Fifteen-year-old Thomas receives special
education services to provide support for his emotional difficulties and learning
disabilities. He is in learning center classrooms for language arts, reading,
and social skills. He is in the regular classroom for specials, lunch, math,
social studies, and science.
Thomas's Tourette's Syndrome manifests itself in reading and
language arts, and in an emotional disturbance. Symptoms of Tourette's lead
him to display distracting tics and to vocalize curses during the usual course
of the day. This sometimes causes his classmates to make uncomplimentary comments.
His emotional and learning disabilities often lead to frustrating academic
and social situations. When he becomes frustrate, he often throws objects
(books, pencils), turns over furniture (chairs or tables), and curses obscenitites
at the adults and other students present.
Likely antecedents to the behavior include academic frustration
and social ridicule by peers. When Thomas acts out, he is typically removed
from the situation. It is believed that this behavior allos him to escape
from a frustrating situation. This problem has never occurred in the resource
room for students with emotional disturbances. Parents report that it rarely
occurs at home, but that he was asked not to return to the local YMCA after
an outburst.
Replacement behavior intervention: Thomas will work with his
resource room teacher to verbally identify and describe the physical signs
that he experiences when he is becoming angry. He will begin to recognize
when he is becoming angry and will seek the assistance of an adult rather
than acting out 100% of the time. The resource room teacher will model thinking
aloud using a role-play situation in which she becomes angry. She will identify
why she thinks she's angry and will think out loud about all the possible
ways to deal with her anger. She will model choosing an option that helps
her reduce her anger in acceptable ways.
Instructional intervention:
1. Thomas will be given the opportunity to respond to academic questions verbally
(either aloud or on a tape recorder). He will never be asked to read aloud
in class unless he asks to. He will be given audio tapes with the written
materials read aloud on them, or work in cooperative groups in which other
students read the written materials aloud.
2. Thomas's classmates will be taught about Tourette's syndrome and will be
given the opportunity to ask questions of experts (including Thomas, if he
feels comfortable) about the syndrome.
In a crisis, should Thomas have a behavior outburst, the resource
room teacher will be called in to help.
(Adapted from http://cecp.air.org/fba/problembehavior3/appendixb1.htm)
Timmy is an sixteen-year old ninth grader.
He is eligible for special education services, due to a traumatic brain injury
that occurred two years ago. His placement is in his general education classroom
with his peers. Since he has lived in this school district most of his life,
the students in all of his classes are life-long friends and very supportive
of Timmy, in regard to his disability. Timmy participates in general education
physical education with the exception of the specific class periods involving
contact sports. Due to concerns about further head injury, Timmy participates
in an adaptive physical education class during these activities. Timmy is
able to learn new skills in all subjects and requires a minimum of accommodations
to participate in his general education classes. Because of a visual perceptual
deficit related to the traumatic brain injury, he is unable to copy any work
from the chalkboard, so his teachers must prepare worksheets for him to use.
The primary issue with Timmy’s ability to keep up with his classmates
is the retention of skills, specifically math skills after any lapse of daily
work. Timmy understands this issue and is willing to complete a daily review
of algebraic manipulations, multiplication, and division, reinforcing the
retention of these particular skills. These activities are accomplished in
addition to the normal class work in mathematics. Timmy is provided with a
calculator in order to perform the mathematical problems. A paraprofessional
in Timmy’s class checks the daily review for accuracy each day. The paraprofessional,
the general education teacher and the special education teacher of record
have noticed that each Monday, Timmy has more mistakes on the review than
any other day of the week. Because of this, Timmy now takes review activities
home to do on weekends and over short school breaks. Although his parents
work with him on the reviews, the parents and the teachers have noticed that
the "attending school" atmosphere appears to make a difference.
The documentation from the previous IEP year indicates that Timmy required
the services of a math resource teacher for almost two months at the beginning
of the year so that he could "catch up" to where he was when school
ended for summer recess.
The comprehensive team has determined that Timmy’s regression
in skill level and the significant time of recoupment indicates that he should
participate in ESY services. The school has a summer program. The math classes
focus on math skill building and are attended by children who are having difficulty
in mastering skills as well as children who are challenged by math games.
The team is recommending that Timmy attend summer school to prevent the significant
regression of skills and to avoid a long recoupment period at the beginning
of the next school year. During the break before and after the summer school
session, the math teacher will make weekly home visits to assess Timmy’s maintenance
of skills. Timmy’s parents have requested and will receive teacher prepared
materials so that they can work with Timmy.
