Our kids can't do that. I hear that phrase a lot lately, when the topic turns to standardized testing, or Common Core State Standards, or inclusion run rampant. Not just from educators and IEP team members, though there's certainly enough eye-rolling…

The time has come for me to hand my daughter the keys. Not to our family car, though she will in fact be driving that to college every day. The keys to her educational advocacy -- something I've been cherishing and polishing and tuning up far more…

My son has some friends who are really bad news. We call them the Doo Brothers. They have first names, but I can't keep track of them all. They have foul mouths. They drive too fast. They care about no one but themselves. They're always buying…

By Terri Mauro. the About.com guide to Parenting Special Needs and the author of The Everything Parenting Guide to Sensory Integration Disorder and 50 Ways to Support Your Child’s Special Education. November, 1994. When we first meet our son, he is…

My daughter is coming to the end of a successful first semester at college. And boy, are those words I thought I'd never say, both the "college" part and the "successful" part. As much as we try, as parents of children with special needs, to stay…

I had it all planned out that today I would write about my son's IEP meeting yesterday ... except it snowed, and the meeting got rescheduled for tomorrow, and now here I sit without a topic. This will be my next to last IEP meeting, close to the end…

Summer vacation's about a week away for us. Boy, do I remember how I used to dread this part of the year. I so valued the routine of school, the way it occupied the time of kids who could not for the life of them occupy themselves at home. The end of…

If you're child's on a restricted diet, bounces off the wall with too much sugar, or just needs to avoid a long stay in the dentist's chair, big batches of high-calorie, high-sugar, hyper-loading sweet stuff can be a crisis. Rather than empty the…

I like to think of myself as the kind of special-needs parent who's developed a strong sense of what's important and what's small stuff not to be sweated. I don't want to waste my time mooning over my children's lack of typicality when they're doing…

The first time my son sang in a school choir concert, he was in third grade. It was not a triumph of inclusion. It was an obvious set-up for failure. He could not stand still and sing. He fidgeted, he bobbed, he pushed the kids around him, he kept…

Your Program: Extended School Year (ESY) is a helpful summer program for children in special education, but unless you can prove your child's going to regress over those months off, you may not be able to get it. You can still keep the learning going…

Photo: Dave Einsel/Getty Images So your school claims to be doing inclusion, your child's team is all "least restrictive environment" about it, there are back-pats all around about the shiny happiness of including kids with special needs ... but is…

Often, when asked not to use the R-word, defensive speakers will reply, "You can't say anything these days!" But people, that's just a failure of imagination. Many, many, many substitutes for that offensive slur against individuals with intellectual…

The night before and morning of an IEP (Individualized Education Program) meeting are tense times for many parents, as you anticipate challenges and disagreements and wonder if you're as prepared as you should be. Use all that nervous energy to…

You want to give your child a bright and fun Easter basket, but you're afraid of what sugar will do to your little hyperactive one; or you're avoiding colors and preservatives; or your child has diabetes; or you can't take a chance with food…

Well, it's too late for that, now, isn't it? You're already worried, or you wouldn't be here. The question is, are you right to be worried, or is your spouse/mother-in-law/neighbor correct that you're worried about nothing? Give yourself a reality…

There are a lot of strong opinions out there about proper placement for students with special needs. Some parents feel that every last special student belongs in the regular education mainstream; others hold on tight to out-of-district placements…

There's nothing wrong with saying those three little words every day to your child, over and over again. But many children with special needs are unable to respond to that loving message the way we'd like; they may be puzzled by emotions,…

Of course you're going to worry about how your child's doing in school. And these are some of the things you're going to worry about. But how about, just for today, you don't worry about them. Just for today. You can worry about them again tomorrow.…

The Child Study Team may suggest you sign it sight-unseen, or hurry you to sign once the document is delivered. An IEP can be an intimidating pile of paper, full of jargon and charts and evaluations and lists. What should you be making sure of before…