Special Information for Special Education Jillian Dale

Agenda Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Individualized Education Program (IEP) Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) Inclusion Classroom Accommodations Additional Support Closing Remarks and Questions How presentation will benefit audience: Adult learners are more interested in a subject if they know how or why it is important to them. Presenter’s level of expertise in the subject: Briefly state your credentials in this area, or explain why participants should listen to you.

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Federal regulations for public schools Ensures students with disabilities given opportunity to succeed by: Utilizing resources Focusing on individual needs of students (National Center for Learning Disabilities [NCLD], 2014) IDEA is the federal regulations that all public schools in the United States must follow regarding students with disabilities. IDEA ensures that each student is given the opportunity to succeed by utilizing resources and focusing on the individual needs of the student.

IDEA: How does it assist you? Requires Individualized Education Program (IEP) Ensures schooling and related services be free of charge to parents Ensures child will be places in least restrictive environment Ensure confidentiality Requires professional development (NCLD, 2014) IDEA supports parents and families in may different ways. It requires that each student has an Individualized Education Program (IEP). It also makes sure that schooling and any other service such as counseling, tutoring, evaluation, and assessment be accessible as well as free of charge to families of students with disabilities. It recognizes that in order for the child to thrive, he must be placed in the least restrictive environment. This means that the environment keeps separation at school, home, and the community is kept minimal. Life should be as “normal” as possible for the student. IDEA also requires that confidentiality be maintained for the safety of the student and family. Also, components of IDEA require teachers and other professionals involved with the student be up to date on information and training to best serve the student and family.

IDEA: How does it assist you? Secures Parental Rights: Examine all of child’s records Participate in meetings concerning child Agree or disagree with placement decisions Request independent evaluations (free) Request a hearing to present concerns Provided written notice of decisions made by school district (NCLD, 2014) IDEA secures the rights of the parents of children with disabilities. Parents are guaranteed the right to: examine all of the child’s records kept by the school, participate in meetings concerning the child, agree or disagree with placement decisions, request independent evaluations on the child free of charge, request a hearing to present concerns of the child’s placement, IEP, etc., and receive written notice of decisions made by the school district concerning the child.

Individualized Education Program (IEP) Legal document describing educational services Designed for one student Collaboratively written Parents Regular classroom teacher Special Education teacher Representative from school district Subject related professional Assessed annually (at minimum) to adjust goals An IEP is an Individualized Education Program that describes the educational services for one student. The IEP must be specifically designed for one student to be truly individualized. It is collaboratively written in order to address student’s unique needs. Those included in the writing of the IEP include: the parents of the child with the disability, at least one regular classroom teacher, at least one special education teacher, a representative from the school district, and a professional related to the disability. The IEP should be referred to daily. However, it should be assessed annually to adjust goals and set new ones if applicable.

IEP: Contents Background information Child’s strengths Parents ideas for enhancing education Medical records School records Results from recent evaluations and testing Performance objectives Daily Plans (NCLD, 2014) The IEP should be written with the child’s strengths and the parents ideas for enhancing education in mind. Medical records and school records should be included as well. Any results from testing or professional evaluations should be included in the IEP. The IEP should contain certain performance objectives. These objectives are year long goals for the child. It is like a unique curriculum for the child. Each objective will have instructional strategies, materials needed, roles or responsibilities of those involved, start and end dates, and an evaluation or review of the objective. A daily plan for the student should be updated when needed. The daily plan will outline daily subjects. Each subject will have instructional strategies, resources, and an evaluation.

Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) Plan to provide services for children with disabilities and their families Includes: Child’s current level of development Family information Major outcomes expected Specifications of early intervention services Steps to transition into another program (NCLD, 2014) The IFSP is like an IEP, but it also focuses on parental or family involvement to support the child with special needs. It includes the child’s current level of development. This includes physical, cognitive, social, emotional, communicative, and behavioral development. It also includes family information such as concerns, strengths, resources, and priorities. It will outline major outcomes expected. The IFSP will also include attributes of the early intervention including frequency, intensity, and method. The location and dates of the services will also be included as well as the name of the coordinator. The final aspect included in the IFSP is the steps to transition into the next program, such as preschool or kindergarten. As always, the IFSP should include the written consent of the parents.

