The Special Educator's Friend

Hello! I am incredibly impressed with your blog!! ...

2012-01-31T19:41:32.340-08:00

Hello! I am incredibly impressed with your blog!! I am a special education teacher in Michigan and it is so nice to stumble upon your findings, ideas, etc. I just wanted to say thank you for sharing and also am wondering if you can email me whenever you have time @ Leah_Virginia@yahoo.com

My husband and I are looking to relocate to Atlanta and have a few specific questions to ask...answers only a special educator would know! Talk to you soon:) ~Leah

I have taught special education for the past 17 ye...

2011-10-20T12:25:18.147-07:00

I have taught special education for the past 17 years. Last school year, I got remarried which also meant relocation and spent the entire year (2010-2011) searching for a special education teaching job. I applied for over 300 positions in the state of Georgia. Because of having a Bachelor's, and Master's in Special Education as well as an Educational Specialist Degree in Curriculum & Instruction. I do realize that the economy is extremely tight but it was extremely frustrating to not be able to secure employment and to have 16 years of experience, and advanced degrees as well. The brand new teachers with only a Bachelor's degree were being hired instead of the seasoned veterans.

I am a SLP and I love it !!!

2011-09-08T16:44:38.432-07:00

I am a SLP and I love it !!!

Jenny.... you wading through GAA? How's it goi...

2011-03-08T15:19:25.566-08:00

Jenny.... you wading through GAA? How's it going?

I too teach middle school. First I want to say tha...

2011-01-11T13:52:18.799-08:00

I too teach middle school. First I want to say that there should be a limit to how many GAA's one teacher can do. I have to do 17 this year. I get no extra planning time. My administrators have no clue as to how much work this is. I was told to work through my lunch and I needed to get all scores of 4. I have worked on GAA's during Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday and weekends. This stuff is ridiculous. I have a nephew that is significantly cognitively disabled and the GAA is not preparing him with the functional skills he needs. I love special education kids and have taught them for 15 years but this GAA makes me want to quit.

As a special education teacher a great resource si...

2011-01-03T16:44:41.422-08:00

As a special education teacher a great resource site for you would be www.futurecollegiateathleteswithdisabilities.com check it out

I love the program for helping them take a GED cla...

2010-12-25T05:28:52.831-08:00

I love the program for helping them take a GED class. When can they take the test?

I found your blog while downloading information ab...

2010-11-06T19:01:43.585-07:00

I found your blog while downloading information about the GAA for a parent. I really enjoyed it an can relate to your situation. Know, you are NOT alone in the GAA trenches.

I teach severe and profound intellectually disabled (SID/PID) MS students. I truly enjoy serving my students. Oddly, this year has been more emotional and physically demanding than in years past. No doubt, self-contained (Sped) teachers are under appreciated and most certainly under paid.

I receive no planning time or breaks during the school day and some how must find the 100+ hours to plan for multiple grade levels, make the adapted materials, instruct and write-up the 24 pieces of evidence (per student - I have five presently) in order to complete my students' portfolios.

I wish you the best. May you maintain your sanity during this trying assessment period. I am convinced it tests the teacher's ability to document more than the student's progress.

If you download a free pdf converter like PrimoPDF...

2010-10-08T05:14:00.727-07:00

If you download a free pdf converter like PrimoPDF you can save your wws files that way. They wouldn't be editable, but its always an easy way to share Boards with others that don't have access.

there are some really cool apps for the ipad. an a...

2010-10-04T15:35:11.465-07:00

there are some really cool apps for the ipad. an awesome aac app is proloquotogo. i could have used that in my classroom as all of my kids were nonverbal and half of my really expensive devices weren't working right. congrats on the ipad! i know more special ed classrooms will be getting them in the future. they are so useful!

So glad to see you back

2010-10-04T06:51:51.904-07:00

So glad to see you back

Thanks for the clear list. I have found these com...

2010-09-10T07:22:25.399-07:00

Thanks for the clear list. I have found these components to be the key to succcess - especially the PLAN,PLAN, PLAN with a calendar - it's too easy to put things off.

Something that might be of interest. A Conference...

2010-07-17T18:39:24.378-07:00

Something that might be of interest.