(Adapted from http://www.geocities.com/fishstep/IndianaESY.html)
Simon is seventeen years old. He has a severe
to profound bilateral sensorineural hearing loss. His hearing loss was detected
when he was eight months old and he has worn two hearing aids since this time.
He uses his hearing aids well and wears them consistently. Upon entering elementary
school, Simon started to wear an FM radio frequency system. He uses this system
in the classroom environment. Simon uses speech to communicate and relies
heavily on speech reading cues to access familiar information. New or unfamiliar
information is more difficult for Simon to access and comprehend. Simon relies
on signed communication at these times.
Simon has been ascertained as requiring specialized educational
support from a teacher of the deaf. A visiting advisory teacher provides this
support to Simon, his general education teachers, and parents on a regular
basis. Simon is placed in general education classes, and receives occasional,
but not daily, support from the visiting teacher. This support includes: monitoring
Simon's performance, consulting with Simon's teachers and parents, providing
advice on appropriate resources and appropriate modifications to Simon's general
education coursework, and sharing the development and implementation of Simon's
program.
(Adapted from http://education.qld.gov.au/curriculum/learning/students/disabilities/practice/ieps/iisamp2.pdf)
Marci is a 15 year-old with learning disabilities
who attends her local secondary school. She requires specialist educational
support and visits the resource room five periods per week (roughly once a
day) for one-on-one instruction and assistance with homework and assignments.
When required, she also receives in-class support from resource room staff,
but this must be scheduled in advance by the general education teacher, and
not all requests can be accommodated. As Marci will be exiting school in three
years, she has now entered the transition phase of her education. The negotiated
goals aim to provide Marci with skills necessary to access post-secondary
school options.
Goal statements:
Communication - Given appropriate stimulation (e.g., open-ended
questions or visual prompts), to speak consistently in short sentences of
approximately 4-6 words when conversing with peers or adults.
Self-direction - Given a prepared weekly timetable, coded materials,
and a weekly syllabus for each class that her teachers give her, to be punctual
for classes and have necessary materials 80% of the time.
Literacy - To edit her own writing independently with 60% accuracy
in the following selected punctuation and spelling areas: capitals and full
stops, words from individual vocabulary lists that her teachers prepare and
give to her weekly.
Numeracy - To independently add and subtract numbers of up to
four digits (including money) using a calculator and with 90% accuracy. Her
math teacher will prepare weekly worksheets that correspond to material covered
concurrently in math class.
Key strategies and monitoring procedures for all classes and
general education teachers:
Monitor weekly progress by providing once-weekly progress report for each
class. Each teacher should collect signed weekly syllabus and provide feedback
to Marci each Friday. Teachers should also prompt Marci about her next class
at the end of their class. English teacher should collect and analyze dated
work samples at least monthly, and conduct a formal test on two occasions
each semester. Math teacher should initially supervise calculator work. Math
teacher should also correct work on prepared weekly worksheets and provide
feedback.
(Adapted from http://education.qld.gov.au/curriculum/learning/students/disabilities/practice/ieps/iisamp2.pdf)
Jeannette has type
1 diabetes. Diabetes is a very serious disease for which there is no cure.
The student’s pancreas does not produce insulin, a hormone which is needed
in order for sugar to move from the blood stream to the cells, the process
by which food provides energy for the body. Therefore, someone with type 1
diabetes must take insulin through shots each day or by wearing an insulin
pump. However, insulin taken in this manner does not cure diabetes and may
cause the student’s blood sugar level to become dangerously low. People with
diabetes must carefully balance food, insulin intake, and activity level to
try to avoid dangerously high or dangerously low blood sugar levels.
In order for the student to avoid the serious short and long
term complications of blood sugar levels that are either too high or too low,
this Section 504 Plan, and the accompanying Health Plan, must be carefully
followed and strictly adhered to by responsible school personnel.
Accommodations for tests and classroom work:
° If the student is affected by high or low blood glucose levels at the
time of regular testing, the student will be permitted to take the test at
another time without penalty.
° If the student needs to take breaks to use the water fountain or bathroom,
do a blood glucose test, or to treat hypoglycemia or hyperglycemia during
a test, the student will be given extra time to finish the test without penalty.
