The Special Educator’s Survival Guide

This is a unique handbook that teaches parents how to work with schools to achieve optimal learning situations and accommodations for their child’s needs. From IEPs and 504 Plans, to IDEA and NCLB, navigating today’s school system can be difficult for even the most up-to-date, education savvy parent. Special needs advocates Rich Weinfeld and Michelle Davis provide parents and professional advocates with concise, easy-to-understand definitions and descriptions of legal terms and school regulations, along with checklists, tips, questionnaires, and other tools.

Everything you wanted to know about phonics but were afraid to ask! This practical handbook, written by an early reading specialist, will show you how to build engaging, effective phonics practice into your reading-writing program. Lots of ready-to-use lessons, word lists, games and learning center ideas.

This book provides an understanding not only of dyslexia but also of the broader population of weaker readers and presents information on how to help them. Understanding Dyslexia and the Reading Process presents dyslexia against a background of normal reading development, and in the context of child development, taking into account multiple factors that affect how well a child overcomes or compensates for dyslexia. Case examples are presented throughout to illustrate specific skill weaknesses. Dyslexia research provides considerable knowledge about how to help all children who do not learn to read on schedule. The final two chapters of the book deal with the history and nature of reading instruction, and how we can improve the teaching of reading in our schools. For anyone interested in reading development.

Dale Borman Fink, the author of the only book on inclusion of youth with special needs in after school child care, now presents the first book to examine the experiences of children with disabilities participating in youth programs alongside their typical peers. Using a case study technique, he probes into the issues and dynamics that influence the increasing participation of kids with disabilities in such activities as Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, and park and recreation programs.

Practical and comprehensive, this book focuses on the nuts and bolts of designing positive behavior support plans for students with such disabilities as mental retardation, autism, learning disabilities, and emotional/behavioral disorders. Strategies are provided for addressing individual behavioral problems at all levels of severity. Filled with illustrative examples, the book shows how to conduct a functional assessment and develop an overall support plan, using a team-based approach.

The third edition of this classic resource is a comprehensive source of information, strategies, and activities for working with learning disabled students. The book offers special educators, classroom teachers, and parents a wealth of new and proven suggestions and ready-to-use materials for helping LD students of all ages learn and perform at their fullest potential.