Response to Intervention

Elliot, Judy. (2008). Response to Intervention: What & Why?. School Administrator, 65.8, 10-12.

Elliot defines RTI as “the practice of providing hig-quality instruction and intervention matched to student need, monitoring rogress frequently to make decisions about changes in instruction or goals and applying student response data to important education decisions.” Elliot asserts the there is a need for every student in the education system to have their learning needs met to ensure future success. Elliot suggests that RTI requires culture to acknowledge and understand all students can learn, resources must be aligned to facilitate student growth, and “appreciation and continual use of data in making instructional and programmatic changes.” Elliot states RTI is researched based and in order to be successful, educators must understand all children can learn, intervention should be implemented early, RTI is a multitiered model for instruction, and problem-solving methods should be used to make decisions within the multitiered model. Elliot defines the three tiers as follows: tier 1 – all students; tier 2 –target instruction; and tier 3 – intensive instruction.

Mesmer, Eric M.; and Mesmer, Heidi. (2008). Response to Intervention (RTI): What Teachers of Reading Need to Know. Reading Teacher, 62.4, 280-290.

Mesmer and Mesmer give a history of RTI and explain the laws surrounding RTI. Mesmer and Mesmer suggest that the RTI process should be implemented in 5 steps. In step 1, Mesmer and Mesmer suggest establishing universal literacy practices. In step 2, Mesmer and Mesmer suggest that educators should implement “scientifically valid interventions” (283). In step 3, Mesmer and Mesmer suggest educators should monitor the progress of students receiving interventions. In step 4, Mesmer and Mesmer suggest that educators come up with individualized interventions for their students that are still struggling. And in step 5, Mesmer and Mesmer suggest that a team try to determine the need for special education services for students who continue to struggle. The authors explain that RTI is designed to benefit the students by incorporating assessment and interventions. The authors are concerned about the requirement of RTI being implemented by using scientifically based instruction. Mesmer and Mesmer argue that many companies may label products as scientifically based because an experiment was done on the product. Therefore, it may be difficult for educators to find beneficial products and programs.

Reutebuch, Colleen K. (2008). Succeed With a Response-to-Intervention Model. Intervention in School & Clinic, 44.2, 126-128.

Colleen K. Reutebuch is a professor and research associate at Vaughn Gross Center for Reading and Language Arts at the University of Texas at Austin. Reutebuch defines Response to Intervention as a framework in which high-quality instruction and intervention is matched to the needs of the students. Reutebuch continues that RTI includes progress monitoring and assess-ment in order to make educational decisions on the students, as well as improving the outcomes of students in both special and general education. Reutebuch explains the guidelines set up by the federal government are a framework in which states and local school districts can develop their own appropriate model. These guidelines include: implementation of research-based instruction, early intervention, multi-tiered intervention, individual problem-solving protocol, fidelity checks and consistency, identifying at-risk students, differentiated instruction, frequent assessments, multi-disciplinary teams to determine special education needs, professional development, follow-up support, grouping formats, collaboration of personnel, determining instructors at various tiers, setting short-term goals, developing an entry and exit plan, culturally responsive practices, implementation of constant support, family involvement, and an understanding of RTI and student achievement. Reutebuch guides the audience through each of the guidelines and explicitly explains how the guidelines should be implemented.

Samuels, Christina A. (2009). High Schools Try Out RTI. Education Week, 28.19, 20-22.

Samuels’ article focuses on the lack of research on the implementation of a RTI model a secondary level, which is also addressed in the Elliot article. Samuels uses high schools in Colorado to show how RTI is being implemented and to outline the difficulties in implementing RTI at the secondary level. Samuels uses Palmer High School in Colorado as a model of effective implementation of RTI. The teachers at the school have pooled their resources so that each department could develop programs to address the needs of struggling students. These programs were organized into “tiers of increasing intensity, while adding other types of interventions for students.” The school also opened a tutoring center in which the students who are struggling can go to after instruction in the inclusive classrooms is given. The teachers monitored their low performing students to see if the programs resulted in higher grades. The educators found that students who used the programs were more successful than students who did not. Samuels’ article does not address the fact that many students with disabilities lack the self-determination skills needed in order to evaluate whether or not they need to go to tutoring.

Tilly, David. (2008). Questions to Guide RTI’s Use. Educational Leadership, 64.8, 22-23.

Tilly’s article defines Response to Intervention as a “framework for organizing instruction in schools using research-validated procedures and decision-making structures.” In Tilly’s district, Heartland Area Education Agency 11 in Iowa Tilly states RTI has been implemented for eighteen years. Tilly states that consensus must be built in order for RTI to be effective by providing information and allowing educators to question and challenge information as well as involving staff when the principles of teaching and learning are discussed. Tilly suggests that false notions, such as the need to know students’ IQs, that students’ learning can be accelerated by placing them in special education, and the disability label determines the instruction for the students. Therefore, Tilly suggests teachers undergo professional development in order to debunk these issues. Tilly suggests using current practices to build on for the RTI infrastructure by establishing a leadership team who identifies modifications to be implemented to current practices without holding on to existing regularities. Tilly further suggests that implementation be reviewed and refined often in order to ensure effectiveness and maintain long-term student learning.

Alternative Assessments for Students with Disabilities

Ahlgrim-Delzell, Lynn; Browder, Diane; Flowers, Claudia; and Spooner, Fred. (2005). Teachers’ Perceptions of Alternative Assessments. Research and Practice for Persons with Severe Disabilities, 30.2, 81-92.

The authors state the purpose of the study is to “examine teachers’ perceptions of alternate assessments.” The authors surveyed 983 teachers from 5 states by using two inventories one with a 5-point scale rating and one with a 4-point scale rating to determine what influences the alternative assessment outcome and the impact of alternative assessment. The samples used were representative for each of the five states surveyed. The study shows that teachers often agree that students with disabilities should be included in general education settings and should be held accountable, but they did not agree that the alternative assessments were beneficial and added more paperwork and time to their schedules. Therefore, the researchers suggest that more resources should be offered to alleviate the demands of alternative assessments. The researchers state limitations to the study include confounding factors, and a lack of evidence that suggests their findings would improve the outcomes of students with disabilities. Also, the researchers warn about generalizing the results to states that were not sampled.

Crisp, Cheryl. (2007). The Efficacy of Intelligence Testing in Children with Physical Disabilities, Visual Impairments and/or the Inability to Speak. International journal of Special Education, 22.1, 137-141.

Crisp indicates that the design of intelligence assessments may inhibit an accurate score for students with disabilities. Crisp states that the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 requires all students, even those with disabilities to be held accountable on academic assessments, but it does not acknowledge that some of the students with disabilities may never attain the academic level of their peers. Crisp asserts that each person with a disability is an individual and must always be put before their disability, and each disability is different in that individual. Crisp argues that standardized tests fail to take the nature of the disability into consideration, and many fail to allow accommodations to be made to the test because doing so would hinder the integrity of the test. Crisp provides a list made by Fagan of those who are unable “comply with the requirements of standardized testing: cerebral palsy, all of the muscular dystrophies, dystonia, brain injury, some language disorders, developmental disorders, mental disorders, and cultural differences. Crisp provides several more appropriate options for measuring intelligence.

Dykeman, Buce F. (2006). Alternative Strategies in Assessing Special Education Needs. Education, 127.2, 265-273.

Dykeman states that Response to Intervention relies on standardized, norm-referenced assessment to determine special education needs of students with disabilities. Dykeman argues that functional assessment, authentic assessment, curriculum-based measurement, and play-based assessment should be used within the RTI model, but psychometric issues of reliability, validity, and fairness have become issues when determining the needs of students. Dykeman explains how students with disabilities are assessed and outlines the guidelines of diagnosis according to IDEIA 2004. However, Dykeman argues that IDEIA 2004 does not tell how assessments and evaluations are to be conducted. Dykeman argues, as does Crisp, that standardized, norm-referenced tests cannot always be indicative of the cognitive abilities of students with disabilities. Therefore, Dykeman suggests the use of the alternative assessments he discusses, which the language of IDEIA does encourage. Dykeman suggests more evidence based assessments be used that address the individual needs of students in order to allow fairness while determining special education needs.

Roach, Andrew T. (2006). Influences on Parent Perceptions of an Alternate Assessment for Students with Severe Cognitive Disabilities. Research and Practice for Persons with Severe Disabilities, 31.3, 267-274.