° The student will be permitted to have extra time to finish classroom
work if the student is affected by high or low blood glucose levels or needs
to take breaks to use the water fountain or bathroom, do a blood glucose test,
or to treat hypoglycemia or hyperglycemia without penalty.
° The student shall be given instruction to help him/her make up any classroom
time missed due to diabetes care without penalty.
° The student shall not be penalized for absences required for medical
appointments and/or for illness.
(Adapted from http://www.dredf.org/section504.html)
Fifteen-year-old Antonio is new to the school
this year. In addition to speaking English as a second language, Antonio has
a visual disability that limits his ability to see printed text. During class
sessions where the assignment is to work in texts and activity books, Antonio
uses a magnification device. The IEP team agrees that Antonio should be able
to use his magnification device for the statewide test. They also note that
Antonio tends to respond better on tests when they are presented in his first
language, Spanish.
After much discussion, the team decides that Antonio will use
the following accommodations: offer Antonio the test in Spanish, have the
test pre- recorded on audiotape, allow the use of a magnification device,
and permit directions to be reread and restated in Spanish.
(Adapted from http://www.teachervision.com/lesson-plans/lesson-4133.html)
Claudia is a ninth grader who was retained
in first grade. She has been identified as learning disabled in written communication
and basic reading skills. She receives 10 hours of special education services
per week and spends the remainder of her school days in regular education.
She has average ability, excellent auditory comprehension, but her short-term
auditory memory is weak. She reads on third grade level and receives individual
reading instruction daily. For math, science and social studies, she is in
a general education classroom. Her writing is hampered by inability to spell.
She has wonderful ideas and can communicate well. She uses a tape recorder
to record ideas, and her writing skills are improving with reading. She has
low self-esteem and reluctantly asks for and accepts help from teachers. Her
attention to task is above average. She participates in class activities and
discussion.
Due to significant delays in reading/language arts, and memory
skills, the following accommodations are recommended:
Setting - general education classroom with additional school support person
available if needed
Equipment - Use of mechanical speller
Presentation - Verbatim repetition of scripted directions, as needed. Verbatim
reading of selected sections of test or vocabulary.
Response - For constructed response (brief or extended) items, student tapes
response for later verbatim transcription by school personnel.
(Adapted from http://www.mdk12.org/practices/ensure/requirements/appendixa.html#case_study2)
Elan is a personable individual who shows
good attention and task orientation for very short periods of time. Elan has
been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. His emotional and academic availability
is variable and quite unpredictable. Physical complaints are often present
both in and out of school. Presently Elan has a difficult time getting up
in the morning, and he is often late, or does not come to school at all. He
can appear tired, bored, irritable, and explosive and has poor judgment and
decision-making skills. Other times, Elan can act extremely energetic (needs
to move), he can be talkative and distractible. He can be extremely impulsive.
Elan has difficulty expressing his feelings and frustrations,
and he often has negative and hopeless thoughts. When unable to do something
others might consider simple, he feels a sense of failure. He does not have
good problem-solving skills or stress management techniques. He often resorts
to self-inflicted wounds and talks of suicide. Elan's concentration and ability
to attend and focus can be extremely impaired because of his limited alertness
and attendance difficulties. His lack of interpersonal skills cause peer difficulties
and limits his ability to establish healthy relationships with his peers and
adults. At other times--usually when he has high energy levels (he is becoming
more manic)--he feels his understanding is superior to that of his classmates
and that this negates his need to complete assignments. During these times,
he can be disrespectful to adults, oppositional, and provoking to his peers.
Currently Elan is very compliant about taking his medications,
and he has the desire to do what it takes to manage his disorder. Consistent
positive understanding and intervention is necessary for improving his self-esteem
and allowing him to be accepted through his good and bad times. Staying calm
and speaking to him in a reassuring tone is a must. Elan is in need of a smaller,
very structured setting that would be sensitive to his psychosocial needs.
He presently does not do well with change or too much environmental stimulation.
Counseling and support services such as a safe place and/or a person to go
to when he feels overwhelmed or is having negative thoughts is necessary.
A support group with like peers would be ideal if available. Flexibility in
this plan is a must.
Goals/accommodations/modifications relevant to regular education
instruction:
Goal - Elan will achieve grade-level work with a success ratio of four out
of five assignments completed in all classes.
Objectives:
° When given an assignment, Elan will complete four out of five of them,
accurately, legibly, and on time.
