This week's article is entitled, "A Practical Plan for Managing the Behavior of Students with Disabilities in General Physical Education". The article begins with stating that one of the top reasons teachers feel discouraged from teaching is because they lack the ability to manage and motivate student behavior. There are others who believe that using punishment to control students' behavior means having a behavior management plan. "The purpose of this article is to describe how to develop a positive behavior plan designed to empower students rather than control their performance and learning" (Lavay, French, Henderson, 2007). The article provides information that may guide teachers who teach physical education create their own plan using the examples and methods explained in this article.
The article states that in order for any behavior management plan to work is to include everyone that sees this student part of the team so that the student knows everyone has the same expectations, he or she will have a plan that is consistent and fair. There three steps to follow in creating a behavior management plan. First the physical education teacher must observe the behavior he/she wants to decrease, redirect, or change. The behavior needs to be measureable and defined in order to have well thought out plan and know what exact intervention/s to use. If there are various behaviors that need to be change, teachers should choose the behavior that occurs the most and the one that creates a barrier to student's learning and his/her safety and his/her classmates.
The second step is to use observe and analyze the chosen behavior. It is important to create a baseline. This is called the functional behavior analysis. This is the time to keep track of the behavior, how long does it last, how intense its is, and at what time it occurs. After the observation has occurred, a realistic goal must created that students can work towards to. Here is where a teacher can use different types of behavior management approaches: Behavior Approach, Humanistic Approach, and Biophysical Approach. Behavior approach most common model is the ABC approach (antecedent-behavior-consequence). The Humanistic Approach focuses on the development of self-concept, positive interpersonal relationships, intrinsic motivation, personal and social responsible and other qualities of good character. The Biophysical Approach focuses on the physiological. Taking a look at what student eats, trying relaxing techniques, and checking if medication is being taken.
The third and last step is to evaluate the intervention(s) and determine how effective they were. In the end, the article emphasizes the importance of including physical education teachers in behavior management plan, the plan needs to be developed considering the individual student, the environment and incorporate the use of different behavior management approaches.
To better understand how intervention strategies can be used in the physical education setting, there is an example used following the process of an behavior management plan with a student.
This article made me realize the importance presence in BMP is. I don't think I've ever sat in a meeting that included the P.E. teachers. At my building it seems like they create their own plan independently from the gen. ed. teachers. The article provides so many good ideas that it makes me want to share these with my co-workers.
Lavay, B., French, R., Henderson, H. (2007, February). A practical plan for managing the behavior
of students with disabilities in general physical education. Solutions for Including Individuals with
Disabilities Vol. 78 (2). Pages 42-48. Retrieved from
http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ794532.pdf.
Sunday, November 15, 2015
Sunday, November 8, 2015
Article Review on Transition Planning for Students with High Incidence Disabilities
This week's article, Social Capital During the Postsecondary Transition for Young Adults with High Incidence Disabilities stresses how important social networks are important in the lives of young adults with a disability as they transition from high school life into adult life. The networks ar important because these social capital/networks can help ease into this new chapter in their lives and help "face challenges specific to disability and interact in the adult world of employment, postsecondary education and community,"(Trainer, Morningstar, Murray, Kim, 1). The article continues to mention the importance of community participation. Being involved in his/her community increases the young adult's life social capital or network. the people in his/her community know who she/he is able to have richer and better opportunities. He/she has a sense of belonging. In the last ten years there has been an increase of help given to students with disabilities, specifically ADHD, LD, and Social/Emotional disability students, still the article stresses there are still changes to be made. On a positive note it is reported that young adults with a disability have become registered voters, volunteer in a community engagements. on the other hand, here is a high level of young adults with a disability being arrested, not really forming life lasting friendships, and may not gotten married and/or having children.
There are several reasons why developing a social capital is important for young adults with disabilities at work, in the community and a school after high school. These people in their social circles may have "tangible material goods" they may need, like maybe asking for a ride home. Another thing people in their social circles can offer are intangible resources and valuable information, customs, values this place are important to know for the young adult entering this new world.
There are certain barriers that can prevent a young adult with a disability to form these social networks. First it's the disability itself. Second, it could be the interventions received by the young adult are so individualized and might not be available at his/her work, school, or activity. Thirdly, there is still a social stigma with having to work with someone who has a disability.
The article continues on to describe a study created by the authors on how social capital helped students succeed after high school The participates were between the ages of 19 and 27 years. There over 1,250 young adults participated having ADHD, LD or EBD. The information here is astounding. It considered the following: socio-demographic characteristics (gender, age, type of disability, and ethnicity), connections to Adult studies (employment services, postsecondary accommodations), and activities outside of work or school. The results the authors found in this study hope that can be taken into consideration by individual transitioning teams.
I like the article, the information is presented in a clear and concise manner. It is direct and tot he point, it tells what has been done, the positive an negative outlooks and suggestions to help the lives of young adults with a disability who are transitioning into their adult lives.
Personally, this article and the topic this week have affected me in a manner that I didn't expect. Last week in my reflection I mentioned a bit about my baby sister and the difficulties she has been facing lately. My sister's ADHD was diagnosed after high school. After high school she went on to study massage therapy something she had been passionate about all throughout high school. She had a very difficult time finishing her career but she did, and finally she got to walk a stage, finally after not being able to walk at her high school's graduation. I am so proud of what she's accomplished on her own but I can't help to think how much more she'd gotten ahead of time if she'd had a transitioning plan in high school. Her classes would have been different, she could have had modified assignments to feel as a successful student with a purpose instead of feeling like a loser and being labeled as a lazy student by her teachers. Her social capital has definitely suffered. She is slowly working on building up her self-esteem and believing she can accomplish so much more.
My sister and other young adults, need to know to stand up for themselves and speak up. We, family members, teachers, counselors, outside resource providers are her to help them find that voice and make their voices are heard.
