“We have been on this planet for a very long time and we've evolved,” says Kimberly Zajac, a speech language pathologist at Norton Public Schools in Mansfield, Massachusetts. “Society changes with time. Communication has always been a basic human right. Too often we put the onus of the work onto the wrong people to be able to access, engage, and be part of the community and what's happening in this world.”

Zajac aims to end this burden by smoothing the road for all students using technology and Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles. She has developed a replicable model for integrating Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) as an inclusive practice, providing comprehensive professional development and embedded coaching, ensuring that all educators—not just special education staff—are equipped to support students with complex communication needs. This dismantles systemic barriers, creating a learning environment in which students who have been historically marginalized are given the tools to thrive academically and socially.

Zajac, who was recently recognized with a Tech & Learning Innovative Leader Award for this and other efforts, shares her “Guide to Preparing for Title II Accessibility Requirements” as well as tips for those interested in creating the best program possible.

An Evolution in Education

“The work I do around accessibility and inclusion and communication in tandem with policy that we've gotten from the DOJ with the ADA Title II and the WCAG guidelines really elevates this idea that we need to take a long, hard look at what we're doing and how we're doing it,” Zajac says. “We need to redesign that to be more accessible and eliminate the barriers in order to evolve as a human race.”

As communication continues to evolve alongside technology, Zajac suggests it was “a ripe time” to learn about the new developments and new ways to support students with their alternative and augmentative communication needs, and to fill in any gaps. Collaborating with district leadership, Zajac and her team did a survey and came up with a five-year plan to build capacity and elevate access and inclusion through communication from pre-K to 12 plus.

“We were able to articulate and apply to grants on a local level, which were well received,” Zajac says. “We received a significant amount of funding locally and at the state level to not only purchase hardware and software, but also to invite professional development and coaching, which is really the glue to helping things turn into actions and experiences for our students and their families.”

This effort brought positive results for everyone.

“The stewards along that path — the teachers, the stakeholders, the parents — are all in it together to bring our learners into the future and make sure their full capacity is realized,” Zajac says. “The point is that it takes a village. The stakeholders are far, wide and vast — they bring valuable individual-lived experience to the table that creates connection and benefits the learners we serve.”

5 Reasons Digital Accessibility Is Important Beyond Compliance

• One in Five People Have a Disability - Actions help more than you think.
• Legal Risks - ADA complaints, costly investigations, and lawsuits with private right of action.
• Educational Barriers - Digital inaccessibility means students with disabilities cannot access the same education.
• Reputational Damage - Non-compliance signals that equity is not a true district priority.
• Universal Design Benefits All Learners - Accessible design principles — captions, clear contrast, keyboard navigation — improve the learning experience for every student, not just those with disabilities.

How Implementation Looks in the Classroom

Zajac hasn’t reached the end of her five-year plan and is realizing it to be just the tip of the iceberg.

“We've experienced a wonderful transformation,” she says. “We have seen increased use of alternative and augmentative communication processes, systems, devices, strategies and assets within a great number of classrooms in our target range of pre-K to 12. It's making significant impact in the way that students are able to be engaged in and included in all aspects of their day.”

Zajac is seeing improvements in academics as well as in social-specific areas, ranging from circle time to snack time, lunch time extending into extracurriculars. Increasing inclusivity into these social-centered elements of a school day are critical to giving all students a sense of belonging.

“I just can't say how important it is that we inspire educators and families and stakeholders at scale to think about learners from the margins as we develop our systems and policies,” she says. “It's a human process to have blind spots. It's impossible not to have them, but that's where the stakeholders come in. Lived experience can inform who might have accidentally been excluded. You can then move forward with policies and strategic system approaches that do honor all the voices that should be represented.”

This has led to more participation from students, who are more eager to contribute to the conversation. Students who do not face communication issues are also curious and interested about how the technology works.

For example, Zajac says, “I was in a group this morning that included one of my non-speaking students who uses an iPad to support the expressive communication element of his participation. Every single student involved in the activity was choosing to utilize the iPad in addition to their verbal communication. Each time a student reached for the iPad, the non-speaking student’s smile grew bigger.”

The 5-Step Compliance Plan

• The Audit Comprehensive review of all digital properties to understand scope.
• The Roadmap Timeline to bridge gaps; prioritize high-leverage systems first.
• Procurement Reform Update RFPs to include accessibility requirements for all vendors.
• Staff Training Build internal capacity so accessible content is created from day one.
• Documentation Record all actions; publish a public accessibility statement online.

Zajac feels one of the most important things we need to establish for students in schools today is that when they arrive, they feel like they belong there—that they are seen, that they are heard, and that there are more things in common among their classmates than there are differences.

“We've known about UDL in the past, but there hasn't been this call to action for the tools to actually have features that make it possible for teachers to design, deliver, and execute the end goal with the student,” Zajac says, adding there's nothing more exciting than seeing it coming together.

“Today, my student— his face just lit up when other students were choosing to use the iPad,” Zajac says. “It hit me, ‘Oh my goodness, he feels so comfortable here. He's letting his emotions out.’ That's that ‘sense of belonging’ indicator. There is no finish line. You just have to commit to that dynamic ongoing process. But we're doing things right when students can let their guard down and be who they are in the space.”

Compliance, Whose Responsibility Is it? Know Your Role

• IT & Technology System configuration, assistive tech support, platform audits.
• Curriculum & Instruction Accessible lesson plans, screen-reader-friendly materials.
• Procurement Vetting vendors for WCAG compliance before purchase.
• Special & General Ed Aligning classroom tools with individual student needs.
• Leadership Steering the cross-functional team; accountability to the board.
• Families & Community Providing feedback on real user experience.

Tools They Use

• Google Gemini
• Glint by NerChat
• Lightspeed
• Everyway
• Canva

SEN Teacher is a veteran when it comes to resourcing special needs teaching. The online platform has been running for 25 years now to support teachers and students with special needs.

When you land on the website you may get the feel that it hasn't been updated much in the quarter century it's been around. That's not a bad thing and is largely because this keeps everything minimal and clear for ease of use.

The site is built to be accessible to all, with no need to give any personal details or pay for anything to get going. Extras are available if you want to create an account, but more on that below.

This guide aims to clarify all you can get from SEN Teacher so you can assess how it could work for you.

What is SEN Teacher?

SEN Teacher is a dedicated website that caters to special educational needs. Specifically, it's a support for teachers who want to access resources for students with special needs.

The website is simple but comprises digital and physical resources aimed at use by teachers. That means a host of printables as well as a selection of apps that are designed to work both online, on laptops, and on smartphones and tablets.

The site has its own search section but since everything is helpfully laid out in drop-down menus, with useful subsections, chances are you will rarely need to type a search. Although if you have specifics in mind, this could be helpful.

How does SEN Teacher work?

SEN Teacher lays out everything for you to access right from the home page. You are met with the printables section available for instant access.

Navigate to the top left burger menu and you can select from printables, apps, and search tools. Click each and you are given sub-sections, such as Mathematics, Literacy, and Social in the printables section.

Navigate in and you're met with a selection of resources to use. In the case of apps, you're give a description as well as license details and publisher. Each platform it's available on is also listed, with links to download.

You also have the option to login, should you wish to create an account. More on why you might want to, below.

What are the best SEN Teacher features?

SEN Teacher is super clear and simple as well as free. A good selection of printables is available, with a helpful "Most Popular" option to quickly be presented with some of the favorites. Click to select the quality you want, color or black-and-white options, and even hit the "Magic" button to vary the output and style.

Other adjustables for printables include the ability to vary the activity, perhaps by changing shapes. Or edit the color options with tabs and lines variable.

A helpful list of certificates is available with lots of options to edit these and personalize as needed.

The apps are varied and generally come on many platforms to suit your need at the time. These are specifically designed by need with tools such as SENSwitcher, which is made for those with profound and multiple learning difficulties. This uses high-contrast graphics and sound with lots of variations to adjust as needed for progress.

The ability to create an account login allows you to have a My Stuff section where you can save favorites for quick access in future. You can also save your custom word lists and card sets here.

How much does SEN Teacher cost?

SEN Teacher is totally free to access and use. You don't need to sign up to begin using everything available here immediately.

An account creation option is available, but this only requires you to use an email address to be up and running right away. This option allows you to organize your favorites for easy recall.

SEN Teacher best tips and tricks

Create an account
Make this free and powerful resource space yours with an account so you can organize everything for quick access when needed.

Get appy
Find apps that work and use these across devices to help students work with different devices, while sticking with apps they know.

Play with printables
Show students how you edit and adjust printables so they can begin to understand the mechanics of how it works before using the output.

• New Teacher Starter Kit
• Best Tools for Teachers

When it comes to a student’s ability to convey information in a clear manner, sometimes it can be a difficult task to undertake. Special needs students may have this experience more often than most, and it might take more to help them communicate effectively both in and out of the classroom, which is where AI can play a role.

Here we speak with Matt Gorin (Civics Lead Teacher at New York City Department of Education), Claire Keller, (Visual Arts, Education Liaison for the New York City Department of Education ), and Erin Laraway (Special Education Teacher and Sustainability Coordinator for the New York City Department of Education), about implementing AI solutions to help students better express themselves.

Simplified Communication, Extraordinary Results

Giving students the ability to impact their learning environment is key, and communication is critical in making that happen. Technology use in the classroom doesn’t have to be complex in order to help students get their point across.

“First [we] highlighted the use of just very simple tech,” says Gorin. “Single switches to enable student choice. Then I wanted to show a progression of learning from available technology and how we can use that, especially with new AI tools, to really have the student’s thoughts come alive, and have them show interest. When they’re interested in things, then they want to learn more. They want to be more involved.”

