March is Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month. The National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities partners with the Association for University Centers on Disabilities and National Disability Rights Network to raise awareness and highlight the many ways in which people with and without disabilities come together to form strong, diverse communities. About 1 in 6 children…

Thank you for being a valued Vector Solutions customer. As we’ve shared over the past several months, all of our brands, including Exceptional Child, are unifying under the Vector Solutions brand. What does this mean to you & your users? When users log in to any of our Training programs, after 3/24/21, they will see…

Children who attend preschool are cast into the world of learning at an incredibly vulnerable time in their development. Early childhood educators face the challenge of how to teach academics when children’s behaviors take up so much of their time and attention.Preschool isn’t just a child’s introduction to formal education, it’s often a first entry…

Virtual Victory! Free Webinar with Lisa Combs, M.A. Special Education, CAS February 24, 2021 | 2 p.m. EST Online learning has created unique challenges for students with disabilities. How do we provide structure and keep students engaged? Some of those challenges can be addressed with simple solutions. This webinar will cover how educators and paraprofessionals…

According to the 2017 National Survey of Children’s Health, at least 38% of children in every state will have at least one adverse childhood experience (ACE) before they turn 18. The Crisis Prevention Institute recently found that more than half of all adolescents have reported being exposed to violence or abuse of various kinds by…

By Lisa Combs, MA, Special Education, Certified Autism Specialist We have all been faced with many challenges in the 2020 world of virtual interaction. One of the biggest faced by school support personnel is how to best support students with disabilities in the virtual classroom. Special education paraprofessionals play several critical roles in the provision…

October is ADHD Awareness Month. Perhaps you have a student (or several students) who has difficulty staying focused and paying attention. The student struggles to control their impulses or seems overly active. For many school staff members, disruptions and challenges caused by a child diagnosed with ADHD are a common occurrence. In fact, surveys suggest…

At some point paraeducators find themselves supporting students who need more than academic help. Paraeducators play an important role in supporting the development of well-adjusted and well-educated students who grow up to be productive, fulfilled adults. While we often associate “school” with academic subjects like reading and math, it’s also a place where students learn…

Whether teaching and learning is happening in person, remotely, or a combination of both, supporting students through the transition planning process is still important. While COVID-19 will likely present challenges during this process, focusing on the key elements of transition planning will help students be successful as they transition to postsecondary life. From early intervention…

Historically, students with disabilities weren’t allowed in schools. In fact, in most states, it was legal to prevent students who wouldn’t reach a mental age of third grade by the time they would graduate from attending school. Students with disabilities wouldn’t get the right to attend school until the late 1970s. It took legal cases…