Are you a teacher who needs advice on getting started with AAC (augmentative and alternative communication)? My guest, Heather Cacioppo, and I have been in your shoes and will help answer your questions and give you the next steps to pursue. This episode gives a quick introduction to AAC for teachers just getting a student with a communication devi…

In this podcast episode, I will share strategies to improve one-handed scissor skills, which is helpful when a child cannot use one hand/arm due to weakness, paralysis, missing fingers, etc. First I go over some strategies for beginning cutters, whether the child has a weakness/disability with a hand/arm or not. Then I go over strategies and adapta…

Think out the box to make morning meetings work for everyone in your special ed class. We are close to the middle of the school year so I thought I would discuss morning meetings in multi-grade self-contained classes. By this time of year, you might have gotten more students, with more grade levels, and are finding that your morning meeting activit…

How can we better prepare students for when the teacher or other staff member takes a sick day? Many special ed teachers say they cannot stay home for even a day because of the interruptions it will cause in their class. Not to mention the fact that the school might not even be able to find a substitute teacher when they need a sick day. In this po…

Have you seen or heard of wheelchair costumes where a child's wheelchair (or other mobility device) is turned into part of the costume? Well, it’s October 15th, and many kids have probably already planned out their Halloween costumes. But what about kids who use wheelchairs? Do they feel like they can't join in the festivities because they are in a…

Today we’re going to tackle a tough topic: Puberty and Sexuality in Special Education Classes. We will look at several real-life scenarios teachers face and how to respond! However, if you think that topic doesn't apply to your grade levels or student population, think again. (I learned a lot I didn't know in this episode!) My guest, Dr. Rachel Sch…

The Emmy and Golden Globe winner Harvey Korman was a staple on the Carol Burnett Show making America laugh in the 1960s and 1970s. During that time he was also raising a family, including his son, Christopher, who had a learning disability and speech impediment. In this episode, you will learn how Harvey Korman's legacy lives on through his son and…

In Part 2 of my interview with Emma Haring, we discuss schedules and lesson plans for moderate/severe classes. Emma gives some great ideas on how to write everything out so all adults and visitors know what is going on with her students who may be medically fragile in a multiple disabilities classroom. She gives ideas on how to set up your schedule…

In Part 1 of this two-part series, Emma Haring and I discuss tips for teaching students with Multiple Disabilities. Emma has been a teacher in this type of class (we called it a medically fragile class in our district) for many years. She has a ton of experience and wisdom that she shares generously! In Part 1 (Episode 25), she gives a lot of tips …

This activity was originally a segment of Episode 24. I am publishing each one separately so you can access individual activities easier. It is really important to do simple but effective self-care tasks each day to relieve stress and avoid teacher burnout. The activities in this series take one minute or less. They are designed to help you stop, a…

This activity was originally a segment of Episode 24. I am publishing each one separately so you can access individual activities easier. It is really important to do simple but effective self-care tasks each day to relieve stress and avoid teacher burnout. The activities in this series take one minute or less. They are designed to help you stop, a…

This activity was originally a segment of Episode 24. I am publishing each one separately so you can access individual activities easier. It is really important to do simple but effective self-care tasks each day to relieve stress and avoid teacher burnout. The activities in this series take one minute or less. They are designed to help you stop, a…

This activity was originally a segment of Episode 24. I am publishing each one separately so you can access individual activities easier. It is really important to do simple but effective self-care tasks each day to relieve stress and avoid teacher burnout. The activities in this series take one minute or less. They are designed to help you stop, a…

This activity was originally a segment of Episode 24. I am publishing each one separately so you can access individual activities easier. It is really important to do simple but effective self-care tasks each day to relieve stress and avoid teacher burnout. The activities in this series take one minute or less. They are designed to help you stop, a…

This activity was originally a segment of Episode 24. I am publishing each one separately so you can access individual activities easier. It is really important to do simple but effective self-care tasks each day to relieve stress and avoid teacher burnout. The activities in this series take one minute or less. They are designed to help you stop, a…

