Inclusion-­‐650

    Bill  Porter  Project  

         I  recently  found  out  that  I  would  be  gaining  a  new  second  grade  boy  

in  our  classroom  in  two  weeks.    I  received  his  current  IEP  from  his  

previous  school  and  am  thoroughly  reading  it  over.    I  learned  that  his  

name  is  Bill  and  he  has  cerebral  palsy.    He  is  included  in  the  general  

education  classroom  as  much  as  possible  despite  his  other  support  

services  with  speech,  OT  &  PT.    I  am  feeling  excited  to  meet  Bill  and  

anxious  to  make  sure  I  can  meet  his  needs.      Not  knowing  too  much  

about  cerebral  palsy,  I  have  decided  to  search  for  more  information  

online.    I  found  a  helpful  site:  http://www.cerebralpalsy.org/about-­‐

cerebral-­‐palsy  .    I  learned  that  it  is  caused  from  brain  damage.  

“The brain damage is caused by brain injury or abnormal

development of the brain that occurs while a child’s brain is still
developing — before birth, during birth, or immediately after. Cerebral
Palsy affects body movement, muscle control, muscle coordination,
muscle tone, reflex, posture and balance. It can also impact fine
motor skills, gross motor skills and oral motor functioning.”
 
The  site  thoroughly  explains  cerebral  palsy,  gives  resources,  and  even  

has  help  in  which  you  can  contact  them  via  chat  for  more  answers.      

         I  decided  that  I  needed  more  information  on  Bill’s  abilities  so  I  

decided  to  contact  his  mother.    His  mother  is  amazing.    She  feels  that  Bill  

can  do  anything  he  puts  his  mind  to.    She  has  given  me  some  helpful  
pointers  such  as  seating  him  on  the  end  so  he  has  more  room  to  move  

and  that  he  has  restricted  use  of  his  right  hand.    She  said  that  he  

struggles  with  writing  and  a  paraprofessional  helps  him  at  that  time.    He  

also  uses  an  IPAD  to  assist  with  daily  learning.    Otherwise  he  likes  to  do  

things  himself  or  with  little  peer/adult  help.    She  told  me  that  he  may  

need  assistance  with  some  of  the  “little  things”  like  turning  pages  in  a  

book  or  zipping  and  unzipping  his  backpack,  otherwise  he  just  wants  to  

be  learning  with  his  peers.    He  is  very  intelligent,  but  she  is  worried  

about  the  other  kids  accepting  him.    I  asked  if  it  was  okay  with  her  to  

teach  his  peers  about  cerebral  palsy  and  how  they  can  help  Bill  ahead  of  

time  and  she  loved  the  idea.    I  felt  relieved  after  talking  to  Mrs.  Porter  

because  I  knew  she  was  going  to  be  a  great  support.  

         Now  that  I  had  some  basic  knowledge  of  cerebral  palsy  and  Bill’s  

needs  I  was  ready  to  meet  with  our  IEP  team.    We  knew  it  was  

important  to  meet  before  his  arrival  and  to  revisit  two  weeks  into  his  

start.    In  attendance  were:  his  special  education  teacher,  principal,  

OT/PT  teacher,  speech  therapist,  Mrs.  Porter,  school  psychologist,  

school  guidance  counselor,  our  special  education  director,  and  myself.    

We  outlined  Bill’s  daily  schedule  and  the  times  he  will  receive  OT,  PT,  

and  Speech.    We  feel  that  it  is  important  for  his  speech  therapist  to  come  
to  our  classroom  to  work  on  peer  interaction  as  well  as  allowing  him  to  

pick  a  buddy  to  come  along  to  speech  occasionally.    We  also  discussed  

his  paraprofessional  support  in  the  classroom  and  in  specials  classes.    

We  decided  that  his  special  education  teacher  will  come  to  the  

classroom  to  co-­‐teach  for  Math  because  there  are  other  students  that  

receive  services  and  she  can  check-­‐in  with  Bill.      We  are  hoping  to  

include  some  of  UDL  framework  while  planning  our  lessons  together.    

