B. Kuereine Gray

Should we move away from “special needs students” and use the term “students with disabilities”? “Students with disabilities” aligns with IDEA/ADA language and avoids the ambiguity of “special needs”, since all students have needs, but some qualify for legally protected supports. And if so, how do you create a new culture and shift others perspective and language used in a school system?

New comment 6d ago

B. Kuereine Gray

2 likes • 6d

I'm surprised no one has jumped in here. This is a loaded question that can be summed up with: you will never be able to satisfy everyone with one answer or way to identify and refer to them because we are all individuals. That said, I see where this is coming from. There was a huge shift in the early 2000's to refer to individual learners as learners "with" disabilities or use person-first language (PFL)/ identifiers instead of identity-first language (IFL). The problem many disabled people have with this is that PFL is often pushed for by non-disabled groups. There have been groups within multiple disability populations that state their disability informs their identity and they can't divorce or take it off and using language as such can be insulting, feels as though it is to make the speaker more comfortable, and/ or further stigmatizes their differences. It's important for us as providers to be aware of all sides and understand that with any group, there will different opinions as no one person is a monolith for their group's thoughts/ intentions/ needs. With this in mind we need to understand that the individual's preference should be in the forefront of our actions. There will be times working with systems (schools, state funding, etc.) certain language may be more normalized and we can choose to intentionally use different language or provide education on the individual's preferences but our decisions should be guided by the preference and best interest of the individual we are serving. I hope this helps. I'm also added this resource as it might be a helpful read for more info. https://educationresourcesinc.com/person-first-vs-identity-first-language/

B. Kuereine Gray

1 like • 6d

@Jesus Anchondo happy to help friend.

Analiese Fazio

20d •

👋 General

free 1 LRN CEU.

PDA: What it Is and What It Isn’t Presented by B. Kuereine O’Rourke, M.Ed., BCBA, LBA This training breaks down what PDA actually is, common misconceptions, and how to think about it clinically without the noise or confusion. Wednesday 1/28 Noon (ET) 1 LRN CEU Free registration Register here: https://behavioristbookclub.com/pt-reg-2416 Perfect lunchtime learning.

New comment 6d ago

B. Kuereine Gray

1 like • 6d

@Jowana Wilkins I couldn't see that when presenting. Thanks for the feedback.

Eric Soltysik

10d •

👋 General

Getting some input

Good morning everyone! I’m starting to look at creating my first CEU presentation but I wanted to see what the community felt regarding this topic. When we are working with a variety of clients, and we have a brand new staff start with that client, a lot of the times I’ve seen or have heard the BCBA say, “Just pair with the client.” This can be very vague for the staff and not give them the specifics of how to pair with a client. What I would like to do is create a presentation on how we can teach staff to pair with clients, when to pair depending on the environment, and different pairing strategies we can teach.

New comment 1d ago

B. Kuereine Gray

1 like • 6d

I have presented on this and it's so important. Great idea.

Matt Harrington

Jan 12 •

👋 General

Don't miss the next CEU event!

Happening Wed, 12 PM EST to learn all about Behavioral Sleep! Register here to get access to the live link plus recording ASAP! https://behavioristbookclub.com/weekly-ceu-la-sleep

New comment Jan 15

B. Kuereine Gray

1 like • Jan 14

The email link works but says event at capacity so need to watch asynchronously.

B. Kuereine Gray

1 like • Jan 14

@Laurel Daly that will populate after livestream ends