National Association of Special Education Teachers

The mission of The National Association of Special Education Teachers (NASET) is to render all possible support and assistance to professionals who teach children with special needs. NASET seeks to promote standards of excellence and innovation in...

[nasetmembers]

Membership to The National Association of Special Education Teachers includes access to 50 free online courses.

One of the great things about being a member of NASET it the online courses.   Your membership includes access to 50 free online courses, which provide a certificate once completed.

Here is a sampling of some of the free courses included:

ALTERNATE TESTING MODIFICATIONS

Alternate Testing Modifications - As an educator you will frequently be asked about the need for a student to have some type of modifications on their IEP. Alternate testing techniques are modifications that take into account the individual needs of a child having a disability and as a result modify testing or classroom procedures or formats. These modifications attempt to provide these students with equal opportunity to participate in testing or classroom situations. These techniques must appear on the student's IEP and provide the opportunity to demonstrate a child with a disability’s mastery of skills without being unfairly restricted by the presence of that disability. Children classified by the IEP Committee are entitled to alternate testing and classroom modifications as long as there is substantiated evidence for such a need in the testing or background of the child. There are no limits as to the number of modifications, but only include them in the IEP if they will enable the child to be more successful in school. This course will provide an overview test alternative techniques and modifications.

ANNUAL REVIEW AND TRIENNIAL REVIEW PROCESS

Annual Review and Triennial Review Process - The Teacher’s Role - A very important role for the special education teacher is demonstrated in the annual review and triennial review process. These reviews are a legal responsibility of the district and must be provided to all classified students who reside within the school district. As you are aware, the Annual Review involves a yearly evaluation by the district’s IEP Committee of the student's classification and educational program. Included in these two general areas are a review of related services provided, the need to add or remove test modifications, parents concerns or requests, academic progress, transportation needs, goals and objectives and the development of a new IEP for the upcoming school year. The Triennial Review Process involves the complete reevaluation of a child classified with a disability every 3 years in order to determine whether or not the conditions upon which the original classification was determined are still evident. This course will prepare you with all the knowledge of what materials and information you will need to make a professional presentation at each of these meetings.

AUDITORY PROCESSING DISORDER - STAFF DEVELOPMENT BRIEF

Auditory Processing Disorder - Staff Development Brief - Auditory processing is a term used to describe what happens when your brain recognizes and interprets the sounds around you. Humans hear when energy that we recognize as sound travels through the ear and is changed into electrical information that can be interpreted by the brain. The "disorder" part of auditory processing disorder means that something is adversely affecting the processing or interpretation of the information. This Staff Development Brief will provide you with a good overview of auditory processing disorder.

BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS: INTERVENTION STRATEGIES

Behavior Problems:  Intervention Strategies - We hear more and more today about the chronic behavior problems of students in our schools. Some of these students have disabilities, some do not. Each needs and deserves help in learning how to behave both in school and outside of school. This course is meant to help schools answer the question, "What does the research tell us?" about promising interventions for students with a history of behavior problems. It's important to know that there is a tremendous body of research available on this subject, covering a wide variety of students, situations, and settings. It is a short overview that you can use and adapt to help your students and develop your own programs. It is helpful to read the original research (such as the articles mentioned here) to learn the details of what works and why.

EMOTIONAL DISTURBANCE: CRITERIA FOR DETERMINING ELIGIBILITY FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION

Emotional Disturbance: Criteria for Determining Eligibility for Special Education - This course will provide you with the criteria and process used in the determination of special education eligibility for children with the suspected disability of emotional disturbance.  It is designed in a step-by-step format for the reader to gain a greater understanding of how diagnoses are made, and the specific requirements for eligibility.

EP (INDIVIDUAL EDUCATION PROGRAM): AN OVERVIEW

IEP (Individual Education Program) - Overview - As general education teachers involved with students with special needs you have been given a very important responsibility in the education of these children. Our experience has shown that the resistance to working with children with disabilities usually develops from a lack of understanding, education, and skill knowledge on the part of the teachers. Once general education teachers are provided these skills and knowledge they can offer a tremendous amount to students with special needs in an inclusion setting, a mainstream setting for a child in a special education class, or in collaboration with the resource room teacher who the child sees every day from your class.  The purpose of this course is to familiarize you with the Individual Education Plan (IEP) written for every child with special needs. While you may never be asked to write an IEP, you will provide certain information that will be included into the final version. In order to make this a very practical course we will assume nothing and explain everything that we feel you will need to know to have a working knowledge of this area of special education.

VIOLENCE AND DISASTERS: HELPING CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS COPE

Violence and Disasters: Helping Children and Adolescents Cope - Helping young people avoid or overcome emotional problems in the wake of violence or disaster is one of the most important challenges a parent, teacher, or mental health professional can face. Many agencies are working to address the issue of assisting children and adolescents who have been victims of or witnesses to violent and/or catastrophic events. The purpose of this course is to tell what is known about the impact of violence and disasters on children and adolescents and suggest steps to minimize long-term emotional harm. This course will provide educators with a very good overview and practical suggestions for helping students cope with this experience.

For more information about becoming a member of The National Association of Special Education, click here.

Follow NASET on Facebook.

Join our group of Special Educators.

[nasetmembers]

How To Identify Children with Attention Deficit Disorder in your Classroom

Introduction

Accurate and early diagnosis is crucial for the child with Attention Deficit Disorder.  This will facilitate a treatment plan and reduce the chances of secondary problems.  Follow the checklist below if you think the child in your room may have Attention Deficit Disorder. Compare the child's behavior to the following list of symptoms:

INATTENTION - AT LEAST THREE OF THE FOLLOWING:

___ The child often fails to finish things he or she starts. ___ The child often doesn't seem to listen. ___ The child is easily distracted. ___ The child has difficulty concentrating on schoolwork or other tasks requiring sustained attention. ___ The child has difficulty sticking to a play activity.

IMPULSIVITY - AT LEAST THREE OF THE FOLLOWING:

___ The child often acts before thinking. ___ The child shifts excessively from one activity to another. ___ The child has difficulty organizing work. ___ The child needs a lot of supervision. ___ The child frequently calls out in class. ___ The child has difficulty awaiting turn in games or group situations.

HYPERACTIVITY - AT LEAST TWO OF THE FOLLOWING:

___ The child runs about or climbs on things excessively. ___ The child has difficulty sitting still or fidgets excessively. ___ The child has difficulty staying seated. ___ The child moves about excessively during sleep. ___ The child is always "on the go" or acts as if "driven by a motor.” ___ Onset before the age of 7 ___ Duration of at least 6 months ___ Not due to schizophrenia, affective disorders (disturbance of mood) or profound retardation

See if the observed behaviors also appear in the classroom as well as other school areas.  If they do, ask the school psychologist to observe the child. If he/she agrees that such a possibility exists, have the psychologist notify the parent so that their doctor can examine the child.  He/she may suggest a neurological examination in order to determine the presence of the disorder.   Medication may or may not be suggested. If the disorder is diagnosed, meet with the parent and psychologist in order to plan a management program at home and in school.  If the disorder is serious and affects your child's ability to learn, he/she may need to be reviewed by your district's IEP Committee so that a suitable program can be determined. A full psychological and academic evaluation would also assist in determining a proper course of action. In conclusion, early diagnosis and active treatment will greatly enhance the child's opportunity for a meaningful and improved life both at home and in school.

For more information from our “How To” series, and access to many valuable tools you will use on a daily basis as a Special Education Teacher, join The National Association of Special Education Teachers at http://www.naset.org/benefits.0.html

[nasetmembers]

Definition

The Education of the Handicapped Act (P.L. 94-142), includes "hearing impairment" and "deafness" as two of the categories under which children with disabilities may be eligible for special education and related services programming. While the term "hearing impairment" is often used generically to describe a wide range of hearing losses, including deafness, the regulations for IDEA define hearing loss and deafness separately.

Hearing impairment is defined by IDEA as "an impairment in hearing, whether permanent or fluctuating, that adversely affects a child's educational performance."

Deafness is defined as "a hearing impairment that is so severe that the child is impaired in processing linguistic information through hearing, with or without amplification."

Thus, deafness may be viewed as a condition that prevents an individual from receiving sound in all or most of its forms. In contrast, a child with a hearing loss can generally respond to auditory stimuli, including speech.

Incidence

Available data indicate hearing loss affects a small percentage of children. In 2008, the prevalence of hearing loss among infants under 12 months was 0.1 percent, or about 1 diagnosed case per 1,000

screened. While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) does not collect hearing test data for children under age 12, other than EHDI data, federal surveys conducted from 2005 to 2009 estimated 3 percent or fewer of children nationwide under age 12 had hearing problems. Based on nationwide hearing examination data for youth aged 12–17 from 2005 to 2008, an estimated 1 percent had at least moderate hearing loss in one or both ears.

According to the Center for Hearing and Communication (2015) :

FACT: Approximately 12% of the U.S. population or 38 million Americans have a significant hearing loss.

FACT: Over 90% of deaf children are born to hearing parents.

FACT: 30-40% of people over 65 have some type of hearing loss

FACT: 14% of those ages 45-64 have some type of hearing loss

FACT: 15% of children between the ages of 6-19 have a measurable hearing loss in at least one ear.

FACT: Hearing loss occurs in 5 out of every 1,000 newborns.

FACT: Exposure to a noisy subway, for just 15 minutes a day overtime, can cause permanent damage to hearing over time.

FACT: Hearing aids can offer dramatic improvement for most people with hearing loss.

FACT: A mild hearing loss can cause a child to miss as much as 50% of classroom discussion.

FACT: Listening to an MP3 Player at high volumes over time can cause permanent damage to hearing.

FACT: With early identification and appropriate services, deaf children can develop communication skills at the same rate as their hearing peers.

FACT: Noise is one of the leading causes of hearing loss.

FACT: Tinnitus (ringing in the ears) affects 50 million people in the United States.

FACT: Babies are never too young to have their hearing tested.

FACT: Speech -reading is the more current word for lip-reading.

FACT: People with hearing loss wait an average of 7 years before seeking help.

FACT: Only 16% of physicians routinely screen for hearing loss.

FACT: 15 million people in the United States with hearing loss avoid seeking help.

FACT: 1 out of 3 people over age 65 have some degree of hearing loss.

FACT: Approximately 3 million children in the U.S. have a hearing loss; 1.3 million of them are under the age of three.

Hearing loss affects 38 million people in the United States. Hearing loss can occur at birth or can develop at any age. There have been many advances in all aspects of hearing health care so that from the youngest infant to the eldest senior citizen, there are new and exciting options available to help. Treatment options vary depending on the degree or type of hearing loss, age of onset and individual lifestyle needs. If you suspect that you or a family member has a hearing loss, the best place to start is with a hearing evaluation by a licensed audiologist.

- See more at: chchearing.org/facts-about-hearing-loss/

Characteristics

It is useful to know that sound is measured by its loudness or intensity (measured in units called decibels, dB) and its frequency or pitch (measured in units called hertz, Hz). Impairments in hearing can occur in either or both areas, and may exist in only one ear or in both ears. Hearing loss is generally described as slight, mild, moderate, severe, or profound, depending upon how well a person can hear the intensities or frequencies most greatly associated with speech. Generally, only children whose hearing loss is greater than 90 decibels (dB) are considered deaf for the purposes of educational placement.

There are four types of hearing loss. Conductive hearing losses are caused by diseases or obstructions in the outer or middle ear (the conduction pathways for sound to reach the inner ear). Conductive hearing losses usually affect all frequencies of hearing evenly and do not result in severe losses. A person with a conductive hearing loss usually is able to use a hearing aid well or can be helped medically or surgically.

Sensorineural hearing losses result from damage to the delicate sensory hair cells of the inner ear or the nerves which supply it. These hearing losses can range from mild to profound. They often affect the person's ability to hear certain frequencies more than others. Thus, even with amplification to increase the sound level, a person with a sensorineural hearing loss may perceive distorted sounds, sometimes making the successful use of a hearing aid impossible.

A mixed hearing loss refers to a combination of conductive and sensorineural loss and means that a problem occurs in both the outer or middle and the inner ear. A central hearing loss results from damage or impairment to the nerves or nuclei of the central nervous system, either in the pathways to the brain or in the brain itself.

Educational Implications

Hearing loss or deafness does not affect a person's intellectual capacity or ability to learn. However, children who are either hard of hearing or deaf generally require some form of special education services in order to receive an adequate education. Such services may include:

regular speech, language, and auditory training from a specialist;

amplification systems;

services of an interpreter for those students who use sign language;

favorable seating in the class to facilitate lip reading;

captioned films/videos;

assistance of a notetaker, who takes notes for the student with a hearing loss, so that the student can fully attend to instruction;

instruction for the teacher and peers in alternate communication methods, such as sign language; and counseling.

Children who are hard of hearing will find it much more difficult than children who have normal hearing to learn vocabulary, grammar, word order, idiomatic expressions, and other aspects of verbal communication. For children who are deaf or have severe hearing losses, early, consistent, and conscious use of visible communication modes (such as sign language, fingerspelling, and Cued Speech) and/or amplification and aural/oral training can help reduce this language delay. By age four or five, most children who are deaf are enrolled in school on a full-day basis and do special work on communication and language development. It is important for teachers and audiologists to work together to teach the child to use his or her residual hearing to the maximum extent possible, even if the preferred means of communication is manual. Since the great majority of deaf children (over 90%) are born to hearing parents, programs should provide instruction for parents on implications of deafness within the family.