Trainor, A., Morningstar, M., Murray, A., Kim, H. (2013, January 1). Social capital during the
postsecondary transition for young adults with high incidence disabilities. Prevention Researcher
Vol. 20 (2),7-10. retrieved from http://ezproxy.trnty.edu:3064/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=5d7e7228-aa27-4f9d-9461-642bf48b1afa%40sessionmgr114&vid=9&hid=115
There are several reasons why developing a social capital is important for young adults with disabilities at work, in the community and a school after high school. These people in their social circles may have "tangible material goods" they may need, like maybe asking for a ride home. Another thing people in their social circles can offer are intangible resources and valuable information, customs, values this place are important to know for the young adult entering this new world.
There are certain barriers that can prevent a young adult with a disability to form these social networks. First it's the disability itself. Second, it could be the interventions received by the young adult are so individualized and might not be available at his/her work, school, or activity. Thirdly, there is still a social stigma with having to work with someone who has a disability.
The article continues on to describe a study created by the authors on how social capital helped students succeed after high school The participates were between the ages of 19 and 27 years. There over 1,250 young adults participated having ADHD, LD or EBD. The information here is astounding. It considered the following: socio-demographic characteristics (gender, age, type of disability, and ethnicity), connections to Adult studies (employment services, postsecondary accommodations), and activities outside of work or school. The results the authors found in this study hope that can be taken into consideration by individual transitioning teams.
I like the article, the information is presented in a clear and concise manner. It is direct and tot he point, it tells what has been done, the positive an negative outlooks and suggestions to help the lives of young adults with a disability who are transitioning into their adult lives.
Personally, this article and the topic this week have affected me in a manner that I didn't expect. Last week in my reflection I mentioned a bit about my baby sister and the difficulties she has been facing lately. My sister's ADHD was diagnosed after high school. After high school she went on to study massage therapy something she had been passionate about all throughout high school. She had a very difficult time finishing her career but she did, and finally she got to walk a stage, finally after not being able to walk at her high school's graduation. I am so proud of what she's accomplished on her own but I can't help to think how much more she'd gotten ahead of time if she'd had a transitioning plan in high school. Her classes would have been different, she could have had modified assignments to feel as a successful student with a purpose instead of feeling like a loser and being labeled as a lazy student by her teachers. Her social capital has definitely suffered. She is slowly working on building up her self-esteem and believing she can accomplish so much more.
My sister and other young adults, need to know to stand up for themselves and speak up. We, family members, teachers, counselors, outside resource providers are her to help them find that voice and make their voices are heard.
Trainor, A., Morningstar, M., Murray, A., Kim, H. (2013, January 1). Social capital during the
postsecondary transition for young adults with high incidence disabilities. Prevention Researcher
Vol. 20 (2),7-10. retrieved from http://ezproxy.trnty.edu:3064/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=5d7e7228-aa27-4f9d-9461-642bf48b1afa%40sessionmgr114&vid=9&hid=115
Monday, November 2, 2015
Adolescents with high incidence learning disabilities
The article I read this week is called, "Learning Strategies for Adolescents with Mild Disabilities." These learning strategies may help prepare an adolescent with a disability how to succeed in various aspects of his/her young adult life. These strategies could help a young adult secure a job opportunity instead of running the risk of dropping. The article states that "students taught using strategies showed the most improvement compared to other methods" (4,) weather these strategies had been published or created by the teacher in his/her classroom based on the common core standards or the needs of a specific student.
It gives a checklist to the teacher of component we must consider when developing a strategy for a student with a LD. Some of the suggestions it provides is to break down tasks into small steps student can accomplish, use verbs at the beginning of each task, provide examples, model, provide visuals, and develop mnemonic as a strategy to remember order of the steps to follow. Other strategies that are suggested for teachers to use are encouraging the student to think aloud to understand the why they are doing an assignment and how they will complete the assignment.
The article then goes on to explain four learning strategies undergraduate college students created at their student teaching site. The first strategy is called the Payment Strategy. To help eighth grade girls and boys who had an LD, EBD or ADHD understand life-skills math in a special education class. She developed a systematic way for students to learn how to balance a check book. Before she began the unit she gave students a pretest to find out what they knew already. She created a mnemonic strategy with the word PAYMENT so that each word stood for a step the students must follow in balancing a check book. The teacher combined her lessons with items of interest students would like to purchase, practice writing on laminated checkbooks. and used the smart board.
Another strategy developed was the SWING Strategy. This strategy was developed to help students analyze and complete a job application. This student teacher also provided a two part pretest. After the pretest, she provided the meaning of each letter in SWING to the students. This way her and the classroom teacher they could help focus on their strengths, weaknesses and goals. They provide guided practice using applications from local businesses. On their post test students did incredibly well.
The next strategy mentioned in the article is called The Sales Tax Strategy. She engaged students with a personal story about not having enough money a t-shirt she really wanted which really engaged the students from the beginning. First she focused on calculator skills they would need to use to in this math unit. When the student teacher taught them how to convert percentages into decimals she'd think out loud so students could follow her thought process. They practice finding the sales tax with items the students really were interested in. She guided them through the process with a four step mnemonic phrase: WMKA. 1. Write the sales tax percentage as a decimal, 2. Multiply the cost of the item by the sales tax decimal rate, 3. Keep only two number right of the decimal point and 4. Add the sales amount to the cots of the item.
The last strategy suggested is called the BIRDS strategy. This is a reading comprehension to help students systematically organize text, analyze the information they just read, and understand the meaning. He developed a mnemonic phrase for each word in BIRDS. He had the students reflect on the times that they were confused after reading a text and encouraged them to use the BIRDS strategy in all types of reading they would have to do in school. He encouraged students to break down the sentences in the text that were confusing, locate unknown words in dictionary to understand its meaning and modeled how to ask for help. The student teacher also helped them summarize parts of a whole paragraph. Students completed guided practice and then given a post test. Students didn't do so good on their posttest which suggested that the students needed to be retaught and maybe breaking down the steps into smaller steps.
I liked the article because these are strategies that can be definitely used in the classroom. As I read these suggestions, it reminded me of things that I have done similarly to these strategies, like using local shops advertisement ads to find a final price of an item using the sales tax. This year, I am co-teaching 7th grade social studies. The first unit was for the students to learn all 50 states of the United States. To help my bilingual students we created Mnemonic sentences with clusters of states so they could remember the location of each state. After the test, one student mentioned he had remembered the silly sentences we had created to help him on the test. The teacher I worked with had other ideas too, like showing them this silly song on YouTube everyday when students walked into class, color coding different regions of the U.S. map and creating flash cards for each state.
