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Special Education Advisor NEWSLETTER |
Greetings!
In this edition of the Special Education Advisor Newsletter you will find new articles on Dyslexia, OT, Speech & many more.
Also, check out the back to school ad from our Sponsor Read&Write GOLD. Without the support of our sponsors SEA would not be possible.
Thanks
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"They cannot use RTI or an SST to delay an IEP or 504. Also are they using OG and have they requested AT and OT assessment? Lastly, what is the status of her OG tutor?" There are a lot of things that are right with these sentences but there one thing that is glaringly wrong with it. Go back and read that sentence again and this time read it as a parent who might just be starting their journey with a child with dyslexia. How would you feel? Left out? Overwhelmed? Well, I must admit this is what I allowed to happen in one of my own IEP meetings very recently. When we adjourned the meeting and stepped outside to debrief, the dad said, "What was going on in there? Were they speaking Spanish?" Right then I knew I had failed to do part of my job. I had failed to check-in with my clients and make sure they understood what we were talking about. I failed to prepare them with a list of acronyms to refer to. I failed to make sure they understood they could pause the meeting at any time to ask for clarification. The ironic part of this story is that the dad is active military which means he speaks in acronyms all day long - and the IEP jargon was overwhelming. Don't get me wrong, I am not taking all of the responsibility, the school side of the table (yes, I know we are supposed to be a team, but...) were equally as guilty as myself. We get into this mode of talking to each, preaching to the choir and forget how overwhelming and new this is for parents. So, to prevent this from happening again, I have listed below some commonly used terms during IEP meetings for a child with dyslexia, what they mean and how they can be misused and misunderstood and why they come up in meetings about students with dyslexia.
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Every parent just wants his or her child to be "happy". That is their bottom line. Therapy, academics, home life, whatever, "just makes my child happy". Anyone who has worked with children for any length of time has had this said to them repeatedly over and over again.
It is really not their fault. Ingrained in the American psyche and in our Declaration of Independence is the "right to pursue happiness". But their definition was not about stars, stickers, yellow smiley faces and such. Jeffersonian interpretation of "happiness" had more to do with virtue, doing well within your community, good conduct and good citizenship. (Jon Meacham, Jefferson: Profile in Power)
Aristotle had it even more precise, and perhaps he might be called (stretching it a bit) the author of the foundations for the rationale of occupational therapy. Aristotle wrote, "happiness...is at the end of action".
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I have long been a believer that no one therapy, and no one therapist can do it "all". This has become even clearer to me as I have worked with both speech and music therapists in treating children with deficits in social skills.
As occupational therapists we are acutely aware that individuals with various learning disabilities, including autism, are often extremely sensitive to noise and that sensory overload is common. These persons tend to often react to even the most minimal of stimuli as if they were being bombarded with multiple stimuli.
Why does this happen and what can we do to help these individuals modulate their reactions?
Recent literature supports that short-term, or "working memory" may have a major role in the brains' ability to process and make sense of auditory and visual stimuli. Being able to do this effectively is essential for children to learn in the standard classroom setting. It is equally crucial for adults to be able to have in tact short-tem memory processing abilities if they are to succeed in functioning at work and within a community.
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| The Language of IEP's
I am not a Special Education Teacher, School Psychologist, School Administrator or a Related Service Provider. I am a parent of a child with special needs. This means it's not important what I'm not, what's important is what I am, and what this means. This means I am my child's best advocate and I am responsible for steering the ship towards adulthood and independence. This also means I must assimilate into a world that was originally unknown to me. So while I already stated what I am not, I have learned how to speak the language. I call it the language of Individualized Education Programs (IEP). Like any foreign language I didn't learn how to be conversational overnight but with time and practice I have learned the nuances of the language.
My wife and I put together this short cartoon to illustrate the need for parents to learn the language and also for special education professionals to be more diligent in clearly explaining what is going on in the IEP.
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A Day in the Life of an SLP
Christina is a speech-language pathologist. She works with children and adults who have impairments in their speech, voice, or language skills. These impairments can take many forms, as her schedule today shows.
First comes Robbie. He's a cutie pie in the first grade and has recently been diagnosed with childhood apraxia of speech-or CAS. CAS is a speech disorder marked by choppy speech. Robbie also talks in a monotone, making odd pauses as he tries to form words. Sometimes she can see him struggle. It's not that the muscles of his tongue, lips, and jaw are weak. The difficulty lies in the brain and how it communicates to the muscles involved in producing speech. The muscles need to move in precise ways for speech to be intelligible. And that's what she and Robbie are working on.
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We have updated the Special Education Marketplace pricing. For a limited time you can
get a 3 month listing for free, a 6 month listing for $25 and a 1 Year listing for $50
If you have a Special Education product, service, event, or organization the Special Education Marketplace is the perfect place to get the word out. This is an opportunity to get in front of a very specific target market. |
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Created by veteran Special Education Advocates so you can handle your child's IEP like a pro.
Recently awarded an A+ review. "After reviewing this resource, I am convinced that it is a bargain at the $39.95 price tag, considering all the information you get, the additional resources for ensuring you have all the information you need on hand, and the binder, CD with extra forms, and additional sample letters," Katrina Moody from Kat's Cafe. To read the entire review click here
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Sara's Story
When Sara was in the first grade, her teacher started teaching the students how to read. Sara's parents were really surprised when Sara had a lot of trouble. She was bright and eager, so they thought that reading would come easily to her. It didn't. She couldn't match the letters to their sounds or combine the letters to create words.
Sara's problems continued into second grade. She still wasn't reading, and she was having trouble with writing, too. The school asked Sara's mom for permission to evaluate Sara to find out what was causing her problems. Sara's mom gave permission for the evaluation.
The school conducted an evaluation and learned that Sara has a learning disability. She started getting special help in school right away.
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How to prepare for an IEP Meeting
We live in an unprecedented era where schools are dealing with shrinking budgets and fewer resources but still must figure out how to educate an increasingly large number of student age children. This is compounded by the fact that class sizes are increasing and the number of credentialed Teachers are decreasing due to layoffs. Just like every other area of education, school districts are trying to figure out ways to cut special education costs as well. Even though cost cannot be a factor when determining services in an Individualized Education Program (IEP) the children receiving the appropriate services are the ones whose parents are educated and prepared when attending their child's IEP. This makes it even more important to be prepared for your next meeting. This article will help you truly prepare for the next IEP meeting.
90 days prior to your next annual IEP meeting
Reread last year's IEP paying close attention to needs, present levels of performance, accommodations/modifications, goals and services. If you think your child has a new suspected area of disability or you need an update on skill levels from a prior disability this is the time to request a new special education assessment. The school district will usually only update formal assessments once every three years for the triennial IEP unless requested by the parent to be done annually. Make sure the request for assessment is made in a letter that you hand to the school personally. Remember that all written and verbal communication should be professional in tone and content. Ask a friend to read the letter to make sure it is not emotional or hostile.
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