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What is special education?

Special education is a form of learning provided to students with exceptional needs, such as students with learning disabilities or mental challenges. The Federal categories of special education have 13 categories. They are defined by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) that includes mental, physical, behavioral and emotional disabilities.

Categories of Disability in Federal Special Education Law

Federal Disability Term Alternative Terms (if applicable) Brief Description Specific learning disability Learning disability (LD) A disorder related to processing information that leads to difficulties in reading, writing, and computing; the most common disability, accounting for half of all students receiving special education. Some of the issues that fall in this group Dyslexia, Dysgraphia, Dyscalculia, Auditory processing disorder, Nonverbal learning disability. Autism Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) A developmental disability significantly affecting verbal and nonverbal communication and social interaction, generally evident before age three, that adversely affects a child’s educational performance. It covers a wide range of symptoms and skills but mainly affects a child’s social and communication skills and also impacts behavior. Deaf-Blindness Simultaneous hearing and visual impairment. They experience severe communication and other developmental & education needs. They can be accommodated only in a special education program solely for children with deafness or children with blindness. Deafness A diagnosis of deafness with a severe hearing impairment. They aren’t able to process language through hearing. Emotional Disturbance Emotional disturbance can have a number of mental disorders. They may include anxiety disorder, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder and depression. Some of these issues may also be covered under “other health impairment.” Hearing Impairment Hearing Impairment means an impairment in hearing, whether permanent or fluctuating, that adversely affects a child’s educational performance but is not included under the definition of “deafness.” This type of loss can change or fluctuate over time. Mental Retardation (MR) Mental retardation refers to substantial limitations in present functioning. It starts before age 18 and is characterized by significantly subaverage intellectual functioning, existing concurrently with related limitations in two or more of the following applicable adaptive skill areas: communication and self-care. Multiple Disabilities A child with multiple disabilities has more than one condition such as intellectual disability-blindness, intellectual disability-orthopedic impairment, etc. Having multiple issues creates educational needs that can’t be met in a program for any one condition. This combination causes such severe educational needs that they cannot be accommodated in special education programs solely for one of the impairments. Orthopedic Impairment Orthopedic Impairment includes impairments caused by a congenital anomaly, impairments caused by disease (e.g., poliomyelitis, bone tuberculosis), and impairments from other causes (e.g., cerebral palsy, amputations, and fractures or burns that cause contractures). Other Health Impairment Other health impairment covers conditions that limit a child’s strength, energy or alertness such as asthma, attention deficit disorder or hyperactivity disorder, diabetes, epilepsy, a heart condition, hemophilia, lead poisoning, leukemia, nephritis, rheumatic fever, sickle cell anemia and Tourette syndrome. Speech or Language Impairment A communication disorder such as stuttering, impaired articulation, a language impairment, or a voice impairment that adversely affects a child’s educational performance. Traumatic Brain Injury A brain injury caused by an accident or some kind of physical force, resulting in total or partial functional disability or psychosocial impairment or both that affects a child’s educational performance. Visual Impairment An impairment in vision that includes both partial sight and blindness. Developmental delay A delay in one or more of the following areas: physical development, cognitive development, communication, social & emotional development or behavioral development.

Some of the characteristics that may be present in students who are within the 14 special education categories are:

Perform differently from day to day Respond inappropriately in many instances Distractible, restless, impulsive says one thing but means another Difficult to discipline Doesn’t adjust well to change Difficulty listening and remembering Difficulty telling time and knowing right from left Difficulty sounding out words Reverses letters Places letters in an incorrect sequence Difficulty understanding words or concepts Delayed speech development; immature speech.

Part 2: Individualized Education Program (IEP) and Collaboration

Individualized Education Program (IEP) is important because special education students are important. It’s a working document developed by a team consisting of special education teachers, general education teachers, principals, and the child’s parents. The SMART (Specific, Measureable, Agreed, Realistic, Timed) goals and modifications are clearly detailed, which brings clarity to all those who are involved.