Giving students the ability to communicate with ease can drastically improve attention spans in the classroom, in addition to improving interaction with the subject material. And finding tools that feature accessibility and ease of use can go a long way in helping special needs students get more involved.

“CoughDrop is a cloud-based AAC program (adapted and augmented communication program),” says Keller. The platform allows users to communicate in alternate ways, such as choosing images or symbols to form sentences. “I had been introduced to it through PD in District 75 with Amanda McFee (our Director of Arts). You can create your board and then access it from even an Amazon Kindle.”

With an AI-boosted program such as CoughDrop, students and teachers can access it from almost any device you have. But the main point is that students have the ability to interact in a way that allows them to help create the subject matter they use.

“Creating our rubrics, our kids co-generate our rubrics for every unit that we do,” says Keller. “The kids decide the levels of the rubrics. The kids describe the things at those levels, and then the next steps. I think [it was hard for the students] to vocalize what they thought the next steps should be. So we did the process and took video snippets and put that in the button so the next step would literally be a video of the next step happening, so that when they were in their peer discussions about their work for formative assessment, they were able to offer next steps to each other in a really impactful way.”

Even when a student has difficulty expressing themselves to a teacher or to their peers, finding simplified ways to provide communicative power to your students can make all the difference.

How to Get More Out of Your AI Tech

Helping students and teachers is well within the wheelhouse of AI, but we might not know the full extent of what certain tools can do for us. To realize those potential outcomes, Gorin says start by forging a good relationship with tech liaisons.

For example, “A thing I would suggest to teachers is that most buildings have an Adobe liaison or a tech liaison,” he says. “These companies love to reach out and give suggestions and show what’s going on. It’s good for teachers to learn, to feel comfortable, and to reach out to their vendors directly.”

Don’t be afraid to ask questions. The more information you garner from your vendors, the more information you have to give to your students. As Laraway explains, having this extra information can help immensely when dealing with special needs students.

“Technology has really opened doors for students with special needs,” says Laraway. “Some of our students have limited verbal abilities. What I’ve found, particularly teaching students with autism who do not like to make eye contact, is that using technology in the classroom through multiple types of applications has allowed me as a teacher to assess their knowledge in real time.”

Laraway also mentions the need to involve teachers in the decision-making process when it comes to what sorts of AI technology might fit best.

“Survey the teachers,” says Laraway. “Find out what their needs are. Every school district is different. Some school districts have more students with multilingual learners. They may rely more heavily on translation features or accessibility features. I think it varies depending on the population that the school serves.”

Keller cautions against trying to do too much at once. Picking your AI tech battles can help focus efforts.

“Pick a thing,” says Keller. “Figure out this particular program right now and they keep track for yourself of what areas you wish were different, or what doesn’t fully meet the needs of your students. It’s better than saying ‘I have to do all of this at once.’ Depth over breadth.”

As always, the support of your decision makers is critical.

“[We would like to] give a shout out to our wonderful principal,” says Laraway. “ Without her, none of this would be possible. She always gives us support.”

“A big thank you to [Barbara Tremblay], who really wants the teachers and the students to succeed,” adds Gorin.

If you want to achieve a higher level of communication with your special needs students, simplifying your tech offerings, learning what AI tech can accomplish by building rapport with your tech liaisons, getting your administration on board by showing the benefits, and learning what AI tech can best serve your students needs can help usher in a new level of accessibility for those who may not normally feel comfortable in a classroom.

• enCORE: How to Use It For Teaching Students With Special Needs
• The Ups and Downs of AI in Special Education: Legal Considerations

Artificial intelligence (AI) has been shown to be a helpful tool in special education for both teachers and students. While concerns have arisen about ethics, student privacy, and how AI might affect critical thinking, it is commonly accepted that the benefits outweigh the concerns. Still, it's important for everyone in education to understand the possible downsides of using AI and plan ways to avoid these.

Some of the potential problems with AI in special education are well-known, such as those related to student learning (data privacy, bias, hallucinations, etc.). Others, such as how it might impact teacher agency, how people view students with disabilities, and legal issues, aren't as well understood.

This article focuses on the legal issues, but here's a quick look at the other two lesser known impact areas.

Legal Issues with AI in Special Education

These issues are related to teacher responsibility and transparency about how AI is used. Dealing with these aspects of AI will help teachers know what to do, and schools know how to support them.

Teacher Responsibility

Teachers must use their professional judgment when making decisions. Simply using AI-generated documents (such as IEPs or behavior plans) or AI recommendations without careful consideration means they aren't using their professional discretion. This is important because professional discretion is a key factor in protecting teachers from liability (Jones, S., 2025, Legal guardrails for AI in assistive technology: What administrators need to know [Webinar]. Infinitec).

It's also important to remember that school districts are responsible for the accuracy of all student program documents, even if AI was used to create any. This isn't a new idea: Best practice guidelines have always emphasized that AI should be a tool to support teachers' professional judgment, not replace it (Mintz, et al., 2023).

What Teachers Can Do:

• Follow best practices and use AI to support their judgment, not replace it.
• Don't just use AI to create an IEP or behavior plan without making sure it fits each individual student's needs.
• Don't add an AI-suggested accommodation to an IEP without trying it first and collecting data to see if it works for the student.
• Be able to explain the specific parts of each student's programming and documentation. This demonstrates professional reasoning, which cannot be replaced by AI tools.

Being Transparent

Many schools have general rules about using AI. Having specific rules about using AI for student programming creates transparency and can ease concerns that students aren't getting individualized support. Educational documents such as IEPs or behavior support plans should be personalized for each student. Using AI to create these documents can make families feel like their child's education isn't tailored to them.

• Create statements about how the school uses AI in student programming, beyond districts’ general AI guidelines.
• These statements should explain which AI programs are approved and outline staff expectations for using AI to enhance versus replace professional judgement. This serves as notification to families regarding AI use and reminders to staff of their professional responsibilities when using AI. Sample language might include:
  - SCHOOL/DISTRICT has approved the following AI programs for potential use in IEP development, lesson plan development, etc. It is the expectation of
  - SCHOOL/DISTRICT that any staff using AI to support student programming will not use it to replace their own decision-making or professional judgement. It will be used as an adjunct to the professional skills of the district employees.
• Add these statements to student handbooks, registration information, and the school's general AI policy.

AI can be a powerful tool to support students and educators in special education. It is up to us as educators and administrators to ensure that we are being thoughtful and proactive in addressing the impacts, both positive and negative, that may arise as this tool is introduced into the educational arena.

NOTE: Article written by the Human in the Loop, with AI used for partial edits

Other References

Drigas, A. S., Ioannidou, R. E. (2013). A Review on Artificial Intelligence in Special Education. In: Lytras, M. D., Ruan, D., Tennyson, R. D., Ordonez De Pablos, P., García Peñalvo, F. J., Rusu, L. (eds) Information Systems, E-learning, and Knowledge Management Research. WSKS 2011. Communications in Computer and Information Science, vol 278. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg.

enCORE is designed to bring the general education curriculum to all students of all abilities. This is specifically created to help students with special needs and a range of disabilities to get access to standards-based appropriate learning.

Teachtown, the creator company behind enCORE, was founded "to measurably improve the academic, behavioral and adaptive functioning of students with disabilities." enCORE is the front-facing development to help achieve that goal.

The company, and this system, focus on serving students diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, intellectual disabilities or developmental delays, and those with emotional and behavioral disorders.

This guide aims to lay out all you need to know on how enCORE could help your class.

What is enCORE?

enCORE is based on Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) to offer an adapted core curriculum while staying standards-aligned. It aims to help students with moderate to severe disabilities in getting access to the general education curriculum.

The system is available to K-12 entirely, so all teachers have access to all levels as needed. The result is a huge library of content as well as lesson plans and hands-on teaching tools.

Since everything is broken down across grades and abilities, every teacher has tools for every student. All content is available in print and online, with clear guidance that makes it accessible to teachers and students of all training levels.

How does enCORE work?

enCORE offers all its many resources both in print and online, allowing teachers of all levels to access what they need. Each grade is broken down with books, for example, available at three different ability levels for consistent progress.

While this covers K-12, as an example, the educator guides for K-2 and 3-5 offer 12 in total, so that area alone has 36 units from K-5.

Teachers have access to a library of fiction and nonfiction literature, assessment units covering the total age range for K-12, lesson plans with explicit guidance throughout, student workbooks, and manipulative kits, including hands-on materials and more.

ELA lessons, for example, are designed so that there is a natural flow that leads the student to greater independence as they progress.

What are the best enCORE features?

enCORE is designed to work as a guided learning experience, both for teachers and students. It's super clear and can be used by any teacher, even those newly graduated. It should also provide consistency that students can come to rely on as part of well-structured learning.

On top of the many learning resources, there is also PD available for educators, coming in specific training courses to help get the most from all the tools available here.

The English Language Arts curriculum is derived from the Science of Reading, which is the leading approach from the last five decades. This evidence-based approach leads to a very effective set of teaching techniques -- including Scarborough's Rope -- and standards from which students can reap rewards.

Usefully, students can work on fluency by reading from the literature, or having it read to them -- both digitally and in the physical world experience. This, combined with phonics specific learning, can lead to powerful outcomes.

How much does enCORE cost?

enCORE breaks its pricing into licensing brackets that cover the cost for all the resources for that age group.

The K-5 group, charged at $189 per year, gets student access.

The K-5 teacher license, is charged at $499 per year.

The option to take a training webinar is available and costs $600.

enCORE best tips and tricks

Take the training
It will cost more but go for the training to make sure you get the most out of all these resources and teach these as intended.

Go digital and print
Since everything is available in print and digitally, use a mix of the two to help students navigate both experiences and learn the difference.

Go beyond
Don't be afraid to use higher levels for those students progressing confidently, as these are tiered well so this can be a smooth transitional experience.