I also liked how honest the student teachers were with their final results. Some did succeed in having their students learn and improve their skills in that subject, still all four teachers mentioned what failed and what could have been done to improve the lessons. And that is what teaching is, teaching and re-teaching and going back to the drawing board to recreate lessons. It is hard work and takes so much brain power but in the end it is worth it because students will benefit in the long run.
Conderman, G., Koman, K., Schibelka, M., Higgin, K., Cooper, C., Butler, J. (2013). Learning
Strategies for Adolescents with Mild Disabilities. Pages 1-24. retrieved from
http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED545373.pdf.
It gives a checklist to the teacher of component we must consider when developing a strategy for a student with a LD. Some of the suggestions it provides is to break down tasks into small steps student can accomplish, use verbs at the beginning of each task, provide examples, model, provide visuals, and develop mnemonic as a strategy to remember order of the steps to follow. Other strategies that are suggested for teachers to use are encouraging the student to think aloud to understand the why they are doing an assignment and how they will complete the assignment.
The article then goes on to explain four learning strategies undergraduate college students created at their student teaching site. The first strategy is called the Payment Strategy. To help eighth grade girls and boys who had an LD, EBD or ADHD understand life-skills math in a special education class. She developed a systematic way for students to learn how to balance a check book. Before she began the unit she gave students a pretest to find out what they knew already. She created a mnemonic strategy with the word PAYMENT so that each word stood for a step the students must follow in balancing a check book. The teacher combined her lessons with items of interest students would like to purchase, practice writing on laminated checkbooks. and used the smart board.
Another strategy developed was the SWING Strategy. This strategy was developed to help students analyze and complete a job application. This student teacher also provided a two part pretest. After the pretest, she provided the meaning of each letter in SWING to the students. This way her and the classroom teacher they could help focus on their strengths, weaknesses and goals. They provide guided practice using applications from local businesses. On their post test students did incredibly well.
The next strategy mentioned in the article is called The Sales Tax Strategy. She engaged students with a personal story about not having enough money a t-shirt she really wanted which really engaged the students from the beginning. First she focused on calculator skills they would need to use to in this math unit. When the student teacher taught them how to convert percentages into decimals she'd think out loud so students could follow her thought process. They practice finding the sales tax with items the students really were interested in. She guided them through the process with a four step mnemonic phrase: WMKA. 1. Write the sales tax percentage as a decimal, 2. Multiply the cost of the item by the sales tax decimal rate, 3. Keep only two number right of the decimal point and 4. Add the sales amount to the cots of the item.
The last strategy suggested is called the BIRDS strategy. This is a reading comprehension to help students systematically organize text, analyze the information they just read, and understand the meaning. He developed a mnemonic phrase for each word in BIRDS. He had the students reflect on the times that they were confused after reading a text and encouraged them to use the BIRDS strategy in all types of reading they would have to do in school. He encouraged students to break down the sentences in the text that were confusing, locate unknown words in dictionary to understand its meaning and modeled how to ask for help. The student teacher also helped them summarize parts of a whole paragraph. Students completed guided practice and then given a post test. Students didn't do so good on their posttest which suggested that the students needed to be retaught and maybe breaking down the steps into smaller steps.
I liked the article because these are strategies that can be definitely used in the classroom. As I read these suggestions, it reminded me of things that I have done similarly to these strategies, like using local shops advertisement ads to find a final price of an item using the sales tax. This year, I am co-teaching 7th grade social studies. The first unit was for the students to learn all 50 states of the United States. To help my bilingual students we created Mnemonic sentences with clusters of states so they could remember the location of each state. After the test, one student mentioned he had remembered the silly sentences we had created to help him on the test. The teacher I worked with had other ideas too, like showing them this silly song on YouTube everyday when students walked into class, color coding different regions of the U.S. map and creating flash cards for each state.
I also liked how honest the student teachers were with their final results. Some did succeed in having their students learn and improve their skills in that subject, still all four teachers mentioned what failed and what could have been done to improve the lessons. And that is what teaching is, teaching and re-teaching and going back to the drawing board to recreate lessons. It is hard work and takes so much brain power but in the end it is worth it because students will benefit in the long run.
Conderman, G., Koman, K., Schibelka, M., Higgin, K., Cooper, C., Butler, J. (2013). Learning
Strategies for Adolescents with Mild Disabilities. Pages 1-24. retrieved from
http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED545373.pdf.
Monday, October 12, 2015
Summary: Article on Physical and Health Impairments
The article I read is called, "Unique Educational Needs of Learners with Physical and other Health Impairments. It was written in 1991 witch made me think maybe the information is outdated still I continued reading to see if there has been some things that remain the same and what has changed.
The first few pages describe what is considered to be physical and health impairments and provide examples just like our chapter we read for our assignment this week. Some conditions in the article that were not mentioned in the book were AIDS, multiple sclerosis, ataxia, and spasticity, and athetosis. It could be because they are not as prevalent as the others mentioned in the book or maybe these conditions since then have been named something else or have been marked as part of a condition of another preexisting condition.
There twenty educational needs that need to be considered for learners with physical and health impairments.
1. Academic Needs. As educators we need to be informed what are the capabilities of our students, what they know to do and what they can't. A technique suggested here is using the principles of behavior modification which is a sequence of steps that begins with what he/she knows already and ending with an ultimate goal of what he/she needs to learn.
2. The need for a specialized curriculum. This curriculum should help improve mobility skills, enhance self-concept in the areas of self-worth, self-esteem, and self image, improve any academic deficiencies, improve socialization skills improve adaptive behavior, promote safety and emergency skills, improve self-care skills in order to develop independent living skills, improve health maintenance skills, develop skills that will prepare them for career opportunities and the world of work and to provide opportunities for successful goal completion.
