Be The Exception In Special Education

Can you imagine spending your days in a classroom where everyone thought you were different or weird? Where not even the teachers understood why you behaved the way you did and why some things came easily to you and others were so very hard? You knew you were uncomfortable and things were difficult and strange for you, but you didn't know why. And no one else knew why either.

I'm thrilled to have Becca Lory Hector join us today. After finally being diagnosed on the autism spectrum as an adult, Becca uses her experiences in her work as an autism advocate, consultant, speaker, and author. She's sharing with us the ins and outs of neurodiversity as well as what it means to be truly inclusive. Through her goals of spreading acceptance, building understanding, and encouraging self-advocacy, Becca hopes to inspire others to strive toward the same goals.

In this episode you will learn:

• What it means to be neurodiverse
• What inclusion is - and what it isn't
• The benefits of inclusion - for everyone
• How to make inclusion a habit
• How you can learn about inclusion from your own kids

Links and Resources

Neurodiversity Newsstand Facebook

Neurodiversity Newsstand LinkedIn

Neurodiversity Newsstand YouTube

Living Positively Autistic Blog

Not Weird, Just Autistic Podcast

'Bridge the Gap" YouTube Series

Connect with Becca Lory Hector

Find her on her Website

Find her on Facebook

Find her on LinkedIn

Find her on Twitter

Find her on Instagram

Sir Walter Underfoot's Instagram

Find her on YouTube

Connect with Dawn

Distance Learning Freebie

My Digital Products

My Distance Learning Products

Find me on IG

Subscribe

Are you subscribed to my podcast? Trust me, you definitely want to do that so you don't miss a thing! Click here to subscribe in iTunes!

Leave a Review

If you are loving the podcast, I would be really grateful if you left me a review over on iTunes, too. Those reviews help other teachers find my podcast and I love hearing what you think about the podcast as well. Just click here to review, select "Ratings and Reviews" and "Write a Review" and let me know what part of the podcast you found to be the most helpful!

Thinking about all the things you need to start a new school year can be overwhelming. You know there are supplies and materials you need to create a classroom that is safe and interactive and organized and… Then once you've made your list of everything you need - the list that just keeps getting longer - you realize creating that classroom of your dreams is going to be expensive.

But it doesn't have to be.

There are items that are true "must-haves" and others that will make your life easier and your students' lives more engaging and meaningful. And I'm going to tell you all about them. I'm also going to share with you some creative ways to get some of these items at no cost to you.

In this episode, I share my favorites and must-haves for SPED teachers and classrooms including:

• Staples I use throughout the school year
• Classroom set-up for centers and stations
• Sensory activities and supplies
• Paperwork systems
• How to set up a wishlist on Amazon

Links and Resources

Special Ed Essentials

Distance Learning Tech Gear For Virtual Learning

Special Ed Teacher Essentials

Sensory Essentials For Calming Down

Math & ELA Manipulative/ Task Box Ideas

Set up YOUR Amazon Wishlist Instructions Video

New Special Ed Teacher Tips

Special Ed Forms:

Input Sheets

Snapshots

Easy Grading Rubric

Meet the Case Manager

Caseload Documentation

Connect with Dawn

Distance Learning Freebie

My Digital Products

My Distance Learning Products

Find me on IG

Subscribe

Are you subscribed to my podcast? Trust me, you definitely want to do that so you don't miss a thing! Click here to subscribe in iTunes!

Leave a Review

If you are loving the podcast, I would be really grateful if you left me a review over on iTunes, too. Those reviews help other teachers find my podcast and I love hearing what you think about the podcast as well. Just click here to review, select "Ratings and Reviews" and "Write a Review" and let me know what part of the podcast you found to be the most helpful!

As teachers, we're always looking for ways to engage our students. To be relevant. To increase that Know-Like-Trust factor that is so important to building relationships with our students. We're also always on the lookout for PD that packs a wallop without taking up much of our time.

Ashley G, who just happens to be Tik Tok famous in the teacher world, will be with us today sharing how to get started with Tik Tok. She'll explain the whys, the hows, and the how nots of using Tik Tok as a teacher, as well as how Tik Tok can be used to produce and consume PD in 60 seconds.