This activity was originally a segment of Episode 24. I am publishing each one separately so you can access individual activities easier. It is really important to do simple but effective self-care tasks each day to relieve stress and avoid teacher burnout. The activities in this series take one minute or less. They are designed to help you stop, a…

This activity was originally a segment of Episode 24. I am publishing each one separately so you can access them easier. It is really important to do simple but effective self-care tasks each day to relieve stress and avoid teacher burnout. The activities in this series take one minute or less. They are designed to help you stop, and refocus - for …

This activity was originally a segment of Episode 24. "Activity 2: Stretching" can be done alone, with your family, co-workers, or maybe even with your class. It is really important to do simple but effective self-care tasks each day to relieve stress and avoid teacher burnout. The activities in this series take one minute or less. They are designe…

This activity was originally a segment of Episode 24. I am publishing each one separately so you can access them easier. It is really important to do simple but effective self-care tasks each day to relieve stress and avoid teacher burnout. The activities in this series take one minute or less. They are designed to help you stop, and refocus - for …

Welcome to today's episode, where we are going to be going explore ideas on how to survive the second half of the school year. I will discuss changes I am going to make. Then I will lead you through ten quick and easy ways to relieve stress right in your classroom. And you can do each of them in one minute or less! It is important to do self-care a…

On this episode of the "Help for Special Educators" podcast we will hear about some other special education podcasts you might want to check out. “Be the Exception” Podcast, hosted by Dawn Ellis “Different Ability” Podcast, hosted by Katey Fortun “SLP Coffee Talk” Podcast, hosted by Hallie Sherman “That Special Educator” Podcast, hosted by Braelan …

Get World Kindness Day Classroom Ideas and save time searching for seasonal activities in the future. Today I want to share a few quick ideas that you might be able to do with your classroom whether you are in-person, virtual, or hybrid. Most of these are easy to do in person, so I’ve tried to give examples of how they can be done virtually. First,…

This episode is the first of my “fun size” episodes for the Help for Special Educators podcast. Imagine that I’m dropping by your class after school to chat and give you a little, fun size candy bar, like kids get at Halloween. These episodes will be short and sweet! We discuss: +Things to consider when planning a virtual Halloween party when dista…

In this episode, host Lisa Goodell gives tips and ideas for making holiday parties successful in special education classrooms. She shares a few secrets that she has learned over the years, too! Solutions are given for accommodating students on a limited day, when you can't serve candy/junk food, alternative activities if you cannot have parties at …

Whether you are a special educator in a resource, inclusion or self-contained setting, this episode has tons of tips and ideas to make parent conference week go by as smooth as possible. The first half focuses on self-contained teachers holding conferences in their classrooms. Then the second half is for resource/inclusion teachers who need to atte…

This episode is a special one in that my guest, Sarah Magallano, shares some excellent stories of how general ed and special ed teachers can work together to help students succeed in their least restrictive environments. Plus, this is my first episode where my guest is a general ed teacher! Great things can happen when all parties team up to help s…

In this episode host, Lisa Goodell, speaks with Jenn Adams of Teach Love Autism. She shares some fantastic tips about how we can encourage our students to become as independent as possible, in and out of the class. We talk about why this is important, how she sets up her room with independent stations, and how to train others (such as paraprofessio…

This is Part 2 of my conversation with Chelsea Marelle. Before we get into her big move we discuss curriculum for different special ed populations, including leveled literacy interventions and interactive journals and math groups. We talk about class decor on walls, flexible seating and setting our children to find success. Then Chelsea shares her …

I had a great talk with Chelsea Marelle for today's podcast interview about how special ed teachers can set up their classrooms to prevent common behavior problems such as impulsive behavior or refusing to work. I have broken up the interview into two parts. In this part (Part 1), Chelsea describes how she designs the physical environment of her cl…

