Think Inclusive

For this episode, I speak with Michael Giangreco, a University Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Special Education in the Department of Education at the University of Vermont and is affiliated with UVM’s Center on Disability & Community Inclusion.  Michael and I discuss why many school systems rely too much on paraprofessionals when implementing inclusive education. We talk […]

For this episode, I speak with Melissa Defayette, who is a current third-year Ph.D. student at the University of Maryland. She achieved candidacy in the Fall of 2022. Her research is focused on creating and implementing mathematic interventions for students with moderate to severe disabilities to be used in general education settings while aligned to […]

For this episode, I speak with Dr. Temple Grandin, professor of animal science at Colorado State University and the author of New York Times bestsellers Animals in Translation, Animals Make Us Human, The Autistic Brain, and Thinking in Pictures which became an HBO movie starring Claire Danes. Temple and I discuss why she wanted to […]

For this episode, I speak with Ashley Barlow, a special education attorney advocate and host of the podcast Special Education Advocacy with Ashley Barlow. In a former life, she was a German teacher in Jefferson County Public Schools and Cincinnati Public Schools, having taught nearly every grade from K to 12.  Ashley practices statewide in […]

For this episode, Tim speaks with Jay Ruderman, the President of the Ruderman Family Foundation, focusing on inclusion, diversity, and social justice. He hosts All About Change, a podcast focused on activism, change, and courage.  Jay is a social justice activist who has spent his life promoting the inclusion of people with disabilities. Through his […]

For this episode, Tim speaks with members of the Inclusive Education Community of Practice from TASH, Debbie Taub, Diane Ryndak, and Mary Fisher, about TASH’s position statement on the characteristics of fully inclusive schools. So just a point of clarification. We recorded this interview earlier this year before the annual conference in Phoenix, the first […]

In this episode, Tim Villegas speaks with Charmaine Thaner, an inclusion advocate and founder of Collaborative Special Education Advocacy.  They discuss her journey from being a self-contained special education teacher to an inclusion advocate and including her son with Down syndrome in school from preschool to college. Charmaine describes her early work as a special […]

For this episode, Tim speaks with Kanwal Singh, former director of the Vishwas school and author of Hanging On: A Special Educator’s Journey into Inclusive Education.   Kanwal and Tim reflect on her career working with students with disabilities in special schools and why her attitude changed toward inclusive practices. They discuss her experience as […]

For this episode, Tim Villegas speaks with Russ Ewell, Founder of E-Soccer and Digital Scribbler, CEO of Hope Technology Group, host of the Lead Different Podcast, and father of children with disabilities. We discuss the characteristics of being an inclusive leader. And later in the interview he turns the tables on Tim and asks him […]

The following ten videos tell the stories of people who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC).