Introductions

Rebekah - posted on 10/07/2010

Hi all,
I am a 2nd year special educator in Vermont, but I have been working with students with special needs for as long as I can remember--as a tutor/classroom support volunteer/babysitter in middle and high school, then as a paraeducator after college. Last year, I was an integration specialist working with students with the most significant challenges. This year, I am working just with the 2nd grade caseload, which includes several of the students I had last year. I think my interest stemmed from my family history. I am also the mother of a 9 month old boy. It's hard juggling everything, because I want to give my all to ALL of my kiddos, but have to remember to save some energy for home too!

Joye - posted on 06/03/2010

Hi there I am a Teacher Aide in a special needs school for children with Cerebral Palsy in Auckland NZ. I also have a daughter who has CP who is 5 1/2.

Shannon - posted on 04/03/2010

I am a mother of four. My youngest gave me the experience of developmental delays that so far has not seemed to repeat itself. My middle daughter is undiagnosed ED, but I know for sure she fits in this category. My oldest has ADHD with a few other conerns. I was have had an appreciation for children with special needs beyond my own. At one point, I worked as an instructional assistant for special education. After years of corporate life and watching my daughter struggle in school because of her ADHD, I decided to make some changes. I currently sub as I look for a place needing a special education teacher while I work on getting my license to teach special education. I am no expert, but find I have a broader understanding as I continue in my classes.

Teresa - posted on 03/29/2010

Hi :)



I'm Mom to an almost 18 year old daughter with severe disabilities, both mental and physical. She has been in SPED since the age of 2---Early Childhood SPED from 2 to 5 then SPED until the age of 16 when I pulled her out to homeschool her. We've had our share of IEP meetings, therapies, alternate assessments, evals, etc..



I've attended many trainings for parents, advocates and teachers, I've written for a medical newsletter as a Parent Advocate, I've held chair positions with our local Special Education Advisory Committee, my daughter and I have assisted the local Rotary Club and Parks & Rec. Department in the fundraising and building of the area's first and only playground that is accessible to anyone and everyone whether they use legs or wheels :) and I've begun a Facebook page called The Grapevine--Special Needs/Disability Support and Info. Suffice it to say, our lives have been immersed in SPED, advocating and networking, and I'm still learning! I love sharing what I learn with other moms/dads/advocates....hence my choice of the title "The Grapevine" for the page. :D



I have a profound respect for good SPED teachers and paraprofessionals. My daughter had the same SPED teacher from age 5 to 13 and she set the bar. Her techniques, her tactics, her compassion, her love for the children, her energy, her willingness, her understanding.........there are no words to describe how amazing this woman is.



Thanks to all you good teachers out there who love what you do and love your kids. You've not gone unnoticed......

Christy - posted on 02/25/2010

I taught for 9 1/2 years in the public schools in various states, mostly 4th and 5th grades. My son has a rare genetic type of diabetes that is caused by a mutated gene. The gene is associated with developmental delays, but doctors aren't positive if the gene "causes" the delays. My daughter has the same gene, but is only 6 months old and is developing normally so far. She was diagnosed at 10 days old and put on medicine immediately so doctors are hopeful that will stop the dev. del. Andy will be 5 in April and has severe language, fine motor, and behavioral delays. His gross motor seems to be fine, but it's hard to "test" because he can't follow directions. He is also not potty trained yet, which is one of our biggest frustrations. Anyone have suggestions on potty training with a non-communicative child?

Caroline - posted on 08/29/2009

I understand the challenge of having a child with learning & developmental problems. My daughter was born 9 weeks premature & suffered brain damage - Cerebral Palsy. She had many challenges.



I found a new wellness technology that gave us amazing results in a very short time.



My daughter's story - audio http://www.carolinemangelsdorf.com/audio...



