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Description: Child Trauma Toolkit for Educators - Information for Educators: Trauma Facts for Educators Suggestions for Educators Psychological and Behavioral Impact of Trauma: Preschool Children Psychological and Behavioral Impact of Trauma: Elementary School Students Psychological and Behavioral Impact of Trauma: Middle School Students Psychological and Behavioral Impact of Trauma: High School Students Brief Information on Childhood Traumatic Grief for School Personnel Self Care for Educators Information...
Description: Every child is unique and learns in different ways. If your child has been identified as needing special education services to support his or her learning at school, you can play a major role in shaping the services your child receives. This section will help you understand the Individualized Education Program (IEP) and the importance of your participation in developing your child’s IEP Plan. You are a required member of your child’s IEP team, and your ideas must always be considered...
Description: It is the intent of the Commonwealth of Virginia to include all students with disabilities in the assessment component of Virginia's accountability system. IDEA 2004 regulations require that all students with disabilities participate in the state's accountability system. Students with disabilities may participate in the Standards of Learning (SOL) assessments and Virginia Alternate Assessment Program (VAAP). When determining participation in Virginia's Accountability System, all students with...
Description: The Art of Impact: A Handbook for Self-Determined Living - This e-book is your guide to self-advocacy and healthy living in your community. It will help introduce you to self-advocacy. Those of you who already know about self-advocacy can learn more about it. You can learn how to practice and improve your self-advocacy skills. You can also learn tips from veteran leaders. In the first chapter of this e-book, you will read about what self-advocacy is. You will learn about how people from diverse...
Description: All kids feel anxious from time to time. But kids who learn and think differently are more likely to struggle with anxiety. How can you tell whether your child’s level of anxiety is typical and appropriate, or something more? A chart is provided that can help you understand the difference between typical anxiety and an anxiety problem, and how to support your child in both situations.
Description: Virginia’s Definition of School Readiness describes the capabilities of children, families, schools and communities that promote student success in kindergarten and beyond. Each component – children, families, schools and communities – plays an essential role in developing school readiness. Ready Children are prepared socially, personally, physically and intellectually to meet literacy, mathematics, science, history/social science and developmental standards for...
Description: The I’m Determined project, a state-directed project funded by the Virginia Department of Education, focuses on providing direct instruction, models, and opportunities to practice skills associated with self-determined behavior. This project facilitates youth, especially those with disabilities to undertake a measure of control in their lives, helping to set and steer the course rather than remaining the silent passenger. Much of our work comes from research around three...
Description: Download: IEP Tracker - Your child’s IEP includes annual goals. And while her school will keep you updated on progress, you may want to keep track on your own, too. This IEP goal tracker can help you stay on top of your child’s IEP goals, her present level of performance and the progress she’s making. It can also help you keep track of questions or observations you might want to raise with the IEP team. A goal chart doesn’t have to be complicated. Here’s a quick...
Description: Collaborative Teaching Course 1, 2 & 3 (Cost $75 per course) Within the past decade, collaborative teaching partnerships have opened the doors of general education classrooms for millions of special populations students. These students and their typical peers receive increased personal support from trained educators, achieve more, and benefit from higher expectations and challenging curriculum and instruction. The teaching partners also benefit from the lower pupil-teacher ratio. Ironically,...
Description: Led by Jim Knight and backed by over twenty years of research and experience working with over 100,000 coaches from all around the world, the Instructional Coaching Group’s coaching experts work to help educators develop the skills and tools they need to make an unmistakably positive impact in student’s lives.
Description: ABLEnow accounts help individuals with disabilities save money to pay for qualified expenses, without being taxed on the earnings – and in most cases, without losing eligibility for certain means-tested benefit programs.
Description: Transition education and services should be grounded in quality research. To do so, practitioners need information on which practices and programs are effective for students and youth with disabilities. They also need to be able to services, instruction, and supports around factors associated with post-school success. Effective practices are........ specific interventions to teach skills to secondary students and youth with disabilities and are based on the results of intervention...
Description: The National Technical Assistance Center on Transition: The Collaborative (NTACT:C) is a Technical Assistance Center co-funded by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) and the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA). Their purpose is to provide information, tools, and supports to assist multiple stakeholders in delivering effective services and instruction for secondary students and out of school youth with disabilities. Transition topic areas...
