Helping children through the process of social emotional learning and setting them on the path to social emotional competence is an important role of the adults involved in their lives. Social emotional competence is associated with so many factors related to leading a productive, fulfilling life, including personal mental well-being, school success, positive relationships, responsible…

Potentially more than any other aspect of early childhood education, researchers agree on the importance of a child’s social emotional development, or social emotional learning (SEL). This is because social emotional competence is associated with so many factors related to leading a productive, fulfilling life, including: personal mental well-being school success positive relationships responsible decision making…

Multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) is a more proactive, effective and efficient practice of supporting students in reaching their full potential than traditional “wait to fail” models. The foundation of an effective behavioral MTSS system is a strong tier one that includes all of the research based core components for effectively managing challenging behavior of…

Students with an autism spectrum disorder, or ASD, think, learn, and process information differently from most of their peers. Beyond the facts and figures of subjects like math and language arts, there’s an enormous amount of data that students must pay attention to, interpret, organize, and act upon. Students with ASD also need to observe…

Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month In 1987 President Ronald Reagan proclaimed March as “Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month.” Much progress has been made since that time toward the inclusion of people with developmental disabilities in all areas of community life, including education, employment, and community living. However, there is still work to be done. For example, bullying…

3 New Courses Added to Our Autism Spectrum Course Category We are excited to release this new 3-part online professional development course series, created in partnership with expert-author Catherine Faherty. These courses will help teachers and paraeducators working with students with autism spectrum disorder better understand and implement  structured teaching best practices! Watch this short overview…

In the course of a single school day, paraeducators might find themselves working with students in multiple classrooms and in other settings like the cafeteria, playgrounds, buses, or vocational settings. At some point during the day, they will probably be expected to support a student who needs more than academic help. Regardless of their specific…

In November, lawmakers introduced the Keeping All Students Safe Act, which would protect students from the dangers of seclusion and restraint. If enacted, the law would establish strong federal standards to prohibit the use of seclusion and to limit restraint in federally funded schools, improve the safety of students and school staff, and ensure parents…

We recently released the first course in a new three-part series on Structured Teaching in our Autism Spectrum course category.   Students with an autism spectrum disorder – or ASD – think, learn and process information very differently from most of their peers. Beyond the facts and figures of classroom subjects like math and language arts,…

We recently had the honor of hosting a webinar with Nicholas Martin, founder and director of The Center for Accord, Inc., on the 21 Best Practices for Effective IEP Meetings. The best prevention of conflict in special education is a well-run meeting. The overarching purpose of every IEP meeting is to achieve the goals of…