Crash course on special education

Parents of children with special needs are often overwhelmed about what to do. Our exclusive video gives the lowdown on how to advocate for your child.

by: The GreatSchools Editorial Team

More tips: read the signs of a learning difference (LD), know your child’s rights, and learn from one development expert’s own experience.

Special needs programs and schools: a primer
How to make sense of what’s available and make the best choice for your child. Format: Article

A parent’s guide to Section 504 in public schools
This important civil rights law can provide educational benefits to kids with learning disabilities and/or ADHD in public schools.
Format: Article

Christine Carter on discovering a learning disability
Raising Happiness author and sociologist Christine Carter reveals how she stumbled upon her own daughter’s learning disability — and how parents can learn from her experience.Format: Video (0:26)

A parent’s guide to Section 504 in public schools
How do you know if your child is struggling with a learning issue? Learn to read the clues. Format: Article

About the author

The GreatSchools Editorial Team

GreatSchools.org is a national nonprofit with a mission to help every child obtain a high-quality education that values their unique abilities, identities, and aspirations. We believe in the power of research-backed, actionable information to empower parents, family members, and educators to help make this happen. For 25 years, the GreatSchools Editorial Team has been working to make the latest, most important, and most actionable research in education, learning, and child development accessible and actionable for parents through articles, videos, podcasts, hands-on learning resources, email and text messaging programs, and more. Our team consists of journalists, researchers, academics, former teachers and education leaders — most of whom are also dedicated parents and family members — who not only research, fact check, and write or produce this information, but who use it in our daily lives as well. We welcome your feedback at editorial@greatschools.org.