Description: Service Dogs of Virginia is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization that raises, trains, and places dogs to assist people with disabilities. Highly trained dogs perform a multitude of tasks that allow greater personal freedom and independence. We serve clients residing in the Commonwealth of Virginia, and are based in Charlottesville, Virginia. Physical Assistance Dogs Autism Service Medical Alert Dogs PTSD Service Dogs Facility Dogs
Description: This is a resource from ADDitude Magazine. To download the resource you will have to enter your email address. Help your gamer pick programs that boost attention and executive skills. Many kids with ADHD love their screen time. This free download contains the best recommendations, with ratings, for the video and computer games to choose from these favorites: Bad Piggies Roblox Minecraft Portal And much more!
Description: Our understanding of how best to support the learning of individuals with ASD always evolving. With new autism research becoming available, it is necessary for educators, medical personnel, parents, and other service providers to stay up-to-date on best practices, evidence-based interventions and strategies available to support those with ASD. Evidence-based practice (EBP) are those practices that have been researched and are widely accepted and recognized as effective techniques. ...
Description: BridgeLine servies include: Case Management Vocational Day Program "Clubhouse" Residential Program Assisted Independen Living Program
Description: The Assistive Technology Loan Fund Authority (ATLFA) is a Commonwealth of Virginia State Authority created with public funds to help Virginians with disabilities obtain assistive technology. The ATLFA provides affordable financing alternatives (loans with below-market interest rates, no down payments, longer repayment terms, etc.) to help make adaptive equipment a possibility for individuals who might not otherwise be eligible for borrowing. Any type of equipment can be financed as long as...
Description: Social communication and social skill difficulties are core characteristics of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Deficits in social skills often have negative consequences that impact individuals’ outcomes in inclusive learning opportunities in schools and inclusive engagement in the communities. Though this social component is a widely known hallmark of ASD, intervention to support individuals’ mastery of these skills is still emerging in classroom and community environments across...
Description: “Work Early, Work Often” is a video campaign created by the Youth Transitions Collaborative’s career preparation and management working group. Together, the two-part series highlights the importance of work and work-based experiences in an individual’s transition to adulthood, particularly for young adults with disabilities. Each storyline focuses on a different subject and narrative, told from the perspective of key audiences that are part of the transition journey. All...
Description: The following transition tips were compiled from a survey developed by the Center on Transition Innovations and given to a diverse group of Virginia families whose children have experienced the transition from high school to adult options. These valuable suggestions can assist others in making informed decisions, advocating for improved services, and building upon school and community partnerships. 1. Love your child unconditionally, believe in him or her, provide encouragement, dream big! You...
Description: What do Teachers Need to Know?Providing opportunities for students with ASD to be as independent as possible will help to pave the way towards independence as they transition to adulthood. Consider the personal skills needed for independence: physical health, social health and community participation. Students with ASD often lag behind their peers in these areas. Providing strategies and practicing these skills while still in high school will help the student after graduation while at home, in...
Description: Inclusion and participation in the community are not always easy for individuals with ASD. At times, members of the community may not be accepting or supportive. However, community participation can lead to a better quality of life for everyone and make all the difference in an individual’s life. What do Teachers Need to Know?One of the best ways to engage students and promote independence is to give opportunities for choice making and problem solving. This helps increase motivation and...
Description: College accommodations are those supports and services provided at no cost to eligible students with disabilities to have equal access and opportunity to benefit from classes, programs, and activities. Common academic accommodations may include priority registration, note takers, extended time on tests, testing in a limited distractions room, accessible classrooms, interpreters, and textbooks in an alternate format. Using accommodations can make a big difference in student learning and grades...
Description: Advisory: This Fast Fact contains adult content and may not be suitable for all readers In today’s technological world, the Internet has become an important and growing source of information and connectedness. The Internet is useful for many reasons, whether it is being used to chat with old friends, find directions to a restaurant, or read a movie review. However, individuals with ASD and their families may face unique challenges when attempting to safely navigate the web. It is possible...
