Barbara Roth

 

IEP Reflection

 

 

What are issues to keep in mind in order to ensure a smooth IEP?

 

To ensure a smooth IEP the teachers, resource people, including the school physiologist must be prepared with their current assessment, evaluations, and any new developments this student has had since the last IEP meeting a year ago.  The parents must bring any current medical documentation and any concerns they have noticed in the child’s behavior to the meeting.  Since the students are usually present at the meeting the staff should be prepared to give positive feedback about something good the student is doing currently.  A good example of this would be to relate scouting, sports or something of interest to the child.  The meeting will run smoothly if everyone is timely and ready to put the student first with no interruptions.

 

What could be factors that would contribute to the success or failure of both IEPs?

 

With the 6 year old intervention is happening at a young age which will give this student more of a base for help and to track progress throughout the years to come.  Goal setting is a major factor and to see the goals followed through.  Although the parents are divorces the mother is very organized and can help the student with his organizational skills on a regular basis.  Working in the resource room 45 minutes a day ensures a daily check point for this student.  This will lead to the student feeling more accomplished and cared about.

 

The 10 grader has less chance for success in my opinion.  Both parents are at the meeting which is a good thing; however the father is belligerent to the son.  The boy does not speak and there is a language barrier and the translator was not accurate in the translations.  The fact that the assistant principle was late, didn’t know the students background and left early is an indication that the school is not all on board with the child.  There was no school psychologist there.  In order for this to be successful all administrators, teachers and resource people should be present and show an honest interest and dedication to the student.

 

Do you think these IEP’s were going to be successful or not?

 

I believe the 6 year olds IEP will be successful because he has a team behind him and good home support to keep him on track.  Also because he is so young documentation is starting early so records over the years can be compared and studied for future assessments and needs.

 

I believe the 10^th grader is less likely to be successful because he doesn’t have the school totally vested in him.  It is clear that the assistant principle is not involved, and that the school psychologist was not present and the parents are negative.  This alone would show the child that this process is not of utmost importance and that they are not the priority.  We don’t know the history of this child but the fact that he is in 10^th grade with all this going on makes me believe if there was intervention in the past it has not been a steady process with a team behind it.

 

Why is an agenda important?  Goals?  Can you think of any other elements that are important to have?

 

An agenda is very important to ensure a smooth informative meeting.  Teachers must have accurate records of not only academics but also behaviors and observations within their classroom.  Resource people who work with these students on a regular basis should also have accurate records of student progress.  Also all evaluations should be gone over and accurately assessed before the meeting so that new goals can be set for this student.  Goals are important to all parties involved.  For the student and parents they will know what is expected and what will be worked on for that year.  For the teachers it is a guideline for them to follow and a goal to try their best to accomplish.  For the Resource people and administration the IEP gives guidelines and accommodations that other students will not need or have.  Another element that I think is very important is communication between staff and parents.  I also believe that the staff must have mid year meetings so that they stay on track with the IEP.  I have seen to many IEP meetings and the paperwork looks wonderful and then it is forgotten about as soon as the parents sign it.

 

I myself have had special needs with vision impairment and my son had an IEP all throughout high school and now into college with a processing problem.  The IEP meetings were very positive and functional.  They set clear expectations for both my son and the school.  I happen to be friends with two of the staff members in the resource room so it was a wonderful experience.  We kept in communication throughout the year and my son did wonderfully.

Artifacts

 

 

 

Reflections

 

Barbara Roth 

Spring 2009 Special Populations

 

Reflection:

 

