This guest post comes from a colleague who is a blast from my past! Adina Rich and I worked together in an Elementary School well over a decade ago, just as I was starting out in education, actually. While we lost touch for quite some time, we crossed paths again recently thanks to our shared interest in helping children with special needs. Adina is now the mother of three and is the Chief Education Officer at Rich Educational Consulting. I think you’re going to enjoy this post about school program options from Adina. And, I encourage you to watch for upcoming guest blog pieces from her as well; she is our newest Guest Blogger! After reading, I encourage you to leave a comment below or reach out to us on Facebook or Twitter with your thoughts. Thank you for helping me welcome Adina!
EXPLORING AUTISM PROGRAMMING OPTIONS FOR YOUR CHILD IN THE SCHOOL SETTING
By Adina Rich
My child is not like yours. There are probably similarities. My child has brown hair, hazel eyes, a wide toothed grin. However, there are probably differences as well. My child wears glasses, SMO leg braces, and was non-verbal until he was 4 ½. He does not always know how to ask to play with other children and does not always get social cues. But he has a wicked sense of humor and a heart so pure he will melt away anyone’s misgivings.

While this series was initially going to be three parts, it has become five as we explore how some adults can be bullies, too. If you missed Part 1, Part 2 or Part 3 with Dr. Lisa M. Elliott from Cook Children’s Medical Center, be sure to click over and read them. If you missed Craig Gibson’s powerful response, make sure to read it, too. Directly below, Dr. Elliott shares her take on "Adults Who Bully." Following her response, look for a few additional thoughts and questions from me.
Dr. Elliott: You would certainly like to think that children and teens outgrow bullying however there is ample evidence and research that supports adults often employ bullying tactics as well. It is not uncommon for childhood bullies to become adult bullies, which is frequently discussed and reported in workplace bully literature. Bottom line, bullying is absolutely wrong regardless of the age of the person who is bullying and every single person is responsible for how they choose to treat others.

Here we are a few weeks into the school year. Some parents may want to request for in home providers to go into school and observer the child. Requesting a classroom observation can be difficult and I often get a lot of questions from parents on how to approach the teachers. Here are a few tips on how to keep things child focused and accomplish a lot in a short time.
First of all, it is important for the teachers to be on board and feel comfortable with another person in the classroom.

Sometimes I forget that the people who work with Jacob every day have made a choice to spend their time with special needs kids. I am so grateful that they have. It has to be one of the hardest jobs.