Sunday, October 28, 2012

Mind Steps - Oct. 15

Mind Steps

Reference Guide

Planning Sheet

English Unit Plan

Parents as Partners

Parents as Partners Handbook



Special Education Law

IDEA

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is a law ensuring services to children with disabilities throughout the nation. IDEA governs how states and public agencies provide early intervention, special education and related services to more than 6.5 million eligible infants, toddlers, children and youth with disabilities.
Infants and toddlers with disabilities (birth-2) and their families receive early intervention services under IDEA Part C. Children and youth (ages 3-21) receive special education and related services under IDEA Part B.

ELL Resources

ESL for Students and Teachers
     This site is designed for both people who are learning or teaching English as a second language.  This site focuses on helping open up job opportunities and how to communicate in daily life.  There are games, quizzes and categories that are well-organized and easily assecible.

ESL Mania
     This site includes classroom materials, ESL teacher talk, idioms, grammar, accent reduction, business english, and much more for both students and teachers.

ESL Resources for Parents
    Parents can help facilitate their students learning if they are involved with the student.  This site offers ways that parents can get involved as well as giving teachers ways to reach out to parents.

Common Slang
     This site tells the meaning of "Common American Slang" words.  Slang is never something that I would have thought about when teaching ELL students, but I think it could be something fun or interesting to get ELLs involved in learning English.

30 ESL Resources
     This is an article that has 30 different links to free online resources and activites for ESL teachers.  Each resource has about a two sentence description.

Oct. 22 - 3 Resources

How to meet student needs
Connecting Schools and Parents
Grading Students with a Disability

Sunday, October 7, 2012

3 Beneficial Resources

Adult Services
Bully Prevention
"Alphabet Soup"



IDEA's Exact Words and The Short Story

IDEA’s Exact Words

Again, let’s start with IDEA’s full requirement for identifying the supplementary aids and services a child will need and specifying them in his or her IEP. This appears at §300.320(a)(4) and stipulates that each child’s IEP must contain:
(4) A statement of the special education and related services and supplementary aids and services, based on peer-reviewed research to the extent practicable, to be provided to the child, or on behalf of the child, and a statement of the program modifications or supports for school personnel that will be provided to enable the child—
(i) To advance appropriately toward attaining the annual goals;
(ii) To be involved in and make progress in the general education curriculum in accordance with paragraph (a)(1) of this section, and to participate in extracurricular and other nonacademic activities; and
(iii) To be educated and participate with other children with disabilities and nondisabled children in the activities described in this section… [§300.320(a)(4)]
We’ve bolded the part of IDEA’s regulation that specifically mentions supplementary aids and services, because it’s important to see the context in which this term is used. It is that context, and IDEA’s own definition of supplementary aids and services, that will guide how a child’s IEP team considers what services the child needs and the detail with which the team specifies them in the IEP.
Back to top

The Short Story on Supplementary Aids and Services

Supplementary aids and services are often critical elements in supporting the education of children with disabilities in regular classes and their participation in a range of another school activities. IDEA’s definition of this term (at §300.42)reads:
Supplementary aids and services means aids, services, and other supports that are provided in regular education classes, other education-related settings, and in extracurricular and nonacademic settings, to enable children with disabilities to be educated with nondisabled children to the maximum extent appropriate …
Speaking practically, supplementary aids and services can be accommodations and modifications to the curriculum under study or the manner in which that content is presented or a child’s progress is measured. But that’s not all they are or can be. Supplementary aids and services can also include direct services and supports to the child, as well as support and training for staff who work with that child. That’s why determining what supplementary aids and services are appropriate for a particular child must be done on an individual basis.

Sunday, September 23, 2012

Autism Handout



Developmental Delay Handout


Alexa Palmer

Sarah Schrock

Developmental Delay

September 17, 2012

 

               

                Description:

 

                The Federal Definition of Developmental Disability is

“a severe, chronic disability of an individual 5 years of age or older that:

1.       Is attributable to a mental or physical impairment or combination of mental and physical impairments.

2.       Is manifested before the individual attains age 22.

3.       Is likely to continue indefinitely.

4.       Results in substantial functional limitations in three or more of the following areas of major life activity:
(i) Self-care;
(ii) Receptive and expressive language;
(iii) Learning;
(iv) Mobility;
(v) Self-direction;
(vi) Capacity for independent living; and
(vii) Economic self-sufficiency.

5.       Reflects the individual's need for a combination and sequence of special, interdisciplinary, or generic services, supports, or other assistance that is of lifelong or extended duration and is individually planned and coordinated, except that such term, when applied to infants and young children means individuals from birth to age 5, inclusive, who have substantial developmental delay or specific congenital or acquired conditions with a high probability of resulting in developmental disabilities if services are not provided."

