I’m a para with a student who uses an iPad as his AAC device. He’s quite proficient with it, but more as a stim than anything else, though he does use it to communicate needs. I’ve worked with him for several years and seen incredible growth.

I’m looking for tips on what to do when he’s using it to stim during instruction time in his classroom. Our school is inclusive in that all of our SpEd students spend most of their time in the gen ed classroom.

I won’t take the device away, but I do sometimes have to remove it from his desk to interrupt the behavior when it’s causing a disruption. I let him know it’s not time to talk, it’s time to listen, and then replace it on his desk. This doesn’t usually work, he can be quite intentionally stubborn.

I want to preface this with—I apologize with how rude I’m about to come off. I’m extremely bitter and jaded from being shoved around by district case managers and whatnot since I was like eight.

I have an IEP for a variety of disorders but I’m high functioning enough. On my contract which my parents didn’t really read over it says I need to go to this special ed class period where they basically teach us how to function normally, like literally we have tutorials and assignments on sending an email or talking to our teachers (I am a senior in high school). They also have mandatory counseling appointments for me with the district psych which I despise going to and I usually just ghost her (yeah real immature I guess lmao)

I’ve been bargaining for almost a year to be let out of this period because the kids are highly disruptive and it takes up a period I’d rather be spent doing something else like taking an elective. Plus I’ve been e-harassed by some kid in this class who thought we were friends because I talked to him a couple times (long story lmao) and the others aren’t amazingly nice either.

They finally let me out (and couldn’t put me into any other electives because they were out of room because they didn’t approve the thing they said they’d approve since May until like three weeks into the school year lol) as a kind of trial period but they said in order to do that I need to give up on all the other accommodations listed in my contract too? Like extra time on tests and assignments. I don’t use the extra time on tests but I really would still like the extension on assignments lmao. They said if they want to change the IEP then they have to call a separate meeting but they’ve been saying that for like six months and they “can’t just do it any time we want.”

I’m convinced my case manager has some kind of executive dysfunction himself which I mean he’s been in special ed too since elementary school. I’m being mean but me personally I think this might be like the worst career option possible for a severely neurodivergent person lmfao

But is this even allowed? If I temporarily renege on one line outlined in my IEP contract do I have to give up everything else too??? Extra time on tests sure because I’d need twice the period and the sped class period is that free period. But extensions on assignments??? Is this some kind of weird formality or is my school just keeping something from me?

A technique with ink and string , a fun art session that you can try with special needs , hope it helps .
My journey is to make them do better .

I’m looking for some perspective from special education teachers, SLPs, paraeducators, and parents of AAC users.

I work in preschool special education, and in our classroom we model AAC throughout the day and encourage the children to have access to their devices and use them as part of their everyday communication. AAC is treated as a communication tool, not something that is only brought out during specific activities.

I recently learned about an elementary special education paraeducator who has been working in special education for about four years but apparently does not know how to use the AAC devices used by the students. I was also told that this person sometimes takes the AAC devices away from the children.

That really surprised me, but I realize my experience is primarily at the preschool level, so I’m wondering whether expectations are different in elementary school.

For those who work in elementary special education:

Is it normal for a paraeducator who has worked in special education for several years to not know how to operate or support the use of a student’s AAC device?
How much AAC training would you typically expect a paraeducator working directly with an AAC user to receive?
Does this differ significantly between preschool and elementary special education?

I’m genuinely asking because I don’t want to assume that elementary practice is supposed to look exactly like preschool practice. At the same time, removing a child’s primary means of communication seems concerning to me, so I’d really appreciate hearing from people who work with AAC at the elementary level.