To  begin  with,  Bill  will  have  a  paraprofessional  checking  in  with  him  

frequently  to  ensure  he  is  comfortable  and  safe.    He  will  need  daily  

support  during  writing  and  we  are  scheduling  OT  to  visit  our  classroom  

at  this  time.    At  the  two-­‐week  review  we  will  discuss  our  findings  and  

adjust  his  support  time.      We  have  also  decided  to  implement  some  tools  

to  accommodate  Bill’s  success  and  to  break  down  some  of  the  barriers.    

Bill  will  have  an  IPAD  with  apps  to  assist  with  learning  and  his  daily  

work.    He  will  have  the  Co-­‐Writer  app  to  assist  with  writing  and  

vocabulary.      I  found  tutorials  on  how  to  use  Co-­‐Writer  at:  

http://donjohnston.com/cowriter-­‐app-­‐tutorials/.    He  will  have  the  See  

Touch  Learn  app  to  practice  math  facts.    There  are  over  40,000  apps  

that  promote  fine  motor  skills  and  I  will  be  looking  into  adding  more  to  

his  IPAD  as  the  year  progresses.  Other  accommodations  we  feel  will  
benefit  Bill  are:    a  pencil  grip  along  with  a  weighted  pencil,  a  grip-­‐mat  so  

things  don’t  fall  off  his  desk,  and  a  slanted  writing  board.    Through  

research  I  have  found  an  informational  site:  

https://www.cerebralpalsyguide.com/treatment/assistive-­‐devices/  

It  gives  some  helpful  accommodation  information  for  children  with  

cerebral  palsy.    Another  important  step  was  educating  other  staff  and  

students  to  ensure  acceptance.    We  all  decided  to  educate  our  teaching  

team  at  our  next  staff  meeting  and  asked  that  they  inform  students  

about  cerebral  palsy.      They  needed  to  discuss  Bill’s  disability  and  the  

importance  of  treating  him  respectfully.    Our  IEP  team  is  looking  to  

provide  Bill  with  the  least  restrictive  environment  for  learning  and  to  

ensure  he  is  getting  all  needed  support.    We  need  to  ensure  he  is  

growing  socially  and  academically  to  reach  his  personal  best.    Our  

guidance  counselor  has  offered  to  meet  weekly  with  Bill  during  

“friendship  groups.”    We  feel  that  this  experience  is  also  a  learning  

experience  for  all  of  us  and  we  will  need  to  communicate  regularly  and  

be  flexible  to  meet  Bill’s  needs.    

         Now  that  I  have  outlined  Bill’s  academic  plan  and  daily  schedule  I  

need  to  have  a  plan  in  place  to  ensure  his  peer  acceptance.  My  next  step  

was  to  figure  out  how  to  prep  my  other  students  for  Bill’s  arrival.    I  
openly  and  excitedly  informed  my  students  about  Bill’s  arrival.    I  

promoted  questions  and  asked  them  for  input  on  how  to  welcome  Bill  

into  our  classroom  family.    Most  second  graders  are  still  very  accepting  

and  all  wanted  to  be  his  buddy.    I  gave  students  roles  to  help  Bill  with  

his  backpack,  turning  pages,  playing  at  recess,  help  at  lunch,  and  

reminded  them  that  he  does  like  to  do  things  himself  so  please  ask  him  

before  just  doing  things  for  him.      I  showed  a  couple  of  videos  I  found  

online:    

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0fs9650Vz8    (Book  on  line  to  music)  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1i1MoNlzYE(Can do anything attitude

similar to Bill).

