Teaching a student to read, especially when they have a learning disability, can be incredibly challenging. However, we know that being able to read is one of the most important skills our students need. It is literally a game changer for every other subject. So, as special educators, we want to be the best teachers of reading that we can be. But where do we start? What steps should we take to get them where we want them to be? In this week’s episode I am chatting with Malia from Playdough to Pl...
Mar 09, 2023•25 min
Neurodiversity is the word used to explain the unique and different ways that someone’s brain functions. If someone is neurodivergent their brain will work differently than the average person. This can manifest in many ways like ADHD, Dyslexia and even Tourette’s Syndrome. As teachers, we need to not only understand neurodiversity, but also be able to aid our students in reaching success. In this week’s episode I am chatting with Laine from Transition Abilities about what you need to be about ne...
Feb 23, 2023•34 min
As special educators, we have to write IEPs, there is no way around it. And while it can be challenging, this is also one of the most important things that we do for our students. This “pile” of paperwork leads the entire process for each student. So how do we make it manageable? In this week’s episode, I am sharing 6 tips to help you feel in control and ready to tackle this part of your job. It doesn’t matter if you have written hundreds of IEPs or are just getting started, these ideas will hel...
Feb 16, 2023•16 min
Co-teaching in a special education setting is a collaborative approach to teaching where a general education teacher and a special education teacher work together to plan and instruct a class that includes students with disabilities. This typically takes place in the general education classroom with regular peers. It can be very successful for students with disabilities, but it can also be very challenging for the teachers who are involved. In this week’s episode I am chatting with Alissa from H...
Feb 09, 2023•31 min
When you work in a special education classroom you know that you are going to be dealing with varying types of disabilities. There is definitely not a cookie cutter scenario when it comes to our students. We help our students with physical, cognitive, emotional and behavioral disabilities. As the teacher, we need to be prepared to meet the unique needs of each of our students. So, where do you start? How do you cover it all? How do you even know what assistance is needed? In this week’s episode ...
Feb 02, 2023•10 min
As a special educator, we know that there are all kinds of hurdles and roadblocks that we have to overcome on a daily basis. Things like schedule changes, student meltdowns and unexpected meetings are always lurking close by. In this week’s episode I am chatting with Rachelle Sikes from Sikes Spedtacular Students about ways that you can prepare for the unexpected. These are easy to do things that will leave you feeling more in charge of the constant changes that occur. In this episode you will l...
Jan 26, 2023•27 min•Ep. 145
Assistive technology is any device or software that is used to enhance the abilities of individuals with disabilities. It can range from simple tools like pencil grips and adapted scissors, to more complex devices like electronic communication devices or speech-to-text software. Knowing what tools are available and what works best for your students is a huge plus. Sometimes it takes some trial and error, but once you get it right, you will see growth in your students. In this week’s episode I am...
Jan 19, 2023•9 min
Joint attention is a word that you may or may not have heard before. It is defined as when two people are focusing on the same item intentionally. It can aid in communication and understanding. It can also go a long way in building relationships with your students. So, how do we use it in the special education classroom and why does it matter to us? In this week’s episode I am chatting with Rose Griffin from ABA Speech, a dual certified speech language pathologist and board certified behavior sp...
Jan 12, 2023•28 min
Inclusive education is the practice of educating students with disabilities in the mainstream classrooms alongside their typically developing peers. Research tells us that inclusion learning can have some big, positive impacts on academic and social outcomes for students with disabilities. However, as special education teachers, we have to be prepared to support these students in this setting..it doesn’t just happen. In this episode I am sharing some ideas that have worked for my students in the...
Jan 05, 2023•14 min
2022 has been hard in many ways, some of those completely unexpected. But here we are at the end of the year, we made it! I am so proud of all that has been accomplished and the difference that you have each made for your students. In this week’s episode I am sharing the top 5 episodes from 2022. Each of these was full of tips and strategies that so many of our special education besties have already put to good use in their classrooms. I’m linking each full episode below so that you can go back ...