Roach states the purpose of his research was to “understand the variables that influence parents’ perceptions of the Wisconsin Alternate Assessment.” The study included special educators in both elementary and secondary systems across the state of Wisconsin. The sample of students included was representative of the gender population and grade levels in which the study was done in Wisconsin. Demographics on parents were not gathered, but parents were given pencil and paper rating scale surveys to ascertain their understanding of the WAA. The findings show that parents were positive about the WAA process, supportive participation of all students, and pleased with the alignment of the WAA to Wisconsin’s academic standards. Roach also found that student age was directly correlated to parent’s perceptions of the WAA. Parents with older students were less likely to be satisfied with the WAA, which mirrors parents’ perceptions of inclusion. Furthermore, Roach found that parents were confident in the WAA results, and those parents who were more involved with their students education were more satisfied with the outcome. Therefore, Roach suggests that resources, support, training, and support materials be provided to facilitate parent understanding of the WAA.

Vacca, John J. (2007). Incorporating Interests and Structure to Improve Participation of a Child with Autism in a Standardized Assessment: A Case Study Analysis. Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, 22.1, 51-59.

Vacca, an assistant professor of Individual and Family Studies at the University of Delaware, states that research indicates standardized assessments fail to predict concrete suggestions on supporting students with autism and fail to offer insight as to how behaviors of these children will be manifested in multiple environments. Vacca also points out that some attempts to assess children with autism by using standardized testing is unsuccessful, so researchers are looking at alternative assessments, which include interest areas to provide supports and instructional strategies for students with autism. Vacca accommodated the Bayley Scales of Infant Development-Second Edition by using interest areas to assess the developmental level of a child with autism, who was once deemed untestable. Vacca found that the use of the interests particular to the child helped the child complete the BSID II. Therefore, Vacca recommends that assessments for children with autism be accommodated by using the child’s interest area.

Including Students with Low Incident Disabilities in the Mainstream Academic Setting

Downing, June E.; and Peckham-Hardin, Kathryn D. (2007). Inclusive Education: What Makes It a Good Education for Students with Moderate to Severe Disabilities?. Research and Practice for Persons with Severe Disabilities, 32, 16-30.

The authors of the article are Professors with the Education Department at California State University. The purpose of the study was to identify the outcomes of inclusive classrooms on the education of students with disabilities. Although the study included a diverse focus group, the group used was not representative of the population as a hole. Furthermore, the study was isolated in a metropolitan area of southern California. Also the study was done with a small group of 58 participants at only 3 inclusive educational sites. The interview questions were open-ended which allows room for less objectivity and staff interpretation. Other problems in the study include the gathering of observation data in which the observations only lasted from 20 to 60 minutes and were not repeated. Therefore, the students being observed may not have acted normally since they were not desensitized to the presence of observers. The study shows that students with and without disabilities benefit from inclusive programs, a positive outcome is evident when the parent/teacher relationship is formed, and teachers in inclusive classrooms often need more support than what they receive. Unfortunately, the study does not address educational issues faced by all students in an inclusive setting.

Friedlander, Diana. (2009). Sam Comes to School: Including Students with Autism in Your Classroom. Clearing House, 82, 141-144.

Diana Friedlander is a special education inclusion teacher in elementary education in Ridgefield, CT, and a doctoral candidate at Western Connecticut State University. The article tells the story of a boy with autism, Sam, and the issues faced by him and his teacher when he began school. The author covers in detail many struggles students with autism have as well as giving an in-depth definition of autism. Friedlander recommends communication with the parents of children with autism both before and during the school year. The author’s definition of the parent/professional relationship is supported by Downing and Peckham-Hardin. She goes over the supports and intervention strategies that can help a student with autism adjust to the environment around them such as organization, visual cues and supports, sensory supports, social supports and models, and behavioral intervention plans. Friedlander asserts that an inclusive education is beneficial for a student with autism, which is also supported by Downing and Peckham-Hardin’s article.

Keane, Elaine.; and Roberts, Jacqueline. (2008). Making Inclusion Work. TEACHING Exceptional Children, 41.2, 22-27.

The authors of the article are leading specialists and consultants in Australia on autism spectrum disorders and education. The project discussed in the article is centered on the Autism Spectrum Australia Satellite Class Project in which students with an autism spectrum disorder are put into small specialist classes and eventually transitioned into a more inclusive environment. At the time of the article, the project had been in operation since 1992 and had expanded to 57 classes throughout the Sydney, Australia area. The program has shown a sixty-one percent success rate in transitioning students with autism from the specialist classes to the general education classrooms. Of those students, 95% remain in general education and several students have gone on to continue their education past their high school education. Students in the program benefit from mainstream and special education supports, resources provided to educators, ASD consultants and ASD specialized teachers, as well as ASD-specific skills-based programs.

Pearson, Sue. (2007). Exploring Inclusive Education: Early Steps for Prospective Secondary School Teachers. British Journal of Special Education, 34.1, 25-32.

Pearson coordinates the MA (SEN) program in the School of Education at the University of Leeds. Her article explores the importance of preparing future secondary educators for an inclusive classroom setting. The 5 phase plus follow-up approach was a simulation of the development of provisions that form active learning required for special needs students in an inclusive classroom. The author stresses the appropriate resources will create problems for the students and a “lack of clarity about the role of teaching assistants can impact on the teacher and pupils.” The study shows that university-based learning activities can provide a foundation to assist prospective teachers in an inclusive setting. Though the study was only done in one subject area, Pearson asserts that the findings can be generalized across the curriculum. Therefore, the addition of such programs can enhance the initial teacher training of secondary teachers, thus enabling them to be more prepared for an inclusive classroom. The limitations to the study is that the study was centralized in one university. Because the programs in other institutions may or may not better prepare prospective educators for an inclusive classroom, the program may not be an effective approach.

Schwarz, Patrick A. (2000). Special Education: A Service, Not a Sentence. Educational Leadership, 64.5, 39-42.

Patrick Schwarz is an associate professor and chair of the Diversity in Learning and Development Department of National-Louis University, Chicago. The author advocates that segregation of students with disabilities into a special education classroom is can be detrimental to the development of the students. The author feels that all students should be in an inclusive classroom setting. The author believes an inclusive classroom setting is the least restrictive environment for all students. However, the author does not take into consideration the impact of a student with special needs on the other students or the impact on students who are far behind their classmates. Some students may be disruptive or some students may not be able to keep up with the curriculum in the general education setting. The author offers a process developed by Udvari-Solner that takes into account the range of learners in a classroom and honors diversity to help with the unification of the inclusive classroom. The author concludes that the betterment of the students can be found in a fully inclusive environment.

A Review of “Beyond F.A.T. City”

Lavoie, R.  (Writer), Allen, D.; Vettel, N. (Producer). (2005). Beyond F.A.T. City. [Motion Picture]. United States: PBS Video.

The purpose of this video was to reinforce what the viewers of the F.A.T. city video and the participants of the F.A.T. City workshop learned. This video also served as a tool to teach about the changes in special education since the late 1980s. Although the first video was designed to “create sensitivity” and to “make teachers to want to know how to help these kids.”

It is important to know that children with learning disabilities need to be treated fairly. As Mr. Lavoie stated, “There is nothing so unequal as the equal treatment of unequals.” It may seem that children with learning disabilities get special treatment. However that is because children with learning disabilities need special treatment. Most often these children are asked to do schoolwork that they are not ready for. This leads to tension and conflict between remedial and compensatory education. In remedial education, the children work on and are taught skills that they do not have. In compensatory education, their work is modified to where they can understand it better. Both types of education are good, but they should work in tandem with one another. For instance, making modifications so the information is accessible to the student only treats a symptom of a bigger problem. With books on tape, the student may be listening to and understanding the tape; however, they still cannot read. Children with learning disabilities are not lazy they want to learn, but do not believe that they can do it; therefore, they give up.

As educators, it is important for us to remember several things about students with learning disabilities. You should never make assumptions about your students. They often get confused because they do not have any background information on the task that they are having difficulty with. Children with learning disabilities may seem that they have behavioral problems; however, they may just have a need for attention. If you feel that the child is acting up for attention, then give them the attention. Children with learning disabilities also have a hidden handicap. The rest of the world has great difficulty understanding that an attractive looking, well-groomed individual may have a learning disability. When an educator is dealing with an adolescent, adolescence is the most difficult time of these children’s for various reasons. First, as a teen, students are expected to succeed in several different areas. Second, this is the only time in a person’s life that “different=bad.” Third, this is the first time in life that people realize that they will never be much different than they are at this point in their lives.

Children with learning disabilities struggle in many areas that were not previously discussed. Due to research, more is known about learning disabilities than ever before. These children often have difficulty with social contracts. There is a direct correlation between the comprehension of reading and math skills and the comprehension of social skills. Their inability to develop social skills leaves the children with many social struggles such as isolation, rejection, and ridicule. Normally children with learning disabilities consider anyone who does not make fun of them their friends.  Another area children with learning disabilities struggle in is that of performance inconsistency. This means that they may be able to complete a task one day, but unable to complete the task the next. Kinetic melodies are usually not developed for children with learning disabilities. Although they are walked through a task every single day, it is like they are doing the task for the first time.