3. Physical Needs of the Physical and Health Impaired: proper exercise, proper hygiene, proper rest and relaxation, provide time to take medicine, and proper maintenance of adaptive devices and amputations. Time for them may be accommodated for the time they need to rest especially after a type of physical activity.
4. The need for self-help skills where they feel like they can contribute something to the world.
5. The need for adaptive devices such as prosthesis, orthosis, adaptive devices (special boards, computers and electronic synthesized speech output devices.)
6. The need for psychological support. As teachers we need to be aware that because of their impairment students may feel angry, depressed, withdrawn, frustrated and/or sensitive. The better they feel about themselves, the better they will become in meting their educational goals. A prevalent feeling we need to be aware of is the "unresolved feelings of dependency and inadequate ways of dealing with necessary dependence"(Kendall, 1991). As these students become adolescent we need to be able to also provide a sense of : privacy, participation (let him/her make decisions for himelf/herself), confidence, knowledge, and support.
7. The need for mobility. Teachers need to be aware "of the impact that the lack of mobility and movement have on the student and his interaction with peers" (Kendall, 1991).
8. The need of transportation. This is important to keep in mind when planning fieldtrips. School buses, but also specialized lift-buses, taxis, and in extreme case an ambulance to no cost to the parents.
9. The need for physical education and recreation. Keep in mind limitations when planning a unit. All that is needed is to adjust in the rules, procedures or modifications of the equipment.
10. The need for prevocational and vocational preparation. Teachers are to provide learning opportunities where students get real world experience so they can make realistic work choices.
11. The needs of transitional skills from school to the community. We need to help them adjust to the society they live in and know is an essential part of his/her community.
The Needs of the School System in Educating Learners with Physical and Health Impairments
12. The need for trained educational personnel. Teachers need to be aware of being part of the interdisciplinary team that create individualized educational programs for the children, supervise their health conditions and be open minded and easily available to adapt the curriculum to meet students' needs.
13. The need for early identification and early intervention which in some cases can correct physical disabilities with early medical treatment or reduce the severity of disability.
14. The need for related services such as occupational, physical ans speech therapist and school nurses who should be included in the IEP process.
15. The need for flexible scheduling. The school needs to be aware of the attendance of a learner with a physical and health impairment may not have perfect attendance due to medical follow ups, therapy sessions or rest periods. School must be flexible to accommodate when necessary
16. The need for program standards and modifications. Classroom number size should be considered to keep it a minimum. Adaptive devices should be provide. Size of the classroom should be considered. Paraprofessionals may be employed to serve the program to assist either the teacher, a nurse, an occupational therapist, a physical therapist, and/or a speech and language teacher.
A chart is provided on page 39 of the article to show how drastic the modifications should be depending on severity of impairment.
17. The need for a continuum of special education services and settings in the least restrictive environment. If a student only has a physical impairment that does not cause a barrier to his/her learning should be in the in a general education setting therefore teachers need to be aware of certain health conditions.
18. The need for facility modifications. School must be able to reduce architectural barriers.
19. The need for medical supervision by the school personnel. Teachers learn what to do in emergency scenarios: CPR, first aid needs, epilepsy episode,
20. The need for parent support and training. It is not just the learner with the disability who goes through emotional distress. There must be a support provided for the parents. Parents should be informed and taught how to monitor his/her child.
Overall, even though the article was written a while ago, it provides so much helpful information that still can be applied. Is there anything else that should be added or changed for the modern times we live in?
I must say, as I read the article I thought of the school I work for and how it really does meet these 20 recommendations. When students have hearing aides, the therapist comes to talk to us about the devise we'll be using in the class room and suggests classroom modifications we can do ourselves, when we had a student last year who had been in a car accident, he was provided with occupational therapist to work on his walking and his hands' mobility. Every year for the last five year we've children with diabetes, we always have a talk with the nurse and provides us suggestions on what signs to do if our students have low sugar levels and need to see her. During the IEP's I've been to, the OT, PT, resource teacher and even sometimes even the physiologist are invited to the meeting to work on a student's individual educational plan. I must give kudos to the district I work for, it really does meet these suggestions. Although we can always have more devices and increase of teacher support, I can't complain. But not complaining does not mean I want to get more informed and know what more can I do to help/assist my colleagues and students to make a learning/teaching experience the best one yet.
Kendall, R.M. (1991.) Unique educational needs of learner with physical and other health
impairments. Pages 1-53. retrieved from http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED342186.pdf.
The first few pages describe what is considered to be physical and health impairments and provide examples just like our chapter we read for our assignment this week. Some conditions in the article that were not mentioned in the book were AIDS, multiple sclerosis, ataxia, and spasticity, and athetosis. It could be because they are not as prevalent as the others mentioned in the book or maybe these conditions since then have been named something else or have been marked as part of a condition of another preexisting condition.
There twenty educational needs that need to be considered for learners with physical and health impairments.
1. Academic Needs. As educators we need to be informed what are the capabilities of our students, what they know to do and what they can't. A technique suggested here is using the principles of behavior modification which is a sequence of steps that begins with what he/she knows already and ending with an ultimate goal of what he/she needs to learn.
2. The need for a specialized curriculum. This curriculum should help improve mobility skills, enhance self-concept in the areas of self-worth, self-esteem, and self image, improve any academic deficiencies, improve socialization skills improve adaptive behavior, promote safety and emergency skills, improve self-care skills in order to develop independent living skills, improve health maintenance skills, develop skills that will prepare them for career opportunities and the world of work and to provide opportunities for successful goal completion.
3. Physical Needs of the Physical and Health Impaired: proper exercise, proper hygiene, proper rest and relaxation, provide time to take medicine, and proper maintenance of adaptive devices and amputations. Time for them may be accommodated for the time they need to rest especially after a type of physical activity.
4. The need for self-help skills where they feel like they can contribute something to the world.
5. The need for adaptive devices such as prosthesis, orthosis, adaptive devices (special boards, computers and electronic synthesized speech output devices.)
