Matrix Parents Presents: Practical Special Education

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I've was a behaviorist for several years and have written and overseen hundreds of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) or Positive Behavior Support (BIP) based behavior plans.  

I've been a believer in the effectiveness of ABA and its offshoot, Positive Behavior Support for my entire career.  ABA and the structure it provides to individuals has been literally lifesaving as exemplified by head injuries from head banging that was a significant problem at one time.  Remember the helmets kids with autism used to wear?  

Listen to a short musing on the issue after a conversation I had with a parent.

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In the United States, Person First Language is mandated for use in education through IDEA. This means defining others as people first and not being defined by their disability.  For example, John has autism.  Not John is autistic.  However, for autism in particular, there is some controversy about this concept. In other developed countries Person First Language is not used.  And I have seen recent research articles that study school age student's attitudes, and they are not necessarily using person first language.   I'll discuss what (I think) is the current state of affairs.     

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In this short musing, I talk about the difference between special education practitioners and attorneys who work in the special education field.  There are significant differences and its important know what each does.

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Starting in the 24-25 school year, schools can no longer restrict access to recess as a punishment.  Particularly for students with special needs, the use of this punishment hurts much more than just the loss of time.  It means the loss of a time to get away from the stresses of a classroom, from the rigidity and sometimes difficult sesory input, from having to be "on".   See the transcripts section for a link to information about the law.

Here is a link to information about the new recess law.
https://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/it/sb291letter.asp

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This episode explains two pieces of special education law that you may not be familiar with.  First, IEP meetings must be held at a mutually agreed on time and place (https://sites.ed.gov/idea/regs/b/d/300.322).  

The second piece is that you can have IEP meetings without actually meeting.  For minor changes to an IEP, such as changing an accommodation, there are provisions in the law that allow a "meetingless meeting" (https://adayinourshoes.com/no-meet-iep-addendum/).