Latina Nickelson, Special Education Advocate & IEP Coach

11/08/2025

📐 HAPPY NATIONAL STEM DAY! 📐
Today we celebrate Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math - but let's talk about who gets counted as a "STEM student" and who doesn't.

The Problem:
Too often, students with disabilities are tracked away from STEM courses. Schools assume:
❌ "They can't handle advanced math"
❌ "Science is too abstract"
❌ "They're not college-bound, so why STEM?"
This isn't about student capacity. This is about systemic barriers and low expectations.

The Truth:
Students with disabilities BELONG in STEM. Full stop.
→ Temple Grandin (autistic) revolutionized animal science
→ Many assistive technologies were created BY disabled people FOR disabled people
→ Neurodivergent thinking drives innovation
→ Problem-solving looks different for everyone - and that diversity strengthens STEM
What Needs to Change:
✅ Presume competence - Start with the assumption students CAN, not can't
✅ Universal Design for Learning - Make STEM accessible from the start, not as an afterthought
✅ Accommodations ≠ Lower Standards - Extended time, manipulatives, alternative formats don't change the rigor
✅ IEPs should include STEM goals - Especially for students 14+ thinking about postsecondary education
✅ Challenge the tracking - If your child wants STEM classes, that's their starting point. Schools must justify why not, not you justify why yes.

If your child is interested in STEM but being discouraged or tracked to "functional skills" instead:
"Help me understand why you're recommending [lower track]. My child has expressed interest in [STEM course]. What supports would they need to access that class with appropriate accommodations?"

How are you making STEM accessible? Are disabled students represented in your advanced STEM courses? Are you presuming competence?

STEM isn't just for "gifted" or neurotypical students. Disabled students don't need to prove they deserve access to rigorous academics.
They belong in STEM because they're interested. Because they're capable with supports. Because innovation NEEDS diverse thinkers.

On National STEM Day, let's commit to actual inclusion - not just inspiration porn about disabled people "overcoming" to do STEM despite their disability.

Let's remove the barriers. Change the expectations. Build truly accessible STEM education.

Because disabled students aren't the problem. The barriers are. 📐🔬🧬

11/04/2025

We all know The Department of Education just laid off 121 staff members from the Office of Special Education Programs. You might be wondering: "What does this mean for my child's IEP?"

Here's what hasn't changed: Your child's legal rights under IDEA remain fully in force. Schools still must provide FAPE (Free Appropriate Public Education). IEPs are still required. Your procedural safeguards are still protected.

What HAS changed is federal oversight and enforcement capacity. This means documentation is more important than ever. Keep every email, take notes at every meeting, request Prior Written Notice for proposals and refusals.

You are not powerless. You are your child's most important advocate, and the law is still on your side.

Need help understanding your rights? Drop a comment or send a message.

11/02/2025

🔑 Proud to Serve: Golden Keys Foundation 🔑
As a board member of Golden Keys Foundation, I'm honored to support an organization that truly understands what our educational community needs.

What Golden Keys Does:
✨ Safe Spaces - Creating environments where everyone can explore and express their passions freely, without fear or judgment
📢 Advocacy - Championing the needs and rights of our educational community, promoting practices that enhance health, well-being, and joyful engagement in learning
🤝 Community - Fostering belonging and interconnectedness, encouraging collaboration and mutual support among students, parents, and educators
💡 Mini-Grants for Teachers - Empowering educators to enhance their classrooms or explore additional income opportunities

Why This Matters:
When we invest in teachers, create safe spaces, and build community, we're not just improving individual classrooms - we're transforming the entire educational ecosystem. Golden Keys Foundation recognizes that supporting educators and families together creates the strongest foundation for student success.

Our educational community deserves resources, advocacy, and spaces where everyone belongs. That's what Golden Keys is building.

Want to support our work?
→ Learn about mini-grants for teachers
→ Attend monthly meetings
→ Join community events
→ Make a donation to change lives

Visit: goldenkeysfoundation.org

Together, we're unlocking opportunities and creating foundations for lifelong success. 🔑

11/01/2025

10/31/2025

For Families:
If your child has sensory sensitivities, mobility differences, communication needs, or any disability - trick-or-treating is FOR THEM TOO.