Dec 29, 2022•23 min
How many of you are trying to figure out how to teach life skills to your early learners? Does it feel like you don’t even know where to start? Where to fit it in the day? There seem to be plenty of curriculum options, but how do you know which one meets the needs of your students the best? There are so many questions to consider when thinking about life skills in the early elementary classroom. So in this week’s episode, I am sharing some ideas to help you get started. I’ve even linked a few di...
Dec 22, 2022•15 min
Sometimes as early educators we get caught up in our own classroom and forget to think about the future of our students. But the future is there and we want our students to be as successful as possible. For many of them that means attending college. But how can we help them get there? In this week’s episode I’m chatting with Perry LaRoque about how we can help our students navigate the college pathway. Perry is an educator, author and all around guru when it comes to this world. In this episode ...
Dec 15, 2022•29 min
Ever have the perfect lesson planned out, down to the minute and then things somehow just go wrong? You have that one student that always seems to finish quicker than the other students and they need something to do. And whatever that “something” is, they must be able to do it by themselves because you and the aids are busy with the rest of the students. So what do you do, what do you assign them? In this week’s episode I am sharing some easy ideas for those early finishers. There is everything ...
Dec 08, 2022•9 min
Dyslexia is a general term for disorders that involve difficulty in learning to read or interpret words, letters, and other symbols, but that do not affect general intelligence according to Webster’s Dictionary. Many of us are familiar with the general terms of dyslexia, but often we do not understand the many complexities of this disorder or the accommodations that our students need. In this week’s episode I am chatting with Dr. Lauren from Think Dyslexia LLC about dyslexia. She is sharing so m...
Dec 01, 2022•45 min
Do you get a sinking feeling in your stomach when you think about progress reports? No matter how hard I try to be organized, they seem to sneak up on me every time. That makes them feel so overwhelming for me! So this year, I set out to do things differently. In this episode, I am sharing some ideas that have made things just a little easier over the years when it comes to progress reports. These lessons learned will show you how to tackle progress reports like a pro. In this episode you will l...
Nov 24, 2022•14 min•Ep. 136
A few weeks ago I did a podcast about collecting data and how to not feel so overwhelmed by the sheer volume of it all. I received numerous messages asking for even more help on getting this huge task under control. Data affects us all and no matter how long we have been in education, we are always looking for ways to do it better. In this week’s episode I am chatting with Heather from Full Sped Ahead about digital data. Heather does data collection so well and has so many amazing systems in pla...
Nov 17, 2022•25 min•Ep. 135
Does your school require parent conferences? Do you feel like they can be a total waste of time? Or maybe you just feel overwhelmed by them and never know what to share with parents? Parent conferences can be such an effective tool for special educators when they are done right. In this week’s episode I’m sharing the why behind parent conferences and some ideas of things that you can share during the conference that matter. In this episode you will learn: The benefits of having a parent/teacher ...
Nov 10, 2022•14 min•Ep. 134
It has been said many times that the IEP team is much like a puzzle with all the pieces or people fitting together to do what is best for the student. One of those pieces is the speech therapist. Many of our students receive speech services in addition to all of the work we are doing with them. That means that we need an excellent relationship with our speech therapist. In this week’s episode, I’m chatting with Lauren from Busy Bee Speech about that relationship and what we can do to make sure i...
Nov 03, 2022•30 min•Ep. 133
Data collection is a given when working in special education. We are constantly evaluating if and how our students are progressing. The sheer volume of data that we collect can feel a bit like those Halloween beasts that lurk around this time of year. But it doesn’t have to be that way. In this week’s episode, I am sharing some strategies and some resources that will help you feel confident about data collection. In this episode you will learn: The benefits of using google forms for data collect...
Oct 27, 2022•13 min•Ep. 132
As special educators we are always working with a team of people. The school psychologist is one of those team members. We don’t always have a good understanding of everything that their job entails, all the acronyms, etc. And that information can be even more overwhelming for the parents. So how do we work with our school psychologist to make the most of the IEP meetings? In this week’s episode I am chatting with Briana from Educationally Psyched. As a former educator and now school psychologis...
Oct 20, 2022•27 min•Ep. 131
Halloween is right around the corner. For years I wanted to be the teacher with the cute learning activities and crafts, but it always felt so overwhelming. I soon realized that with a little pre-planning on my part it really wasn’t all that difficult to do all the things with my students. I quickly developed multiple resources that I could use in my self-contained classroom each year. In this week’s episode I am sharing those resources with you so you can skip the planning and prep and just go ...