• New Teacher Starter Kit
• Best Tools for Teachers

Offering a wide variety of experiences and enrichment activities in and out of the classroom for students of all abilities is key to leveling the playing field. Esports, in particular, can provide engaging opportunities to help all students build skills such as collaboration, critical thinking, communication, and problem-solving. 

Dr. Janet Fike, superintendent of the Morris-Union Jointure Commission in New Jersey, as well as her passionate team (including Evan Abramson and Denise Smallacomb) at the Development Learning Center of Warren, discuss adding esports to the Center’s impressive offerings for students with autism and autistic-like behavior. 

 Esports & Autism: If You Build It, They Will Benefit!

It is one thing to create innovative programming that can be adapted for students of all abilities, but inspired by a dream of what could be, Fike’s team put their grant money where their mouth was and built an esports arena to give students the full experience.

“We were the grateful recipients of a $50,000 grant and whenever we get donations, we like to put it to purposeful things we can remember, that are evergreen and last forever,” says Fike. “We started to talk about building a dream—building an esports arena. Last summer we opened this amazing facility. All typical kids play, the goal was to be able to give the students an option for something that’s normal.”

It was this type of progressive thinking and belief in students that led to the country’s first arena dedicated to esports for kids with autism and autistic-like behaviors. 

“There are so many things people think our students can’t do, so they are immediately discounted,” says Fike. “But some of our students are very fluent in technology and became enthusiastically involved in the project. For me it became a leveler. Our kids can compete. It’s been wonderful. Our kids proved all the naysayers wrong, as they often do. If we listen to naysayers, we are never going to be better than we are. We didn’t and I credit it to Evan Abramson who kept saying. ‘We can do it, they can do it!’”

A Dreamer Become a Designer 

New to the district, Abramson had no preconceptions about what could or couldn’t be done and fully believed in the students from his earliest days. 

“He bonded with students and talked with them—they already knew the lingo and he kept telling them we are going to build this and the kids got so excited,” says Fike. “The important thing is we can’t listen to people who say our kids can’t do things. We have to keep pushing that envelope.”

“They jumped in immediately,” says Abramson. “We had to first get our staff to believe our students were capable. We approached the teachers first and got them excited about the program. We brought them out to a college esports to actually play so they could see what was possible. Once they believed, we had each teacher bring their kids up into the lab. Certain students would be really successful, some would be okay, some it just wasn’t a fit which is fine and what we expected.”

The district averages 60 to 65 students coming into the arena on a weekly basis. 

“A lot of people told us we were crazy when we started doing this, that we had no idea what we were doing,” says Fike. “We heard a lot of ‘they can’t do it’, what are you thinking, it’s a waste of money. We just quietly said, ‘We’ll see, just watch us.’”

Start Small for Success 

An important element of successfully rolling out the esports program was to involve all students in the effort, regardless of age or level. After all, even MLB players don’t walk into a 30,000 seat stadium to first try their hand. 

The district has two buildings, one serving PreK-5 and the other grade 6 and up, which is where the arena was built.

“We built a “training center” in the PreK-5 building,” says Abramson. “We wanted to get our students building those soft skills involved in being on a team from a younger age— teamwork, communication—skills they might not typically get to do on a daily basis. In the training center, we use Nintendo Switches. They are playing collectively on a much smaller scale so when they do go to the Warren arena, they are ready to go in and play.”

This approach allows the district to prepare students for a future comfortable experience in the larger arena, devoid of too much stimuli which could be distracting or create a stressful environment. Younger students who are excelling can also visit the large arena.

It Takes a Village to Build an Esports Program 

An integral part of DLC-Warren’s success has been partnering with others in their own community and others. 

“Denise has connected with other schools in the area who have esports teams and they come over and engage with our students,” says Fike. “This is right in so many elements. And our students can finally go home and do something that their typical sibling engages in.”

“We never know what the potential of our students is until we try it,” says Smallacomb. “Society tends to not offer everything to all students equally, so we need to. It lets us see where a child’s interest lies, because it is very easy not to offer access to the same things as their peers. We can then see where they can go with it.”

Smallacomb says simply playing esports is not the only avenue to find success or enjoyment for students. Even if they can’t be fully independent in playing, they can watch a meet or take part in other ways. 

“There are so many careers related to esports and in the esports world,” says Smallacomb. “Our students can have a hard time being out in public or doing things with a lot of stimuli or unfamiliar people watching. What is really great about esports is they can produce a game or moderate a tournament from the comfort of their own home and environment. It’s perfect for our students, they can be successful in a way that feels good for them.”

The district is also trying to form a partnership with a local university who has video production equipment as well as connect with the local public school district discussing how students can write about matches in the school newspaper or learn about marketing of the team, with a goal of becoming a fully productive esports team. Being able to go into an arena at that university level and even watch it offers an excitement for students almost as much as actively playing it. 

“The conversations they have with each other when they are playing on the same team with each other, it's so gratifying to see,” says Smallacomb. “When our parents came in for the opening, the parents and siblings of the students eyes were really opened and you could see them almost tear up— it was the first time they could see their sibling as someone they could play with on the same level skillswise, exposing them to so many different avenues.”

“It’s all about innovation,” says Fike. “We don’t want our kids left behind, and if we continue to play Candyland and board games, it makes them look different from everyone else. We have been creative and tried to be innovative with not only esports—our kids do yoga and martial arts.”

Simply, they let the kids play. 

“They might do things differently, they might struggle in some areas where typical kids would not, but they can get there in their own way,” says Fike. “I see a lot of people buying into ‘they can’t do this.’ To listen to that would be taking away an opportunity for these students they will never have again to show what they can do.. We blew the stereotype out of the water and I am so proud of that.”

Dr. Janet Fike will be a presenter at Tech & Learning’s upcoming regional leadership summit in New Jersey.  

• Developing Esports Coaches
• Best Sites and Apps for Special Education

Do2learn is primarily targeted at students with special needs but can be useful to anyone who wants to work on social skills and behavioral regulation.

The website is crammed full of useful resources that are easily accessible and made available for free. Premium features are also available, including books, however, you can quite easily keep busy on this website indefinitely without paying a cent.

The idea is to offer a single point at which resources are collated that can help teachers, parents, caregivers, and others to work with learners who could benefit from social and behavioral attention.

While this caters for a wide range of ages, including younger students, it also has a focus on work with job tips and more to help the transition into the post-school world. Read on to find out all you need to know about Do2learn.

What is Do2learn?

Do2learn is an online special needs resource hub that was created from a grant back in 1996 that has led to a site that now serves more than 11 million hits per month.

Do2learn is aimed at helping teachers, parents, and caregivers by offering specialized teaching for kids with learning needs that require extra attention. The company says that it doesn't simply want to tell adults how to best help the children, but to lay it all out visually with picture cards.

These free cards, which can be printed if needed, lay out processes for adults to show kids but also to help kids learn to follow along. This can be widely varied from literacy tools and behavioral management techniques to fine motor skills and SEL development.

The huge selection of resources is used by millions worldwide. With many ready to use picture card sets, this can offer a great way to use work systems and sequencing options with ease.

How does Do2learn work?

Do2learn is free to begin using right away, all you need to do is navigate to the resources you need in order to get started. This, in itself, requires some attention though as there is a huge amount from which to pick. Thankfully, it is all well laid out under headings and subheadings that can be navigated quickly and clearly.

Do2learn offers sections including disabilities, academics, social skills, behavior management, picture cards, jobs, and products. Each section has an overview and then from that you can navigate to a specific area that you may want. These include literacy, visual discrimination, social skills toolbox, behavior management, daily living skills picture cards, resources for adults, and much more.

Once you go into a landing section, such as fine motor skills, you're then given a selection of options including how to draw, marble painting activity, string art, rubbing art, and more. Go into one, such as how to draw, and you're then given a selection of choices like boy, dog, car, and so on. Each one has a guide on how to draw with a process shown in simple stages that allows students to follow along. 

These resources can be printed, and usefully there is even guidance for how to do this in the best way to get the ideal result on paper.

What are the best Do2learn features?

Do2learn is rich with options yet is also easy to use thanks to a self-explanatory layout. Usefully, since this requires navigation rather than a search bar, it can mean discovering useful resources you may not have known about that can help inspire learning activities.

The guidance that goes with resources is excellent. As such, everything on the site can be used by virtually anybody, allowing parents, caregivers, and teachers to work with disabilities effectively, immediately.

Helpfully, the site caters for a variety of needs, including neurological disorders such as ASD, fetal alcohol effects, intellectual disabilities, attention disorders, and learning and communication disorders. In fact, there is now a specific Diagnose First tool aimed at helping teacher and caregivers recognize symptoms of ASD.

The Job Tips section is also helpful, aiming to guide those looking to move into the world of work. From disclosing your diagnosis and determining interests to keeping a job and passing screening tests -- there are lots of resources available. 

Other helpful resources include caregiver checklists, contacts, bathing communication cards, "I need help with" cards, communications boards, medical contact lists boards, and more.

How much does Do2learn cost?

Do2learn is totally free to use and doesn't require any sign up so personal details can also be kept private. There are no ads on the website and it appears tracking is minimal also.

Some paid premium resources are clearly segregated in the products heading section of the website. These are sold individually with offerings such as books, View2do teaching programs, and the Job Tips Pro section.

The View2do is charged at a yearly license price of $99 per user, with reductions on multiple users, with 6-10 at $94, 11-15 at $89, and 16-20 at $84. More users than that are on a quote basis. 

The Pro version of Job Tips is charged at $199 per user for students.

Do2learn best tips and tricks

Get organized
Use the cards to print off and stay organized with real-world charts you can put on the wall -- the medical contacts, logs, and medications charts are particularly useful.

