Transition

When looking at an IEP the transition plan should drive all other parts of the IEP when the students turns 14.  So, where does the plan start?

1. Interview-  This should be where the students interests are discussed. What does the student like to do outside of school?  What are the students hobbies?  What kind of jobs has the student had in the past?  There are many other questions that are asked in the interview, but that is a start.
2. Post Secondary Goals-  What skills do does the student need to work on in order to get a job?  Does the student have a drivers license?  Does the student know how to fill out an application?  Does the student know how to dress appropriately?
3. Outside Agencies-  This is where DORS, DDA and BHA.  These are all the outside agencies and those that help the students outside of school.

Now this is just the basics of the IEP transition plan, but it is vital to know what goes into each one.  This section should be very detailed and organized.

As always send questions or topics you would like to read about. 

Where to start with an IEP

Present Levels-  This is the most overlooked part of the IEP.  This part not only shows the students highlights, but also what they need to work on. 

Student Highlights- This should show how a student functions in a positive way in the classroom.  Do they come in prepared?  Are they happy when they enter a certain class?  There could be many things that are under this section.  This should be a very positive section of the IEP and should not be negative at all.

How the disability affects the student?-  This is the section that will hopefully be across all curriculum areas.  If it defers from class to class then there might be an issue and the parents or teachers should question it.  If it is the same across every class this will help the student achieve their goals faster.

Questions let me know?

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Helping Your Child Transition after the Holidays

First off happy holidays and I hope that you and your family had a safe and blessed holiday.  With school starting on Monday here are some helpful pointers to help your child with a learning disability transition back into school.  There are also some additional pointers to help in future holidays.

1. Remind your child every couple of hours of what is going to happen tomorrow.  Tell them school is starting back up.  Ask them questions like; What do you have to do when you wake up?  What is your first class?  What bus do you ride home?  All of these will be reminders to students and will help them transition to the start of school.  One of the biggest issues with students with disabilities is their resistance to change, help make the change as easy as possible.
2. Set a time in the day to review some of the skills the child was working on before school ended.  Many students forget simple steps in math or facts about history, that if they had practiced for an hour or so a day, the steps would still be there and they would remember the facts needed for school.  
3. Remind the students of who their teachers are.
4. Go through safety procedures encase of an emergency. 
5. Have your child tell you the house phone number.

I hope these tips will help you.  As always leave a comment for a future post.

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Are Special ed students more importan????

I am posing this questions are special education students more important then regular students?

What is a human reader?

That is pretty simple it is someone who will read to the student everything that they are assigned to do.  For example some students have "human reader for tests and quizzes."  This means that the students have a human reader for the tests and quizzes, but in the classroom they read on their own.  Then you have the students that have human reader for everything, some teachers will try to push the students to try and read, but it is extremely difficult.

As always please let me know if you would like me to write about anything?

What is Extended Time?

Many Special Education students have extended time as a accommodation.  This helps with students that have ADD, Autism or just have a hard time or frustrating time getting started on a certain subject.  There are pretty much two types of extended time.

1. Percentage extended time- This is when a student will receive 15%, 20% or 50% more time on a test or quiz, when compared to a student that does not have an IEP.  
2. Unlimited time-  Now I know what you are thinking, how would a student ever finish?  This is limited to the student must be putting some sort of effort into finishing the test.

As always let me know if you would like me to post anything.

My child might have shown signs of a learning disorder over the summer. What should I do? IEP

Sometimes systems of a learning disorder can show up later in a child's life.  Sometimes when a child is home from school in the summer parents may notice something is a little off when it comes to their child performing a task or completing a assignment.  So, a parent may suspect that their child has a disability, what do they do?  The first thing a parent should do is look up their child's symptoms.  This will educate the parent and help them narrow it down to what disability their child may be showing.

The next thing the parent should do is contact their child's grade special education teacher.  Usually schools either have a special education teacher for each grade or a head special education teacher at their child's school.  The special education teacher will most likely observe the student when they come back to school to see if they are showing and characteristics of a learning disability.  If the child is showing characteristics of a disability they there should be screening meeting set up, where further testing will be proposed or the special education team will not recommend further testing.

This is just the beginning phase of the IEP process.

As always if you would like to suggest a topic please do so.

Having Anxiety ove the first day of school and how to handle it.

Whether your child is starting a new grade or going into middle or high school, some of these students/parents might have some serious anxiety over the start of school.  So, what can we do to relieve some of this anxiety?

1. Visit the school in the summer.
2. Walk the students schedule several times.
3. Have a personal meeting with the teachers.
4. Meet with the students case manager to go over the students triggers.
5. Have the student check in at lunch to assure them they are okay.
6. Communicate with the students case manager on the progress during the day.
7. If the student is a very sensitive student meet with the principle so the student has a familiar face. 

The more familiar the student can be with their environment the better their first day will be.

As always let me know if you would like a topic to discuss????

Autism, Girlfriends/Boyfriends, video games

I think that student that have Autism should be encouraged to have a significant other.  These students have the same needs and wants as any other student.  The dates that the students go on could all be practice and might help the student come out of their social shell.  Now some students may not want anything to do with the opposite sex, then the other options are to get them involved in another social activity.

Now some parents think that a student playing video games are wasting their time.  With video games nowadays there is communication whether orally or typing.  Why not use this communication as a learning skill?  This way the teenager is playing something they like, while working on social skills.  I think this is really the wave of the future.

Whether it is boyfriend, girlfriend, social clubs it is important for your children to get involved.