Download – Meeting Student Needs: A new school for struggling students
On this episode of Special Kid School Talk Dr. Kari welcomes Wendy Zacuto, director of Pacific Point Academy and Learning Center in Santa Monica, California to discuss what makes this school such a great place for kids with special needs to learn. Even if you don’t live in the Los Angeles area, this show will give you the information you need to find the best school for your special needs child. Every student is unique and deserves a thoughtfully designed, inspiring learning environment. Students with special learning needs require programs that develop the important skills that make learning successful and enjoyable!
Click here to view Pacific Point Academy website or to send an email to Wendy Zacuto Click here.
Educational services for pediatric cancer survivors – Foundation ThinkAgain makes learning possible!
Imagine that you are six years old and you’ve had a fever for days that your doctor can’t seem to bring under control with typical antibiotics. Then one day, when you get out of bed, your legs collapse…
Now you are in a hospital waiting for chemotherapy (you have been diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia). Your mother and father are in the room with you, as the nurses get you ready to have a needle inserted into your arm…
You spend most of the time at home. You feel tired pretty much all of the time. You throw up sometimes and you can’t get rid of the persistent nausea. You don’t have any hair…
When you finally return to school and try to take up where you left off, you’re so far behind, you get overwhelmed (the last thing you need now if you are going to completely recover from acute lymphoblastic leukemia) …
You can’t remember everything. Sometimes it’s hard to pay attention. It’s getting harder and harder to read. Your teachers feel sorry for you, but they don’t know what to do… Read more
Coaches Help Special Needs Kids Live More Productive Lives
Jamie Altshule, Los Angeles educational consultant, discusses the Higher Road coaching program, a life skills approach to supporting students with learning needs such as autism and learning disabilities.
Today’s adolescents, teens and young adults lead complicated, demanding lives and this is doubly true for those with special needs. Every teen struggles to manage their relationships with their friends and family and to organize their lives.
For teens with special needs, these challenges can often be compounded by a degree of social awkwardness, anger control, and heightened levels of anxiety. Adolescents with special needs often require help in managing their level of stress, staying healthy, and bringing order to their lives. Read more
Finding The Right School For Your Twice-Exceptional Or Gifted Child
Dr. Barbara Klein, a Los Angeles clinical psychologist, discusses the type of learning environment that meets the needs of students who are gifted, highly gifted and twice exceptional (students who are gifted and have special learning needs).
The type of curriculum that is the most productive choice for twice exceptional and gifted children is known as the “constructivist” approach. Constructivism is a theory that suggests that children learn best when they use their own knowledge and memories to connect to and interact with the subject matter they are learning.
Constructivist curriculum is highly individualized. The interactions between students are valued as an important part of the classroom learning. The student’s developmental level is taken into consideration in the selection of curriculum and instruction.
How can I obtain the best IEP for my child?
Jeffrey A. Gottlieb, Esq., Los Angeles special education attorney, provides a useful checklist for parents to prepare for an IEP meeting. The list not intended to be exhaustive. Parents should remember that legal advice may be required for specific circumstances.
Parent IEP Preparation Check list
- Confirm an agreeable time with the school district and anyone you want to attend the IEP meeting.
- Provide the school district with written notice, via mail and fax, that you will be taping the IEP meeting.
- Request in writing a copy of your child’s entire educational file (everything!)
- Request in writing that you be provided with all new assessments, prior to the IEP meeting.
- Attempt to make an appointment to observe your child in his/her classrooms, sometime prior to the IEP meeting.
Read more
Find Me On Twitter and Facebook
