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Monday, August 31, 2009

Sign language is popular with hearing students

Jessica Berumen rushed over to a friend after she walked into class and saw almost everyone sitting silently but speaking frantically with their hands.

The 17-year-old positioned her fingers to ask: "It's finals today?" When her friend nodded, "Yes," Berumen stomped her foot and slapped her hand against her lips.

Then her hands fell to her sides and she relaxed. With clear enunciation, she said: "I'm sure it'll be OK."

Berumen isn't deaf. Neither is her friend.

The students at Skyline High School in Sammamish are taking American Sign Language -- a class that has become increasingly popular among the nation's hearing students as a foreign-language requirement. About 2,200 students in the Puget Sound region chose ASL over Spanish, French, Japanese and German this year.

Teachers say they're not surprised by the growing popularity of ASL. They note that teens have a difficult time sitting through entire classes all day without much movement. Sign language speaks to them: It's active and visual.

Interest in ASL is so great that many high schools want to offer more classes, but they can't find educators to teach the courses. That's partly because of a backlog at colleges and universities.

"There is quite a demand for ASL here, but it's hard to approve new faculty because of budget cuts," said Karen Knaughton, assistant professor in the foreign-language department at Central Washington University.

Seattle Central Community College offers an ASL program, but CWU wants to become the first university in the state to offer an ASL major and minor.

The university can't hire more staffers, but the minor should be available by the fall of 2004, Knaughton said. She said she isn't sure when the school will be able to offer the major.

In the meantime, CWU can't accommodate all the students who want to learn ASL. The foreign-language department turned away 50 students last fall because its six classes -- taught by one part-time and two full-time professors -- were full.

"Students see a practical use for ASL and can use it in a job -- interpreting, teaching and counseling," she said.

Indeed, about 10 percent of the Western Washington population has been classified as deaf or hard of hearing, and many of them rely on interpreters in various situations.

In 2001, more than 1,400 public school students were classified as deaf or hearing-impaired in Washington. Of those, 1,023 attended schools in Western Washington.

Several high schools in Washington are having trouble starting ASL programs, and schools that offer them often must turn students away.

Bellevue High School tried to start providing ASL classes four years ago, but had to abandon the effort when the school couldn't find a committed teacher to fill the spot.

Doug Hostetter, principal of Kentwood High School in Kent, said: "Our program is extremely popular. We could add two more classes."

That would translate into a half-time position. He hasn't found a teacher to sign up for it.

At Skyline, "the classes are usually full with a waiting list," said Cozette Amador, an ASL-certified interpreter who teaches the school's five ASL classes.

"ASL teachers are hard to find," Amador said. "There is more money in interpreting than in teaching."

ASL classes have been offered in Washington for about 20 years. The Puyallup, Auburn and Fife school districts are among the most recent to begin offering the classes.

Students who do make it into ASL programs often become involved in after-school activities and events that allow them to interact with the deaf community and learn more about signing skills. One such event, Silent Games, recently held at Federal Way High School, involved about 200 college, high school and middle school students and their parents -- some hearing, some deaf. The participants took part in a variety of games and competitions and could not speak all evening. They could use only sign language.

It was at one of those events three years ago that Meghan Myers developed an interest in ASL. She began taking classes because it "looked cool."

The reason she's stuck with it goes deeper. "I'm dyslexic, so I know the struggles people go through in learning with a disability," said the 17-year-old senior.

"This is something that I'm good at, that I feel confident doing and that I can make a lot of money doing," said Myers, who hopes to become a certified interpreter some day.

Each country has its own form of sign language and several English variations exist, but ASL is used most commonly among the deaf community in the United States and Canada. Body language and facial expressions are exaggerated and students must learn a different sentence construction. For example, "Letter me finish write" and "Dance, I like" are grammatically correct in ASL.

The difference between tired and exhausted involves simply hunching the body over into a slump.

To say that it is cold out, clinch both fists and place them in front of your shoulders. Your arms should be parallel to your body. Now, shake your fists.

ASL isn't about memorizing a bunch of signs, however.

"It was a lot of work because you constantly use your eyes to catch all the signs and facial gestures," said Kassie Bland, a 19-year-old senior at Kentridge High School in Kent. "People think it's easy because it's not spoken, but it's not."

Some students take ASL hoping for an easy A but don't get it, said Loretta Watanabe, Kentridge's only ASL teacher. "If some of my kids never do anything with it, they at least come out with an awareness of the culture," she said.

Watanabe said many hearing people tend to think that the deaf community "needs to be fixed."

For one day each semester, Watanabe teaches her students by example when she gives each a pair of earplugs to wear all day.

"They find their teachers are taking to them like they're an idiot -- loud and slow -- and their friends are like, 'I'm tired of writing to you! I'll see you tomorrow,' " she said.

Ron Podmore, who is deaf and teaches ASL to hearing students at Decatur High School in Federal Way, said the hearing community has historically been unforgiving to deaf people.

In the 1880s, deaf people were told to read lips and speak instead of use sign language so they would be more like those who can hear.

"The deaf have been learning the language of the hearing for the past 150 years," Podmore said. "Now it's time for the hearing to learn the language of the deaf."

Sunday, August 30, 2009

American Sign Language

American Sign Language (or ASL, Ameslan) is the dominant sign language of the Deaf community in the United States, in the English-speaking parts of Canada, and in some regions of Mexico. Although the United Kingdom and the United States share English as a spoken and written language, British Sign Language (BSL) is quite different from ASL, and the two sign languages are not mutually intelligible.

ASL is also used (sometimes alongside indigenous sign languages) in the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Haiti, Puerto Rico, Côte d'Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Chad, Gabon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Central African Republic, Mauritania, Kenya, Madagascar, and Zimbabwe. Like other sign languages, its grammar and syntax are distinct from any spoken language in its area of influence. While there has been no reliable survey of the number of people who use ASL as their primary language, estimates range from 500,000 to 2 million in the United States alone

History of ASL


A sign language interpreter at a presentation

In the United States, as elsewhere in the world, hearing families with deaf children often employ ad-hoc home sign for simple communications. Today though, ASL classes are offered in many secondary and postsecondary schools. ASL is a language distinct from spoken English; it contains its own syntax and grammar and supports its own culture. The origin of modern ASL is ultimately tied to the confluence of many events and circumstances, including historical attempts at deaf education; the unique situation present on a small island in Massachusetts; the attempts of a father to enlist a local minister to help educate his deaf daughter; and in no small part the ingenuity and genius of people (in this case deaf people) for language itself.


Prior sign languages

France

The French had a natural sign language, which is often referred to as Old French Sign Language (OFSL). OFSL was the language of a large community of Deaf people living in Paris. This language was passed down from deaf person to deaf person, and may be the oldest sign language of Europe. The Abbé Charles-Michel de l'Épée was the first to acknowledge that signed language could be used to educate the deaf.

An oft-repeated Deaf folk tale explains Epee's role in the origin of LSF (and later, ASL): While visiting a parishioner, Épee met two Deaf daughters conversing with each other using OFSL. The mother explained that her daughters were being educated privately by means of pictures. Epee was inspired by these Deaf children and in 1771 established the first educational institution for the deaf.[1] He created a series of grammatical signs to represent French grammatical markers (called "methodical signs") and taught those to his students. At Epee's school, a large group of Deaf children lived together for the first time in France and it is this generation of native speakers which most likely developed OFSL into a full language. The combination of OFSL, methodical signs, and possibly other influences came together and evolved into French Sign Language, LSF.