Description: The Healthy Bodies Toolkit contains a Parent's Guide on Puberty for Boys with Disabilities and a Parent's Guide for Girls with Disabilities. This publication was developed and written by Vanderbilt Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (LEND). The appendix has storyboards and visuals that you can use in implementing the methods outlined in the toolkit. This file is not included in the printed manual. You may choose to print the entire appendix, or you may want to print a...
Description: The Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 (ESSA) was signed into law on December 10, 2015. ESSA amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and replaces No Child Left Behind. The Board of Education approved its plan to implement ESSA at its July 2017 business meeting. The final version was approved by the U.S. Department of Education in May, 2018.
Description: Formative assessments are ongoing assessments, observations, summaries, and reviews that inform teacher instruction and provide students feedback on a daily basis (Fisher & Frey, 2007). While assessments are always crucial to the teaching and learning process, nowhere are they more important than in a differentiated classroom, where students of all levels of readiness sit side by side. Without the regular use of formative assessment, or checks for understanding, how are we to know what each...
Description: The organization of the document, as detailed in the Table of Contents, is as follows: Introduction: Establishes a common vocabulary, defines co-teaching, and describes the six co-teaching approaches; Guidelines for Administrators: Considerations for Beginning a District-Wide Co-Teach Program: Provides information for district-level administrators on setting up and implementing a co-teach program; Guidelines for Campus Administrators: Considerations for Beginning a Campus Co-Teach Program:...
Description: This series of webshops showcases the products created by real co-teachers of Virginia, select teams of middle and high school co-teachers participating in the Virginia Department of Education’s Excellence in Co-Teaching Initiative. These co-teachers established demonstration sites and opened their doors to visitors wishing to observe quality co-teaching; they also developed co-taught lesson plans and videos to share through these webshops. In their videos, teachers model not only...
Description: Marilyn Friend, Ph.D. is interviewed at the 2016 Focus on Inclusion conference on the topic of "What is Specially Designed Instruction?". This video was published on Mar. 11, 2016. "First and most basically, if you look at the regulations in Federal Special Education Law, Specially Designed Instruction is actually the definition of special education and it is the required service that every student with an IEP must receive, so that whether the student is educated in a separate setting or perhaps...
Description: PANDAS is short for Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal Infections. A child may be diagnosed with PANDAS when: Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and/or tic disorders suddenly appear following a strep infection (such as strep throat or scarlet fever); or The symptoms of OCD or tic symptoms suddenly become worse following a strep infection. The symptoms are usually dramatic, happen “overnight and out of the blue,” and can include motor and/or...
Description: This extensive resource page comes from the Military Parent Technical Assistance Center (MPTAC), also known as the Branch. The Branch is funded by OSEP to help Parent Centers increase their visibility with, and support for, military families within their communities. About the Resource Page and the Tools ListedIn this resource, the Branch has identified some cool tools for military children to help them grow essential self-advocacy skills. They’re aimed at children ages four through...
Description: Youth Resources - Working directly with young people is critical to understand how to best support them in their journey to become as independent as possible. PEATC coordinates a youth leadership team that meets regularly where you with disabilities voice their input and ideas, as well as assist with youth outreach and trainings. PEATC also conducts trainings for youth around topics related to transition, employment, and self-determination. PEATC values youth voices and creates...
Description: The Brain Injury Strategies App is intended to provide ideas for supporting an individual who is returning to learning. It addresses various areas of concern that can happen after a concussion, a type of traumatic brain injury. The end product is a summary of selected strategies that can be implemented by an educator for an individual student. (Note: To preview Brain Injury Strategies App, use 1234 as student ID.)
Description: Improving the Communication Abilities of all Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder We have developed Communication Guidelines and Resources to support educational team members in enhancing the communication abilities of students with ASD and to create lifelong learners. The Communication Guidelines and Resources are designed to: Enhance understanding of what communication is, Enhance understanding of why communication is important, and Advance expectations, knowledge, and skills related to...
Description: What does it feel like to learn and think differently? Use these simulations and videos to see the world through your child’s eyes. Experience firsthand how hard it is to complete a task when you have trouble focusing. Or how frustrating it is when your hand won’t write what your brain is telling it to write. You can also see kids of different ages talk about how it feels to learn and think differently — and what helps them thrive. This resource contains: Simulations...
