Learn Your Special Education Laws, Special Education Rights, and Share IEP Goal Ideas

Khan Academy the widely popular online learning source has finally released an iPad App. If you don’t know much about the Khan Academy their website describes them as:

…an organization on a mission. We’re a not-for-profit with the goal of changing education for the better by providing a free world-class education to anyone anywhere.

All of the site’s resources are available to anyone. It doesn’t matter if you are a student, teacher, home-schooler, principal, adult returning to the classroom after 20 years, or a friendly alien just trying to get a leg up in earthly biology. The Khan Academy’s materials and resources are available to you completely free of charge.

And now they are all available on your iPad as well!!! Still want to learn more about the Khan Academy watch the video below from last night’s 60 Minutes.

The Khan Academy app gives you access to all 2700+ videos in its educational library all for free. The videos are broken up by categories and sub-categories. Categories include, Math, Science, Humanities, Test Prep and Interviews. Each video provides an outline that can be used to jump to specific sections in each video. Since many of the videos are very long this is a good way to pinpoint exactly the part of the video you want to see and move to it quickly.

You can watch the videos over your internet connection but you can also download any of the videos directly to you iPad. This gives you the ability to take the videos along on trips or places without internet connections.

Since my son is in the 5th grade I tested the app on him. He is currently learning integers and how to add and subtract negative numbers. I easily navigated through the Math category to the sub-category of arithmetic and pre-algebra where I found negative numbers. I found 6 videos on negative numbers and played the first one entitled, “Negative Numbers Introduction.” This 9 minute video did a wonderful job of auditorily and visually presenting the information. My son is a visual learner and the video helped him see how to use a number line to determine negative numbers. This was just 1 of the 2700+ videos on the app. As you can see, Khan Academy is not joking when they claim, “Khan Academy allows you to learn almost anything for free.”

The Khan Academy app and the corresponding videos are amazing. Future versions of this app are scheduled to include the Khan Academy exercises that are currently available on the website. I can’t think of any downside to adding this free app to your iPad today!!!!!

Actually, I’m going to talk about reworking an existing song for kids to help get done whatever it is that needs doing/learning/teaching.

Why is this so natural and why does it work to well? A partial answer is that singing phrases involves both hemispheres of the brain. Music is whole brain- more parts of the brain are stimulated and light up when a direction or concept is sung rather than spoken. It makes the job more interesting and less of a put-upon demand. You can watch music, hear it and feel it

My first premise is that anyone can do this. People can get nervous about doing this. You don’t need to get nervous. You CAN do this. Also, I must say that there are very few people who really “can’t” sing or who are really “tone-deaf.”And then there are the kids who even as toddlers tell their parents “NO SING.!!!” Ok, I’ve known two ex-voice majors whose babies said “Don’t SING.” Sing anyway. If you’re still resistant, then I bet you had a bad chorus teacher or choir director who told you to just whisper the words…. They should have just helped you learn to focus your ears rather than turn you off to the joy of singing. Naughty teachers.

This is what you do: You take an easy, familiar, traditional little kid song and you stick words into it. That’s it.

You do not need to be clever. You do not need to rhyme. Just stick in the words. Take the song “Wheels on the bus” for example. To help kids clean up, you can sing “Play time is over and it’s time to clean, time to clean, time to clean. Play time is over it’s time to clean. Clean up the toys.” If you’re teaching body parts to toddlers, sing “Put the beanbag on your head, on your head, on your head. Put the bean bag on your head. Put it on your head.” It really is that simple and mundane. As Nike says, “Just do it.” To help peers learn names and to help foster awareness of syllables sing “Let’s sing hi to Monica (while clapping the syllables Mo-ni-ca) Monica, Monica. Let’s sing hi to Monica. Hmmm who’s next?” You can use this for social skills, daily routines, new experiences, pre-academics /academics, language concepts, math, pre-reading, colors, vocabulary and more.

All of this grabs our attention and makes us want to listen. This opens us up to foster new understandings of the world around us, of concepts, of ourselves, and of other people.

Here’s a bit more about writing or adapting songs to help teach kids what they need to know. This can include transitions, sound articulation, motor skills, body parts, eye contact…..

Most of the songs on the radio have a formula. Many songs are comprised of alternating verses and choruses. All the verses of a song are quite similar to each other but are different from the chorus. The chorus is usually the same each time it is heard. The bridge section usually comes near the end of the songs and is a notably different but returns to the chorus and everybody says “ahhhh, back to our familiar reference section.” A song on the radio often follows a pattern similar to verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-chorus.