 “When elephants fight, it’s the grass that gets trampled” (African Proverb). As an educator, it is very important to remember families of children with learning disabilities are constantly in crisis mode. The disabilities affect everyone in the family, even the siblings. The parents of these children may agree on everything, but the child with learning disabilities. They may feel that it is them “against the world.” It is also important to change the multidisciplinary teams to trans disciplinary teams, where all points are taken into consideration and woven together. When addressing behavioral problems, it is important to remember that children with learning disabilities rarely respond to punishment, and they may not understand how their voices and body languages change the message of what is being said.

Each child with learning disabilities is different from the next; they are different from children without learning disabilities as well. Therefore, there are different approaches to teaching these children, as well as different ways to reach them. There are about 100 different symptoms to learning disabilities. One child can have anywhere from eight to twelve different symptoms. Not all children have the same cluster of learning disabilities; therefore, there is no set way to teach a child with learning disabilities. Though competition is often looked at a positive way to motivate children, it will not motivate a child with learning disabilities. After all, only children who believe that they have a chance of winning will compete. These children also need to believe that it is okay to take risks. Even if they do not succeed, it is okay, and we need to be sure to teach them this. It is important to recognize that these children are often the victims of bullies. Many children with learning disabilities have been picked on their entire lives. These children are normally happy children until they enter school. Once they enter school, their spirits are crushed. School is where children spend the most of their days.

I liked this video because it touched on ground that was not touched on in F.A.T. city did not touch. This was due to the first video being almost twenty years old. There has been a great deal of research on learning disabilities in the last couple of decades. Today, we know a lot more about children with learning disabilities. It was interesting to hear him speak of a technique that I use with my son. However, I never thought to use pictures to get him to clean his room. We use it for other routines, such as morning grooming routines, making toast, etc. I also noticed that the way that Lavoie spoke about children with learning disabilities in this video differed from the prior. Instead of calling the children learning disabled, he referred to them as children with learning disabilities. He also stressed that it is not “the child is a problem,” but it is “the child has a problem.”

This video will help me to better understand how to help these children. I always need to remember that I will never know what is like to be a person with a learning disability. I will never know the hardships and obstacles children with learning disabilities must overcome every day. However, I know I can relate to the parents of children with learning disabilities. I should also give them room and listen to them, because every learning disability is different. What may work for Damien may or may not work for another child with learning disabilities. These two videos have opened my eyes and given me more insight into the lives of people with learning disabilities.

Beyond F.A.T. City
Exec producer – Niki Vettel, Dennis Allen
Washington D.C. production
Boston, MA production
Director – Bob Comiskey
Date – 2005
Editor – Scot Broderic

A Review of “How Difficult Can This Be?” The F.A.T. City Workshop

Lavoie, R.  (Writer), Rosen, P. (Producer). (1989). How difficult can this be? The F.A.T. City
Workshop. [Motion Picture]. United States: PBS Video.

The purpose of this video was to teach people who often deal with children with learning disabilities what it feels like to be learning disabled. It also gave some insight into many misconceptions about learning disabilities.

Those with learning disabilities are not mentally retarded/impaired; emotionally disturbed, modality deficient, or those will little opportunity to learn. Learning disabilities are not just a “school problem.” They are struggles that affect every aspect of those with learning disabilities’ lives. These people deal with frustration, anxiety, and tension every single day. They are not out to mess up a teacher’s class, or to cause problems for their families at home.

Because children with learning disabilities have trouble processing information, the regular pace of a class may be too fast for them. When asked a question, immediately the mainstream children begin to process the answer; however, the child with a learning disability is still processing the question. The result from this the child may seem disruptive in the classroom. If you know that the child has difficulty processing the questions, try to work out a system that they may be comfortable with. If you call on the child, try to make sure that you are asking a question you are sure the child can answer.

Before discussing some of the basic types of learning disabilities, it is important to understand there is a difference between distractibility and short attention span. These problems are extreme opposites. A distracted child pays attention to everything and cannot focus anything out. They often have too much stimuli to concentrate. A child with a short, little, or no attention span pay attention to nothing. Many children with learning disabilities have problems with visual perception, as well. They can see what they are looking at, but cannot bring meaning to it. As a result the child needs direct instruction from a trained, experienced teacher. Similarly, children with auditory and visual capability difficulties often need to hear the instructions instead of reading them or vice versa. There are also disabilities that cause reading to be difficult. Children with visual learning disabilities may confuse letters like p d b q for one another. All four letters contain the same strokes, but are spatially oriented differently. Problems with spatial orientation can cause great confusion for the child. Many children with learning disabilities also have trouble with reading comprehension. Most reading comprehension is taught by vocabulary. It is important to know that reading comprehension has less to do with vocabulary knowledge, and more to do with the person’s background. Many people with learning disabilities may have difficulty with eye-hand coordination. Because there is a problem with the processing of the information in the child’s brain, the child may be getting mixed messages from their brain. Difficulty with the storage/retrieval process causes dysnomia for everyone about two to three times a day. This is what many of us know as the “tip of the tongue” syndrome. Children with learning disabilities can experience this problem hundreds of times a day. For them speaking and/or listening are cognitive tasks (only one can be performed at a time) not associative tasks (many can be performed at a time).

There are several effects of learning disabilities. They cause can anxiety, frustration, and tension, all of which affects performance. Therefore, those with learning disabilities are often unable to get the correct answers. When we begin to accept the answer, “I don’t know” from these children, we are setting the child up to give up. They begin to hide and believe, “If I can’t see the teacher, the teacher can’t see me.” As humans, it is natural for us to look away from stimuli that cause anxiety. Most often, children with learning disabilities will not volunteer to answer questions. This is a learned behavior, which is not the result of the fact they do not like surprises. If they get no recognition or positive reinforcement when they do something correct, they will not be willing to take the risk. Another problem that arises with children with learning disabilities is how their perceptual problems can affect their behavior. Children with perceptual problems may get in trouble in school and actually not know what they got in trouble for. This is due to their inability to see things the same way people without perceptual problems do. Furthermore, children with eye-hand coordination problems normally have great difficulty writing, and writing for them takes a lot of energy.

When considering fairness, it is important to remember Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral Development. Children learn more from what they see than what they do, and morals do develop. If we tell a child with a learning disability that we want them to behave in a certain way, we must make sure that we model the same behavior that we wish them imitate. It is also important to remember when considering fairness, everyone must get what they need. What everyone needs is not always the same thing. A teacher or parent should never think that being fair to the child that has a learning disablity is not fair to the other children. It is not about the others; it is about the child with learning disabilities.

This video helped me to learn what it is like to have a learning disability. When the presenter showed the pictures of the woman and the cow, I did not see either one of them. With the cow picture, I saw a man’s face in the top right hand corner, and a man with a heavy coat on and his back turned to the camera in the lower left had corner. In the picture “Vanity,” I saw a skull too. This literally opened my eyes to the effects of difficulties with visual perception. Earlier in the video, I had trouble thinking of answers when the presenter kept asking questions at a fast pace. I could not keep up and got frustrated. I feel it is a very good video not only for future educators, but also for future parents.

I can use the information I learned from the video in both the classroom and at home. First, I need to remember that a child with a learning disability has to deal with the difficulties he has day in and day out every, single day. I need to remember that the “greatest gift” I can give a child with learning disabilities is time. For instance, a demand question/answer session with a child with learning disabilities can be frustrating, and often causes a great deal of anxiety and tension. I need to remember to give the child an ample amount of time to answer the question. Or work out a system for the child to help them know when they are going to be prompted for an answer. I need to remember that these children often do not understand what they have done wrong if they have perceptual difficulties. I also need to make sure that I do not react with children with these difficulties in the following ways: tell them to look harder, bribe them to get an answer, threaten them by telling them that I will take privileges away, and never blame the student for their behavior by telling them they are not trying hard enough. I should never put a child with learning disabilities under pressure because it does not help. I should not tell them that the task they are struggling with is easy or ask them rhetorical questions. I should try to combine my lesson plans with both written and visual aids and directions so that all of my students will be able to understand.

It’s So Much Work To Be Your Friend

1. What was the purpose of the video?

The purpose of “It’s So Much Work To Be Your Friend” is to bring awareness to parents and educators of how much more important social connections are to the future happiness of special needs children than education.