6. The need for psychological support. As teachers we need to be aware that because of their impairment students may feel angry, depressed, withdrawn, frustrated and/or sensitive. The better they feel about themselves, the better they will become in meting their educational goals. A prevalent feeling we need to be aware of is the "unresolved feelings of dependency and inadequate ways of dealing with necessary dependence"(Kendall, 1991). As these students become adolescent we need to be able to also provide a sense of : privacy, participation (let him/her make decisions for himelf/herself), confidence, knowledge, and support.
7. The need for mobility. Teachers need to be aware "of the impact that the lack of mobility and movement have on the student and his interaction with peers" (Kendall, 1991).
8. The need of transportation. This is important to keep in mind when planning fieldtrips. School buses, but also specialized lift-buses, taxis, and in extreme case an ambulance to no cost to the parents.
9. The need for physical education and recreation. Keep in mind limitations when planning a unit. All that is needed is to adjust in the rules, procedures or modifications of the equipment.
10. The need for prevocational and vocational preparation. Teachers are to provide learning opportunities where students get real world experience so they can make realistic work choices.
11. The needs of transitional skills from school to the community. We need to help them adjust to the society they live in and know is an essential part of his/her community.
The Needs of the School System in Educating Learners with Physical and Health Impairments
12. The need for trained educational personnel. Teachers need to be aware of being part of the interdisciplinary team that create individualized educational programs for the children, supervise their health conditions and be open minded and easily available to adapt the curriculum to meet students' needs.
13. The need for early identification and early intervention which in some cases can correct physical disabilities with early medical treatment or reduce the severity of disability.
14. The need for related services such as occupational, physical ans speech therapist and school nurses who should be included in the IEP process.
15. The need for flexible scheduling. The school needs to be aware of the attendance of a learner with a physical and health impairment may not have perfect attendance due to medical follow ups, therapy sessions or rest periods. School must be flexible to accommodate when necessary
16. The need for program standards and modifications. Classroom number size should be considered to keep it a minimum. Adaptive devices should be provide. Size of the classroom should be considered. Paraprofessionals may be employed to serve the program to assist either the teacher, a nurse, an occupational therapist, a physical therapist, and/or a speech and language teacher.
A chart is provided on page 39 of the article to show how drastic the modifications should be depending on severity of impairment.
17. The need for a continuum of special education services and settings in the least restrictive environment. If a student only has a physical impairment that does not cause a barrier to his/her learning should be in the in a general education setting therefore teachers need to be aware of certain health conditions.
18. The need for facility modifications. School must be able to reduce architectural barriers.
19. The need for medical supervision by the school personnel. Teachers learn what to do in emergency scenarios: CPR, first aid needs, epilepsy episode,
20. The need for parent support and training. It is not just the learner with the disability who goes through emotional distress. There must be a support provided for the parents. Parents should be informed and taught how to monitor his/her child.
Overall, even though the article was written a while ago, it provides so much helpful information that still can be applied. Is there anything else that should be added or changed for the modern times we live in?
I must say, as I read the article I thought of the school I work for and how it really does meet these 20 recommendations. When students have hearing aides, the therapist comes to talk to us about the devise we'll be using in the class room and suggests classroom modifications we can do ourselves, when we had a student last year who had been in a car accident, he was provided with occupational therapist to work on his walking and his hands' mobility. Every year for the last five year we've children with diabetes, we always have a talk with the nurse and provides us suggestions on what signs to do if our students have low sugar levels and need to see her. During the IEP's I've been to, the OT, PT, resource teacher and even sometimes even the physiologist are invited to the meeting to work on a student's individual educational plan. I must give kudos to the district I work for, it really does meet these suggestions. Although we can always have more devices and increase of teacher support, I can't complain. But not complaining does not mean I want to get more informed and know what more can I do to help/assist my colleagues and students to make a learning/teaching experience the best one yet.
Kendall, R.M. (1991.) Unique educational needs of learner with physical and other health
impairments. Pages 1-53. retrieved from http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED342186.pdf.
Saturday, October 3, 2015
Autism Spectrum Disorders Article Review
This week I read the article entitled, "Interdisciplinary Support Services for students with Autism Spectrum Disorders". The article describes a grant-funded program at an urban four-year college, developed to assist students with Autism Spectrum Disorders. The pilot was created because there is and will continue to be an increase of individuals with high functioning autism and Asperger syndrome attending college. The author states, "...colleges should prepare to serve this growing population" (Longtin, 2014). Not many colleges are preparing themselves, the few that are preparing themselves working on the pilot stages of the programs. This is due mostly because of the high cost the program encompasses. It is a program that involves many resources and services. This program involves family support, educators and therapist. Most importantly though, the individual with ASD/AS need to self-advocate for him/herself accommodations to be offered.
For this pilot, five individuals participated, four males, one female. Their ages ranged from 21-27. The mentors who participated for the pilot became aware of the program through flyers. They are all graduate students studying Mental Health Counseling, School Counseling, and Speech-Language Counseling. The five mentors were chosen through a series of interviews and recommendations. Each college students was paired up with a mentor. They would individually on a weekly basis to "provide guidance on college life, social pragmatics, executive function, study habits, relationship building, job search and self advocacy," (Longtin, 2014) The mentors were also able to direct their mentees to appropriate campus services.
The pilot also provided two half-day in-service workshops for everyone who would be participating in the pilot on the campus. The titles of the workshops were "An introduction to Asperger Syndrome and High Functioning Autism" and how to Support College Students on the Autism Spectrum". Both workshops were given by psychologist with expertise in HFA/AS who had previously developed various training courses to assist theses students.
Overall, he pilot was a success, students said in a survey that they would choose to continue in a program like this if the program continued. The program helped them have success in school and in their college social life. They appreciated the access to the support services involved with the program. The article mentions how to incoming freshmen enrolled at that college because they found out about this program. The mentors also saw this pilot as a beneficial experience. They felt they gained experience in their field, by making real life connections with their mentees and working along with the other support staff on campus. The support staff that was included in the two half-day in-service workshops also agreed that they found the workshops prepared to work with students with HFA/AS. "Faculty and clinical support staff across a variety of disciple expressed appreciation for a greater opportunity to collaborate" (Longtin, 2014).
