Navigating the Special Education System Part 4: IEP vs ISP
Welcome to back to my series about navigating the special education system. Today I want to talk about the difference between IEPs and ISPs. I've previously touched on what an IEP is, so head back to that post first if you need a refresher if you need it, but I wanted to go more into depth on what an ISP is and the difference between the two.
Life Skills Download: Taking a Shower
When we lived in Argentina last year, one of the things that I started doing was a life skills to help my autistic daughter with activities of daily living. I did "taking a bath", but also made a "taking a shower" version of it as well because they require different steps. When we were in Argentina, I put it up on the wall in the bathroom so that she knew exactly what she needed to do with pictures and a checklist. In the time that we've been back she's stopped baths altogether and has struggled a little bit with the steps in the shower. So, I decided to pull the "taking a shower" download back out to help her.
Summertime Unpredictability Downloads
Today I want to talk about the things that we do in our house to help get us through the unpredictability of summer. If you're new here, I have ADHD. I thrive on just waking up in the morning and decided then what we're going to do for the day. However, my daughter is autistic, and she does so much better on a schedule. She thrives on the structure and schedule of the school year and we even do the summer school program that our county offers because she loves the structure so much. So, I have a few free downloads that help her with the unpredictability of summer that could maybe help your little too!
Organizing My Autistic Daughter’s Toys
I'm currently building wall to wall built-ins in my daughter’s room. She is autistic and one of her special interest is toys. She has SO many little figurines she collects and knows and plays with each of them. I'm building this so she has a place to keep all of them and we can still stay organized. I want to go over how exactly I'm organizing all the stuff to best fit her needs, so today we are going to sort, label and dejunk her room.
DIY Custom Desk Chair
I recently started on a big project in my daughter's room: adding more cubbies. If you've been around for a little bit, you might remember that I added shelves and a play area to her bedroom a few years ago and painted them pink to match her bathroom. It's been great thus far, but over the years she's acquired a lot more stuff. She's autistic and collects things, particularly toys. So we needed more space to put her stuff. Since her room has almost zero storage I needed to come up with a solution. My mom suggested wall to wall cubbies with a desk in the middle. I'm in the process of working on that, but in the meantime I built a custom desk and chair to go with it.
Navigating the Special Education System Part 3: How to Start Advocating
Lets get back into navigating the special education system. I've talked about my personal experience as a kid, then my experience as a parent. Now I want to start getting into the nitty gritty and give information about HOW exactly to advocate. First I want to give a couple of caveats. 1) I am not an educator or a professional, I'm a parent. There are so many other creators out there that are IEP advocates, teachers, and professionals in these fields that you should seek out, as well and do your own research. 2) I live in the United States. I have zero experience with any other country other than the United States. Along with that many things vary from sate to state and I only have experience with states that I have lived in. With that, I've done a lot of research myself so lets get started.
Things That Make Sense in Our Neurodivergent Home
Remember when there was a trend going around where people said the quirky things that “just make sense” in their home? Well, today I want to talk about things that make sense in my neurodivergent house, that might not in others.
Navigating the Special Education System Part 2: As A Parent
Last time we talked about my experience with the special education system as a student, today let's talk about my experience as a parent.
Autism Fidget Toys & Bags
Shortly after Jackie was diagnosed as autistic when we were going to a lot of different therapies, I started carrying around these little fidget bags wherever we went. I realized that they were a great tool to keep her entertained and I now have them in almost every bag we own! I have one in my purse, diaper bag, our church bag, her backpack and we even have one in her bed box. They have become such a staple for us that I decided I would show you what I put in each of ours!
How We Use Countdown Chains
One of the many accommodations we use for our autistic daughter is countdown chains. Usually when we use these, I actually have our daughter help me make them. She loves doing crafts anyway, but I use this time to talk about what we are counting down and how many pieces we need for the chain. She personally seems to enjoy the entire process more when she's participated in creating it.
