On Thursday evening, January 27, 2017, LifeLine families came together at our northwest Georgia FamilyShare support group and discussed ways to facilitate our children’s emotional regulation at home and at school. Lisa Mattheiss shared ideas and resources that she and Michal Jones had collected in their years of working with families in Chattanooga and northwest…
Crystal Horner, Chattanooga, TN On January 2nd, 2008 I woke up in a hospital room with a small view of the rising sun. I had been up earlier that night giving birth to my first child. Hudson James Horner was born a bit abruptly as I had gotten an upper respiratory infection and had been…
Many of us are in the same boat. We are raising children with special needs. The problem is, they didn’t come with a manual and there are things that happen with them that we can’t explain, medicine can’t explain, and mainstream medicine can’t always cure. Our purpose at our last FamilyShare support group meeting of 2016…
Last week Sandra Peoples published an article on Key Ministry’s blog entitled “What Special Needs Families Wish Their Pastors Knew”. In that article, she shared five main points: We are lonely. We wish we could do more. We know you can’t control every church member’s reaction to our family, but you do set the…
Stephanie Hubach, author of Same Lake Different Boat, is also mom to Tim. Stephanie took the month of October to share some thoughts about Down Syndrome and various ways that it has impacted Tim as well as ways Tim has effected people’s view of the abilities of someone with Down Syndrome. Post #8: Down Syndrome…
KATIE MCVAY CAMPBELL·FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2016 John 9:2-4 “Rabbi,” his disciples asked him, “why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents’ sins?” “It was not because of his sins or his parents’ sins,” Jesus answered. “This happened so the power of God could be seen in him.…
For the last three years or so I have been hearing about families’ increasing difficulty accessing Family Support services. We have finally received a list of Family Support Priorities and their spending/funding caps on various categories. If you are eligible for Family Support services in 2016-2017 fiscal year, please review this document and determine exactly…
This month the United States Department of Education Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services published a Dear Colleague Letter intended to help clarify the use of Positive Behavior Interventions & Supports in the IEP. A copy of the guidance can be found here: Dear Colleague Letter-on-PBIS-in-IEPs–08-01-2016 Of course, as a governmental document, it was a little…
“What is Inclusion?The term inclusion implies a certain educational placement philosophy, interdisciplinary team planning approach, instructional method and attitude.” “Inclusion DOES NOT necessarily mean that a student never leaves the class and is never paired with another student who receives special education services. Rather, it means that the student is truly a member of a…
When discussion of placement arises in an IEP meeting, often how much “inclusion” will be accessible for a student becomes a topic of conversation. Where is “inclusion” in IDEA? Is that term actually there? Or is it a concept? Least Restrictive Environment is the term IDEA uses to define placements. The United States Department of Education,…
