Teaching · Special Education

Needs first, with the evidence beside them.

Rate each school domain, add what teachers, family, providers and the student have seen, and note what already helps. The organizer puts the needs in order and points to practices with research support for each.

Start a needs recordWhat you get
$12one-time · every device you sign in on
Buy · $12

Included with Caveat Classroom and Whole-school licenses. Or get it in the Special Education toolkit, $99 for 138 items.

The needs organizer

One record per student. The example student and observations are made up.

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What you get

Teaching · Special Education$12 · included with Classroom and Whole-school licenses

What you finish with
A one-page summary of one student’s needs at school, the evidence and sources behind each, practices to consider and the gaps to fill before writing present levels.
Who it is for
Special education teachers, IEP teams, related service providers and school psychologists.
Format
Browser organizer. One saved record per student; printed with its summary or as a blank form; CSV of the evidence; export and import a file.
Access
$12 one-time, yours on every device you sign in on; the tool opens once you are signed in with it. Included with Caveat Classroom and Whole-school licenses. Also in the Special Education toolkit ($99) and the Teaching Suite pass ($199), and 1 more bundle. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The Special Education space in Caveat Teaching.
Support
Questions about an order, access or a correction: team@caveatacademic.com.
readbusmusichomeknowing what comes next
Drawn for this page. Visual schedules, a quiet option and more than one way to communicate are among the supports a needs record often points to.

How to use it

  1. Start with strengths and interests.
  2. Rate every domain; use not known yet rather than guessing.
  3. Add evidence from more than one person, and from the student in the way they communicate best.
  4. Describe what happens and what helps, not a label.
  5. Bring the printed summary to the planning meeting.

Start a needs record

What the organizer is for

Needs, not the label

Federal rules ask for an evaluation thorough enough to find all of a student’s needs, whether or not they are commonly linked to the category. A student under any category, or a 504 plan, can use this record.

Practices with research support

For each domain the organizer lists practices that met the bar in a national report on autism practices, such as visual supports, task analysis and peer-based instruction. The team picks what fits this student.

What it is not

It is not a diagnostic tool and does not decide eligibility. It describes needs at school, in plain words, for the people who plan support.

Sources

  1. Individuals with Disabilities Education Act regulations, 34 CFR 300.8(c)(1) (autism), 300.304(c)(6) (an evaluation that finds all needs) and 300.324(a)(2) (special factors).
  2. Hume, K., Steinbrenner, J. R., Odom, S. L. and others. Evidence-based practices for children, youth, and young adults with autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 2021 (PMID 33449225).
  3. Steinbrenner, J. R., Hume, K., Odom, S. L. and others. Evidence-Based Practices for Children, Youth, and Young Adults with Autism. National Clearinghouse on Autism Evidence and Practice, 2020.
  4. U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights. Parent and Educator Resource Guide to Section 504 in Public Elementary and Secondary Schools, 2016.

The example student and observations are made up. This record does not diagnose or decide eligibility. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.