Many schools and districts practice a form of institutional gaslighting.

I talk about how the structure of schools, along with how the socioeconomic level of the parent determines how much influence a parent has on their child's IEP process.

Other factors such as parent participation are important, see this link for a research article (see link below), but parent's knowledge of the way institutions work in general are more satisfied with their experience in the IEP process. And a parent who has more knowledge of this are often more educated and affluent.

However, gaslighting appears in some form in most schools and districts, it's the nature the of beast, so to speak. Any time a group of people, in this case educators, feel threatened in some way, the natural impulse is to retreat or strike out.

I would argue that the potential consequences of complaints, due process filings and similar parent responses make some school staff feel constrained into non-participation in the IEP process. Generally, those staff members who are less educated about special education are generally more reluctant to participate fully. General education teachers are the group most reluctant to "make a mistake" in a meeting.

In this episode I talk about why some IEP meetings include open and honest discussions about issues, while others discourage parent participation, and what you can do if you are feeling gaslighted.

Here is a link to an article about the issue:
https://adayinourshoes.com/gaslighting/

And here is the link to the parent satisfaction article:
https://www.researchgate.net publication/321690929_Satisfaction_With_Individualized_Education_Programs_Among_Parents_of_Young_Children_With_ASD

In this episode we'll get into the most important part of a behavior plan, reinforcement. Learn what it is and what it looks like.

Remember, the more you know about special education practice, particularly how Positive Behavior Support is supposed to work, the better off you will be at IEP meetings and in helping the team.

The preschool special education system in California is in critical need of reform. Listen to my experience with the system in the California counties where I provide advocacy services.

The system as we now know it excludes neurodivergent children from the preschool system in alarming numbers. The fact that many of these children are the brightest potential intellects in their age group makes this even more problematic.

Listen to my ideas to help correct the problem and what school districts can do to implement needed reforms.

Learn how the discipline system for students with disabilites in California works, and how the letter and spirit of the law is often violated by school officials.

Schools often under report discuplinary removal of student's with disabilities from their classrooms. They do this by using "informal removals" (see below for link to OSEP information). This is when students are sent to the office (or any other area outside of their regular classroom placement) or just sent home without being formally suspended.

Most of the time, the misuse of discipline is caused by a lack of training and experience, but sometimes the misuse is intentional to reduce reportable instances of student discipline.

The number of suspensions in California is now closely tracked through reporting by districts to the state. If those numbers are artificially low, it harms all students. That is because the need for services such as behaviorists and support staff is also artificially low when the actual numbers are higher.

OSEP resources and explanations:
(https://sites.ed.gov/osers/2023/02/discipline-discussions-informal-removals-matter/)

California law regarding discipline:
(https://sites.ed.gov/osers/2023/02/discipline-discussions-informal-removals-matter/)

I've included a transcript of this episode. And here are a few helpful links to expand your knowledge of PBS.
- https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ80580
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Positive_behavior_support
- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5048254/

This will be the first of many podcast episodes featuring different aspects of PBS. I first started to write and record a training series for paraeducators and teachers, but decided to start this podcast instead.

I'm rewriting the series on behaviors to reflect a more general audience, particularly parents.

Enjoy the episode!
David

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a method of teaching that embeds accommodations for all students into general education settings. Students who are visual, or auditory, or tactile/sensory learners are taught, and the student can show mastery, in the way that uses their strengths.

UDL has been successfully implemented in thousands of classrooms around the country and its efficacy has been proven in these real settings.

Learn how students with special needs, indeed all learners, can benefit from a UDL classroom.

Here is a link to CAST, the organization started to promote UDL: https://www.cast.org/impact/universal-design-for-learning-udl

I've was a behaviorist for several years and have written and overseen hundreds of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) or Positive Behavior Support (BIP) based behavior plans.

I've been a believer in the effectiveness of ABA and its offshoot, Positive Behavior Support for my entire career. ABA and the structure it provides to individuals has been literally lifesaving as exemplified by head injuries from head banging that was a significant problem at one time. Remember the helmets kids with autism used to wear?

Listen to a short musing on the issue after a conversation I had with a parent.

Starting in the 24-25 school year, schools can no longer restrict access to recess as a punishment. Particularly for students with special needs, the use of this punishment hurts much more than just the loss of time. It means the loss of a time to get away from the stresses of a classroom, from the rigidity and sometimes difficult sesory input, from having to be "on". See the transcripts section for a link to information about the law.