The top-five types of assessments in the areas of testing: 1. Cognitive: Wechsler Intelligence Scale (WISC-III) Measures: A student’s ability. Who conducts: School psychologist. Data: It usually looks at three intelligence quotient (IQ) scores: verbal IQ, performance IQ, and full-scale IQ. The subtests within these areas often provide good information about a student’s strengths as well as his or her challenges. It also is often used to determine the amount of time a student may be in the general education classroom or even school. 2. Academic achievement: Woodcock-Johnson Psychoeducational Battery Measures: Individual educational achievement. Who conducts: Usually special-education teacher. Data: Test includes mandatory sections and optional subtests. The scores are then combined into composite scores. The identified areas help the IEP team look at specific areas of need, which then help create meaningful IEP goals. 3. Behavior: Behavior Assessment System for Children (BASC) or Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale Measures: Behavior and mental health, including how the student sees him- or herself as well as how parents and school staff see the student. Who conducts: Parents, classroom teacher, special-education teacher, and sometimes the student. This test requires multiple people filling out a questionnaire to look for patterns and concerns. Data: These evaluations do not offer a diagnosis but instead look at life skills, social skills, social concerns, and attention. It may help identify mental-health concerns and/or behavioral issues. 4. Functionality: School Function Assessment (SFA) Measures: Student’s functionality in all areas of the school environment Who conducts: Occupational therapist (OT) Data: This test evaluates three areas: participation, task support, and activity performance. It is usually used for students in kindergarten through grade 6. It addresses not only classroom access but also a playground, lunch, physical education, and other school areas. 5. Speech: Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals, Third Edition (CELF-3) Measures: Tests verbal and written language, which may also include articulation, semantics, and pragmatic aspects of speech and language in both expressive and receptive communication. Who conducts: Speech and language therapists (SLP) Data: This test can direct the IEP team to develop goals and also accommodations such as books on tape or written (not verbal) instructions as well as for direct therapy with the SLP for both expressive and receptive language. Recommendations to help families gain a better understanding of the IEP process.

It is vital to get parents and families involved in the IEP process. Parents are an invaluable source of information about their child’s past experiences and skills in settings other than your classroom. Talk with parents one-on-one to learn more about their child’s goals, strengths, and support needs. Ask families for specific ideas on how your team might successfully include their child in the IEP process, and then be sure to incorporate their suggestions. Before the IEP meeting, you might also consider providing families with a list of questions/items to think about.