Description: National Aging and Disability Transportation Center - Promoting the availability and accessibility of transportation options for older adults, people with disabilities, caregivers, and communities.
Description: All children are born with the need and desire to connect with those around them. Neuroscience tells us that brain development unfolds rapidly in the first three years of life, and that social and emotional development begins in the earliest days of life. When children feel secure in their relationships and have their needs met in responsive and consistent ways, they begin forming strong social and emotional foundations. They begin to learn to pay attention, regulate their emotions and behavior,...
Description: CommonLit is a nonprofit education technology organization dedicated to ensuring that all students, especially students in Title I schools, graduate with the reading, writing, communication, and problem-solving skills they need to be successful in college and beyond. CommonLit believes in providing teachers with all the resources they need to set their students up for success, while also encouraging best practices in the classroom. That’s why the CommonLit Literacy Model is built on a...
Description: Enforcement The Department's ADA enforcement efforts have helped to ensure that people with disabilities can access Web sites, electronic book readers, online courses, and point-of-sale devices. Technical Assistance and Guidance The Department has developed technical assistance and guidance to help covered entities understand their ADA obligations with regard to accessible technology. Other Federal Accessible Technology Resources and Initiatives
Description: Deciding what to do after high school can be a difficult process. This guide will help you and your family explore the various options available to you. The guide provides a closer look at four-year universities, community colleges, vocational/technical school, life skills programs and more. The information will help you find the program that is right for you. The Postsecondary Educational Opportunities Guide is broken up into the following sections: Introduction Preparing for Postsecondary...
Description: Who We Are - The National Federation of Families: Bringing Lived Experience to Family Support is a national family-run organization linking more than 120 chapters and state organizations focused on the issues of children and youth with emotional, behavioral, or mental health needs and their families. It was conceived in Arlington, Virginia in February, 1989 by a group of 18 people determined to make a difference in the way the system works. Where We Come From Members of the National...
Description: Dyslexia and dysgraphia are both learning issues. Dyslexia primarily affects reading. Dysgraphia mainly affects writing. While they’re different issues, the two are easy to confuse. They share symptoms and often occur together. This article provides a simple table can help you tell them apart. It gives information about What is it?, Signs you may notice, possible emotional and social impact, What can help, and Accommodations. If your child is struggling with reading or writing, it can be...
Description: From the time your child applies to college to the start of classes, she’ll have many new decisions to make. Choosing if, when and how to disclose her learning or attention issues will be one of the biggest. This article includes the pros and cons and things to know about disclosing during the application process, to disability services, to professors, and to friends and classmates.
Description: If your child has an Individualized Education Program (IEP), IDEA guarantees your some important rights. The right to: Participate in IEP Meetings, An Independent Evaluation, Give (or Deny) Consent, Contest a School's Decision, and Private Education Paid by the Public School (in specific circumstances).
Description: The SAT and ACT both offer accommodations, but the process of applying for them is different. Kids who get testing accommodations through an IEP or a 504 plan can often get the same accommodations on the SAT or ACT. Your child’s high school can be helpful in the application process.
Description: Getting your child's backpack organized is a feat worth celebrating. But making sure he puts in everthing he needs for the trip to school and back can take some work. A luggage tag checklist is an easy way to help your child keep track, without it being obvious to other kids. All you have to do is buy an inexpensive clear luggage tag to attach to the backpack's zipper pull. Take out the address label and replace it with this printable checklist. Customize the "To School" and "To Home"...
Description: The PERT Program is a highly effective school-to-work transition initiative supported by the Virginia Department of Education and administered through the Virginia Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services (DARS) at Wilson Workforce and Rehabilitation Center (WWRC). PERT Program services are provided on the WWRC Campus where students reside in a dormitory. The PERT Program assists students in their transition from high school to post secondary options by helping them answer these...
Description: Social Security's Ticket to Work Program supports career development for Social Security disability beneficiaries ages 18 through 64 who want to work. The Ticket Program is free and voluntary. The Ticket Program helps people with disabilities progress toward financial independence. Individuals who receive Social Security benefits because of a disability and are ages 18 through 64 probably already qualify for the program.