Special Education
This section examines several key issues involved in special education services as mandated under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), amended in 2004. For information on recent changes to the law, check our featured section on IDEA 2004. Be sure to also learn about the laws and regulations that govern special education in your state.
There are 86 articles in this section.
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Having seen her older son struggle for years, Jennifer Simpson was able to recognize her daughter’s reading challenges in preschool and get her help right away.
Homeschooling Your Struggling Learner
In the first chapter of her book, Homeschooling Your Struggling Learner, Kathy Kuhl explains how she came to the realization that school wasn't working for her son and decided to do what she never thought she could: stay home and teach him.
Feeling Safe at School: How New Technologies Can Help
Children with learning disabilities often feel unsafe. Learn ways that technology can help children with learning disabilities feel safe and secure in school, such as: creating maps that will help the student know where they are in the building; giving them advance access to education material so they can prepare; and reminding them of routines.
Is It a Reading Disorder or Developmental Lag?
How do parents know if their child's reading delay is a real problem or simply a "developmental lag?" How long should parents wait before seeking help if their child is struggling with reading? Susan Hall answers these questions.
Documenting Communication with the School About Special Services
When dealing with a bureaucracy, and school districts are bureaucracies, you need to keep detailed records. Logs, journals, and calendars provide answers and support memories and testimonies. This article provides examples of how to keep a paper trail.
Understanding the Special Education Process
This overview walks parents through each step of the special education process. PACER Center, author of this article, describes what happens from the time a child is referred for evaluation through the development of an individualized education program (IEP).
Response to Intervention (RTI): A Primer for Parents
Learn what questions to ask about Response to Intervention (RTI), an approach to helping struggling learners that's gaining momentum in schools across the country. The National Association of School Psychologists tells you the most important features of the process, key terms, and its relationship to special education evaluation.
Do Visual, Auditory, and Kinesthetic Learners Need Visual, Auditory, and Kinesthetic Instruction?
How does the mind work — and especially how does it learn? Teachers' instructional decisions are based on a mix of theories learned in teacher education, trial and error, craft knowledge, and gut instinct. Such gut knowledge often serves us well, but is there anything sturdier to rely on?
Disabilities That Qualify Infants, Toddlers, Children, and Youth for Services under IDEA 2004
Learn which children are eligible for services under IDEA, the special education law. This article lists thirteen disability categories, including specific learning disability, and defines them.
Identification of Specific Learning Disabilities
Highlights of Key Provisions and Important Changes in the Final Regulations for IDEA 2004
Schools in Which All Kinds of Minds Can Grow
As we discover more about how students learn and how different minds learn differently, our schools have a golden opportunity to increase the percentage of their students who experience true academic success.
Mediation Opens Door to Amicable Dispute Resolution
Parents’ Rights To Information About Professionals Who Work With Their Children Under IDEA
Assessment accommodations help people with learning disabilities display their skills accurately on examinations. Teachers, learn how to test the true knowledge of your students. Don't test their ability to write quickly if you want to see their science skills! Parents, these pointers will help you assure that your children are tested fairly.
Understanding Assessment Options for IDEA-eligible Students
The No Child Left Behind law requires each school test students in Reading/Language Arts & Math each year in grades 3-8, and at least once more in grades 10-12. In some cases, children eligible for Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) services may be able to access testing accommodations or even alternate tests, but parents need to fully understand the implications and potential consequences of participation in the various testing options.
No Child Left Behind: Making the Most of Options for IDEA-eligible Students
If a Title I school repeatedly underperforms, federal law provides opportunities for students to change schools or obtain additional instructional support. This parent advocacy brief looks at the information parents of students with disabilities need to know and understand in order to maximize these options.