Hey parents, if your daughter nails the "good girl" routine at school with decent grades and zero drama but drags home empty, foggy on homework and gutted over friendships that ghost her, ADHD might be pickpocketing her fire. I lived that exact script. Undiagnosed ADHD meant repeating first grade in my inattentive fog while all four brothers got flagged young for their ADHD or learning disabilities. Schools spotted their chaos easily (and even the ‘“calm' of my brother with inattentive ADHD,...

Let’s get real for a second. If you’re a parent of an autistic kiddo who isn't using much verbal speech yet, you’ve probably had that 2:00 AM panic : “If I give them a tablet to talk for them, am I giving up on their actual voice?” I get it. I’ve sat on both sides of the IEP table—first as a SPED teacher here in Virginia, and now as your partner-in-advocacy at The Connected Student. That fear is human, but I’m here to give you a soulful exhale: AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication)...

Winter break is here.   Two weeks off. No schedule. No homework. No school emails staring you down at 9:42 p.m.   If you’re parenting a child with an IEP or any child for that matter, you’re probably in one of two camps right now:   - “Thank God, we can rest.”   - “Oh Lawd, they’re home. All day. For two weeks.”   Both are valid. Both are real. And both can exist in the same body on the same day.   I’m Katie, special education family advocate and former special education teacher here in...