Caroline

Email: mango2@iinet.net.au

Cynthia - posted on 07/30/2009

I am a Bilingual (Spanish) Special Instructor who works as a SEIT & EI SpEd, ABA Therapist, and Developmental Evaluator in Queens, NY. I am very happy with my job, but am very interested to know what other opportunities there are out there for someone with my qualifications. I have been told several times I should look into getting my SAS.. which I believe is some type of Administrative Licensure for Directorial Positions? I don't have time to go back to school so I am curious to know, if there are any SAS' out there that can make suggestions for me. I am preparing my very first PowerPoint presentation to teach Early Head Start teachers in my community the Early Signs for Developmental Delays. This was asked of me as a favor.. although I am not a good public speaker, I am good one-on-one and can be a great advocate.

Holly - posted on 07/20/2009

Hi. I taught in a private special education agency for 8 years. I had students with moderate to severe mental retardation as well as additional diagnosis such as autism, ED, Down's syndrome, oppositional defiant disorder, etc and significant behavior management needs. It was tough but very rewarding. I am now home with my first child and looking for a new job for the fall. I have an interview for an autism specialist position that I am excited about!

Sarah - posted on 03/02/2009

Hi there,
I'm a mom to Kieran (almost 4) and Willow (10 months) and have worked as a Resource (special needs title here in NB, Canada) teacher for the past couple of years. I've worked at the middle school and elementary levels. I'm on leave now, but look forward to having a place to go when I return to work in the fall!

Melissa - posted on 02/27/2009

Hi, this is my sixth year teaching first grade. My son Tony is 19 months old and is developmentally delayed. He was born with heart defects which were corrected through open heart surgery when has two days old. He also has hydrocephalus and receives physical, occupational, and speech therapy. I don't know what the future holds for my son, but I know that I'm so lucky to have him :) He has already taught me so much and he is only 19 months old! I was just talking to a coworker the other day about how our district really needs to train teachers better. Before I had my son, I knew I should look over students' individual educational goals, but I never truly understood how to implement those goals into my own lessons for those students. Now that I am on the other side with my son, who has goals for his therapies, I have such a better understanding of how to do interventions and implement instruction for my special needs students. My goal now is to educate my coworkers and advocate for better teacher training!

Katharine - posted on 02/11/2009

Hi everyone.  Wow, this group is an amzing find.  Thank you, Wendy,  for putting this together. 

I am the mother of a ten year old girl with autism.  She is very high functioning and whip smart.  Her biggest challenges involve language and emotional development.  Lucky for her, she has an amazing teacher this year, whom I intend to invite to this group.  She is in an SDC with kids with various needs.

Wendy - posted on 02/02/2009

Thanks for the clarification! That's probably not something everyone is familiar with!!

Brandy - posted on 02/01/2009

PECS is a picture exchange communication system. You can use real, symbolic, or icons of objects that the student uses to tell what he or she wants or needs. I use them in scheduling, choice making, transitioning activites, etc.

Judy - posted on 01/31/2009

To Natasha Stafford of Jan. 21st= What is PECS???

Melanie - posted on 01/29/2009

Hi, My name is Melanie and I have 3 boys. 12, 7, and 13months. My oldest was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome, the middle one thinks he's and adult and won't stay still, and the baby well we're waiting to see how he'll further enrich our lives! :) Though they can be a challenge I can't imagine life without them!

Natasha - posted on 01/24/2009

Hey Everyone!

My name is Natasha and I teach a morning class called Intensive Direct Inclusion (IDI). This is strictly for children who are autistic and need an enviroment that is less distracting and very one on one. I also use PECS in this classroom and have seen A LOT of improvement with children with autism! Then I teach an Early Childhood Special Ed classroom in the afternoon. In this class I have 7 children who have special needs and 7 children who are "peer" models with no special needs.

Finally, I am a new mommy of a two week old baby girl! Part of me does not want to go back to work but the other part of me knows that this is what I am here to do in life and I love making differences in childrens' lives everyday! :)

Amiee - posted on 01/21/2009

Hi, my name is Amiee. I have been teaching for 15 years now. My first two years I taught Learning Disablities, then for 6 years I taught Multiple Disablities (severe and profound mental retardation and down syndrome) and now I teach Autistic with significant language delay and behaviors. I have taught using the TEACCH Program and now my class is ABA/VB (Applied Behavior Anaylsis/Verbal Behavior). I really enjoy ABA/VB set up for children with Autism. I have seen such an improvement with my students behaviors, language (either verbal, PECS (Picture Exchange Communication System) or sign language) and also in academics.



