RESOURCES
WE'RE DEDICATED LIFELONG LEARNERS
Here are some of our favorite articles, videos, and other resources.
Select a category below to learn more!
COVID-19 & TELETHERAPY
TALKING TO KIDS ABOUT THE
CORONAVIRUS CRISIS
Kids worry more when they're kept in the dark.
AUTISM-RELATED COVID-19 RESOURCES
FOR FAMILIES AND INDIVIDUALS
A list of teaching tools, caregiver tips, and advice on social distancing for individuals with Autism.
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COVID-19: WHAT IS
SOCIAL DISTANCING?
How social distancing mitigates the spread of COVID-19
WHEN KIDS ARE ANXIOUS ABOUT THE
CORONAVIRUS: WHAT TO DO
Anxiety often comes hand in hand with ADHD and other learning differences. Some kids also struggle with managing emotions. That can make it harder for them to think logically about how to cope.
LIVE VIDEO LESSONS:
5 WAYS KIDS STRUGGLE AND HOW TO HELP
With school closures, everyone is trying to adjust to distance learning—that includes teachers, families, and kids. A live video lesson can be a great way for students to stay connected to their classes.
DISTANCE LEARNING:
6 BEST PRACTICES FOR ONLINE LEARNING
Proactively reduce barriers to learning so that all the students in your class can engage. Here are some tips for how to include all students when learning is happening online.
TEACHERS REFLECT ON
DISTANCE LEARNING
In this video, some of Understood’s Teacher Fellows reflect on what worked during the pandemic.
HOW I REACHED STUDENTS WHO DISAPPEARED DURING DISTANCE LEARNING
A teacher got creative about how to get a response.
HOW I'M LEADING
REMOTE IEP MEETINGS
Here are some of the ways a Special Education Teacher is preparing for and leading remote IEP meetings.
PSYCHOEDUCATIONAL EVALUATION
UNDERSTANDING
DYSLEXIA
Know the signs, and how to help kids with the most common learning disability.
G: THE MISEDUCATION
OF LARRY P.
Are some ideas so dangerous we shouldn’t even talk about them? That question brought Radiolab’s Pat Walters to a subject that he thought was long gone: the measuring of human intelligence with IQ tests.
WHAT IS
DYSLEXIA?
Dyslexia affects up to 1 in 5 people, but the experience of dyslexia isn't always the same. Kelli Sandman-Hurley urges us to think again and to celebrate the neurodiversity of the human brain.
INFORMATION PROCESSING MODEL:
Sensory, working, and long term memory
Learn about the information processing model of human memory.
THE NEUROSCIENCE
OF MEMORY
Eleanor Maguire draws on evidence from virtual reality, brain imaging and studies of amnesia to show that the consequences of hippocampal damage are even more far-reaching than expected.
CALIFORNIA DISLEXIA
GUIDELINES
The purpose of these guidelines is to assist regular education teachers, special education teachers, and parents in identifying, assessing, and supporting students with dyslexia.
DYSLEXIA: IS IT ALWAYS
PHONOLOGICAL AWARENESS?
Orthographic dyslexia occurs when someone has average or above average phonemic awareness, but they can't translate that ability to the written word.
CROSS BATTERY ASSESSMENT: A PSW APPROACH TO SLD IDENTIFICATION
Overview of CHC Theory and the relations between broad and narrow CHC abilities and
specific academic skills.
SLD IDENTIFICATION:
EVALUATING COGNITIVE PROCESSES
This webinar provides an overview of an operational definition of specific learning disability with particular emphasis on the evaluation of cognitive processes.
SPECIAL EDUCATION
MULTI-TIERED SYSTEM
OF SUPPORT (MTSS)
The California Department of Education's definition of Multi-Tiered System of Support and a comparison between it and Response to Instruction and Intervention.
FERPA: FAMILY EDUCATIONAL RIGHTS
PRIVACY ACT
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99) is a Federal law that protects the privacy of student education records.
ADDRESSING CURRENT AND FUTURE
CHALLENGES IN EDUCATION
The International Center for Leadership in Education finds, analyzes, and showcases the nation’s most rapidly improving schools.
WHAT IS THE LEAST RESTRICTIVE
ENVIRONMENT (LRE)?
A visual presentation regarding the definition of Least Restrictive Environment.
ELPAC INFORMATION GUIDE
Information about the English Language Proficiency Assessments for California.
STRATEGIES FOR SETTING HIGH-QUALITY ACADEMIC
INDIVIDUALIZED EDUCATION PROGRAM GOALS
This guide explains how educators can establish IEP goals that are measurable, ambitious, and appropriate in light of the student's circumstances.
BEHAVIOR INTERVENTION
HOW ANXIETY LEADS TO
DISRUPTIVE BEHAVIOR
Kids who seem oppositional are often severely anxious.
PBIS CULTURAL RESPONSIVENESS FIELD GUIDE:
Resources for Trainers and Coaches
This field guide outlines an integrated framework to embed equity efforts into school-wide positive behavioral interventions and supports (SWPBIS).