United States

Little is known of sign languages in the United States before 1817. It is said that since there was little contact between communities in early America, home sign language was likely used most widely. However, a deaf community on Martha’s Vineyard in the late 17th century used a natural sign language. From 1690 to the mid-twentieth century there was a high rate of genetic deafness on Martha’s Vineyard caused by the founder effect. It afforded almost everyone the opportunity to have frequent contact with sign language. It was said that 1 out of 155 people on the island was deaf, compared with 1 out of 5700 people in the rest of America during that time. The ancestry of the deaf community could be linked to Weald, a small area in England.

Plains Indians

In 1688, 1740, 1805, and 1828 were reports that the Plains Indians developed a sign language to communicate between tribes of different languages. This sign language is believed to have developed in the lower Rio Grande prior to the Europeans settling and to have spread northward and become what is known as Plains Indian Sign Language (PISL). There is no evidence to show that it influenced the development of American Sign Language. By 1885, PISL had an estimated 110,000 users of various tribal dialects, but today it has only a small fraction of that number.

Birth of American Sign Language and American School for the Deaf

In 1815 a Protestant minister, Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet, left his home in Hartford, Connecticut and moved to Amsterdam. Dr. Mason Cogswell asked Gallaudet to investigate methods of teaching his deaf daughter. While in England, Gallaudet hit a roadblock when directors of the Braidwood Schools, who taught the oral method, refused to share their methods of teaching. Nevertheless, while in London, Gallaudet met with Abbe Sicard, director of the Royal Institution for the Deaf in Paris and two of his students, one of which was Laurent Clerc. Sicard invited Gallaudet to visit the school in Paris. He did not go immediately, but instead traveled to Edinburgh, Scotland where he again met the methods of Braidwoods. They again refused to teach him their methods. Gallaudet then traveled to Paris and learned the educational methods of the Royal Institution for the Deaf with sign language, a combination of Old French Sign Language and the signs developed by Abbė de l’Epėe. Gallaudet persuaded Clerc to return with him to Connecticut and become a teacher for the deaf. Gallaudet and Clerc opened up the Connecticut Asylum for the Education and Instruction of Deaf and Dumb Persons (now called American School for the Deaf) in April 1817. Deaf students were taught French signs and brought in signs of their own, such as those from Martha’s Vineyard. Thus, it was at this school that all these influences would intermingle and become what is now known as American Sign Language.

Growth and standardization


American Sign Language Convention of March 2008 in Austin, Texas

Interestingly, because of the early influence of the sign language of France upon the school, the vocabularies of ASL and modern French Sign Language are approximately 60% shared, whereas ASL and British Sign Language, for example, are almost completely dissimilar.

From its synthesis at this first public school for the deaf in North America, the language went on to grow. Many of the graduates of this school went on to found schools of their own in many other states, thus spreading the methods of Gallaudet and Clerc and serving to expand and standardize the language; as with most languages though, there are regional variations.

Oralism vs. Manualism

After being strongly established in the United States there was a bitter fight between those who supported oralism over manualism in the late 1800s. Many notable individuals of high standing contributed to this row, such as Alexander Graham Bell. The oralists won many battles and for a long time the use of sign was suppressed, socially and pedagogically. Many considered sign to not even be a language at all. This situation was changed by William Stokoe, a professor of English hired at Gallaudet University in 1955. He immediately became fascinated by ASL and began serious study of it. Eventually, through publication in linguistics journals of articles containing detailed linguistic analysis of ASL, he was able to convince the scientific mainstream that ASL was indeed a natural language on a par with any other.

A living language

The language continues to grow and change like any living language. In particular, ASL constantly adds new signs in an attempt to keep up with constantly changing technology.[citation needed] For example, there is now an ASL sign for INTERNET and a sign for Video blog (wherein both L hands touching at thumb tips rotate from palm down to palm forward).

Linguistics


A group of people signing.

ASL is a natural language as proved to the satisfaction of the linguistic community by William Stokoe, and contains phonology, morphology, semantics, syntax and pragmatics just like spoken languages. It is a manual language or visual language, meaning that the information is expressed not with combinations of sounds but with combinations of handshapes, palm orientations, movements of the hands, arms and body, location in relation to the body, and facial expressions. While spoken languages are produced by the vocal cords only, and can thus be easily written in linear patterns, ASL uses the hands, head and body, with constantly changing movements and orientations. Like other natural sign languages, it is "three dimensional" in this sense.[2][3] ASL is used natively and predominantly by the Deaf and hard-of-hearing of the United States and Canada.

Iconicity

Although it often seems as though the signs are meaningful of themselves, in fact they can be as arbitrary as words in spoken language. For example, a speaking child may often make the mistake of using the word "you" to refer to themselves, since others use that word to refer to him or her. Children who acquire the sign YOU (pointing at one's interlocutor) make similar mistakes – they will point at others to mean themselves, indicating that even something as seemingly explicit as pointing is an arbitrary sign in ASL, like words in a spoken language.

However, Edward Klima and Ursula Bellugi have modified the common theory that signs can be self-explanatory by grouping signs into three categories:

  • Transparent: Non-signers can usually correctly guess the meaning
  • Translucent: Meaning makes sense to non-signers once it is explained
  • Opaque: Meaning cannot be guessed by non-signers

Klima and Bellugi used American Sign Language in formulating that classification. The theory that signs are self-explanatory can be conclusively disproved by the fact that non-signers cannot understand fluent, continuous sign language. The majority of signs are opaque.

Generally, signs that are "Transparent" are signs of objects or words that became popular after the basics of ASL were established. There are, of course, exceptions to this.

Fingerspelling

In ASL, fingerspelling is used primarily for proper nouns, for emphasis (for example, fingerspelling STOP is more emphatic than signing 'stop'), for clarity, and for instruction.


The American manual alphabet in photographs

ASL includes both fingerspelling borrowings from English, as well as the incorporation of alphabetic letters from English words into ASL signs to distinguish related meanings of what would otherwise be covered by a single sign in ASL. For example, two hands trace a circle to mean 'a group of people'. Several kinds of groups can be specified by handshape: When made with C hands, the sign means 'class'; when made with the F handshape, it means 'family'. Such signs are often referred to as "initialized" signs because they substitute the first letter (the initial) of the corresponding English word as the handshape in order to provide a more specific meaning.

When using alphabetic letters in these ways, several otherwise non-phonemic handshapes become distinctive. For example, outside fingerspelling there is but a single fist handshape - the placement of the thumb is irrelevant. However, within fingerspelling, the position of the thumb on the fist distinguishes the letters A, S, and T. Letter-incorporated signs which rely on such minor distinctions as thumb position tend not to be stable in the long run[citation needed], but they may eventually create new distinctions in the language. For example, due to signs such as 'elevator', which may require the E handshape (depending on the sign used), some argue that E has become phonemically distinct from the 5/claw handshape.