The challenge is to keep the pilot going. This program only lasted four months. Although the mentors did deem their experience beneficial, they ask for more support to be provided. Also, the author suggest that students with HFA/AS should be monitored throughout their college career and afterwards to examine the amount of retention they've acquired with the program.
I truly enjoyed reading this article, the promising idea it offers. My hope is that more colleges do start adopting this kind of pilot, and making it a permanent program. I think that educators, as well as students, and mentors all benefit for such an experience. The one word I kept seeing in this article was "collaboration". When a group of people from different sectors in life come together to share their experience for the benefit of other, truly amazing things happen. As I read this, my mind kept trailing off, why wait to have mentor programs until college about in high schools, middle schools, intermediate schools? Wouldn't teachers, students with and without disabilities benefit. One Common Core Standard is all about college-readiness. I know, just like the article mentions, it does take a lot of time to prepare, money to get everything together, it takes a lot of work and effort. There is this quote by St. Francis of Assisi that says, "Start by doing the necessary, then do what's possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible" which give me hope. Programs like these need to continue, need to grow, to become permanent for the benefit of many.
Longtin, S. (2014.) Interdisciplinary support services for students with autism spectrum disorders.
Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability, 23(3). Pages 333-342. retrieved from
http://ezproxy.trnty.edu:3062/ehost/detail/detail?vid=4&sid=309cf85e-0b4e-4ffb-829b-
dad9b0f72165%40sessionmgr4005&hid=4101&bdata=#db=eric&AN=EJ1048785
For this pilot, five individuals participated, four males, one female. Their ages ranged from 21-27. The mentors who participated for the pilot became aware of the program through flyers. They are all graduate students studying Mental Health Counseling, School Counseling, and Speech-Language Counseling. The five mentors were chosen through a series of interviews and recommendations. Each college students was paired up with a mentor. They would individually on a weekly basis to "provide guidance on college life, social pragmatics, executive function, study habits, relationship building, job search and self advocacy," (Longtin, 2014) The mentors were also able to direct their mentees to appropriate campus services.
The pilot also provided two half-day in-service workshops for everyone who would be participating in the pilot on the campus. The titles of the workshops were "An introduction to Asperger Syndrome and High Functioning Autism" and how to Support College Students on the Autism Spectrum". Both workshops were given by psychologist with expertise in HFA/AS who had previously developed various training courses to assist theses students.
Overall, he pilot was a success, students said in a survey that they would choose to continue in a program like this if the program continued. The program helped them have success in school and in their college social life. They appreciated the access to the support services involved with the program. The article mentions how to incoming freshmen enrolled at that college because they found out about this program. The mentors also saw this pilot as a beneficial experience. They felt they gained experience in their field, by making real life connections with their mentees and working along with the other support staff on campus. The support staff that was included in the two half-day in-service workshops also agreed that they found the workshops prepared to work with students with HFA/AS. "Faculty and clinical support staff across a variety of disciple expressed appreciation for a greater opportunity to collaborate" (Longtin, 2014).
The challenge is to keep the pilot going. This program only lasted four months. Although the mentors did deem their experience beneficial, they ask for more support to be provided. Also, the author suggest that students with HFA/AS should be monitored throughout their college career and afterwards to examine the amount of retention they've acquired with the program.
I truly enjoyed reading this article, the promising idea it offers. My hope is that more colleges do start adopting this kind of pilot, and making it a permanent program. I think that educators, as well as students, and mentors all benefit for such an experience. The one word I kept seeing in this article was "collaboration". When a group of people from different sectors in life come together to share their experience for the benefit of other, truly amazing things happen. As I read this, my mind kept trailing off, why wait to have mentor programs until college about in high schools, middle schools, intermediate schools? Wouldn't teachers, students with and without disabilities benefit. One Common Core Standard is all about college-readiness. I know, just like the article mentions, it does take a lot of time to prepare, money to get everything together, it takes a lot of work and effort. There is this quote by St. Francis of Assisi that says, "Start by doing the necessary, then do what's possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible" which give me hope. Programs like these need to continue, need to grow, to become permanent for the benefit of many.
Longtin, S. (2014.) Interdisciplinary support services for students with autism spectrum disorders.
Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability, 23(3). Pages 333-342. retrieved from
http://ezproxy.trnty.edu:3062/ehost/detail/detail?vid=4&sid=309cf85e-0b4e-4ffb-829b-
dad9b0f72165%40sessionmgr4005&hid=4101&bdata=#db=eric&AN=EJ1048785
Sunday, September 27, 2015
Emotional/Behavioral Disorder Article Review
This
week I read an article entitled, "A Corrective Teaching Approach to
Replace Undesired Behaviors in Students with Emotional and Behavioral
Disorders. The article first identified
a students with EBD is someone who "exhibits significant behavioral excesses
or deficits that interfere with their learning and sometimes that of their
peers in the classroom" (Cortez & Malin, 2013). Some behaviors can be noticed that may
indicate an EBD but some may go unnoticed, either way the result is the lack of
external/internal motivation.
Furthermore, students who are not intervened with may suffer from low
grades, school dropout and even going to jail.
The
Corrective Teaching is presented in an eight step procedure:
1. Offer initial praise or empathy,
2. describe the inappropriate behavior,
3. provide a negative consequence,
followed by a positive correction statement,
4. Describe an appropriate replacement
skill,
5. Give a logical reason they'd
understand,
6. Practice, the sooner the better,
7. Provide feedback and a positive
consequence and
8. Give general praise.
Cortez,
E. G., & Malin, I. M. (2013). A corrective
teaching approach to replace undesired behaviors
in students with emotional and behavioral disorders. Beyond Behaviors vol. 22 (03), 54-59. http://ezproxy.trnty.edu:3062/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=242bb2f3-3d5f-4638-819d-835d803c8ada%40sessionmgr4005&vid=7&hid=4106
Saturday, September 19, 2015
article on Intellectual Disabilities Review
The article "Evaluating the Effectiveness of an Intervention Program to Influence Attitudes of Students Towards Peers with Disabilities" reports the results of intervention program provided to kindergarteners and elementary students. This study was created because how much the idea of inclusive education has been encouraged in the past decade. It says, "In this study[they]explored the possibilities of promoting more positive attitudes of kindergarten and elementary school students towards children with physical, intellectual and severe physical and intellectual disabilities through an intervention based on acquired knowledge" (de Boer, Sip, Minneaert, & Post, 2014). The study focused on what are attitudes like for students with no disabilities towards students with a mental and/or physical disability. It was a 3 weeks education project comprising six lessons about disabilities. The students in the study were 4-12 years olds. Students were surveyed about their attitudes before the intervention program, after the intervention program and a year later. The study focused on three types of disabilities: autism, ADHD, and intellectual disability.