Information on how the goals and objectives affect the curricular design

Goals and objectives aim to standardize learning objectives for all students and simplify outcomes for teachers. Constructing straightforward, achievable goals and objectives can be a lofty task. Curriculum goals are general, broad statements that lead towards long-term outcomes. These goals are typically designed to be met by students after a longer period of time such as a year of schooling or a series of courses in a discipline. Specifically, goals are always farther-reaching than objectives, and as such are usually based on the idea that they lead students towards being better able to be productive members of their societies. Types of service models for co-teaching and inclusion classrooms, and the pros and cons of them Team Teaching Team Teaching is when two teachers are simultaneously teaching content together in the classroom. Many consider this the most effective form of co-teaching, but it is also the most time-consuming. And for many of us, we do not consistently have the time appropriate for effectively instituting team teaching every day. If you walk into a classroom where team teaching is happening, ideally you would not be able to tell the roles of the individual teachers. You would not be able to distinguish which teacher was the special education teacher and which was the content area teacher. There may be slight evidence based upon which teacher is giving input on specific strategies and reiterating things v. which teacher seems to be stronger with the content, but for the most part, they are hard to tell apart. Team teaching is great for lessons that involve lecturing. It is great for most situations. Pros This proves to be the most seamless version of co-teaching. Both teachers are interchangeable and receiving equal respect. Both teachers are working with all students so that all students are receiving the benefits of both teachers’ expertise. This type of teaching is referred to in many articles as “tag-team” teaching. This type of co-teaching is most likely going to have the best differentiation because of the amount of time spent co-planning. Cons The difficulty with this type of co-teaching is the amount of time it requires to work appropriately. Without proper co-planning time, it is near impossible. It is also difficult for a special education teacher that is working with more than one general education teacher because it requires an extensive amount of time planning with two different teachers. Parallel Teaching In parallel teaching, both teachers are teaching the same content simultaneously. There is no specification as to whether or not this has to be done in the same room, it would be difficult having two teachers teach simultaneously and difficult for the students to be able to focus on one specific teacher. During parallel teaching, the kids are split into two heterogeneous groups. One group is brought to one classroom and the general education teacher keeps the rest of the kids in her classroom. Planning is done ahead of time as to what the assignments are going to be and so both groups are given the same classwork and homework. The only difference is the groups are always a little smaller. Parallel teaching is a great model to use when you are introducing a new subject. Pros The benefit of parallel teaching is that there are smaller groups of students. Instead of teaching a class of 30, you are now teaching a class of 15. Having smaller groups lends to the students being more comfortable asking questions. Also, it allows the teacher to have a smaller group to focus on and be able to spend more time working individually with each student. Cons Both teachers need to be equally comfortable with the content for this to work appropriately. Station Teaching Station teaching is when you are running two or more stations at a time. In this model, you would multiple stations running with each teacher responsible for a station. Any other stations would be something the students would be working independently. This model can be used for remediation, working on multiple skills simultaneously, or just to provide more differentiated instruction and activities. Use station teaching when you want to support different levels of students and work on different skills. Pros This model is great because of the freedom it provides to be able to identify and work on specific skills. The more groups that you have, the smaller the groups will be and that will allow teachers to pay attention to more specific needs and finding error patterns or deficits. With this model, you can utilize different teachers’ strengths and weaknesses. This really lends itself to being able to differentiate, not every group needs to do the same thing at each station. Your stronger groups can do enrichment activities, while your groups that are still struggling can receive remediation. Cons The difficulty with this is you need to make sure you have excellent classroom management. Students who are working in a group that does not have a teacher assigned to it need to be working independently and not causing problems. Every time you have to step away from the group that you’re working with to address an issue with another group, you are taking away from the group that you are supposed to be working with. One Teach / One Support This is the model of co-teaching that is used the most. One teacher, usually the content area teacher, is up at the front of the room teaching the class. Meanwhile, the other teacher is roaming through the room checking on kids and addressing specific questions quietly and individually. This is great for introducing a new topic, reviewing answers to homework or other assignments. This is also great for co-teachers who are just beginning their relationship. It gives them time to get used to the other’s teaching style or to allow the general education teacher to get more comfortable with the content. Pros One teach – one support allows for students to receive individual attention without taking away from the rest of the students in the room. A student who is still stuck can receive individual attention. Meanwhile, the classroom teacher is still teaching the rest of the class. This method of co-teaching requires minimal planning time, as the supporting teacher has little prep to do before the lesson. Not having planning time is not ideal for a co-teaching relationship. But, sometimes there are things that get in the way of proper co-planning. Also having a teacher circulating around the room can be beneficial for classroom management. Cons The circulating teacher needs to be careful that you are not spending too much time with specific students. This can cause the student to be identified by their classmates and possibly made fun of. One Teach / One Observe In this model, one teacher is teaching the class while another teacher is observing the class. Usually, this means that the second teacher is not interacting with the students unless necessary. This model is best used when it is necessary to take data. I have used this model when trying to complete a functional behavior assessment (FBA) on a student. Or, I need to take behavioral data for their IEP goals. Pros This model frees up one of the teachers to observe the students and record predetermined data. This model should be used rarely during special times. Cons This model is not great for regular co-teaching because one of the teachers is not interacting with the lesson at all. Alternative teaching Alternative teaching is when one teacher takes control of the majority of the class. While this is happening, the second teacher takes a small group of students to work on remediation. This model should be used when it has been identified that there is a group of students who are falling behind. This model can also be used to introduce a new topic when you anticipate some students needing more direct and explicit instruction. Pros This model allows students to be given remediation while not holding the rest of the class back. In normal situations, having to go back and review skills causes the students who are not struggling to become bored. Bored students can lead to classroom management problems. Pulling the group of students who need remediation to another setting to get it allows the teacher with the larger group to work on enrichment activities or focus on higher-level thinking. Cons This type of co-teaching can cause social stigma if you are not careful. If the students understand what is happening, they may end up getting picked on by their peers. The instructional implications of special education

Role and skill sets that special education teachers must possess

1. Self Reflection - Personal & student learning, Collaboration & Environment 2. Communication skills - Mutual respect & Trust, Love for children, Good sense of humor, Acceptance, Listening, Encouragement & Patience, Usage of simple language and Questioning strategies 3. Development Of Relationships - Maintain contact with student’s parents and family, Faculty, Student Support Team & Administrators 4. Collaborative Skills - Knowledge of Curriculum & Pedagogy, Student Management, Student-Centered instruction & Reflect and adapt to Instructions. 5. Organizational Skills - Approach IEP as a year-long process versus an event, organizing the beginning and end of the school year, Detailed & Deadline oriented. 6. Effective Instructional Strategies - Co-teaching, Push-in, Pull-out, Mainstreaming, Inclusion, Tiers of Intervention & Collaboration. 7. Leadership Skills - Organizing, Managing and facilitating IEP meetings, Resource to general education teachers, PD training in the areas of Instructional strategies.