Here's how to make it work:
→ Teal Pumpkin Project - Look for teal pumpkins indicating non-food treats (stickers, toys, glow sticks)
→ Practice runs - Walk the route during daylight, practice saying "trick or treat" or use AAC device/cards
→ Sensory-friendly timing - Go earlier when it's less crowded and overwhelming
→ Mobility accommodations - Wheelchair-accessible routes, drive-through trunk-or-treats, doorbell alternatives
→ Communication cards - Create cards that explain your child's communication style or needs
For Neighbors & Community:
→ Turn on your porch light - Signal you're welcoming ALL trick-or-treaters
→ Be patient - Some kids need extra time to communicate, get to the door, or make a choice
→ Offer choices - Let kids point or use AAC to choose their treat
→ Skip the scary - Some kids are frightened by intense decorations or jump scares
→ Presume welcome - Don't assume teenagers or kids with support workers "shouldn't" be trick-or-treating

Remember: Halloween isn't about fitting into someone else's expectations. It's about joy, community, and belonging.

Your child has the right to participate in Halloween - their way, with their supports, at their pace.
Trick-or-treating isn't earned. It's a childhood experience that belongs to every child.

What accommodations has your family found helpful?
Share below so we can all learn! 🎃👻

10/18/2025

10/13/2025

Let's talk about what the Department of Education closing actually means for our students with disabilities.

Here's what's important to understand:
The Department of Education provides oversight and enforcement support, but the laws protecting our students haven't changed. IDEA is still the law of the land. Your child's right to a free appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment? Still intact.

The federal Department of Education doesn't write or run IEPs - your local school district does that. What the DOE does (along with state education departments) is help enforce the civil rights protections that students with disabilities are entitled to under law.

Now here's where we need to redirect our advocacy energy:
Schools receive only 6-13% of their funding from the federal government, and even that amount is determined by Congress, not the DOE. The other 87-94%? That comes from your state and local district budgets.

So when I look at my own district and see administrator after administrator pulling down six-figure salaries while families struggle to get basic services and supports for their students, I have questions about priorities.

We need to be barking up the right tree here. Your state legislature, your local school board, your district's budget decisions - that's where the vast majority of education funding and spending decisions are made.

And we're not alone in this fight. Organizations like National Parents Union National Disability Rights Network, (Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates), The Arc, and many others are actively working to protect and enforce the rights our students already have. These organizations understand the law, they're monitoring what's happening, and they're fighting to ensure oversight and enforcement continue.

We need to support these organizations, stay connected to them, and amplify their work. But we also need to bring that same energy to our local communities.

If you're concerned about services and supports for students with disabilities, get curious about your local district's budget. Ask questions at school board meetings. Help your legislators understand what barrier removal actually looks like in practice. Build relationships with other families navigating these systems.

The law is still on our students' side. The framework of rightful presence hasn't changed - our students belong in their schools and communities, period. Now let's make sure the resources, the accountability, and the commitment to removing barriers stay strong at every level.

This isn't the time to panic. It's the time to get strategic, get local, and get loud about what our students are entitled to under law.

10/04/2025

09/26/2025

🎉 Happy 52nd Birthday, Section 504! 🎉
Today we celebrate more than five decades of this groundbreaking civil rights law that fundamentally changed how our society recognizes and protects the rights of people with disabilities.
What makes Section 504 so powerful?
This isn't just a law about accommodations - it's a declaration that people with disabilities belong in all aspects of community life. Section 504 established that barrier removal is a civil right, not a favor to be granted.
Still protecting access today in: • Education - ensuring students can participate fully in their school communities • Healthcare - removing barriers to medical services and communication • Housing - protecting against discrimination in living arrangements
• Transportation - opening pathways to independent mobility • Employment - creating inclusive workplaces
The foundation it built: Section 504 paved the way for the Americans with Disabilities Act and countless other protections. It shifted our understanding from "special treatment" to "equal access."
Every time a student uses assistive technology in class, every curb cut that helps someone navigate their community, every accessible building entrance - these reflect the vision Section 504 brought to life: that access isn't earned, it's inherent.
Here's to 52 years of breaking down barriers and building up communities where everyone belongs! 🌟
What aspect of Section 504's impact means most to you?