People with hearing loss use oral or manual means of communication or a combination of the two. Oral communication includes speech, lip reading and the use of residual hearing. Manual communication involves signs and fingerspelling. Total Communication, as a method of instruction, is a combination of the oral method plus signing and fingerspelling.

Individuals with hearing loss, including those who are deaf, now have many helpful devices available to them. Text telephones (known as TTs, TTYs, orTDDs) enable persons to type phone messages over the telephone network. The Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS), now required by law, makes it possible for TT users to communicate with virtually anyone (and vice versa) via telephone. Dial 711 to access all TRSs anywhere in the United States. The relay service is free.

Organizations

Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing 3417 Volta Place, NW Washington, DC 20007 202.337.5220 (V); 202.337.5221 (TTY) E-mail: [email protected] Web: www.agbell.org

American Society for Deaf Children P.O. Box 3355 Gettysburg, PA 17325 800.942.2732 (V/TTY); 717.334.7922 (V/TTY) E-mail: [email protected] Web: www.deafchildren.org

American Speech-Language Hearing Association 10801 Rockville Pike Rockville, MD 20852 301.897.5700 (V/TTY); 800.638.8255 (V/TTY) Web: www.asha.org

Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center KDES PAS-6, Gallaudet University 800 Florida Avenue N.E. Washington, DC 20002-3695 202.651.5051 (V/TTY) E-mail: [email protected] Web: http://clerccenter.gallaudet.edu/InfoToGo/index.html

National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders Information Clearinghouse 1 Communication Avenue Bethesda, MD 20892-3456 800.241.1044 (V); 800.241.1055 (TTY) E-mail: [email protected] Web: www.nidcd.nih.gov/

Self Help for Hard of Hearing People (SHHH) 7910 Woodmont Avenue, Suite 1200 Bethesda, MD 20814 301.657-2248 (V); 301.657.2249 (TTY) E-mail: [email protected] Web: www.hearingloss.org

This article is an excerpt from the National Association of Special Education Teacher’s “Severe Disabilities” series.  For more articles like these and to become a member, visit www.naset.org .

[nasetmembers]

There are many roles that kids can play in bullying. Kids can bully others, they can be bullied, or they may witness bullying. When kids are involved in bullying, they often play more than one role. Sometimes kids may both be bullied and bully others or they may witness other kids being bullied. It is important to understand the multiple roles kids play in order to effectively prevent and respond to bullying. This issue of NASET’s Bullying of Childrencomes from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services and will focus on the roles children play in bullying.

There are many roles that kids can play in bullying. Kids can bully others, they can be bullied, or they may witness bullying. When kids are involved in bullying, they often play more than one role. Sometimes kids may both be bullied and bully others or they may witness other kids being bullied. It is important to understand the multiple roles kids play in order to effectively prevent and respond to bullying.

Importance of Not Labeling Kids

When referring to a bullying situation, it is easy to call the kids who bully others "bullies" and those who are targeted "victims," but this may have unintended consequences. When children are labeled as "bullies" or "victims" it may:

Send the message that the child's behavior cannot change

Fail to recognize the multiple roles children might play in different bullying situations

Disregard other factors contributing to the behavior such as peer influence or school climate

Instead of labeling the children involved, focus on the behavior. For instance:

Instead of calling a child a "bully," refer to them as "the child who bullied"

Instead of calling a child a "victim," refer to them as "the child who was bullied"

Instead of calling a child a "bully/victim," refer to them as "the child who was both bullied and bullied others."

Kids Involved in Bullying

The roles kids play in bullying are not limited to those who bully others and those who are bullied. Some researchers talk about the "circle of bullying" to define both those directly involved in bullying and those who actively or passively assist the behavior or defend against it. Direct roles include:

Kids who Bully: These children engage in bullying behavior towards their peers. There are many risk factors that may contribute to the child's involvement in the behavior. Often, these students require support to change their behavior and address any other challenges that may be influencing their behavior.

Kids who are Bullied: These children are the targets of bullying behavior. Some factors put children at more risk of being bullied, but not all children with these characteristics will be bullied. Sometimes, these children may need help learning how to respond to bullying.

Even if a child is not directly involved in bullying, they may be contributing to the behavior. Witnessing the behavior may also affect the child, so it is important for them to learn what they should do when they see bullying happen. Roles kids play when they witness bullying include:

Kids who Assist: These children may not start the bullying or lead in the bullying behavior, but serve as an "assistant" to children who are bullying. These children may encourage the bullying behavior and occasionally join in.

Kids who Reinforce: These children are not directly involved in the bullying behavior but they give the bullying an audience. They will often laugh or provide support for the children who are engaging in bullying. This may encourage the bullying to continue.

Outsiders: These children remain separate from the bullying situation. They neither reinforce the bullying behavior nor defend the child being bullied. Some may watch what is going on but do not provide feedback about the situation to show they are on anyone’s side. Even so, providing an audience may encourage the bullying behavior. These kids often want to help, but don’t know how. Learn how to be "more than a bystander."

Kids who Defend: These children actively comfort the child being bullied and may come to the child's defense when bullying occurs.

Most kids play more than one role in bullying over time. In some cases, they may be directly involved in bullying as the one bullying others or being bullied and in others they may witness bullying and play an assisting or defending role. Every situation is different. Some kids are both bullied and bully others. It is important to note the multiple roles kids play, because:

Those who are both bullied and bully others may be at more risk for negative outcomes, such as depression or suicidal ideation.

It highlights the need to engage all kids in prevention efforts, not just those who are known to be directly involved

For access to our complete series on Bullying and to find out more about membership to The National Association of Special Education teachers, click here.

[nasetmembers]

Apps For Special Education Teachers

In our changing world, many educators are utilizing apps to help them complete many of the tasks that teachers deal with on a daily basis.  Apps can be helpful for helping Special Education teachers to stay organized and productive.  The National Association of Special Education teachers has developed the following apps, which are available for purchase on iTunes:

IEP Goals, & Objective with Common Core State Standards

NASET has updated its very popular IEP Goals and Objectives app. This vastly updated application allows you to easily build a list of students, and for each one, choose & build a list of IEP Annual Goals, Short Term and Behavioral Objectives, that include Common Core State Standards (CCSS). For each behavioral objective, you are provided with the option to add a Mastery Level. The output of each student's list of Goals and Objectives can then be sent by email or text message.

This App Allows You to:

Build a list of students and then save, edit, add, and/or delete selected Goals and Objectives that are unique for each student

Develop multiple Goals and Objectives for each student

Export the assembled annual goals, short term objectives and behavioral objectives for each student via email or text message

Plan certain significant components of each student's educational curriculum

Build an exportable list of enrichment experiences to enhance each student's development from a list of over 2,700 Suggested Activities

What's New in this Version:

More than double the number of Annual Goals and Short Term Objectives from which to choose

Includes Common Core State Standards (CCSS)

Optional Mastery Level selections offered for each Behavioral Objective

Allows you to build a list of students and then save the selections of goals and objectives for each student

Easier to use the collected choices by including the student's first name in the final behavioral objectives list that you compile

More flexibility that allows you to add, delete and/or edit the selected goals and objectives

Watch a video demo of our app:  https://youtu.be/1EFsu2g1hXY

Read an impartial review of our app:  http://www.lessonplanet.com/professional-development/courses/ed-tech-iep-goals-and-objectives-with-ccss

Download the app:  https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=570070557&mt=8

Special Education Dictionary

The NASET Special Education Dictionary gives you thousands of terms used in special education with their respective definitions and easy-to-understand explanations. This practical app is the most comprehensive dictionary available in special education. You can look up any definition by means of the main search or alphabetical search. If you work in the field of special education or are a parent of a child with special needs, you should have the NASET Special Education Dictionary in your app library.

Features:

Thousands of special education terms and definitions at your fingertips

Extremely clear and simple definitions are easy for anyone to understand

Complete sentence-based definitions in English

Alphabetical scroll list and or search options

Export terms and definitions by message, email, Facebook, Twitter and even copy to device clipboard

Download the app: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/parent-teacher-handouts/id669833262?ls=1&mt=8

Parent Teacher Handouts Application for iPhone and iPad

Parent/Teacher conferences are an integral part of being a special education teacher and afford the opportunity to communicate very important information to a parent that will facilitate the progress of his/her child. As a result, many parents may not remember what exactly was said at the meeting and these handouts can easily reinforce the discussion in a very concrete manner.

NASET's Parent Teacher Conference Handout Collection provides over 90 handouts covering a wide variety of topics that are discussed by teachers and parents on a daily basis. From this application you will be able to select and then; view, print, download, or email your selection(s).

The Parent Teacher Conference Handouts provided cover a variety of topics in special education. These handouts can be given at the end of parent teacher conferences, to reinforce concepts and help parents further understand information discussed at the conference. They are also useful in answering parent inquiries or providing tips to parents on how they can assist their child with his/her education. These handouts will provide you with a means of educating parents, delivering requested information, providing clarity, reducing misinformation & speculation on the parts of parents. It also helps to present you as a source of guidance, information, and assistance to all the parents of children in your class.

Download the app: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/parent-teacher-handouts/id669833262?ls=1&mt=8

To learn about becoming a member of the National Association of Special Education visit http://www.naset.org/benefits.0.html

[nasetmembers]

Here are the particulars of what IDEA requires public agencies to do when scheduling any IEP meeting. IDEA’s provisions involve both common sense and courtesy, and are intended to ensure that parents have every opportunity to attend the meeting and contribute. The provisions are not new to the 2004 Amendments to IDEA, so if you’re familiar with the law already, this will no doubt be familiar, too. In a nutshell, the school and parents have to agree when and where they are going to meet.

IDEA’s Exact Words

IDEA’s provisions regarding parent participation state:

Each public agency must take steps to ensure that one or both of the parents of a child with a disability are present at each IEP Team meeting or are afforded the opportunity to participate… [§300.322(a)]

This includes:

(1) Notifying parents of the meeting early enough to ensure that they will have an opportunity to attend; and

(2) Scheduling the meeting at a mutually agreed on time and place.  [§300.322(a)(1) and (2)]

Notifying Parents of the Meeting

The public agency’s notification to parents must tell parents:

the purpose, time, and location of the meeting

who will be at the meeting

that parents and public agencies have the right to invite other people with knowledge or special expertise about the child, including related services personnel as appropriate, and that the party inviting the individual makes the determination that the invitee possesses the requisite knowledge or special expertise regarding the child

that the parents may request that the Part C service coordinator or other representatives of the Part C system be invited to attend the initial IEP meeting for a child previously served under Part C of the Act in accordance with §300.321(f).

Knowing each of these elements in advance of the meeting gives parents the opportunity to prepare and more fully participate in meeting discussions and decisions. For example:

The purpose of an IEP meeting can vary—What is the purpose of this meeting? Is the team going to talk about transition services for a child approaching school exit? Or is the primary focus going to be services for next year, or the child’s progress or lack of progress this year? These purposes are quite different from one another, and so would be the discussions arising from them.

Who will attend the meeting can also vary. Although the LEA must ensure that specific types of individuals are represented on the IEP team—including not less than one special education teacher of the child (or where appropriate, not less than one special education provider of the child)—it is the public agency that determines who the actual individuals attending will be. Will it be Mrs. Brown or Mr. Smith? Perhaps the school is planning to invite a specialist to the meeting or someone that the school has the right to include with knowledge or special expertise about the child, such as a related services provider. All such information must be included in the parent notification.

The parent’s right to invite individuals with knowledge or special expertise regarding the child is another item that must be included in the notification the public agency sends to parents to let them know of an upcoming IEP meeting. As discussed in our article The IEP Team, parents may wish to invite someone who has special knowledge about the child or who has some expertise to contribute to shaping the IEP, and the IDEA provides them the right to do so, if they so choose. If parents do invite such a person, he or she needs to have “knowledge or special expertise” about the child, and the party inviting the person—in this case, the parents—decides whether the individual meets that criterion. IDEA does not require that parents let the school know who they might be inviting to join the IEP team, but it may be a matter of courtesy and good teamwork to do so.

The public agency also has the right to invite individuals with knowledge or special expertise regarding the child. If the agency does invite such an individual to join the IEP team, it is the agency who determines whether the individual has the requisite “knowledge or special expertise” about the child. The public agency must inform parents that this person will be attending the IEP meeting.

What if Parents Can’t Attend?

If parents cannot attend the IEP meeting, then the public agency is required to use “other methods to ensure parent participation, including individual or conference telephone calls” [§300.322(c)] and other alternative means such as video conferences (§300.328). IDEA permits such alternatives if parents and the public agency agree to use alternative methods of meeting participation (§300.328).

IDEA includes provisions that permit the public agency to hold an IEP meeting without the parents in attendance (either in person or via alternative methods), but this may only occur if the public agency has been unable to convince the parents to attend and has documented all such attempts to do so.

What Type of Documentation Is Needed?

Very detailed documentation! If the public agency has not been able to convince the parents to attend, then the agency must keep a record of its attempts to arrange a mutually agreed-on time and place, such as—

Detailed records of telephone calls made or attempted and the results of those calls;

Copies of correspondence sent to the parents and any responses received; and

Detailed records of visits made to the parent’s home or place of employment and the results of those visits. [§300.322(d)]

In other words, the public agency may conduct an IEP meeting without a parent in attendance if it makes attempts to secure participation and documents the attempts it has made to convince the parent to attend the meeting.

