by Common Ground | Feb 8, 2023 | Better IEPs, Features, Parents, Professionals, Teachers
What they say – and don’t say — about students with disabilities The pandemic’s effect on student learning and achievement continues to be a big concern for parents, educators, and policy-makers. Last fall, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) tests,...
by Common Ground | Jul 20, 2022 | Features
Less than 50 years ago, students in the United States with Down syndrome, autism, cerebral palsy, dyslexia, and other conditions were routinely turned away from school because of their disabilities. Today, they are entitled to a free and appropriate public education....
by Common Ground | Jun 15, 2022 | Features, Parents, Students, Teachers
Even before COVID-19, the National Institute of Mental Health estimated that one in five people will experience a mental health condition in their lifetime, and one in four Americans currently knows someone who has a mental health condition. There is a ripple...
by Common Ground | Mar 17, 2022 | Features
Local police handcuff and arrest a second-grader. Video footage shows the boy sobbing as an officer announces, “You’re going to jail.” Three officers are called to the scene—an elementary special education classroom—where they arrest the 8-year old with...
by Common Ground | Feb 12, 2022 | Features
Auditory processing is a neurological communication between the ears and the brain that is responsible for helping us make sense of what we hear. In auditory processing, the brain must identify the incoming sounds and make an analysis of those sounds and attach...
by Common Ground | Dec 20, 2021 | Features
U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy has issued an advisory calling for swift action to respond to a growing mental health crisis among youth that has worsened due to stressors related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The advisory notes that national surveys have shown major...
by Common Ground | Oct 4, 2021 | Features
By Debra K. Meyer, PhD, Professor of Education, Elmhurst University As a college professor of educators who are entering the profession (pre-service teachers) and teachers returning to earn their master’s degrees and advanced endorsements (in-service teachers), I am...
by Common Ground | Aug 30, 2021 | Features
For the Latinx/Hispanic community, mental health and mental illness are often stigmatized, resulting in prolonged silent suffering. This silence compounds the experiences that may have contributed to the original mental health condition, including immigration,...
by Common Ground | Aug 30, 2021 | Features
College means new freedoms and new opportunities, but making the transition to college isn’t easy, especially for students with mental illness. Classes will be harder, and students must plan ahead to study. There will be new stressors, such as living with a...
by Common Ground | Jun 18, 2021 | Features, Parents, Professionals, Teachers
Several recent research studies have identified alarming numbers of teachers reporting Compassion Fatigue working during the pandemic. The American Psychological Association defines Compassion Fatigue as the burnout and stress-related symptoms experienced by...
by Common Ground | Jun 18, 2021 | Features, Parents, Professionals, Teachers
Compassion Satisfaction is the antidote to Compassion Fatigue. It encompasses the pleasure and satisfying feeling that comes from helping others. Many people enter helping professions because they have empathetic attitudes for others’ difficulties and a strong...
by Common Ground | Apr 20, 2021 | Better IEPs, Features, Parents, Students, Teachers
The end of the second COVID school year is near, and many parents are asking whether their school district has met the requirements of their child’s Individual Education Program (IEP). For students expected to graduate this year, these questions are particularly...
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