My focus for this standard was in the collaboration and trainings in the Special Education Department in Middlebrook School as well as in the district. I worked with the other Special Education Instructional Leaders (SPED ILs) to create similar SPED binders and google drives to create consistency of practice from building to building. We also meet monthly with the Director and Assistant Director of Special Education as a team. We worked to create a district wide transition calendar for all students moving from school to school next year. We scheduled staffings for each team of teachers working with the students and coordinating PPTs to ensure a seamless transition of service and best practice for each student with special needs. We worked …show more content…
I invited SPED staff from other buildings to attend and shared our planning system and materials afterwards. Feedback was not only positive but they asked for additional trainings and were excited to use the skills with our students.
We are now analyzing para support need from building to building and reviewing best practice for scheduling para support for children while still fostering independence. This is a challenge as student IEPs are individualized for a reason, however, we are looking to create some guidelines for staff to ensure efficiency of resources, as well as alternative and more creative ways to schedule our human resources. The challenges we faced in scheduling the transition plan as well as the paraprofessional trainings is three fold: time, culture from building to building and priorities of all stakeholders. First, the time needed to do such work takes us away from our other obligations in our buildings, most significantly, away from the students. The SPED ILs spent countless hours working together to create a transition calendar that would work for all schools. This was challenging when working around district and state testing, as well as building timelines for creating master schedules. Secondly, the culture from building to building is different and while that is ok, we needed to consider and respect each building’s past
The purpose of schooling is to help our special education students to be functional and independent in the real world. I want them to learn how to deal with real life situations and to be able to understand and adapt to the changes it may bring. For example, being an autism teacher of high school students, my philosophy is different than of an autism teacher of elementary students. The most important thing of concern for the older students is to make sure they are as independent as possible and teach them some type of job skill to help them acquire a pay check to help with their care. I also help them have an
A special education student’s transition from school to adulthood is important. Several things need to be addressed and obstacles need to be overcome in order to do so. Specific student evaluations to assess emotional social and academic levels are necessary are beginning steps in this transition.
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) greatly emphasizes the participation of the child’s family during the Individualized Education Program (IEP) process. Parents and/or caregivers are considered one of the most essential members of their child’s IEP team. Their involvement benefits their child’s overall academic success. Unfortunately, full parental involvement does not always occur and there can be many different reasons for their nonparticipation. The IEP process can be a very overwhelming experience for families with children with special needs, especially for those who are culturally diverse. It is the job of the professionals and special education teachers to understand the importance of collaborating with family’s
A Special Needs Trust in Southington CT, often referred to as a Supplemental Needs Trust in Southington CT, is a special type of trust intended for use with individuals who are either mentally or physically disabled. The trust is written in a manner that allows the individual to use property reserved for his or her benefit, without interfering with their ability to obtain essential government benefits that are needs-based. In addition, the trust offers administrative benefits, by allowing the holding and management of property intended for use by the beneficiary in situations where he or she doesn't have the proper legal capacity to manage their financial matters.
Adults with learning disabilities can be very vulnerable and when they are accommodated in supported living, it is possible that they become exposed to further difficulties. Although the principles of the MCA set out to promote the independence of adults with learning disability whom obtain capacity, as outlined earlier, whilst they are living within supported accommodation they may have a loss of freedom and/or a reduction in choices and decisions, because although an individual may have the capacity to identify their needs and establish what they would ‘like’ to do, it is not always possible, again because of austerity measures and cut-backs which effectively impact staffing levels.
Children With Autism Children with autism have the possibility to improve greatly, and some even overcome the effects of autism if appropriate therapies are begun early enough. A multifaceted disorder, autism has long baffled professionals and parents alike. At a point in time, doctors gave parents absolutely no hope for the recovery of their children. But recently, new treatments and therapies have shown that improvement is possible. With early intervention, intensive care, some children have if not fully recovered, improved, and have been integrated into schools, indistinguishable from their peers.