For access to more articles like this, join us and become a member of the National Association of Special Education Teachers at http://www.naset.org/benefits.0.html

You may also download our newly updated “IEP Goals, & Objective with Common Core State Standards” app for iPhone and iPad at https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=570070557&mt=8

[nasetmembers]

How To Reassure Parents about Learning Disabilities 

Myth vs. Reality about Learning Disabilities 

Myth 1. People with LD are not very smart. 

Reality: Kids with learning disabilities are just as smart as other kids. Intelligence has nothing to do with LD. In fact, people with LD have average to above average intelligence. Many have intellectual, artistic, or other abilities that permit them to be defined as gifted. Studies indicate that as many as 33% of students with LD are gifted. 

Myth 2. LD is just an excuse for irresponsible, unmotivated, or lazy people. 

Reality: LD is caused by neurological impairments, not character flaws. For some people with LD, the effort required to get through a day can be exhausting in and of itself. The motivation required to do what others take for granted is enormous. Learning disabilities are problems in processing words or information, causing otherwise bright and capable children to have difficulty learning. The disabilities involve language—reading, writing, speaking, and/or listening. 

Myth 3. LD only affects children. Adults grow out of the disorders. 

Reality: It is now known that the effects of LD continue throughout the individual’s lifespan and “may even intensify in adulthood as tasks and environmental demands change” (Michaels, 1994). Sadly, many adults, especially older adults, have never been formally diagnosed with LD. Learning disabilities cannot be outgrown, but they can be identified reliably in kindergarten or first-grade children, or even earlier. Research clearly demonstrates that the earlier a child is given appropriate help for a learning disability, the more successful the outcome. 

Myth 4. The terms dyslexia and learning disability are the same thing. 

Reality: Dyslexia is a type of learning disability. It is not another term for learning disability. It is a specific language-based disorder affecting a person’s ability to read, write, and verbally express him or herself. Unfortunately, careless use of the term dyslexia has expanded so that it has become, for some people, an equivalent for LD. Four out of five children identified with a learning disability are diagnosed with a reading disability (or dyslexia). They have trouble learning how spoken language translates into written text. Since every subject—including math—requires reading and writing, a reading disability affects all of a person’s school-based learning. 

Myth 5. Learning disabilities are only academic in nature. They do not affect other areas of a person’s life. 

Reality: Some people with learning disabilities have isolated difficulties in reading, writing, or mathematics. However, most people with learning disabilities have more than one area of difficulty. Dr. Larry Silver asserts that “learning disabilities are life disabilities.” He writes, “the same disabilities that interfere with reading, writing, and arithmetic also will interfere with sports and other activities, family life, and getting along with friends.” (Silver, 1998) 

Some children have good verbal (language) skills but weaknesses in visual and spatial perception, motor skills and, most significantly, social skills—affecting their ability to grasp the main idea, “see the whole picture,” or understand cause-and-effect relationships.

Many children with LD struggle with organization, attention, and memory. One-third of them may also have an attention deficit disorder—difficulty in regulating attention effectively, paying attention as needed, and shifting attention to another task, when required. Children with LD are creative and resourceful, and can frequently be characterized as gifted and as alternative thinkers. They are often very smart, and typically have strengths and talents that differ from the skills emphasized in school. With recognition of their difficulties, appropriate help, and the development of their interests and talents, children with LD can learn to succeed both in school and beyond.

Myth 6.  Adults with LD cannot succeed in higher education.

Reality: More and more adults with LD are going to college or university and succeeding. With the proper accommodations and support, adults with learning disabilities can be successful at higher education.

Myth 7.  Children with LD are identified in kindergarten and first grade. 

Reality: Learning disabilities often go unrecognized for years; most are not identified until third grade. Bright children can “mask” their difficulties, and some kinds of learning problems may not surface until middle school, high school, or even college.

Myth 8.  More boys than girls have learning disabilities.

Reality: Although three times more boys than girls are identified by schools as having learning disabilities, research studies show that, in fact, equal numbers of boys and girls have the most common form of learning problem—difficulty with reading. Many girls’learning difficulties are neither identified nor treated.

For access to more articles like this, join us and become a member of the National Association of Special Education Teachers at http://www.naset.org/benefits.0.html

[nasetmembers]

Introduction

The increased use of paraprofessionals in a variety of educational settings has resulted in the need for teachers and other educational professionals (nurses, speech-language pathologists, occupational/physical therapists) to assume the tasks of supervising these individuals. Being a qualified educational professional, however, does not automatically translate into being equally prepared to supervise another adult. In too many cases, this new role is undertaken with little or no training or previous knowledge of supervisory skills. Current state and federal legislation emphasizes the importance of adequate supervision for paraprofessionals, and those charged with supervision must learn strategies for directing the work of the paraprofessional to improve student achievement. This issue of NASET’s Working with Paraprofessionals in Your School provides information on the principles of supervision and establishing an effective supervisory relationship whose ultimate goal is success of the child in the school setting.

Thoughts on Supervision

Supervision is one of those words that by definition and common use is assumed to be consistent and constant. Yet when actually put into practice, supervision strategies differ greatly from one program to another. Most classroom teachers have experienced supervision in the form of an administrator sitting through a pre-arranged observation, providing written and verbal feedback, and then returning at a later date to repeat the process. Many other educational professionals have experienced supervisory practices that have included coaching, instructional dialogues, and even instructional modeling. The educators who mentor or supervise paraprofessionals share invaluable knowledge and skills and build an effective partnership with shared power, clear mutual expectations, and open communication.

To clarify the basis for selecting material for this manual, it is important to share some thoughts and general assumptions about supervision. In fact, the first element of effective supervision is to be aware of personal beliefs, philosophy, and attitudes about supervision and share them with the paraprofessionals supervised.

1. Not everyone wants, or needs, to be supervised in the same way. There is no single right way to supervise. Your supervision practices should be flexible enough to match your paraprofessional’s need for oversight and guidance.

2. Supervision is an on-going process, not a product. This means that supervision is proactive rather than reactive. Reactive supervision works to neutralize or repair a problem. In proactive supervision, interactions are based on goal setting, understanding the uniqueness of each person’s roles and responsibilities, and an analysis of each individual’s effectiveness, competencies, and style.

3. Supervision, when effective, results in change. As the process evolves, changes will occur in the development of additional skills and competencies for both the paraprofessional and the educator-supervisor. Be prepared to accept the dynamic nature of supervision by expecting and preparing for new responsibilities to shift from the educator to the paraprofessional. It is important to acknowledge the personal growth experienced by the educator-supervisor and paraprofessional.

4. Supervision is a relationship-centered process. Effective supervision and constructive feedback require frequent interactions over an extended period of time. As all teachers know, 180 days can either seem to go by quickly or last forever depending on how each day flows. Expanded duties, coupled with less direct instructional time, make it pertinent that the educational professional and paraprofessional trust and respect each other and the job that each one is doing.

EXPECTATIONS OF THE TEACHER –SUPERVISOR*

As an educator-supervisor of a paraprofessional you will be expected to:

Orient the paraprofessional to the school

Train the paraprofessional to use instructional and management approaches

Schedule and plan the assignments for the paraprofessional’s day

Communicate regularly with the paraprofessional

Delegate tasks and direct their implementation

Provide skill development opportunities

Provide feedback of the paraprofessional’s job performance.

* Supervision expectations may vary based on the disciplines and applicable  state requirements shall be followed (e.g. nursing).

OVERVIEW OF A SUPERVISION PLAN

The National Joint Committee on Learning Disabilities (1998) recommended the following as a minimal set of guidelines for direct supervision of paraprofessionals:

♦ The first 10 hours in which the paraprofessional has direct contact with a student should be observed and supervised by the teacher.

♦ After that initial period, at least 10 percent of the supportive instructional sessions conducted by the paraprofessional should be supervised to ensure continuity of instruction and program.  Using these guidelines the teacher is also able to guarantee contact with the child involved as well as direct interaction with the paraprofessional.

♦ There must be on-going communication on at least a weekly basis between the teacher and the paraprofessional during which data pertaining to the student’s progress are reviewed.

BARRIERS TO EFFECTIVE SUPERVISION

1. Inadequate feedback is provided to the paraprofessional. Feedback which is subjective rather than objective or which is provided infrequently can be considered inadequate.

2. The paraprofessional’s lack of commitment. Lack of commitment to the program or to the educator will undermine the program and increase frustration in carrying out one’s role as educator-supervisor.

3. The educator’s or paraprofessional’s attitudes about supervision are negative.For instance, if one or the other believes that supervision is solely for the purpose of evaluation, the relationship will become more reactive than proactive.

4. Inter-role conflict can occur when there is a belief that each individual’s role, although different, is equal. Such a belief demonstrates that there is a poor understanding of roles and responsibilities. In addition, conflict will arise when one individual has a strong interest in maintaining the status quo and rejects a process that will lead to change in the form of growth and improvement. An individual who views change as a personal loss may view supervision as a threat.

5. The organizational structure of the school may not support effective supervision. In schools where the climate does not encourage change, there will be little or no time set aside for team planning and feedback. Rather than rewarding the efforts of the team to work as a unit toward change, the organization may present barriers in the form of time constraints, negative feedback, or increasingly burdensome student loads.

We hope that you found this issue of NASET’s Working with Paraprofessionals in Your School to be a very practical and helpful publication.  NASET thanks the Virginia Department of Education for the use of information from research gathered through the Virginia Department of Education, Division of Special Education and Student Services.  

For access to more articles like this, become a member of the National Association of Special Education Teachers at http://www.naset.org/benefits.0.html

[nasetmembers]

This guide offers teachers the insight into the inner dynamics, conflicts, fears, symptoms, tension, and so on of students who may be experiencing difficulty learning or behaving in the classroom. This guide is like having a psychologist in the classroom, and assists teachers in fully understanding the causes of behavioral and learning problems that they observe on a daily basis, along with practical suggestions for dealing with these issues.

As a special education teacher you will come in contact with a variety of personality types in the classroom. For the most part, teachers are put on the firing line with little or no training in why children do what they do. They are expected to help children learn but are not trained in understanding the numerous dynamic obstacles that prevent children from reaching this objective. Most teachers have not taken courses on human nature and dynamics and are not aware of symptomatic behavior and what is means. This lack of understanding creates immense frustration which only hinders the teacher’s progress in working with fostering children’s academic success.

All teachers need to understand the inner workings of children who are experiencing trouble in school. Understanding what causes children to choose certain behavioral patterns can help reach them sooner and prevent long lasting scars.

Why Children Have Low Activity Levels

Academic Possibilities:  When children are failing at school, they become very nervous and anxious.  Their inability to succeed creates a state of tension because they are not as good as everyone else.  This anxiety and tension then becomes manifested as a  low activity level because they have given up and no longer feel they can succeed.

Environmental Possibilities:  There are times when children have families where everyone is a success.  Because of this, the child feels the need to do great things.  When the child can’t do what he thinks the family wants or what he feels he needs to do to maintain status within the family, he learns to give up.  Then, his activity level decreases.  Also, some children live in homes where the activity level is very low.  They see everyone in their families with very little, if any, motivation and drive.  Unfortunately, this behavior is all they know. They then model the behavior from learned at home.

Intellectual Possibilities:  Children with low levels of intelligence may have very low activity levels.  Their intellectual ability prevents them from doing as well as other students.  This can create a sense of failure on their part.  Consequently, they begin to give up, creating after a while, lower energy levels.

Language Possibilities:  Not applicable

Medical Possibilities:  Children with certain biochemical problems may have lower energy levels because of a medical condition.  Also, medications can create fatigue and drowsiness.  The side effects may decrease energy level.

Perceptual Possibilities:  Not applicable

Psychological Possibilities:  One of the classic signs of depression is a very low activity level.  When children are depressed, energy levels become very limited.  Their feelings of sadness about certain issues create a state of learned helplessness whereby energy becomes depleted and drained.  Also, when children feel uptight and nervous about things going on in their lives, it can create low activity levels.  Psychologically, low activity levels can be a sign that a child is feeling unsure of himself, and it is being expressed in behavioral ways.

Social Possibilities:  Some children have low levels of activity because they are not accepted by their peers or lack social skills which could give them positive reinforcement.  They may want to fit in with the crowd but cannot seem to do so.  They become socially isolated and withdraw from social activities.  The energy they may have once had to be socially involved is no longer available.

WHAT TO DO WHEN THIS HAPPENS

Meet with the school nurse to see if there are any conditions or factors (i.e. medication) that might be contributing to the child’s low activity levels.

Remember that a child with low activity levels may behave in this manner for some protective reason.  Therefore, attempting to force him into a social situation will probably only create tremendous conflict, anxiety, and tension.

Meet with the school psychologist to determine whether there are any extenuating circumstances for the low activity level (i.e. home issues, trauma, and previous academic failure).

Understand that in order for a child to increase his activity level, he must feel comfortable and feel confident in the classroom.  Confidence is a process that is built over a period of time and results from repeated successful experiences. The child with a low activity level needs a foundation of successful experiences as well as the appropriate social tools in order to be an active participant in the classroom.

Meet with child on a one to one basis in a comfortable setting. Explain to the child that you are aware of the difficulty he has in both academic and/or social situations and that you want to help.

Have the child work in groups so that the group energy creates excitement for him.  Have the group work on some simple goal oriented task that will ensure success. This will give the child the feeling of unity and group accomplishment.

Provide the student with many different types of small group activities so that he has the opportunity to work with all the members of his class.  For instance, have the child work on a social studies project with one small group of children, and then work on a science project with a different small group.

Keep in mind that you need to assign these groups and monitor the interactions to ensure protection and success.

Speak with the school psychologist about having the child join a small group for social skills to increase activity levels. These types of controlled groups can help the child learn to interact and build skills in a safe and monitored environment.

