Category Archives: Uncategorized

NDEAM 2018 | Ida’s Success Story—Knocking Down Barriers for Blind People Throughout New Jersey and Beyond

Ida and her service dog

Ida and her service dog

NOTE: October is Blind Awareness Month and National Disability Employment Awareness Month

Ida is a senior at Drew University in Madison, N.J. where she majors in computer science with a minor in humanities. In addition to a recent paid summer internship and an offer of employment from JP Morgan Chase upon graduation next spring, Ida has had a range of exceptional experiences as she pursues her career goals.

In the summer of 2016, Ida studied abroad at Hannam University in South Korea as a Student Program Developer in the Robotics Program. In 2017, Ida spent the summer as a Research Assistant at Texas A&M University working on natural language processing and information extraction.

Ida is legally blind.

The Governor of New Jersey recently appointed her to serve on the State Rehabilitation Council for the Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired (CBVI).

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Kathleen West Evans, Director of Business Relations, Council of State Administrators of Vocational Rehabilitation (CSAVR)
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Director of Business Relations Council of State Administrators of Vocational Rehabilitation (CSAVR)
Chris Pope
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Rehabilitation Services Administration Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services U.S. Department of Education

My Truth About Dyslexia―What I Wish for Other Kids With Dyslexia and Their Parents

Douglas Rawan II, a sixth-grader with dyslexia

Douglas Rawan II, a sixth-grader with dyslexia

Note: October is Learning Disabilities/Dyslexia/Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Awareness Month

My name is Douglas Rawan II. I am 11-years-old, live in Massachusetts, and I have a story about dyslexia.

It starts back in fourth grade when I began to feel different than my friends in school. Making jokes was the way I would cover up having no confidence in school. No one knew that inside I felt stupid. I remember one day when my mom asked me to do some reading and writing, and I threw pencils on the floor and my book. I remember my mom looked really sad. Inside I knew it would be too hard, but I didn’t know why. Since Kindergarten, my mom hired tutors to help with reading, but nothing changed at school. I also had a hard time focusing at school until one day I came home and told my mom that I asked the assistant principal for a standing desk. My parents didn’t even know what that was.

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Thumbnail of Douglas Rawan II, a sixth-grader with dyslexia
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Douglas Rawan II, a Sixth-grader with Dyslexia

High Achievement Requires High Expectations: My Family’s Story

Candice Crissinger and children

Candice Crissinger and children

Note: October is Learning Disabilities/Dyslexia/Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Awareness Month

“High achievement always takes place in the framework of high expectation.”

—Charles Kettering, American inventor, engineer and businessman.

As parents, we all want to see our children reach their full potential. Our visions of their successes and accomplishments may vary, but we all yearn to guide our children to greatness. How do we set them up to fulfill their potential? What foundations are we building for them? What roadmaps can we provide to help them navigate on their journey?

I am the proud mother of three terrific children (Biased? Yes!). While each of them is unique and inspiring in their own abilities and qualities, my sons have some very distinct similarities.

In the early school years, both began showing similar behaviors: high impulsivity, defiance, acting out, disruption, the inability to follow direction and under-developed social skills.

Both were bright and strong willed and insisted on doing things their own way in their own time.

Both were identified by educators as “challenging and difficult” and by peers as a “bad kid.”

They were both evaluated at five years old, 10 years apart. That’s where the similarities ended.

Let’s start with my older son’s journey.

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Candice Crissinger
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Understood Parent Fellow with the National Center for Learning Disabilities. Medical Assistant in Pediatric Specialties, University of Iowa.

NDEAM 2018 | “America’s Workforce: Empowering All”

Note: October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month

NDEAM 2018 Poster: Man in a wheelchair conversing with co-workers over laptop computers.

National Disability Employment Month 2018 | “America’s Workforce: Empowering All”

National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM), observed each October, celebrates the contributions of workers with disabilities and promotes the value of a workforce inclusive of their skills and talents. Reflecting a commitment to a robust and competitive American labor force, this year’s NDEAM theme is “America’s Workforce: Empowering All.”

To recognize NDEAM, the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) will publish a series of blogs, in partnership with the Council of State Administrators of Vocational Rehabilitation, throughout the month. The series will celebrate the career successes of individuals with disabilities who received vocational rehabilitation (VR) services and highlight some of the partnerships state VR agencies have established with businesses across the country.

For more information about NDEAM, visit our partners at the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy.

Blog articles provide insights on the activities of schools, programs, grantees, and other education stakeholders to promote continuing discussion of educational innovation and reform. Articles do not endorse any educational product, service, curriculum or pedagogy.

Chris Pope
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Christopher Pope Rehabilitation Services Administration Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services U.S. Department of Education

Time to Head Back to School and to Rethink Education

Johnny Collett and Kim Richey met with special educators and teachers at Hiawatha’s Essex Westford.Kim Richey chats with a student at Strong Foundations Charter SchoolKim Richey observed individualization strategies at work at Hugh Cole Elementary School.Johnny Collett and Kim Richey with students from Baxter Academy for Science and TechnologyJohnny Collett and Kim Richey meeting with teachers at the Baxter Academy for Technology and ScienceJohnny Collett and Kim Richey observe a lesson at Birch Meadow Elementary of Reading Public SchoolsJohnny Collett and Kim Richey visiting a classroom at Hanover Elementary School at Meriden Public Schools.Johnny Collett and Kim Richey participate in a round table discussion at St. Johnsbury Academy.Johnny Collett sat with children at Little One’s University.Johnny Collett and Kim Richey meeting with teachers, administrators, a parent and a board member at St. George Municipal School Unit.Group picture from the visit RSEC Academy in New Hampshire.

