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Confronting Your Child’s Teacher

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Teachers are human. They have emotions. They can be happy, sad, mad, and angry. They can also be tired and overworked. Teachers can have bad days and good days. They have lives outside of school. And most importantly, yes, teachers remember incidents that occur. Therefore, it should be desired to have a good relationship with your child’s teacher. However, differences do occur. The way that you confront the difference can be the deciding factor in the whether you receive your desired outcome. Before confronting your child’s teacher, think about the approach you will use. Make sure that you use many … Continue reading →

Is Your First Grader a Poor Reader? You’d Better Act Fast

New studies show that if your child is a poor reader by the end of first grade, he will continue to struggle with reading difficulties by fifth grade, falling well behind his peers. If your child shows signs of reading struggles, you’ve got to act quickly and aggressively. Early intervention will give your child a much better chance at success than waiting to help your child catch up in later years. The “late bloomer” theory has now been officially thrown out, at least with respect to reading. No longer can we suggest that you adopt a “wait and see” approach, … Continue reading →

The Immeasurable Importance of Your Child’s Teacher

Parents, if your special needs child is struggling in school–if he or she is miserable, and if things have been rough academically, let me make a suggestion. Take a careful look at your child’s teacher. I believe your child’s teacher can literally mean the difference between a successful year or a failed one. I’ve often heard other parents of special needs kids talk about the ups and downs they faced in the public (or private) school system over the years, and there always seemed to be a correlation with whether the child “clicked” with his teacher. I’m not writing this … Continue reading →

B.E.A.R. Books

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Organization is a huge component of teaching, especially in the lower grade classrooms. Children need a specific place for everything to go. It is also beneficial for teachers to have a special location for all paperwork. To aid in organization, my school’s primary grades use B.E.A.R. books. B.E.A.R. (Bring Everything, Always Ready) books are used in many schools. Some classes in my school do not use the acronym B.E.A.R. but have created their own. In the past, we made kindergarten B.E.A.R. books by using three ring binders and adding pocket folders in the middle. This year, we were lucky. We … Continue reading →

Mental Retardation – Criteria and Lingering Questions

I must admit, I hesitated to write this blog. Experience has shown that some parents are extremely sensitive to the use of the term “mental retardation” when describing their children. I absolutely understand this. There can be very negative connotations with those two words, especially when neuro-typical kids use “retard” as a playground slur. I considered calling the blog “Cognitive Disabilities” or “Cognitive Delays,” but all the current literature I ran across (as recent as 2006) still use “mental retardation” (MR) as the diagnostic term to describe intellectual ability that is significantly below average. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of … Continue reading →