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Families, School Psychologists, Insights, Administrators

Professional Development Planning For Special Education Directors: Challenges and Solutions

As a Special Education Director, your list of critical responsibilities is a long one—including leading, managing, and supporting your team in meeting the needs of students with disabilities. One of...

Families, School Psychologists, Insights, Administrators

Building a Strong Special Education Team: Hiring, Training, and Professional Development

As a Special Education Director, fostering an inclusive and supportive learning environment for all students is at the heart of your responsibilities. A crucial aspect of achieving this goal is...

Families, School Psychologists, Insights, Administrators

Simple ways to foster closer home-school collaboration

Home-school collaboration refers to school staff, students and families working together to improve students’ academic, social and emotional outcomes.

Families, Insights

How do I know when to request a psychoeducational evaluation?

The evaluation and assessment process is how school psychologists and other members of a child’s support team know both that they need specialized support – and exactly what kind of support they’ll...

Families, School Psychologists, Insights

Why virtual pocket coaching is a strong parent resource

There’s plenty of discussion about the support offered to kids through telehealth. But can parents receive support with virtual coaching, too? We’ve written before about the benefits of virtual...

Families, Insights

Will virtual autism therapy (including virtual ABA therapy) benefit my child?

The practice of teletherapy has risen in prominence in the United States, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic. The question many parents are asking, however, is whether or not this form of remote...

Families, Insights

Parents, here’s how to reduce back-to-school anxiety

Anxiety frequently accompanies the back-to-school season. It’s normal for kids to feel both excited and worried about the return to learning – and for routines to feel different or disrupted.

Families, School Psychologists, Insights, Administrators

There’s an easier way for psychs to have stress-free IEP meetings

Individualized education plans (IEPs) are essential for the success of students with special educational needs, but conveying them can be complicated for school psychologists.

Families, Insights

Why tone and intent matter in developing IEPs

The identification of a learning disability and a subsequent special education plan isn’t always a win-win for kids, especially if an unwanted result is that a child feels “pathologized” or marked...

Families, Insights

6 differences between educational psychology and school psychology

What is educational psychology? For starters, it typically focuses on how learning occurs in school. The educational psychologist observes and studies these from the perspective of behavioral and...

Families, Insights

More than a buzzword: How parents can help kids navigate invisible disabilities

You may or may not have heard of the term invisible disability, and what falls under its umbrella – especially when it comes to specific learning disabilities (SLD) – can be unclear.

Families, School Psychologists, Insights, Administrators

Special education and online learning: What’s the verdict?

Over the past two years, there’s been a considerable amount of concern about the impact of remote and online learning on students’ academic and social-emotional development. But what about students...

Families, Insights

Would applied behavior analysis (ABA) work for my child?

For a considerable number of parents who have heard of ABA, the practice comes with certain connotations attached to it. But nonetheless, it is deserving of a second look, with a variety of use cases...

Families, Insights

How strength-based assessments help students discover growth areas

The strength-based assessment approach turns a long-standing assumption on its head: that the only way kids will improve in the classroom, and even in areas like behavior or social engagement, is by...

Families, Insights

Psyched Thoughts: 10 Common School Psychology Terms Clinicians Use

To those who are unfamiliar with the industry, it can often seem like school psychologists and other professionals speak a language all their own when it comes to special education, support...

Families, Insights

7 Signs Your Child May Need A Psychological Evaluation for ADHD or a Learning Disorder

October is National Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and Learning Disabilities month. How do you know when it’s time to seek an evaluation for ADHD or a learning disorder?

Families, Insights

How Do I Know If Repeating A Grade Is The Right Choice?

It’s that time of year when parents and teachers start to question whether a struggling student should repeat their grade. If you are a parent reading this, perhaps a friend or someone at the school...

Families, Insights

How to Add Structure to Your Child’s School Break

Lights are twinkling from housetops, humans young and old are donning ugly sweaters, and sweet treats are becoming a primary food group. All signs are pointing to one of the most anticipated times of...

Families, Insights

How Do I Talk To My Child About Their Invisible Disability?

By Alexandra Tomei and Marysa Enis You’ve taken your child to the doctor. You’ve communicated with the school. You’ve filled out a million forms. You’ve answered a million questions. Now, at the end...

Families, Insights

Successfully Advocate for Your Child with these Tips

By Marysa Enis and Amy Shatila School psychologists can’t stand unresolved conflict in schools. Our entire reason for being is to help kids, and when adults bicker, kids get stressed. We work to...

Families, School Psychologists, Insights, Administrators

What is a Pattern of Strengths and Weaknesses?

By Maria Gregory and Marysa Enis What is a Pattern of Strengths and Weaknesses? A pattern of strengths and weaknesses (PSW) is one approach for determining specific learning disabilities (SLD). As...

Families, Insights, Administrators

Is it Autism? Key Assessment Considerations and Tools

By Marysa Enis and Maria Gregory Is it Autism? Sometimes it feels like we are in the dark ages of psychoeducational assessment. We don’t have blood tests or brain scans or genetic tests. We have...

