Article on BIP

Eber, L., Breen, K., Rose, J., Unizycki, R. M., & London, T. H. (2008). Wraparound:  

             As a tertiary level intervention for students with emotional/behavioral needs.

             TEACHING Exceptional Children, 40(6), 16-22.

            This article focuses on the wraparound process for a behavioral intervention plan.  It is the most complex intervention in the school-wide positive behavior support, and it encompasses the voice and perspectives of the family, student, and teacher.  In order to be effective, schools need to know when it is necessary to move to the highest level of intervention and need to have the skills to support the students.  In addition, families and children are full participants in planning and selecting interventions, there are multiple providers of services, and the process is culturally relevant. 

            The book in chapter 15 mentions the wraparound approach as the most intense of the supports.  It is unique in that blends natural supports like the child’s role models and mentors, interagency services, positive behavior support, and academic interventions.  The method stresses the importance of frequent communication between all members of the team, including staff members and family members.  In this support model the school social worker or guidance counselor would lead the meetings. 

            In my opinion, I think that this method involves all contributors to the child’s education.  I like how the authors stress focusing on the needs not the problems in that the main goal is to improve the overall quality of life for the student.  I think that the wraparound approach involves interventions that the teachers agree with.  It is not always the case that teachers’ input is a determinant in educational policy.  The authors do contest that the model requires outside supports to work.  The teachers should be able to be subbed out to attend meetings.  In addition, academic intervention services are needed.  Both can be problematic if the school’s funding is low. 

Article on Transition Planning with High Incidence Disabilities

Steere, D. E., & Cavaiuolo, D. (2002). Connecting outcomes, goals, and objectives in transition    

                planning. TEACHING Exceptional Children, 34(6), 54-59.

                This article stresses the importance of self-determination of the student in implementing transition plans.  The authors describe self-determination as a combination of skills, knowledge, and attributes.  Some examples of implementing self-determination include choice-making, problem solving, goal setting and attainment, risk-taking and safety, self-regulation, self-advocacy or leadership, and self-awareness.  The article also included case studies of two students with disabilities and the implications for fostering self-determination.

                The article brought up several challenges that teachers and students might experience during transition planning.  It followed along with the book’s format of addressing post-secondary planning.  One of the challenges is that outcomes can be too vague; therefore, it is essential to give the student opportunities to participate in hands on job experiences.  Another is that the outcomes are perceived as unrealistic; both the book and the article stress that family interviews are important in attaining realistic outcomes for the child.  The book especially notes that parents know more about their child than a teacher knows about his or her student, so it is important to seek their advice.  The third issue is that goals and objectives can be too vague; the fix is to use action words that can be observed.  Another problematic concern is that the connections among outcomes, goals, and objectives are not clear.  To avoid this issue, the staff member in charge of writing the IEP should ask if the attainment of the objective and the larger goal lead to the attainment of the outcome. 

                One of the most useful pieces of information that the authors included were ways to increase participation of the students at the IEP meetings.  Before meetings students can send out invitations, gather assessment information, and set up room arrangements.  During the meeting, students can give an overview of career interests and future aspirations.  After the meeting, students can seek out information about their college and career interests and find experiences that can lead to them attaining their goals.  In addition, I found that the life skill of being able to articulate choices and desires to a family member or spouse to be important even if they do not agree with the decision.  It follows the idea of being confident in one’s choices.  I think that this article was a little outdated based on some of the challenges that the authors noted.  The authors expressed that outcomes are not always revised; I feel that most special educators make sure to revise outcomes by allowing the student to self-reflect through surveys and discussions.  Another is that some staff members might have limited expectations for the child.  I feel that educators today hold students to their highest ability; therefore, they do not have prejudices against students with disabilities.  In addition, the authors point out that lack of action planning can occur.  I feel that with all the legislation surrounding special education, it is almost impossible to avoid seeking post-secondary placements for children.

                 

Article on Adolescents and High Incidence Disabilities

Frea, W. (2010). Preparing adolescents with autism for successful futures. Exceptional Parent,  

                40(4), 26-29.

                This article describes the difficulties that teenagers with autism encounter during the ever changing time of adolescence from physical changes to friend changes and social expectation changes.  Children with autism are at risk for acting out and displaying symptoms of depression, loneliness, and confusion.  They have difficulty expressing their feelings of fear as well.  Some repress to interests that they had when they were younger or spend time in repetitive behaviors as ways to cope.  The author offers suggestions for caregivers and teachers to help these adolescents cope with their struggles that they encounter today and for the rest of their lives. 

                This article was in line with the book’s description of adolescence as a difficult time for teenagers, especially for those compounded with disabilities.  It followed the idea that relationships and social interactions become more complicated and that teenagers are more than ever influenced by their peers.   I found that the following suggestions would be beneficial in a classroom setting for students with autism: giving a visual schedule of activities, modeling new skills with videos, and breaking down any social interaction into simple steps.  The overall goals of students with ASD are to observe and control their own behavior and become better at monitoring, recording, and rewarding their own behavior.   Another suggestion is to set short term goals for developing relationships and independent adult living.  It followed the same idea in the book of developing a transition plan as early as possible.  I found the suggestions of teaching students to identify appropriate sources of support like doctors and finding meaningful replacement behaviors for difficult conversations to be especially useful.  The author explained that it is necessary to teach skills like presenting a new topic or excusing oneself from a conversation in order for adolescents to lead a successful life.