THE FBA: FUNCTIONAL
BEHAVIOR ASSESSMENT
An FBA is an acronym for Functional Behavior Assessments and is a process that identifies behaviors that are directly interfering with the child’s educational progress
APPLIED BEHAVIOR ANALYSIS:
A PARENT'S GUIDE
This tool kit is an informational guide to Applied Behavioral Analysis. It is designed to provide you with a better understanding of ABA, how your child can benefit, and where/how you can seek ABA services.
AUTISM
WHY EVERYTHING YOU KNOW
ABOUT AUTISM IS WRONG
Being diagnosed with autism is often seen as a tragedy. But for Jac den Houting, it was the best thing that's ever happened to them.
PREDICTING OVERLOAD:
AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER
Paul Fijal paints a vivid picture of what it’s like to live with autism.
AUTISM: CAUSES, SYMPTOMS, DIAGNOSIS,
TREATMENT, PATHOLOGY
Autism is now referred to as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and encompasses previously defined separate yet similar disorders like Asperger syndrome.
HOW TO CREATE A SENSORY ROOM
FOR YOUR AUTISTIC CHILD
Sensory rooms provide a range of calming and stimulating sensory inputs that can be designed for a group or for a particular individual's needs.
RECIPES FOR DIY SENSORY TOOLS
A practical booklet of DIY sensory tool building ideas, made for parents by parents.
SUPPORTING INDIVIDUALS WITH AUTISM
THROUGH UNCERTAIN TIMES
All children and young adults require support from caregivers during times of stress and uncertainty. Individuals with autism may need additional support to process the news and adapt to the changes.
ADHD & EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING
ADHD & SCHOOL
School can be a challenge for students with ADHD—but here’s how you can help your child or teen succeed in the classroom.
WHAT'S ADHD (AND WHAT'S NOT)
IN THE CLASSROOM
Signs that a child might have the disorder, and other problems that may be confused with ADHD
HOW TO GET YOURSELF
ORGANIZED
Realistic tips for young people, from someone who’s been there
FAILING AT NORMAL:
AN ADHD SUCCESS STORY
Jessica McCabe tells us the story of her life. Once a gifted child with a bright future, who later lives a life of constant failures, because of one thing - her ADHD diagnosis. .
TIPS FOR STUDENTS WITH
EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING NEEDS
Tips to share with parents of students with executive functioning deficits.
SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL
SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT
IN EARLY CHILDHOOD
Each of us takes the same journey from birth to consciousness—but none of us recalls it. This early stage of life is crucial; what can parents—and other adults— do to further infant well-being?
INTRODUCTION TO EDUCATORS
AND SELF-INJURY
This website has been developed as a resource for educators. It provides information in a brief format regarding how to recognize, understand, and respond to self-injury.
GRIEF IN THE CLASSROOM:
'SAYING NOTHING SAYS A LOT'
1 in 20 children will lose a parent by the time he or she graduates from high school. So how should educators handle the death of a student's loved one?
SUPPORTING THE GRIEVING
CHILD AND FAMILY
The death of someone close to a child often has a profound and lifelong effect on the child and results in a range of both short- and long-term reactions.
PARENTING STYLES AND SUICIDAL IDEATION
IN ADOLESCENTS: Mediating Effect of Attachment
This study aims to analyze the role of parenting styles in the development of suicidal ideation in adolescents.
THE TRUTH ABOUT TEEN
DEPRESSION
Through her own story, social activist Megan Shinnick points out the misconceptions and actual importance of depression, as well as the societal flaws responsible for the increase in the illness.
HOW CHILDHOOD TRAUMA
AFFECTS HEALTH ACROSS A LIFETIME
Nadine Burke Harris explains that the repeated stress of abuse, neglect and parents struggling with mental health or substance abuse issues has real, tangible effects on the development of the brain.
INSIDE THE TEENAGE
BRAIN
It’s the mystery of mysteries-especially to parents. Now experts are exploring the recesses of the brain and finding new explanations for why adolescents behave the way they do.
OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY
KIDS AND DEVELOPMENTAL MILESTONES:
FINE MOTOR SKILLS
Normally, children learn to write in Kindergarten, but fine motor skills, which are the foundation of handwriting, begin to develop in infancy.
SENSORY PROCESSING
DISORDERS
Research indicates that at least 1 in 6 children experiences sensory challenges sufficient to disrupt their academic, social, and/or emotional development.
WHAT IS AN OCCUPATIONAL
THERAPY EVALUATION?
Hereʼs what you need to know about an occupational therapy evaluation.
OT IN SCHOOLS
School-based occupational therapy is designed to enhance the student's ability to fully access and be successful in the learning environment.
SPEECH LANGUAGE PATHOLOGY
THE BIRTH OF A WORD
MIT researcher Deb Roy wanted to understand how his infant son learned language -- so he wired up his house with videocameras to catch every moment (with exceptions) of his son's life.
SPEECH AND LANGUAGE
SERVICES IN SCHOOLS
Communication Problems in School. Effect of Speech and Language Problems on Learning. Role of the Speech-Language Pathologist.
TYPICAL SPEECH AND
LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT
Learn about the difference between speech and language, early identification of speech, language and hearing disorders, charts of speech, language and hearing milestones, and more.
WHAT CAN WE EXPECT FROM
SPEECH THERAPY IN SCHOOL?
Your child is starting speech therapy in school. But what exactly does this mean?