 

Important Note: Though the above definition is important, it is vital to know that Developmental Disability is not exactly the same thing as Developmental Delay. Developmental Delay is often used in educational settings when a child between the ages of 3-9 is in need of services, but does not fall into another Special Education category. The age range of developmental delay is also important. This brings us to the next definition.

The IDEA Definition of Developmental Delay is:

Child with a disability for children aged three through nine (or any subset of that age range, including ages three through five), may…include a child—

1. Who is experiencing developmental delays as defined by the State and as measured by appropriate diagnostic instruments and procedures in one or more of the following areas: Physical development, cognitive development, communication development, social or emotional development, or adaptive development; and

2. Who, by reason thereof, needs special education and related services.” (NICHCY, 2012)

Characteristics:

Significant delay (there is a wide variation in the definition of this state to state, but is commonly includes 2 standard deviations below the mean in one of the following areas, or 1.5 standard deviations in two of them) in these areas: Physical Development, Cognitive Development, Communication Development, Social/Emotional Development, or Adaptive Development.

Adaptive development is the ability for self-care, such as dressing oneself, etc.

Characteristics vary from child to child; some children may exhibit only one delay, whereas others can show two or more. The use of Developmental Milestones is helpful in assessing if children may have a Developmental Delay.

Suggested Learning Strategies:

·         Know the child!

o   Because each child is different, has different needs, it is important that we know the children well so we can better understand their needs. If the child does have a developmental disability, we must know in which area they may need extra assistance. The same disability can differ for each child.

·         Fine and gross motor skills development:

o   There are many things a child who struggles with motor skills can do to learn, such as using scissors, crayons, beads, balls and puzzles. It is important to allow them practice with many such things.

o   There are also social games that can help with both motor skills and social development, like hop-scotch and the hokey-pokey.

·         Literacy, cognitive, and communication development:

o   Literacy development can be enhanced by having many literature materials available to look at, such as books and magazines

o   For all three, we can share storytelling time, drawing, and using wordplay

o   Also for all three, plus some mathematics, we can play store with children.

·         Social/emotional development:

o   In this area, playing social games such as charades, bingo, and board games can be useful. These games include strategizing and taking turns.

o   The children could role-play, and show one another how to react in different situations.

·         Adaptive development:

o   For adaptive development we can implement things like hand-washing strategies, and encourage work with common clothing items like zippers, ties and buttons.

·         Assisting caregivers and families in increasing interaction with their children:

o   If possible, there can be field trips, such as too the zoo, the library, the park, a playground, etc.

o   Parents and caregivers can share books with their children and read together.

o   Whenever possible, it’s good to have discussions and share in different areas of interest with the child.


 

Additional Resources:

Developmental Delay Resources: www.devdelay.org

This is a non-profit organization with a mission statement that considers the whole child, using both conventional and holistic methods.


This website has information on developmental delays, as well as developmental milestones in different age ranges.

Utah Department of Human Services:  www.dspd.utah.gov

This website has information about eligibility, screening, and getting help for children with disabilities, with other information on developmental delays.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: http://acf.hhs.gov/programs/add/ddact/DDACT2.html

This is the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act of 2000, for the actual legal information and rights. The federal definition above is from this act.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References:

 

(2009).  Utah Department of Human Services.  Retrieved from http://www.dspd.utah.gov/

(2011).  Council for Exceptional Children.  Retrieved from http://www.cec.sped.org/am/template.cfm?section=Home

(2012, March).  National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities.  Retrieved from http://nichcy.org/disability/specific/dd

Friend, M., Bursuck, W. D., (2012).  Including Students with Special Needs: A practical guide for classroom teachers.  New Jersey:  Pearson Education Inc.

My Child Without Limits Advisory Committee (2009, November).  My Child Without Limits.  Retrieved from http://www.mychildwithoutlimits.org/?page=developmental-delay

National Joint Committee on Learning Disabilities (2006).  Learning Disabilities and Young Children: Identification and Intervention.  Retrieved from http://www.ldonline.org/article/11511/

Shackelford, J. (2006, July).  State and Jurisdictional Eligibility Definitions for Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities Under IDEA.  Retrieved from http://www.nectac.org/~pdfs/pubs/nnotes21.pdf

Administration on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. (2000, October 30). Administration for Children and Families. Retrieved September 2012, from US Department of Health and Human Services: http://acf.hhs.gov/programs/add/ddact/DDACT2.html

 Zachry, A., Gromisch, E. (2011, July 30).  Helping Students with Developmental Delays Through Play.  Retrieved from http://www.brighthubeducation.com/special-ed-inclusion-strategies/122327-therapeutic-play-activities-for-students-with-developmental-delays/?cid=parsely_rec