If necessary, discuss with the school psychologist about the possibility of setting up a behavior modification program for the child in the classroom so that reinforcement is delivered in an appropriate manner.

If the problem persists to the point where it is affecting the child’s everyday functioning, his situation should be brought up to the Child Study Team in the school so that his situation is appropriately evaluated

Why Children Are Verbally Aggressive

Academic Possibilities:  Some children may lash out verbally at others due to poor academic performance.  Their inability to succeed in school becomes overwhelming and they displace this frustration and feelings of inadequacy towards others through verbal aggression.

Environment Possibilities:  Unfortunately, some children are verbally aggressive due to inappropriate modeling behavior on the part of their parents.  They go home and see mom or dad being verbally aggressive towards each other and other family members.  This is the only way they have learned about how to handle difficult situations.  Consequently, it becomes a “monkey see, monkey do” type of approach to handling life’s difficult situations.

Intellectual Possibilities:  Intelligence involves many verbal qualities.  For those with below average intelligence, the ability to express their needs and wants in a socially appropriate manner is a problem.  Consequently, they release their feelings through verbal aggression.

Language Possibilities:  Children who are bilingual or have language difficulties may be very frustrated with school.  Because they are lacking in language skills or just having difficulties with language processing, they become extremely upset.  Often, they will not know how to deal with all of this tension, so that choose verbally abusive/harsh language to express their feelings.

Medical Possibilities:  A child with a medical condition may feel as though life has treated him unfairly.  He feels that he has been given “a raw deal” and decides that he will take out his anger and frustrations through verbal means.

Perceptual Possibilities:  Perceptual problems can lead to great frustration in all areas of life. For some children, the only way they know how to handle their anger is to become verbally aggressive.

Psychological Possibilities: Some children have psychological problems which cause them to be very hostile and aggressive.  Because of their “short fuse”, they have tendencies to scream at others as soon as something bothers them.  Often, this is due to a lack of restraint and an inability to control their emotions.

Social Possibilities:  Some children do not know “how to play with others.” They have to do things their way or no way at all.  When they do not get their way, they become very upset and/or hostile.  They then may express these feelings through verbal aggression.

WHAT TO DO WHEN THIS HAPPENS

Remain calm and intervene immediately before the verbal aggressiveness escalates to a serious situation.

Discuss the situation with the child and explain what is and is not appropriate in the classroom.

Speak to the child about his impact upon others. Explain how his behavior is creating numerous problems not only for himself but for all others in the classroom.

If necessary, contact the parents for an appointment about the child’s aggressive behavior.

Go over the class rules with the child explaining why these rules are set.

Explain the consequences of the child’s behavior if this continues.

Discuss with the school psychologist whether there are any underlying familial or emotional problems which the child is currently facing.

Help the child to verbalize his feelings.  Often children who are aggressive may have difficulties verbalizing what they are feeling and they then act out these frustrations through aggressive acts. Provide appropriate emotional labels that may identify what the child is feeling. Once children have the appropriate labels for their feelings they can communicate their frustration rather than act it out.

Be sure to not put the child down in from of his classmates.  This will only embarrass the child and keep him just as angry, if not angrier.

If necessary, discuss with the school psychologist about the possibility of setting up a behavior modification program for the child in the classroom so that reinforcement is delivered in an appropriate manner.

If the problem persists to the point where it is affecting the child’s everyday functioning, his situation should be brought up to the Child Study Team in the school so that his situation is appropriately evaluated.

Why Some Children Become Easily Angered, Annoyed or Upset

Academic Possibilities:  Academic frustration and failure over a period of time will reduce a child’s sense of self worth, confidence, and drain energy for patience and motivation. As a result, perspective is quickly lost when faced with a real or perceived academic failure situation and overreaction occurs.

Environmental Possibilities:  Some children who come from homes where parents are over reactive, highly critical or easily agitated may exhibit this same behavior in school. They learn to deal with frustration in this manner and react to many situations with anger, annoyance or overreaction.

Intellectual Possibilities:  Children with limited intellectual capacity may show these symptoms as a result of ongoing frustration due to their limitations.

Language Possibilities:  Same as Academic

Medical Possibilities:  Some children may become angry or easily annoyed due to a chemical imbalance.  If there is a medical, neurological or organic problem, lower levels of tolerance than other children may be exhibited.

Perceptual Possibilities:  Same as Academic

Psychological Possibilities:  Children who are vulnerable as a result of a dysfunctional or abusive home may use anger or annoyance as a protective defense against the perceived possibility of criticism, rejection or devaluation. Expression of these emotions can indicate the presence of very low energy levels. These low energy levels may have been drained by high levels of tension resulting from serious emotional problems.  Also, some children who exhibit these symptoms may be suffering from explosive personality disorders or oppositional defiant disorders.

Social Possibilities:  Social fears, poor social skills or social rejection may cause a child to become angry, easily annoyed or upset. This type of social devaluation may reduce a child’s sense of self worth and result in these reactions.

WHAT TO DO WHEN THIS HAPPENS

Try to determine what exactly is angering the child.  With many children, there is a specific event, task or other child which may be easily setting them off.

Sit down with the child and discuss what you are seeing and have him explain to you why he is so easily angered.

After listening to the child, do whatever you can to make the necessary changes in the classroom so that he can function more easily.  (e.g.; (1) For example, try to seat the student at the front of the classroom so that you can keep a better eye on him.  By being able to see his behaviors will give you a greater chance of preventing his anger from developing;    (2) Have the student sit next to another student whom you know will not cause anger or hostility in him, etc.)

Be sure, for you own safety and liability that you do not leave this student alone with other children.  Be sure that supervision is constant.

If the student cannot maintain self-control, remove the student from the environment.  This must be done for the safety of the other children.

Contact the parents to see if there is anything happening at home which is creating the anger in the child.

Talk to the school psychologist about speaking with the child about developing better coping skills.  Often, children who are easily angered or annoyed have poor coping skills and do not know how to control their emotions.

Let the student know that if he feels his anger occurring that he does not have to participate in class activities at that moment.  Come up with an acceptable way for him to deal with this situation, and create a signal he can give you when he feels the anger building.

Talk to the school psychologist about the possibility of having the child in a group to work through his feelings.

If necessary, discuss with the school psychologist about the possibility of setting up a behavior modification program for the child in the classroom so that reinforcement is delivered in an appropriate manner.

If the problem persists to the point where it is affecting the child’s everyday functioning, his situation should be brought up to the Child Study Team in the school so that it can be appropriately evaluated.

Why Children Are Anxious

Academic Possibilities:  Some children who lack academic success may feel a sense of anxiety. It starts when the child realizes that he cannot succeed the same way others do in school.  Academic failure can create such a state of tension and anxiety because it plays a very important role in a child’s everyday life.  Given children are at school for at least 4-6 hours a day, academic failure can have a tremendous impact on a child’s anxiety levels.

Environmental Possibilities: Children may be very anxious because they have homes where there are very serious problems. This may include neglect or abuse, a bitter divorce battle, etc.  Also, in some cases, children may believe that their parents expect them to be perfect.  Having to be the best at everything creates serious anxiety about failure.

Intellectual Possibilities: Sometimes, children with limited intelligence may be very anxious because they cannot do things as well nor as fast as everyone else.  This can create a feeling of future embarrassment, thereby leading to anxiety.

Language Possibilities: Children with language difficulties may be very nervous and scared when they believe that they will have to speak in front of the class.  Their problems with language can be quite anxiety provoking, and may subsequently withdraw altogether from participating with classmates for the fear of appearing foolish.

Medical Possibilities: In some cases, children have anxiety problems because of a biochemical imbalance.  Also, side effects of certain medications may make children feel jittery and anxious.

Perceptual Possibilities: Children with perceptual difficulties may be very nervous and scared when they believe that they will have to read or write in front of the class.  Their perceptual problems can be quite anxiety provoking and may withdraw altogether from participating with classmates for the fear of appearing foolish.

Psychological Possibilities:  Inadequate emotional development brought on by parental rejection, lack of emotional involvement, and favoritism to another sibling, parental tension in the marriage, and so on, can result in a child becoming very anxious.  The psychological state of anxiety can be caused from many factors.  Almost always, whenever there is anxiety, psychological factors play a critical role in its cause.

Social Possibilities:  Children may be anxious because they do not have any friends nor fit in with the crowd.  They feel unaccepted by others and become anxious whenever they have to do anything with their peers.

WHAT TO DO WHEN THIS HAPPENS

Remember that a child suffering from anxiety is feeling very unsure of himself and the situation.  Therefore, attempting to force him into situations will only create tremendous conflict, anxiety, and tension.

Meet with the school psychologist to determine whether there are any extenuating circumstances for the anxiety (i.e. home issues, trauma, and previous academic failure).

Understand that a child going through anxiety must feel comfortable in the classroom. At times, this may be like coaxing a frightened turtle out of its shell. If you move too fast, he will revert back inside.

Confidence is a process that is built over a period of time. The child with anxiety needs a foundation of successful experiences as well as the appropriate social tools in order to be an active participant in the classroom.

Meet with child on a one to one basis in a comfortable setting. Explain to the child that you are aware of the difficulty he has and that you want to help.

Have the child work in groups so that he can build confidence in the classroom.  Have the group work on some simple goal oriented task that will ensure success. This will give the child the feeling of unity and group accomplishment.

Provide the student with different types of small group activities so that he has the opportunity to work with all the members of his class. For instance, have the child work on a social studies project with one small group of children, and then work on a science project with a different small group.

Keep in mind that you need to assign these groups and monitor the interactions to ensure protection and success.

Speak with the school psychologist about having the child join a small group for social skills to increase his coping skills. These types of controlled groups can help the child learn to interact and build skills in a safe and monitored environment to overcome anxiety.

If necessary, discuss the possibility of setting up a behavior modification program for the child in the classroom with the school psychologist so that reinforcement is delivered in an appropriate manner.

If the problem persists to the point where it is affecting the child’s everyday functioning, his situation should be brought up to the Child Study Team in the school so that his situation is appropriately evaluated.

Why Children Exhibit Separation Anxiety

Academic Possibilities: Low academic performance may result in a child’s hesitation in coming or remaining at school. In this case, avoidance of the possibility of failure may cause him to feel so anxious that he will refuse to leave home.

Environmental Possibilities: There are many home factors that may influence a child’s transition and willingness to attend or remain at school. Ongoing parental tension, parental fears of separation, parental health issues or moving to a new community and school may contribute to such anxiety. Sometimes it may even be the parent who has difficulty separating from the child which gives the child mixed messages about independency.

Intellectual Possibilities: Limited intellectual ability may foster developmental immaturity. Consequently, such children are not ready to be separated with their parents.

Language Possibilities:  Some children who come from bilingual backgrounds may be very frightened about entering a new situation like school where they are unsure of the language and reactions of others.

Medical Possibilities: If a child has a history of medical problems, where one or both of the parents have spent an excessive amount of time with him, he may feel vulnerable in school situations where he may feel alone.

Perceptual Possibilities: Not Applicable

Psychological Possibilities:  There are many theories concerning the onset of separation anxiety. Possible reasons may involve immaturity, an unhealthy parent child bond that fosters dependency, low self esteem, prior trauma, fear of new situations, and general anxiety about being away from a protective environment.

Social Possibilities:  Children who feel that they do not fit in or are different may not feel comfortable in social situations.  There only place of safety is at home.  Because of their insecurities, they decide that they do not want to leave home because it is too frightening and anxiety provoking.

WHAT TO DO WHEN THIS HAPPENS

Remember that a child suffering from separation anxiety may behave in this manner for some protective reason. Therefore, attempting to force him into situations will only create tremendous conflict, anxiety, and tension.

Meet with the school psychologist to determine whether there are any extenuating circumstances for the separation anxiety (i.e. home issues, trauma, and previous academic failure).

Understand that a child going through separation anxiety must feel comfortable in the classroom. At times, this may be like coaxing a frightened turtle out of its shell. If you move too fast, he will revert back inside.

Confidence is a process that is built over a period of time. The child with separation anxiety needs a foundation of successful experiences as well as the appropriate social tools in order to be an active participant in the classroom.

Meet with child on a one to one basis in a comfortable setting. Explain to the child that you are aware of the difficulty he has separating from his parents and that you want to help.

Have the child work in groups so that he can build confidence in the classroom.  Have the group work on some simple goal oriented task that will ensure success. This will give him the feeling of unity and group accomplishment.

Provide the student with different types of small group activities so that he has the opportunity to work with all the members of his class. For instance, have the child work on a social studies project with one small group of children, and then work on a science project with a different small group.

Keep in mind that you need to assign these groups and monitor the interactions to ensure protection and success.

Speak with the school psychologist about having the child join a small group for social skills to increase his coping skills. These types of controlled groups can help him learn to interact and build skills in a safe and monitored environment to overcome separation anxiety.

If necessary, discuss with the school psychologist about the possibility of setting up a behavior modification program for the child in the classroom so that reinforcement is delivered in an appropriate manner.

If the problem persists to the point where it is affecting the child’s everyday functioning, his situation should be brought up to the Child Study Team in the school so that his situation is appropriately evaluated. 

Membership to the National Association of Special Education Teachers gives you access to the entire Behavior series.  For more information, visit http://www.naset.org/benefits.0.html .

[nasetmembers]

Parent/Teacher conferences are an integral part of being a special education teacher and afford the opportunity to communicate very important information to a parent that will facilitate the progress of his/her child. As a result, many parents may not remember what exactly was said at the meeting and these handouts can easily reinforce the discussion in a very concrete manner.