Work with students first
Work through guidance with students initially and once they understand, try them with new activities, using the same layout, to provide independence subtly. 

Share cards digitally
Print cards in class but send home more to parents and caregivers so they can continue lessons after school hours.

• New Teacher Starter Kit
• Best Tools for Teachers

To share your feedback and ideas on this article, consider joining our Tech & Learning online community here

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is an educational framework designed to make learning efficient and effective for all students. The framework is based on what science reveals about how humans learn and is updated regularly in order to evolve by incorporating the latest research into the cognitive process in humans. 

The Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework is used by teachers in all subjects and at all grade levels, from pre-K to higher education. 

Here is what you need to know about the Universal Design for Learning. 

The Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Framework Explained

The Universal Design for Learning framework was developed by David H. Rose, Ed.D of the Harvard Graduate School of Education and the Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST) in the 1990s. 

The framework encourages teachers to design their lessons and classes with flexibility and to prioritize student choice in how and what they learn while highlighting the real-world relevancy of each lesson. According to CAST, Universal Desing for Learning encourages teachers to: 

• Provide Multiple Means of Engagement by optimizing student choice and autonomy, and relevance and authenticity of the learning experience  
• Provide Multiple Means of Representation offering students the opportunity to customize how they learn with multiple audio and visual elements that are accessible for all students 
• Provide Multiple Means of Action and Expression by varying the types of responses and interactions that are required from students and creating clear and appropriate goals for each student  

Schools or teachers who implement universal design for learning advocate for the widespread use of assistive technology and for students to engage with practical, real-world learning experiences that are meaningful to them. Students should have multiple modes to demonstrate what they’ve learned, and lessons should tap into their interests, helping motivate them to learn.  

What Universal Design for Learning Looks Like in Practice? 

One way of thinking about Universal Design for Learning is to picture it as a framework that provides students the opportunity "to work toward firm goals through flexible means.” 

In a math class this might mean more emphasis on real-world problem-solving and more scaffolding to make sure each student is appropriately challenged, while also providing an opportunity for students to learn through multiple means. In a writing class, a reading assignment might be provided via text but also in an audio or visual format, and students could then have the opportunity of writing and recording a podcast or video to demonstrate their knowledge rather than doing so through a traditional research paper. 

Amanda Bastoni, a research scientist at CAST, says that CTE instructors often inherently incorporate many elements of Universal Design for Learning into their classrooms. “We have these teachers coming from industry and teaching in this really unique way that we don't necessarily teach if we've gone from kindergarten to high school to college to be a teacher,” she says. “In UDL, we say, ‘Bring relevance to the learning.’ They bring authenticity, they bring some really key components of engagement. They're giving the students more autonomy. Students are working on the car themselves, not just watching someone else work on the car.”

Misconceptions About Universal Design for Learning 

Many misconceptions about Universal Design for Learning exist, including the following:

False Claim: Universal Design for Learning is for students with specific learning disabilities. 

Reality: While Universal Design for Learning seeks to improve outcomes for these students it is also designed to improve outcomes for every student. 

False Claim: Universal Design for Learning Coddles Students 

Reality: Universal Design for Learning aims to make the delivery of learning materials more effective. For example, jargon is explained and students can digest information in multiple ways, but the overarching material in a class or lesson is not made easier. 

False Claim: Universal Design for Learning Eliminates Direct Instruction 

Reality: Direct instruction is still an important part of many classes that follow universal design for learning principles. However, in these classes, a teacher might provide multiple ways for a student to engage with and build on the learning from that direct instruction including readings, recordings, video, or other visual aids. 

• 5 Ways CTE Incorporates Universal Design for Learning (UDL)
• What is Project-Based Learning?

Extraordinary Attorney Woo (or 이상한 변호사 우영우) is a hit South Korean TV drama currently streaming on Netflix. The 16-episode series features the story of Woo Young-woo (played by Park Eun-bin), a lawyer with “autism spectrum disorder,” as she navigates professional and personal situations while dealing with the challenges of autism. 

Woo has genius-level intelligence and a photographic memory, yet struggles to communicate, handle sensory input, and process emotion and intellectual nuance. She also is obsessed with whales, speaks and moves awkwardly, and has certain physical affectations and compulsive tendencies. Consequently, despite graduating law school with top honors, she is not able to find employment until Han Seon-young (Baek Ji-won), CEO of the high-powered Hanbada law firm, gives her an opportunity, which is where the show begins. (We’ll avoid spoilers as best we can!)

The feel-good, uplifting K-drama has become a global sensation, notching some of Netflix’s highest ratings ever for a non-English show. (All dialogue is in Korean with English subtitles.) The show has garnered high praise from autism advocates for Eun-bin’s realistic portrayal of an atypical young woman with autism as well as its respectful approach of presenting the challenges involved for a person on the spectrum, particularly in a nation that is not as progressive in accepting autism. (Eun-bin originally declined the role, citing concerns over playing a character with autism as she is not on the spectrum, and did not want to potentially offend those who are.)

As a parent of someone who has been diagnosed on the autism spectrum yet is academically high-achieving and also pursuing a career in law, the show resonates personally. In addition, there are many positive moments throughout the series that can provide lessons for anyone working with or teaching students with autism.

Extraordinary Attorney Woo: Autism is a Spectrum 

In an early episode, Woo’s law firm takes on the case of a young man with autism who is charged with assaulting his older brother. Woo is asked to join the defense team, specifically to help communicate with the defendant, whose autism manifests in severe communication and mental age challenges.

At first Woo is reluctant, noting that autism is a spectrum, and expecting her to somehow be able to communicate with someone very much unlike her despite a common diagnosis isn’t realistic. Nonetheless, Woo does find a unique way for her team to communicate with the young man who is obsessed with Pengsoo, a popular Korean animated character.  

Students with autism can present very differently, which can range from the academically gifted Woo to those who have significant difficulties learning. Just as with students without autism, trying different communication approaches until discovering the one that best connects with a specific student may often be necessary. One teaching style does not fit all those on the autism spectrum.

Be Open to Different Thought Processes 

At the beginning of the series, “rookie” attorney Woo is assigned to senior attorney Jung Myung-seok (Kang Ki-young), who is tasked with mentoring her. Very skeptical about Woo’s ability to be a competent attorney, Jung immediately goes to Han and demands to not be saddled with an attorney who has questionable social skills and cannot speak eloquently. Han points out Woo’s impeccable academic qualifications, saying, “If Hanbada doesn’t bring in such a talent, who will?” They agree to give Woo a case to determine if she is actually qualified for her position.

Despite her seemingly odd approach, Woo very quickly proves her legal expertise, dispelling Jung’s initial prejudices and assumptions. He formally apologizes, and as the series goes along, embraces Woo’s unorthodox thinking and solutions.

Many students with autism may focus on details before concepts, versus those without autism who may be more prone to top-down thinking. They may also have fewer challenges processing logic-based arguments while struggling with open-ended questions or understanding that there may be alternative perspectives or ways of thinking. Providing space and opportunity for divergent thinking is often necessary for students with autism. 

Kindness Matters 

One of Woo’s “rookie” colleagues at the law firm, Choi Su-yeo (Ha Yoon-kyung) is a former law school classmate. Although Choi is jealous of Woo’s legal expertise from their school days and is sometimes impatient with Woo’s autism-related challenges, she begrudgingly watches out for Woo, helping her through awkward moments and to navigate social interactions.

Because of Woo’s struggles to acknowledge the emotions and efforts of others, Choi assumes that her actions have gone unnoticed until she jokingly asks Woo to give her a nickname and discovers that Woo was paying attention the whole time. (Warning: Keep a tissue handy in case it gets dusty at your house like it does at mine whenever I watch this scene.)

Although students with autism may have a hard time processing their own feelings, that doesn’t mean they don’t notice how others treat them. Kindness, patience, and grace are necessary, and often deeply appreciated, if not articulated.

Kids on the Spectrum Are Still Kids 

Woo faces a lot of discrimination and outright hostility due to her autism, yet repeatedly tells her father and others that she just wants to be treated like everyone else. 

Enter the irrepressible Dong Geu-ra-mi (Joo Hyun-young). A true BFF, Dong sees Woo for who she is at her core, constantly supports and advises her, and even jokes with and good-naturedly teases her, all of which deepens their friendship. (Dong also has a special enthusiastic greeting with Woo.) In short, Dong is just Woo’s friend, with no special treatment involved. 

Woo repeatedly says she wants to be allowed to fail and make her own mistakes, and learn from it. Although many students with autism have special needs, they also have typical human needs. Balancing that line between making accommodations and treating someone on the spectrum like everyone else can be challenging but is critical to their overall success.

Some Days You’re Just Going to Have to Be Strong 

Although Woo constantly demonstrates internal strength and determination in working to overcome the challenges involved with her autism, maybe no one shows more fortitude throughout the series than her father, Woo Gwang-ho (Jeon Bae-soo). 

The elder Woo raises his daughter as a single father, a task hard enough under normal circumstances, let alone with a child on the spectrum. He makes her special meals, removes tags from clothes, helps her to learn to process emotions, and provides counsel and endless support. Woo’s autism often keeps her mind focused on herself, so he does much of this without appreciation, although that doesn’t deter him.

Of course, you expect a parent to have that kind of love for their child. Lee Jun-ho (Kang Tae-oh), a paralegal at Hanbada and Woo’s romantic interest, also demonstrates extraordinary strength throughout the series.

As Woo herself points out, dealing with and having feelings for someone like her who struggles with feelings can be very hard. Often Woo is blunt and doesn’t understand the nuances of a romantic relationship, forcing Lee into many potentially awkward moments. Despite his frustration at times, he is eternally patient and kind, and supports Woo in every way possible. For example, after witnessing a violent traffic accident, Woo goes into a sensory meltdown and Lee has to comfort her with an exceptionally tight hug. 

While that kind of actual physical strength is usually not necessary in a classroom, having a bottomless reservoir of patience and understanding for one student, especially when there are other students who all have their own needs as well, can be daunting some days. Reaching deep for that extra bit of strength can be a big ask, but remember that a student with autism is often already pushing hard to try and fit in. 

Or as Woo’s father says: “If you want good grades, study. If you want to lose weight, exercise. If you want to communicate, make an effort. Methods are always obvious. What's hard is accomplishing them.” Putting in the effort with a student on the autism spectrum often requires extra strength, but ultimately can provide extra satisfaction.

• Abbott Elementary: 5 Lessons for Teachers
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Phil Hintz had never experienced anything quite like it. 

It was 2018 and he was participating in an immersive virtual and augmented reality simulation in California that gave him a taste of the potential of the metaverse. After donning VR goggles, he found himself on the floor of the Amazon rainforest. He then began to rise upward, and when he looked at his arms, they were the branches of a tree. All around him he heard the rustling of leaves and the chirping of birds. 

“You turn and anywhere you look, you're in the Amazon rainforest,” recalls the director of student information at Barrington 220 School District in Illinois. Hintz also felt the wind blowing on him courtesy of a nearby fan working in unison with the images in his goggles. 

After a time he heard a distant sound getting closer – this was possible through spatial sound technology – and eventually realized there were people in the forest coming to burn it down. Hintz not only saw the flames getting closer, he could smell it because someone nearby had lit a match as part of the simulation. When the experience concluded, Hintz and other participants were given tree seeds and encouraged to plant a tree, but something had also been planted inside Hintz. 

Researching the Metaverse 

Over the years, Hintz, a father of six, would think about the experience and the educational potential of similar experiences for all students but particularly students like his son, Joshua, who has Down syndrome. 

“He's always wanted to be a fireman, he could tell you everything there is about all the tools in the firehouse and what all the vehicles are used for, who runs them, you name it,” Hintz says. “In virtual reality, he could learn how to fight fires, and possibly even get burned in virtual reality, but not really get burned from a safety standpoint.” 

Hintz is now pursuing a doctorate in educational administration and researching the potential of VR and AR for teaching life and occupational skills to people with intellectual disabilities. The well-known educator was recently recognized with an Innovative Leader Award during Tech & Learning’s New Orleans Leadership Summit that stemmed from his role helping his district and others across his state make sure they were compliant with student data privacy laws.  

Developing Life Skills in the Metaverse

When teachers incorporate VR, AR, or other metaverse-type technology into their lessons, it can help build knowledge and enhance learning. “Studies have shown that students will not only have a greater understanding but a greater foundation on the lesson if they have a chance to experience it in that way, rather than just words on a page,” Hintz says. 

For students with intellectual disabilities, Hintz believes there is even more potential. So far there’s been limited research but the research that exists has shown promise. “One of the articles that I was able to find on students with special needs was actually middle school students learning how to use an ATM machine,” Hintz says. “There was an augmented reality app developed for the students to learn how to use an ATM machine. And they found that the more they practice it, when they actually went in and used the ATM machine for the first time, they had pretty much mastered it.” 

Hintz believes AR and VR could be used to teach those with intellectual disabilities life skills such as how to fill out a voting ballot. In the coming year, he hopes to build on the research that already exists in the field and is working with special ed staff in his district to design new VR and AR experiences for learners with intellectual disabilities. Ultimately, he hopes these types of training might help these students gain skills and have real-world experiences they might not otherwise have had. With enough practice in VR, Hintz believes his son might have the opportunity to “really fight a fire sometime.” 

• The Metaverse: 5 Things Educators Should Know
• Using Virtual Reality to Enhance Existing Lessons

The National Center for Learning Disabilities recently partnered with Understood to release a  distance learning toolkit for educators to support students who learn differently during the pandemic. 

The need for such a toolkit is clear. One in five students learn differently, and there is evidence that students who struggle academically or utilize individualized support in school are more likely to fall behind during distance learning. 

The toolkit builds on the lessons of a 2019 report Forward Together: Helping Educators Unlock the Power of Students Who Learn Differently. 

“We felt like in the current context of Covid, there were new considerations we wanted to bring to light,” says Meghan Whittaker, a contributor to the toolkit and the director of Policy & Advocacy for the National Center for Learning Disabilities. 

The 2019 guidance identified three mindsets and eight practices that can help educators support all students. Whittaker says there are many ways to apply these mindsets and practices to distance learning. 

The Three Mindsets  

Teacher Mindset 1: Positive orientation toward inclusion 

Teachers with this mindset believe students with disabilities should be included and taught in general education classes, according to the toolkit. It enables educators to “create a classroom environment where all students feel welcome and valued, making it easier for students to learn [and] take responsibility for teaching all of their students.” 

Teacher Mindset 2: Strong sense of self-efficacy 

This is an educator’s belief in their own ability to effectively teach all students, which is vital to creating an inclusive classroom. 

Teacher Mindset 3: Growth mindset

Educators who have this mindset believe that they can improve their teaching practices and that all students can learn with effective instruction and practice, according to the report. 

The Eight Practices  

• Explicit, systematic, and targeted instruction
• Strategy instruction 
• Flexible group 
• Culturally and linguistically responsive teaching 
• Universal design for Learning (UDL)
• Positive behavior strategies
• Collaboration with colleagues and families 
• Evidence-based literacy and math instruction

Applying Practices to Distance Learning 

The new toolkit offers specific ways for educators to implement each of these practices and mindsets remotely. For example, Whittaker says that teachers with a strong sense of self efficacy create a classroom environment in which students feel welcome and have the chance to learn. “Teachers take responsibility for teaching all of their students as opposed to saying, ‘While I teach the students without disabilities, the ones who have IEPs, my special educator friends will work with those students,’” she says. “It's also important because this mindset leads to teachers using more flexible options to meet the students’ needs.”

“In trying to apply this mindset to distance learning, we took the example of how technology actually gives you more flexible options to support a variety of student needs,” she says. This might include a mix of digital and printed worksheets depending on the student, or giving students more ability to control the pace of their education with synchronous as well as asynchronous lessons. 

The toolkit also offers tips and strategies for ways that educators can boost their own confidence while teaching remotely.

“All the new demands of distance learning may leave you feeling that you’re not as effective a teacher as you were before,” it says in the toolkit. “Give yourself some credit — you’re learning new skills on the fly. Focus on what’s working well, how far you’ve come since distance learning started, and successes your students have had.” 

Positives of Distance Learning  

Whittaker says going back to the way things were before March 2020 would be a mistake even after the pandemic ends. “Teachers have really seen their ability to adapt. They've really kind of stretched themselves and accomplished more than we ever thought was possible,” she says. “Virtual learning has certainly left some kids behind, right, we have to address the digital divide. But for many kids, they have really enjoyed school this year in a way that they haven't before. For some kids virtual learning has actually helped them learn better and engage differently. Kids who maybe have processing challenges or attention challenges, or those who have social anxiety difficulties. For some kids with those kinds of challenges, the virtual learning space has actually provided them a more comfortable place to learn. And so I hope that we are more flexible in the offerings of how and where students can learn going forward, because we've proven that more is possible than just sitting in a classroom.” 

• How VR and AR Can Be Used to Support Students with Special Needs
• Helping Students with Special Needs Cope with Remote Learning

For a child, being isolated can be a tremendous challenge to maintaining positive mental health, even in the best of times. Being away from classmates and outside the classroom can have a big impact on building social-emotional skills, and be a damper on development.

“Right now, with Covid, people are getting a taste of it, but this kind of isolation has been the reality for many students with immunodeficiency around the world, where it is just straight up dangerous for them to be in school,” says Harry Nelson of Special Effect, a UK-based charity that uses video games and technology to enhance the quality of life of people with disabilities. “Dealing with these kids requires a lot of specialized tech and specialized rules.”

Enter Special Effect’s BubbleBusters Pilot Project, in which the organization works with schools and the families of children with immunodeficiency to provide robots to help those students overcome isolation, rekindle friendships, and restore access to education. Each child receives their own AV1 desktop robot, which is placed in their classroom and allows them to safely interact with their teachers, classmates, and others. 

“It’s very different from just having a camera or FaceTime in a classroom,” says Nelson. “Having the ability to independently just turn and talk to your friend . . . it seems very small, but it matters. I think of when I was back in school, and the number of times I’d turn to my friend and just share a quick joke or something. Having that physical presence in the room, being able to change the face on the robot to express yourself, with that anonymity, can be very powerful and poignant for a student and their family, and help build confidence.”

Each robot, which can move its head, flash light, and change its facial expression, are little personalities in themselves, says Nelson. Kids are encouraged to personalize their robots, and have used everything from stickers to Star Wars T-shirts. 

“Every child we’ve had has named their robot,” says Nelson. “It’s the first thing they do! They all have such wonderful names--there’s one called Enid. Why Enid? There’s just no reason for it, and that’s great.”

Sam

The BubbleBuster project was initiated after Special Effect was contacted by Sam, a young man who was unable to go to school for more than three years due to his ongoing treatments for leukemia. He had seen the work the organization was doing and wanted to help. “We were very moved,” says Nelson. “We thought, ‘That’s fantastic.’”

Special Effect founder, Mick Donegan, had seen the AV1 robot and was inspired, realizing that it was an opportunity to have Sam test the technology and to reconnect him with his classmates. 

The BubbleBusters project is named in honor of Sam. During his time in the hospital he created Bubble Boy, a comic book superhero version of himself who by day is stuck in isolation but by night, goes out to save the day. 