This is Part 2 of my conversation with Kaylene Durbin, a college student who is just starting her credential program. Today we revisit the questions she asked last time. Not only will I attempt to answer them, but I got help from other special educators online, and some have been past guests on the show! Listen in as we answer questions that aspiri…

Today’s interview is inspiring and helped me remember why I went into teaching in the first place! I spoke with Kaylene Durbin, a college student who wants to teach both special ed and general ed. She shares how her college professor not only helped her decide on special education, but how to have a new appreciation for her brothers, (one of whom h…

Today I talk about beginning math concepts, specifically how to help your special ed kiddos who have a hard time moving from counting objects to beginning addition. I talk about how to introduce adding by counting pictures on dots, with lots of hands-on activities and supplemental lessons before actually getting to the TM addition worksheets. I sha…

In episode 11, I talk to Jenn Hunter about co-teaching and inclusion strategies in a resource setting. Jenn explains six approaches/models for co-teaching to better serve students and shares how to get off to a great start with your co-teacher. We get into the differences between accommodations and modifications, IEP goals and types of students in …

Part 3 of the Series: Self-Contained Schedules Today we are going to finish our Self-Contained Schedule series with part 3, which is about schedules and lesson planning. I continue the discussion from last week on station rotations by extending it to a new schedule/lesson plan overview I use for myself and my two teaching assistants. This is a shor…

In this episode, which is Part 2 of the Self-Contained Schedule Series, I am excited to really go deep on how to set up small group stations in your self-contained special ed class. Over the years I found that teaching with small groups was the most effective way to maximize time with my students and paraprofessionals (also called para for short. O…

This episode is the first in a series all about schedules. Lisa Goodell gives eight tips to help you create a daily schedule for your self-contained special ed classroom. She discusses how to plan everything out and what information is helpful to gather ahead of time. She touches on inclusion/mainstreaming into general ed classes, teaching routines…

Host Lisa Goodell interviews Marisa Iannaccone, a special ed teacher in Portland. We talk about how Marisa collects data in her self contained classroom with all kindergarteners on both behavior and progress monitoring for IEP goals and how it has changed from her first year to her second as a special ed teacher. She has great advice that she share…

In Episode 6, learn about a number of tools you can use to improve parent communication in your classroom. Newsletters, communication booklets, check-off lists, phone calls, emails, and apps are all discussed in Lisa Goodell's interview with Petra Albaza, a middle school special ed teacher. Go to https://lisagoodell.com/podcast to access the show n…

I had a fascinating conversation with Cassie Leutenegger, a behavior support teacher, regarding how she works with students with behavior plans and their general ed teachers. She teaches students in K-5, and works with students who have ADHD, emotional behavior disorder (EBD) or Autism in a specialized program. Some of her students (K-5) are in a s…

Dawn Ellis of Cultivating Exceptional Minds has developed a school garden that is inclusive of all types of disabilities. Hear about many ways the garden is used to provide real-life learning activities for the whole school, in all subject areas. Moreover, students are more engaged during lessons in the garden... which results in less behavior prob…

In podcast episode #3, I chat with Nikki Robertson, who is an autism teacher in Wales, UK. She teaches 3-7 year olds at an autism school (with students aged 3-19 years old). She gives many tips and ideas to use in an autism classroom with almost all students who are nonverbal. She shares what a day looks like in her class, how they use Book Creator…

In this episode I have a conversation with Ashley Lutz, who has been a middle school self-contained special ed teacher for 7 years, working with students with intellectual disabilities. We talk about how she didn’t have any curriculum in her first year and how she creates and differentiates materials to meet the varied levels of her students. She g…

Welcome to the first episode!! I am publishing this on the first of April and April is Autism month. So to kick the month off, I had a conversation with Tiffany Manha, a speech teacher, and autism mom, about how she started an Autism Family Support Group in our town about 8 years ago, which is treated like being invited to a birthday party!! You wi…