2. List and describe five (5) major points from the video:

Children with special needs are less likely to have meaningful relationships with their peers. For many this problem stems from their inability to act appropriately in public. Not being able to appropriately act in public is closely tied to the inability to solve social problems, and it can cause the child to be isolated and rejected by their peers. Furthermore, children with special needs may over react to minor social problems. Without peers and appropriate public behavior, children with special needs are less likely to be asked to join activities that other children may.

The social problems children with special needs have may be due to their inability to understand timing and staging, affective match, social memory, social prediction, and social relevance. Many have problems with timing and staging. This means they do not understand that making friends is a process, and it takes a lot of time to make a friend. They often tend to rush relationships with their peers, which tend to push their peers away. Another way children with special needs push peers away, is many of them do not know how to match their emotions with the situation around them. When a child laughs or smiles when the situation does not call for such emotions, the child’s peers may feel the child is awkward. Matching emotions is closely tied to not being able to predict how their own behavior affects the people around them. Also, many of these children often do not remember people’s likes and dislikes, which may cause them to offend people. Another way children with special needs may offend others is many of them often do not understand social relevance. For instance, when most people walk into a room they have not been in before, they observe the room to gain an understanding of the people, place, and purpose of the room. Many children with special needs may not understand the social situation. In other words, they will treat an arcade the same as they would a classroom.

Part of the reason that children with learning disabilities doe not understand social situations is due to their inability to understand paralinguistics. Only about seven percent of communication is done through verbal language, and the other ninety-three percent is done through non-verbal language. For the majority of the population, we understand the non-verbal language therefore our mental stability is not questioned.

Unfortunately, children with special needs’ mental stability is often called in question, because they do not understand one or all four of the areas of non-verbal language, kinesics, proxemics, vocalics, and artifactual systems. Kinesics is how we use our bodies to communicate; it is the gestures that we may use to get our point across. Many children with special needs cannot pick up on these gestures. Therefore, they do not understand when a person has their hands on their hips that they are serious or may be angry. If the children do not understand proxemics, they do not understand how the use of space communicates to people. This problem may vary from culture to culture, because proxemics varies from culture to culture. For most people in the United States, there are four types of space: public, social, personal, and intimate. However, for children with special needs, they may inappropriately utilize proxemics. Often, they may inappropriately encroach on another’s social and personal space. This can cause major problems for children with special needs. For instance these children are more vulnerable to molestation and to become molesters. Another significant problem to children with special needs is they may not understand vocalics, which is how the tone of voice changes what we say. The problems that may arise is punishment for the way they say things, or punishment because they do not understand the emotion behind what other people say. Similarly, children with special needs do not understand what artifactual systems, or the way we dress, say about a person. Unfortunately, they may inappropriately dress for the weather, occasion, comfort, activity, style, age, or gender.

The most powerful part of this video is explaining how important reputations are to all people. Unfortunately, since many of the children with special needs are raised with their classmates, their reputations are often ruined by the time they leave elementary school. The children with learning disabilities that have problems with timing and staging as well as paralinguistics will have difficulty with social contracts, or their social expectations. This turns into destruction of the child’s reputation. Because reputations are permanent, other children may not want to be friends with children with special needs. Lavoie suggests that teachers intervene by rewarding the class for what the child with a learning disability does well, rather than punishing the class for the mistakes the child has made. Changing the way the child with special needs is treated by the teacher can change the dynamic of the classroom and possibly begin to repair the child’s reputation.

The best gift we, as educators and parents of children with special needs, can give the children is the gift of social competence. First, the child with special needs should be taught how to determine who their friends are. The child needs to be encouraged to seek out hobbies that will put them in social situations. The child needs to be taught social information, such as how to act in a line, or what certain symbols mean. We need to learn how to talk to the child with special needs. When a child says something about the way they feel reflect that emotion back to them so they understand ‘I felt like I wanted to hit someone’ means ‘oh, you were mad.’ When the child makes social mistakes, we need to work on only one problem at a time. Do not correct every mistake they make, but correct only one mistake at a time. We should give them a friendship test so they understand that ‘friend’ does not mean, ‘someone who does not pick on me.’ From social competence, children with special needs can develop social skills, which can prevent them from being shunned by other children.

3. Summary reaction: What were your thoughts and feelings regarding the video?

I enjoyed watching this video because it brought me a better understanding of how important social skills are to children with special needs. As a mother of a child with special needs, I know how important it is for educators to understand the stress the families of these children as well as the children themselves are always under. In this video, Lavoie brought these issues out into to the open. As a future educator, this video has brought me to a better understanding of how important the social skills are for children with special needs. I feel the video is the perfect tool for teachers to help them understand how they treat the class because of the child with special needs can permanently effect and damage the reputation of children with special needs.

4. Application. How will you apply the information you learned to your classroom and other areas of your life?

Before watching this video, I never thought of classmates as family. Now, I do. I like Lavoie’s idea on rewarding the class for what the child with special needs does well instead of punishing the class for the mistakes the child with special needs makes. I like the idea that by doing this a teacher can help to repair the reputation of the child with special needs. This reward system is something I will consider to use in my classroom.

More personally, I also realize how important those social relationships are for children. I have always thought that Damien is perfectly happy being alone, because he says he prefers to be alone. Therefore, I rarely have pushed him to make friends with other children. After watching this video, I talked to some friends of mine, whose children have autism. We all like the idea of using bowling as a way to give our children something they can excel at, as well as using it as a method to make new friends. One of the physical therapists at West Texas Rehab overheard us talking about it and decided she would join our bowling group, so that she can show the children how to bowl. I hope bowling is something that will help build Damien’s confidence and develop his social skills.

Sara: Mood Disorder

Personal Reaction

Sara’s story almost made me cry. I felt sad that she had been taken from her home at such a young age and then taken from the structured environment in which she was thriving to live with her father. I was a bit surprised to learn that she had been experiencing bouts of depressions since the age of seven.

Essential Points

Contributing Factors. Sara was taken from her mom at a young age because child protective services felt that her mother was unfit to care for a child. Sara lived with a foster family for four years and visited her mother on a weekly basis. Sara was about to be adopted by the foster family when her biological father was found. She was sent to live with him and her grandmother. Sara states that she missed her mother and had difficulties bonding with her father. He neglected both her and her half-sister and was put into her grandmother’s custody. Afterwards Sara was a victim of physical abuse. Sara is now living with another family (I am assuming it is a foster family), and she feels as if she is a burden on them.

What Is a Mood Disorder? Sara feels abandoned and alone. She isolates herself from people when she is down. Sara states that she often hides from people because she fears abuse. Sara had begun to cut herself because she feels like there is no way of getting out. She says that she keeps her emotions bottled up inside her; and when she cuts, she is able to calm down so she can sleep. Sara explains her mood disorder as feeling like knots inside her chest and stomach. Because of the mood disorder, Sara does not recall any pain from the cutting. She states that she had disassociated herself from the pain and the actual act of cutting. Sara stated that she did not remember cutting herself, but knew that she had done it. Though Sara no longer cuts, she says the thought of cutting is always in the back of her mind. Sara often feels as if she has no place or purpose in the world, she feels hopeless, she cannot trust people, and she has only been put on the earth to be hurt by people. After hospitalization, Sara is still unable to sleep and fights with her friends a lot. Sara often cries herself to sleep, does not eat, isolates herself, and argues with teachers. Sara gets depressed anytime she is reminded of her past or that she is alone in the world. Most holidays cause bouts of depression in Sara.

Affects of a Mood Disorder on Education. Sara has difficulty in school because she often feels the need to isolate herself in order to gain control over her moods. Because she does not have anywhere to go to regain control, Sara becomes easily frustrated and argues with and swears at teachers. When Sara is down, she silently refuses to do her work and falls to sleep in class. Sara admits that her depression causes frustration, which, in turn, causes irritability. Because of Sara’s trust issues, she has difficulty reaching out to people. Therefore, she may not approach faculty with any problems she may be having. Sara does feel that school is safe haven, and it is her favorite place to be. Sara is unsure about the future and scared about graduating from high school and going to college.

Application of the Essential Points

If Sara was one of my students, I would come to her if I noticed she was irritable. I would help her figure out a safe place that she could go so she could regain control. Because Sara has trust issues, I would try to reach out to her without causing more stress or making her feel I was being pushy. I would see what kind of transitional supports I could help Sara put into place so she is more prepared for her future. I would also reassure Sara about her future and let her know that the school she chooses to go to does have supports in place for students who have mood disorders. I would talk to the counselor to see what we could do for Sara before she leaves high school to ensure a smoother transition for her.

