Special Education Today newsletter 6(4)
These are the updates for the week that began 23 July 2026
Hello, friends-colleagues-&-Fellow-Earthlings!
In this week’s issue of the Special Education Today newsletter, which is the fourth issue of the sixth year and the 1749th post in the modern history of SET, you Dear Readers will find the usual content (including some drivel, of course). Please don’t trip on the typos!
If you have read more than one or two issues, you likely can predict that this issue of the newsletter includes a photo, some status notes, a list of recent posts, and a bit of editorial comment. Let’s get to it!
Photo
This week’s photo shows some old guy heading downhill after taking his assistive device to the top of his driveway. In years gone by, he used to run or walk for exercise pretty much daily, finishing with a slow walk down this driveway after his workouts. In this instance, however, he is headed downhill following his first walk in many weeks to the top of the driveway. And he’s walking on two titanium hips, the right one having been replaced in the middle of June. This little walk was the source of some elation for the old guy.
If I can just stick with the rehab regimen for a few months and then return to regular exercising, I might be able to dissolve some of that extra midriff that I have been building up over the past 18 months…probably would help if I cut back on the high-fat ice cream, too…sigh.
Updates
Thanks to all you wonderful Dear Readers’ for dropping “likes” or “hearts” on posts these past few weeks-months. Sometimes they appear so soon after I have released a post that I wonder whether some of you have ‘bots trained to click the like button as soon as a post arrives in your inbox! Wow! Impressive!
Welcome to zero new paying subscribers this week. But thanks to Linda L., Monica McH.-S., Irma B., Candace S., Jim F., Bill R., and Bev J., all of whom renewed their subscriptions recently. Those are great votes of confidence in SET. Thanks!
This is a great opportunity to doff one’s cap and bow to the patrons for SET. Thanks Mike G., Anita A., and Kathy M. for your special support.
Also, it’s a good time to say “thank you” to the contributing authors of 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), and David Bateman (University of Somewhere?).
The subscriber rolls grew by about a dozen free subs this past week. There are nearly 1250 subscribers to SET and just over 1700 total followers. Over 1000 of the subscribers are from the US, but Australia, the UK, Canada, and Morocco are the home counties for nearly 100 of those elsewhere on Earth.
Spedlettes
As Dear Readers know, SET published nine articles this past week. All of them were on the public-free side, so they will be available for a few days more than a week after their publication dates; however, note that those published early in the week will soon go into the archives where one must be a paying subscriber to SET to be able to access them. If you were too busy to review any posts as they were announced in e-mail, please content yourselves with the opportunity to review the posts listed here.
Special Education Today Newsletter 6(3): Here’s the news and info for the week that began 13 July 2026
Review reveals functions of aggressive behavior in children with autism: Would you believe the literature on aggressive behavior is patchy?
CEC: Petition US legislators to sustain OSERS: What is this campaign about and how could one support it?
Michael J. Ward, 1951-2026: Why should we salute this long-serving contributor?
All you need to know about classroom management!: Can you tell that my tongue is making a bulge in my cheek?
Webinar on building capacity for changing systems: What would one want to learn about practical and intensive technical assistance?
Friday catch-up notes—24 Jul 2026: What tidbits didn’t show up as a full post this week?1
Keep reading choice free: What is “Let Freedom Read Day about?
A mother’s questions about why her autistic son was killed: Jill Harrington, who counseled many in their grief, is living her own
There you have the corpus of posts for the week that ended 26 July 2026.
Notes & comments
Thanks very much to those readers who have sent me encouraging notes about the hip replacement surgery that I mentioned (yet again) in the photo section of this newsletter. I know that I am in good company with so many others having had joints replaced…and even special company with a couple of y’all who have also had both hips replaced.
I could go on (and on) here about all that I learned about having a “mobility challenge” over the previous few weeks, but that would be trivial, require straining of metaphors, and be basically unwarranted. So, I ain’t going there…my experience surely bears only a pale and transitory similarity to the experiences of individuals who have disabilities.
I do, however, want to acknowledge the kindness, care, and love of my family and many friends during my convalescence. People have been wonderful. Hugs.
And, my Dear Fellow SET friends, I hope that you will remember how important it is that we take care of ourselves and each other. Remember to exercise, eat well, get plenty of sleep, look both ways before crossing a street, stay out of flood waters, buckle those seatbelts, drive carefully, and—of course—teach our 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.
Footnote
I originally mistyped the date in the title of this post. I put “1016” rather than “2026.” I fixed it, but the link for the post in the data base still has the “1016” digits in it. Sigh. That’s OK, right?
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