If you are anything like me you have probably completely forgotten what resolutions you made back in January. With the new school year starting I felt it was a perfect opportunity to come up with some new resolutions. I didn't want to overdo it so I have three top resolutions for this school year... 1. Go to bed earlier! - I have been a night owl for as long as I can remember. I swear my best ideas happen after 9pm which is horrible because no one likes tossing and turning at night because you can't stop thinking about how you are going to change a lesson or rearrange your desk! I need to go to bed earlier. 2. Get up earlier! - Anyone who has taught with me and pretty much anyone who has tried to meet me somewhere knows I am always late! This is mostly due to the fact that I am NOT a morning person. I move so slow in the morning and on most days I wish caffeine could be injected intravenously! I think a lot of this stems from the problem in resolution #1. 3. Leave......

I am a total perfectionist! Anyone who knows me and has worked with me knows this about me. I have super high expectations for myself. I love a challenge and I love pushing myself to be my best. I admit I push others to be better too. I try not to do it in a crazy Sue Sylvester way, but in a way that makes them see that there really is no other way. I have been super blessed. I feel my paraprofessionals respect that the reason I push our team is to give our kids the best education and quality of life that we can. I know they worry about the stress I put myself through to get us there but they work with me and it makes us a remarkable team. However my high expectations for myself and my team is not what I find most important or fulfilling. It's the high expectations I have for my students and their ability to exceed them which are the most rewarding. My last couple Think About It Thursday posts have been about labels and all the things they imply students cannot do. If I foc......

Last week I discussed how I felt about labels and how I didn't think it was fair for a child's label to dictate the services they receive. This made me think of the label/diagnosis of autism. Autism is basically diagnosed from a list of things a child cannot do... He cannot relate to others. She cannot communicate appropriately.  He cannot stop obsessing about that toy or TV show. She cannot handle loud noises. He cannot handle changes in routine. She cannot understand the risk of danger. He cannot stand being touched. She cannot make eye contact. He cannot play with toys appropriately. I hate all the focus on cannot for two reasons. 1. There is no mention of any of the things the child can do! And kids with autism can do some pretty amazing stuff! I admit some of what they can do may be unconventional but how many of us can repeat a Disney movie verbatim, determine what day of the week someone was born on just by knowing the date, or recite the ......

Nobody likes labels. Labels always bring with them certain connotations. As a special education teacher, I have personally struggled with what to call myself and I often find myself tailoring it to meet the needs of my audience (is it a fellow educator or a parent of an intervention student?). Some of the "labels" I have given myself over the past 5 years include: Intervention Specialist Special Education Teacher Cross-Categorical Teacher Multiple Disabilities/MD Teacher Resource Room Teacher Honestly, it doesn't matter to me what label I am given as long as I get to work with my special kiddos each day!  However, labels can be a very tricky thing when it comes to my students. Typically in special ed, a label defines all the things that child cannot do... He cannot see. She cannot hear. They cannot sit still. Since they have moved all of our "MD" classrooms (which were labeled Cross-Categorical classrooms until they were conveniently relab......

Today I received an email from a parent of one of my kiddos. She shared that he had been put on a gluten and dairy free diet this summer and that they were seeing great results. This student has always had toileting issues so I am glad to hear they have found a solution, however I am a little nervous about this new diet.The biggest diet restrictions I have had in my classroom are no chocolate/caffeine and no peanut butter. So this will be a big change. I am mostly concerned about adapting our weekly cooking activities to meet this students needs. Has anyone worked with kids with gluten-free diets? Have you seen a big change? Other than bowel issues, what are other reasons gluten-free is used? Do you know of any resources our there for teachers that will help with these restrictions? Perhaps kid-friendly cookbooks? Thanks!...

I saw this picture today on fb and it really hit home! I have always thought a majority of my kids have undiagnosed vision issues that no one ever does anything about. I have expressed concern to parents and they think everything is fine because the doctors haven't said anything or because they pass the vision screening Half of my kids cannot even understand how to do the screening test and none of them would be able to express if they couldn't see correctly. How many of us have gotten new glasses or contacts and thought "WOW! I didn't know what I was missing!". I can only imagine how clueless my little ones with special needs are especially if it's a condition they've had their whole lives. Do other teachers have this issue? How do you address these concerns with parents who think everything is fine? Do you think vision issues are more prevalent in kids with special needs, particularly Autism? Leave a comment to let me know your thoughts!...