NASET's Parent Teacher Conference Handout Collection provides over 90 handouts covering a wide variety of topics that are discussed by teachers and parents on a daily basis.

The Parent Teacher Conference Handouts provided cover a variety of topics in special education. These handouts can be given at the end of parent teacher conferences, to reinforce concepts and help parents further understand information discussed at the conference. They are also useful in answering parent inquiries or providing tips to parents on how they can assist their child with his/her education. These handouts will provide you with a means of educating parents, delivering requested information, providing clarity, reducing misinformation & speculation on the parts of parents. It also helps to present you as a source of guidance, information, and assistance to all the parents of children in your class.

We hope you will enjoy a sampling of these handouts in today’s blog post.

Preparing for the First Month of School for Children with Disabilities

Introduction

As teachers educating children with special needs, there are many things you do before the start of school and during the first month that set the tone for the school year. These responsibilities are crucial in learning about your student’s needs and making sure that their education and legal rights are being properly managed. Well, it is equally important that we help parents of children with disabilities prepare their children and themselves for the start of school and the first month to also insure the possibility of a more productive year. This parent teacher conference handout will focus on what parents should do to prepare for the start and the beginning of school.

Checklist for Parents

As parents, you will need to be very involved in your child’s school in order to reinforce the work done by the teacher and the school staff. Active participation and preparation provides a very positive message to your child and helps insure a better school year. We strongly suggest that you cover the following suggestions which should keep you informed, help your child, and assist the educational staff in working with you son or daughter.

1.) You may want to meet with the classroom teacher before school begins if his or her schedule allows this to happen.  By meeting with the teacher first, you may be able communicate information that may assist the teacher in planning for your child or to defuse any and all concerns.

2.) Clearly define your parental roles and responsibilities with the teacher.

3.) Discuss your expectations for your child.

4.) Discuss with the teacher your involvement with homework.

5.) Discuss the procedures concerning communication between home and school and between school and home.

6.) Communicate any fears that you might have concerning workload, class chemistry, social issues etc.

7.) Discuss, if necessary,  what you see as possible triggers that your child has that may lead to some behavioral reactions  and anything you have tried that has worked.

8.) Discuss your child’s strength areas, hobbies, areas of interest, and favorite things.

9.) Discuss, if applicable, any athletic abilities that your child may have.

10.) Inform the teacher if there is a pet at home especially if your child is very responsible in taking care of the pet.

11.) Provide the teacher with the best hours to contact you as well as a phone number (home and cell) and an email address.

12.) Gather the names and contact information for any related service provider that will work with your child (further explanation to follow). Also gather the number of times per week for the service and the length of each session.

Friend (2002) provides the following series of questions which might also serve as a structure for your communication with teachers:

1.) What is your child’s favorite class activity?

2.) Does your child have any worries about class activities? If so what are they?

3.) What are your priorities for your child’s education this year?

4.) What questions do you have about your child’s education in class this year?

5.) How could the teacher or school make this the most successful year ever for your child?

6.) Are there any topics you want to discuss which may require a future conference?  If so please let the teacher know.

7.) If a conference is requested, would you like other individuals to participate? If so please give the teacher a list of their names so that he/she can invite them.

8.) If a conference is requested would you like the teacher to have particular school information available? If so please let him/her know.

Besides the classroom teacher you will also want to have a meeting with any related service provider that will be involved with your child. When your child was classified as having a disability, his/her IEP may have contained a recommendation for related services. These are the professionals who will provide related services to your child on a regular basis throughout the school year.

In general, the final regulations for IDEA 2004 define the term related services as "transportation and such developmental, corrective, and other supportive services as are required to assist a child with a disability to benefit from special education..." [Section 300.24(a)]. The following are included within the definition of related services:

speech-language pathology and audiology services

psychological services

physical and occupational therapy

recreation, including therapeutic recreation

early identification and assessment of disabilities in children

counseling services, including rehabilitation counseling

orientation and mobility services

medical services for diagnostic or evaluation purposes

school health services

social work services in schools

parent counseling and training

transportation. [Section 300.24(a)].

You will want to maintain the most up-to-date information from the related service provider and in order to set up these lines of communication initiate the following:

Send out a letter to each related service providers for your child introducing yourself and asking for a time to get together. An example of this type of letter follows.

LETTER TO RELATED SERVICE PROVIDER FROM A PARENT

Dear       :

My son_________will be assigned to you as a related service provider for the school year _______to _______. It is noted on _________(child’s name) IEP that he is to receive _________ (related service) _______ (frequency i.e. 1 x a week) from you beginning on ________ (date to begin services). In order to coordinate these services, I am suggesting that we get together for a meeting to discuss schedules, communication with the home and teachers, modifications and accommodations and any other matters that may assist _________ (child’s name) this year.

I will try to contact you to see what times and days are convenient for you or if you prefer I can be reached at ______ (phone and extension) between the hours of ______. I look forward to meeting with you.

Sincerely yours,

After the letter is sent, seek out the related service provider and set up a meeting. At this meeting with the related service provider, discuss schedules, goals of the service, expectations, communication to home, and a schedule of meetings or communication to discuss the child’s progress. It is also important that you discuss your child’s specific problem, etiology (cause) and prognosis (outcome) from the service provider.

Following these suggestions will definitely improve communication between home and school and help your child have a better more productive school year.

Membership to the National Association of Special Education Teachers gives you access to the entire collection of Parent/Teacher handouts.  For more information, visit http://www.naset.org/benefits.0.html .

[nasetmembers]

Designing Your Special Education Classroom

Step I - Classroom Design (Resource Room and Self Contained classroom only. Inclusion Class teachers proceed to Step II.)

Setting up the physical structure of your classroom is a personal choice. However, some logical reasoning should be utilized when determining the layout of the room. In a resource room and self- contained special education classroom, there are several designs that you can consider:

Station oriented model In this model, the room arrangement is divided into stations that contain specific content area materials. For example, there might be a reading center, math center, computer center, writing center etc. in which specific children go to work on their specific IEP goals. Houghton Mifflin (2006) lists several different types of learning areas:

Whole-Group Area For whole-class lessons -- this includes informal discussion, direct instruction, and student presentations. This is a good place for an Author's Chair from which students can read their writing to the class.

Small-Group Area Here you can give small-group instruction or allow groups of students to gather for peer-led discussions.

Reading Area This is a place for students to read independently or quietly with a partner. It should provide comfortable seating, a variety of books, and a quiet, secluded atmosphere.

Writing Center Here students write independently and collaboratively. The area should contain comfortable space for writing and a variety of supplies.

Cross-Curricular Center This is an active center where students explore relationships across different curricula, including literature, science, social studies, art, and math.

Computer Station This area is for computer use in writing, math, reading, keyboard practice, research, telecommunications, and creative games.

Creative Arts Center This area is where students can get involved in visual art and dramatic play. It should have a variety of art supplies, costumes, and props.

Communication Area/Post Office This area has mail slots for students and teacher to exchange written messages and suggestions.

Listening Station Here students listen to tapes of books, stories, songs, and poems.

When setting up your room with a station or learning center approach, take the physical features of your classroom into account when planning. As the school year progresses, you can change or add learning centers to fit your class's evolving needs.   Keep the following things in mind if you use this type of design:

a) Different learning areas should be partitioned off through the use of bookshelves.

b) Provide comfortable seating by having the children bring in seat cushions.

c) Save space by using walls for posters, display shelves, books, and supplies.

d) Keep computers facing away from windows to keep glare from sunlight off the screens.

e) Separate learning centers of high activity, such as the cross-curricular center, from areas like the Reading/Language Arts Center, where students need quiet.

f) Set aside an area to meet with small groups. Allow enough seating for about eight students.

Child oriented model In this type of setting, the room is arranged so that the children are separated to avoid distraction and increase concentration. Here, the teacher moves from student to student. Since most of the work is individualized, the teacher and the assistant can work on specific limitations for each child with special needs.

Teacher center model In this type of design, the teacher’s work table or area is the center of the room. In this way, the teacher can work with several children at a time and monitor their progress. If the teacher feels a child needs less distraction, he/she can be moved to another part of the room with or without the assistant teacher.

Step II - A-Designing Your Classroom (Inclusion class)

In this instance there may be very little to do depending on the relationship between you and the regular education teacher. If you are hired for an elementary inclusion class, the general education teacher may set up the room. However, your input would be helpful and you may want to ask if he/she has any concerns about the room design in light of the children with special needs.  In this case, assist the teacher, making suggestions if you feel they will better serve the population of children with disabilities, e.g., quiet corner or study carrel to avoid distractions. If you are hired as an inclusion teacher at the high school, then there may be less to do with setting up the room, since many different teachers will be using that same room. However, try to assist the teacher and suggest anything that you feel might help.

The following comments concerning setting up your classroom come from teachers who posted their thoughts at the University of North Carolina, School of Education (2005) comment board:

I was fortunate enough to have my own classroom during my first year of teaching. My school building was too small to provide every faculty member that luxury. Some colleagues taught in a different room every period, using carts to transport their materials. Others, at neighboring schools, settled into trailers that had been rented to handle an unexpected increase in the number of students enrolled.

I was grateful, but had no time to dwell on my good fortune. Students were coming in less than a week and I needed to focus on developing my course materials and management systems. I had a minimal amount of time to set up a physical classroom. Still, I knew my students would benefit from a positive environment. The previous history teacher had been kind enough to leave pictures to decorate the wall space, but those images did not create the atmosphere we needed. Every portrait displayed the head of a white male who had been a "Creator of Your Country!!!" There were no pictures of women, ethnic minorities or anyone under the age of fifty. Would my students feel a sense of belonging and engagement in a classroom like this?

I quickly replaced the pictures with a more diverse array of images and began moving desks, adding plants and organizing the board space. I created folders for students, a filing system for my materials and hung a "welcome" sign on the door. I thought I had covered the basics. I didn't discover the infamous "guillotine window" until a few weeks later when it slid shut forcefully and unexpectedly, nearly removing the arm of a student. I didn't learn that the carpet would be soaked after every rainstorm until I had ruined the teacher's edition of our textbook by leaving it on the floor near my desk.

My point? If you're a new teacher, one of your first jobs will be to set up your classroom. You'll want to do it quickly so you can focus on other aspects of teaching, but you want to do it well so that it becomes an environment in which your students can learn. There will be some hurdles that you cannot anticipate — guillotine windows for example. But the purpose of this post is to encourage you to talk to teachers in your building about classroom issues that might affect you and your students — and to provide a few practical tips that could save you some time, frustration and money as you begin a new year.

Other issues to consider for setting up your classroom should include:

1. Check school policies Before designing your classroom, ask if there are any school policies that affect classroom displays. Some principals require you to post daily objectives. Many schools have fire policies that prohibit hanging paper signs on the door.

2. Plan for inspiration Use a portion of your space to inspire students. This could mean hanging engaging posters about content or attitude. Or if you are planning to display student work, post a sign above the area that says "ALL of my students are capable of excellence. These really showed it on a recent assignment!" (Make sure you print letters large enough for students to read!)

3. Save plenty of space for information If you need students to access certain types of information daily, create a consistent space for them to find it. For example, you could post permanent signs at the front of the room that say "Objectives", "Warm Up Activity" and "Homework" and use the area near these signs to provide details about each. Also have a space where the date is consistently posted, and make sure your name is posted at the beginning of the year.

I also recommend having a section of the room devoted to students who have been absent. If you decide to do this:

Label the space clearly. I have a sign that simply asks "Were you absent?"

Hang a calendar nearby to help students identify the day of school they missed.

Use a small filing cabinet to house an activity log (listing the work completed each day) and blank copies of all assignments (labeled with titles matching those in the activity log) 

After you introduce students to the space, they become responsible for identifying days they miss, checking the log for work completed on those days, gathering the blank assignments, completing the work and submitting it to you.

4. Protect what you post If you're going to display any poster in your classroom for more than a month — or want to use a temporary poster again next year — laminate it before you hang it on your wall. Otherwise, you'll need to recreate it after it is tattered and torn. Many of your schools will have laminating machines. If they don't, other teachers will be able to tell you where the service is provided in your area. Make sure you check the school limits on use or prices at stores before making final decisions about what to laminate!

5. Make it stick Ask other teachers in your building what adhesives work on the school walls. I once spent hours creating a display only to find it on the floor of my room the next day. Tape works on some walls. Others require puddy. I have heard that hot glue guns work on the concrete walls in many schools. Finally, you can nail things into the walls. The nails are especially good for holding clipboards (if you want to clip a sign in sheet near your door) and bathroom passes (if you use anything larger than a paper pass).

6. Leave space for colleagues Leave space for other teachers who use the room. If you have your own classroom, but other teachers use it during your planning period or after school, leave them a drawer in your filing cabinet and sections of the board and wall. Have a conversation about what else they might need. This is important to preserve both your materials and your relationship with colleagues.

If you are a traveling teacher, initiate a conversation about space sharing with teachers you encounter in those travels. Get a copy of keys for each room in which you'll be teaching and ask the administration if there is a quiet corner where you can have a desk and filing cabinet that is all your own.

7. Arrange desks thoughtfully Consider your teaching style, management style and the needs of other teachers using the room when arranging the desks. You may decide to use rows, clusters, a circle or some other configuration. Design with a purpose in mind!

8. Lock it up Have at least one small closet or drawer in your classroom that can be locked, even if you have to add a small lock yourself. You'll need this area for confidential files and personal items. (This lesson cost me one camera and some priceless pictures on the roll of film inside it. It cost another teacher her gradebook the week before our grades were due.)