                I think that this article was good at providing a brief overview of what to expect during adolescence for students with autism.  However, it fell short in providing many concrete examples of how to properly address the needs of the students in a classroom and home environment.  They were more of general thoughts and suggestions.  It was one of the few times, though, that I have read about contacting a BCBA to help address any behavior concerns that parents might have for their children.  I am sure that this will be more of an emerging strategy as more individuals become certified behavior analysts. 

Article on OHI

Getch, Y., Bhukhanwala, F., & Neuharth-Pritchett, S. (2007). Strategies for helping 

          children with diabetes in elementary and middle schools. TEACHING 

          Exceptional Children, 39(3), 46-51.

            My article relates to diabetes that is described as an other health impairment.  Diabetes comes in two forms, type 1, which results from the failure of the pancreas to produce insulin, and type 2, which results from insulin resistance with inadequate insulin secretion to sustain normal metabolism.  Effects of diabetes include increased thirst and urination, constant hunger, confusion, inattention, blurred vision, headache, and fatigue.  Students’ missed school absences from the disease can contribute to poor school performance.  The authors point out that younger school aged children are more likely to miss school, than their older counterparts due to parents’ overprotection and perceived views that young children are less likely to manage their diabetes.  Accommodations for students with disabilities include blood-glucose testing, extra snacks, and possible activity restriction.

            The authors share the same information as expressed in the book.  Children with diabetes are protected under Section 504, IDEA, and ADA.  A diagnostic healthcare plan is necessary to manage the condition in schools.  Students who receive special services are encouraged to have an individualized healthcare plan (IHP).  The diabetes healthcare plan should include student history, goals for care and intervention, emergency contacts, and specialized information.  Emergency food items should be readily accessible in the classroom and the building, as well as on field trips.  I found that my school does follow the guidelines that the authors suggest in training staff about diabetes.  We were required to complete a module online about students with diabetes at the start of the school year.  Still I feel that I have minimal hands-on experience in implementing these policies and feel that the nurse is one of the few professionals in the building who could actively handle an emergency situation involving diabetes.  However, I think that my school does do a good job following the guidelines of having good communication between the counselors, nurse, parents, and teachers when communicating about students with OHI.

            I thought that the authors brought up a valid point that substitute teachers need to be educated on the care of students with OHI, including diabetes.  It is important to be ready for an emergency situation at all times.  I think that the most important aspect of dealing with the students’ condition is good communication, as stressed in the article.  I feel that the authors could have stressed more of the academic interventions for students with diabetes, especially with dealing with long term absences and times when the student is in the nurse’s office.

Article on ASD

Constable, S., Grossi, B., Moniz, A., & Ryan, L. (2013). Meeting the Common Core State 

            Standards for students with autism: The challenge for educators. TEACHING

            Exceptional Children, 45(3), 6-13.

            This article explained the challenges and considerations that teachers will face in addressing the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts for students with autism.  The author describes the following three psychological theories and their implications with autism: delayed theory of mind, weak central coherence, and impaired executive function.  The lack of theory of mind relates to the inability to understand the feelings and intentions of others around you.  This applies to CCSS when students with autism have difficulty understanding a character’s motives.  In addition, the weak central coherence relates to students’ abilities to focus on a specific detail in the text, like a minor character of a horse, but not grasp the big picture ideas.  The impaired executive functioning of students would be relevant to prioritizing, learning new strategies, and organization.  Therefore, teachers need to assist students in addressing these concerns through accommodations in the classroom.

            I found that the Social Story aspect of this article definitely related to the Autism Module.  The teacher used a Social Story to teach the student about the particular character’s thoughts and feelings during the reading.  It allowed the student to use a familiar behavior strategy as a way to access curriculum at the grade level state standards.  Another strategy addressed was using Comic Strip Conversations to help a student understand a charter’s perspective.  The article related to the book, because it mentioned that students with ASD generally do not seek help from peers.  The author suggests using Peer Mediated Instruction and Intervention (PMII) as a way for students to help the student seek help by identifying behaviors that the child might display when he is in need of assistance.  Although I do not teach any students with ASD, I felt that the PMII model would be useful in helping students who have trouble beginning a task.  I could position the students’ seats so that a responsible student could monitor another student to see if he or she has her materials ready, such as a graphing calculator or pencil.

            I found the article to be very useful, because it reaffirmed many of the strategies given in the Autism Module.  In particular, the social narratives seem to be good ways for students with autism to relate to a particular text’s characters.  The hope is that the skills will assist students with disabilities in understanding their peer’s motives and feelings as well.  I liked how the author addressed the need for students with ASD to use graphic organizers as a means to initiate a difficult task of writing a response to a question.  The example included a para-educator helping the student begin the task by allowing the student to use his sensory tools while planning his paragraphs.