emotions

A Call to Advocacy

Special Needs Advocate/IEP CoachLeave a comment

August is upon us and before you know it school will be back in session.

Is your child ready? Do you know the services they should receive related to their disability? Are you worried about beginning another year of uncertainty, missed goals, and limited progress?

We can help you navigate those murky waters called “Special Ed.”

Call us today if…

  • You feel your child may have a learning disability
  • You don’t understand the ins and outs of the (IEP), Individualized Education Plan
  • You want to know your rights as a parent
  • Need help writing a letter to the school
  • Don’t understand the evaluations process, percentiles, outcomes etc…
  • Feel your child should be making more progress in academics
  • The school seems to be fluffing you off, saying she/he will catch up

Special Needs NJ has been providing families with “special needs” members for over 15 years in the areas of IEP interpretation, letter writing, IDEA law review, evaluation and assessment interpretation, understanding timelines, everything up to and including meeting attendance with your (CST) Child Study Team. Giving you the skills, techniques, and guidance to help you become the “BEST” advocate you can be for your child.

We understand ALL of the classifying categories; ALL of the related services, and most importantly How you can get the best possible program for your child to progress and become successful in their educational experience.

DON’T WAIT ANOTHER MINUTE….

CALL (973) 534-3402 and we will give you a free consultation.

Statistics show that children who get the proper services during the formative years of Kindergarten-3rd grade perform beyond their expected potential. Unfortunately we see most students because they are struggling and by 3rd grade they are 2-3 years behind, by 5th grade they are 3-5 years behind, and by 8th grade they are moving into high school with only a 5th grade reading level!

However, don’t despair if your child is already in this situation… it’s NEVER too late!

call, email, or fill out the service form right here on our page.

Our prices are conservative and very reasonable

Isn’t your child’s future worth it?

 

SNNJ also provides: Tutoring, Life Skills Coaching, Behavior Management

Gemiini Discrete Video Modeling

Special Needs Advocate/IEP CoachLeave a comment

SPECIAL NEEDS NJ, LLP

introduces you to

GEMIINI, Video Modeling

One of the most evidence-based treatments for children with special needs

A summary of general research and GemIIni-based research 30+ years of academic research and institutional acceptance Over the past three decades, research has demonstrated that video modeling is an invaluable, evidence based tool for teaching a variety of skills to children with Down syndrome, autism or other language delays. More importantly, scores of studies have shown that once a skill is learned through video modeling, it is maintained over time and generalized across settings. In a rigorous review of autism interventions in the National Standards Report, video modeling was considered an “Established” and “Effective” treatment by the National Autism Center. Video modeling has been proven to effectively teach skills as varied as social, academic, communication, daily living, play, perspective taking and the generalization of information. This presentation will present a sampling of the hundreds of studies on video modeling as the research base GemIIni relies upon for its own research. The findings of researchers in GemIIni-based clinical trials have moved the field forward from this well-established base. Clinical trials showing the power of viewing GemIIni in groups and in the use of sensory-management filming techniques to increases retention of information could be significant breakthroughs.

click here for video: About Gemiini DVM: Accelerate Language and Reading Therapy

Better Outcomes with Lower Costs While the need for robust, personalized therapy sessions is unquestioned, researchers have known for years that video modeling can be more effective than live one-to-one therapy for modeling. Many of the following studies explicitly point to the cost savings, efficiency and better outcomes that are all a result of the use of video modeling in schools, clinics or homes. From a practical viewpoint, it goes without saying that a the use of video for teaching some skills would be both a more efficient and a more cost effective use of time, so that “live” therapy sessions can be focused on generalization and socialization of learned concepts instead of rote teaching with flashcards or other techniques. In one such example, a seven year study performed in a school district with over 70,000 students, researchers found that video modeling achieved significant improvements in many academic skills for children with special needs, while improving parent teacher cooperation (Biedernan & Freeman 2007). GemIIni Harnessed the Power of Video Modeling for Easy Use & Improved Results GemIIni is a tool that puts video modeling’s highly researched and evidence-based approach at the fingertips of clinicians across the globe, enabling them to make customized video modeling sessions in a matter of minutes. Research showing the effectiveness of GemIIni over standard video modeling is included in the following pages.

more videos……..

Go to gemiini.org to learn all about the Gemiini DVM program. It has been shown to increase language in children with special needs by a factor of 10 to 30x. It is easy, effective and affordable.…
00:07:06                   Added on 5/14/14            58,284 views

Contact us here at Special Needs NJ for your Gemiini Video Modeling training

We can set you up with a free one month code to get you started.