The first educator that I observed was Mrs. Crystal Sullivan at Fox Meadow Elementary on September 14, 2017. Mrs. Sullivan is a music teacher at this school and on this particular day, Mrs. Sullivan had special needs students in her classroom in the early morning. I chose to observe Mrs. Sullivan while teaching special needs because I had a great interest in special needs students. The students came into the classroom and first went to sit on the risers in the back of the room. Accompanying them were 4 other adults who assisted the special education teacher. Mrs. Sullivan began her class with the “Hello” song which the students were receptive to. She played a small guitar while singing the song and they also began to pat the beat on their legs. The disabilities of the students ranged from severe to non-severe. There was one student who did not seem to enjoy the music because he continued to cover his ears. The teachers accommodated him by encouraging him to listen and participate. Mrs. Sullivan used many engaging techniques such as physical activity while teaching her music class with the special needs students. For example, Mrs. Sullivan played the “All Fall Down” song on the smart board and each student performed a move at various times in the song. The students would either act like they were cranking up or they would crank down and fall to the carpet. She also utilized the parachute which students held and walked around as music played. Mrs. Sullivan also used dynamics
Many children have had learning disabilities for many years. Each year more and more of these children are being helped. Schools are working to improve their special education programs and to have all kinds of students work together in the same classroom. The practice of inclusion was started because educators felt that special needs students would achieve more in traditional classrooms with non-learning disabled students than they would in special education classes. However, research findings suggest that there really is no difference in academic achievement levels for special needs students when they are placed in regular classrooms.
To ensure that all children with disabilities have available to them a free appropriate public education that emphasizes special education and related services designed to meet their unique needs and prepare them for further education, employment and independent living, and to ensure that the rights of children with disabilities and parents of such children are protected….
When a child doesn’t seem to be learning, some teachers and parents in his/her life might criticize the child and think of them as stupid, or maybe just too lazy to want to learn. What they don’t realize is that the child might have a learning disability. But how are these children being helped? There are many programs, special schools and facilities, home teaching methods and many other ways in which children with Learning Disabilities are being helped.
Do you know anyone who suffers from a learning disability? There are several disabilities out there, so chances are you must know someone who battles with the day-to-day hassles. But, are learning disabilities really a hassle? More often than not, this can be considered a misconception. Learning disabilities (LD) affect the way a person “of at least average intelligence receives, stores, and processes information” (NCLD 2001). This neurological disorder prevents children especially from being able to perform well academically. Therefore more time and special programs are fostered to them. Once one is educated about what the disability means, the causes of LD, what programs are available to
Living with disabilities on a daily basis can be more difficult then some realize. Many people who are born with developmental disabilities start their education and therapy at a very young age and there are also those people who have been diagnosed with a disability sometime during their lifetime. But what is there for them to do once they have graduated from high school or are told they are too old to continue in a regular school or they are simply told they aren’t accepted in the “normal” community? In all reality there really
In discussions with Ben Robertson and Matthew Rose on what our topic for the Instructional Leadership Action Plan (ILAP), we all believed that providing teachers with more information on the Special Education Process would well serve the needs of all teachers. Ben and I both talked to our principals about having the ILAP at our respective schools and both principals agreed that the need for it was great in both buildings. However, when discussing travel for Matthew it was decided that we would have the ILAP at Nickelsville Elementary and would later hold the same ILAP, based on our feedback from teachers at Nickelsville Elementary and our cohort, at Gate City Middle School.
One of the most controversial issues facing educators today is the topic of educating students with disabilities, specifically through the concept of inclusion. Inclusion is defined as having every student be a part of the classroom all working together no matter if the child has a learning disability or not (Farmer) (Inclusion: Where We’ve Been.., 2005, para. 5). The mentally retarded population has both a low IQ and the inability to perform everyday functions. Activities such as eating, dressing, walking, and in some cases, talking can be hopeless for a child with mental retardation.
The importance of education for all children, especially for those with disability and with limited social and economic opportunities, is indisputable. Indeed, the special education system allowed children with disability increased access to public education. Apart from that, the special education system has provided for them an effective framework for their education, and for the institutions involved to identify children with disability sooner. In turn, this promotes greater inclusion of children with disability alongside their nondisabled peers. In spite of these advances however, many obstacles remain, including delays in providing services for children with disability, as well as regulatory and