Special Programs & Services
October 2023
In This Issue
Upcoming Events
- Thursday, October 19th - Parent Inspiration Group
- Saturday, October 21st - AAC Out & About at Lakeline Park
- Wednesday, October 25th - Family Education Workshops: Literacy (offered In-Person & Online)
- Wednesday, November 8th - Special Programs Parent Advisory Council General Meeting at LEO Center
Learning Differences Awareness Month
Disability Empowerment
October is the home to learning differences awareness month. In recognizing learning differences, it is also important to discuss disability empowerment. Disability empowerment is important for our students because it helps promote self-determination, independence, inclusivity in classroom and community through awareness and acceptance. Learning about their disability helps students learn how and why they may feel different. If you haven't already, you can began talking with your child about this disability with these simple steps:
- Have open communication with your child about their disability. Be honest about what the disability is called and how it effects them.
- Encourage and promote their strengths, preferences, interests, and needs. Help your student focus on figuring out things that they are really good at, what they like, don't like, and ways that they need to be supported.
- Help them learn about their services and accommodations. After you, your child is their biggest advocate. Help them learn what their accommodations are how how they assist them. If your student is unable to memorize or has a lot of accommodations, make sure they have a list or know where to find them.
- Start Simple! Don't feel like you have to tell them everything about their diagnosis all at once. Start with a simple conversation about their disability in terms that they can understand. As they get older or they have questions, you can go more into detail.
Click here to learn more tools for talking to your child about their disability
Let's learn about some different learning differences!
Dyslexia
Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that is neurobiological in origin. Dyslexia affects individuals throughout their lives; however, its impact can change at different stages in a person’s life. Someone with dyslexia may experience:
Difficulty reading words in isolation
Difficulty accurately decoding unfamiliar words
Difficulty with oral reading fluency (slow, inaccurate, or labored without prosody)
Difficulty with spelling
For additional information and/or related resources, you can visit LISD Dyslexia Services website. Our Special Programs Coordinators will be discussing all things Dyslexia & Dysgraphia at our Family Workshops on October 25th.
Dysgraphia
- Variably shaped and poorly formed letters
- Excessive erasures and cross-outs
- Poor spacing between letters and words
- Letter and number reversals beyond early stages of writing
- Awkward, inconsistent pencil grip
- Mixture of capital & lowercase letters within words
- Multiple spelling errors
- Frustration or writing avoidance
To learn more about dysgraphia and how to support your student, you can visit Child Mind's article on Understanding Dysgraphia.
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is neurodevelopmental disorder that is characterized by developmentally inappropriate levels of inattention, impulsivity and hyperactivity. Someone with ADHD may experience:
- Failure to give close attention to details or makes careless mistakes
- Difficulty sustaining attention
- Struggles to follow through with instructions
- Difficulty with organization
- Avoids or dislikes tasks requiring sustained mental effort
- Easily distracted
- Forgetful in daily activities
- Fidgets with hands or feet or squirms in chair
- Blurts out answers before questions have been completed
- Difficulty waiting or taking turns
Children and Adults with Attention Deficit Disorder (CHADD) has great resources for families wanting to learn more about ADHD and tools for supporting your students.
📰Have You Heard📰
My child is struggling and I suspect he/she has a disability. What should I do?
If you have concerns regarding your child’s development or suspect a disability, a system of intervention is available in LISD. To request an evaluation for your child, contact the district Child Find department, your campus RTI Coordinator, or your campus administrator.
Communication Boards Project
We are excited to announce a new project rolling out in LISD! Through the Texas Education Agency Autism Grant, our district has initiated a Communication Boards for Common Areas project. Some students use AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication) on an iPad with an app to communicate. To help students using AAC and other students with complex communication needs, our team has designed communication boards that will be located in various common areas (gyms, cafe, playground, etc.)around campuses. These will help our students who need them but also teach our other students about increasing peer interaction, making our campuses more inclusive and accessible. We do not want communication to happen solely in classrooms but want this to occur throughout our LISD campuses. We designed these boards with non-speaking and minimally verbal students in mind, but we are hopeful that this project will benefit striving readers, emergent bilingual students, and many others! The communication boards will begin rolling out at the top of October in honor of AAC Awareness month. Be on the lookout for this project on your campus!
👩🏫Academic Avenue👩🏫
Math Fun at Home
Math at Home is a great resource to utilize at home to help reinforce concepts from math units that your students are working in from Pre-K to 5th grade. They have tons of open-ended activities, games, and daily updates. IXL is another great site that covers Pre-K - 12th grade and Spanish learners.
Young Readers
This month's Supporting Young Readers Monthly Newsletters focus on recognizing letters and various sounds.
LISD Special Programs & Services
Website: Leander Special Programs & Services
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