Fingerspelling has also given way to a class of signs known as "loan signs" or "borrowed signs." Sometimes defined as "lexicalized fingerspelling," loan signs are somewhat frequent and represent an English word which has, over time, developed a unique movement and shape. Sometimes loan signs are not even recognized as such because they are so frequently used and their movement has become so specialized. Loan signs are usually glossed as the English word in all capital letters preceded by the pound sign(#). Loan signs are sometimes used for emphasis (like the loan sign #YES substituted for the sign YES), but sometimes represent the only form of the sign (e.g., #NO). Probably the most commonly used example of a loan sign is the sign for NO. In this sign, the first two fingers are fused, held out straight, and then tapped against the thumb in a repeated motion. When broken down, it can be seen that this movement is an abbreviated way of fingerspelling N-O-N-O. Other commonly known loan signs include #BACK, #BUS, #CAR, #JOB, #PIZZA, and #YES.

Grammar

Writing systems

ASL is often written with English words in all capital letters, which is known as glossing. This is, however, a method used simply to teach the structure of the language. ASL is a visual language, not a written language. There is no one-to-one correspondence between words in ASL and English, and much of the inflectional modulation of ASL signs is lost.

There are two true writing systems in use for ASL: a phonemic Stokoe notation, which has a separate symbol or diacritic mark for every phonemic hand shape, motion, and position (though it leaves something to be desired in the representation of facial expression), and a more popular iconic system called SignWriting, which represents each sign with a rather abstract illustration of its salient features. SignWriting is commonly used for student newsletters and similar purposes.

Baby Sign

In recent years, it has been shown[by whom?] that exposure to sign language has a positive impact on the socialization of hearing children. When infants are taught to sign, parents are able to converse with them at a developmental stage when they are not yet capable of producing oral speech, which requires fine control of both breathing and the vocal tract. The ability of a child to actively communicate earlier than would otherwise be possible appears to accelerate language development and to decrease the frustrations of communication.

Many parents use a collection of simplified or ad hoc signs called "baby sign", as infants do not have the dexterity required for true ASL. However, parents can learn to recognize their baby's approximations of adult ASL signs, just as they will later learn to recognize their approximations of oral language, so teaching an infant ASL is also possible. Typically young children will make an ASL sign in the correct location and use the correct hand motion, but may be able only to approximate the hand shape, for example, using one finger instead of three in signing water.

Saturday, August 29, 2009

Inclusive Special Education: An Introduction

Inclusive education, also known as inclusion, has been a part of our school system in some form or another for many years. Since the passing of Public Law 94-142, the Education for Handicapped Children Act, in 1975 (updated as IDEA, or Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, in 1990), classrooms and schools across the United States have brought children with disabilities into regular classrooms as part of their learning experience. There are many ways to provide an inclusive education, and not all of these methods may be beneficial to the student with disabilities or his peers. As a former special education teacher, a longtime volunteer with special populations groups, and an advocate of inclusive education, I would like to share what I know about inclusion--what I believe works, and what doesn't, in inclusive education.

The early name for the method of including children with disabilities or special needs in the "regular" classroom was mainstreaming. Today, by definition, mainstreaming focuses on a student's part-time attendance in regular education groups, while inclusion professes to do just what it says--include all children, regardless of skill level or needs, in age-appropriate classrooms as long as the guidelines of IDEA are followed--the placement must be an appropriate educational program, and it must be the "least restrictive environment."

There is a wide range of possible placements along the inclusive education spectrum. From segregated schools, to entirely inclusive placement with minimal "pullout," parents and educators have options to work with. Most children with diagnosed disabilities attend school somewhere along that spectrum. The only exception might be children qualified as extremely "medically fragile," who may be taught through home-based services due to their medical needs. Every child is an individual, and every educational programming solution will be different. Parents should be prepared to ask questions about their child's individualized education program (IEP), and the teacher should be prepared to answer those questions and provide ongoing resources and support for families.

When I was a student intern, as part of my credit hours I assisted special education programs at two local elementary schools and also a high school. The high school program was for severely/profoundly disabled students (students with high levels of physical and developmental disability) and was almost completely segregated from the rest of the school. Although the classroom was in the same building, students received all services outside of lunch and gym class, in that special education classroom. A "buddy" program allowed "typical" (nondisabled) students to spend their free periods as mentors and helpers in the special education room. Unfortunately, because of closeminded attitudes through the school, instead of being truly inclusive, this brought the regular students in as mini-teachers, rather than peers or friends for the disabled students.

The two elementary schools displayed two very different models of "inclusion."

One school was still in the early stages of trying to include children with special needs in regular classes. They placed a large twelve year old with a developmental disability in a first grade classroom reading group because she was "on the same level" as the six year olds. She was bigger than the other children, aware enough to be embarassed, and it was not a comfortable situation for any of the children. Another classroom identified the "slow learners" and separated them into math groups based on ability. This is a process known as tracking. Everyone's kind of at the same ability level, so it supposedly makes teaching easier. There are many differing opinions about this widespread practice. Another option might have been to split the math groups up with a few of the less able students and a few of the more capable students working together, so that the struggling children might learn from their peers (who love teaching what they can do!)

Nothing about what this first school did was inherently bad, but there was a lot of room to grow and improve.

The second school spent a great deal of time preparing an inclusive, supportive environment. Teachers, students, and all other staff (even kitchen and janitorial workers) were trained and educated in how to include ALL learners in the school and its activities. Differences were recognized but not ridiculed. I worked as an intern in a second grade classroom that had included at least one severely autistic, nonverbal child since kindergarten. Because he was familiar to the students, because instead of constantly being removed from the class to do "special ed" stuff,he was assisted in daily classroom activities by both regular and special education teachers; the other students saw him as a valid, important member of their class, not as an outsider who was only around once in a while. Despite the fact that he didn't talk, and had some behavior issues, this child received regular phone calls and play invitations from his peers.

The second model of inclusion described here is NOT idealistic. It CAN be done, but it will take a huge amount of commitment and collaborative effort by all participants.

In Part Two of this introductory article about inclusion, I will discuss more specifics on how to create a more inclusive school environment.


Friday, August 28, 2009

Mild Intellectual Disability, MID/ Mild Mental Retardation

What Is Mild Intellectual Disability (MID) also Referred to as Mild Mental Retardation?

Many of the characteristics of MID correspond to those of Learning Disabilities. The intellectual development will be slow, however, MID students have the potential to learn within the regular classroom given appropriate modifications and/or accommodations. Some MID students will require greater support and/or withdrawal than others will. MID students, like all students demonstrate their own strengths and weaknesses. Depending on the educational jurisdiction, criteria for MID will often state that the child is functioning approximately 2-4 years behind or 2-3 standard deviations below the norm or have an IQ under 70-75. The intellectual disability may vary from mild to profound.

How are MID Students Identified?

Depending on the education jurisdiction, testing for MID will vary. Generally, a combination of assessment methods are used to identify mild intellectual disabilities. Methods may or may not include IQ scores or percentiles, adaptive skills cognitive tests in various areas, skills-based assessments, and levels of academic achievement. Some jurisdictions will not use the term MID but will use mild mental retardation.

