Special Education and IEPs

“Coming together is a beginning; Keeping together is progress; Working together is success.” – Henry Ford

In this interview, Neil Virani, an LAUSD Human Resources Division teacher adviser, discusses the District Intern Program and special education.

John McLaughlin sits down to discuss recent news surrounding Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) and the unfortunate tendency to pigeonhole the field of autism. McLaughlin warns against limiting therapy methods in favor of a “check box” approach made popular by insurance companies looking to set pricing and organize treatment protocols.

edCircuit Opinion
The Scientific American article For Children With Autism, Multiple Languages May Be A Boon raises an important point about the impacts of language education on children with autism.  In the United States, bilingual families with children on the autism spectrum have traditionally been advised to raise those children speaking only English.  But according to new research, this advice “only intensifies the alienation experienced by these children” by isolating them from their families, who may not speak English at home.

Discover essential social media guidelines for special education teachers to help students with special needs stay safe, connected, and supported online.

John McLaughlin joins me to discuss the notion that schools should be training all teachers to work and understand students who are on the Autism Spectrum. McLaughlin also discusses what questions teachers should be asking about Autism to better inform the understanding and approach with both students and parents.

Explore the lack of diversity in autism research and intervention programs with expert John McLaughlin on this insightful edCircuit episode.

John McLaughlin, Ph.D. joined me for coffee to discuss Autism screening and the recent article in TIME about when parents should have their children evaluated. McLaughlin also discusses the efforts of communities to spread awareness through campaigns and the struggle so many are having to effectively reach audiences representing increased funding, new research and options for treatment. He specifically talked about the effective campaigns for the Dyslexia and Autism communities respectively and openly discussed his belief that society is struggling with the pathology of individualism. Learn more from our coffee session below! 

Noel Frye was smiling ear to ear. “Me graduate,” she said, recalling her accomplishment.