9. Be cheap Save money on supplies! Ask a colleague what supplies are provided, how you can get them and if teachers are given a certain amount to spend on their classroom each year. If there are things you need to buy on your own, ask retailers if they have discounts for teachers. Office Max, Staples and Barnes and Nobles all offer price reduction on classroom supplies, and other stores in your area might too. For most, you will need evidence of your educator status — a school ID badge, union card or pay stub works well. Finally, save all of your receipts. If your school offers money later, you could be reimbursed for purchases if you still have the paperwork. Those receipts also help during tax season since purchases for work are tax-deductible.

10. Keep track of textbooks Number your textbooks and create a system for loaning books out to students who forget theirs. Students have to pay up to $60 for lost books, so you don't want any confusion about which book they had or whether it was returned to you. Track which books are assigned to each student by noting each student's book number next to his or her name in your gradebook. Create labels with your name and room number to place on every textbook so that lost books can be returned to you.

Also, decide if you are willing to lend books to students who do not bring their own copy to class. If you do loan books, track them with a sign-out sheet — I've created a sample textbook sign-out sheet in MS Word format that you can use as a template. Finally, if you can, wait a few days to distribute the books. Students transfer in and out of classes at the beginning of the year, and when a student leaves, textbooks can disappear.

11. Prepare for emergencies (but don't create them) Locate the emergency call button in your room and learn how to use the intercom system. You don't want to accidentally signify an emergency when you're trying to answer a page from the office on your first day!

12. Be ready to file Create your own filing system. You will need places to record and store your lesson plans and resources file administrative materials such as: student IEP's, notes from faculty meetings, a parent contact log, discipline log, a faculty handbook, student handbook, hall passes, sub plans, passcodes (for the computers and phones) and important contact numbers. Although this may all feel a bit overwhelming, hopefully organizing your classroom now will save you time later. Doing it quickly will allow more time for developing your curriculum and management systems. Doing it effectively will create a space in which your students can thrive.

Helpful Sites for Information on Setting up a Classroom

http://inspiredclassrooms.wordpress.com/setting-up-a-classroom/ Teacher comments and direction for setting up a classroom

http://forums.atozteacherstuff.com/showthread.php?t=6501 : Teacher comments about setting up a classroom

http://www.washington.edu/doit/Faculty/Strategies/Universal/: Universal Design of Instruction: Designing any product or environment involves the consideration of many factors including aesthetics, engineering options, environmental issues, safety concerns, and cost. Often the design is created for the "average" user. In contrast universal design is "the design of products and environments to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design."

Step III-Evaluating what you have and ordering new materials

Do not be surprised that when you enter your room for the first time you find very few materials available for use. What you need to do is hope for the best and prepare for the worst. In the worst case scenario, you will need to catalog what is available to you. 

The following checklist might help determine what you have available and what you may need to order:

Furniture 

Chairs ______

Tables ______

Round Table ______

Computer table or cart ______

Bookshelves ______

Blackboard ______             

Book carts ______

Filing Cabinets ______

Children’s mailboxes or cubby holes ______

Closets for storage ______

Teacher’s desk ______

Teacher’s chair 

Classroom Supplies 

Writing, drawing, and construction paper ______

Pencils/Pens ______

Crayons ______

Paste/glue ______

Stapler/staples ______

Paper clips ______

Rubber bands ______

Straight and safety pins ______

Transparent tape ______

Manila file folders ______

Marking pens ______

Rulers ______

Art supplies ______

Grade book ______

Lesson plan book ______

Attendance materials ______

Textbooks/workbooks ______

Boxes for keeping units ______

Calculator ______

Post-it notes ______

Kleenex ______

Hole punch ______

Pencil sharpener ______

Lined & blank paper ______

Scissors ______

Chalk board erasers ______

Graph paper in several sizes ______

Pencil grips ______

markers ______

12" and 3' rulers ______

gummed reinforcements for 3-holed paper ______

pencil erasers ______

a pencil holder ______

a key ring ______

a personal a coffee cup or beverage mug ______

5x8 index cards ______

hanging files ______

push tacks ______

calendar ______

small size legal pads ______

small screwdriver for glasses repair ______

safety pins ______

small sewing kit and tool kit 

Academic Materials

textbooks at several levels ______

workbooks ______

Worksheets ______

Reading Programs ______

Math Programs 

Technology 

Computer ______

Printer ______

Color Printer ______

Scanner ______

Cable hook up to the Internet ______

Internet access ______

Word Processing program ______

Reading Software ______

Math Software ______

Spelling Software ______

Writing Software ______

Voice Recognition software and devices ______

Magnification devices 

Summary

In summary, the atmosphere of your classroom will go a long way in minimizing problems and hopefully provide your students with a warm, comfortable, logical, and exciting atmosphere in which to work.  

Membership to the The National Association of Special Education Teachers provides you with valuable tools and resources you will use on a daily basis. To join, visit http://www.naset.org/benefits.0.html.

[nasetmembers]

The National Association of Special Education Teacher’s Step-by-Step Guide to Setting Up Your Classroom will provide new teachers with practical guidelines for beginning the school year as a special education teacher, and experienced teachers with supportive information which may help improve their classroom.

There are a variety of settings in which you may be hired in the field of special education including a resource room, self-contained special class or an inclusion setting. This article, which will be presented in several parts over the next few weeks (membership required at www.naset.org), focuses on various steps that should be taken to insure the welfare of the children, the appropriate educational setting, information that should be gathered, communicating with related service providers, parents, paraprofessionals, assistant teachers, and other areas to make your job easier and more rewarding. This article assumes nothing and provides important information for all three settings. When noted, certain information is best suited for a specific type of setting. If not noted, then assume that the information being presented applies to all three settings.

What To Do Before The Start of School

The best advice in preparing for a new school year is to begin as early as possible. There are many things that you can do before the start of school that will facilitate your experience and make the school year more productive for you and your students. The first day of school should not be the first day you learn about your students. This would be a major mistake and will inevitably make classroom management more difficult.

Step I-Learn as much about the students as possible before school begins

The very first step in setting up the room actually involves getting to know the students that will be in your classroom before the first day of school. It is imperative that you find out as much information about each student as possible, so that you are fully prepared when he/she walks in the room for the first time.  You will be amazed about the wealth of available materials on each child if you know where to look. The only exception to this may be a new student to the school from another city or state where materials may not have yet arrived. If this is the case, there are several things you can still do which we will discuss later. When working with students with disabilities, information on the child can be found in the following possible places:

Number and types of schools attended: You should be able to ascertain this information by the school names on the report cards found in the permanent folder. For some children with disabilities, this may be their first year in a mainstreamed school. They may require added attention and support in the transition.

Medical records:  This information can be gathered from the school nurse’s office. Pay close attention to vision and hearing levels, medications, allergies, and any other medical issues that might need attention in the classroom.

Permanent record folder:  This folder should contain all the basic information on the child i.e. phone, address, parent’s names, date of birth, sibling’s names and ages.  It is usually stored in the main office.

Past teachers’ reports:  These items may be among those found in the permanent record folder or may be part of the child’s report card forms.

Past report cards:  These items may present you with patterns of performance in many academic areas, including both strengths and areas of concern. These should also be contained in the permanent record folder.

Group achievement scores: These materials, if accurate, can also provide a pattern of strengths and areas in need of improvement. However, be very careful about drawing any conclusions from low scores unless other information backs up your impressions, e.g., classroom performance, teachers’ reports. Sometimes children who are experiencing academic problems may not try as hard as possible for fear of failure. Consequently, the resulting scores may not reflect true achievement levels.

IEP:  A very crucial piece of information is the child’s most recent Individual Educational Program. Keep in mind that since the reauthorization of IDEA in 204 there have been any changes to the IEP.  However, in general, the IEP will contain the following statements:

a. Present levels of achievement and educational performance: This statement describes how your student is currently doing in school. This includes how your student’s disability affects his or her involvement and progress in the general curriculum. 

b. Annual goals: The IEP must state annual goals for your student, meaning what you and the school team think he or she can reasonably accomplish in a year. The goals must relate to meeting the needs that result from your student’s disability. They must also help your students be involved in and progress in the general curriculum. 

c. Special education and related services to be provided: The IEP must list the special education and related services to be provided to your students. This includes supplementary aids and services (such as a communication device). It also includes changes to the program or supports for school personnel that will be provided for your students. 

d. Participation with nondisabled students: How much of the school day will your student be educated separately from nondisabled students or not participate in extracurricular or other nonacademic activities such as lunch or clubs? The IEP must include an explanation that answers this question. 

e. Participation in state and district-wide assessments: Your state and district probably give tests of student achievement in certain grades or age groups. In order to participate in these tests, your students may need individual modifications or changes in how the tests are administered. The IEP team must decide what modifications your student needs and list them in the IEP. If your students will not be taking these tests, the IEP must include a statement as to why the tests are not appropriate for your students and how your students will be tested instead. 

f. Dates and location: The IEP must state (a) when services and modifications will begin; (b) how often they will be provided; (c) where they will be provided; and (d) how long they will last. 

g. Transition goals and services: No later than when your students are16, the IEP must include measurable postsecondary goals related to training, education, employment, and (when appropriate) independent living skills. Also included are the transition services needed to help your students reach those goals, including what your students should study.

h. Measuring progress: The IEP must state how school personnel will measure your student’s progress toward the annual goals. It must also state how parents will be informed regularly of their child’s progress and whether that progress is enough to enable your student to achieve his or her goals by the end of the year.You will need to become very familiar with all the changes under the new law since you will be involved in writing the child’s new IEP at this year’s Annual Review. For more information on the changes in the IEP under IDEA 2004 go to: 

 Informational Site #1 - PDF File

Wrightslaw - IEP Information 

IDEA FAQ - Information From the US Government This vital information necessary for learning about your students is usually not found in the permanent record folder. It can normally be obtained from several sources including:

a-The office of Pupil Personnel Services/Special Education Office 

b-The psychologist’s file on the child

c-The special education folder on the child. This file is normally passed from teacher to teacher. However this folder may be in a main file in the office of the special education coordinator for your building.

Health alerts:  This piece of medical information may be found on the front page of the child’s IEP. If something is noted, then it becomes your professional responsibility to learn as much as possible on that health condition. You want to understand the child’s health issues, as well as sound knowledgeable when speaking with parents about these issues. While you are not a medical professional, it is recommended that you find out as much as possible about the condition so that you sound professional and prepared when you meet with the parent. It will be very reassuring to parents when they see that you have an understanding of any conditions that their children may be facing.

Classification:  Find out as much as possible about the child’s specific disability classification as you can. You may already be knowledgeable about the disability but it never hurts to learn more. This knowledge base can only gain you respect from staff and parents.  Numerous sources on all of the different disability categories can be found on the NASETwebsite.

Modifications:   Modifications are adjustments to the child’s classroom or test requirements that try to level the “playing field” with his/her nondisabled peers. Examples of modifications may be extended time when taking tests, taking tests in a smaller, less noisy environment, questions read, and answering questions in the test booklet rather than an answer sheet.  Look for the classroom and test modifications that the child is entitled to have. These are listed somewhere in the IEP. Investigate each modification thoroughly, and fully understand what is involved and the possible reasons as to the rationale for why these were deemed appropriate. You will need to fully understand these modifications since you will very likely be communicating and explaining them to the child’s other teachers.

Accommodations:  There may be times when a child is entitled to some classroom accommodation. Examples of these include special furniture, filters for lighting, acoustic enhancements etc. Again investigate and become knowledgeable of each accommodation. The list of accommodations for each student should be clearly described in the IEP. 

Related services:  The IEP will also contain a section on the related services that the child is entitled to have while in school. The term related services means transportation, and such developmental, corrective, and other supportive services (including speech-language pathology and audiology services, psychological services, physical and occupational therapy, recreation, including therapeutic recreation, social work services, counseling services, including rehabilitation counseling, orientation and mobility services, and medical services, except that such medical services shall be for diagnostic and evaluation purposes only) as may be required to assist a child with a disability to benefit from special education, and includes early identification and assessment of disabling conditions in children. (20 U.S.C. Section 1401(22))

Assistive technology:  When looking at your student’s IEP you may notice that some of them are entitled to assistive technology. Assistive technology devices are mechanical aids which substitute for or enhance the function of some physical or mental ability that is impaired. Assistive technology can be anything homemade, purchased off the shelf, modified, or commercially available which is used to help an individual perform some task of daily living. The term assistive technology encompasses a broad range of devices from "low tech" (e.g., pencil grips, splints, paper stabilizers) to "high tech" (e.g., computers, voice synthesizers, Braille readers). These devices include the entire range of supportive tools and equipment from adapted spoons to wheelchairs and computer systems for environmental control. It will be your responsibility to learn as much as possible about this assistive technology device for each student. A good start in understanding the basics of assistive technology can be found at the University of Buffalo site: http://atto.buffalo.edu/

Ability levels: It is important to determine, if possible, the child’s present levels of academic, social and intellectual ability. These levels, which are measured by many sources, can usually be found in several areas:

a-the permanent record folder: look for a group IQ test, or a test that offers a score labeled “School Abilities Index.” These group measures may offer you some insight. Again, be careful of using low scores to determine ability for the same reasons as mentioned previously.

b-the psychologist’s office: look up the last triennial report which should have some measure of ability noted. The triennial evaluation is the evaluation on a child with a disability that is done every three years. The main purpose of the triennial evaluation is to measure the child’s present levels and determine whether the conditions that were used in the original classification are still present.

c-The child’s IEP: the IEP may contain an ability level. The child’s ability level is usually measured through individual ability tests like the Wechsler Scales of Intelligence or the Stanford Binet Test of Intelligence. The ability levels may be reported in ranges i.e. average, above average, or in specific scores i.e. 112, 85. Therefore you should become familiar with IQ ranges and within what ranges specific scores may fall. The following table may help you in understanding this issue:

IQ SCORE                         PERCENTILE                      DESCRIPTION 160                                    1690.03                                VERY SUPERIOR 150                                    1590.2                                  VERY SUPERIOR 140                                    1491.1                                  VERY SUPERIOR 130                                    1393.1                                  SUPERIOR 120                                    1298.2                                  SUPERIOR 110                                    11918.1                                HIGH AVERAGE 100                                    10923.5                                HIGH AVERAGE 90                                      9923.0                                  NORMAL OR AVERAGE 80                                      8914.5                                  LOW AVERAGE 70                                       795.6                                 BORDERLINE DEFECTIVE 60                                       692.0                                 MENTALLY DEFECTIVE 50                                       590.4                                  MENTALLY DEFECTIVE 40                                       490.2                                  MENTALLY DEFECTIVE 30                                       390.03                                MENTALLY DEFECTIVE d- Past teachers’ comments about the child’s ability levels: Past teacher comments can tell you a great deal about patterns of strengths and weaknesses, and a history of certain behaviors and academic skill problems. These may be found on past report cards. If they are not you may want to contact some of the child’s past teachers to gather information. These points should offer you a very good beginning in learning as much as possible about your students before school begins. Experience has shown us that the more groundwork you do before school begins the easier the transition will be for your students and parents.The next part will deal with meeting parents and students before school, meeting with assistant teachers, paraprofessionals, related service providers, classroom teachers and other professional staff members that will be involved with your students.  