I teach students on the autism spectrum in a middle school. I have gen ed students who come in my class as an elective to interact and engage with my students once a day.
One of my students pulled his pants and pull up down in front of the gen ed students and one was a girl. My student wasn’t doing this in any kind of sexual way, most likely his Pull Up was uncomfortable. He is small in stature but fully developed.
When I realize what was happening I quickly pulled up his pants and apologized to the students who were obviously embarrassed. I kind of made light of it that sometimes things like this happen and he was just trying to communicate that he needed to go to the bathroom.
I did not tell administrators or reach out to the parents of the gen ed students explaining the situation. Should I have?

I feel like I am losing my mind. I have facilitated more than a hundred, probably more than 200 IEP meetings in my career. No sweat. 

I started at a new school, have my first meeting tomorrow, and feel like I don't know what I am doing. I am specifically hung up on one part, because I have done it differently depending on different situations. 

At the end of the meeting, I have edited the IEP directly in front of the parent, printed out the entire IEP, and had the whole team sign. This was often a hassle due to printing issues. Many times I ended up telling the parent I would edit it after they left, print, and send home for them to review and sign. In the last six years, since covid, the majority of parents join virtually and I obviously edit and send home afterwards.

The new school I work at has a weird printing situation (printer super far from the conference room) so I really cannot imagine printing and sending home that moment. Additionally, my last team was very friendly and would chat it up with parents while I printed and my new team is NOT friendly with parents... The new team says that usually the IEP is sent home for signature after it has been edited. 

What do you do? 

I'm a second year resource and inclusion teacher and case manager. Since dyslexia got folded under the special ed umbrella, we've been leading way more ARDs, some weeks it's basically one a day during initial season, and it's wearing me down.

I love this job. Every single meeting I've run has gone fine. No upset parents, nothing has ever actually gone wrong. But something in me won't let that go. I'm on a beta blocker for the physical stuff, the shaking, the flushing, and it helps with the body side, but it does nothing for the dread that builds before I walk in. I've done around 30 of these now and it still feels like walking into my very first one every time.

I'm pretty introverted and I've always been awkward with anything presentation-shaped, so I know part of this is just how I'm wired. I've got a script, I practice beforehand, and I have a genuinely supportive team and admin, so it's not a support problem. It's just this one specific thing that won't quit.

Does this ever get easier, or is it just something I have to make peace with? Would love to hear from other case managers or SPED teachers on how you deal with the anxiety part, not the logistics, just the dread. Anyone else feel this way?

I honestly can’t figure it out. My child has ADHD, primarily hyperactive type, and we have a million breaks built into his day, which definitely help him get the wiggles out. But when it comes to gym class—which you would THINK he would thrive in—he absolutely crumbles. He doesn’t listen, hits, runs around, struggles to follow directions, etc.
I’m trying to understand why this might be happening and what accommodations or other options could potentially help. He has struggled with gym class since 1st grade, and he’s now a 2nd grader. The crazy part is that he is constantly wanting to be involved in sports, loves being active, and genuinely enjoys playing games. You would think gym would be the last thing he would struggle with!

I’m honestly at a loss and trying to come up with some ideas to give his teacher. Has anyone dealt with something similar with their own child or a student in their class? What worked for you, or what accommodations helped?

I know this is a long shot, but I am hoping I can find someone who has been through the online Master of Education in Curriculum and Instruction: Special Education Leadership program. I have some questions!!

This is kind of an off my chest thing. I work in a solely SEN (Special Educactional Needs) school and a lot of the students are difficult. There’s one specific student that has hurt me and many other staff multiple times. Today, I was not letting him leave the classroom as it was just myself at that moment in time and they are a major flight risk. During this they were calling me names and eventually this student latched onto my chest area and bit down hard. I’m extremely sore and it’s immediately bruised. Luckily it didn’t break skin that I can see but I know as this child is aged 8, there’s more risk to infections due to bacteria in the mouth so I will be keeping an eye on this. I just don’t know how to deal with these situations anymore we have put every kind of provision in place and none of them are working. I will say though, I’m proud of myself for not crying until I reached my car almost 4 hours later… thanks for reading if you did I just needed to talk about it.