Recent Posts
How Kids Learn (a rant against flexible ability grouping)
Yikes! I won’t even pretend to think that flexible ability grouping a good idea for any child. Separating children into ability groups to work on reading and math is being done in about 60% o... Read More
Should My child Have an IQ Test?
I have received several emails from parents asking me if a child should be given an IQ test as part of their special education evaluation. What is an IQ Test? An IQ Test measures intelligence using... Read More
Why Your Behavior Plan is failing.
It is very discouraging for parents and teachers to spend hours developing a behavior program, only to see it fail within the first couple of days. After reviewing many behavior programs, it seems tha... Read More
Teaching Children to Be Kind
As parents we are always concerned about teaching our children to be kind. During December, the season of kindness, I see a lot of ideas for parents on how to instill the giving spirit in their childr... Read More
A Parent’s Guide to Modifying Curriculum
Do you want to have your child included in general education classes? Have you been told that your child cannot be taught in the general education classroom because your child’s skill level is too l... Read More
‘Tis the Season for Walmart
Taking any child to Walmart is problematic. Walmart is set up to make you want to throw things into a cart and then try to escape. For a child who gets overstimulated Walmart is even more difficult. I... Read More
Person Center Planning
Enjoy this presentation by Dr. Sally Burton-Hoyle on Person Centered Planning. "Person Centered Planning is about a life worth living." Share this:... Read More
Webinar with Temple Grandin and Eustacia Cutler
Check out this Webinar with Temple Grandin and Eustacia Cutler Share this:... Read More
Bonding Without Expectation
You must trust before you can communicate. So before we continue talking about communication I would like to stop and talk about bonding with children. We want children to be able to express their a... Read More
Why Children Need to Communicate.
So many parenting books tell us that good parenting means you have compliant children. Children who eat what they are told to eat, children who go to bed when you tell them to, who run in and get ... Read More
When Children Don’t Know.
While it is not unusual to see a two year old have a meltdown or even resort to kicking and hitting to get what they want. When a two-year-old acts out, we take the time to teach them a better way to ... Read More
What is an FBA and does my child need one?
If you have a child with a behavior problem that does not respond to traditional behavior strategies you should ask your school to do an FBA (Functional Behavioral Analysis). This will help you and ... Read More
Are you a mom that the school doesn’t like to work with?
During my past 30 years I have seen Moms struggle with schools that call them difficult and unreasonable. It has been my experience that the children of these "difficult" moms do better in the long... Read More
Teaching children to monitor their own behavior.
As a parent and a teacher I think it is very important to teach children to monitor their own behavior. I hope you will try some of the ideas that I have used in classrooms and with my own children.... Read More
Let’s Stop Arguing.
Children often feel that life is supposed to be fair and they believe that it is your job, as a parent, to make it fair. When children think that decisions are not fair – they argue and act out. ... Read More