Academic Implications

Students with MID may demonstrate some, all or a combination of the following characteristics:

  • 2-4 years behind in cognitive development which could include math, language, short attention spans, memory difficulties and delays in speech development.
  • Social Relationships are often impacted. The MID child may exhibit behavior problems, be immature, display some obsessive/compulsive behaviors and lack the understanding of verbal/non verbal clues and will often have difficulty following rules and routines.
  • Adaptive Skill Implications. (Everyday skills for functioning) These children may be clumsy, use simple language with short sentences, have minimal organization skills and will need reminders about hygiene - washing hands, brushing teeth (life skills). etc.
  • Weak Confidence is often demonstrated by MID students. These students are easily frustrated and require opportunities to improve self esteem. Lots of support will be needed to ensure they try new things and take risks in learning.
  • Concrete to Abstract thought is often missing or significantly delayed. This includes the lacking ability to understand the difference between figurative and literal language.

Best Practices

  • Use simple, short, uncomplicated sentences to ensure maximum understanding.
  • Repeat instructions or directions frequently and ask the student if further clarification is necessary.
  • Keep distractions and transitions to a minimum.
  • Teach specific skills whenever necessary.
  • Provide an encouraging, supportive learning environment that will capitalize on student success and self esteem.
  • Use appropriate program interventions in all areas where necessary to maximize success.
  • Use alternative instructional strategies and alternative assessment methods.
  • Help the MID student develop appropriate social skills to support friend and peer relationships.
  • Teach organizational skills.
  • Use behavior contracts and reinforce positive behavior if necessary.
  • Ensure that your routines and rules are consistent. Keep conversations as normal as possible to maximize inclusion with peers. Teach the difference between literal/figurative language.
  • Be patient! Assist with coping strategies.

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Reading Readiness Skills

Understanding Text: At this stage the child: pretends to be a reader; holds books the right way; turns pages at appropriate times; can discuss what is happening and relate it to their own experiences; knows that the reader is focusing on the print and that it is conveying the message; makes inferences on both what is read and the pictures; enjoys stories being re-read and chimes in regularly; likes to turn the pages and knows when to and will make attempts to re-read the story from memory and picture cues.
Using the Context of the Story: The child can determine meaning from context by saying things like: 'I like dogs too' and will bring their own experience as it relates to what is being read. Relating their experiences to strories, television shows, or even ads becomes a popular behavior when the child uses context to make sense.
Word Meanings: Although the child isn't yet reading, they recognize their own name, brands (McDonald's 'M', Stop Signs etc.) Recognizes the sounds of letters and makes references like, 'that ones starts the same as my name, or snakes start with the same letter that Stop Signs do.
Reading and Print Attitudes: The child starts to demonstrate an interest in printing and will pretend to print or write. They will ask more questions like 'What does that say?' They like to chime in when familiar stories are being read. They like to take part in daily reading and never want to miss their bed time story or story time. They show a greater interest in books and will enjoy looking at them more frequently even though it may seem that they're looking mainly at the pictures.
Summary: When a child displays the attitudes described above, they are most likely at the stage where they are ready to learn how to read. The child will benefit from many alphabet activities, exploring with the sounds that letter make and reading early stage books. These children will also benefit from making books like 'A is for Apple and Ate. B is for black bugs. C is for Cinderella and Candy.

The idea behind this type of book is that the children are encouraged to use the sounds that letters make (long and short sounds, 'r' controlled sounds - a as in car, and hard and soft sounds as in Cindy and Candy. When children are encouraged to make these books, they can read them on their own as they have made the pictures to help them.

Pattern books are another great early writing and reading activity. Again, children draw the pictures and use patterns like: Blue is for the Sky. Blue is for the Bluejay. Blue is for blueberries. Or I like books: I like to run. I like to jump. I like to play.

Lots of praise at this stage will encourage the young reader to develop confidence and will move foward in their ability to read.

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Direct Teaching for Students with Special Needs

This is one of those good for all but essential for some strategies for direct teaching. Direct teaching means being very specific in everything you do to ensure student learning occurs. All too many times we hear "Well I taught it, I don't know why they don't get it". The emphasis needs to shift from teaching to learning, when this shift happens, the result is improved student learning. Here are a few points to ensure that your lessons maximize student learning outcomes:

1.) Know your big idea or main essential learning outcome.

  • Can you state very precisely what the lesson outcome is?
  • What is the one thought or main idea of your lesson?
  • Are you certain that the student(s)is ready for this learning outcome?
  • How are you tapping into prior learning?

2.) Know your sequencing.

  • What is the step by step procedure for this lesson?
  • How will you make this lesson concrete?
  • What are all the resources you need?

3.) Remain concrete.

  • How will the skill be modeled?
  • What do your examples look like?
  • What prompts will you use?
  • Have you allowed time for guided practice?

4.) How will you check for understanding?

  • Checking for understanding is essential, it lets you know if your instruction works or if additional intervention or remediation or re-teaching is required.
  • How will the child demonstrate that the learning outcome has been mastered? Will you use questioning? Observation? Show me approach?
  • Many students with special needs have difficulty with self-monitoring, have you allowed for some opportunity for independence? The goal is to ensure all learners become independent, self-monitoring may require appropriate prompts from you, for example "Are you on task?"
  • What and how are you giving in the way of feedback to the student?

5.) Follow up

  • How will you record the student learning of this lesson?
  • What is the follow up to this lesson?
  • Is there a component worth involving parents or professionals for additional support?
In Summary:
Simply put, effective teaching/instruction means that learning has taken place. If learning hasn't taken place, the teaching and instructional strategies need to be re-visited.

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Augmentative and/or Assistive Communication

What is Augmentative Communication?(AC or ACC)

Augmentative, sometimes referred to as alternative communication (AAC) is a method of communication used by individuals with severe speech and language disabilities, those who have Cerebral Palsy, Autism, ALS, suffered from a stroke, etc. AAC is for those individuals who are unable to use verbal speech yet are cognitively able or when speech is extremely difficult to understand. These individuals will use gestures, communications boards, pictures, symbols, drawings or a combination of all of these. An individual would point to a single meaning picture - for instance if the individual was hungry, the picture may look like somebody eating. If the individual is also physically impaired, a head pointer may be worn to indicate the picture which would relay the feeling. The methods of AAC will vary and be personalized to meet the needs of the individual. Many forms of AAC with have an assistive technology component which will come in both high tech or low tech strategies. You don't need special skills for understanding an individual who is using ACC as the processes are self-explanatory.

What is the Process? According to Kangas and Lloyd (1998) there are three areas for consideration in the AAC process:

1. A Method to Represent Symbols (objects, words, drawings, symbols, photographs, line drawings etc.

2. A Method to Select Symbols (point directly or use a scanning device such as a head pointer

3. A Method to Transmit the Message (visual or auditory output)

Prior to Considering AAC
1. What are the individual's cognitive abilities?
2. What are the individual's physicall abilities?
3. What is the most important vocabulary relevant to the individual?
4. Consider the individual's motivation to use ACC and select the ACC system that will match.
5. Always enlist the expert help of: Speech language pathologists Occupational therapists, and Computer specialists to help with the decision.

There are many AAC Associations and Organizations. You'll want to contact the speech/language pathologists for organizations specific to your area.

Monday, August 24, 2009

Getting Ready for the IEP Meeting

The assessments have been done and the needs of your child are relatively well known. You have the background information you need to proceed. You have thought about the goals your child needs. You have also familiarized yourself with SMART goals to better understand the contents of the IEP. You have familiarized yourself with the types of instructional assistance and program types that are available for your child. You have fully explored the types of support available including placement and program. If you are seeking a special placement, you have also pre-arranged to visit the placement site to be sure that this will be a good educational fit for your child. You should be informed of who will be attending the IEP meeting which will enable you to address your concerns to the right people. You may want to make a list of the atendees and keep it in your IEP binder or portfolio. You are also encouraged to bring somebody to represent you if you feel it's necessary and in the best interest of your child. This could be your spouse, close relative, or a professional or attorney working on your child's behalf. In some cases, the child will also attend the IEP meeting.