Oct 13, 2022•13 min•Ep. 130
Being a self contained teacher is so rewarding, but it can also be hard some days. There are so many moving pieces, so many things to keep up with. It can quickly become overwhelming. In this week’s episode I am chatting with Micala from Hardly Contained in Sped. As a self contained teacher she understands the challenges that you are facing everyday. She is sharing some tips and strategies to make sure that you are ready to have your best semester yet! In this episode you will learn: The benefit...
Oct 06, 2022•44 min•Ep. 129
What is CVI? Cerebral visual impairment (sometimes called cortical visual impairment or CVI) is a disorder caused by damage to the parts of the brain that process vision. It’s most common in babies and young children, but can continue into adulthood. A child with CVI has vision problems that are caused by their brain that can’t be explained by a problem with their eyes. Normally, the eyes send electrical signals to the brain, and the brain turns those signals into the images you see. If you have...
Sep 29, 2022•12 min•Ep. 128
Are you already feeling overwhelmed with some classroom behaviors? Do you feel like you have already tried all the tools in your toolbox and nothing seems to be changing? It seems like we completely skipped the honeymoon period this year and things are already starting to pop up. In this week’s episode I am chatting with Abby from Mrs. Moes Modifications about overcoming classroom behaviors. She is sharing tons of tips and strategies and an incredible freebie with everyone. In this episode you w...
Sep 22, 2022•24 min•Ep. 127
How many steps are you taking during the day at work? Most days it feels like I never sit down! Some days I even find myself crawling around on the floor for some learning activity with my students. The way I dress matters…from my shoes to my clothes I need to be both professional and comfortable. I’ve been asked several times lately about this very topic over on Tik Tok so in this week’s episode I am sharing some ideas with you. There are a few splurge items as well as some budget friendly item...
Sep 15, 2022•17 min•Ep. 126
Teacher burnout is such a hot topic right now! It is something that we all deal with in certain ways and something that we have talked about several times on this show. There just seems to be so much right now and it feels like something new is added to our already overflowing plates each day. So what can we do? How can we avoid burnout to the point that we are ready to quit? In this episode I am chatting with Alexis from The Peachy Speducator about 6 ways you can prevent burnout as a special ed...
Sep 08, 2022•26 min•Ep. 125
School is back in full swing for me and I will be the first to admit that it has been a lot! Even as a veteran teacher I am finding it difficult to get my footing right now and feel like things are smoothing out. I spent some time recently really focusing on what I could control and things that I could change to make life a little easier. In this week’s episode I want to share 5 things with you that have really stood out over the last few weeks. Each of these are simple in process, but can make ...
Sep 01, 2022•15 min•Ep. 124
Burnout is a very real thing. We have all experienced some level at different points in our career, some just more than others. So how do we avoid burnout and have a healthy relationship with our jobs? What self-care can we focus on that makes a difference and allows us to hold onto a part of ourselves? In this week’s episode I am chatting with Sarah Forest from The Designer Teacher. Sarah knows all about burn out after leaving the classroom after only four years due to a mental breakdown caused...
Aug 25, 2022•25 min•Ep. 123
How many of you feel like your desk at work is kinda like your second junk drawer at home? I know sometimes mine can get a little overwhelming with ALL the things, but for sure there are things that I need to keep in there that just make life easier. And that is what some days are about…just making things easier. In this week’s episode I am sharing some insight into those things that I think are must haves for your desk and some ideas from my Instagram followers, who I recently surveyed. There w...
Aug 18, 2022•13 min•Ep. 122
Paperwork, paperwork and more paperwork! It is never ending for a special education teacher. And there are so many different kinds to keep up with and often with multiple due dates. How in the world are we expected to keep up with it all and feel like we have a handle on it? Especially if you are a new teacher trying to balance everything else on top of the paperwork? In this week’s episode I am chatting with Brandie Rosen from Teaching Untangled about this very thing. She is sharing some strate...
Aug 11, 2022•27 min•Ep. 121