I also have two children of my own who are 3 & 4.

Brandy - posted on 01/21/2009

Hey ya'll. I am a special education teacher in Mississippi. This is my 9th year teaching special education and have always taught students with significant cognitive disabilities. I have worked in a variety of settings including an adult group home and an institutional setting. I currently work in a self-contained classroom with my district's TMR students. I also help with behavior interventions in my school and consult with other school district in deafblindness. I love every minute of minute of it and can not imagine doing anything else. I would love to toss around ideas about what we have each found to work and what we have found not to work as well.

Jenny - posted on 01/18/2009

Hello,
My name is Jenny. Before I had my first child, I was a regular ed. classroom teacher. Then Corynn came along. I switched to teaching piano so I could spend more time with her. I'm glad that I did.

Corynn is 6 and has developmental delays. Her speech, large motor, and fine motor are all delayed. It is suspected that she has some type of learning disability and apraxia. (Sorry, I can't spell very well.) We had her tested for autism, but the doctor said that she had sensory integration disorder instead. Life with her has never been boring or easy. She started in our states birth - 3 program at 18 months. She continued into our districts E.C. program at age 3. We had her do 4K twice because she has a late August birthday. This year she started 5K at a parochial school where I teach piano. Because she does attend one of the public schools, her services have been greatly cut.

We try to supplement what she does receive in various ways. I trade piano lessons for speech therapy. She takes ballet. I go into her school and work with her and another child using an awesome program called Handwriting Without Tears. She recently started piano lessons with a friend of mine who is a music therapist. I also spend tons of time "tutoring" her at home. Because of her issues with speech, getting her to read has been a challenge. For example, she can tell you what H, A, and T all say, but she has a hard time blending them together to make the word hat. I have been doing some guided reading with her, and our HUGE success is that she can now read some simple books!

My biggest frustration is getting answers. I feel that there is more to her diagnosis than her doctors are finding. She is so stuck on routines! If something goes just a little wrong, she has a huge meltdown. Getting her to control her emotions is rough! Also, if another child is misbehaving, she start getting upset. We're seeing the neuropsychologist again over the next month. Hopefully we'll get some more answers then. Corynn has come so far, she just so far to go!

Nice to meet all of you!

Wandalyn - posted on 01/09/2009

Hi Wendy,

My name is Wanda. I'm a special needs teacher in N.Charleston , SC. I teach students with moderate/severe mental disabilities in a self-contained class in middle school. This is my 12th year teaching. Prior to this, I taught resource in middle/high school and self-contained class in the high school setting. I love my students and all that comes with teaching them. I currently teach 6-8 grades(ages 11-15) at a middle school. I love what I do and wouldn't trade what I do with any other job. Administrators come to my class to "get away" from all the "tensions" of general education. My students love when others come to observe our class because they love to "show off" and do it so well. I'm proud of every step they make no matter how small or how big. My goal for my students is to help them become reach their goals. Okay, I'll stop rambling for now. I'm hoping to be able to trade ideas, teaching strategies, lesson plans, etc with other teachers and parents.

Lydia - posted on 01/02/2009

I teach first grade at a private school in TX. I have one child in my room with severe ADHD. I have another that may have an undiagnosed learning disability, so his parents and I are watching him (they don't want to test him right now because his grades are fine.)



I have three children of my own. My two sons (1st & 2nd grade) would probably test as gifted if we ever chose to go that route, but for now they are challenged by the school we are in (being a small school allows us some flexibility with our kids.) My daughter is 5 and is repeating preK. We had her tested last spring because I saw some things that concerned me, and she has some areas of language gaps, and potential learning disabilities. She was premature, so it is very possible that she will have difficulties her whole life.



I like the idea of this forum. I am hoping to get ideas for my family and my classroom.

