Work With Me: Understanding and Helping Students with Special Needs

him.

Acknowledgements

My heartfelt thanks to my family and friends who gave me their perpetual encouragement and support when my positive thinking took a turn for the worse.

Thanks to all of my students with challenges and their families who shared their struggles and celebrations with me.

And, thanks to Kathy B. who stopped me from throwing my first attempt in the trash.

"I don’t really learn like other people.

I try to hide my problem because I don’t want people to see me as different."

(student with special needs)

Thoughts

Not Everyone Has to Learn Everything

Success Doesn’t Look the Same for Everyone

Equal and Fair are Two Different Things

Allow Students to Keep Their Dignity

YOU Might be the Best Thing That Happens to a Student Today

Don’t Assume Learning Isn’t Going On

Every Student is Worth Teaching

Remember to Look Beneath the Surface

Purpose of This Book

WORK WITH ME . . .

to help students with challenges experience increased success

to help families of students with special needs feel more empowered

to enhance the partnership between educators and students with special needs.

I believe that once we understand why a student learns, thinks, or acts in a certain way, we can then do something to help move that student towards success. This book is a starting point. It is a basic reference designed to provide straightforward information—a basic guide to understanding and then helping students with special needs. Included are lists of common characteristics of ten different categories of disabilities and lists of accommodations that match each characteristic. The information focuses on the classroom, but applications can also be made to the workplace, the community, and the home environment.

Not new! The material presented in this book is not new. It is a compilation of information gathered from numerous published resources, from my personal experiences (both as a special ed teacher for 30 years and as a parent of an amazing son with special needs), and from listening to my students and their families share their personal challenges and victories.

And . . . believe me when I say that I KNOW first-hand the overwhelming demands placed on classroom teachers! I totally get it! My hope is that this concise, easily accessible book will make our job easier in the long run. And, the good news is that most accommodations are just good teaching practices anyway, so they can be used with all students in the general education curriculum!

From my heart to your hands . . . I hope this book helps bring you closer to understanding and helping the special people in your life!

How to Use This Book

The chapters in this book contain general information about ten categories of disabilities listed in The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act, 2004 (IDEA). Each chapter contains lists of possible characteristics and accommodations pertaining to each disability category. Please keep in mind that every student with special needs is a unique individual who may or may not have the characteristic listed or need a particular accommodation relating to that characteristic. It might be helpful to think of the lists as you would a menu—pick and choose items that relate to your specific student or that make sense for your specific situation.

Common Special Education Terms

The Law: Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA 2004)

Public Law 108-446: The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA, 2004) is a federal law that ensures services for children with disabilities throughout the United States. IDEA governs how states and public agencies provide early intervention, special education, and related services to eligible children with disabilities.¹

Free, Appropriate Public Education (FAPE)

• IDEA obligates each state to provide eligible students with disabilities a Free, Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) no later than the child’s third birthday.

• Free education programs for students with disabilities must be designed to meet their individual needs to the same extent that the needs of nondisabled students are met.²

Least Restrictive Environment (LRE)

• Special education services and supports must be provided in the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE). Students with disabilities are educated in the regular educational environment, with students who are not disabled, to the maximum extent appropriate for the needs of each child.

• Removal of children with disabilities from the regular educational environment occurs only when the nature or severity of the disability of a child is such that education in regular classes with the use of supplementary aids and services cannot be achieved satisfactorily.

• The LRE is a continuum of services beginning in the general education classroom and moving to the most restrictive environment, such as a specialized environment. ³

Procedural Safeguards

These safeguards are federal regulations that protect the rights of students with disabilities and their parents/guardians. They ensure that parents/guardians and students play an integral part in the educational decision-making process. ⁴

Multi-factored Evaluation (MFE)

• This comprehensive process is used to determine whether or not a student has a disability and is eligible for special education services.

• Information is gathered that describes how a student is developing, learning, and functioning.

• The MFE also provides information that helps determine how a student’s educational needs can best be met.

• The findings of an MFE are summarized in an Evaluation Team Report (ETR).

• An MFE is typically repeated every three years to determine if a student continues to have a disability and if so, what appropriate educational services are needed. This process is referred to as a Reevaluation. ⁵

Individualized Education Program (IEP)

The IEP is a written statement developed from current MFE information, It is specifically designed for a student with a disability that outlines both the educational goals the student will work on in the coming year, as well as the supports and services needed to meet those goals. According to federal and state regulations, the IEP is developed, reviewed, and revised by a team of qualified individuals that includes parents/guardians and the student with a disability (whenever appropriate).

Some Key Components of an IEP:

• It is effective for one calendar year.

• It describes how a student is currently learning and functioning and how this affects progress in the general curriculum.

• It describes measurable, realistic annual goals for a student with a disability—goals can relate to areas such as academics, behavior, functional living skills, social skills, work-related skills, and transition skills.

