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Articles by Holly Downs
Turning Summer Moments Into Skill Building Opportunities
How everyday summer activities can help children with special needs build independence, communicate on, social skills, and confidence For many families of children with special needs, summer brings a change in routine, school schedules, and therapy intensity. While these changes can sometimes feel disruptive, summer can also be one of the best times of year to build important life skills.
Asynchronous Online Learning: How Design & Motivation Drive Success
Best Practices to Increase Impact of Self-Paced Online Leadership Training Imagine a leadership course that seamlessly fits into your schedule, travels with you across time zones, and still feels personal and engaging. This is the promise of an effective self-paced online course. The key word here is effective — because many virtual learning experiences hold great promise but ultimately fall flat.
Planning for a Lifetime: Skills That Help Our Children Grow Into Adulthood
Planning for a child’s future can feel both hopeful and overwhelming—especially when the path forward isn’t always clear. This article explores how building everyday skills early, using evidence-based ABA strategies, can support independence, relationships, and meaningful opportunities across a lifetime. Planning for a child’s future is something every parent thinks about, but for families of children with disabilities, the journey often feels both uniquely beautiful and complex.
Making the Holidays Joyful and Inclusive for Your Child
Environmental Supports: Setting Up for Success Remember to use proactive steps that shape the environment to support success before behavior challenges arise. Consider what your child needs to feel secure. If your child tends to elope, secure doors or set clear boundaries like, “You can play in the living room and kitchen.” When visiting others, ask ahead if there’s a quiet space available for breaks in case your child feels overstimulated.
From Anxious to Excited: Mastering Back-to-School Prep with PBS
School supplies are about to hit the shelves, yellow buses are rolling, and new sneakers are on the shopping list. This is a sure sign it is back-to-school time. While many parents are elated students will be getting back to school routines, the transition can be scary. The thought of the unknown can make returning to school challenging, particularly after a long summer break. Here are some strategies that can help with the transition back to school after summer and in preparation for the first day.
Solutions to Make Moving Easier with Your Special Needs Child
Moving to a New Home Individuals with special needs (and let’s be honest, most of us) can display difficulty with transitions and may have a tough time adjusting to change. Instead, we generally thrive when there are consistent, set expectations in place. Moving to a new home can be filled with a mix of emotions ranging anywhere from excitement to fear.
To become Montreal - Palatinate
By Holly Downs Montreal has a very special place in my heart. It’s a city that reminded me how young and vibrant a city can be, how important it is to step out of your comfort zone, and how transformative solo travel is. My past summer was spent living in the hustle and bustle of downtown Montreal for three months, which now, looking back on it, seems like a distant dream. Canada has never been at the top of my rather extensive travel bucket list.
Dealing with Grief and Darkness
Grief and Darkness Each day we live can bring us joy, laughter, relief, and love. It can also bring us sadness, pain, and loss. Although the good events in our lives come and go easily, it can be very difficult to experience the unpleasant events that life brings our way. Our children will likely be experiencing these events alongside us, and we are responsible for guiding them through it while also managing our own needs.
6 Strategies to Create Digital Learning Success
Technology has changed the way corporate learning and leadership development happens across the globe. Organizations increasingly rely on digital learning for a portion of their leadership development and training needs.
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