An Alien in Our World

Damien will be able to get the recommended diploma when he graduates next year. He passed all of his TAKS tests!!!! He has worked so hard for this, and for the first time since the 3rd grade, we will not have to ARD him out of the Math TAKS. We have ...

Ahlgrim-Delzell, Lynn; Browder, Diane; Flowers, Claudia; and Spooner, Fred. (2005). Teachers’ Perceptions of Alternative Assessments. Research and Practice for Persons with Severe Disabilities, 30.2, 81-92. The authors state the purpose of ...

Lavoie, R. (Writer), Allen, D.; Vettel, N. (Producer). (2005). Beyond F.A.T. City. [Motion Picture]. United States: PBS Video. The purpose of this video was to reinforce what the viewers of the F.A.T. city video and the...

“Autism is not something I have. It is integral to who I am. Eliminate the autism, and you eliminate me. When you say you want a cure, you are saying I should be put to death. Think about it." ~ Parrish S. Knight

Lavoie, R. (Writer), Rosen, P. (Producer). (1989). How difficult can this be? The F.A.T. City Workshop. [Motion Picture]. United States: PBS Video. The purpose of this video was to teach people who often deal with children with learning dis...

1. What was the purpose of the video? The purpose of “It’s So Much Work To Be Your Friend” is to bring awareness to parents and educators of how much more important social connections are to the future happiness of special needs ...

Personal Reaction Sara’s story almost made me cry. I felt sad that she had been taken from her home at such a young age and then taken from the structured environment in which she was thriving to live with her father. I was a bit surprised...

Personal Reaction I think that this video was showed a classic example of conduct disorder. I really felt bad for Ashley because it seems that she just does not know any better. Her two older brothers have been in trouble with the law, which has c...

Personal Reaction I felt the video was very informative, and allowed me to see what depressive disorders might look like in a student. However, they spoke very little about anxiety, and I felt this was a better case for discussing depressive disor...

Original Photography by ©Pamela N. Brown

Campbell, Heather; Espine, Christine; Lembke, Erica; Long, Jeffrey D.; Ticha, Renata, and Wallace, Teri. (2008). Curriculum-Based Measurement in Writing: Predicting the Success of High-School Students on State Standards Tests. Exceptional Children, 7...

????, ???. (Writer), ???, ???. (Producer). (1999). The Adventures of ARD Man: Seven Steps Toward Effective ARD Meetings. [Motion Picture]. United States: Texas School Administrators Legal Digest. Purpose The purpose of the ARD Man video was...

Module 1 – Overview of New TAKS-Alt Assessment The first Module of the new TAKS-Alt begins with an overview of the changes made due to the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, which states that without exception every student must be assessed. Th...

I hope that we are not about to experience another setback in Damien's education. At his ARD meeting on Tuesday, we were informed that the way the new law reads Damien must pass the exit level math TAKS test in order to graduate with the rec...

Throughout my studies, I have found that most articles and books on bipolar disorder in children and adolescents seem to focus on the child with the disorder and the parents. In the books that mention siblings, a short paragraph or a few of pages are...

The question on many special educators’ minds is whether students with Social Maladjustment (SM) should receive special education services. Although the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) clearly states that Emotional Disturbanc...

A cool morning breeze drifts across the water of the gulf, and the mid-September sun begins to glint on the horizon. Just a little peek of light shimmers across the water from eternity to a few feet below and in front of her. Her long legs dangle fro...

Explain this statement: To some extent, MR is a school-based diagnosis. Many students with mild retardation are labeled as mentally retarded in the education setting. However, this often does not hold over into other areas of the person’s ...

You are the sunA bright lightThat shines deepWithin my heartA lucid warmthThat brings forthHope of a new day You are the windA gentle zephyrThat blows againstMy cold skinA warm breezeThat slowly driesMy tear stained eyes You are the moonA sparkling...

Yong, Amos. (2007). The Blind, The Deaf, and the Lame: Biblical and Historical Trajectories. Theology and Down Syndrome – Reimagining Disability in Late Modernity. Waco: Baylor University Press. The author covers the references to the blind, d...

Damien is off to his first UIL competition. He was approached by the school and asked to represent Cooper in journalism (editorial writing and headline writing). He has been studying so hard all week and seemed a bit nervous this morning. I don't...

Brown, Thomas E. (2007). A New Approach to Attention Deficit Disorder. Educational Leadership, 64, (5), 26-27. The researcher states that 7.8% of students from ages 4 to 17 are diagnosed as having Attention Deficit Disorder or Attention Deficit Hy...

Bishop, D. V. M., Chipchase, Barry, Kaplan, Carole, Snowling, Margaret J., and Stothard, Susan E. (2006). Psychosocial Outcomes At 15 Years of Children With A Preeschool History of Speech-language Impairment. Journal of Child Psychology & Psychia...

Anderson, Peggy L., & Corbett, LeAnn. (2008). Literature Circles for Students With Learning Disabilities. Intervention in School & Clinic, 44, (1), 25-33. From their research, the authors have learned though teachers in general education c...