The Dot by Peter Reynolds

9/5/16 Have you read this great book with any of your students?  Many years ago I observed that some of my students had very negative self-talk.  Last week a teacher of one of my 4th graders told me the student said to him “I am the dumbest kid in the 4th grade”.  This breaks my […]

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Self-Advocacy: Preferential Seating

8/30/16 What does it mean? Acoustically, it means two things: √ Seated away from a source of noise such as computers, overhead projectors, noisy classroom pets, noisy students, pencil sharpener, etc. √ Seated near a speaker Visually, it means the student is sitting near and facing the teacher or whoever is speaking in order to be able […]

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Self-Advocacy: Equipment Management

8/15/16 When I think about what my students need to become successful in school and life, I have teased out the 5 categories of skills shown above.  Let’s consider equipment management first. What is equipment management and why is it important? Whether a hearing loss is sensorineural or conductive, it means that the brain has […]

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Why Spend Time Working on Self-Advocacy Skills? (Part 1)

8/9/16 This is a question that I get frequently.  Teachers, parents and administrators ask “Why should a child be pulled out of class to work on these skills?  Let’s talk! When this knowledge is taught AND used effectively, a student will take charge of his/her hearing loss and school situations. Why should professionals who teach […]

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