Behavior challenges encountered in students with mild and moderate disabilities

● Chronic Absenteeism ● Family issues - Lack of parent involvement ● Limited access to mental & health services ● Oppositional Defiant Disorder - Children with this condition are non-violent or aggressive, they refuse to cooperate with adults or peers. ● Conduct disorder - Characterized by aggression, violence, and harm inflicted on oneself & others ● A general pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression.

Classroom guidelines, rules & procedures

Classroom guidelines, rules & procedures should be kept simple, clear and easy for children to understand ● Respect classmates ● Be prepared ● Pay attention when others are talking ● Always try your best ● Keep hands and feet to yourself

Basic steps to develop a functional behavioral assessment

A Functional Behavioral Assessment (FBA) is developed for individuals with severe cognitive or communication disabilities ● Defining the inappropriate behavior ● Collecting, comparing and analyzing information ● Develop a Hypothesis for the behavior ● Direct Observation ● Behaviour Support Plan ● Implement Scripts ● Evaluate/Redesign

Benefits Of Positive Behavioral Support

● It is person-centered ● It causes positive change ● It is outcome-focused ● It provides collaborative support

Social Interventions To Use With Students Displaying Social Difficulties

● Creating a safe environment for the students where they are honored, valued & respected ● Establish a cooperative learning environment where students are supportive and collaborate with each other but are individually accountable for their learning. ● Student strengths should be identified and promoted ● Social skills teaching and learning needs to be adapted and applied across all disciplines ● Guide and support students to stop and think before taking action (mindfulness activities) ● Helping the student build relationships and maintaining friends.

Techniques And Approaches Used In Positive Behaviour Support ● Positive rapport with students ● Establish consistent routines ● An incentive is given immediately when the desired behavior occurs ● Reduction in restriction and punishment approaches ● Giving feedback and positive reinforcement

Techniques And Approaches Used In Positive Intervention Programs ● Routines ● Silent signals ● Proximity ● Quiet corrections ● Give students a task ● Take a break ● Positive phrasing ● State the behavior you want to see ● Tangible reinforcers

Best Practice To Follow When Preparing The Instructional Environment For Exceptional Learners

● Create a positive, safe learning environment ● Understand behavioral assessment and intervention ● Learn multiple techniques to reward positive behavior ● Find the student’s strengths ● Track each student’s progress ● Track each student’s progress ● Implement differentiated instruction

The importance of teaching exceptional learners study skills applied academics, and career education to promote functional competence. Functional skills are those skills a student needs to live independently. An important goal of special education is for our students to gain as much independence and autonomy as possible, whether their disability is emotional, intellectual, physical, or a combination of two or more (multiple) disabilities. Skills are defined as functional as long as the outcome supports the student's independence. For some students, those skills may be learning to feed themselves. For other students, it may be learning to use a bus and read a bus schedule. We can separate the functional skills as: Life Skills Functional Academic Skills Community-Based Learning Skills Social Skills Life Skills The most basic of functional skills are those skills that we usually acquire in the first few years of life: walking, self-feeding, self-toileting, and making simple requests. Students with developmental disabilities, such as Autism Spectrum Disorders, and significant cognitive or multiple disabilities often need to have these skills taught through modeling, breaking them down, and the use of Applied Behavior Analysis. The teaching of life skills also requires that the teacher/practitioner complete appropriate task analyses in order to teach the specific skills. Functional Academic Skills Living independently requires some skills which are considered academic, even if they do not lead to higher education or the completion of a diploma. Those skills include: Math Skills - The functional math skills include telling time, counting and using money, balancing a checkbook, measurement, and understanding volume. For higher functioning students, math skills will expand to include vocationally oriented skills, such as making a change or following a schedule. Language Arts - Reading begins as recognizing symbols, progressing to reading signs (stop, push), and moves on to reading directions. For many students with disabilities, they may need to have reading texts supported with audio recordings or adults reading. By learning to read a bus schedule, a sign in a bathroom, or directions, a student with disabilities gained independence. Community-Based Learning Skills The skills a student needs to succeed independently in the community often have to be taught in the community. These skills include using public transportation, shopping, making choices in restaurants, and crossing streets at crosswalks. Too often parents, with the desire to protect their disabled children, over-function for their children and unknowingly stand in the way of allowing their children to acquire the skills they need. Social Skills Social skills are usually modeled, but for many students with disabilities, they need to be carefully and consistently taught. In order to function in the community, students need to understand how to interact appropriately with different members of the community, not only family, peers, and teachers.

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