What to Bring

Be sure to have a binder or an IEP portfolio. This should contain all assessments and/or evaluations on your child. If this isn't your first IEP meeting, you should have previous IEPs. You should have work samples from your child and any letters from the teacher and/or school board. Report cards and test results from previous terms and years will also be helpful to have. If you have had negative or positive feedback in writing from the teacher, be sure it too is included. If your child is reading and or writing, samples of the level of reading and examples of writing will be helpful. Any medical reports will also be helpful. Depending on how much material you have, it would be very wise to organize the material into sections or tabs so that you can easily find everything. Making copies in the event that somebody on the IEP team asks for a copy is always helpful. There should be no surprises in your IEP binder or portfolio, your team needs to be well informed and any document they may not have should be provided to them prior to the IEP meeting.

What Does IDEA Say About IEP Meetings?

  • The IEP meeting must be held at a location and a time that is convenient to all individuals attending. You are entitled to input as to the time of the meeting. The educational jurisdiction cannot simply establish the time and place without your input.
  • IEP meetings MUST be held once per year.
  • The IEP meeting must be long enough to address all concerns. If you feel the length of time of the scheduled meeting may not fit your needs, discuss this with the principal of your school and state your reasons why.
  • If this is not the first meeting and you are in agreement with the child's IEP, you can forgo the meeting and agree to the IEP.

The Agenda for the IEP Meeting

You may or may not see an agenda ahead of the scheduled meeting. However, you can expect the following:

  • Current level of progress of your child
  • Specific goals for your child
  • Type of support or instructional/assessment strategies and or services required
  • Type of placement
  • Specific program
You'll also find that curricula or alternate curricula, teacher strategies, transition plans, special education support people and extra curricular activities will also be discussed.

The IEP

IDEA also requires that the IEP be written together with input from you and the educational jurisdiction. However, there will most likely be a draft IEP at the meeting. Remember that this draft should be treated as a working copy for the meeting and not a final version. The meeting will provide you with the time to address, change, and revise any part of the draft IEP. In some cases, you may be sent a copy of the draft IEP ahead of the scheduled IEP meeting.

Some Final Thoughts

Remember that the IEP meeting is really an informal meeting established to support the best interest of your child. Reduce your anxiety about attending the meeting by being well prepared and having a supportive individual attend with you. You do have the right to tape record the meeting as proof of what was said. If you decide to tape the meeting, let the school know in advance and keep the tape recording as a part of your IEP binder/portfolio.

If you have everything in place as mentioned above, you should be more than ready to attend the IEP meeting.

Sunday, August 23, 2009

Behavior Disorders in Children

Help for Children With Behavior Disorders or Disabilities

This article is written to assist and provide support to parents and teachers involved with behavior issues that are causing some concerns both at home and or at school. There is much that can be done to help, however; the focus here is on the preventative approach which is key to maintain positive behaviors.

A consistent approach when dealing with children with behavioral concerns most often leads to more productive and positive behaviors. It is highly recommended that you plan strategies that you can implement regularly. Whether the child is acting out, involved in conflicts, bullying, or being verbally or physically aggressive; it is important to ensure that you have positive interactions and that you refrain from calling the child 'bad', it is the behavior being exhibited that you are unhappy with and the child needs to know it is not him/her it is the behavior. Acceptable and appropriate behavior is developmental - it happens over time and is greatly influenced by parental support and guidance, peers, previous experiences and the intervention techniques employed by teachers, caregivers and parents. As Dr. Phil often says: "You teach people how to treat you".

Occasionally, despite your ongoing efforts using consistent applications of interventions and techniques, some children will continue to display ongoing behavioral difficulties. You cannot be all things to your child at all times. You may need to seek the advice and assistance of professionals.

The Basics:

  • Promote self-esteem and confidence every chance you can. Catch your child doing something great and praise him/her.
  • Provide opportunities for the child to become responsible. When they take responsibility well, let him/her know.
  • Always be objective and understanding - do not lose your patience even though you are tempted to.
  • Use your best judgment at all times, remain objective and seek to understand.
  • Patience, patience, patience! Even though you may be very frustrated.

Next Steps:

  • Communicate your expectations with a minimal number of rules and routines to be followed. Think big, start small.
  • Involve the child when you are establishing rules and routines. Ask for his/her assistance. Make sure they repeat them - this will help them remember.
  • Emphasize the child's [link ur=http://specialed.about.com/cs/behaviordisorders/a/rules.htm]strengths[/link] and minimize the weaknesses.
  • Set your child up to be successful when the opportunity presents itself.
  • Provide opportunities for the child to reiterate expectations. For example: "What always needs to be done before bed?"
  • Encourage the child to participate and monitor their own behavior. For example: "What is terrific about what you're doing right now?"
  • AVOID power struggles - nobody wins!
  • Take time to discuss appropriate and inappropriate behaviors. This should be done when a chilling out period has occurred.
  • Routines - children with behavior difficulties benefit from clearly established routines/structure, I can't say enough about this.
  • Role play some situations based on unacceptable behaviors and discuss them.
  • Set up practice situations and role play those. For example: Tommy just came and stepped on your toe, you even though he did it intentionally. How will you handle this situation?
  • Teach the skills necessary for appropriate behaviors.

In Summary:

If you're this far - you're concerned and you want some strategies. Now you're ready for the implementation stage. You are now ready for the 5-step plan:

  1. Pinpoint the behavior that you want to change. Be specific.
  2. Gather your information. When does the unacceptable behavior occur? How often does it occur? Under which circumstances does it occur? What event precedes the behavior? What is the child's view of the behavior? Does the inappropriate behavior always happen when the child is alone? Supervised? With others? At a specific time?
  3. Now it's time for you to interpret what the information may mean from the previous step. Give it your best shot when trying to analyze the information you've gathered.
  4. Plan for Change! Now it's time to set your goals - with the child. What are the short term goals? What are the long term goals? Who's involved, what will happen. The plan for change should be collaborative between you and the child. Be specific, for instance: Johnny will not yell and scream when it's time to do homework - or time to go to bed. In your plan for change, some rewards and or a reward system should be in place. For instance, when 5 instances of appropriate behavior happens, Johnny will have .............(opportunity to indulge in his favorite activity, a new sticker book etc.
  5. Evaluate how your plan is working. If it isn't working, make the necessary changes collaboratively.

Once again, if after several consistent tries you find your plan isn't working and there is no noticeable change in the unacceptable behaviors, the child may need to be referred to a specialist.

Saturday, August 22, 2009

The IEP

Background Information for an IEP:

The Individual Education Program (IEP) is every exceptional or identified student's lifeline for academic success. If students with special needs are to achieve the academic curriculum or an alternative curriculum to the best of their ability and as independently as possible, the professionals involved in the delivery of their programming must have a plan in place.