The article mentions the benefits of having an inclusive classroom. Students without disabilities benefit from this experience academically and socially. They show much greater progress in reading and mathematics. Socially, they are more aware and understand people that may have a disability. Socially students with a disability in an inclusive classroom setting improve their communication and interaction skills. Still, the problem remained that students with disabilities had a hard time being accepted by their classmates. And this where this study came about. If students were prepared and became more knowledgeable about disabilities would their attitudes change?
The results were as follows: students were found to have the least positive attitudes towards students with ADHD. Students with autism and other disabilities received more positive attitudes from their classmates with no disabilities. It was also found that girls have better attitudes towards classmates with disabilities than boys. Also, the study reports that there is a least positive attitude towards an intellectual disability than to a physical disability. At the bottom of the article, you can find a sample of vignettes read to the students to introduce the discussion about a certain disability.
Although, there were some attitude changed at the end of the study, some questions remained. One question, asking if this attitude change has been long term or forgotten as time passed. I liked the study, because it sets up a predictor for future attitudes of students with no disabilities. It gives an idea how a teacher or an entire school can be better prepare themselves and provide information to their students and provide a better academic and social experience for students with the disabilities. They deserve the chance for everyone around them to be informed about their disability and this way, I think, can see past that and get to know who they are, even beyond that disability.
I also liked the study because it was very well planned out. I like that it had a before and after survey and that it followed students after one year. Wouldn't it be cool to have educational programs come out to schools and provide knowledge to students regardless if they are inclusive or not. I remember one of my first teaching years there was this girl, Amy, who had some sort of facial deformation and intellectual disability. She was in a self-contained class but she was still had contact with her peers in the building, in the hallway, in the unified arts classes, in gym, and lunch. It broke my heart one afternoon a group of 6th graders running down the hallway and hearing one of them say, "run, here comes the monster". I didn't know who they were talking about until I saw Amy turn the corner saying, "wait, wait for me." I brought it up to my team and I'm not sure what was done about the situation I don't remember. But what I do remember is talking to my students that year and telling them, I can't control what the others in this school do or react to her, but I expect at least my students, not to be rude and respect her, be kind to her. Various occasions I witness them doing that and felt proud of them. But yeah, I still think school as a whole should prepare, inform students with no disabilities and TEACHERS it takes a village after all, right?
de Boer, A., Sip Pijl, S.J., Minnaert, A., & Post W. (2014, March 1) Evaluating the effectiveness of an intervention program to influence attitudes of students towards peers with disabilities. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, volume 44 (3), 572-583.
http://ezproxy.trnty.edu:3062/ehost/detail/detail?sid=85cef7c2-50dd-4a86-9b0f-5a18180c8dc2%40sessionmgr4005&vid=19&hid=4109&bdata=#AN=EJ1038290&db=eric
The article mentions the benefits of having an inclusive classroom. Students without disabilities benefit from this experience academically and socially. They show much greater progress in reading and mathematics. Socially, they are more aware and understand people that may have a disability. Socially students with a disability in an inclusive classroom setting improve their communication and interaction skills. Still, the problem remained that students with disabilities had a hard time being accepted by their classmates. And this where this study came about. If students were prepared and became more knowledgeable about disabilities would their attitudes change?
The results were as follows: students were found to have the least positive attitudes towards students with ADHD. Students with autism and other disabilities received more positive attitudes from their classmates with no disabilities. It was also found that girls have better attitudes towards classmates with disabilities than boys. Also, the study reports that there is a least positive attitude towards an intellectual disability than to a physical disability. At the bottom of the article, you can find a sample of vignettes read to the students to introduce the discussion about a certain disability.
Although, there were some attitude changed at the end of the study, some questions remained. One question, asking if this attitude change has been long term or forgotten as time passed. I liked the study, because it sets up a predictor for future attitudes of students with no disabilities. It gives an idea how a teacher or an entire school can be better prepare themselves and provide information to their students and provide a better academic and social experience for students with the disabilities. They deserve the chance for everyone around them to be informed about their disability and this way, I think, can see past that and get to know who they are, even beyond that disability.
I also liked the study because it was very well planned out. I like that it had a before and after survey and that it followed students after one year. Wouldn't it be cool to have educational programs come out to schools and provide knowledge to students regardless if they are inclusive or not. I remember one of my first teaching years there was this girl, Amy, who had some sort of facial deformation and intellectual disability. She was in a self-contained class but she was still had contact with her peers in the building, in the hallway, in the unified arts classes, in gym, and lunch. It broke my heart one afternoon a group of 6th graders running down the hallway and hearing one of them say, "run, here comes the monster". I didn't know who they were talking about until I saw Amy turn the corner saying, "wait, wait for me." I brought it up to my team and I'm not sure what was done about the situation I don't remember. But what I do remember is talking to my students that year and telling them, I can't control what the others in this school do or react to her, but I expect at least my students, not to be rude and respect her, be kind to her. Various occasions I witness them doing that and felt proud of them. But yeah, I still think school as a whole should prepare, inform students with no disabilities and TEACHERS it takes a village after all, right?
de Boer, A., Sip Pijl, S.J., Minnaert, A., & Post W. (2014, March 1) Evaluating the effectiveness of an intervention program to influence attitudes of students towards peers with disabilities. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, volume 44 (3), 572-583.
http://ezproxy.trnty.edu:3062/ehost/detail/detail?sid=85cef7c2-50dd-4a86-9b0f-5a18180c8dc2%40sessionmgr4005&vid=19&hid=4109&bdata=#AN=EJ1038290&db=eric
Sunday, September 13, 2015
Article on Learning Disabilities Review
The article that I read is entitled "State Policy and Guidance for Identifying Learning Disabilities in Culturally Learning Disabilities in Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students". The article mentions the importance of using the response to intervention (RTI) approach in identifying a specific learning disability. It is a practice that works with cultural and linguistically diverse (CLD) students (racial and ethnic diverse students that speak another language besides English). Still the underlying issue that CLD students often get misidentified as having a learning disability. Although the federal special education legislation provides guidelines and procedures to follow when identifying a student with a specific learning disability, each state has different manner of assessing and ways of following procedures.