Ashley: Conduct Disorder

Personal Reaction

I think that this video was showed a classic example of conduct disorder. I really felt bad for Ashley because it seems that she just does not know any better. Her two older brothers have been in trouble with the law, which has caused Ashley to believe there is nothing wrong with being a criminal. Ashley also talked about her parents’ homes as Dad’s house and Mom’s house. Ashley’s home life has been so unstable that she does not act as if she has a home to call her own. I do have a problem with Ashley’s school situation. Apparently someone has told her that she is in the behavioral disorder classroom because she is a bad kid. It does not seem that her school is taking the time out to teach her behavioral management skills or coping skills. She acts as if the teachers at school do not care for her at all.

Essential Points

How a Conduct Disorder Looks. Ashley does not act as if she cares for anything or anyone but her mother, father, and little brother with Down Syndrome. Ashley knows that her behavior will have some serious implications on her future, but cannot clearly define a need to alter such negative behaviors. Ashley is said to have oppositional defiant disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, but refuses to take her medication because she does not like how they make her feel. Ashley obviously has anger issues because she states that she likes to anger with people because it is fun. She purposely picks on kids that do better than her in school and do the right thing. Ashley is selective about who she chooses to treat in a disrespectful manner; she will not pick on anyone who is slow because she knows how it makes her brother feel when others pick on him. Ashley states that arguing and fighting keeps her from feeling bored. Ashley has control issues and becomes angry if she is not allowed to control situations and people. Ashley admits that she can control her behavior if she wants to, but she doesn’t want to so her behavior gets out of hand. Ashley drinks and smokes at thirteen years of age. When beating up people, Ashley states she knows when it is getting out of hand and will stop to keep from hurting people. Though she has beat up other students, Ashley does not believe she has ever hurt anyone. Ashley says it is “kind of fun” having oppositional defiant disorder, because it lets her argue and gets her in trouble. Ashley has been arrested, is a risk taker, and believes she should “stand up to everything.” Ashley says she could care less if she gets arrested. When Ashley is acting unruly she does not think about the negative consequences of her behavior until she gets in trouble.

Affects of Conduct Disorder on Education. Ashley does not go to school because she has been expelled for fighting. She says that she wishes she were a “goody two shoes,” so that she could do her homework, do good in school, not fail, and stay out of behavior disorder classes that are for bad kids. Ashley starts arguments with teachers because she becomes bored and wants to have fun. She does not like being out of school because she misses her friends and is very bored at home. Ashley states that she wants to be able to go back to school and be a good kid so that she can graduate and go to college. Ashley states that she does wants to be a pediatrician or a veterinarian. Ashley does not believe that anyone can do anything to help her and that no advice from counselors has been helpful. Ashley is most likely far behind her classmates in school.

Social Implications. Ashley does not seem to have a close relationship with her brothers. Ashley acts as if she is angry with her two older brothers. She states that it is their own fault for ending up in jail. However, she is close to her brother with Down syndrome. Ashley states that she defies her parents’ rules and feels bad when she upsets them. She, however, shows little remorse for hurting others. Ashley does state that she has friends in school and she misses them very much. Ashley is defiant to all authority figures in her life. She states that her six counselors are useless and she never listens to a word they say. Similarly, Ashley ended up arguing with the police officer who came to question her about the windows she broke in the building next door to her home. The argument was the reason for Ashley’s arrest. As noted before, Ashley does not show respect to her teachers at school. Not only has she argued with them, it came out in the session that Ashley had hurt one in the fight that got her expelled from school. Ashley has inappropriate peer relationships, due to being placed in a classroom with only students with behavioral problems.

Application of the Essential Points

I feel this video will help me to understand how much of a difference teachers can make in a student’s life. Students like Ashley need, more than any other student, to have someone who really believes in them. If students with ODD/ADHD combination feel like no one cares and everyone has given up on them, then they will act out. Therefore, I hope I can be that one teacher that believes in them. I know that having students like Ashley in the classroom is going to be a challenge and hope that I will be able to be a positive role model in their lives. What I learned most from this video is to not argue with a student in the classroom. If I am having a problem with students like Ashley, hopefully I will be able implement the strategies suggested by Geoff Colvin in his video.

A Review of: The Adventures of ARD Man: Seven Steps Toward Effective ARD Meetings

????, ???. (Writer), ???, ???. (Producer). (1999). The Adventures of ARD Man: Seven Steps Toward Effective ARD Meetings. [Motion Picture]. United States: Texas School Administrators Legal Digest.

Purpose

The purpose of the ARD Man video was to teach parents and adult students of their rights when it comes to the ARD meetings. It was also to teach ARD committee members of the rights of the parents and students, the order that the ARD must be held, and the rules and regulations regarding the ARD.

Essential Points

Membership of the ARD Committee. One of the major points from the video is the membership of the ARD committee. There should be at least five committee members at the ARD. The committee members include at least one of the child’s regular education teachers if the child is participating in the regular education environment. At least one of the child’s special education teachers or providers must be present. A representative of the public agency (administrative representative). Someone who can interpret the instructional implications of the evaluation results must be present. The other committee member is the parent(s) of the child. The student may attend the ARD and is required to attend the ARD after the age of fourteen if the committee will be discussing the plan of post high school transition. The parents can invite anyone they may feel helpful to the ARD as well. For instance, if the parents wish that a specialist, advocate, case manager, or expert on the child to attend, their presence must be accepted by the rest of the ARD committee. The school may also call in experts or specialists; however, they must first notify the parent if they choose to do so. If the school cannot get the parents to attend the ARD meeting, then the rest of the committee may hold the ARD without them.

Importance of The Assessment Data. Another main point that I found in the video is the importance of the Assessment Data. Assessment data includes formalized testing, information provided by classroom teachers, grades, informal assessments and recommendations, information provided by parents, and information provided by outside experts. The IEP comes from all of this data and this data forms the base of the ARD pyramid.

The Order of The ARD. The ARD Pyramid (or order of the ARD) is the next main point. It is important for the ARD committee to make their decisions in the proper order. First, the committee is to carefully examine every piece of assessment data, which is the foundation for the pyramid. This is when the committee must look at the student’s present levels of performance. Next, the ARD committee builds the next level of the pyramid, or the IEP. Committee members should discuss and agree on the goals and modifications set forth in the IEP. They should also agree on short-term objectives or benchmarks for the student as well as special education, related services, supplementary aids and services, as well as program modifications or supports for school personnel. Last, the ARD committee members should agree on placement in the least restrictive environment for the student. This arrangement should give the student as much contact with non-disabled students as possible.

The Commitments. The next point that I will discuss is the commitments to ensure a quality education for the student. The district should be clear about its commitments with the parents. The parents should not leave the meeting without a promise list, which identifies specific commitments made. This list should have the commitment, the individual responsible for making sure the commitment is followed through, and the date that the commitment is to be completed. The district is bound by the ARD’s commitments listed in the IEP. The district or any member of the commitment cannot “unilaterally change the statement of special education and related services contained in the IEP. After the IEP is developed and the placement decision is made…the public agency must implement the IEP” (Letter from OSEP @ 18 IDEL R 627 (1991)). The promise list works best when the parents and the committee are at a consensus.

Consensus of The ARD Committee. The consensus of the ARD is the final main point of the video. In order to handle a non-consensus ARD, alternate method must be provided by the agency. ARD meetings are not a democracy; a majority vote cannot be used to determine the provisions set forth in the IEP. Parents may also ask for a recess if a consensus cannot be reached. The recess must not exceed ten days. After such recess, if a consensus still cannot be reached then the district can put forth an IEP that they feel suits the student’s needs. However, when the student’s behavior is a danger to himself or others, or when the student has done something that can cause him to be expelled, then a recess is not required. Though adhering to the law is important, the most important part of the ARD is to listen to what the parents have to say.

Application of the Essential Points

This video has helped me understand when I begin to teach that I must adhere to the law. When I am part of an ARD committee, I will know to make sure that everything is done in proper order. I must also remember that what I think is important is not as important than what the student’s parent(s) think is important. I should also make sure that I listen to specialists’ and experts’ recommendations when helping to construct the IEP. Once the IEP is in order, I must make sure that I follow the IEP closely. I should not change anything or discontinue any modifications unless an ARD has been called, and the IEP is changed. I must remember that it is my responsibility to make sure that the child receives all services that have been implemented. On a more personal note, I have learned when a teacher stops using the assistive technologies that are in my son’s IEP, this is a violation of his rights, as well as a violation of law. I will not plan or threaten to file a lawsuit on the teachers that have told me that he does not need what is in his IEP. However, I do know, now, how to handle situations like this, and think I will be able to make sure that he does not get left behind just because it is an “inconvenience” to the teacher.

