Special Education With Care

Inspire Special Education Parent Newsletter

October 2019

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Happy Fall!

Now that school has been in full swing for a few weeks, we are excited to share with you our second issue of the Special Education Newsletter! We've worked hard on gathering resources and hope that you find this issue meaningful and helpful in your special education journey with your student. As always, we welcome your feedback and suggestions on topics to cover in the future. Enjoy!


The October 2019 issue includes:



  • Introduction to Transition
  • How to Teach Your Child to Use the Library
  • Using Multi-sensory Instruction
  • Following Directions

Transition Corner: Upcoming Webinars!

Career Tech Education Programs


Please come join us as we hear from an Enrollment Adviser and a Student Success Coach share what Brighton College has to offer in the areas of Career Tech Education (CTE). Brighton College is a online distance learning program offering CTE certificates in pathways for business, health and medical, cybersecurity, and legal-related fields. Students can enroll while they are in high school or as a post-secondary student.


Brighton College Info Sheet

https://docs.google.com/document/d/16a4SdypM7_E_1gsSvDmNvmif2ifJligtkYtaefs0fxY/edit?ts=5cbe0325#heading=h.99nsou7lie6p

Brighton College Website https://www.brightoncollege.edu/

Date: Wednesday, October 23 Time: 10:00 AM

Location: https://zoom.us/j/859955271


Working at GameStop & Careers in the Gaming Industry


Please join us as we hear from a GameStop representative! Some of the many topics we will discuss include: positions within stores, skills/training/characteristics you look for in an employee as a manager, previous experience/classes/knowledge that is useful for your job, and possibly other jobs/careers in video game industry. We will also have a Q & A at the end for students to ask questions!


GameStop Website https://www.gamestop.com/

Date: Thursday, October 24 Time: 1:00 PM

Location: https://zoom.us/j/198694504

How to Teach Your Child to Use the Library

How to Teach Your Child to Use the Library

Libraries can be a great resource for many families. Many local libraries offer more than just books. Some libraries offer internet access, story or learning time for young children, tutoring services, toys and games, and community outreach opportunities! Leena Ghosh offers some great tips on how to navigate the library with your child.


  • Search for a library close to your home. If the location is convenient, you'll be able to go more frequently.
  • Sign up for a membership for you and your child. Once your child becomes more familiar with the library and where things are located, they'll want to go more often.
  • A lot of libraries offer weekly programs and activities for young children and teens such as story times, book clubs, or after school activities. Make sure you check out the different programs available for you at your local library!
  • Librarians are here to help and can help your child locate their favorite books, authors, or recommend new books. Feel comfortable introducing your child to the librarian and let your child know that they can ask the librarian any questions that they may have.
  • Teach your child that they can use the library for school projects.
  • Let children choose which books they would like to borrow so that they can love reading even more.
  • Teach children how to care about their books and how to be responsible over the books that they borrow.


Check out Lena's article here: https://www.parentcircle.com/article/how-to-teach-your-child-to-use-a-public-library/

How to Teach Your Child to Use the Library

Using Multisensory Instruction

Multisensory teaching aims to guide students in their learning by offering students information in multiple ways that appeals to their 5 senses. Most teaching is most commonly done either visually or auditorily but mutisensory teaching techniques aims to use other senses such as touch, taste, and smell to help the student learn. Using a variety of multisensory teaching techniques can greatly help students with their memory and retrieving previously taught information. It can also help students reinforce information that they are being taught. Multisensory teaching is not just for students with dyslexia, it can benefit students with all different disabilities as well! Here are some ways you can incorporate Multisensory techniques into your teaching strategies at home:



  • Use whole body movements or hand movements to teach things such as handwriting and spelling to blending phonemes or introducing new vocabulary.
  • Have a listening center where students can listen to an audio text and follow along with a visual text as well.
  • Use visuals such as a visual schedule or chart to help students with reminders.
  • Use manipulatives such as blocks or cubes when teaching students how to break apart sounds in words or separating syllables.
  • Incorporate graphic organizers into learning strategies.
  • Use mirrors to help students visually distinguish mouth position.
  • Have students trace, copy or even air write words with their eyes closed to practice spelling words.
  • Incorporate a students sense of touch by giving students playdoh, modeling clay or sand to build words and sentences.
  • Incorporate math when cooking together by having students count ingredients or convert measurements for older students.



Remember, the sky is the limit and you can get creative when teaching your student! Find more great tips here: https://www.theliteracynest.com/2018/07/multisensory-teaching-techniques-in-the-classroom.html

Following Directions

Following Directions

One of the greatest struggles as a parent is getting your child to listen to your directions but teaching students how to listen and follow directions is crucial to their development. Learning how to follow directions teaches children important skills such as educational learning, responsibility and safety. Learning how to follow directions also sets students up for success in their learning environments. In her article "Activities to Teach Children How to Follow Directions", Shelly Frost offers some great ideas that you can try at home!

  • Have students practice following directions by giving them a blank coloring page and giving them specific instructions such as "color the flower red"
  • Use picture or word cards to break down directions on how to complete a specific task.
  • Have fun and go on a treasure hunt! Have students follow directions in order to find their "treasure"
  • Create a block structure and give students step by step instructions on how to recreate the structure.

Learn more about these great ideas here: https://ourpastimes.com/196396-activities-to-teach-children-how-to-follow-directions.html

Following Directions

Questions? Suggestions? Feedback?