Back to kids songs. There are two main types: one has three repetitious lines (either lyrically and/or melodically) and a final contrasting phrase that is the same from verse to verse. The other has two repetitious lines, a consistent third phrase and a return to the first or repetitious line. The contrasting line in both these cases can consist of a general phrase that describes the purpose of the song, or a commonality within all the verses.

Examples of a same -same -same -different song include: Mary had a little lamb, This little light of mine, Kumbaya, the Wheels on the Bus and London Bridges.

Examples of a same -same -different -same song include: The farmer in the dell, Old Mac Donald, Oh my darling Clemontine and Oh Susanna.

How does this matter to you? It’s simply a frame work in which to insert your lesson material/objectives. You may never have contemplated the musical structure of Kumbaya, but that melody can help your kids do anything from wash behind their ears to learn math. There is a reason that song has lasted the test of time. I suspect these song formulas sit well with the human psyche with our need to push into what is new, but come home to what’s familiar. (The different phrases and new, contrasting bridges as well as the consistent, familiar choruses that we all are happy to return to join in on…..) If you are feeling confident in this, I want to point out that you want to be aware of the syllabic inflection of what you are singing and make sure your syllables have correct emphasis.

For older kids who learn through song, you can use melodies from verses and choruses of more current songs. Try to notice which tunes have you tapping your foot and have a repetitious quality to them either through the words (“She loves you yeah yeah yeah. She loves you yeah yeah yeah. She loves you yeah yeah yeah. She loves you) and/or the melody. Try to notice the patterns of repetition and newness. By the way, “I’m Yours,” by Jason Mraz is a great song to insert new lyrics. Now go sing!

Margie La Bella has worked as a music therapist serving young children with special needs for more than 25 years. Her website, http://www.MusicTherapyTunes.com is full of useful information (music, videos, blogs, lessons plans…) for parents, therapists, and teachers and just about everyone else.

Rainbow Sentences by Mobile Education Tools is a fun app that teaches children how to form sentences using color. Currently at $7.99 this App is priced just right for the hours of educationally content presented in a fun format. Rainbow Sentences would work well for young children just learning how to create proper sentences as well as older children struggling with the concept. According to the Rainbow Sentences App page, “Rainbow Sentences is designed to help students improve their ability to construct grammatically correct sentences by using color coded visual cues. The who, what, where, and why parts of sentences are color coded to help students recognize and understand how combinations of these parts create basic sentence structure.” Read the rest of this entry →

When it comes to education, it’s impossible to take a “one size fits all” approach. Not only is every student different, each student learns differently, too – and this can be especially true of children with special needs. Because teachers are not provided specific textbooks for these students but are still held accountable for imparting state standards, developing lesson plans or modifying the current ones can be quite challenging. However, by educating oneself about the various types of learning disabilities, and by collaborating with other educators, the experience can also be extremely rewarding. Read the rest of this entry →

A couple of months ago I gave a presentation on Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) for my local Parent Training Center. All of the Staff for this organization are parents of children with special needs. When I arrived early to set up I was met by a staff member and her son who has autism. As I was setting up I couldn’t help noticing the staff member’s son writing on the blackboard. In about ten minutes he had written down the names of all of the United States Presidents in order. I stopped what I was doing and walked over to his Mom and asked if he was learning about the Presidents in School. I don’t know about you but I can’t remember most of the Presidents names let alone their order. I know all of the early Presidents, the ones that led during specific events in U.S. History and all of the Presidents during my lifetime but the rest I have forgotten. To my amazement she said her son had learned all of the U.S. Presidents from an iPad app. She went on to explain that this was the third app her son had played from this particular developer. The first app had taught him all about the States in America, the second had taught him about all of the Countries in each Continent and this latest app the Presidents. I was hooked, who is this developer and what are the names of the apps. Read the rest of this entry →

We all want to be heard and understood, we want to be able to express the depths of our feelings and live life to the fullest of our abilities. In music therapy this is possible. Music does not discriminate instead it has the capacity to uncover our potentials. The vast qualities of music itself can reach the broadest of emotions and stimulate the mind and body. Music Therapy is the clinical and evidence-based use of music interventions to accomplish individualized goals within a therapeutic relationship by a credentialed professional who has completed an approved music therapy program. Its clinical use spans a wide range of populations. Music therapists assess emotional well-being, physical health, social functioning, communication abilities, & cognitive skills through specifically designed music interventions for individuals and groups based upon the client needs. Read the rest of this entry →

Those studying for a degree in special education know that there are many challenges to both studying and practicing these specialized teaching methods. With the education of so many needy children at stake, it is very important to know as much as you can about the subject. Everyone from parents of special needs children to teachers to those who want to see the most disadvantaged children taken care of can benefit from learning more.