IEP GOALS:

The IEP goals should be developed with the following criteria:

  • specific
  • realistic
  • attainable
  • measurable
  • challenging

Before setting goals the team must first determine the present level of performance using various assessment tools, the needs must be clearly and specifically defined. When determining IEP goals consider the student's classroom placement, is the student in the least hindering environment. Do the goals coordinate with the regular classroom activities and schedules and do they follow the general curriculum?

After the goals have been identified, it is then stated how the team will help the student to achieve the goals, this is referred to as the measurable part of the goals. Each goal must have a clearly stated objective how, where and when each task will be implemented. Define and list any adaptations, aides or supportive techniques that may be required to encourage success. Clearly explain how progress will be monitored and measured. Be specific about time frames for each objective. Expect goals to be achieved at the end of an academic year. Objectives are skills required to achieve the desired goal, objectives should be accomplished in shorter intervals.

Team Members: IEP team members are parents of the student, special education teacher, classroom teacher, support workers and outside agencies involved with the individual. Each member of the team plays a vital role in the development of a successful IEP.

Education Program Plans can become overwhelming and unrealistic. A good rule of thumb is to set one goal for each academic strand. This enables the teams manageability and accountability to ensure that resources are available to help the individual achieve the desired goals.

If the student IEP meets all of the student needs and is focused on skills for success, results and outcomes, the student with special needs will have every opportunity for academic achievement no matter how challenging their needs may be.

Example: John Doe is a 12 year old boy presently placed in a regular grade 6 classroom with special education support . John Doe is identified as ‘Multiple Exceptionalities’. A Pediatric assessment determined that John meets criteria for Autistic Spectrum Disorder. John's anti-social, aggressive behavior, prevent him from achieving academic success.

General Accommodations:

  • Supervision for Non-Instructional Time
  • Attention/Focusing Cues
  • Special Arrangements for Arrival/Departure
  • Use of Preferred Learning Style
  • Small Group Instruction
  • In-Class Peer Tutor Assistance
  • Review, Retest, Re-Evaluate
  • Reduce Visual or Auditory Distractions
  • Scribing or Oral Reporting
  • Length of Time for Assessments/Assignments

Annual Goal:

John will work towards controlling compulsive and impulsive behavior, which negatively affects the learning of self and others. He will work towards interacting and responding to others in a positive way.

Behavior Expectations:

Develop skills to manage anger and resolve conflict appropriately.

Develop skills to accept responsibility for self.

Demonstrate dignity and respect for self and others.

Develop a foundation for health relationships with peers and adults.

Develop a positive self image.

Strategies and Accommodations

Encourage John to verbalize his feelings.

Modeling, role play, rewards, consequences using the assertive discipline approach.

One-to-one teaching as required, one-to-one Educational Assistant support as required and relaxation exercises.

Direct teaching of social skills,acknowledge and encourage acceptable behavior.

Establish and use consistent classroom routine, prepare for transitions well in advance. Keep as predictable a schedule as possible.

Make use of computer technology where possible, and ensure John feels he is a valued member of the class. Always relate classroom activities to timetable and agenda.

Resources/frequency/location

Resources: Classroom Teacher, Education Assistant, Integrations Resource Teacher.

Frequency: daily as required.

Location: regular classroom, withdraw to resource room as required.

Comments: A program of expected behaviors and consequences will be established. Rewards for expected behavior will be given at the end of an agreed upon time interval. Negative behavior will not be acknowledged in this tracking format, but will be identified to John and to home through a communication agenda.

Friday, August 21, 2009

Behavior Management

What you need to know about behavior management. This article is written to assist and provide support to parents and teachers involved with behavior issues that are causing some concerns both at home and or at school. There is much that can be done to help, however; the focus here is on the preventative approach which is key to maintain positive behaviors. It is much better to be pro-active than reactive, although both will be necessary.

A consistent approach when dealing with children with behavioral concerns most often leads to more productive and positive behaviors. It is highly recommended that you plan strategies that you can implement regularly. Whether the child is acting out, involved in conflicts, bullying, or being verbally or physically aggressive; it is important to ensure that you have positive interactions and that you refrain from calling the child bad, it is the behavior being exhibited that you are unhappy with and the child needs to know it is not him/her it is the behavior. Acceptable and appropriate behavior is developmental, it happens over time and is greatly influenced by parental support and guidance, peers, previous experiences and the intervention techniques employed by teachers, caregivers and parents. As 'Dr. Phil' often says: "You teach people how to treat you".

Occasionally, despite your ongoing efforts, consistent applications of interventions and techniques, some children will continue to display ongoing behavioral difficulties. You cannot be all things to your child at all times. You may need to seek the advice and assistance of professionals.

The Basics:

Promote self-esteem and confidence every chance you can. Catch your child doing something great and praise him/her. Provide opportunities for the child to become responsible. When they take responsibility well, let him/her know. Always be objective and understanding - do not lose your patience even though you are tempted to. Use your best judgment at all times, remain objective and seek to understand. Patience, patience, patience! Even though you may be very frustrated.

Next Steps:

Communicate your expectations with a minimal number of rules and routines to be followed. Think big, start small. Involve the child when you are establishing rules and routines. Ask for his/her assistance. Make sure they repeat them - this will help them remember. Emphasize the child's strengths and minimize the weaknesses. Set your child up to be successful when the opportunity presents itself. Provide opportunities for the child to reiterate expectations. For example: "What always needs to be done before bed?" Encourage the child to participate and monitor their own behavior. For example: "What is terrific about what you're doing right now?" AVOID power struggles - nobody wins! Take time to discuss appropriate and inappropriate behaviors. Routines - children with behavior difficulties benefit from clearly established routines, I can't say enough about this. Role play some situations based on unacceptable behaviors and discuss them. Set up practice situations and role play those. For example: Tommy just came and stepped on your toe, you even though he did it intentionally. How will you handle this situation? Teach the skills necessary for appropriate behaviors.

In Summary:

If you're this far - you're concerned and you want some strategies. Now you're ready for the implementation stage. Here is the 5-step plan:

1. Pinpoint the behavior that you want to change. Be specific. (Yelling, opposition to authority, hitting, refusing to comply etc.)

2. Gather your information. When does the unacceptable behavior occur? How often does it occur? Under which circumstances does it occur? What event precedes the behavior? What is the child's view of the behavior? Does the inappropriate behavior always happen when the child is alone? Supervised? With others? At a specific time? This is the data that will help you make an informed decision.

3. Now it's time for you to interpret what the information may mean from the previous step. Give it your best shot when trying to analyze the information you've gathered.

4. Plan for Change! Now it's time to set your goals - with the child. What are the short term goals? What are the long term goals? Who's involved, what will happen. The plan for change should be collaborative between you and the child. Be specific, for instance: Johnny will not yell and scream when it's time to do homework - or time to go to bed. In your plan for change, some rewards and or a reward system should be in place. For instance, when 5 instances of appropriate behavior happens, Johnny will have: andopportunity to indulge in his favorite activity or a new sticker book or a trip to the pet store)

5. Evaluate how your plan is working. If it isn't working, make the necessary changes collaboratively. Once again, if after several consistent tries you find your plan isn't working and there is no noticeable change in the unacceptable behaviors, the child may need to be referred to a specialist.

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Asperger's Disability

Asperger's Syndrome for the Educator

What Is Asperger's Syndrome or Disorder?