Renee - posted on 12/28/2008

Hello everyone. I am a single mum with 3 kids, almost 10, 8 and 6. My eldest has recently been diagnosed with syntatic comprehension failure, my second child is a slow learner and is on the peaditricians waiting list to see if he has the same problem. My youngest doesn't have any learning problems but I find it hard to keep her motivated in her learning, her "favourite" saying is: my brothers can't read/count so why do I have to do it!

If anyone knows anything about syntatic comprehension failure or where I can find some information it would be greatly appreciated.

Leah - posted on 12/21/2008

Hi. I am a high school special education English teacher. I teach students that need to be in a substantially separate classroom for English. I have many different disabilities in my classroom. I have five different groups of students. My students read from the kindergarten to post high school.

I have one child of my own, a year and a half. I love my job, but my patience sometimes is a bit short.

Sara - posted on 12/10/2008

Hi everyone. I'm an early intervention special education teacher. I work for the infants and toddlers/early intervention program, so I work with kids ages 0-3. My kids have mild to severe disabilities including speech delays, global delays, MR, ASD, attention issues (no "diagnosed" issues though, they're too young), tuberous sclerosis, seizures, etc. In the county where I work, the children eithe rhave a diagnosed condition that causes a probability of delay, a 25% delay in any developmental area based on the evaluation that we give the, or some sort of atypical behavior/development.



I have two children of my own, ages 3 and 4. I love my job and can't imagine doing anything else. I love working wiht the kids and I love helping their parents.

Susan - posted on 12/06/2008

Hello, I teach special needs high school students who are also deaf. (So, yes I know sign language). I'm in Mississippi. Our program used to be "self-contained" but thanks to a new administration we now have our students change classes like the other students. They go to P.E. and Vocational classes. They also go to Library once a week and a Work lab setting twice a week to work on hands-on job training in a multitude of areas. In my opinion the Lab is one of the best things that has ever happened for all of our students, not just this group. I have experience with IEPs so I might be able to help answer some questions in that area.
I am also the mom of a 12 year old son in regular ed.

Lyn - posted on 11/28/2008

Hi! I have been teaching and working with multitudes of areas within special populations since the early 80's. I am currently working with global disabilities of the severe range. I love working with my kids, and enjoy researching new approaches to really enhance the lives of my students. I am willing to talk with parents, and I am also hoping to learn from the experiences of parents. I have found in education like in all fields, theories are only theories until action proves them as helpful or not for the individual. I've worked as a teacher for LD, ADD, Emotional Behavior Disorder of all cognitive ranges from MR to gifted, ASD, and moderate cognitive/physical impairment. I have also worked as a service coordinator/case manager for adult services. I also worked in a variety of roles at a camp for the Jaycee's Cerebral Palsy Foundation in KS.I am dedicated to the field in heart and soul.

Dori - posted on 11/26/2008

Hello all. This is my fourth year as a Special Education Teacher. My first year at worked at the K-5 level and for the past 2 years plus this year I'm working at the middle grade level. I teach one resource class and co-teach in 3 different inclusion classes. I love my job and honestly couldn't imagine doing anything else. Yes, it's challenging, but I must remember that if I make the difference in one child's life than it's worth it.

Wendy - posted on 11/19/2008

Hi, Wendy! (By the way, I just LOVE your name. Hee-hee!) Thanks for joining the group. I hope we will find lots of parents and teachers who can help each other. Because we each have a different perspective, hopefully we will be able to help each other to see the whole picture when it comes to our kids. I know I don't have all the answers, but I hope I can support you! It sounds like you have had a bad experience with schools. Is your son's new school working out better than the previous? What do you think is the main difference? How about your other son? What strategies do you use to help them to be successful in school?

Wendy - posted on 11/19/2008

I forgot to mention that I started a group for Moms dealing with Mood Disorders. So far there are over 400 members in the group, and there have been many excellent conversations. I'd love for you to take a look and offer any advice.

Wendy - posted on 11/19/2008

Hi!

I'm so glad to see a teacher who is willing to communicate with parents. I'm a mother of 2 children with ADHD combined. My 10yr old son has a mood disorder NOS. Last year I pulled him out of public school and placed him in a private school with the help of a scholarship program for children placed with an IEP.