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Supporting Families to Prepare Students to Be Participating Members of Their Community
For over five decades, I’ve had the privilege of serving students with autism and developmental disabilities and their families. I’ve been employed as a teacher, administrator, professor, consultant, and advocate in public, private, nonprofit, and for-profit settings, working in preschools,...
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A Mother’s Journey Advocating for Her Child’s Autism Diagnosis and What Fellow Educators Can Learn
As a registered occupational therapist (OTR) and Director of Portfolio Management and Delivery at Pearson Clinical Assessment, I have extensive experience working with students who have been diagnosed with a variety of conditions. And as a mom of an autistic daughter, I understand on a personal...
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Pathways to Resolution of Special Education Conflicts
When conflict arises in an educational setting, there are multiple ways to resolve it. Some are small and easily resolved but may potentially lead to bigger conflicts and issues. Sometimes the conflict is substantial, and a resolution harder to achieve. Understanding different available methods of...
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Tips for Parents and Teachers to Support Autistic Children in Developing and Maintaining Friendships
Friendships play an important role in the lives of children and teenagers. These relationships help with childhood social and emotional development in many ways, including: managing emotions, responding to the feelings of others, listening, problem solving, navigating conflicts, sharing and...
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Autism and Education: One Size Does Not Fit All
Having attended many talks, workshops, and education-related autism community events, I often hear the expression “one size does not fit all” used by teachers and other professionals who work with students on the spectrum. It is always gratifying for me to hear people having the most experience...
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The Do’s and Don’ts of Supporting Autistic Students in Schools
As an autistic high school senior, I’ve spent my time in high school juggling 12 AP and IB classes while being a campus leader, whether it be as Vice President of the 60-member club I co-founded or as a cabinet member in an award-winning Science Olympiad team. I’ve also deeply invested myself...
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10 Tips to Help Autistic Kids Transition Back to In-Person School
Transitions are tough. As many schools make plans to shift from distance learning to in-person instruction, families, students, and educators face an adjustment period. That’s especially true for students with autism spectrum disorder, because transitions can be particularly stressful and...
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The School Consultation Project: An Avenue to Support Autistic Students and Empower Educators
Autistic individuals who exhibit challenging behaviors are increasingly likely to hold communication deficits, require supports in daily routines, and are less likely to be placed in inclusive school settings (Lory et al., 2020; Iadarola et al., 2017). As such, challenging behaviors pose a...
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A Constructive Approach to Conflict for Better Educational Outcomes
Whether you are a parent, guardian, or educator, you have likely faced some sort of conflict involving a student. Conflicts took many shapes and sizes during my son’s special education school experience, and now as he attends college. Sometimes conflicts are with the people involved, other times...
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AHRC NYC’s Laura McCabe, BCBA, Urges Teachers to Keep an Open Mind and Give Students a Chance to Change
The following is an interview with Laura McCabe, BCBA, Coordinator at AHRC New York City’s Middle High School. What made you decide to go into this field? Did you always know you wanted to work with students on the autism spectrum? I was always interested in understanding the human mind...