Personal Reaction

I enjoyed this video. It was very goofy, but also informative. I feel the way the film was made, helps the viewer remember what was said and done in the video. I liked it better than the RTI video because it was quite a bit more interesting and less difficult to understand. The reason that I feel this video was easier to understand is when they would say something in legal terminology; they would then explain in English what they mean.

The Blind, the Deaf, and the Lame Summary

Yong, Amos. (2007). The Blind, The Deaf, and the Lame: Biblical and Historical Trajectories. Theology and Down Syndrome – Reimagining Disability in Late Modernity. Waco: Baylor University Press.

The author covers the references to the blind, deaf, and lame in order to gain an understanding of the historical beliefs as they pertain to people with disabilities. The Bible does not address mental disabilities. Amos Yong states dualistic beliefs in “Disability” in Ancient Israel. Yong feels the Bible draws connections between the sovereignty of God and disabilities, and people with disabilities are to be cared for just as others who are marginalized are to be cared for. In ancient Israel, people with disabilities were considered unholy and imperfect. They believed disabilities were the result of broken covenants with God, and people with disabilities were not whole and could not be included in the kingdom of Yhwh.

In the next section, “Disability” and the Early Church, the early Church believed in inclusion only after healing. They felt that Jesus’ healing of those with disabilities meant people with disabilities should be pitied, and their future is secured by God alone. Jesus’ healings also led people to believe there was a direct connection between disability and sin. Therefore, many people associated disabilities with evil. Those with disabilities were marginalized and dependent on the grace of God in the gospels. However, it can be assumed the disabilities were only metaphors for the sins of man.

The next section, “Disability” in the History of Christianity, covers how the biblical accounts affected disability. Before Christianity in ancient Greece and Rome, most people with disabilities were included. Disabilities were treated as a family/civic matter. Not much was written about mental retardation in ancient writings, possibly due to high mortality rates, and the inclusion of people with disability. The ancient god of fire, Hephaestus, was crippled, but had magical powers. Therefore, many Greeks believed people with disabilities were thought to have amazing abilities. They often believed deformities were due to sinful parents, or omens, such as broken covenants with the gods. Therefore, they believed infants with deformities belonged to the gods. However, many with disabilities were still scorned, and Aristotle said deformities were caused by uncompleted pregnancies.

In the section titled The Patristic and Medieval Periods, we learn people with mental disabilities were included. For instance, Nicholas Thaumaturgos protected the feeble minded. Zotikos cared for discarded children who were to be put to death. A few Christians opened homes and hospitals for those with disabilities. Augustine believed God made the creatures of the world diverse to “manifest his glory and power” (31). Saint Dymphna was martyred by her insane father. Because her grave was a place of pilgrimage for those with mental disabilities, her resting place, Gheel, became known for its “tradition of caring for the mentally ill” (31). Hildegard of Bingen endured physical pains led to lack of mental maturation, which led to inspiration and service. Margaret of Castello completely gave herself to god after being abandoned by her family due to her disabilities. She performed more than two hundred miracles. Teresa de Cartagena was deaf by fourteen, and saw herself as an “admirable work of God” (33). She believed disability helps develop patience and other virtues. During this period, people believed that God is the creator of all things, even disabilities, disabilities are necessary to promote holiness, and the Church should help those with disabilities.

During the reformation and the early modernity, views on disability once again changed. Luther believed that people with disabilities were “mass[es] of flesh without a soul…the devil is himself their soul” (34). Therefore he believed people should drown or suffocate infants and children with disabilities. During the Renaissance, many believed deformities were cause by demonic activity. However, Paracelsus believed fools are restored by Christ, and they are not fools in their souls, just their minds, which makes them more pure. Paracelsus also believed after salvation, there will be no disabilities. Ambroise Paré believed there were twelve causes of deformities:

1) resulting from God, intended for God’s glory,
2) emanating from the wrath of God,
3) emerging from too great a quantity of seed, or
4)too little a quantity of the same,
5) being misshapened b the imagination of the pregnant mother,
6) by the narrowness/smallness of the womb,
7) by a traumatic pregnancy, or
8) by the mother’s fall,
9) deriving from other hereditary mechanisms or accidental illnesses,
10) rotten or corrupt seed, or
11) the improper mingling/mixture of seed, and
12) being changelings of the devil (36).

Paulus Zacchias identified intellectual defects as slow learners, who can be held accountable and can marry, fools, who can marry with permission from judges, but have difficulty learning, and stupid/mindless, cannot marry and exempted from penalties. John Locke believed humans are rational creatures. Therefore, those with mental disabilities are not human and incapable of reason. They are immoral and soulless; therefore can be killed as infants.

The final section covers the three notions of disabilities according to theology:

1) disabilities occur for God’s purpose, God creates all men, and people with disabilities are here to reveal God’s glory;
2) people with disabilities must trust in God, because suffering leads to holiness;
3) the Church must care for people with disabilities through charity.

The final section of Chapter 2 covers the new vision regarding theology and disabilities is required. Patty Burt, a person with mental retardation, has shown that through her disability, she was able to sort out what she learned from others and make up her own mind about religion. In religion, we are faced with a major dilemma. If we ignore conventional theology, we dismiss the views of people like Patty Burt. However, if we embrace conventional theology, we will be weighed down with ideas ingrained in historical tradition. Therefore, to move forward, we must reread biblical texts and look deeper for the positive representations of people with disabilities. Although the biblical stories are stereotypical, they also have a redemptive quality.

Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder and Other Health Impairments

Brown, Thomas E. (2007). A New Approach to Attention Deficit Disorder. Educational Leadership, 64, (5), 26-27.

The researcher states that 7.8% of students from ages 4 to 17 are diagnosed as having Attention Deficit Disorder or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, and school officials are unsure how to respond. More researchers are beginning to believe ADD is not a behavior disorder, but it is an impairment of the brain’s executive system. Brown states there are six executive functions that people with ADD/ADHD have difficulty in utilizing, which are activation, focus, effort, emotion, memory, and action. A diagnosis of ADD/ADHD means the person has a significant impairment compared to their peers over a prolonged period of time and can vary depending on when the symptoms appear. ADD/ADHD are often thought to be a lack of willpower. Instead it is the chemical makeup of the brain that causes the impairment. For some students with ADD/ADHD medication helps only when it is in the system. However other students with ADD/ADHD have other learning disabilities, and medication alone is not effective in facilitating learning. Because it has been proven that ADD/ADHD is not a behavior problem, Brown suggests evaluations that address cognitive impairments. Brown concludes that early intervention is crucial to the mental development of the student.

Glimps, Blanche J. (2008). Are We Preparing Students with Physical and Health Disabilities for the 21st Century?, Physical Disabilities: Education and Related Services 26, (2), 1-12.

Glimps suggests that schools are not doing enough to prepare students with physical disabilities for their futures in the diverse job market in today’s world. Glimps believes the students are not being educated on global issues that may affect students’ future employment. Therefore the education system should strive to broaden the students’ understanding of the world, which should be accessible to students with physical or health disabilities. However, the issues are not addressed in NCLB. The National Council for Social Studies recognizes problems facing students today is the failure to provide a global understanding leads to a narrow view of the world and in some instances leads to prejudice. Glimps feels teachers of students with physical and health impairments often provide limited cultural knowledge to their students. Furthermore, Glimps suggests the technologies provided to students with physical and health impairments are not developing quick enough to keep up with the information technologies. Therefore, Glimps suggests the students are not properly prepared to enter the globalized workforce.

Potts-Datema, William, and Taras, Howard. (2005). Chronic Health Conditions and Student Performance at School. Journal of School Health, 75, (7) 255-266.

Research has proven there is a direct correlation between students’ health and their academic success. According to their research, Taras and Potts-Datema suggest an association between diabetes and cognitive ability. Their research concludes that the verbal IQ, visuospatial/ nonverbal functioning, memory, and attention all show a deficit in young students with diabetes depending on the severity of the diabetes. Students with sickle cell anemia may experience complications that prevent attendance or affect the student’s performance. The research shows the students with sickle cell anemia tend to score lower on IQ assessments, and they may be impaired in their language, processing abilities, attention, and memory. Students with have learning problems that vary according to the severity of the epilepsy, such as lower IQ levels, lower academic achievement, and inattentiveness. Students with other chronic diseases often experience lower academic achievement due to their inability to attend class on a regular basis.

Stormont, Melissa A. (2008). Increase Academic Success for Children with ADHD Using Sticky Notes and Highlighters. Intervention in School and Clinic, 43, (5), 305-308.