Special Needs NJ, LLP

 Call:      (973) 940-6923 or

Email: specialneedsnj@hotmail.com

The Emotions of Caring for Elderly Parents

Special Needs Advocate/IEP CoachLeave a comment

As your parents or your spouse’s parents get older, they will probably need your help. They will also possibly need professional help with their daily care. The very people whom you depended on in the past will be turning to you for assistance. The fundamental nature of your relationship with your parents will change in a more dramatic way than you have ever experienced. Now you and your spouse will be the caregivers.

Caring for your parents as they get older is often a stressful experience. There are many emotions you might experience along with your new responsibility. When you become the caretaker of your parents, it’s very important for you to be aware of your emotions. It can make the difference between having a meaningful, rewarding experience and having one of the worst experiences of your life. The following sections describe the most common emotions people feel when they are faced with their parents becoming older and less independent.        

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Denial

One of the first things you might feel when facing a parent’s decline in function is—nothing. It’s very common to initially be in denial about a difficult situation. When you are in denial about something, you are trying to convince yourself that it’s not really happening. For instance, imagine that your father, who lives alone, is slowing down and becoming weaker. You want to keep thinking of him as strong and healthy, so you tell yourself that he’s generally fine. In the short run, that makes you feel better. But, your father probably shouldn’t be living alone. And you won’t be able to help him find a safer place until you are able to acknowledge his limitations. Denial can prevent you from facing facts and making necessary plans.

Anger

Another emotion you might feel is anger at your parents for being unable to take care of themselves. For example, you might feel that it’s their fault for not staying healthy, even though you know that they are not getting sick on purpose. You might resent the fact that they are taking so much of your time and energy. You are especially vulnerable to feeling anger if your relationship with your parents was less than perfect. It’s more difficult to take care of someone that you feel some resentment toward. But, even if you have a great relationship with your parents, caring for them might feel like a huge burden. It makes sense that you might feel angry because you have been shouldered with a big responsibility.

Think Twice

Don’t take your anger at the situation out on your spouse. Instead, discuss your feelings of anger or resentment with him or her. Remember that your spouse can be your strongest source of support during this difficult time.

Helplessness

Even though you are grown up, you might feel like your parents should always be there to take care of you and still help you through difficult times. Seeing your mother or father helpless can make you feel helpless. You might think “If my parents can’t take care of me, who will?” You are your parents’ child, even as an adult. And when one of your parents is weak, part of you is going to feel like a scared, helpless child. Even though you know that you can take care of yourself, you still might feel that you need your parents to take care of you.

Guilt

Guilt is one of the strongest emotions people feel as a parent becomes older and less able to care for him- or herself. There are many reasons that you might be feeling guilty. You might feel that you are not doing enough to help your parents. This might be true, or you might be doing more than a reasonable amount and feel guilty anyway. You might feel that if you had done something different years ago, then your parent would not be so ill now. For instance, you might think that if you had taken your mother’s complaint about feeling weak and tired more seriously, her cancer would have been diagnosed earlier and she would have been cured.

If one of your parents is very sick and needs a lot of expensive care and a lot of your energy, you might be secretly wishing that he or she would die so that it would be over. This thought would probably cause you to feel incredibly guilty. It’s very common to feel this, and it’s a completely normal reaction. It doesn’t mean that you don’t love your sick parent and it doesn’t mean you are a terrible child. It means that it’s very difficult and possibly very expensive to care for an ill person—realities that can prompt all kinds of unexpected thoughts and feelings. The best way to deal with these feelings is to acknowledge them but still do as much as you can to care for your parents.

A Sense of Loss

When your parent is no longer functioning at 100 percent, that is a big loss. It’s normal to feel sad, and it’s actually a mature feeling. Feeling sad when your parents are ill and unable to take care of themselves means that you have accepted the situation and the loss that occurs when your parent’s health declines. You shouldn’t hold back tears. Crying is part of feeling sad and it’s okay to express your emotions. That doesn’t mean that you should spend years moping around and crying as your parents become more and more ill. But sadness comes with loss, and you should give yourself permission to feel it.

Mortality

Parents are the buffer between you and your mortality. Most people are able to ignore the inevitability of their own death as long as their parents are alive and healthy. But as your parent’s health declines, you will probably become highly aware of your own mortality. You might start thinking about the end of your own life or have frequent nightmares about dying. You might start examining where you are in life and re-evaluating your long-term goals. When you face the death of someone close to you, it will often spark thoughts about your own life. This is good, and the way to make use of this constructively is to realize how precious life is and what is really important to you.