In this episode you will learn:

• What Tik Tok is
• Why teachers use Tik Tok
• How to get started
• How Tik Tok is a great source of bite-size PD
• What Ashley shares on Tik Tok

Connect with Ashley

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@heyashleyg

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heyashleyg

Twitter: https://twitter.com/heyashleyg

Connect with Dawn

Distance Learning Freebie

My Digital Products

My Distance Learning Products

Find me on IG

Find me on Tik Tok

Dawn's Back to School Resources

Case Manager Resources

Special Education Forms

Digital Resources

Subscribe

Are you subscribed to my podcast? Trust me, you definitely want to do that so you don't miss a thing! Click here to subscribe in iTunes!

Leave a Review

If you are loving the podcast, I would be really grateful if you left me a review over on iTunes, too. Those reviews help other teachers find my podcast and I love hearing what you think about the podcast as well. Just click here to review, select "Ratings and Reviews" and "Write a Review" and let me know what part of the podcast you found to be the most helpful!

Have you dreamed about being a teacher since you were a child? You love kids and you love learning, so teaching was a natural choice. But it turns out that teaching is hard. Maybe a lot harder than you thought it would be. And now you're struggling with feelings of fatigue and burnout. Do you need help finding ways to fight burnout? Would you like to move from feeling burned out to thriving?

Then today's podcast is a can't miss episode for you!

I'm joined by Braelan Martin, a special education teacher in a K-2 self-contained classroom. Braelan is here to talk about how she found herself unpleasantly surprised by feelings of burnout after less than two years of teaching. She shares with us the strategies she used to move from being burned out to thriving. Braelan also shares some incredibly valuable, practical tips and techniques to foster inclusivity in the SPED classroom.

In this episode you will learn:

• Why SPED teachers burn out
• How to combat and recover from burnout and how humility and YouTube can help
• How to stop burnout before it starts, especially as a new SPED teacher
• How your students can help you prevent burnout
• Where to find FREE resources for easy-to-use, value-packed data collection
• Ways to foster anti-racism in the SPED classroom

Links and Resources

Braelan's Resources

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/FREE-IEP-Data-Collection-with-Google-Forms-5537565

Dawn's Blog Posts and Resources

New teacher tips

Rapport

Smartysymbols -A low-cost picture symbol option for teachers with diversity options

Tpt Sped forms

Connect with Braelan Martin

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thatspecialeducator/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbAc0_6yP7RQuOPrfkb0ODw?view_as=subscriber

Podcast: https://braelanmartin.com/podcast

Website: https://braelanmartin.com/

Connect with Dawn

Distance Learning Freebie

My Digital Products

My Distance Learning Products

Find me on IG

Subscribe

Are you subscribed to my podcast? Trust me, you definitely want to do that so you don't miss a thing! Click here to subscribe in iTunes!

Leave a Review

If you are loving the podcast, I would be really grateful if you left me a review over on iTunes, too. Those reviews help other teachers find my podcast and I love hearing what you think about the podcast as well. Just click here to review, select "Ratings and Reviews" and "Write a Review" and let me know what part of the podcast you found to be the most helpful!

No one likes to be wrong. It doesn't feel good or encouraging. And it certainly doesn't build confidence. Don't we want our SPED students to feel encouraged and confident? To feel good about their learning? What if you took away the possibility of being wrong? What might that look like?

Today I'm joined by Jenn Adams, a special education teacher in a middle school self-contained classroom. Jenn is here to talk about errorless learning. I learned a lot from talking with her and I know you will, too.

In this episode you will learn:

• What is errorless learning? No wrong answers.
• Why is it important? Helps build confidence.
• How to get started.
• How to collect data from errorless learning.
• How distance learning and errorless learning can work together.

Links and Resources

Catch up with Jenn via her blog, following the link below. She is also active on Facebook, and Instagram and her TPT store is chock-full of resources, many of which focus on errorless learning.