To help accomplish this, we have gathered 40 must see YouTube videos to learn about effective special education teaching methods. In addition to teaching a few techniques that can help all sorts of students learn, they can help you learn everything from the basics of special education all the way up to policy practices in the area. Read the rest of this entry →

Even under the best of circumstances, there is always a bit of trepidation when starting something new. Think about the first time you rode a bike, drove a car, your first kiss, or really anytime you have ever taken a risk. The thrill and terror of it all can be overwhelming. I liken this feeling to the first time I took one of my students (a boy with severe autism and challenging behaviors) and put him in a 4th grade general education classroom. It was my first teaching job, in a self-contained classroom for students with autism in California and I was challenged by one of my professors at Cal State University Fullerton to begin the process of including my students in general education. At this time, there was little support for inclusion at my school (not even for Art, Music or PE – mainly because we did not have those programs due to budget constraints). Even so, I believed it was the right thing to do and began trying to change the hearts and minds of my colleagues. It was not easy at first, but after explaining that I was not simply going to “dump” my students off in their class, they were definitely more receptive.

This tends to be the biggest fear of people who are opposed to a “full inclusion” model. There are different definitions of “full inclusion” but one I prefer is apparent when we talk about the idea of Least Restrictive Environment (LRE). What is the environment that will least hinder the student from being educated with their typically-developing peers while still accessing the general curriculum (what everyone is being taught) in a meaningful way? There is no one-size-fits-all approach to inclusion just like there is no one-size-fits-all approach to general education (no matter how hard we want there to be). But…I am getting ahead of myself. In regards to my 4th grader who was now going to be included into a Math block in general education, I began to feel the anxiety creep up in me as the day approached. Would he keep his challenging behaviors in check? Would the class accept him when he started to script movie lines? Would the general education teacher think I was crazy for putting her up to this?

Diffusing and answering the inevitable questions was the big key into alleviating everyone’s fear. I spoke to the class before we started and explained my student, while having some differences in the way he experienced the world, was still a 4th grade boy who liked movies, music and playing on the computer. He liked Math, which is why we decided this was the best time for him to join his peers. It was also important to take the uncomfortable questions of “why does he do this,” or “why does he do that,” and answer them with the utmost respect and dignity to their new classmate. Perhaps honest communication is the best way to gain his peers’ trust…kids are too smart and usually know when you are trying to put one over on them. Once we got that out of the way, acceptance was the easy part.

Next, was giving him adequate support. I had already promised the teacher he would not be flying solo, so we used one of my paraprofessionals for the time he was in the class. We also collaborated on adapting any materials we thought he would benefit from (larger number cards, color coding, etc). He sat in front of the class and by the door in case the classroom was over-stimulating and needed to make a quick escape for relief. Knowing what the class was working on beforehand helped us to pre-teach or prepare him for accessing the general curriculum when he went into the classroom.

We were consistently surprised at what our 4th grader could do, in terms of keeping his behaviors under control and accessing the content. By giving him the opportunity to interact with his peers we opened up another door for communication and camaraderie. Even now, years removed from that first grand adventure of inclusion, fear is present in the back of my mind as we move to include more students with the most significant cognitive disabilities in general education. Though this time, it reminds me that it is not something to be terrified of…but revered. Inclusion, at its very heart is a noble cause because it brings dignity to human beings when it otherwise would separate those who need love the most. Fear may be an obstacle but it certainly is not an excuse.

Timothy Villegas lives with his fetching wife and adorable children in Marietta, GA by way of Pasadena, CA. He has been a special educator for eight years and enjoys every bit of the drama of inclusive education (and is an obsessive user of parenthetical expression). Follow him on Twitter: @think_inclusive or to peek inside his brain…peruse his Tumblr: http://thinkinclusive.tumblr.com/ He promises to be nice.

The answer to your child’s educational concerns no longer has to be a mystery.

Weak cognitive skills could be the source of your child’s struggles. Science has found that the real cause of a person’s ability to learn lies in the strength, or weakness, of that person’s cognitive skills. If skills are strong, learning comes easily and “naturally.” But skill weaknesses can remain hidden and cause a student to struggle with learning or reading. A professional cognitive skills test is the only way to pinpoint the exact underlying cause of any learning problem. Cognitive skills determine a student’s abilities in the 5 core elements that make up intelligence. Read the rest of this entry →

The other day I got an email from a parent who said her child had been diagnosed with dyscalculia. I had to look up what she meant. According to Wikipedia, “Dyscalculia (or math disability) is a specific learning disability involving innate difficulty in learning or comprehending simple mathematics. It is akin to dyslexia and includes difficulty in understanding numbers, learning how to manipulate numbers, learning math facts, and a number of other related symptoms (although there is no exact form of the disability).” Read the rest of this entry →