A Conference on helping individuals with special needs: Fostering Dialogue between diverse disciplines in Multi Sensory Environments (MSE)

Distinguished speakers will include David Dobbs, author of “the Orchid Hypothesis”, Jill Boyle Taylor, Ph.D., author of “A Stroke of Insight”; Ad Verheul, co-founder of the snoezelen concept and author of “Snoezelen Homemade”, Gillian Hotz, Ph.D., Miami Jackson Pediatric Brain Trauma Center and researcher of MSE and pediatric traumatic brain injury; Christopher Giza, M.D., University of UCLA and senior research around neurology, brain plasticity, and MSE; Jason Staal, Ph.D., a director of Beth Israel Medical Center’s Snoezelen Behavior Therapy Research program, professor of psychiatry at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and a major research of multi sensory behavior therapy; Paul Pagliano, author of “Multisensory Environments”, “Using a Multisensory Environment” and Professor at James Cook University (Australia); Krista Mertens, Ph.D., a distinguished International professor in MSE and rehabilitation; Lesley Collier, Ph.D., an expert in using MSE with people with severe Dementia; Kim Ward, Ph.D. and expert in MSE and Autism; Linda Messbauer, a pioneer in MSE and professional MSE trainer; and many more exciting speakers. View the complete list of presenters and the full program at www.isna2010.org
For more information on the conference: www.isna2010.org
For more information on the Hidden Angel Foundation: www.cdhaf.org

Great to read a summer update from you. Sounds li...

2010-07-03T18:05:57.294-07:00

Great to read a summer update from you. Sounds like some great plans to make good changes for your students this fall. I am looking to start my Masters program in the summer of 2011 and, like you, I have had quite a few people question me about if I would be moving in to some sort of leadership position from here. I always say not but then I think of the difference that I could potentially make in special education from that position and I'm just not sure. It will interesting to follow your journey as you are taking it just months before I take mine.

I was on vacation when the birthday occurred so ha...

2010-04-20T08:40:31.646-07:00

I was on vacation when the birthday occurred so happy belated birthday!

I JUST found your site. I work as a teacher aide ...

2010-04-11T06:38:10.521-07:00

I JUST found your site. I work as a teacher aide at a PPCD unit, and recently got certified in special education. Im looking for a job now. I have a special needs daughter who is 4 years old.

I am a special education student at CofC and was g...

2010-04-08T17:54:25.353-07:00

I am a special education student at CofC and was given your blog address by Dr. Keyes! I love your ideas and reading your blog... it is like looking through the window of a special education class!

Congratulations on the nomination! I was Teacher o...

2010-03-18T18:56:37.573-07:00

Congratulations on the nomination! I was Teacher of the Year in 2006 and a top 10 finalist for the district (out of 5000 teachers) and I was surprised that a sped teacher got that far. After reading your blog, I'm sure this won't be your last nomination so I look forward to hearing about the others after you get tenure. :)

What you say is so powerful Jennifer! Everyone ne...

2010-03-14T18:12:17.497-07:00

What you say is so powerful Jennifer! Everyone needs to beable to read what you have written. Congrats on being selected to write for the website!

Jenny, You are a true friend, indeed, to special e...

2010-03-11T06:49:30.288-08:00

Jenny,
You are a true friend, indeed, to special education. I "read" your passion in every word. I, too, see the rigid mandates as stifling to the academic & social success of our studetns. Your entry reminds me of a quote by Ted Knight, "If you're not prepared to be wrong, you'll never create anything original." Teach on, JB! Your kids are lucky to have you.
Your colleague & friend, Dan Lloyd

Congrats! Great Read!

2010-03-11T06:08:17.081-08:00

Congrats! Great Read!

We're so proud to have you on board and lookin...

2010-03-04T15:01:31.627-08:00

We're so proud to have you on board and looking forward to your thoughts and input from your readers!

New to your blog....wow, a new classroom is a bles...

2010-01-24T10:54:04.033-08:00

New to your blog....wow, a new classroom is a blessing. I know your students will benefit greatly. I teach in a school that is 100 years old, they try but I wish I had so much more for my severely disabled students.

Hey Jennifer, I really like your site! You have...

2010-01-16T06:46:21.873-08:00

Hey Jennifer,
I really like your site! You have a lot of good information and resources on here. As you may know I am a Speech Pathologist in DeKalb county, so I am working with several MOID classroom teachers and students at my school.
In terms of under-diagnosis of MID, I think that this situation may be addressed by RTI (if it is implemented correctly) by catching children who are not achieving before they fail. I am not sure that even if these students move through the tiers and end up with an IEP they would necessarily get the diagnosis/label of MID, but if they are in Special ED and receiving the services, does it matter what the label is?
What grades are you teaching? And what county are you in? I am interested to keep up with your site and see what other info you post!

Jarrett (Horne) Jackson

Very exciting! It will be nice to have all the th...

2010-01-09T06:02:19.397-08:00

Very exciting! It will be nice to have all the things that you need. I'm very fortunate in the classroom that I have. It used to be 2 regular classrooms and they knocked the wall out between, put in a physio area, sensory room, bathroom, full kitchen and left us lots of space to work in.

I hope you will be able to post pictures when its done as I always love to see other people's rooms :).