Special Education

When I first graduated in 1984 and worked with children in the schools, physical therapists typically did not work with children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

It’s an ongoing discussion, and one that anyone involved in some way with students with autism are familiar with. How do I get my students to concentrate so that they can learn? Can they ever sit still enough at a desk to learn the…

It all started when therapists from the three special day schools of Baltimore County Public Schools sat down to talk at one of our yearly meetings. The discussion turned from the mundane to the visionary, how to provide more functional,…

JJ is a 4th grade student at Southern Elementary School in New Castle, Delaware. Although he uses a wheelchair because of his dystonic cerebral palsy, JJ has great communication skills and is one of the happiest kids I know. Recently, his…

Last month a pioneer died. James Gallagher was the man who introduced the idea of an individualized education plan (IEP) and a tireless advocate of the idea that every child deserves a free and appropriate public education, regardless of…

The Keren Malki Foundation in Israel In 1997 Malki Roth wrote an article for Exceptional Parent magazine about caring for her two-year old sister, Haya Elisheva, who had severe mental and physical disabilities. The article was called…

Special Education Team Roles and Responsibilities There are many members of the special education team: students, parents, teachers, teacher’s assistants, administrators and therapists. Some team members, especially therapists, can…

Attending high school in the mid ‘90s, I noticed that students with obvious physical and mental disabilities—while integrated into our classrooms—were politely but firmly shut out of school social life. For any of them to…

The iPad is a tool that has revolutionized how we access and use media in our lives. As a physical therapist, I have been using one for work for the last several years and have found it enormously helpful. Of course, there is a learning…

This excerpt was taken from an article written by Douglas Lathrop in Kids on Wheels, a publication now no longer in print, but because I think the ideas are so good I want to pass them on. For your child, the foremost benefit to attending…

Rifton invites you to browse the selections below to find educational and practical resources on Cerebral Palsy. Updated June 2021 Books:     …

Contributed by: Denise Keene who has been a Special Ed teacher for 15 years. All children in special education classes are introduced to the same subjects that are taught in the regular class: math, reading, writing, science, etc. However,…