By Johnny Collett, OSERS Assistant Secretary

OSERS Deputy Assistant Secretary Kim Richey and I spent the week of September 10 traveling as part of the U.S. Department of Education’s 2018 Back-to-School Tour. During the week, ED leaders toured the country to get a closer, first-hand look at how schools are meeting the unique needs of students.

Kim and I spent the week in New England visiting traditional public, private/independent, and public charter schools to meet students and educators and to learn how these schools provide supports and services to students with disabilities.

We were encouraged by how these schools are rethinking education to ensure nothing limits their students from being prepared for what comes next in life―whether it is continuing their education, transitioning to a work environment, both, or whatever is their next right step.

We heard from diverse education stakeholders at each school. They provided us with great information, and it was incredibly helpful to benefit from their unique perspectives and experiences. We were reminded again, that those closest to the child really do know best about their education, and that the best ideas and innovations to ensure the success of children come from them, and not from Washington.

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Assistant Secretary Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services U.S. Department of Education

“Voices from the Field” Interview: Dan Gaffney, Leading Efforts to Improve and Expand Early Childhood Opportunities in Northwest Oregon

Dan Gaffney

Dan Gaffney

Dan Gaffney is a veteran educator and administrator, having spent 17 years with the Seaside School District in Oregon as an elementary principal and special education director. He later coordinated Clatsop County’s Preschool—Third Grade (P-3) Collaboration project to align programs and professional development for those working and involved with the education and care of children from birth to age 8. He also developed and directed Clatsop County’s early childhood health and education screening for 3 years. Dan has served on Oregon’s Northwest Early Learning Hub Governance Committee and Clatsop County’s Way to Wellville Strategic Council. Most recently, Dan directed the U.S. Department of Education-funded Preschool Pay for Success Feasibility Study involving Clatsop and Tillamook Counties in Oregon.

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Dan Gaffney
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Veteran educator and administrator

Autism—A Family’s Journey and the Lights Along the Way

Note: April is National Autism Awareness Month.

Carolyn Hayer with son Chris and their family

Carolyn Hayer with son Chris and their family

Carolyn Hayer is the Director of Parent and Professional Development at the Statewide Parent Advocacy Network (SPAN) in New Jersey, a federally funded Parent Training and Information Center.

Autism.

There was a time when I couldn’t even say the word out loud. It was too painful, too devastating to utter. I wanted to believe that if I didn’t say the word, it didn’t exist. But it does exist; it’s real, and it’s beautiful, and it’s challenging all at the same time. And whether I say the word or not, my son Chris has autism.

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Carolyn Hayer
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Director, Parent and Professional Development at the Statewide Parent Advocacy Network (SPAN), New Jersey

“Voices from the Field” Interview with Nancy Thompson and Janine Figiel

Nancy Thompson and Janine Figiel from Jolly Toddlers

Nancy Thompson and Janine Figiel from Jolly Toddlers

Nancy Thompson
Nancy is the owner and director of Jolly Toddlers, a thriving high-quality early education center. She opened this child care center in 1984 to meet the needs of local families looking for high-quality care. Nancy graduated from Fitzgerald-Mercy School of Nursing with a degree in nursing, becoming a registered nurse (RN). Later she attained an undergraduate degree in early childhood and elementary education, as well as a master’s degree in counseling from Gwynedd Mercy College. Nancy is the proud mother of four children, and grandmother to six beautiful grandchildren.		 Janine Figiel
Janine is the Jolly Toddlers assistant director and the center’s facilitator of the Pyramid Model/PBIS. Janine graduated from Seton Hall University with a bachelor’s degree in psychology. After college, Janine worked as a human resource manager in her family’s business while raising her two children. Human interaction and positive reinforcement has always been one of her interests so when Nancy Thompson asked her to help facilitate the Pyramid Model/PBIS pilot program at Jolly Toddlers, she was thrilled. Janine has been at Jolly Toddlers since 2010 and has since received a Child Development Associate (CDA) certificate as well as a director’s diploma in early childhood education.

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Nancy Thompson
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Owner and Director, Jolly Toddlers
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Assistant Director, Jolly Toddlers

Another Journey

Note: April is National Autism Awareness Month.

The Bae family during trip to England

The Bae family during trip to England

Just like any other school day, Eugene, my son with autism, left on the bus this morning to go to a day program provided by our school district. For the last 20 years, he and I wait for the bus by sitting on our front porch. As he steps on the bus, he shouts at me with his happy high-pitched voice, “Bye Mom!” This is our ritual to begin each new day, to meet that day’s challenges, emotions, promises, and hopes.

In June this year, he will age out from the district program. I cannot help being emotional whenever I think about his first day of preschool and the journey that Eugene and our family have been on since then. On that day, I cried in the car for two hours after separating from my miserable, crying child.

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Young Bae
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Executive Director of Community Inclusion & Development Alliance (CIDA)

Evidence-based Practice and Autism

Note: April is National Autism Awareness Month.

Evidence-based Practice cake

Katie is an 18-month-old who does not respond when her mother calls her name, likes to watch spinning objects, and does not use words or gestures to communicate.

Jose is a 17-year-old student who gets stellar grades in all his courses, started the cyber security club in his high school, but he does not have anyone he can call his friend.

This toddler and teenager reflect the continuum of abilities and disabilities that is autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

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Samuel L. Odom, Ph.D.
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Senior Research Scientist Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill slodom@unc.edu