Special Education Today newsletter 5(47)
This is yet another issue and it is for the week that began 18 May 2026
Here you have the issue of the Special Education Today newsletter for the week of 18 May 2026. For those who are getting their first issue of the SET newsletter, this is the weekly reflection on the activities of the previous week. If you are a regular, you’ll know what to expect in this newsletter.
This issue includes a photo (that may or may not be related to special education and disabilities), some administrative notes, a sorta-kinda table of contents, and an editorial note (or two). If you are a relatively recent subscriber, you’ll get used to these introductory paragraphs, and you may begin to wonder if they repeat…I wonder that myself sometimes; I mean, how many different ways are there to say, “welcome, and here’s what is coming?”
Whether you are a long-time or a recent subscriber, though, please be forewarned that this issue of the newsletter is a bit abbreviated. I’ve been ardently preparing to go out of town the week of 25 May, so I’ve written relatively little this week.
Photo
Twenty years ago this month Pat and I were the guests of Ana Paula Loução Martins at the University of Minho in Braga (PT). She had me teaching a class on Fridays. It met for the late afternoon and evening so that people teaching in schools could attend.
The students, who came regularly and engaged readily in the class, were wonderful. On the last day of class, they gave me a delightful whatnot: a colorful terra cotta chicken that is typical for the northern area of Portugal.
Those were an elnightenining few weeks as Paula’s guest. I learned a lot, and not just about special education in Portugal, but also the cities, countryside, cuisine, and people of that lovely and historic country. Happy times!
Updates
Thanks again to the many Dear Readers for your continuing readership. SET now, according to Substack’s reckoning, has >1200 subscribers. When I started the community five years ago, I didn’t know whether it would grow past ~500-600 subscribers. There were about 120 or so in the early going, but a couple of people seem to find our little niche every week and, slowly-but-steadily, the community grows.
Welcome to those who have recently surrendered your email address to subscriber. Katherine R., Damaris R., Patti, Sara F., Pam B., and Wendy M. Nice to have you here! I’m sorry if someone recently subscribed but I didn’t include her here; some folks do not complete their Substack profile, so I can’t determine how to use the convention of firstname+initial in acknowledging their subscriptions here.
And a special flash of the electrons to those of you who not only surrendered your email addresses but also contributed funds to help support the project. Some of those folks who are supporters include (first and foremost) Kathy M., Anita A., and Mike G., as well as Trent T., Jackie R., Marina P., Stephanie Al O., Monica M., Em D., Tim H., Gerry W., Vincent C., Laura M.,Alix H., Joel I., Callie O., Jenni R., Angelique W., Jane H., Jim F., and a many others.
Additional special thanks for the contributors to SET: Li-Yu Hung (National Taiwan Normal University), John Romig (Florida State University), Ana Paula Martins (University of Minho), Mitchell Yell (University of South Carolina), Mandy Rispoli (University of Virginia), Pamela M. Seethaler (Vanderbilt), and David Bateman, who seems to be everywhere.
Speaking of David being omni-located, you subscribers are from lots of places, too. Here’s a map showing the locations of subscribers on Earth (so far, none from any other planet). Green means there are subscribers from that country, with darker green indicating relatively more subscribers. Gray indicates no subscriptions. As I see it, there are SETters on every continent but Antarctica. Pretty cool, to me.
There are students with disabilities all over Earth. One of my fondest hopes is that SET will be available to their teachers and parents. To those subscribers who provide support for SET, thank you for helping to sustaining the community so that kids’ families and educators can have access to it.
Spedlettes
Here are the posts on SET for last week. Look for the initials of authors in the brackets for each of these posts. As I mentioned previously in this issue, I was slack this past week. Special thanks to David Bateman for jumping in so that there were more posts for you, Dear Readers.
Special Education Today Newsletter 5(46): Here’s the news and info for Special Education Today for the week ending 17 May 2026 [JWL]
Webinar on improving instruction is coming: What can we learn on 20 May 2026 from popular psychologists about problems with teaching? [JWL]
Friday catch-up notes—22 May 2025: What notes did we fail to develop into full-blown articles this week? [JWL]
Frank Joseph Hayden, 1930-2026: Honoring a leader in fitness and access opportunities [JWL & DB]
There you have the tiny batch of posts for the week beginning 20 May 2026.
Notes & comments
I shall be “on the road” this coming week, traveling to New Hampshire at the invitation of SETters Vincent Connelly, Annmarie Urso, and other leaders of the International Association for Learning Disabilities to make a presentation at IARLD’s 2026 meeting.
I’ll be pitching themes that most Dear Readers will recognize, because aspects of those themes have been featured frequently here on SET. I plan to pay brief homage to important figures in the history of LD and their interest in solving academic and social problems students with LD experience. I then plan to explain why instruction is important in addressing those problems and give some details about beneficial instructional practice the deserve the focus of researchers who come to LD from diverse interests (psychology, medicine, education). My hope is that the members of that august group will walk away with a renewed interest in conducting systematic and powerful studies of the instruction that our kids deserve.
So, it’s only appropriate for me to leave you, Dear Readers, with the usual good wishes and the urge to teach your children well.
JohnL
John Wills Lloyd, Ph.D.
Founder and Editor, Special Education Today
SET should not be confused with a product that uses the same name and is published by the Council for Exceptional Children. SET predated CEC’s publication by decades. Despite my appreciation for CEC, this product is not designed to promote that organization nor should the views expressed here be considered to represent the views or policies of that organization.