Chapter 3: Low-Incidence Disabilities

My only encounter with low-incidence disabilities was when I taught a student with autism.  This student was high-functioning and performed well in the classroom.  His greatest weakness was organization.  His desk was always a mess and he never had the materials he needed for the day.  To accommodate this problem, the resource teacher and I collaborated to develop a checklist of materials he needed for the day.  I laminated and posted the checklist on his desk and every morning he would come in and check off to make sure he had everything he needed for the day.  Social interaction was also difficult for him.  Many days he played just fine with the other kids.  Sometimes he would misinterpret social cues and get angry thinking other children were bullying him when they were not.

Helping this student with social interaction was probably the hardest part of teaching him.  How can I make him understand social cues that we developed at a very early age?  The other children were very good to not make fun and include him in social activities, but he still would have social miscommunications when working with others.  I would try to explain that the other kids were not picking on him, but he would remain angry and want to work independently.

If I could go back and teach this child again, I would work more on his social behaviors.  Although these occurrences were rare, when they did happen it practically ruined his day.  I think I allowed him to work independently too often, rather than pushing him a little to work with others and develop those social skills.  It's a delicate balance when working with autistic children, but it's worth it when you see how much they can grow.

Chapter 2: High-Incidence Disabilities

ADHD is probably the most common disability I encounter in my classroom.  I usually have at least 3 or 4 students who take medicine for ADHD every year.  These students can vary greatly in their academic ability but they share many behavioral traits.  They usually are the children who are up constantly out of their seats, find it difficult to complete tasks, and demonstrate impulsive behaviors.  To accommodate these students, I use chunking to break my lesson into smaller parts so they can understand it and not be overwhelmed with the information.  I also provide frequent breaks to prevent fatigue.  No child likes to sit in their seat for hours, so I try to get the children up and moving as often as I can.  We do a lot of group work and dramatizations to get the students using their bodies.

One area where I feel like I struggle to help my ADHD students is finding a way to curb the impulsivity.  Many times I find that my students understand the material, but when taking tests their impulsive nature takes over and they choose incorrect answers.  This type of behavior is also seen in the way ADHD students interact socially.  It's hard for many of these children to keep friends because they are quick to anger and sometimes act out violently.

I think the best way to help with this weak area is to focus a lot of class time on decision making.  At the beginning of the school year, we act out scenarios and discuss if the people made good or bad decisions.  One lesson on decision making is not enough.  I need to continue to make that a focus in the classroom so that these students are constantly asking themselves, is this a good decision?  You could also take material from the curriculum to integrate decision making skills and content.  For example, when reading a novel or story, students can analyze the decisions made by characters in the book.  Making good decisions is something all students can use, but especially students with ADHD.

Chapter 4-Collaboration

I'm not sure how anyone can work in a school without collaborating with others in the building.  I collaborate with lots of different people on a daily basis.  I work very closely with my third grade team and we plan together every week.  During this planning time we discuss different instructional strategies and what works for our specific students.  We receive support from our related arts staff by integrating lessons.  For example, when teaching sound, the music teachers will work with us on the unit and have students participate in sound activities in music class.  Other teachers like speech, resource, and ESOL are often called on when needing help for specific strategies.

While I do collaborate on a daily basis, I do feel like I need a deeper collaboration with the speech, resource, and ESOL teachers.  I think all teachers could benefit from a planned meeting time every week with these people.  More often, our collaboration is a passing in the hallway or a quick email to ask a question.  I would love to have these teachers plan with me to develop lessons to better suit my students who are learning disable or have specific learning needs.

I think it would be my job to reach out to these teachers first.  With budget cuts, these teachers now serve multiple schools and many different children.  It would be my responsibility to schedule a time to meet with them and pick their brains for new strategies.  Time is the biggest obstacle to meaningful collaboration, but it is such a worthwhile pursuit in the end.

Chapter 1-Response to Intervention

RTI is something all teachers must use in order to meet the needs of their learners.  In my school, we screen students at the beginning of the year through different types of assessments.  In my third grade class, my students are mainly assessed using MAP data, benchmark tests, and by their classroom performance on unit tests and quizzes.  Using this data, students who need accommodations can be identified and strategies can be implemented.  Before the intervention takes place, I have a conference with all the parents to get their input on the best way to help that child.  After the conference, we will implement the strategies discussed and monitor that student's progress.  By midyear, if the student is not progressing as he or she should, we hold another conference to discuss new strategies.  This process helps insure that students are getting the help they need and parents are kept informed.

There are some flaws throughout this process that can lead to accidental disregard of student needs.  For example, the main testing used to screen students are MAP and benchmarks.  There are students who may score well on these assessments, but still struggle in the classroom.  These students do not qualify for some of the services they can receive outside of the classroom because they scored within the "normal" range.  I also question the validity of these assessments, since the tests are written at much higher reading levels.  These students, who need assistance based on their classroom performance, do not always get the help they need.  I have a student this year who fits into this category and it has been a struggle for me to find ways to help this child.

In order to help this child, I think more collaboration is needed.  Part of the reason why I struggle with helping this child is because I feel like it is solely up to me to provide help.  I need to go to others in the building for support in implementing strategies.  For example, her speech teacher can help the child with listening comprehension, an area where I see a deficit.  I could also have the student come in early to get extra practice with me on the skills she needs.  I think a meeting with the student and her parents to set goals for school and home would also be beneficial since the potential is there, but the student is not performing at that level.  Through more communication, this child could receive the help she needs to be successful in the classroom.