When the pandemic forced schools to transition to remote learning in the spring, some families struggled more than others. Families of students in special education programs were suddenly expected to adapt to an online learning environment that was often inaccessible to children with a variety of physical, emotional or developmental needs. Read more ›
New research shows that it often takes three years and visits to multiple providers before Black children are diagnosed with autism, denying them a critical opportunity for therapy when it’s likely to be most effective. Read more ›
At her Bay Area elementary school, Olivia Tan had a one-on-one aide. At home she has three siblings and two parents trying desperately to offer some semblance of education.
Her father, Simon Tan, like so many California parents, is overwhelmed by the daily responsibility of carrying out his child’s therapies amid coronavirus-forced school closures. And Tan knows about these issues. He is a clinical neuropsychologist at Stanford Hospital. Read more ›
Your child’s IEP or 504 Plan was not designed for distance learning, but as most of the nation’s children are starting the 2020-21 school year learning at home, it now it falls on parents and educators to make new accommodations for students with ADHD and other learning challenges when they’re outside the classroom. Read more ›
After spending months with just their families during the pandemic, students with disabilities may show signs of anxiety as they return to school regardless of whether they exhibited such signs before the COVID-19 outbreak. Read more ›
The necessary and rapid move to distance learning in response to the COVID-19 pandemic has been disabling for our education system.
All teachers and students are currently experiencing challenges with accessibility, the promotion of emotional and physical wellness, and academic progress—issues that the special education community knows all too well. Read more ›
As a parent, you have probably come to appreciate your child’s teachers in a whole new way during this unprecedented school closure period. Even so, you are worried about your child’s progress academically and socially. Is she falling behind? She is missing her friends. What about all this screen time? Read more ›
Over 6 million public school students in California are “sheltering in place” at home. All are supposed to be doing school work through a new “distance learning” curriculum school districts are currently putting into place. One of the biggest questions is whether to grade students’ work — and if they are graded, what kinds of grades, and what can they be used for. The California Department of Education has issued detailed guidance on the issue, but most decisions will be made at a local level. Read more ›
About 14 percent of all public school students receive special education services, and for many of them the switch to remote learning has been difficult on families and the schools that teach them every day. How are schools adjusting? What resources are they turning to? And what’s most important to focus on? Read more ›
One in eight students in California receives special education services, but the state’s schools are often “ill-equipped” to serve them, and funding for students with disabilities has not “kept pace with district costs,” according to a collection of research papers released Tuesday by Policy Analysis for California Education. Read more ›