Connect with Jenn Adams

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Teach-Love-Autism

https://www.teachloveautism.com/

https://www.instagram.com/teachloveautism/

https://www.facebook.com/teachloveautism

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/FREE-Errorless-File-Folders-with-Real-Photos-4551271 - errorless freebie

Connect with Dawn

Distance Learning Freebie

My Digital Products

My Distance Learning Products

Find me on IG

Subscribe

Are you subscribed to my podcast? Trust me, you definitely want to do that so you don't miss a thing! Click here to subscribe in iTunes!

Leave a Review

If you are loving the podcast, I would be really grateful if you left me a review over on iTunes, too. Those reviews help other teachers find my podcast and I love hearing what you think about the podcast as well. Just click here to review, select "Ratings and Reviews" and "Write a Review" and let me know what part of the podcast you found to be the most helpful!

You're a new graduate and just got hired for your first SPED teaching position. Or you're not a new teacher, but have accepted a new role within SPED or at a new school. First, congratulations! You're no doubt filled with excitement and anticipation. And maybe, just maybe, you're also feeling nervous or uncertain.

I can help with that! In this episode, I guide you through steps to take this summer that will have you feeling confident and ready before the first day of school. Let's get rid of the nerves and up the excitement - together.

In this episode you will learn:

• Why you need to ask for a mentor
• How to set up communications and behavior notebooks
• Why you need to ask for student IEPs - and what to do with them when you get them
• How to figure out what supplies you need in your classroom
• Why and where you need a calm down corner
• How to make the most out of morning work
• How to set yourself up for Data success

Links and Resources

Exceptional Data Simplified - Opening this Summer

Connect with Dawn

Distance Learning Freebie

My Digital Products

My Distance Learning Products

Find me on IG

Subscribe

Are you subscribed to my podcast? Trust me, you definitely want to do that so you don't miss a thing! Click here to subscribe in iTunes!

Leave a Review

If you are loving the podcast, I would be really grateful if you left me a review over on iTunes, too. Those reviews help other teachers find my podcast and I love hearing what you think about the podcast as well. Just click here to review, select "Ratings and Reviews" and "Write a Review" and let me know what part of the podcast you found to be the most helpful!

Are you feeling overwhelmed by the demands of teaching special education and motherhood? When it's more than possible to devote all of your time and attention to each, how can you possibly balance the two? And during our current crisis, how can you meet the needs of your students and your own kids?

Rebekah Poe of Lessons and Lattes is my guest on today's podcast. A special education teacher and mom to a first-grader, Rebekah shares her journey as a professional, mother, and friend. These valuable lessons, which can be put to use during this time of the COVID crisis, will be just as valuable when we return to more typical school and home lives. Rebekah provides relatable tips for special education teachers, talks about her favorite school supply that also acts as a behavior reinforcer, and shares ways to incorporate learning into everyday household activities.

In this episode you will learn:

• What a resource room is and the types of instruction that occur there
• How to balance the roles of teacher and mom
• Four Special Ed Teacher Must-Haves
• How students communicate through behavior - and how to "listen"

Links and Resources

Link to laminator

Link to Laminator pouches

Link to Flair pens

SPED Favorites

Distance learning Guide

Connect with Rebekah Poe

Instagram

TPT

Facebook

Blog

Connect with Dawn

Distance Learning Freebie

My Digital Products

My Distance Learning Products

Find me on IG

Subscribe

Are you subscribed to my podcast? Trust me, you definitely want to do that so you don't miss a thing! Click here to subscribe in iTunes!

Leave a Review

If you are loving the podcast, I would be really grateful if you left me a review over on iTunes, too. Those reviews help other teachers find my podcast and I love hearing what you think about the podcast as well. Just click here to review, select "Ratings and Reviews" and "Write a Review" and let me know what part of the podcast you found to be the most helpful!

Paraprofessionals are such an important part of our special education teams. When we shifted - overnight - to distance learning, you may have been left wondering how you could use these team members.

In today's episode, I will be sharing with you 5 easy ways paraprofessionals can assist you - and connect with students - virtually.

If you didn't catch last week's episode where I talked with Kelsey Smith from Exceptional Elementary about what paraprofessionals are and how to work with them, I want you to pause this episode and go listen to that one first.