Inclusion General education classrooms Goals and accomplishments Feeling of unity Diversity in classroom Improved emotional and social development Positive learning environment Increased engagement (“Educational Resources”, 2014) Inclusion is the practice of including students with learning exceptionalities in general education classrooms and extracurricular activities. It was created to help incorporate a fundamental change that supports the individual needs of students. Inclusion gives students with disabilities a feeling of unity in the classroom. It also provides diversity in the classroom. Students of all learning abilities can be seen learning together through inclusion classrooms. It also improves emotional and social development of children with disabilities by providing a least restrictive environment where the student can make friends and feel supported by peers. Consistent support also helps maintain behavior which in turn will maintain a positive learning environment. One of the most important aspects of inclusion is the increase in engagement. In order for inclusion to work, differentiated instruction must be applied. When there are multiple modalities for instructions, all students will become actively engaged. This will open learning opportunities by altering instruction to address different methods of learning. Thus, a learning environment where all students can flourish is created.

Classroom Accommodations Expected adjustments Presentation Structure Pace Intensity Reinforcement Curriculum Assessment (NCLD, 2014) It is expected that teachers can adjust classroom strategies in order to fit the needs of all students. Adjustments should be easily made with presentation and structure of new material such as written instructions or oral instructions depending on the need of the student. The pace and intensity can also be easily adjusted according to the child. Reinforcement of good or bad behaviors should also be adjusted in the classroom based on the observations of the student’s needs. The curriculum and expectations can be adjusted according to the student’s abilities. Assessments can be adjusted according to how the curriculum is adjusted.

Additional Services Nobleofindiana.org Services Aboutspecialkids.org Noble of Indiana (“Noble of Indiana”, 2014) About Special Kids (“ASK”, 2014) Nobleofindiana.org Services Intervention plans Therapy Support groups Nutrition consultation Aboutspecialkids.org Services Support groups Training Webinars Spanish version of services Noble of Indiana offers different services for children and their parents. They offer services online as well as in person including intervention plans, therapy, support groups, and nutrition consultation. About Special Kids offers many support groups and training sessions for parents. All services are offered in Spanish as well.

Additional Services Insource.org Services Support and training for: Insource: Special Education Parent Support (“Parents Helping Parents”, 2014) Bradford Woods (“Bradford Woods”, 2014) Insource.org Services Support and training for: Bullying Federal laws IEP meetings/construction Intervention Special Education in Indiana Transition into adulthood Camps and retreats Designed specific to disability Fun, safe activities Local: Martinsville, Indiana Insource offers many different support groups and training sessions to help the child through school. There is a lot of information on this site regarding federal laws and transitioning into adulthood. This site has so many local resources for parents and children. Bradford Woods offers camps and retreats that accommodate to children and adults with disabilities. It is a great way for people with disabilities to feel included.

Closing Remarks and Questions IDEA IEP IFSP Inclusion Classroom accommodations Additional services Questions At this point, I will summarize the main points from IDEA, IEP, IFSP, inclusion, and accommodations. I will give a handout outlining the additional services discussed. I will now take questions from parents.

Reflection The foundation of addressing the needs of exceptional students in public education comes from the federal law, or IDEA. The IDEA first addresses IEP specific to the student. Along with created the IEP, an IFSP should be created to address the home life of students with exceptional needs. Inclusion is a rising trend in schools across the country. It is necessary for exceptional students to be included general education classrooms in order for the students to reach their full potential. Teachers are expected to make accommodations to meet the needs of all learners. Additional support is always available to students and families. All of these components are essential for parents to be aware of regarding the education of their child with disabilities. It is important for parents to know their rights according to the IDEA. One of the most important components of IDEA is the establishment of the IEP. The IEP will guide the teacher, parents, and student into the direction of success. The IEP is created to address the needs of the child in order to give the child the best possible education. It is a collaborative document to include many views and options best fit for the child. IFSP’s are also an important component in addressing the needs of exceptional learners. These plans will help families be more effective in raising a child with disabilities. Inclusion in classrooms is a growing methodology. It has shown the many positive outcomes of including children with disabilities in general education classrooms. Inclusion is one of the most important aspects in promoting learning in least restrictive environments. Classroom accommodations should be outlined for parents so parents are fully aware of potential changes. Parents should be aware of changes in the classroom in order to accommodate home life. Change can be very troublesome for children and accommodations need to be introduced with care at school and at home. There are infinite places where parents and children can receive additional support. Outlining a few places is a great starting point for parents to gather information.

References ASK. (2014). Retrieved from http://www.aboutspecialkids.org/   Bradford Woods. (2014). Retrieved from http://www.bradwoods.org/ Educational Resources. (2014). Retrieved from http://inclusiveschools.org/about/ Hallahan, D. P., Kauffman, J. M., & Pullen, P. C. (2015). Exceptional learners: An introduction to special education (Thirteenth edition. ed.). Boston: Pearson. National Center for Learning Disabilities. (2014). Retrieved from National Center for Learning Disabilities website: http://www.ncld.org/ Noble. (2014). Retrieved from http://www.nobleofindiana.org/ Parents Helping Parents. (2014). Retrieved from http://insource.org/