Reading Disabilities and the Behavior Connection: Insights and Understanding
By Maria Torres, M.A., LDT-C Reading disabilities, such as dyslexia, pose significant challenges for students. They not only affect a student’s academic progress, but frequently also impact their behavior in the classroom. Understanding the relationship between...
Accessing Preschool Special Education
IDEA, the nation’s special education law, is designed with one goal in mind: to ensure that children with disabilities receive an appropriate education to address their needs. The law covers children from birth through age 21. One part of IDEA—Section 619—funds...
The Role and Impact of NJ Special Education Advisory Groups (SEPAGs)
Parent advocacy happens in many ways, from chatting with a teacher about a child’s needs and progress, to getting involved in systems change. In many states, Special Education Advisory Groups (SEPAGs) are working to ensure that the unique needs of students with...
Person-Centered Planning
A person-centered plan can help those involved with the focus person see the total person, recognize his or her desires and interests, and discover completely new ways of thinking about the future of the person.” — Beth Mount & Kay Zwernik, 1988 All too...
Learning Loss: 2022 ‘Nation’s Report Card’ Results
What they say – and don’t say — about students with disabilities The pandemic’s effect on student learning and achievement continues to be a big concern for parents, educators, and policy-makers. Last fall, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) tests,...
Paying for Special Education
Less than 50 years ago, students in the United States with Down syndrome, autism, cerebral palsy, dyslexia, and other conditions were routinely turned away from school because of their disabilities. Today, they are entitled to a free and appropriate public education....
School-Based Mental Health
Even before COVID-19, the National Institute of Mental Health estimated that one in five people will experience a mental health condition in their lifetime, and one in four Americans currently knows someone who has a mental health condition. There is a ripple...
Students with Disabilities Caught in the School-to-Prison Pipeline
Local police handcuff and arrest a second-grader. Video footage shows the boy sobbing as an officer announces, “You’re going to jail.” Three officers are called to the scene—an elementary special education classroom—where they arrest the 8-year old with...
Auditory Processing Disorder (APD) and How it Affects Learning
Auditory processing is a neurological communication between the ears and the brain that is responsible for helping us make sense of what we hear. In auditory processing, the brain must identify the incoming sounds and make an analysis of those sounds and attach...
US Surgeon General Issues Advisory on Growing Youth Mental Health Crisis
U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy has issued an advisory calling for swift action to respond to a growing mental health crisis among youth that has worsened due to stressors related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The advisory notes that national surveys have shown major...
How Should Social Emotional Learning Change Post-Pandemic?
By Debra K. Meyer, PhD, Professor of Education, Elmhurst University As a college professor of educators who are entering the profession (pre-service teachers) and teachers returning to earn their master’s degrees and advanced endorsements (in-service teachers), I am...NJCommonGround.org, and the Common Ground E-newsletter are projects of the NJ Council on Developmental Disabilities
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- The Right to a Free and Appropriate Public Education
- What to Do if You Suspect Your Child has a Disability Impacting Their Education
- Initial Special Education Evaluations and Eligibility
- The Individualized Education Program (IEP)
- Special Education Placement
- Q&A: What are Extended School Year (ESY) Services?
- Q&A: Dispute Resolution