Stormont’s research states that students with ADHD account for 3-5% of the student population in the general education classroom. Their characteristics include selective attention problems, sustained attention problems, impulsivity, and high levels of verbal and motor activity. Stormont suggests using sticky notes and highlighters to help the students in and out of the classroom. They can use the notes as a guide to keep them on task, and to mark their ending point when taking a break. They can use the highlighters to either color code tasks or to determine the order of the tasks. Furthermore, the notes can be used to help the students study, prompt students, organize steps, keep students on track, and help them estimate time to spend on each step of a process or task. The sticky notes can also be used to remind students of materials to bring home or return to school. They can also be used to help students to outline or summarize reading material. Among other uses for the notes, they can also help students self-monitor their progress and their behavior. Another suggestion is to have the students to write down questions they may have while the teacher is leading class discussion.

Zambo, Debby, (2008). Looking at ADHD Through Multiple Lenses: Identifying Girls with the Inattentive Type. Intervention in School and Clinic, 44, (1), 34-40.

Female students with ADHD often withdraw from school and themselves often due to the lack of early intervention. Zambo gives a case study on a female student with ADHD. Unlike the boys, she internalized her behaviors. She was unable to become accepted socially and teachers did not think she cared about school. It was not until the student was in high school that teachers recognized her as exhibiting symptoms of ADHD. Today, students with ADHD are inattentive, and exhibit hyperactivity and impulsivity. Students with ADHD often have concurrent learning disabilities and learning problems. Girls often become stressed, depressed, and exhibit anxiety. Because they internalize their behaviors, girls seem to daydream and be in their own fantasy world. Female students also seem to be socially withdrawn, exhibit low self-esteem/image, and are rejected by their peers. Furthermore, they often do not set goals, are not organized, and have difficulty planning and self-monitoring. Therefore, Zambo suggests that faculty, who recognize internalizing behaviors in girls, should examine the possibility of ADHD.

Emotionally Disturbed

Brenner, Gregory J., Nelson, J. Ron, Neill, Stern and Stage, Scott A., (2006). Interrelationships Among Language Skills, Externalizing Behavior, and Academic Fluency and their Impact on the Academic Skills of Students with ED. Journal of Emotional and Behavior Disorders, 14, (4), 209-214.

The researchers claim students with emotional disturbance are more likely to have deficits at the academic level than their peers. According to their work, the researchers show a link between children with emotional disturbance and language problems. Furthermore, the researchers have shown that externalized behaviors are directly related to academic achievement, but internalized behaviors are not. The researchers admit the study under represents the minority classes, and the sample of students assessed was relatively small. From their studies the researchers suggest that intervention strategies that focus on developing language for students with emotional disturbance. However, it should be noted that the above-mentioned intervention only addresses the students’ language difficulties, and does not suggest an intervention strategy to address the students’ externalized behavior.

Gresham, Frank M., (2005). Response to Intervention: An Alternative Means of Identifying Students as Emotionally Disturbed Education and Treatment of Children, 28, (4), 328-344.

Gresham states that children with emotional disturbance can be disruptive in the classroom. Unfortunately these students are often underserved in the school setting, which is often the result of the inability to properly identify students with emotional disturbance. Once emotional disturbance is suspected, issues often can be addressed during the response to intervention process. During RTI the following factors must be taking in consideration: severity of behavior, chronicity of behavior, generalizability of behavior change, treatment strength, treatment integrity, and treatment effectiveness. The RTI model requires that the changes in behavior must be reliable changes, which are to be measured by the absolute change index, reliable change index, percent nonoverlapping data points, percent change from baseline, and effect size estimates. These changes should address the social impact the behavior has on everyday life of the student. The researcher concludes if the behaviors do not adequately change, the student should be considered for special education services.

Levinson, Edward M., and Rudy, Heide L.. (2008). Best Practices in the Multidisciplinary Assessment of Emotional Disturbances: A Primer for Counselors. Journal of Counseling and Development, 86, (4) 494-504.

The researchers suggest the rules and regulations set up by the American School Counselor Association and No Child Left Behind has changed the role of school counselors without providing them with proper standards, guidelines, and training to work with children with emotional disturbances. The researchers suggest because the school-based counselors are only part of a multidisciplinary team needed to meet the mental health needs of students with emotional disturbance, the school-based counselors should work closely with the parents and community-based counselors. This is important because of the academic impact of emotional disturbance on students. Because of the lack of standards for identifying students with emotional disturbance, the researchers suggest a variety of assessments to be implemented by the counselor, such as empirically based assessments, standardized rating scales, interviews, direct observations, and functional behavior analysis. With the aid of the other members in the multidisciplinary team and the assessments, counselors will be more apt to provide appropriate services for the student with emotional disturbance.

Page, Patricia and Regan, Kelley (2008). “Character” Building: Using Literature to Connect with Youth. Reclaiming Children and Youth: The Journal of Strength-based Interventions, 16, (4), 37-43.

The researchers suggest literature can be used to help with the emotional, academic, and social skill development of students with emotional disturbance. The use of literature to help students obtain the coping skills needed when dealing difficult emotions can be an effective intervention strategy. The researchers suggest bibliotherapy should be used in conjunction with other positive behavioral programs. The Circle of Courage Model is suggested to be beneficial in the development of children with emotional difficulties. This model gives the students a sense of belonging, independence, generosity, and mastery. The researchers conclude the use of literature in this model allows students to align their own experiences with other human experiences. In this manner, the literature can be used as a powerful tool to help heal students with emotional problems and can provide positive experiences to the students’ lives.

Silver, Rawley, (2008). Identifying Children and Adolescents at Risk for Depression and/or Aggression. Online Submission.

The aggressive behavior of children with major depression plagues many schools throughout the United States. The researcher has proposed from six research studies that a stimulus-drawing assessment can help identify at risk students. In the first study there was a correlation between depression and negative responses on the Draw a Story task. The second study, which focused on incarcerated adolescents, showed that the respondents’ reactions to the drawings might not agree with the therapists’ findings. The third study found that both males and females responded similarly in their drawings. The fourth study showed that students who scored one point in Self Image and Emotional content were depressed. The fifth study showed little cultural differences between delinquent and non-delinquent adolescents. The final study showed that art therapy does help with the emotional behavior of children with emotional problems. All six studies seem to show that stimulus drawing assessments can be used to determine students who are at risk for emotional disturbance.

Speech Language Impairment

Bishop, D. V. M., Chipchase, Barry, Kaplan, Carole, Snowling, Margaret J., and Stothard, Susan E. (2006). Psychosocial Outcomes At 15 Years of Children With A Preeschool History of Speech-language Impairment. Journal of Child Psychology & Psychiatry, 47, (8), 759-765.

The researchers claim that from various studies done on children with speech language impairments, there is an increased risk of psychological disorders. This study was designed to determine the affects of early intervention on the psychological development of adolescents with speech language impairments. The sample pulled seventy-one of eighty-seven students with speech language impairments from a previous study done at the pre-school level. These adolescents were put through psychiatric and cognitive evaluations. The overall prognoses is that children with speech language impairments in the pre-school years do not necessarily show a significant difference in psychological development. However, the study does show that the children that continue to have difficulty with speech and language throughout the elementary and middle school levels do show an increase in psychosocial disorders.

Brown, Barbara., Camarata, Mary N., Camarata, Stephen M., Leonard, Laurence B., and Pawlowska, Monica. (2008). The Acquisition of Tense and Agreement Morphemes by Children With Specific Language Impairment During Intervention: Phase 3. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 51, (1) 120-125.

The researchers’ investigation proved that children with speech language impairments showed improvements on target morphemes that mark tense and agreement after a one-month period. Although they did show gains, many of the subjects did not reach mastery levels during the study. The suggestions for the failure to reach mastery levels are that the intervention strategy was not designed well or the subjects in the study were too young. One month after the study was over, the improvements were maintained. The sample of children used in the study was small, thirty-three, and the ages were from three years to four years eight months. The treatment conditions stressed third person singular, auxiliaries, and general language stimulation. The children in the general language stimulation group did not show remarkable improvement, though they, too, showed gradual improvement.

Gillam, Ronald B., & Gillam, Sandra L. (2006). Making Evidence-Based Decisions About Child Language Intervention In Schools. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services In Schools, 37, (4), 304-315.

The researchers suggest speech language pathologist should move from basing their clinical decisions on child language interventions in schools on the information they were give in their graduate programs to basing the decisions on evidence-based practices. In order to make decisions, the speech language pathologist needs to stay informed on research discoveries. The researchers suggest a seven-step process: one – create a general or specific clinical question to ensure relevant evidence is collected, two – find external evidence that pertains to the question to find studies that answer the question, three – determine the level of evidence and critically evaluate the study to ensure their decision is based on the best evidence available, four – evaluate the internal evidence related to the student-parent factors for a weighing system that best fits the student, five – evaluate the internal evidence related to clinician-agency factors for a system that best fits the setting they work in, six – make a decision by integrating the evidence to avoid conflict between the interested parties, and seven – evaluate the outcomes of their decision to ensure the implemented program is effective. The researchers provide an example of these seven steps and feel SLPs who use recent research will be the best equipped to help their students.

