces. Everything seemed fine until a peer suddenly grabbed the glue from him, knocking […]
August 10th, 2017
Since his first day of kindergarten, “Justin” had struggled to manage the demands of his new school. When teachers asked him to transition from one activity to the next, he would often fuss, kick or run away. He routinely “overreacted” to simple tasks and activities, and it seemed that no matter how much praise, or […]
January 18th, 2017
Every IEP team should assure that a child has the chance to develop emotional regulation through trusting relationships. Without that opportunity, meaningful learning is impossible.
November 16th, 2016
Rose’s parents and teachers were concerned about how to help her find success in kindergarten. Sometimes she went with the flow but at other times Rose fussed so much that she disrupted the whole class. Then her teachers devised a plan that everyone thought would help. They designated a small, separate section of the classroom […]
June 27th, 2016
A new book, Self-Reg, explodes the myth that if only children tried harder or had enough willpower, they could control all of their challenging behaviors. The reality is much more complicated than that.
June 16th, 2016
Far too often, children with special educational needs experience disruptions in relationships, including frequent changes in aides, teachers and school placements, causing stress.
October 29th, 2015
When professionals automatically equate “nonspeaking” with “low functioning,” they underestimate student’s intellectual capacities, often removing children from inclusive programs to place them in separate special education classes that may not be appropriate or academically sufficient.
February 2nd, 2015
Recently, while waiting in a school office for a meeting to begin, I noticed a little boy at an empty desk, staring out a window. A secretary was busy working as staff came and went, and as I waited, I wondered why this little boy was there. On my way out he was still there, […]
January 8th, 2015
When I met three-year-old “Tim”, he had such difficulty with spoken language and controlling his body that it was difficult to tell how much he could comprehend of the world around him. He couldn’t show his understanding with words—or even with movements. A decade later, he has learned to type on an iPad and uses […]
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