Families, Insights

Advocacy and Assessment before Kindergarten

A Parent’s Perspective You may recall our friend Alex from the story Inclusion: A Parent’s Perspective.Today, as Alex prepares for her daughter to enter Kindergarten, she embarks on a new journey —...

Families, Insights

Inclusion: A Parent’s Perspective

Inclusion refers to the practice of educating children with disabilities alongside their typically developing peers. Read How Inclusive Education Can Benefit Your Child to learn more.

Families, Insights

Is Your Student Acting Out Because of Trauma?

By Marysa Enis and Maria Gregory Teachers, chances are there is a student in your class who has been through trauma. And, chances are you don’t even know it. Maybe they aren’t the easiest student to...

Families, Insights

Mindful Parenting

By Maria Gregory and Marysa Enis We’ve been really looking forward to this article. It’s that time of year when even the most mindful of people could use a refresher course on mindfulness. Schedules...

Families, News, School Psychologists, Insights, Administrators

In the Wake of Fire: Caring for California’s Children

By Marysa Enis and Maria Gregory It’s been a traumatic week for California school children. There is no escaping the mood or hazy sky. There is no escaping the ash. At best, students can still go to...

Families, School Psychologists, Insights

California Dyslexia Guidelines: Assessment and Intervention

In the first article of this series, we outlined research-based interventions that schools can use to help struggling readers while also following the California Dyslexia Guidelines. We left you with...

Families, School Psychologists, Insights

California Dyslexia Guidelines: What Next?

As many one in five people — male and female alike — have the learning disorder dyslexia, says the Yale Center for Dyslexia & Creativity. The implications are staggering. Research shows that people...

Families, Insights

How Inclusive Education Can Benefit Your Child

For years, students with disabilities were educated largely in separate classrooms or schools. Thanks to legislation that guarantees equal educational opportunities for all children, as well as...

Families, Insights, Administrators

Uncover the Purpose of Challenging Behavior with a Functional Behavior Assessment

While Einstein noted, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results,” it’s easy for parents and teachers to fall into the same pattern when...

Families, School Psychologists, Insights

ABA Techniques for Teaching Social Skills

It is vital for all kids — not just those with exceptional needs — to practice their developing social skills as they grow. While our children with exceptional needs may need more intensive support,...

Families, Insights

Public School vs. Private Evaluation: Which One Fits Your Family’s Needs?

If your child is struggling to meet grade-level expectations and you suspect there may be an undiagnosed disability affecting their learning, you might be weighing the pros and cons of private versus...

Families, Insights

Tackling Toilet Training

If you were to poll hundreds of parents, results would likely show that toilet training kids is one of their least favorite parental responsibilities. Add in a child with developmental delays, and...

Families, Insights

The Silver Lining of Sibling Rivalry and Tips to Reduce It

Whenever your children spend more time together—especially on school breaks and vacations—it increases the odds of tension and full-scale fights regarding anything and everything. As a parent, the...

Families, School Psychologists, Insights

How To Use Visual Checklists

You can never overestimate the power of a plan and structure for all kids, but especially for those that have challenges with executive functioning.

Families, Insights

Are You Or Your Child Struggling? You Name It, ABA Can Improve It

April is Autism Awareness Month! As a way to promote autism awareness and inclusion, the Autism Society declared April National Autism Awareness Month to help every individual with Autism Spectrum...

Families, Insights

Tap Into Your Child’s Creative Brain With Great Activities

Whether it’s summer break, just a day off of school in the middle of February or a rainy day, some low-key fun that taps into your child’s creative brain is always a great idea. Since the logical,...

Families, Insights

5 Ways You Might Be Causing Anxiety In Children

There’s no doubt we want to give our kids all that we can—opportunity, experience, values, and more. But there’s one thing we often see well-meaning parents give their children unintentionally:...

Families, Insights

Revolutionize Your Parenting

Parenting is the most important job you have; and while it is extremely fulfilling, it can also be very challenging. Wouldn’t it be nice if your son or daughter came with an instruction manual on the...

Families, Insights

How To Get The Most From An IEP Meeting

IEP meetings can be anxiety-provoking for parents and school staff alike, especially if there are known differences of opinion ahead of time. On top of that, parents may feel overwhelmed by the sheer...

Families, Insights

Smart Use of Smart Devices

Although technology can certainly make our lives easier, we are learning more about its downside. The overuse of passive screen time has been linked to childhood obesity, sleep disturbances, mood...

Families, School Psychologists, Insights, Administrators

5 Ways to Support Students with Executive Function Issues

We’ve been getting a lot of questions from teachers and Bay Area parents about how to help kids with executive functioning. Weaknesses in executive functioning are often found in both ADHD and...

Families, Insights

5 Myths About Testing for Learning Disabilities

October is National Attention-Deficit/Hyper Activity Disorder and Learning Disabilities month. How do you know if your child needs an evaluation for learning disorders?

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