Advocates for Parent Empowerment

Since we are in the heart of IEP season we wanted to give parents a quick review about what to do after their IEP meeting is over.

Just had an IEP meeting? Don’t stop there—here’s your quick checklist to stay on track!!

✅ Review your child’s IEP carefully
✅ Go over the Prior Written Notice (PWN)
✅ Organize & store all documents
✅ Keep communication open with school staff
✅ Check that supports are actually being implemented
✅ Monitor your child’s progress regularly
✅ Review & save progress reports
✅ Request a meeting anytime you have concerns

💡 Remember: You are your child’s best advocate. Staying organized & informed makes all the difference!

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Registration is now open for this free, in-person program taking place on Tuesday, April 28th at Emory Autism Center, "Caregiver Burnout in Autism: Understanding Chronic Stress and Strengthening Parent Resilience."

Parents of children with autism often experience sustained, high-intensity stress related to behavioral support needs, advocacy demands, educational navigation, healthcare coordination, and long-term planning. Over time, this chronic stress can contribute to caregiver burnout, anxiety, emotional dysregulation, and strain within family systems.

This presentation will examine caregiver burnout through a trauma-informed and neurobiologically informed framework. Participants will explore how prolonged stress impacts emotional regulation, executive functioning, identity, and relational dynamics. The session integrates current understanding of stress physiology with practical, evidence-informed strategies that support caregiver resilience and sustainable family functioning.

This event is free, but limited seats are available. For more information and to reserve your spot, please visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/caregiver-burnout-in-autism-tickets-1987001073700

Join us on Tuesday, April 14 for a live webinar that will offer clarity for special education professionals to consider the crucial distinctions and intersections between Assistive Technology (AT) and Universal Design for Learning (UDL).

Find out more and register now: https://learn.exceptionalchildren.org/products/live-webinar-navigating-access-and-inclusion-distinguishing-between-assistive-technology-and-universal-design-for-learning

Join our colleagues Drs. Marcia Kosanovich, Kevin Smith, and Laurie Lee for an upcoming Institute of Education Sciences webinar!

Webinar: Overview of the Toolkit for Differentiating Reading Instruction for Grades K–3
May 5, 2026, 3:00–4:00 PM ET

Literacy experts Drs. Marcia Kosanovich, Kevin Smith, and Laurie Lee will introduce the Toolkit for Differentiating Reading Instruction for Grades K–3, a free resource designed to help educators use student reading data to deliver targeted, evidence-based Tier 1 instruction.

This webinar is designed for literacy leaders, coaches, and K–3 teachers. Participants will explore key features of the Toolkit and gain practical strategies for implementation to support data-informed, differentiated literacy instruction.

Register here: https://bit.ly/4szGTNK

Oculomotor Activities That Also Boost Executive Functioning
1. I Spy or Hidden Picture Puzzles
🔍 Supports: Visual scanning + attention + task completion- Kids must search systematically, stay focused, and remember what they’ve already found.

2. Mazes and Dot-to-Dot Pages
🧠 Supports: Planning, visual tracking, and inhibition- Encourages planning the best path, controlling impulses, and following steps.

3. Tracking with a Pointer or Finger
📖 Supports: Visual tracking + sustained attention- Use for reading or copying. This helps with staying focused and organized across lines.

4. Ball Toss or Balloon Volleyball
🎈 Supports: Visual tracking + self-regulation- Requires anticipation, inhibition (wait, aim), and eye-hand coordination.

5. Flashlight Tag or Laser Pointer Chase
🔦 Supports: Saccades + flexibility + working memory- The child follows a light quickly while adjusting to changes and remembering previous paths.

6. Target Games (like beanbags, Velcro darts)
🎯 Supports: Focused attention, inhibition, and decision-making- Helps with aiming, waiting turns, and adjusting based on results.

7. Tracing with Eyes Only
👀 Supports: Oculomotor control + mental focus- Have the child “trace” shapes or patterns with their eyes (no hands) then reproduce them.

Here is more information: https://www.theottoolbox.com/activities-to-improve-oculomotor/

Oculomotor control (how the eyes move, like tracking, scanning, and shifting focus) is tightly linked to executive functioning because both rely on frontal lobe activity in the brain. When kids engage in tasks that require coordinated eye movements, they’re also practicing:
🟢Sustained Attention- Looking at and following a moving object requires mental focus, just like sticking with a task.
🟢Inhibition (Impulse Control)- To track something accurately (like a moving ball or line in a maze), kids must slow down, resist distractions, and follow through, mirroring impulse control skills.
🟢Working Memory- Games like “I Spy” or flashlight tag require kids to remember what they’ve seen, hold it in mind, and act on that info, key to following directions and solving problems.
🟢Cognitive Flexibility- Oculomotor activities that involve shifting focus (e.g., scanning for different items) help kids practice adjusting their thinking and attention, a core executive function skill.
🟢Planning & Organization- Many visual-motor tasks (like mazes or dot-to-dots) require kids to mentally plan their next move and execute a sequence, skills used in homework, chores, and goal setting.

So while they seem like “just visual games,” oculomotor activities are actually training the brain to focus, process, and act thoughtfully, the foundation of executive functioning.

Here is more informaiton: https://www.theottoolbox.com/activities-to-improve-oculomotor/

Schools too often celebrate regression disguised as progress. They never expect meaningful growth because the ineffective curriculum they continue to force on struggling readers never produces it.

Advocacy starts with being yourself. 💙

In this Making a Difference Letter from Leadership, we’re reminded that your voice, your story, and your experiences matter. Advocacy isn’t about being perfect, it’s about speaking up, showing up, and creating change in your own way.

🔗 Read more: https://gcdd.org/news-a-media/making-a-difference-magazine/april-2026/letter-from-leadership-advocacy-is-about-being-yourself

Great article…worth reading!

“No child is born a reader; all children in literate societies have to be taught to read.” (G. R. Lyon et al., “Rethinking Learning Disabilities,” in Rethinking Special Education for a New Century, ed. C. E. Finn et al.)
Inside the article is a piece on the 18 Common Misunderstandings of Dyslexia
https://www.aft.org/ae/winter2020-2021/vaughn_fletcher

from The Palmas Academy

What the special education layoffs mean for your child’s IEP and school services Hundreds of staff members at the U.S. Department of Education have been laid off, including nearly the entire Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP).The...