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Many struggling readers can receive additional support from their school. Students with reading or reading-related disabilities may be eligible to receive supplemental instruction from special education teachers who can provide in-class or out-of-class support, depending on the student's needs. Navigating the unfamiliar waters of special education, though, can be overwhelming for parents, teachers, and students. This section contains helpful information about the basics of special education: the process, the IEP, and inclusion.
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By: American Federation of Teachers (2008)
Response to Intervention (RTI) is a complex subject and states and districts have a lot of discretion with the implementation of this three-step, research-based approach to intervention and placement. Learn about some of the common misconceptions of the RTI process and read about additional RTI web sources.
By: Peter W. D. Wright and Pamela Darr Wright (2008)
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.
By: Rick Lavoie (2008)
Teachers: How do you convince your principal, fellow teachers, and other school staff to help the student in your class who has a learning disability? Rick Lavoie, world-renowned expert, speaker, and author on teaching children with LD, tells you how to get your voice heard. Learn how to handle common road blocks and become a proactive and successful advocate in the hallways, the teacher's lounge, and the administrative suite.
By: Peter W. D. Wright and Pamela Darr Wright (2007)
Learn to develop the evidence that you need to support your belief that your child is not receiving the right help in school. You need to know the facts about your child as described in tests and evaluations. Peter and Pamela Wright, from Wrightslaw, tell you how to interpret and chart your child's test scores, describe your child's progress in graphs, and successfully communicate with the educators who are making decisions about your child.
By: PACER Center (2007)
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).
By: Peter W. D. Wright and Pamela Darr Wright (2007)
When an advocate negotiates with the school on a special needs child's behalf, the odds are increased that the child will get an appropriate education. Learn who can advocate, what they do, and how you can get started advocating for your child.
By: Andres Barona and Maryann Santos de Barona (2006)
This article discusses the challenges in providing psychoeducational services to the rapidly increasing minority populations in the U.S. and offers a brief elaboration of the role and function of school counselors and school psychologists and how they can meet the mental health and educational needs of this large and growing population.
By: Peter W. D. Wright and Pamela Darr Wright (2006)
When a doctor develops a treatment plan for a sick child, the doctor uses objective data from diagnostic tests. Your child's individualized education program is similar to a medical treatment plan, and you need objective tests to know that your child is acquiring reading, writing, and arithmetic skills.
By: Peter W. D. Wright and Pamela Darr Wright (2006)
Individualized education program (IEP) goals cannot be broad statements about what a child will accomplish. Goals that cannot be measured are non-goals. Learn how to help the IEP team devise specific, measurable, realistic goals.
By: Peter W. D. Wright and Pamela Darr Wright (2006)
Learn what makes a strong individualized education program (IEP) and the five components of a SMART IEP.
By: Peter W. D. Wright and Pamela Darr Wright (2006)
Too often annual goals listed in an individualized education program are not specific and measurable. Find out how to avoid this pitfall.
By: Peter W. D. Wright and Pamela Darr Wright (2006)
This article explains how to consider your child's present levels of academic performance and use baseline data to develop goals and objectives for a individualized education program.
By: National Center for Learning Disabilities (2006)
By: Candace Cortiella (2005)
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.
By: Candace Cortiella (2005)
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.
By: Candace Cortiella (2005)
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.
By: Candace Cortiella (2005)
This article provides an overview of the federal No Child Left Behind law and includes information to help parents use provisions of NCLB to ensure that their child has access to appropriate instruction.
By: Reading Rockets (2005)
IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) is our nation's special education law. Below you'll find important information about IDEA 2004, which went into effect on July 1, 2005.
By: Virginia Berninger, Donna Rury Smith, and Louise O'Donnell (2004)
This article discusses current research-supported instructional practices in reading and writing. It also reviews alternatives to ability-achievement discrepancy in identifying students for special education services, as well as introduces the idea that ability-achievement discrepancies should be based on specific cognitive factors that are relevant to specific kinds of learning disabilities rather than Full Scale IQ.
By: Lisa Küpper and Jean Kohanek (2000)
From annual goals to special education services, there are certain categories of information required by law to be included in a student's Individualized Education Plan (IEP). Learn what these categories are in this overview of the content of IEP's.
- For older articles, see the Special Education Archives >