Gillon, Gail T. (2005). Phonological Awareness: Evidence To Influence Assessment and Intervention Practices. Language, Speech, & Hearing Services In Schools, 36, (4), 281-284.

According to Gillon’s research, improvement in spoken language only in children with speech language impairments does not prove success in treatment of the children. To be successful, children with speech language impairments must also show improvement in written language. Gillon suggests the use of phonological awareness based programs to increase overall improvement with children with speech language impairments as assessment and intervention practices. These practices will address reading and spelling difficulties, which have been linked to poor phonological representations of words. Gillon’s claim is based on scientific research presented in a forum involving New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America.

McCabe, Paul C., Meller, Paul J. (2004). The Relationship Between Language and Social Competence: How Language Impairment Affects Social Growth. Psychology In The Schools, 41, (3), 313-321.

Because social success depends greatly on language, the researchers of this study suggest children with speech language impairments often seem socially incompetent. Because language development is often an interaction between peers, children with speech language impairments often do not receive the feedback needed for language development. This leads to the child’s difficulty in forming peer bonds. In turn, the inability of these children to interact properly on an emotional level may lead to the lack of emotional knowledge, or gauging the emotions of others, which may cause a lack of acceptance from their peers. The researchers sampled thirty-five children from three years ten months to five years seven months in age to prove how socially competent the children with speech language impairments. Through various testing methods the researchers gained an understanding that children with speech language impairments may have difficulty developing socially competent behaviors.

Devon: Oppositional Defiant Disorder

Personal Reaction

I have never fully understood oppositional defiant disorder (ODD). Until I saw this video, I believed that people with ODD choose to act the way the do. I never before believed that people could not control their actions. However, after listening to Devon, I have come to realize that the control does not come easily to everyone. Some people have to be taught anger management techniques and other behavioral management skills so they can control their disorder. I am able to see that Devon shows remorse when he has lost control. In comparison to Ashley, he does seem to fully understand the implications of his actions and does care how his disorder affects how others view him.

Essential Points

Characteristics of ODD. Devon states that he swears too much and gets in fights at school. Devon argues with his parents and has to take medication to help him control his anger. Devon states that he does not think when he fights, he just reacts. Once he becomes angry, he pushes anything that gets in his way. He said it was like he could not control his arms and legs and they react in a way that he did not want. It has taken three teachers to hold Devon down when he is angry. He states that he does not become afraid when he is restrained and often has to be out of the sight of the person who has angered him in order to regain control. Devon knows that kids fear him and that brings him down.

Impact of ODD on Education. Devon has been expelled from his school. He is no longer able to attend the private school that he loves. He states that he misses his old teachers and his friends. Devon often reacts negatively when he is playing sports. He feels that teachers could be more helpful by providing warnings and giving him time and space for regrouping. He feels that teachers who argue with him push the issue too much and cause the problems to worsen. Devon worries about his grades and is afraid his mood disorder will prevent him from playing college basketball and being a NBA basketball star. Other students at school fear Devon, and he has very few friends.

Positive Impacts of Therapy. Devon states that he is now beginning to understand his disorder. In counseling, he is being taught behavior management skills as well as anger management techniques. Devon knows that he has choices when he is angered and knows that he should walk away when confronted. Though Devon still engages in fighting, he is able to calm down once he is pulled off of other kids and teachers. Devon does say that counseling has taught him to calm his anger by counting to ten, thinking of something else to do, or thinking happy thoughts. Sometimes Devon is able to stop his rage when prompted to stop. He does not like getting into fights and tries to forget about them, but counseling helps him to own up to his behavior, as well as helping him to get things off of his chest. Devon knows if he could control his anger, school would be much better and he would not be grounded as much.

Application of the Essential Points

I feel this video helped me to understand oppositional defiant disorder to an extent. I will probably teach students that have anger issues in my classroom to use the anger management tools taught to Devon. I would also be sure to give space to students once I realize that an outburst is about to happen. I will not push students who are being defiant and will give them space to regroup.

Response To Intervention

Purpose

This video was made to inform people of the difference between a child who may have a learning disability and a child that may be just a little behind. The videos approach was from an advocate’s standpoint. It focused on how important reading skills are, and how children who do not develop proper reading skills from an early age will remain to be behind throughout their education. The video explained the laws and how they affect those who are learning disabled.

Essential Points

I feel that importance of reading skills is a major point from the video. A child’s reading skills are very important. Children who do not develop effective reading skills by second grade may have difficulty reading throughout their education. This is why early intervention is so important to a child’s education. To teach children to read we must use the five building blocks of construction: phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension. Children who fail to reach these goals may be learning disabled.

The ineffectiveness of the discrepancy model is another main point from the video. In the past, states used the discrepancy model to determine whether or not a child was learning disabled. This method was ineffective for a few reasons. First, the intelligence quotient tests that were given were culturally biased. Children of minority groups were usually labeled as mentally retarded, because they did not do well on the exams. Next, many children with high intelligence quotients may be learning disabled, but not recognized. Last, evaluation teams had to find a great discrepancy between intelligence and achievement in one of six areas: oral expression, listening comprehension, written expression, basic reading skills, reading comprehension, mathematical calculation / reasoning. The ineffectiveness of discrepancy models has led to the banning of its use throughout the United States.

Another main point is how NCLB and IDEIA work together. In 2004, the United States Congress made a law that defined the criteria for determining the eligibility of children with learning disabilities. This was the first time he federal government mandated the criteria. No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA) work together to ensure that all children with learning disabilities receive a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE). The way that these laws are able to work together that they share several common elements. One element is accountability for all students. Each student will be tested, even children receiving special education, within their grade level. Another element is that highly qualified teachers will teach all students. This, too, includes students receiving special education services. Yet another element is the laws recognize that all children, even those with learning disabilities are capable of learning. Finally, another element of NCLB and IDEIA is making sure that all students achieve at their expected levels regardless of their race. In areas that the majority of the students are part of a minority group fifteen percent of the school’s budget must be filtered into early childhood intervention programs.

I also felt that determining learning disability eligibility was an important point in the video. Before educators can determine which student is classified as learning disabled. By law a child is considered to be learning disabled if he or she has a disorder that prohibits their use of language skills, audio processing skills, fine motor skills, and problem solving skills. This does not include children with “…visual, hearing, or motor handicaps, mental retardation, or emotional disturbance, or of environmental, cultural or economic disadvantage…,” or children who have not received a proper education. Instruction for children with learning disabilities must be based on the “…child’s response to scientific, research based interventions…,” or may use other “research based procedures” in order to discover what learning disability the child has. Once the learning disability has been discovered, the child’s special education and instruction can be planned and implemented. Children with learning disabilities must be assessed at least three times a year in order to see if the child is progressing.

The final main point is how Response To Intervention (RTI) works. Every child must receive a high quality classroom instruction. RTI assumes that all children are receiving at least ninety minutes of reading instruction, as well as ample math and science, and highly qualified teachers. The structure is differentiated in classroom to meet a broad range of needs and core reading programs are used. Children must receive universal screening to identify level of proficiency for student in both group and individual performance. Early intervention and research-based intervention should be used to make provisions early treatment strategies. Also the student should be monitored during interventions and instruction is to be fine-tuned based on student response to intervention in more substantial blocks of time. The schools must use the 3-tier model for those who are not progressing at an expected rate, before they are referred to special education. On the tier 1 level, the child gets four to six of intervention. If the child passes, they are reintegrated into the classroom. If the child fails, tier 2 is applied. On this level the child should get eight to ten weeks of intervention. If the child passes, they are reintegrated. If the child fails, the child enters tier 3, which is a referral to special education. At this level, additional testing may or may not be necessary.

Summary Reaction

I feel this video was helpful in teaching me more about learning disabilities. It made me realize how important early intervention is for a student, especially one who is considered learning disabled. The video also taught me how NCLB and IDEIA work with one another. I feel this is very important for any teacher to learn, because the laws have made it where special education is more of the general education teacher’s responsibility. I found it interesting that the video said that we should think of all children as general education first.

Application

I will use what I learned from this video to help children who are disabled. I will also be able to use this information to help my son with his education. From this video, I have learned that I will have to make sure every student in my classroom receives a high quality education. I must understand that my lesson plans must be flexible in order to suit the needs for students with learning disabilities. It will be my responsibility to watch for inconsistencies in students’ progress and decide if a student may need intervention according to the three-tier model.