Very sadly, Sam lost his battle against leukemia in November. But his namesake superhero program has gone on to help students across the U.K.

“In the past few months, we’ve done double all of what we’ve done last year,” says Nelson. “We have gone from 10 to about 36 robots, which may not sound like a lot, but at £4,000 a pop, can be quite a lot. And we don’t just give people the robot and say, ‘There you go,’ it’s also full service and support we provide, all at no cost to the students, families, or schools.”

A team effort

With only 34 on staff, it can be daunting for Special Effect to provide the robots and support. Challenges range from getting proper connections through school firewalls to finding access in very rural areas that don’t have any broadband or 5G connectivity. In the past, team members used to drive out to the schools and homes to get everyone set up, answer questions, and make sure the connections were all good. Now, all of that has to be done remotely, which has added extra steps. For example, even the box that the technology is sent in to the homes has to be cleaned and quarantined to ensure safety. 

Anything with a camera in a classroom involves questions around student privacy, so those issues need to be addressed. The robot is specifically designed to go directly into schools, so each one can only connect with one tablet, and the video is ever only a live stream that is unable to be recorded.

In addition to class, students are encouraged to use the robot at break times to build social skills. “The social concern is often the biggest concern of the parents,” says Nelson. “They can buy a few textbooks and muddle through at home, but you can’t buy a childhood chatting to friends. The robot allows you to be there for your childhood and have those moments with your friends where you are cracking jokes during breaktime, and you’re talking and learning, and annoying on another and having a laugh and doing all the things that kids do.”

• How VR and AR Can Be Used to Support Students with Special Needs
• Helping Students with Special Needs Cope with Remote Learning

“One of the most difficult tasks regarding remote learning is in the area of assessment,” says Cassie Gillespie, Special Education Middle School Teacher at Wolf Branch SD 113 in Swansea, Illinois. “Often, students’ IEP goals are based on social, emotional, or self-management needs that are school specific which makes it difficult, if not impossible, to record progress while students are in the home setting.”

Parents also have a lot on their plates, so many can be resistant to taking on the responsibility of charting a child’s progress or keeping anecdotal records in one or more areas that a teacher or aide might do, which makes it difficult for teachers and case managers to track any growth for that student. 

“Accurate academic assessment is also trying,” Gillespie says. “I have a few students diagnosed with ADHD, who have oral reading fluency goals to improve reading deficits. Because fluency includes elements of both speed and accuracy, when various home factors are not in the teacher’s control, the data that we are able to collect does not necessarily reflect growth/loss in the variables we are measuring.”

For example, a student’s loss of 18 words per minute could be because a TV was on in the other room, a cat jumped up on a table, or there was a poorly timed Amazon delivery. When it comes to remote formative and summative student assessments, there are just so many potential roadblocks beyond an educator’s control, says Gillespie.

Challenges Within the Referral System 

Recently, organizations such as the National Association of School Psychologists and the American Psychological Association have shared significant concerns with the continued use of standardized norm reference assessments once schools reopened. 

“We have to keep in mind that our students have faced circumstances that are unique to them during this global pandemic,” said Lauren Sullivan, Director of Evaluations and Eligibility at NYCDOE Special Education Office, during the “Completing Data Driven Assessments to Support LRE Recommendations” session of the recent NYC DOE “Beyond Access” virtual forum. “They have been through significant stressors and a change to remote learning for months—so are not represented in that normal sample. We call on psychologists to do what they're trained to do—to analyze, to consult, to think deeply and critically and ultimately to make connections using patterns of strengths and weaknesses to understand a student's learning profile in a comprehensive matter.” 

Watch the full session:

Comprehensive Data-Driven Assessment Approach 

The comprehensive data-driven assessment (CDA) is a mixed methodology approach, said Dr. Soye Zaid-Muhammad, NYC DOE school psychologist at P.S. 89. “It's not just the quantitative testing that we're used to, but also valuing the information that comes from our parents, from our providers in the community such as pediatricians and teachers,” said Zaid-Muhammad. “In the standardized model, we're lacking information from the people that spend the most time with the child. We can gain a great deal of information to spackle in the gaps from number-based data testing, just by asking the right questions.”

Zaid-Muhammad said that CDA is “not just a knee-jerk reaction to Covid-19, but an improvement in assessment practices I'm grateful we have.”

Ecological Framework 

“Historically, culturally, and linguistically, diverse students are not fairly represented in standardized assessments,” said Brenda Figueroa, NYC DOE bilingual school psychologist, during the presentation. 

Figueroa explained how she uses an ecological framework to be creative and look at the child holistically, which includes CDA. This collaborative approach provides the framework to systematically assess multilingual learners in a non-discriminatory manner, and includes relevant records, observations, parent/teacher/student interviews, the student’s social and medical history, and current and previous teacher reports. 

New flexible assessment forms include multiple rating scales. “We also collect sample classwork to analyze student academic performance across multiple years and include the acculturation rates,” Figueroa said. “This creates a data-driven hypothesis to develop culturally and linguistically appropriate interventions and recommendations.”

RTI Considerations, Post-Shutdown 

A response to intervention (RTI) is an academic intervention that provides early systematic and appropriately intensive instruction to children who are at risk or currently underperforming in comparison to same age peers, said Dr. Manal Zoabi, NYC DOE School Psychologist, who also acknowledged the importance of the student reengagement process during the pandemic, which caused unprecedented disruption. 

“Students, teachers, parents were tossed into a new reality that impacted everyone's education, but especially our struggling learners,” said Zoabi. 

Zoabi said clinicians must ask themselves multiple questions before we even considering special education referrals, including:

• Have students had the chance to reengage with school for an appropriate amount of time? This includes making meaningful social emotional connections with peers and teachers. 
• Have students who are considered for referral made some progress in certain academic areas over others, or no progress at all? 

“And perhaps most important to note in all of this is that anytime we do an in-person assessment, it really needs to be interpreted with caution due to the current circumstances,” said Zoabi. 

• NYC DOE Beyond Access Forum Provides Professional Development Around Inclusive and Individualized Education
• How to Use Assistive Technology During Remote and Blended Learning

In recent years, virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) have helped teachers educate, motivate, and increase classroom interaction for students of all ages and abilities by making learning more accessible, memorable, practical, and engaging. 

VR immerses the user in a 3D environment in which they hear, touch, smell, and taste stimuli. Students interact either through a traditional desktop and VR software or wear a head-mounted display (HMD) and data glove. AR enhances physical content with 3D effects so that users remain external observers and observe the augmented effects through apps such as Google Lens.

The challenges implementing VR and AR are mostly logistical and technical. Qualified staff and plenty of space is required for VR, plus users can become easily distracted and need to be trained in digital competencies. Apps entail data security and privacy issues. Equipment can also be expensive.

Still, schools can employ even limited AR and VR solutions, especially to support students with special learning needs. 

Supporting Students with Special Needs 

Both AR and VR have been shown to increase motivation, facilitate interaction, develop cognitive skills, improve short-term memory, and make lessons more enjoyable. The greatest effect lies in improving communication skills, especially in students with hearing problems. For autistic students, VR seems to facilitate social interaction. 

Examples of VR and AR being used to help students with disabilities abound. Teacher Veronica Lewis uses Google Chromecast to enlarge images for visually impaired individuals, and employs VR screen readers, such as VoiceOver and TalkBack, that describe the environment with information from alt text in the images and videos. Morehead State University researcher Sue Parton has shown how deaf students benefit from Google Glass and from video and 2D barcode camera phone scanning. In The Deaf and Dumb School in Gujarat, India, where some students don’t recognize their own names, staff uses VR images processed through a program called Foton to teach them. Multiple studies have shown that VR and AR help users on the autism spectrum recognize facial emotions and improve their social skills.

For learning disabled individuals, AR can improve vocabulary through gamefication. In India, educators have created an interactive textbook that uses 3D images, audio clips, and videos to explain text. Other studies show how VR has been effectively used to improve social anxiety, language deficiencies, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), physical or motor disability, cognitive deficits, dyslexia, and Down syndrome, among other disabilities.

At the 53rd St. School in Milwaukee, Megan Rierdon, a special needs educator, uses Google Earth VR for field trips. “The kids sat down in a chair, put on a virtual reality headpiece and saw a tour walking around an entire greenhouse,” Rierdon told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “[They] were reaching down to touch the dirt and waving to the people they saw.” 

AI-based Training with Molly Porter helps prepare students to discuss their disabilities with interviewers.

Too much sensory overload? At the Perkins School of the Blind relaxing 360-degree videos of animate or inanimate objects or locations is used to calm students. 

More Promising VR and AR Options on the Horizon 

With developments in VR and AR on the rise, applications are immense. For example, a team of researchers at the University of Michigan are developing iGYM, an augmented reality system designed to teach wheelchair-bound children community-level sports.

Developers are also beginning to prioritize accessibility during design, leading to lighter headsets and more user-friendly controllers, among other gear, for users with physical disability; appropriate color choice, audio descriptions, and text and image magnification for children who are blind; and clear transcripts and closed captioning for users who are deaf or hard of hearing.

Ultimately, teachers will be able to use virtual and augmented reality to make a classroom environment that fits the needs of any student.

Leah Zitter, Ph.D., is a High-Tech Writer and Research Scientist. 

Global Teletherapy has started a new VLOG called Globally Focused, featuring videos created by the executive clinical team to assist therapists with new challenges they may encounter with online therapy. 

The first series produced by the team of remote therapy experts is entitled Globally Focused: Virtual Assessments. 

“Virtual assessments for the special education population have become a challenging part of distance learning for schools," explains Rina Goode, M.S. CCC-SLP, Clinical Director of Global Teletherapy. "We have created videos to assist therapists with their evaluations.”

Therapists can access the 10-part first series now at www.globallyfocused.com. 

