'Mommy, is that Lady Gaga?' When my youngest was a toddler, he LOVED Lady Gaga. I have no idea why or where it came from, but he did. He would ask me to put videos of her on my computer. So, when we were watching the Super Bowl one year, the year that Madonna did| A Day in our Shoes
It's a familiar sight, dating back many decades. We thought we were just playing, and didn't realize we were learning letter recognition. When I was small, we had the wooden blocks with the alphabet on them. Some kids had the plastic alphabet letters with magnets so they'd stick to the fridge. Now, you can get| A Day in our Shoes
Work completion or task completion refers to the ability to finish a given assignment, project, or task to the best of one's ability, and to do so within the allotted time frame. It is an important skill in academic and professional settings, as well as in personal life, as it enables individuals to meet deadlines,| A Day in our Shoes
Slow processing speed can be a challenging issue for many children, impacting their ability to keep up with peers and complete tasks in a timely manner. Many parents ask for accommodations for this on an IEP. But, not enough believe you can or know how to improve slow processing speed in kids. You can, and| A Day in our Shoes
How long is a benchmark goal on an IEP? And what is the difference between IEP goal benchmarks and IEP goal objectives?| A Day in our Shoes
The other day, my younger son and I were on my tablet. We were choosing team gear to purchase for his new AAU basketball team. I was looking at the website and he was on his phone, and he was describing things to me and asking me questions (what size do I wear? should I| A Day in our Shoes
Parents can certainly assist the IEP team with developing goals. One IEP area that I find parents and teachers struggle with is addressing the skill of writing. And by writing, I'm talking about content, not fine-motor handwriting skills. If your child struggles with handwriting, I would read this post on dysgraphia or ask for an| A Day in our Shoes
'How do I get Wilson Reading Program added to my child's IEP?' That's a question that comes up a lot. If your child is a struggling reader, then they need a reading intervention program. But how do you know which one to use or ask for on an IEP. Below I have listed common reading| A Day in our Shoes
In 1936, Edward William Dolch published his list of what he called 'Sight Words.' Dolch, an advocate of the 'whole word reading' approach, argued that his list of 220 words was used in up to 75% of all school texts, libraries, newspapers, and magazines. This is why I made sure to point out that the| A Day in our Shoes
Processing speed and processing ability are two different cognitive skills that affect how children learn and perform tasks. Children with slow processing speed may struggle with tasks that require quick thinking or remembering and processing a lot of information at once, while children with poor processing ability may struggle with tasks that require them to| A Day in our Shoes
Photo of Linda Gilmartin with her dog| A Day in our Shoes
The other day, my 13-year-old sports fan and I had a short but confusing discussion. I knew he was looking at a sports-something on Instagram,| A Day in our Shoes
A few weeks ago, Michelle wrote a post about IEP Progress Monitoring. In that post, she references 'collecting IEP data' several times. And, in our| A Day in our Shoes
For a long time, I purposely did not include lists like this on my site--lists of things like math word problem IEP goals. I refrained| A Day in our Shoes
A discrepancy model may be used to determine IEP eligibility. Some states still use the RTI model. Learn what the difference is and how it| A Day in our Shoes
The special education referral process is all about getting your child evaluated for special education services. Once you've been through the steps and your child| A Day in our Shoes
Everything you need for Reading and Reading Comprehension and your IEP: IEP goals, strategies, evaluations, and more.| A Day in our Shoes
Inside: Private schools can provide special education but are not required to provide FAPE. It gets complicated, so read on to fully understand your rights| A Day in our Shoes
IEP Goals How many goals should an IEP have?Who writes IEP goals?Can parents submit IEP goal ideas?What if my child doesn't meet their IEP goals?| A Day in our Shoes
Does your child struggle with Working Memory issues, and do you want them added to the IEP? Have you heard parents talk about working memory| A Day in our Shoes
Sometimes we get so wrapped up in getting our kids' needs met, we forget to address a Student's Strengths. What are your child's strengths? Grabe| A Day in our Shoes
I'm going to wag my finger at you--from this day forward, you do a Parent Concerns Letter for your IEP. Every.single.time. No more 'Well I| A Day in our Shoes
SLD Specific Learning Disability is one of the IDEA eligibility categories. Here's what you need to know about characteristics of SLD, examples and definitions.| A Day in our Shoes