Copyright © 2006 by National Association of Special Education Teachers (NASET) All rights reserved

For more articles in our Back-to-School series and to become a member of The National Association of Special Education teachers, visit www.naset.org

[nasetmembers]

How to Create a Positive Classroom Environment (Part 1)

Introduction

Developing a sense of confidence will be crucial right from the start. Children with disabilities all too often lack a sense of confidence in their academic ability. Further, this lack of confidence may have a direct effect on their perception, cooperation, willingness to try etc. Children with low confidence tend to be more rigid, more sensitive, over-reactive, more insecure, and more vulnerable. How do teachers expect children with low self-confidence to absorb anything, when most of their energy is going into selfprotection? Therefore, you may want to consider the concept of Positive Restructuring.

Creating a classroom environment to ensure successful experiences is referred to as Positive Restructuring. There is no doubt that Positive Restructuring requires a great deal of work. However, the long term effects and benefits greatly outweigh any amount of work. Why would any teacher not want to guarantee success and develop a child’s overall sense of confidence? As educators, we have an obligation to question any teaching style that frustrates children, makes them feel like failures, reinforces their inadequacy, promotes negative self-worth, exposes them to ego deflating experiences, and promotes teacher “ego” at the expense of student failure (belittling students in front of others).

There are 20 principles involved in Positive Restructuring that need to be conveyed to students and parents right from the start of the school year:

1. Empowerment: Empowerment says. “It is not as important to use power, as it is to know we have it when we need it. Providing a student with educational tools e.g. calculator, dictionary that he/she can turn to at a time of doubt can enhance one’s feelings of security.

2. Hope: Hope is the genuine belief that we have a direct effect on the outcome of a situation. When a student feels hopeless he/she feel powerless. By having hope, students will tend to take more risks and chances because they believe they can succeed.

3. Resiliency: The student’s ability to bounce back from an unsuccessful experience. For example a student with high resiliency who fails a test would be more willing to look at the factors as to why he/she may have failed rather than giving up.

4. Security: A classroom is a child’s second home. As a teacher, it is your responsibility to create the warmest and comforting environment so that the children in your classroom can work to their potential without worry. National Association of Special Education Teachers

5. Recognition: Everyone needs to be validated. This need is normally provided by parents. However, teachers are second to parents in the child’s desire to please and attain validation for performance and effort. Validation provides motivation and incentive to continue working. A lack of recognition and validation inhibits desire since the belief is that “no one cares what I do anyway.”

6. A Sense of Completion: The feeling one gets from a completion of a task is crucial to the development of confidence. Confidence is reinforced by the belief that one’s behavior will for the most part play a crucial role in leading to completion of some task, project etc. In Positive Restructuring this sense of completion is enhanced by control over the assigned work to ensure success.

7. Develop Decision Making Skills: You will need to teach your students the concepts of delay before making decisions so that they learn to consider all possible consequences. Many times children with learning disabilities act impulsively and add to their problematic situation with poor judgment and a lack of awareness of consequences.

8. A Sense of Accomplishment: You will need to provide tasks that every child will be able to finish with a feeling of success. Do not be afraid to limit the assignments, or the level of difficulty in favor of a sense of completion. Once confidence is developed, the student will have more motivation if you offer more lengthy assignments with a different level of difficulty.

9. A Sense of Initiation without fear: Children who are more confident will be more willing to ask questions and clarify issues with the teacher thereby preventing problems or failures. Providing an atmosphere of acceptance, tolerance, and reassurance will allow children to approach without fear or concern.

10. An enjoyment of school: Children who feel more confident will look forward to coming to school. Keep in mind that success breeds success and everyone likes being in a place that reinforces their feelings of self-worth.

11. The belief that every child is capable of being successful: Students need to start believing from the start that they are all capable of success in some or all areas of school. What prevents many students from this belief is the amount, type, and level of work that is presented to them, coupled with the definition of “success” used by many educators. When “success” is defined as a group comparison, i.e. tests, SAT’s etc., then failure will always occur. Why do schools need failure by some students? What purpose to the system is really served by students’ failing grades? Other than a reduction of confidence, setting them off from other students who scored higher, feelings of inadequacy, parental anger and frustration, resentment, avoidance, there is nothing served. The belief that children learn by failure is really a tragedy to the educational system. Schools really practice what we call triage education that is the belief that one has to accept a certain amount of “casualties by failure.” Do we really believe that society would tolerate a medical system of a hospital that suffered 25% death rate? There would be a public outcry and immediate change. But no such outcry exists in today’s schools. You must decide within yourself whether or not you believe that all students are capable of succeeding in school, and if not, why? Schools tend to accept failure and point to unmotivated or trouble youth as the cause. We believe that we need to look at the delivery system used by schools. Don’t always look at the high death rate in a hospital as an indication of how unhealthy people are getting, the real problem may be the delivery system of medical attention.

12. The belief that every child has potential that may not have been exhibited up to this point: It is not realistic to believe that all schools provide the opportunity for all children to express their true potential. The only thing that schools may offer is the opportunity for some to exhibit their academic potential, limited sports potential through gym activities, creative ability in a few areas i.e. art, music, and that is about it. The areas of potential may include but are not limited to the following: 

Creative

Intellectual

Recreational

Physical

Academic

Sports

Social Schools need to explore every area possible to see where a child’s true potential may lie. It is true that potential may not appear until certain ages, however, it is never too early to start exploring. Potential is an area that adds to a child’s identity both in and out of school. Through the use of interest inventories geared to potential, discussion, interviews with students and parents, observation and so on, the teacher needs to develop a mentality that believes that everything good about a child does not always happen in school.

13. Confidence is the necessary foundation for feeling good about yourself and your ability: Building a house on top of water is not as reliable as one built on land. Children have to be taught that building confidence is a process that develops from successful experiences and not overnight.

14. There is definite hope even though the student may not have felt successful up to this point: Failure forces children into closets labeled failure or inadequate. Coaxing a child out of this “closet” is not easy but can occur with recognition of the difficulty he/she has faced, coupled with the hope of change. Children who lack confidence in schools tend to “cocoon, that is pull in within themselves.

15. That you, the teacher, are in charge and know what you are doing: Conveying a strong leadership message to children will provide the structure that someone knows how to get the most out of them. Being a good lifeguard is a crucial step in having children feel secure and confident.

16. It will not take forever to build confidence: Children need to be informed that there is a light at the end of a tunnel and that if they work with you, they will see results within 30 days.

17. Once you have confidence, you will be motivated to try other experiences: Success breeds success. A child who lacks confidence will have a very small safety zone, the area in which he/she feels adequate or comfortable. However, small safety zones also carry along the following:

unwillingness to try new experiences

giving up easily

rigidity

low frustration tolerances  

lack of new experiences

self-doubt

boredom

social isolation

loneliness

avoidance

lack of tolerance for others

and many more

Have a discussion on what life would be like living in a closet versus outdoors. The limitations of a small safety zone and the excitement of increasing the zone need to be presented.

18. There are reasons for not feeling confident: Children need to understand how inadequacy and a lack of confidence occurs. They need to know that it does not just appear, that it is a process, just like regaining confidence. A discussion about why children lose confidence needs to be discussed. Some examples may include:

school failure

socially unpopular

family issues

physical limitations

few feelings of success

no one to believe in them

lack of recognition

19. All children will not become confident at the same time but that does not mean it cannot happen: Children will need to know that like growing, confidence grows in individuals at different rates. Therefore it is important for them to realize that some children will gain confidence more quickly, but that does not mean they will not. Reaching confidence is not a competition, but a process that can exist in all children.

20. Feeling confident and good about yourself are always better than feeling inadequate: Children who lack confidence and feelings of inadequacy learn to function in a state of unnaturalness. This may be a long-standing issue for some children. They have to learn that feeling good about yourself in any way is always better than feeling inadequate, even if it is the only feeling they know. Teaching children who lack confidence that feeling good is a better place to be, may be like convincing a feral child that there is more to life than the forest. They have no frame of reference but with work, will begin to feel the results of confidence, a more natural state for the human condition.

For more information about The National Association of Special Education Teachers, visit http://www.naset.org/benefits.0.html

[nasetmembers]

Resolving Disputes With Parents

Informal Approaches to Resolution In all cases where the family and school disagree, it is important for both sides to first discuss their concerns and try to compromise. There are several less formal ways in which parents and school staff might attempt to work out disagreements regarding a child’s special education program. The first of these is to review the child’s IEP. A second is to hold a facilitated IEP meeting.

IEP Review

Under IDEA, the public agency is responsible for determining when it is necessary to conduct an IEP meeting, and the child’s IEP Team is responsible for reviewing the child’s IEP periodically, but not less than annually, and revising the child’s IEP, if appropriate. In addition, the parents of a child with a disability have the right to request an IEP meeting at any time.

What kinds of disputes might be resolved through an IEP review meeting? After the annual IEP review has taken place, if a parent has concerns about his or her child’s rate of progress, the appropriateness of the services provided to the child, or the child’s educational placement, it would be appropriate for the parents to request that the IEP Team reconvene. At that meeting, the parent and public agency can discuss the parent’s concerns and, hopefully, as collaborative members of the IEP Team, work toward a solution that is agreeable to all.

The solution doesn’t have to be permanent. It’s not uncommon for IEP Teams to agree on a temporary compromise—for example, to try out a particular plan of instruction or classroom placement for a certain period of time that the child’s IEP is in effect. During (or at the end of) that period, the school can check the child’s progress. Team members can then meet again and discuss how the child is doing, how well the temporary compromise addressed the original concern, and what to do next. The trial period may help parents and the school come to a comfortable agreement on how to help the child. Because parents and the public agency are partners in ensuring the child is provided an appropriate education, and sometimes will be working together for many years—in some cases, the child’s entire school career—it is in everyone’s best interest, especially the child’s, that the IEP Team members communicate with one another, respectfully and honestly.

Facilitated IEP Meeting Another informal approach to resolving disputes between parents and schools is IEP facilitation.  IEP facilitation is not mentioned in IDEA and is not one of the dispute resolution options described in the law's procedural safeguards. However, it is being used to help IEP teams reach agreements in special education decision-making. There are probably others as well, but IEP facilitation is an approach on the rise.

Some SEAs provide parents and school districts with the option of facilitated IEP meetings. When relationships between parents and schools are strained, facilitated meetings may be beneficial. It’s important to remember, though, that this approach is not required or addressed under IDEA and may not be available in your school district.

What is a facilitated IEP team meeting? A facilitated IEP team meeting is one that includes an impartial facilitator. The facilitator is not a member of the IEP Team but, rather, is there to keep the IEP Team focused on developing the child’s program while addressing conflicts as they arise.

The facilitator can help promote communication among IEP Team members and work toward resolving differences of opinion that may occur concerning the provision of a free appropriate public education to a child. The facilitator helps keep the IEP Team on task so that the meeting purposes can be accomplished within the time allotted for the meeting.

What are the benefits of having a facilitator for an IEP Team meeting? The IEP facilitator can help support the full participation of all parties. The facilitator does not impose a decision on the group; the facilitator clarifies points of agreement and disagreement and can model effective communication and listening for the IEP Team members. When disagreements arise, the facilitator can help encourage the members to identify new options. Most importantly, the impartial facilitator ensures that the meeting remains focused on the child.

Do all school districts have to offer facilitated IEP Team meetings? No. IDEA does not address IEP facilitation. This means that there is no requirement in IDEA for school systems to provide an impartial facilitator for IEP Team meetings. While the use of IEP facilitation has become more popular, facilitators may not be available in all school districts and are not required.

Formal Approaches

If parents and the school still cannot reach an agreement, it's good to know that IDEA includes specific and formal ways for them to resolve the conflict. These are mediation, filing a complaint, and due process.