Global Teletherapy has also created a comprehensive guidebook as a companion to the video series. Although the guidebook will benefit anyone in the e-tech learning industry, it has a unique value for school administrators and therapists. 

Whether administrator or therapist, guidebook readers will notice the similarity between virtual and face-to-face assessments, thereby gaining confidence in the quality of the virtual assessment. 

Guidebook Excerpt: Part I- Virtual Assessments: General Considerations

Successful virtual assessments need to account for these factors: 

• The Learning Coach
  The onsite learning coach works closely with the remote clinician to prepare the child for the assessment, by verifying that the audio and video are working and ensuring materials are present for students. The learning coach does not require any clinical training, as he/she is not performing any clinical duties.
  
• Test Security
  Materials can be handled in such a way that the learning coach opens the materials on camera or only gains access to them directly before the assessment, then seals the envelope containing the materials to be returned while still on the camera.
• Equipment
  A computer with a webcam and a document camera is necessary to conduct the session. Screen size will be determined by the tests being given.
• Environment
  The best of all scenarios would be to find a private, quiet room to minimize distractions. In virtual assessments, as with those conducted onsite, the environment must be looked at carefully to see how disturbances or other environmental factors may impact results.

Global Teletherapy provides school systems resources to move their special education-related services online. Visit www.globalteletherapy.com for more information.

As of 2020-21, 14.5% of all U.S. students were special education students (ages 3-21). That translates to more than seven million who need teachers with specialized training to help kids with physical, emotional, mental and behavioral disabilities. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) mandates that these students be educated with non-disabled peers to the greatest extent possible, in the least restrictive environment, and these apps and sites for special education can help. 

When teachers improve their ability to engage and educate special ed learners, they’re simply fulfilling another version of individualized learning. Fortunately, in addition to graduate-level coursework, there are several high-quality online resources to help any teacher learn the theory and practice of working with kids with disabilities. 

The following sites and apps provide lessons and activities for special needs learners, as well as professional development tools for teachers. All are free or modestly priced. 

Best Sites and Apps for Special Education

Better Lesson Instructional Strategies
Explore a broad range of instructional strategies that, although diverse, all aim to support individualized learning. Choose from social-emotional learning, culturally responsive teaching, competency-based learning, and more. Within each category, learn how to plan, practice, and implement several related strategies. For example, SEL offers detailed guidance on self-regulation, self-awareness, and collaborative conversations. A rich resource for all teachers, not just special ed. 

Sen Teacher  
Hundreds of free learning materials for special ed, including customizable printable downloads and interactive games in math, science, sensory/art, and assistive technology. Simple to use, and no account is needed.

TPT: Free Special Education Lessons and Activities  
Created, tested, and rated by your fellow teachers, these free special education resources are searchable by subject, grade, standards, and formats. Browse the handwriting practice, sight word activities, life skills, money math, and more to find exactly what you need for your classroom.

MakeBeliefs Comix for Students With Special Needs
Learn how teachers across the country are using MakeBeliefsComix to help students with a variety of disabilities—from autism to stuttering—learn and thrive.

Autism Circuit Tools
This site provides a diverse range of tools to help students make decisions, modulate their behavior appropriately, and understand consequences. Autism Circuit offers guidance and brief videos demonstrating how teachers can use tools such as choice boards in their classrooms. Other tools help students communicate, manage emotions, behaviors, and schedules. 

Do2Learn
Do2Learn is a nonprofit website providing free resources, tools, and activities to support educators in teaching children and young adults with special needs. The site includes interactive games, visual aids, and printable materials to engage learners of all ages and abilities. Educators can access a variety of lesson plans and curriculum ideas to create more inclusive and supportive learning environments. 

Microsoft Learning Tools Immersive Reader
OneNote Learning Tools provides a free immersive reader to help students boost their reading skills. Want to try it first? Just enter your own text into the box and start reading. Choose male or female voice, font and text size, background color and line focus. Other features allow you to assign color to parts of speech and display words in syllables. Click on any word to view a visual representation and to hear the word spoken. Translates words and entire documents into dozens of languages. Very cool tool, and super easy to use!

Paul V. Sherlock Center on Disabilities Adapted Literature and Lessons  Nearly 500 classic, popular, and/or educational works of literature adapted for students with special needs. The works include digital books, movies, videos, music, and PowerPoint presentations that aim to help students with visual and other disabilities. Want to create your own adapted literature? Check out the Creating Your Own Adapted Literature Webinars explaining how to do so. Free, no account required.

Mindful Schools  
Features 10 free mindfulness classes for kids, including activities, mindful movement, and read-alouds. Courses for educators cover mindfulness basics, how to implement mindfulness in the classroom, and self compassion (a must for teachers!).

Otsimo Special Education iOs Android
Developed by Zafer Elcik for his young autistic brother, the Otsimo app features a gamified, personalized curriculum for special education. Games focus on everyday basics such as clocks, weather and clothes as well as the alphabet, music, and colors. To view the app games, visit the website here. To play games, you’ll need to download the free app. 

Voice Dream
A suite of award-winning apps—Reader, Writer, Scanner—that provides text-to-speech reading, writing, and scanning capabilities in 30 languages. 

AAA Math
A no-frills K-8 math practice site that offers thousands of interactive math lessons, from addition to geometry to statistics. It’s easy to use -- just click on any topic or lesson and start practicing. Lessons are served in small, attainable blocks, which aids in preventing frustration. Plus, kids get immediate feedback on their answers. Free, no account needed. 

BoomCards Special Education Decks
Great collection of Boom Cards decks covering a wide variety of useful topics such as identifying public bathrooms, WH questions, verbs, modes of transportation, compare-contrast exercises, and more. Many are free or modestly priced, and all are sortable by grade, subject, and cost. Free account required. Want to learn more about how to use Boom cards? Check out What is Boom Cards and How Does It Work?

Autism Focused Intervention Resources and Modules
Free modules to help educators and caretakers learn about autism and evidence-based practices. Also available for $35 are continuing education credit modules that cover topics from cognitive behavioral intervention to video modeling. 

Paths to Literacy Lessons and Materials
Fine collection of lessons, manipulatives, hands-on activities, videos, and more to support teachers who work with students with visual disabilities, including deafblind students and those with multiple disabilities

SENict Teaching Activities
Free downloadable exercises curated to aid young people in advancing their accessibility skills via assistive technology, encompassing switches, touch devices, pointing devices, and eye gaze systems. Download each exercise individually or purchase a convenient memory stick loaded with 600+ activities, training videos, and teacher supports for £25 (about $31 U.S.).

Starfall
A well-designed, ad-free site that focuses on making reading and math fun for students pre K-3. Starfall’s founder Stephen Schutz struggled with dyslexia as a child and created Starfall to help kids learn to read—and learn to love learning. Art, music, poetry, riddles, and more keeps kids engaged in the interactive material. Four membership levels range from $35 annually for home use to $355 for a school membership. Each section also includes clearly marked free content, so it’s easy to browse the site and try it out without an account. 

Reading Rockets Reading Intervention Videos
These highly instructive free videos feature literacy expert Linda Farrell working with struggling readers on specific reading goals such as mastering the alphabet, multisyllabic words, and blending sounds. Each video is accompanied by professional development guides as well as commentary by Farrell. Be sure to explore the entire Reading Rockets website for a wealth of additional literacy guides and resources. 

• Best Deaf Awareness Lessons & Activities 
• Top Sites for Differentiated Instruction
• Using the Metaverse to Help Students With Intellectual Disabilities 

To share your feedback and ideas on this article, consider joining our Tech & Learning online community here.

While technology can help improve efficiency and effectiveness in your special education program, managing the balance between access and legal sensitivity requires thoughtful attention to detail, says Chris Draper, an IEP consultant who recently co-presented “Future Proofing for SPED Supports” with Susan Gentz, a public policy expert, at the Future Proofing Your District conference.

District leaders are planning for different scenarios when students return this fall—on campus, remote, and hybrid. Whether special education students are on or off campus, Draper and Gentz recommend important areas of focus in special education programs to help get the year off to a good start.

1. Data Privacy. Cybersecurity is important for the complex interactions and flow of data supporting special education. Creating the flow of data, knowing which third-party apps are involved, who has access to the data, and how the intended user gets the data they need to deliver to the right recipients is the most important part of data security. 

2. Data Breaches. Whether teachers and students are on or off campus this fall, it’s important to understand whether software is being used correctly. The largest percentage of data breaches occur due to human error. Of course districts want to keep risk low, but it’s unrealistic to think you will be able to protect against every attack. Avoiding email transmissions of data and reducing data access are a good start.

3. IEP Meeting Software. Virtual meetings will likely continue in the future as it provides an efficient option. But any technology needs to manage meeting access and visibility to ensure trust and confidentiality. Are district personnel adequately trained to use the software? In particular, can they manage a complicated conversation without face-to-face physical cues? 

4. Digital Dispute Avoidance. Draper says that miscommunication is more likely to arise in virtual IEP meetings than during face-to-face ones. “The virtual world requires different skills to disputing avoidance than face-to-face,” he said. “Finding district staff who can handle online dispute avoidance is important.”

5. Assessing Student Needs. It is possible that students will not be able to return to school in the fall as planned, or that students return to campus and then find that schools need to close again due to a resurgence in the pandemic. While the loss of spring assessments puts educators in the dark, it’s important to get students re-integrated quickly into school. Use diagnostic assessments, identify the most vulnerable, and prioritize their needs, Gentz advises. “Try to rethink assessment by finding some flexible alternatives to what you’ve been using,” she said. Also consider the possibility of increasing mental health supports for some students. “This has been a traumatic time for some students and families,” Gentz said. “Take advantage of funding in the CARES Act for mental health and social support.”