The article identifies four factors that affect the difficult process of identifying a CLD student with a specific learning disability. First, the assessments provided for a CLD students are limited. In order for an assessment to valid, it must be used overtime, where it could have set a norm of outcomes about said population and really reflect a true identifier of a specific learning disability. The problem most of the time there is no consistency.
Another factor is the personnel working with CLD students. the article emphasizes the importance of providing professional development in implementing the RTI and tools that can help CLD students. The frustration begins when the PD's are not given and the teachers and other professionals are left with the responsibility to assess these students.
The last factor mentioned is systematic integration. The question here is how is the first language affecting the students in being able to acquire a second language in this case English. In order to assess a student correctly there must be assessments given in both languages, reliable tools should be used, give credit if answers are given correctly in either language, take into account the student's progress in school, and his/her natural strengths and weaknesses.
The article focused their research in all fifty states to find what kind of procedures and support each state is providing. Illinois is mentioned a few in the article. Illinois is one of three states that require a assessments done in native language of the student. Illinois also requires its personnel to be involved in the evaluation and identification process of a specific learning disability. Illinois also requires an interpreter to be present to assist non-English speakers. They found that few states have "regulated specific practices for the identification of a specific learning disability in CLD students, more states have provide guidance documents in one or ore areas related to the specific learning disability process, RTI process or English instruction and supports." (Scott, 2014).
Personnel still feel they are limited in ways to assist CLD students. More professional developments consistent assessments, consistent process of RTI, and a consensus in state policies concerning school level system integration are ways to move in the direction in improving the academic experience for CLD students.
This was a lengthy article to read, it was difficult to provide a much shorter summary. The article is informative and also a big slap of reality. There is so much need of improvements in support for students as well as teachers. One of the difficulties the article mentioned is limited assessments available to use on CDL student. The students that I've suspected of having a learning disability have all had different issues. I am proud to have been able to advocate for two students and find a better placement for them, they truly did have a learning disability. They both spoke a bit of English which made the assessment easier. But I think, how many, did I get by, that I let go without helping. And if I helped I felt like it wasn't enough. For example, we have a student now, comes and goes from Mexico, obviously he speaks more Spanish than English. He writes his d's and b's backwards. When he reads in Spanish he only looks at the first few letters and guesses at time what the word is. In math class, he needs constant one-on one support. Does he need to be evaluated? Could it be his inconsistent access to education that is failing him? If we do start an RTI process with him will he even be here long enough for us to do process correctly? The list of questions continue.
The article identifies four factors that affect the difficult process of identifying a CLD student with a specific learning disability. First, the assessments provided for a CLD students are limited. In order for an assessment to valid, it must be used overtime, where it could have set a norm of outcomes about said population and really reflect a true identifier of a specific learning disability. The problem most of the time there is no consistency.
Another factor is the personnel working with CLD students. the article emphasizes the importance of providing professional development in implementing the RTI and tools that can help CLD students. The frustration begins when the PD's are not given and the teachers and other professionals are left with the responsibility to assess these students.
The last factor mentioned is systematic integration. The question here is how is the first language affecting the students in being able to acquire a second language in this case English. In order to assess a student correctly there must be assessments given in both languages, reliable tools should be used, give credit if answers are given correctly in either language, take into account the student's progress in school, and his/her natural strengths and weaknesses.
The article focused their research in all fifty states to find what kind of procedures and support each state is providing. Illinois is mentioned a few in the article. Illinois is one of three states that require a assessments done in native language of the student. Illinois also requires its personnel to be involved in the evaluation and identification process of a specific learning disability. Illinois also requires an interpreter to be present to assist non-English speakers. They found that few states have "regulated specific practices for the identification of a specific learning disability in CLD students, more states have provide guidance documents in one or ore areas related to the specific learning disability process, RTI process or English instruction and supports." (Scott, 2014).
Personnel still feel they are limited in ways to assist CLD students. More professional developments consistent assessments, consistent process of RTI, and a consensus in state policies concerning school level system integration are ways to move in the direction in improving the academic experience for CLD students.
This was a lengthy article to read, it was difficult to provide a much shorter summary. The article is informative and also a big slap of reality. There is so much need of improvements in support for students as well as teachers. One of the difficulties the article mentioned is limited assessments available to use on CDL student. The students that I've suspected of having a learning disability have all had different issues. I am proud to have been able to advocate for two students and find a better placement for them, they truly did have a learning disability. They both spoke a bit of English which made the assessment easier. But I think, how many, did I get by, that I let go without helping. And if I helped I felt like it wasn't enough. For example, we have a student now, comes and goes from Mexico, obviously he speaks more Spanish than English. He writes his d's and b's backwards. When he reads in Spanish he only looks at the first few letters and guesses at time what the word is. In math class, he needs constant one-on one support. Does he need to be evaluated? Could it be his inconsistent access to education that is failing him? If we do start an RTI process with him will he even be here long enough for us to do process correctly? The list of questions continue.
Reference
Scott, A.N., Hauerwas, L.B., Brown, R.D. (2014). State Policy and Guidance for Identifying Learning Disabilities in Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students. Learning Disability Quarterly, Vol. 37(3), 172-185. http://ezproxy.trnty.edu:3062/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=31dbc5d7-3aec-47c7-8a2f-c21759674593%40sessionmgr4004&vid=7&hid=4209.
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