Tag: Lara Wakefield

Annual IEP goals determine which services will be implemented to support the student’s progress during the school year. If those goals can’t be easily measured, how will the team know if the student met them?

Tune in to Focus Point Episode 7 while Kelly and Lara discuss the benefits that social media for professional growth. What benefits have you experienced using online forums? SUBSCRIBE TO VIEW OUR FREE WEBINAR "HOW TO SAVE TIME AND DEVELOP LEGALLY COMPLIANT IEP GOALS" “How to Save Time and Develop Legally Compliant IEP Goals” is […]

Kelly Ott and Lara Wakefield, from SMARTER Steps discuss the types of CEU opportunities, the pros and cons and traditional versus trending ways to receive continuing education units for professional development. What experiences have you had with CEU opportunities in your career? What are your preferred methods of receiving continuing education units? SUBSCRIBE TO VIEW […]

Kelly Ott and Lara Wakefield, from SMARTER Steps discuss a growing concern they have in the field of special education and related services: the lack of quality mentoring available to new practitioners. Kelly and Lara have noticed a trend with new special educators and related services providers. These new practitioners are expressing concern that they […]

Is neuroplasticity of the brain a pseudo-science?   If you look at the facts alone, neuroplasticity is well-documented in neuroscience research.  In the past, people thought the brain was in a form of stasis, not changing and rooted in its connections. When neuroplasticity was first proposed, it was not widely accepted. Neuroplasticity means the brain […]

Meet Kelly Ott and Lara Wakefield, Co-owners of SMARTER Steps. We welcome you to Episode 1 of Focus Point. What's Focus Point? It's a place where 2 professionals from very different backgrounds and philosophies come together for a "Meeting of the Minds." We invite you to join in the discussion! Click on the link above […]

How To Write Specific IEP Goals: Part 1  by Kelly Ott, MHS, MEd, and Lara Wakefield, PhD from S.M.A.R.T.E.R. Steps®, LLC (The following is an excerpt from the SMARTER Steps to IEP Goals webinars from the SMARTER Steps membership site): When thinking about the Specific part of the S.M.A.R.T.E.R. Steps IEP Goal acronym, we need […]

40 Years of The Least Restrictive Environment: Where Are We Now? The 2015-2016 school year will mark the 40th anniversary of the "Least Restrictive Environment" (LRE). One of the original guiding principles in the education of students with disabilities was Wolfensberger’s (1972) concept of normalization (Fisher, Frey, & Thousand, 2003). The normalization movement was sparked […]