° Elan will ask for extended time, modified work, etc. when he feels overwhelmed.
(Parent will have to do this initially.)
° Elan will accept redirection cues from the teacher when off task.
° Elan will use a homework notebook daily to record all assignments. Teachers
will check for accuracy and sign. Parent will sign to verify homework is completed.
Modifications necessary at this time -
A. Assignments will be broken down into manageable parts with clear and simple
directions, given one at a time.
B. Preparation for transitions.
C. Ensure clarity of understanding and alertness.
D. Allow most difficult subjects to be taken in the afternoon when he is most
alert.
E. Extra time on tests, class work, and homework.
F. Allowances made for unpredictable mood swings and skill functioning.
G. All staff involved with Elan will be provided with training on bipolar
disorder.
H. Awareness of potential victimization from other students.
I. In extreme cases where Elan gets out of control and may do something impulsive
or dangerous, a crisis intervention plan will be implemented.
J. Positive praise and redirection.
K. Report any suicidal comments to counselor/psychologist immediately.
L. If there are ever times when Elan's mood disorder makes it impossible for
him to attend school for an extended period of time, home instruction will
be provided to assist him in keeping up with his academics.
M. An aide will be placed within Elan's classroom to ensure his well-being.
The aide will assist the teacher with all the students who need it also. Since
Elan does not do well with unstructured times, such as lunch and recess, the
aide will accompany him as a buddy during those times, without drawing undue
attention to him.
(Adapted from The Bipolar Child by Demitri Papolos, M.D. and Janice Papolos
(Broadway Books, 2000))
Jack is a 9th grade student who has learning
disabilities in reading and writing. He is in a regular 9th grade class that
is team-taught by a general education teacher and a special education teacher.
Modifications and accommodations provided for Jack’s daily school routine
(and when he takes state or district-wide tests) include the following:
° Jack will have shorter reading and writing assignments.
° Jack’s textbooks will be based upon the 9th grade curriculum but at
his independent reading level (4th grade).
° Jack will have test questions read/explained to him, when he asks.
° Jack will give his answers to essay-type questions by speaking, rather
than writing them down.
(Adapted from http://www.nichcy.org/pubs/parent/pa12txt.htm)
Jessica is an eleventh grader with no retention
history. She does not have a learning disability. However, she has been identified
as severely emotionally disturbed. Her emotional difficulties are manifested
with bipolar mental disorders. Usually, her behavior is characterized as depressed;
however, she may become verbally abusive if frustrated. She is integrated
into a regular class for mathematics and English. She has special education
placement for science and social studies. She has poor written language skills
and tends to process information in both Spanish and English. She socializes
well with peers. She can be argumentative with adult authority figures. When
her behavior is verbally abusive, she may be isolated. During small group
activities, she should be placed in a group where she will succeed. Her written
assignments should be read aloud by her for clarification to the teacher.
Due to significant delays in written language skills and difficulty in processing
new information, the following accommodations are recommended:
Scheduling - Extra response and processing time.
Setting - General education classroom with additional school support person
as necessary, or small group setting with special education teacher as examiner.
Equipment - Published bilingual dictionary (a synonym dictionary, without
definitions, in the student's native language).
Presentation - Verbatim reading of scripted directions, as needed.
(Adapted from http://www.mdk12.org/practices/ensure/requirements/appendixa.html#case_study3)
This is Quan's situation....
This is Erica's situation....
Brittany is a conscientious high school student
with visual-motor coordination difficulties. In the classroom, her disability
interferes with her ability to transfer information from the chalkboard or
overhead to a paper on her desk. It also is hard for her to copy information
from a book onto a piece of paper; typically, she loses her place in the book.
One of the accommodations that Brittany's teachers have found helpful is to
let Brittany write all answers in her textbook or activity book, rather than
on a separate sheet. Her teachers also find it helpful to provide Brittary with a notetakeing
guide, and to seat her near a classmate who can assist her with deciding what to write down.
Brittany's IEP team uses this information when considering possible
accommodations for Brittany on the upcoming state assessment. The team has decided
there is sufficient evidence that Brittany will not be able to track from
a test booklet to a test response form.
Because Brittany has been successful using the response accommodation
of marking in the actual booklet, the team has decided this also is an appropriate
accommodation for her on the state test.
(Adapted from http://www.teachervision.com/lesson-plans/lesson-4133.html)
Last revised: April 19, 2003