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Special Ed and ADHD

The Brain Circuit: How the Brain Works

April 26, 2020

The Brain Circuit Video Transcription The brain has dozens of different sections. Each section does something different to help us move and process thoughts. Think of the brain like your digestive system… Your digestive system is made of many distinct organs. Each organ does something different. But, these organs work together to digest your food.…

RTI Tier 1 Interventions:
The Small Set of Skills with 80% Impact

April 24, 2020

RTI Tier 1 interventions are the “first line of defense” for supporting students. Response to Intervention (RTI) was designed to help prevent students from needing special education assistance. Tier 1 instruction is delivered to the whole class. Assessments monitor progress of students. If students are struggling to learn specific concepts or strategies, they would then move up…

Are You the Best Version of Yourself?

February 16, 2020

Have you created the best version of yourself? I recently met an inspiring individual that most certainly has. You haven’t seen this person on the cover of Forbes.  She doesn’t flaunt expensive clothing and jewelry. And, you haven’t seen her meeting with world leaders. Well, not yet anyway. But, she did just win a prestigious…

Strategies for Successful IEPs

January 12, 2020

The only battle more epic than Batman vs. Superman might be “parent vs. teacher” in a special education IEP (Individualized Education Plan) meeting. My First IEP I’ll never forget one particular IEP… I was accused of “not having the student’s interests in mind.” David had ADHD and a learning disability in written expression.  David’s greatest challenge…

Special Education: How to Make Common Core Work

October 23, 2017

“Common Core” is an emotional phrase nowadays. Some people hate it. Some people love it. From what we have heard from Special Ed teachers, their story is no different. Special Ed students are being held to the same high standards as their Gen Ed peers. On top of that, you don’t have the time to teach…

The Autism Circuit: How Autism Works

September 24, 2017

The Autism Circuit Video Transcription Autism is the term we use when more than one region of the brain has a LOW supply of brain chemicals. Since the Front Brain is often impacted by these power outages, people with autism often have ADHD, too. For example, imagine this string of lights represents the neuron wires…

80/20 in Special Education: How Special Ed Can Create Big Gains With Minimal Effort!

June 10, 2017

Can You Relate…? You’re a special education teacher (or maybe you know one) sitting in a building-wide staff meeting.  In the meeting, the results of your state’s annual, standardized test scores were released.  The results are good, except for one segment of students that are not showing enough improvement and thus hurting the school’s overall…

Learning and Soft Skills Empower Special Education Students

June 5, 2017

Are we aiming to have our students “college ready” OR “career ready?” OR both? If both, do we get them “college ready” first, then “career ready?” These are many of the questions that educators seem to wrestle with on a regular basis as our country works to prepare future generations for workplace success. Let’s cut…

Special Education Teachers: What Makes You Sing Like Taylor Swift?

April 26, 2017

Dear Special Education Teachers, why do you do it? You have to deal with loads of paperwork, angry parents, impossible state standards, and flack from administrators. Doesn’t it feel like you’re constantly swimming upstream? Teaching has become a job, not a passion. Schools are not a warm and fuzzy place anymore. The focus has changed…

The Brain Biology of ADHD & Autism

September 20, 2016

Welcome to part 3 of our 3-part series on special education. In part 1, we explored the brain biology of learning disabilities. In part II, we explored How to Solve and Prevent Learning Disabilities. The brain biology of ADHD & autism is very similar to the brain biology of learning disabilities, as explained in the previous article. Just like learning disabilities,…

Six Steps to
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