Terri Mauro

50 Quick Activities for Kids When There's Nothing to Do

Forgot to toss toys in your purse? Did your carry-on get consigned to the cargo hold? Has that long stay in the waiting-room used up all your distractions? No matter how organized you are as a parent, there will always come a time when your child…

Understanding the Paraprofessional's Role in Schools

What Is a Paraprofessional? A paraprofessional is a specially trained, credentialed educational worker who supports students in school under the supervision of a teacher. Your child may notice this type of aide in their classroom or be assigned to…

How to Set Up an Email Account for Your Child That You Can Monitor

Setting up an email account for a child is something that many parents contemplate. The reasons vary greatly, and when you decide it's the right time (from younger kids to tweens or teens) will be different for every family and the individual child.…

Reasons to Go to Your Child's Back-to-School Night

If back-to-school night, that evening early in the school year when you're invited to walk through your child's schedule and meet the teachers, doesn't draw you in, you're not alone—fewer and fewer parents are making attending a priority. But that's…

Why Use of the R-Word Needs to Stop

The R-word is a euphemism for retard and retarded, words that are considered offensive and disrespectful when used to describe or insult individuals with intellectual disabilities or to insult people, places, and things by comparing them to…

Is Hoarding a Problem for Your Child?

Have you ever wondered if hoarding is a problem for your child? Hoarding has been in the news quite a bit, with reality programs showing adults trapped behind mountains of junk. Maybe you've looked in your child's room, with piles of unusual items…

Sports Programs for Your Child With Special Needs

Every child has the right to enjoy the fun of playing sports, the joy of teamwork, the achievement of hitting a ball, making a goal, or crossing the finish line. Whether part of a team sport or enjoying an athletic activity geared for individuals,…

Fine and Gross Motor Skills in Children

Motor skills are skills that enable the movements and tasks we do every day. Fine motor skills are those that require a high degree of control and precision in the small muscles of the hand (such as using a fork). Gross motor skills use the large…

Why Parents Should Send Encouraging Notes to School With Their Child

Every kid needs encouragement, and children with special needs may need a little more. Sending your child to school with a secret note slipped inside their lunch or school bag is the perfect way to say you care, even when you are not around. Why…

504 Plans for Students With Disabilities

A 504 plan is intended for children with disabilities who do not need or qualify for special education but could benefit from accommodations and/or specialized help in school. These plans identify accommodations a child with a disability needs to…

Occupational Therapy for Special Needs Children

Occupational therapy (OT) may sound like it involves finding a job or developing work skills, but it actually deals with strengthening fine motor skills.1 These skills include tasks like writing, using scissors, tying shoes, and using utensils. OT is…

Understanding Present Level of Performance (PLOP)

When is comes to your child's IEP, one of the most important elements is the portion called present level of performance (PLOP), which details how your child is doing academically at the moment. This assessment is sometimes abbreviated as PLP or…

TV Series Featuring Characters or Performers With Disabilities

A big part of raising awareness and acceptance for people with disabilities is making their stories part of popular culture. Check out our list of TV series that have had regularly featured characters or performers with special needs. Be sure to…

Early Intervention in Special Education

What are early intervention services? The term refers to services given to very young children with developmental delays and disabilities, generally from birth until the child turns three.1 For this reason, these programs are sometimes called "Birth…

How the No Pants Potty Training Method Can Work

Potty training children with disabilities is an adventure. Are you up for it? This No-Pants Method is what finally worked for my son when he was 5 years old. We only needed to do it for a few days, and he was trained both day and night. Though I…

How Speech Therapy Can Help Your Child

Speech therapy focuses on receptive language, or the ability to understand words spoken to you, and expressive language, or the ability to use words to express yourself. Speech therapy also addresses the mechanics of producing words, such as…

5 Steps to Starting a Special Needs Trust

If have a child with special needs, you've probably gotten the message that you have to put money in a Special Needs Trust. These trusts protect your adult child from losing services due to maximum income requirements. And maybe you're dragging your…

Who Can Babysit Your Child With Special Needs?

A night out. A weekend away. A special occasion with one of your other children. There are times when you really, really need a babysitter for your child with special needs. But it has to be a babysitter who can handle him. Who knows about her health…

How Parents Can Get Involved With Special-Needs Advocacy

Until your child is old enough to advocate for disability rights, it's your responsibility to do what you can to make the world a friendlier place for people with special needs, now and as your child becomes an adult. There are things you can do…

Behavior Charts for Children With Special Needs

Behavior charts—on which doing chores, behaving, and handling self-care tasks are rewarded with points—can be effective ways of getting children to do what parents want. Parents of children with special needs sometimes find that their kids don't…