Okay, I have so much good stuff for you today, I cannot wait to share. Let's jump on in..

In this episode you will learn:

• How paraprofessionals can prepare art and social/emotional lessons for students
• What type of professional development paraprofessionals can engage in now that will help you later.
• How paraprofessionals can participate in virtual circle time.
• How paraprofessionals can help gather data.
• One way paraprofessionals can interact with students to revisit and reinforce skills and content from earlier in the year.

Connect with Dawn

My Digital Products

My Distance Learning Products

Find me on IG

Distance Learning Freebie

Subscribe

Are you subscribed to my podcast? Trust me, you definitely want to do that so you don't miss a thing! Click here to subscribe in iTunes!

Leave a Review

If you are loving the podcast, I would be really grateful if you left me a review over on iTunes, too. Those reviews help other teachers find my podcast and I love hearing what you think about the podcast as well. Just click here to review, select "Ratings and Reviews" and "Write a Review" and let me know what part of the podcast you found to be the most helpful!

Do you have a paraprofessional (or two) that you manage in addition to the students you case manage? Want to learn some strategies to train your paraprofessional to use evidence-based practices with your students? In this episode, we are chatting about ways to maximize your professional to meet your student's needs while supporting the student's least restrive environment. We also talk about distance learning strategies for paraprofessional including professional development ideas.

For those of you who don't know Kelsey, Kelsey is an elementary self-contained special education teacher who has worked with children from kindergarten to fourth grade. She's been at her current Tennessee public school district for four years and manages three paraprofessional in addition to her caseload of students. She's also the creator of Exceptional Elementary providing special education teachers all over the world with resources they can use in their classroom.

In this episode you will learn:

• What paraprofessionals are in the world of special education
• How to train paraprofessionals to help meet the needs of students
• What are some of the best practices when training new paraprofessionals
• How paraprofessionals can continuously learn during distance learning
• About Kelsey's self-care regimen and how she shows up for herself each day

Other Links:

IRIS Center

Connect with Kelsey

Para Manual: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/A-Complete-Year-of-ParaprofessionalSPED-Training-4566179

Website: www.exceptionalelementary.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/exceptionalelementary/

Connect with Dawn

Find me on IG

My Digital Products

My Distance Learning Products

Freebie For Distance Learning

Amazon Finds

Subscribe

Are you subscribed to my podcast? Trust me, you definitely want to do that so you don't miss a thing! Click here to subscribe in iTunes!

Leave a Review

If you are loving the podcast, I would be really grateful if you left me a review over on iTunes, too. Those reviews help other teachers find my podcast and I love hearing what you think about the podcast as well. Just click here to review, select "Ratings and Reviews" and "Write a Review" and let me know what part of the podcast you found to be the most helpful!

Digital Time-Saving Productivity Hacks For Special Ed Teachers

Teachers are using their computers, now more than ever. Educators are always wanting to learn how they can work smarter not harder. In today's episode, we are discovering extensions and shortcuts to help teachers become more productive on the computer.

Grab the list of extensions here

Have other extensions that you use on the regular? Let's share them over on Instagram post for this podcast. Also, screenshot that you are listening to the podcast, tag @cultivatingexceptionalminds, and share other extensions in the post so it can be reshared.

In this episode you will learn:

• 12 time-saving extensions to use in Chrome
• How to actually keep up with all your passwords
• A way to reduce eye fatigue from all the computer time
• Computer short cuts to save you time

Additional Resources

Distance Learning Guide

SPED Extention Favs

My Digital Products

My Distance Learning Products

Blue Light Glasses

Connect with Dawn

Find me on IG

Subscribe

Are you subscribed to my podcast? Trust me, you definitely want to do that so you don't miss a thing! Click here to subscribe in iTunes!

Leave a Review

If you are loving the podcast, I would be really grateful if you left me a review over on iTunes, too. Those reviews help other teachers find my podcast and I love hearing what you think about the podcast as well. Just click here to review, select "Ratings and Reviews" and "Write a Review" and let me know what part of the podcast you found to be the most helpful!