• It describes how and when a student’s progress towards meeting specific goals will be measured and reported.

• It includes future planning for the student, both ongoing and long-range.

• It describes any special education supports and services (e.g.; accommodations and/or modifications) and related services (e.g.; transportation) that are needed for each student.

• It describes which LRE is appropriate.

• It can be amended any time the team wants to make changes. ⁶

Adaptations=Accommodations and Modifications

Accommodations and Modifications are practices and procedures that reduce or eliminate the effects of a student’s disability by removing barriers to learning. Adaptations are specifically designed for each unique, individual student.

A teacher once said to me, ‘I don’t understand why you have to have all those accommodations!’ That made me feel really uncomfortable. People take for granted the things they do so easily every day. Those are the things that take me way longer. (student with special needs)

Author’s Note: Although the terms Accommodations and Modifications can have different meanings in different school systems, the most commonly accepted definitions of those two terms are used in this publication.

Adaptations are most commonly provided in the areas of:

• Presentation (how instruction, materials, and content are presented to an individual)

• Response (how an individual demonstrates learning)

• Timing/Scheduling (the length of time or organization of time needed to demonstrate learning)

• Setting (where, or under what physical conditions, learning is best demonstrated)

Accommodations:

• DO NOT reduce learning expectations!

• Provide equal access to grade-level curriculum, instruction, and assessments

• Are changes to HOW a student learns the same material as his/her classmates

• Are changes in the way information and materials are presented to a student

• Are changes in the way a student demonstrates learning

• Do not change what an assignment or assessment measures

• Are NOT intended to give a student with a disability an unfair advantage

• Usually, are also needed at home, in the community, and at work

Note: Most accommodations can be implemented as informal supports, (that is, supports not specifically stated in the IEP). They simply reflect good teaching practices that increase success for all students, both those with, and those without, special needs.

Modifications:

• CAN change, lower, or reduce learning expectations!

• Are changes to WHAT a student is taught or expected to learn (e.g., learning less material)

• Can change what instructional materials are used (e.g., lower reading level texts)

• Can change what assignments are given (e.g., exemption from more difficult math problems)

• Can change the assessment used (e.g., a different assessment or altering an assessment)

• Can affect what an assessment or assignment measures (e.g.; understanding of subject content)

• Can affect an assessment’s validity (e.g.; standardized test validity)

• Can affect how a student’s grades are calculated (e.g., using a different grading scale) ⁷

Notes

1. Building The Legacy: IDEA 2004. U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs. Web. Jan. 2016. .

2. Building The Legacy: IDEA 2004.

3. Building The Legacy: IDEA 2004.

4. Building The Legacy: IDEA 2004.

5. Building The Legacy: IDEA 2004.

6. Building The Legacy: IDEA 2004.

7. Christensen, L., W. Carver, J. VanDeZande, and S. Lazarus. Accommodations Manual: How to Select, Administer, and Evaluate the Use of Accommodations For Instruction and Assessment of Students with Disabilities, Third Edition. CCSSO Council of Chief State Officers. Aug. 2011. Web. Jan. 2016. .

Additional Resources

Cohen, L.G., and L.J. Spenciner. Accommodations and Modifications for Classroom Teachers. Project IDEAL. Web. Apr. 2016. <http://www.projectidealonline.org/v/ accommodations-modifications/>.

IDEA 2004 Close Up: Evaluation and Eligibility for Specific Learning Disabilities. GREAT!KIDS. Jan. 2010. Web. Jan. 2016. <http://www.greatschools.org/gk/articles/evaluation-and -eligibility-for-specific-learning-disabilities/>.

Kasten, Jen. Disorder, Disability or Difference: What’s the Right Term? National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD). 1 Apr. 2014. Web. Jan. 2016. <http://www.ncld.org/archives/blog/disorder-disability-or-difference-whats-the-right-term>.

School Accommodations and Modification Ideas for Students Who Receive Special Education Services. Pacer Center Champions for Children with Disabilities. Web. May 2016. .

Strom, Erich, and Donna Volpitta, Ed.D. Common Modifications and Accommodations. Understood.org. 07 July 2014. Web. Jan. 2016. <https://www.understood.org/en/learning-attention-issues/treatments-approaches/educational-strategies/common-modifications-and-accommodations>.

Whose IDEA Is This? A Parent’s Guide to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA) of 2004. Ohio Department of Education, Office for Exceptional Children. 2 Apr. 2012. Web. Jan. 2016. <http://education.ohio.gov/Topics/Special-Education/Whose-IDEA-Is-This-A-Parent-s-Guide-to-the-Individ>.

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD)

Sometimes in class I don’t pay attention because I get stressed out. I don’t know what to do or I just need a break to think about things. (student with special needs)

Note: Students who are medically diagnosed with AD/HD may qualify for special education services, on a case by case basis, under the category of Other Health Impairment. ¹