This article was a very unique way of saying what I have been trying to say for years.  I myself am a student with a disability and can totally relate to the entire article.  Students with both disabilities and language problems I believe can be grouped together in their feelings.  I love to use Gardner’s intelligences with my class from the beginning.  I take each intelligence and put it on a separate piece of paper and then make it as big as I can and post it in front of the room.  I then give my students strips in the same colors with a brief explanation of the intelligence and ask them to paste them in the order they like to learn the most.  I then take the information and compile it to make a classroom chart of all students’ names and rank their choices.  I analyze the information and pick out the top 3 or 4 intelligences my students have chosen and try my hardest to plan all my instruction in these ways.  Not only does it help the ELL but it also helps the special needs students without just using a book and having them read and answer questions.  When the article spoke of having and instrument that is then removed and replaced with another brought home the fact that I too was in this environment my entire grade school through my first degree in college.  It wasn’t until I moved to California and my new surgeon heard I was going back to school that I received the breakthrough I needed.  I have a visual disability that requires a reader on my computer and extra time to take tests.  I not only was the first student at El Camino College with this particular disability but I was asked by the disabled student services department to teach others about the computer system Kurzweil.  I trained approximately 28 people on that system before leaving to go to CSUDH and then trained their entire staff on the same system.  We disabled students do not choose to be this way; I look at it as a gift now.  I feel that my struggles and triumphs have made me stronger and more sympathetic of others with difficulties.  To look at any disability through the eyes of the person with the disability is an amazing thing in itself.  I tell all my friends that complain about disabled students in their room to step back and put themselves in the shoes of that child just for a day.  Understand how very difficult things can be in a room with no accommodations or diverse teaching.  We as teachers are there to teach to all students, not the easy ones.  I believe too many teachers forget that. 

 

Artifact Assignment

 

 

I have a male student that had many behaviors that lead me to believe that he may have autism and possibly an attention deficit problem.  Throughout the three weeks that I evaluated his action at the beginning of the school year, behaviors and verbal out burst I took very concise note on his movements and verbal cries.  I took note that he was constantly looking away and wanting to read his silent reading book.  When asked a question in the middle of what appeared that he was not paying attention and was off task he would be able to answer without hesitation.  He would constantly about every five to seven minute say, “yep, got ya”.  He would make other students laugh but didn’t appear to be seeking attention from others.  His written work was almost illegible.  If I had to compare his writing to another student, it would probably be a first grade level.  The pressure that he put on his pencil to write was tremendous.  The actual pencil marks on the paper are wide and super dark in color.  He was able to take direction if I orally gave it to him individually but had a difficult time with whole group direction and getting on task.  He is a very social boy with many friends but is easily taken advantage of on the playground because of his kindness.  He will give up his spot in line to others or give away a snack at lunch if another child says they like it. 

 

I referred him first to an SST.  The SST led to parents getting him tested privately.  His father is an engineer and mother is an attorney.  With their intervention he was diagnosed with autism.  The school district currently has a one on one aid assigned to him that keeps him on track and organized throughout the day.  The aid is terrific in the classroom allowing me to do the discipline and he is responding very well.  He now has and IEP which is reviewed every October.  This student is gifted in math and reads at a college level.  He loves to be challenged with critical thinking questions and is quick to use very high levels of thinking strategies to come up with answers and solve situations.  He is a joy to have in the classroom

Spring 2009 Special Populations

Artifact:

How do I use techniques in my room to address issues brought by my special needs students.  I have 4 students this year that I believed to be very intelligent but could not focus on the task at hand and instead were a disruption to my entire class.  I quickly realized that I believed all of them to be ADHD or some form of.  I did many time in motion charts of each of the students.  I picked different locations and different times of day under different conditions.  I would write at an assembly, church, while taking a test, during group work, and many other times.  I then wrote a report on each of these students that I hand delivered to the school psychologist.  Based on my reports and records of their individual work that intervention had to be done immediately.  We together have met with all the parents and sent our reports to each of their individual doctors.  All students are now on medication and we are evaluating each one individually.  I am also monitoring several students who are very low in reading comprehension and they are going to be evaluated and tested.  I am frustrated by the other teachers at the school who have not had the classes that I have on disabilities.  These poor kids think they are stupid because no one has done anything to help them and now they are in 6^th grade.  I say never to late only that I wish someone would have thought enough of the student to help them sooner.  I enjoy the challenge of all my students and their uniqueness in the classroom.  It is a daily struggle to come up with the right lessons in the correct format that will engage all students.  I feel I have done an excellent job at being open to new ways to develop as a teacher to reach those students in need and yet challenge those that are gifted.