The American Enterprise Institute has provided a Back-to-School Blueprint that districts may find helpful as they plan for the new school year. Although there are no waivers from the U.S. Department of Education on the services schools are required to provide to students with disabilities, there is some flexibility in federal funding this year that allows districts to blend funding sources to meet their needs during this extraordinary time.

Schools across the nation continue to stay closed in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Every day, districts are updating plans for teachers and students to continue to work remotely, educators are finding resources to support remote learning, and state and federal officials are providing guidelines on how to best handle student needs. However, in the rush to adopt remote learning and maintain connections academically and emotionally, are we ensuring all students are supported while away from school?

Parents of special education students are looking for ways to support their children at home while teachers are searching for ways to assist their students with special needs. Many of these students need individual, in-person attention due to their disabilities. However, when schools are closed, those services stop. 

The U.S. Department of Education recently published a statement saying that if a school closure results in the interruption of educational services for all students, then the school/district is not obligated to provide services to the affected students eligible for special education during that time.

• 20 Sites and Apps for Special Education
• 5 Essential Areas of Focus for Special Education Programs This Fall

As a district leader, and President-Elect, for the Massachusetts Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (MASCD), I have been included in numerous collaborative meetings focused on this topic. During these meetings, I have heard that teachers are visiting students’ homes and advising families on physical therapy techniques. Teachers are recording and sending videos guiding families and students with technical support. Other educators are calling, texting, and emailing parents to answer questions and stay in touch with students.

Regardless of all the efforts being made by dedicated educators, they are all short-term solutions. Some districts and schools may be in a position to continue teaching students using distance learning methods; however, equity is a critical consideration. 

School leaders are wrestling with how to deliver special education services while staying compliant with state and federal civil rights law. Many districts have shut down but have not required distance learning because they haven’t figured out a way to service ALL students.

At the time of this article, only three states (Kansas, Alabama, and Virginia) had closed schools for the year, meaning many states intend to return before the close of the FY20 school year. With a return as the current plan, districts should be communicating with parents regarding their child’s IEP services. After this extended closure, districts are responsible for reviewing how the closure impacted the delivery of special education, and other related services, to students.

Schools may not be in session, but that does not mean that administrators, especially special education directors, are off. Coronavirus is keeping individuals physically from school buildings, but there is still work to do. IEP Teams cannot meet in person while schools are closed, yet, if an evaluation of a student with a disability requires a reevaluation or initial meeting, a team can meet virtually with a student’s parent or legal guardian with consent. 

The same processes of virtual meetings can be in place for a student with a disability who has a 504 plan or an initial qualifying meeting. For virtual meetings to occur, however, the data for the assessments had to have been conducted before the school closing; all face-to-face assessments and/or observations cannot take place during extended closings. 

For students with special education services, ensuring accessibility to technology may allow students with disabilities to have access to high-quality educational instruction during extended school closures. However, if the student attends a school that does not provide 1:1 technology, special education students will need to be provided with devices for this to work. Many online learning options have embedded accommodations. School leadership and special education liaisons should review IEPs and communicate with families any accommodations provided by the online learning sites.

Students with special needs are not the only ones struggling. Their parents are trying to figure out how to balance working from home with teaching and supervising their children 24/7. In addition, some parents may be worried about keeping their job during this crisis. Often, families are finding themselves in a role they never imagined –- homeschooling a special education student.

During this uncertain time, the most important thing parents or caregivers can do to help a child with special needs is to establish an at-home schedule. A schedule will provide routine and a sense of normalcy to a child’s life during a very abnormal time, and help them know what to expect. 

Students with special needs often require and benefit from visual schedules. For students who struggle with time management, incorporating visual timers can help them know when an activity is coming to an end or when it’s time to start the next activity on the schedule. 

Other strategies for parents include:

• Stay positive. This period of time increases stress for everyone in the household. Try your best to be aware of how you’re interacting with your kids. Stay upbeat and encouraging.
• Praise often. Change is hard for everyone; acknowledge that every day. When you see your children engaging in a behavior you want continued, encourage them in positive ways, and the behavior is likely to be repeated. 
• Give breaks. A schedule is essential, but so are breaks. Make sure to schedule "recess" and time away from work/computer during the day.
• Use nonverbal reminders or prompts. Visuals are great for reminding children of expectations without having to tell them what to do. Incorporate as many nonverbal cues as possible.
• Provide incentives. Help motivate students to complete work and follow the schedule by offering an incentive for completion. Try to refrain from referring to it as a reward.
• Choose your battles. If getting dressed is going to be the beginning of a downward spiral, let your children spend the day in their pajamas. This time of uncertainty requires flexibility. Focus on the schedule and pick what issues are most critical to make a stand.
• Welcome the help of siblings. A brother or sister can help with communication and technology support, so don't discourage their participation.
• Incorporate physical movement. Physical movement is essential for our brains and our bodies. Ensure children (and caregivers) are moving by taking walks and being outside when possible.

If the COVID-19 virus continues to keep students out of school, the need for creative approaches to meeting the needs of students with special needs will grow. Ideally, schools, agencies, and districts will share their ideas and experiences with each other and leverage the opportunity for innovative solutions. Providing a universal assemblage of options that can be used by all will significantly benefit students with special needs. Developing a thoughtful approach to serving students with disabilities must be woven into any plan from the onset; we can never treat the most vulnerable students as an afterthought.

Cambium Learning Group’s Voyager Sopris Learning today announced that LETRS (Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling), the company’s professional learning on language and literacy skills, has earned accreditation from the International Dyslexia Association (IDA).

Authored by Dr. Louisa C. Moats and Dr. Carol A. Tolman, LETRS for elementary school teachers is backed by more than 30 years of evidence-based, scientific research.

“Earning this accreditation from IDA is a great honor for us because we so consciously tried to align LETRS with the IDA Knowledge and Practice Standards for Teachers of Reading,” Dr. Moats said. “We now have independent validation that we succeeded.”

Topics covered include knowledge of the structure of language, knowledge of dyslexia and other learning disorders, and understanding of how to teach young readers the basics of phonics and word recognition.

IDA’s Program Accreditation initiative is guided by four main principles:

1. Prioritize the interests of K–12 students above all else;
2. Embrace diverse models of educator preparation;
3. Maximize student impact through innovative partnerships designed to advance improved educator preparation practices in reading; and
4. Commit to a growth-oriented mindset.

Neither a curriculum nor a program, the LETRS course of study focuses on preparing PreK–3 teachers with the essential skills for diagnosing reading issues, prescribing evidence-based strategies and assessing the effectiveness of the instruction provided to support all students. The newest version of LETRS includes online instructional videos, journaling and processing activities as educators build background and a common understanding of comprehensive reading instruction. 

Are you doing everything possible to create an inclusive environment for your students?

Haben Girma, author of Haben: The DeafBlind Woman Who Conquered Harvard Law spoke to educators at an Accessibility Expo in New York City. She shared advice for making schools more accessible for students.

Check out her six tips and consider how you can integrate them into your classroom this year.

6 tips for creating a more accessible and inclusive classroom

Multiple Formats

Use as many formats as possible to help students learn. The more formats you use; the more students you will reach.

Assumptions

Don’t make assumptions. Girma had teachers who assumed because she was blind she could not use computers or do art. She loves computers and they support accessibility. She also enjoys creating art. Rather than assume what a student can or can’t do, and before excusing them from an activity, start by trying to figure out how a topic can be made accessible. Speak to the student, other students, colleagues, and experts.

Role Models

Hire teachers with disabilities. Bring in speakers with disabilities. Have students with disabilities share ways they learn and live in this world.

Accessible Digital Content

All content you share with students should follow the web content accessibility guidelines. This enables students with disabilities, those who are not fluent in English, and everyone else, access content more effectively.

Teach Inclusion

Commit to teaching inclusively. If you’re not sure how to start, there are endless free resources online to help you get started.

Remove Barriers

Look around your school community. Identify barriers. Work to remove the barriers. Invite students to help.

Girma asks educators to just commit to doing one thing to make their school more accessible to students with disabilities. What could you commit to?

cross posted at The Innovative Educator

Lisa Nielsen (@InnovativeEdu) has worked as a public-school educator and administrator since 1997. She is a prolific writer best known for her award-winning blog, The Innovative Educator. Nielsen is the author of several booksand her writing has been featured in media outlets such as The New York Times,The Wall Street Journal, Tech&Learning, and T.H.E. Journal.   

Proloquo2Go - Symbol-based AAC

Brilliant tool helps kids with speech difficulties communicate

Pros: Numerous options allow adults to customize the app to suit students' abilities and needs.

Cons: There's potential for frustration if customizations and settings aren't chosen carefully.

Bottom Line: The price is hefty, but Proloquo2Go carries its weight by providing students and teachers an effective, one-of-a-kind communication tool.

Read more here.

App of the Day picks are selected from the top edtech tools reviewed by Common Sense Education, which helps educators find the best ed-tech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly.

By Common Sense Education

The state of Texas recently announced the implementation of House Bill 21 (HB21), a state-funded initiative to provide its districts with evidence- and research-based programs and services for students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Through this initiative, schools can help teach their students with ASD to tune in on emotions, express empathy, act appropriately in social situations, self-motivate, and reciprocate interactions. RoboKind, creator of Milo and robots4autism, offers schools and districts a solution that meets or exceeds the expectations spelled out in HB21.

RoboKind is providing language for school and district administrators to use to ensure that Milo and the robots4autism curriculum are included in their grant. Schools and districts that take advantage of Milo the robot and the robots4autism curriculum will also have access to data collection and reporting analytics, a facilitator manual, training, IT and related technical support, and school and district customer service support.

HB21 grant applications are due March 8, 2018.

To learn more, visit RoboKind’s information page.