Mediation In mediation, parents and school personnel sit down with an impartial third person (called a mediator), talk openly about the areas where they disagree, and try to reach agreement.

Mediation provides a positive, less adversarial approach to resolving disputes between parents and school systems. With the assistance of a skilled and impartial mediator, the parties involved in the dispute can communicate openly and respectfully about their differences as they try to reach accord or compromise. The decision-making power resides with the participants in mediation.

IDEA requires that the mediation process meet certain, specific conditions, as follows: • Mediation must be voluntary on the part of both parties. • Mediation may not be used to deny or delay a parent's right to a due process hearing or to deny any other right under Part B of IDEA. • Mediation must be conducted by a qualified and impartial mediator who is trained in effective mediation techniques. • The state must select mediators on a random, rotational, or other impartial basis. • The state must bear the cost of the mediation process. • An agreement reached by the parties must be set forth in a written mediation agreement. • Discussions that occur during the mediation process must be confidential.

They may not be used as evidence in any subsequent due process hearings or civil proceedings. The parties to the mediation process may be required to sign a confidentiality pledge prior to the beginning of the mediation.

The public agency must make sure that its representative participating in mediation has the authority to enter into a binding agreement on its behalf. A parent may choose to have a friend or advocate attend the mediation session. And, while there is nothing in IDEA that prohibits a parent or public agency from having an attorney attend, the presence of an attorney could contribute to a potentially adversarial atmosphere that may not necessarily be in the best interests of the child.

Filing a State Complaint A state complaint may be filed by parents or by an organization or individual, including those from another state. Written directly to the State Education Agency (SEA), state complaints must describe what requirement of IDEA the school has violated, among other specific things. They must also be signed.

Each SEA must develop a model form to assist parents and other parties in filing a State complaint. However, the SEA or LEA (local education agency) may not require the use of its model forms. Another form or document may be used so long as the form or document includes the content required for filing a State complaint.  

The SEA must either:

• resolve the complaint itself, or • have a system in place where complaints are filed with the school district and parents can have the district's decision reviewed by the SEA.

The school system must be given the opportunity to respond to the state complaint, including making a proposal to resolve the complaint.

In most cases, the SEA must resolve the parents' complaint within 60 calendar days. It must issue a written decision that addresses each of the allegations in the state complaint and includes the reasons for the SEA’s final decision.

If the SEA finds that the school system has failed to provide appropriate services, the SEA must address the failure, including corrective action (such as compensatory services or monetary reimbursement), if appropriate to address the needs of the child. Due Process When due process is used as a way to resolve disputes, parents and the school present evidence before an impartial third person (called a hearing officer), and he or she decides how to resolve the problem based upon that evidence and the requirements of the IDEA.

Filing a due process complaint. Filing a due process complaint is the first step in the process that may lead to a due process hearing. The complaint must include specific information, as follows:

• the child's name • the address where the child resides • the name of the school the child is attending • a description of the conflict • a proposed resolution of the conflict, to the extent known and available to the person filing thecomplaint.

The information contained in the complaint must be kept confidential. The party filing the due process complaint must provide a copy to the other party and forward a copy to the SEA. A party may not have a hearing on a due process complaint until the party, or the attorney representing the party, files a due process complaint that meets these requirements.

An LEA has specific, time-sensitive responsibilities to carry out when it receives a due process complaint. For example, within 15 days, the LEA must convene a resolution meeting (unless the parties agree to use mediation or waive the resolution meeting). The purpose of the meeting is to give the parties the opportunity to resolve the issues in the due process complaint without holding a due process hearing.

If the resolution process does not succeed in resolving the dispute, the parties process to a due process hearing where an impartial, trained hearing officer hears the evidence and issues a hearing decision.

The due process hearing. During this hearing, each party has the opportunity to present their views in a formal legal setting, using witnesses, testimony, documents, and legal arguments that they believe are important for the hearing officer to consider. Since the due process hearing is a legal proceeding, a party will often choose to be represented by an attorney.

Within 45 days of the resolution period expiring, a final decision must be reached in the hearing and a copy of that decision mailed to each of the parties, unless the hearing officer grants a specific extension of this time period at the request of either party.

If the hearing officer's decision is not appealed, it is final. The LEA must implement the decision as soon as possible.

Finding Out More About the Policy in Your Area 

Your state will have specific ways for parents and schools to resolve their differences. If you would like to find out what those are, the local department of special education will probably have the state's guidelines. If not, contact the SEA and ask for a copy of their special education policies. 

You may also wish to call the Parent Training and Information (PTI) center in your state. PTIs are an excellent resource for parents to learn more about special education. 

[nasetmembers]

Organizational Learning Disabilities

Definition

An Organizational Learning Disorder is a type of learning disability specifically associated with difficulties in organization. Children with this disorder may require constant support in organizing, arranging, setting priorities and establishing time management when it comes to school tasks.

Diagnostic Symptoms

The diagnostic symptoms of an organizational disorder include difficulties:

with temporal-sequential disorganization

allocating and estimating time

following schedules

meeting deadlines

solving problems in stages

with material-spatial organization

keeping track of possessions

maintaining notebooks

arranging desks

finding objects like pencils and books

in settling down and functioning effectively when expectations or settings change

remembering what they are required to do (Levine, 1995)

Further Key Points

Developing good organizational skills is a key ingredient for success in school and in life. Although some people by nature are more organized than others, anyone can put routines and systems in place to help a child become more organized (LDOnline, 2005). Chronic disorganization is a handicap that often goes unnamed in schools throughout entire school years. Yet it accompanies other learning disabilities in slightly more than half of the cases surveyed. For most children with chronic disorganization, the causes are neurological. Further, Children with chronic disorganization may require daily coaching. Less frequent help is not effective (Shwarzbeck, 2006).

Types of Organizational Disorders

LD 9.01-CATASTROPHIC RESPONSE ORGANIZATIONAL DISORDERDEFINITION

A type of organizational disorder specifically associated with difficulties in handling too much stimuli and/or too much information at one time (Learning Disabilities Association, 2005).

EXPLANATION

Individuals with Catastrophic Response Organizational Disorder may exhibit an involuntary and overwhelmed reaction to too many sights, sounds and/or extreme emotions.  They may become dazed or unaware of one's surroundings, even "freezing" for a short time. For example, a student with this disorder may freeze up and/or be unable to think clearly when presented with a page of 20 math problems. In general, the student is overwhelmed by too much stimuli (Peniston, 1998).

LD 9.02-COGNITIVE DISORGANIZATION DISORDER(INTERNAL DISORDER)DEFINITION

A type of organizational disorder specifically associated with difficulties in thinking in an orderly, logical way, often leading to incomplete thoughts and statements (Learning Disabilities Association of Ontario, 2005).

EXPLANATION

Students with cognitive disorganization disorder struggle with organizing their thoughts and feelings.  They frequently exhibit many of the following symptoms:

difficulty thinking of words (but for the most part can communicate normally)

slowed mental process

make occasional mistakes

have failures in thinking and speech which can be corrected easily

loss of train of thought

forget what they are thinking or talking about

leave statements incomplete

sudden unexplained shifts in trend of thought or speech that they can correct with effort if asked

thoughts or statements that become incoherent and difficulties clarifying them.

difficulty thinking in an orderly, logical way

often jump to conclusions and have difficulty planning tasks

may often miss or forget steps in a sequence (Peniston, 1998)

LD 9.03-DIRECTIONALITY ORGANIZATIONAL DISORDERDEFINITION

A type of organizational disorder specifically associated with difficulties in directionality, e.g., distinguishing left from right; learning north, south, east, west; or learning the layout of a large symmetrical building (Learning Disabilities Association of Ontario, 2005).

EXPLANATION

Students with directionality type disorder have great difficulty with orienting themselves in the right direction. They frequently get lost, roam as if they lack a direction or purpose, and seem confused and unable to maneuver around the school or community without getting lost.

These problems become quite apparent during physical education and/or locating a new classroom at the beginning of the school year. In physical education, this individual has significant problems copying the movements of the teacher, as well as difficulties mirroring responses. Going in the correct direction may require many practice runs before exhibiting adequate skills (Peniston, 1998).

LD 9.04-EXTERNAL DISORGANIZATION DISORDERDEFINITION

A type of organizational disorder specifically associated with difficulties in being neat, structured, and organized in school, home, and other environments where organization of materials is essential for every day functioning.

EXPLANATION

Students with External Disorganization Disorder are outwardly disorganized.  Almost everything that they work on or have to do appear to lack structure, is messy, and borders on “completely unorganized.”  These children exhibit many of the following symptoms:

may have desks that are always cluttered and disorganized

notebooks and loose-leaf with papers falling out, ripped pages

limited/no awareness of order or neatness

absentmindedness

appear unable to incorporate suggestions dealing with organizational skills

difficulty with organizing their room, clothing, and homework assignments

often forget things

misplace things

seem confused with the reactions of frustration on the part of those around them

LD 9.05-TEMPORAL DISORGANIZATION DISORDERDEFINITION

A type of organizational disorder specifically associated with difficulties in time management and the organization of time for the completion of assignments (Learning Disabilities Association of Ontario, 2005).

EXPLANATION

Spatial-temporal processing deficits result in disorganization which is apparent in a lack of ability to organize oneself to accomplish a task. The more steps required to accomplish a task, the more apparent the disorganization will be.  In school, this can frequently lead to assignments not being carried out on time. This deficit is often interpreted as a "lack of motivation", inefficiency, or "lack of initiative", when in reality it is due to an inability to organize one’s time and firmly grasp time management principles (Learning Disabilities Association of Ontario, 2005).

Students with Temporal Disorganization Disorder exhibit many of the following symptoms:

often become confused about sequences and time

are often late for events they need to attend

have difficulties remembering when an assignment is due

don't know how much time to allow themselves to complete an assignment or job

appear to never be quite sure what to do first, what to do second, and what to do third when they write a report or work on a project.

lack appropriate time management skills

[nasetmembers]

Lesser Known Disorders in Special Education

NASET is proud to provide a series devoted to lesser known disorders that you may encounter in special education. While not as prevalent as other disorders experienced by most special education teachers, you should be aware of these disorders in order to become more knowledgeable, and increase your ability to assist patents of children with these disorders if they should appear in your classroom or school.  Today we will talk about Rett Syndrome.

Rett Syndrome

Rett Syndrome (RS) is a neurological disorder seen almost exclusively in females, and found in a variety of racial and ethnic groups worldwide (International Rett Syndrome Association, 2005).

DIAGNOSTIC SYMPTOMS

An inability to perform motor functions is perhaps the most severely disabling feature of Rett syndrome, interfering with every body movement, including eye gaze and speech. Other diagnostic symptoms of Rett Syndrome include (International Rett Syndrome Association, 2005; National Institute on Neurological Disorders and Stroke, 2005c):

An early period of apparently normal or near normal development until 6–18 months of life.

A period of temporary stagnation or regression follows during which the child loses communication skills and purposeful use of the hands.

stereotyped hand movements

gait disturbances

slowing of the rate of head growth become apparent

Seizures

Disorganized breathing patterns which occur when awake

Compulsive hand movements such as wringing and washing follow the loss of functional use of the hands

FURTHER KEY POINTS

When diagnosing Rett Syndrome, it is important to recognize that there are four stages to this syndrome. According to the National Institute for Neurological Disorders and Stroke (2004c), these are the following:

Stage I -  called early onset, generally begins between 6 and 18 months of age. Quite frequently, this stage is overlooked because symptoms of the disorder may be somewhat vague, and parents and doctors may not notice the subtle slowing of development at first. The infant may begin to show less eye contact and have reduced interest in toys. There may be delays in gross motor skills such as sitting or crawling. Hand-wringing and decreasing head growth may occur, but not enough to draw attention. This stage usually lasts for a few months but can persist for more than a year.

Stage II -  or the rapid destructive stage, usually begins between ages 1 and 4 and may last for weeks or months. This stage may have either a rapid or a gradual onset as purposeful hand skills and spoken language are lost. The characteristic hand movements begin to emerge during this stage and often include wringing, washing, clapping, or tapping, as well as repeatedly moving the hands to the mouth. Hands are sometimes clasped behind the back or held at the sides, with random touching, grasping, and releasing. The movements persist while the child is awake but disappear during sleep. Breathing irregularities such as episodes of apnea and hyperventilation may occur, although breathing is usually normal during sleep. Some girls also display autistic-like symptoms such as loss of social interaction and communication. General irritability and sleep irregularities may be seen. Gait patterns are unsteady and initiating motor movements can be difficult. Slowing of head growth is usually noticed during this stage.

Stage III - also called the plateau or pseudo-stationary stage, usually begins between ages 2 and 10 and can last for years. Apraxia, motor problems, and seizures are prominent during this stage. However, there may be improvement in behavior, with less irritability, crying, and autistic-like features. An individual in stage III may show more interest in her surroundings, and her alertness, attention span, and communication skills may improve. Many girls remain in this stage for most of their lives.

Stage IV - called the late motor deterioration stage—can last for years or decades and is characterized by reduced mobility. Muscle weakness, rigidity (stiffness), spasticity, dystonia (increased muscle tone with abnormal posturing of extremity or trunk), and scoliosis (curvature of the spine) are other prominent features. Girls who were previously able to walk may stop walking. Generally, there is no decline in cognition, communication, or hand skills in stage IV. Repetitive hand movements may decrease, and eye gaze usually improve.

If you enjoyed this post and are interested in becoming a member of The National Association of Special Education Teachers, please visit our website.