Regardless of ongoing and newer research, information on Asperger syndrome is still very limited. Asperger's is not easily diagnosed and it often goes missed or is wrongly diagnosed. Adults and children with Asperger's are sometimes referred to as 'nerds' or 'geeks'.

Asperger's Syndrome is neurologically based and affects the ability to have appropriate social relationships. The symptoms can range from mild to severe. Typically, students with Asperger's can be quite smart and show great potential and ability to learn but do not know how to connect to others socially. Usually there are no clinical delays in language or cognitive functioning. Some consider Asperger's to be a high functioning form of Austism, then again others claim that it is indeed its own unique disorder. Asperger's can be considered a hidden disability which results in greater difficulty getting additional support or services. This is largely due to the fact that many of these children tend to pass from grade to grade relatively easily. Most levels of support require test scores to show the need.

One particular student I worked with had quite a fascination with maps. (Children with Asperger's often exhibits unusual patterns of interest.) She seemed to know a great deal about countries, cities, states, continents, bodies of water etc. She took great delight in talking about specific countries, what they're known for, how big the country is, what the main cities are and what the water bodies are. On the other hand, she had a dis-taste for written work, even in geography, her preferred subject and interest. When other students helped her, she needed to be told how to ask for help and how to give thanks for the help. During group work, she had no idea of how to participate or cooperate and work together as a team, sometimes invading the comfort zone of others by standing far too close to students or talking non-stop without ever understanding the needs of the listeners. This is typical behavior of many students with Asperger's Syndrome. They will have average or above average intelligence and will usually have a specific skill or talent. I could see my particular student excelling in cartography! However, they have a great deal of difficulty in social situations, they can't relate to or dialogue well with others. You'll often hear students with Asperger's defined as - "She seems so bright, but......" They'll interupt, take no interest in what others have to say, have difficulty following rules and show little empathy. Unfortunately, many of their behaviors leads to them being bullied or picked on.

APA's Criteria of Asperger's Syndrome

Academic Implications

1. The child will have difficulty making friends and working collaboratively in a group.

2. The child doesn't respond to the needs of others, lacks empathy and will be very ego-centric.

3. The child often doesn't follow or adhere to rules and or routines.

4. The child may engage in annoying and repetitive movements - tapping etc.

5. Many Asperger's children exhibit poor attention spans.

6. They can be obessessed about certain subjects or topics.

7. The Asperger's child doesn't cope or respond well to change.

Best Practices

  • Teach social skills - be patient.
  • Behavior managment may be necessary, remember this child is motivated to please you, teach him/her routines and make sure they understand your expectations.
  • Use a buddy system, select a student or 2 to buddy with this student, they want and needs friends but don't know how to be a friend.
  • Establish daily routines and stick to them. Always provide lots of warning when your routine is going to change, class trips, supply teachers etc.
  • Minimize transitions.
  • Keep stimulus and distraction to a minimum.
  • Chunk information presented. The child won't retain a lot of information at once.
  • You may have to limit their 'special interest' time as they can become quite self absorbed with it.
  • Instructional strategies should focus on teaching concretely and complex tasks should be broken down.

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Behavior Disorders in Children

elp for Children With Behavior Disorders or Disabilities

This article is written to assist and provide support to parents and teachers involved with behavior issues that are causing some concerns both at home and or at school. There is much that can be done to help, however; the focus here is on the preventative approach which is key to maintain positive behaviors.

A consistent approach when dealing with children with behavioral concerns most often leads to more productive and positive behaviors. It is highly recommended that you plan strategies that you can implement regularly. Whether the child is acting out, involved in conflicts, bullying, or being verbally or physically aggressive; it is important to ensure that you have positive interactions and that you refrain from calling the child 'bad', it is the behavior being exhibited that you are unhappy with and the child needs to know it is not him/her it is the behavior. Acceptable and appropriate behavior is developmental - it happens over time and is greatly influenced by parental support and guidance, peers, previous experiences and the intervention techniques employed by teachers, caregivers and parents. As Dr. Phil often says: "You teach people how to treat you".

Occasionally, despite your ongoing efforts using consistent applications of interventions and techniques, some children will continue to display ongoing behavioral difficulties. You cannot be all things to your child at all times. You may need to seek the advice and assistance of professionals.

The Basics:

  • Promote self-esteem and confidence every chance you can. Catch your child doing something great and praise him/her.
  • Provide opportunities for the child to become responsible. When they take responsibility well, let him/her know.
  • Always be objective and understanding - do not lose your patience even though you are tempted to.
  • Use your best judgment at all times, remain objective and seek to understand.
  • Patience, patience, patience! Even though you may be very frustrated.

Next Steps:

  • Communicate your expectations with a minimal number of rules and routines to be followed. Think big, start small.
  • Involve the child when you are establishing rules and routines. Ask for his/her assistance. Make sure they repeat them - this will help them remember.
  • Emphasize the child's [link ur=http://specialed.about.com/cs/behaviordisorders/a/rules.htm]strengths[/link] and minimize the weaknesses.
  • Set your child up to be successful when the opportunity presents itself.
  • Provide opportunities for the child to reiterate expectations. For example: "What always needs to be done before bed?"
  • Encourage the child to participate and monitor their own behavior. For example: "What is terrific about what you're doing right now?"
  • AVOID power struggles - nobody wins!
  • Take time to discuss appropriate and inappropriate behaviors. This should be done when a chilling out period has occurred.
  • Routines - children with behavior difficulties benefit from clearly established routines/structure, I can't say enough about this.
  • Role play some situations based on unacceptable behaviors and discuss them.
  • Set up practice situations and role play those. For example: Tommy just came and stepped on your toe, you even though he did it intentionally. How will you handle this situation?
  • Teach the skills necessary for appropriate behaviors.

In Summary:

If you're this far - you're concerned and you want some strategies. Now you're ready for the implementation stage. You are now ready for the 5-step plan:

  1. Pinpoint the behavior that you want to change. Be specific.
  2. Gather your information. When does the unacceptable behavior occur? How often does it occur? Under which circumstances does it occur? What event precedes the behavior? What is the child's view of the behavior? Does the inappropriate behavior always happen when the child is alone? Supervised? With others? At a specific time?
  3. Now it's time for you to interpret what the information may mean from the previous step. Give it your best shot when trying to analyze the information you've gathered.
  4. Plan for Change! Now it's time to set your goals - with the child. What are the short term goals? What are the long term goals? Who's involved, what will happen. The plan for change should be collaborative between you and the child. Be specific, for instance: Johnny will not yell and scream when it's time to do homework - or time to go to bed. In your plan for change, some rewards and or a reward system should be in place. For instance, when 5 instances of appropriate behavior happens, Johnny will have .............(opportunity to indulge in his favorite activity, a new sticker book etc.
  5. Evaluate how your plan is working. If it isn't working, make the necessary changes collaboratively.

Once again, if after several consistent tries you find your plan isn't working and there is no noticeable change in the unacceptable behaviors, the child may need to be referred to a specialist.

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Autism

What Is Autism?

Typically, students with Autism have significantly impaired social and communication development. Autistic children show minimal interest in most, and in some cases all learning and social situations. Autism affects thought, attention and perception. This is a disorder by which there are a wide variety of symptoms ranging from mild to severe. When a child has many autistic tendencies yet fails to meet the criteria for autism, chances are the diagnosis will be PDD. More males then to be affected than females.

