You can print this toolkit as a PDF! Click to download this page New parents have a lot to manage. Concern about whether a child’s growth and development are on track can be confusing. This toolkit provides places to begin if caregivers suspect that a baby or young child may need services due to a Read More
The Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) ends when a child turns 3. A transition to a preschool plan with an Individualized Education Program (IEP) requires a new evaluation and is a team-led process: Planning begins 6-9 months before the third birthday. The Family Resource Coordinator (FRC) schedules a transition conference to design a written Transition Read More
A Brief Overview At school, related services help children with disabilities benefit from their special education by providing extra help and support. Options for related services are described in state law (WAC 392-172A-01155). If a child with public health insurance needs specific therapies to meet medical needs, their insurance company is obligated to support those Read More
A child who struggles to read can quickly fall behind in school. Nearly every academic area includes some reading, and children might become confused or frustrated when they don’t get help to make sense of their schoolwork. Behavior challenges can result, and sometimes schools and parents struggle to understand why the student is having a Read More
A Brief Overview Early intervention services help infants and toddlers with disabilities or delays to learn and catch up in their development. This article covers some basics about services for young children in Washington State. Families concerned about a child’s development can call the Family Health Hotline at 1-800-322-2588, with support in multiple languages. Parents can Read More
A Brief Overview Children who are taught self-regulation are more resilient and learn better in academics and more. This article describes a few practical tools and techniques that are aspects of Social Emotional Learning (SEL). “Kids do well if they can,” says Ross W. Greene, a child psychologist and author. In a short YouTube video, Greene says, Read More
A Brief Overview Understanding trauma and providing consistent skill building in Social Emotional Learning (SEL) can improve outcomes in education and elsewhere. Washington’s Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction provides free SEL training materials for educators and families on its website: k12.wa.us. Trauma-informed adults can use specific strategies to help children understand their emotions, describe Read More
A Brief Overview: The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) provides a training program for school staff focused on Social-Emotional Learning. The SEL Online Education Modules are designed for educators, administrators, school staff, others professionals, and parents. Moments of trouble can provide insight about unmet needs. Meeting those moments with compassion helps children learn Read More
A Brief Overview Services for families with infants and very young children include family-focused, home-based support. Families are served with an Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP). An IFSP ends when the child turns 3. A child who qualifies for an Individualized Education Program (IEP) receives those services at school. Not all children who qualified for Read More
Great Information on Early Intervention Services After 121 days in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, I took my son to his assigned pediatrician at Elmendorf Air Force Base in Anchorage, Alaska and was told I needed to arrange for custodial care for him. When I asked the doctor, “What is custodial care?” He stated that Read More
What is Universal Design for Learning (UDL)? Currently, the focus of education is to prepare all students to be experts in their chosen fields of study, turning the early learner into a lifelong learner building on individual needs and strengths to accomplish this goal. Universal Design for Learning (UDL) helps educators by providing academically structured Read More
A Brief Overview Full Article If a student is having a hard time at school and has a known or suspected disability, the school evaluates to see if the student qualifies for special education. A child is protected in their right to be evaluated by the Child Find Mandate, which is part of the federal Read More