I wasn’t able to find exactly what I was looking for so I asked Bill’s mom if

she could send me a quick introduction video of Bill and she was happy to. I

asked her to have him tell us some interests and favorites. We also created a

quick introductory video for Bill. We introduced ourselves and told Bill one

thing about all of us. We also welcomed him to our classroom. We

reviewed our classroom mission statement:

In  our  classroom  everyone  belongs  and  will  be  treated  respectfully.    

Students  will  engage  in  learning  to  meet  their  needs  and  reach  
their  personal  best  and  have  fun.    Students  will  grow  socially,  
emotionally,  physically,  and  intellectually  throughout  the  year  to  
best  prepare  for  their  future.    I  believe  in  you!
 
With  Mrs.  Porter’s  approval  I  also  sent  home  a  parent  letter  to  parents  

so  they  can  help  support  Bill  and  their  child  as  well.  

           I  felt  like  I  had  the  peer  relations  and  Bill’s  daily  activities  planned  

out  to  meet  his  needs  in  the  least  restrictive  environment.    I  knew  

tweaking  would  be  needed,  but  was  happy  with  the  overall  plan.    My  

next  step  was  to  find  out  if  there  are  outside  of  school  activities  or  clubs  

that  Bill  could  join.    At  our  school  we  have  a  social  group  that  meets  

Mondays  after  school  for  a  time  period  called  “The  Good  News  Club.”    I  

feel  that  Bill  would  benefit  from  this  social  group  and  I  will  mention  it  to  

Mrs.  Porter.    Also,  our  community  library  has  many  programs  Bill  can  

attend  for  free.    There  are  scheduled  after  school  activities  as  well  as  a  

summer  school  reading  program.    Park  and  Rec  has  activities  including  

swimming  lessons,  crafts,  and  sports  that  he  could  participate  in.    Our  

community  has  4-­‐H  and  boy  scouts  that  would  welcome  Bill  to  join.    I  

would  communicate  with  Bill’s  mom  and  let  her  know  about  the  many  

opportunities  that  are  available  to  Bill  here  in  our  community.    As  Bill  

grows  older,  there  are  also  future  organizations  Bill  can  join  including  

student  council,  FBLA,  FFA,  STARS,  and  more.      I  have  also  found  a  

website  that  supports  Bill  and  his  family:  

https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/clts/waiver/transition/index.htm  
This  site  includes  information  about  the  Aging  and  Disability  Resource  

Centers  (ADRC),  Include,  Respect,  I  Self-­‐Direct  Program  (IRIS),  Youth  in  

Transition,  and  more  resources.    I  would  share  this  information  with  

Bill’s  mom.    Other  groups  that  may  interest  Bill  may  include  the  Special  

Olympics  (Bill  could  currently  participate  in  the  Young  athletes  

division).  

http://www.specialolympicswisconsin.org/sports-­‐offered/become-­‐an-­‐

athlete/  

Our  county  also  has  a  “boys  club”  that  he  may  be  interested  in:  

http://www.co.columbia.wi.us/columbiacounty/Portals/7/Forms/Boys

Group.pdf  

There  are  many  groups  out  there  that  Bill  can  be  a  part  of.    I  will  pass  

the  information  along  to  his  mother.    I  know  she  believes  in  Bill  and  she  

will  support  him  by  helping  him  join  the  groups  he  is  interested  in.    I  

know  that  since  Bill  has  been  living  with  cerebral  palsy  since  birth  his  

mom  likely  has  a  lot  of  outside  resources.  

         Bill  is  coming  for  a  meet  and  greet  tomorrow  and  we  are  all  excited  to  

celebrate  his  arrival.    We  feel  that  Bill  is  going  to  make  an  amazing  

addition  to  our  classroom  family.    I  feel  that  because  we  have  taken  time  

to  plan  and  collaborate  Bill’s  transition  will  be  a  positive  experience  to  
our  school.    I  just  have  to  remind  myself  and  others  how  important  it  is  

for  Bill  to  do  many  things  independently  because  I  know  all  of  us  are  

going  to  want  to  help  him  SO  much.    He  can  do  it!