Best Practices

  • Students with autism should be with their same age peers as much as is possible. However, most will require very extensive support.
  • The child should have a safe and predictable environment.
  • The environment should have minimal transitions and stimulus.
  • Consistent routines and procedures should be in place as much as possible
  • Provide many verbal and visual cues and supports to help with routines
  • Keep distratctions and sensory/stimulus activites to a minimal
  • Focus on very specific strategies - 1 or 2 at a time that will promote independence as much as possible
  • Use behavior modification techniques
  • Communication needs to be the main priority
  • Teach specific skills explicitly using a behavior modification technique - use the student's behavior as your basis for teaching
  • Provide incentives and reinforcement that is completely individualized for your autistic student.

    In addition to the above strategies, autistic students will often have a variety of support personnel available which include:

  • speech/language pathologists
  • special education staff
  • board level staff
  • occupational and or physio therapists
  • educational assistants
  • psychologists

Believe in your students, much can be done to help a child with autism. The earlier supports are in place, the better the outcome will be. A consistent effort and a great deal of patience will help to pave the road to your student's success.

Monday, August 17, 2009

Academic Implications for a Child with Asperger's Syndrome

If you've ever worked with a child with Asperger's Syndrome, you'll have probably noticed that they see things somewhat differently. The child exhibits minimal empathy, one sided conversations, difficulty socially, struggles to form friendships, absorption in specific areas of interest and will be somewhat clumsy. More on the definition of Asperger's

For the educator, there are 3 areas of focus that will help maximize learning opportunities for the child with Asperger's Syndrome:

  • Social
  • Language and Academic Functioning
  • Sensory

Social

  • Teach the child how to join in play situations, otherwise the child will interrupt the ongoing play and won't be welcome.
  • Encourage other children to play with the child with Asperger's.
  • Always point out to the child with Asperger's what they should have done in an inappropriately handled situation and how they should handle it next time.
  • Never take for granted that the child knows how to act socially, always be prepared to teach appropriate social behaviors in a variety of settings.
  • You will want to teach about the various emotions (happy, sad, angry etc.)and how to support them.
  • Use storybooks to model acceptable behaviors and teach about emotions.
  • Use role play to talk about inappropriate social behaviors and how to encourage positive behaviors.
  • Maximize opportunities for cooperative learning.
  • Encourage and support positive interactions regularly.
Although it may seem time consuming to teach social behaviors, the child with Asperger's will learn them with ongoing support, in fact they will learn them surprisingly well.

Language and Academic Functioning
Many children with Asperger's will display delays in language development, use pedantic language, display a weakness in comprehension and have great difficulty with literal vs figuative speech. They'll have difficulty understanding points of views from others, however, they'll often have normal intelligence although sometimes it won't show on intelligence testing. They will often exhibit surprisingly good memory skills.

  • These children will usually need to be taught how to ask for help or assistance.
  • They'll need to be taught not to interrupt in a variety of settings
  • They will usually take everything literally, so be aware of how you can be misinterpreted. (Find out how to teach the difference between literal and figurative speech) .
Sensory
  • Avoid certain sounds, children with Asperger's can be very sensitive to specific sounds.
  • Try to keep background noise to a minimal
  • Avoid bright or intense lighting situations
  • It should be noted that the most common sensitivities for these students are sound and touch, it's important to be aware of this.

A Word of Caution

Asperger's Syndrome is a label. Students with Asperger's have some difficulty with communication, transitions, they will often have an intense area of interest, they will have difficulty socially and have sensory sensitivity. A label is never helpful unless it helps you better support the student. Knowing what works and how to program is key. You now have a glimpse of what these children need and how you can support them.

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Kindergarten Homeschool

You hear some people say kindergarten is a waste of time, while others have the opposite viewpoint. Even at my age I can remember kindergarten somewhat. It seemed to consist of mainly getting read to, coloring with crayons or painting and taking a nap on the floor. Not too exciting huh? And not very educational either. I think one of main goals of kindergarten in the public school system is to teach kids to obey. Stand in lines, be quiet, do as you're told, raise your hand to ask a question and come back every day at the same time. Sounds kind of like America today, doesn't it?

If you want to consider kindergarten homeschool why not make it educational and fun at the same time? You can really jump start their learning with even one year of a kindergarten that actually pre-teaches. That is, teach them how to learn before the teaching actually begins. Maybe I'm not clear enough yet.

You see kids at this age are craving to learn. Their little brains are like dry sponges ready to absorb any knowledge thrown their way. We could take advantage of that and pre-teach reading, spelling, math and penmanship.

This kind of schooling doesn't have to have set hours. It can just fit into a normal day. For example, begin talking to your kids; a lot. And not baby talk. Talk to them like a grownup so they will begin to lay a foundation in their minds of how words work, are phrased and put together to mean things. Get them interested in what you're doing at the time and tell them why you're doing it. Keep them in the kitchen when you're cooking and explain why you do things the way you do. Do this at least 30 minutes a day and soon they will be repeating some of the same words and asking loads of questions. There have been reports that suggest that children that come from homes where there's not much talking have a hard time learning to read.

Reading. Start reading to them at an early age. Give them an old book to call their own, even though they may not read yet. Read to them a lot. Start with picture books explaining what all the pictures mean as you read. Move on to longer books without pictures and stop occasionally and ask them questions about what you just read. It will make them curious to stay focused on the story.

Read the same books over and over. Repetition builds literacy, even if it drives you crazy! Record your reading on tape if it really starts to get to you and they can replay them as many times as they want. You're trying to get them to love books and reading. This kind of exercise makes them want to learn reading fast.

Spelling. All we do here is buy some alphabet blocks and with the alphabet song, learn the alphabet. It goes pretty quickly. Then after they learn, you can be talking with them in the kitchen for example and tell them, " I know you can't read yet, but would you please go to the pantry and get me the can with the word on that starts with a C. That's corn". They'll delight in this game.

Writing. We'll try and accomplish just two things. Teach them how to hold a standard pencil and do writing exercises. The exercises are counter-clockwise circles. Why? Because most loops made in cursive writing are made counter-clockwise, which is difficult for most young people to learn. If you start imprinting that in their brain before they learn to write, they will have a much easier time of it. Just have them draw counter-clockwise coils of circles like a continuous slinky toy or swirls of smoke from a chimney or locomotive. Before long they'll have it down cold.

Math. Little brains at this age need physical objects to learn to count. Their brains aren't matured enough yet to do it well any other way. That's why you see the counting on the fingers and toes so much. Just get some beans or other small objects and practice adding and subtracting by adding or taking away objects while you say out loud what you're doing. For example, "If I take one bean away from three beans, how many beans are left?" They will catch on very quickly like this.

Without needing anything extra but the time to do it, you can create your own kindergarten homeschool and be successful.

A J Adams has had a keen interest in home schooling for a number of years. With several public school teachers in his family, he has had many discussions regarding current school problems. He's heard many suggestions, one of which was the growing number of children being home schooled. After a thorough period of research, he decided to write an article about kindergarten homeschool. He will be submitting more in future articles. Mr. Adams also owns and maintains a website with his wife at http://www.elementary-home-schools.com where you can get a free 10-part mini-course on homeschooling and watch a touching video made by a young man to thank his mother for her many years of homeschooling him.