Today I received an email from a parent of one of my kiddos. She shared that he had been put on a gluten and dairy free diet this summer and that they were seeing great results. This student has always had toileting issues so I am glad to hear they have found a solution, however I am a little nervous about this new diet.The biggest diet restrictions I have had in my classroom are no chocolate/caffeine and no peanut butter. So this will be a big change. I am mostly concerned about adapting our weekly cooking activities to meet this students needs. Has anyone worked with kids with gluten-free diets? Have you seen a big change? Other than bowel issues, what are other reasons gluten-free is used? Do you know of any resources our there for teachers that will help with these restrictions? Perhaps kid-friendly cookbooks? Thanks!...

Download my FREE Being a Good Friend Social Story and Choices Sorting Mat! I look forward to connecting with you and sharing SpEd Spot tips and FREEBIES! Download the Social Story Built with ConvertKit As I have shared before, in the special education classroom student behaviors often stem from a deficit in social skills. If we only reactively address the behavior, then it will be hard to see lasting improvement. However, proactively addressing behavior concerns with social skills direct instruction can make a huge difference! Problem Scenario Group work times are often a time of the day when we see an increase in unexpected behaviors. Not only can students struggle with their own on task behaviors, but they can also have difficulty juggling social expectations as well.  Work Time Social Skills Direct Instruction When teaching social skills (or any new skill really) I tend to follow the same sequence of steps: 1. Teach:  First, I teach the expected skill. Using a  ......

I saw this picture today on fb and it really hit home! I have always thought a majority of my kids have undiagnosed vision issues that no one ever does anything about. I have expressed concern to parents and they think everything is fine because the doctors haven't said anything or because they pass the vision screening Half of my kids cannot even understand how to do the screening test and none of them would be able to express if they couldn't see correctly. How many of us have gotten new glasses or contacts and thought "WOW! I didn't know what I was missing!". I can only imagine how clueless my little ones with special needs are especially if it's a condition they've had their whole lives. Do other teachers have this issue? How do you address these concerns with parents who think everything is fine? Do you think vision issues are more prevalent in kids with special needs, particularly Autism? Leave a comment to let me know your thoughts!...

Download my FREE Being a Good Friend Social Story and Choices Sorting Mat! I look forward to connecting with you and sharing SpEd Spot tips and FREEBIES! Download the Social Story Built with ConvertKit In the special education classroom, student behaviors often stem from a deficit in social skills. If we only reactively address the behavior, then it will be hard to see lasting improvement. However, proactively addressing behavior concerns with social skills direct instruction can make a huge difference! Problem Scenario Do you have students who struggle with expected behaviors when interacting with peers and maintaining friendships? This year, I have some girls in particular that are quite catty which has led to a lot of unexpected drama! I also had some boys who were a bit “mindblind” and only thought of themselves when it came to winning, being first in line, or playing with certain toys. Being a Good Friend Social Skills Direct Instruction When teaching social skills (or ......

My paraprofessionals are in charge of planning our thematic cooking and craft activities each week and each week I select two special students to assist my paras. These students are the Head Chef and Head Artist. These two jobs are hands-down the class favorites. I think it is basically because they get to do so many of the "teacher" jobs (passing out supplies, modeling the activity, calling on students) and sit in the coveted "teacher" chair at the kidney table. Each Monday, we go over who gets to do the head jobs. I like talking about it on Monday because it give the kids something to look forward to and for those kids that need the extra behavior motivation it helps also. I place the students' names under these cute signs (click the link below the picture to print!) Head Jobs Signs To make the job even more special I made these adorable aprons for the kids to wear. They love them!  I even had a little guy that didn't really understand that the j......

I want to give a special THANK YOU to Karlie over at We are ALL Special! for my newest blogging award! Karlie is a fellow SpEd with a fabulous blog so I highly recommend everyone heads over to check it out! Here are the seven rules to follow when receiving this award: Thank the blogger who nominated you.  Include a link to their blog.   Include the award image in your post.   Give 7 random facts about yourself.   Nominate 15 other bloggers for the award.   When nominating, include a link to their blog.   Let other bloggers know they've been nominated.      Here are the 7 random facts about me... I love to cook! However, I really only cook during the summer because I am never home during the school year.  This is the first summer I have taken "off" since I was 15 and I am going crazy! I don't know what to do with myself! I am almost always the last person to leave school... I am a perfectionist (not a workaholic co......

I have been working hard this week to design a button for my blog. With ZERO graphic design background this was a bit tricky! However, thanks to FotoFlexer  and Phillip Martin Clipart  I was able to create a button I love! I love primary colors, special needs kids, and autism awareness so this button represents me well! Hope you love it as much as I do and grab it on my sidebar to share on your blog!...

I was super excited this afternoon when I logged on and saw that Lacey over at  Challenges Make Life Interesting  gave me my first blog award! Thanks, Lacey! I am thrilled to have new followers and I am glad to see others appreciate what I have to share about my classroom and teaching experiences. Now this award has some rules: 1.  Follow the person who gave you the award. 2.  Link back to the person who gave you the award. 3.  Pass the award on to 15 new bloggers. Since I am new to the blogging world I tried to find some newbies out there and also share some of my favorite blogs I have found along the way. Most of them are teaching blogs and some are blogs from friends that I love to read. Here is my list: Extra Special Teaching Carried Away in Kindergarten Mrs. Wheeler's First Grade Tidbits Life in Special Education Keeping it True in K-1-2 Love 4 Special Ed How Long is this Hall? Ms. Rachel's Room Class Full of "Special"......