Special Education Law Blog

Arts Of Life: A Place of Creativity and Belonging

It is hard to believe that for nearly the last 6 years my son has been a participant in an amazing program called Arts of Life at the Glenview, Illinois campus. This program has given real meaning to my son's life and an outlet for his creativity,  a place to belong and be social. He has been repeatedly recognized for his leadership and his artistry at gallery showings and through other events. Our family could not be more proud.

However, until recently I had no idea about the foundation upon which Arts of Life had been established and the dream that brought this organization into existence. The Chicago campus just celebrated its 20 year anniversary and the Glenview campus its 10 year anniversary. The following videos showing the history of Arts of Life are beautiful and inspiring, at a time when we could all use some inspiration and beauty. I hope that after you see these videos, you will realize again how much people with disabilities can accomplish when the community comes together under solid leadership with a vision for success.

 

COVID Requires Some Creativity from Schools

Many schools are and have not been creative in how they plan or deliver instruction for children with special needs. Under ordinary circumstances that is a problem. Today lacking in creativity is the difference between students with special needs getting something from their education and getting literally nothing. I have seen a wide gamut of responses to this pandemic. I have students in private programs that are getting almost a replica of their day through zoom or google or similar platforms. I think that is the exception and not the norm, and I am not sure why learning cannot occur this way for many students who can engage with video content. I have students who receive 1:1 lessons with their teacher in 20 minute blocks through video conferencing to cover special education content and videoconferencing for group work as well. This means of delivering content has worked well, and in the main the student is continuing to progress. Those are the exceptional cases.