7B Corey Creamer--- Response to Niocle Yozwiak LRE

I really enjoyed your research paper on least restrictive environment. Your research was fantastic, and you brought up so many valid points on the necessity of teaching special education students in the least restrictive environment.

I enjoyed the section of your essay where you discussed the negatives of placing special education students in an isolated classroom. Special needs students who are placed in a “specialized learning classroom” will often feel isolated from their peers, and that is the last thing we want to see for our students. The special needs children that I currently teach are placed into regular education classes with their peers, and this has had a countless number of benefits for each individual student. Many of my students now look forward to coming to school, unlike previous years. This can be attributed to my students being taught in the same classroom as their non-disabled peers.

I also enjoyed when you stated that students learn through integration with their disabled/non disabled peers. Without proper interaction, non-disabled students may judge disabled peers, bully them, or isolate them. With the use of least restrictive environment we place students in the proper classroom environment and promote the proper integration, which is a win-win scenario.

The quote you used sums it up best…… "Inclusive education does not give up on slow learners, on the poor and the most vulnerable, on people who are differently abled. Neither does it discriminate in terms of culture and faith affiliation. Instead, it capitalizes on the diversity of individual learners to broaden perspectives and enrich the learning experience. It is about understanding other cultures, other faiths, and people who are different from us, with the aim of achieving greater global understanding and tolerance, and obtaining peace for our conflict-plagued world."  Through the use of inclusive education we are providing all students with the free and appropriate education they deserve. We are showing our students that caring and compassionate are important life-long lessons that can taught in the classroom. As I mentioned before as stated in the quote broadening perspectives make the classroom a positive environment that provides proper education and learning to all students regardless of disabilities, culture, and financial income.

7B- Danielle Hackett - Respone to Kelly Semple

Kelly,

                The topic of your paper, New Transitions, really caught my attention and is an area that really needs to have more attention focused on.  

                The paper was very thorough and most importantly included the current laws.  I like how you pointed out that all of the laws are constantly changing and that is causing confusion for educators.  I feel that when teachers can take a step back and look at the whole picture as you did in your paper, they clearly see what the problems are and what can be done to improve upon them.  The slides in your PowerPoint that covered early childhood intervention, self-advocacy, and transitional coordinators are very straightforward and gives very important information.

                You wrote of the crucial step of building a strong support system and I would hope that schools can have a system in place to help students with special needs access the resources available to them so that they can move forward in their lives.  I believe it is necessary that these support systems be developed while the child is in school so that the transition can be smooth.  Although these issues are usually addressed in a child's IEP, it seems that some students with disabilities are not getting all of the assistance they need.  I read an article on Disabilityscoop.com titled Feds: Transition Services In Need of Improvement which points out that transitions are very hard on families and students with special needs and a report by the Government Accountability Office finds the path to independence is overly complicated.

                Your paper definitely opened my eyes to an issue that one might not put much thought into and has made me aware of the issues faced by these young adults as they make these transitions in their lives.  Thank you and good job!

7B Self Selected Response to Kelly Semple By Dianne Flak

Kelly,
         I enjoyed reading your paper and have a sincere interest in the process of transitioning to independent life after high school. In addition to teaching middle school at a specialized school for autism, I have two part-time jobs working with adults with disabilities. In all cases the concept of transitioning  is dealt with on a daily basis. I feel blessed to be gaining experience with students, adults in supported employment, and those who work within the shelter employment system. One particularly interesting piece of information from your paper was that of the job application passport. I like the idea of the compact, yet practical design of the passport. The use of this passport gives the person an additional opportunity for independence. For many people, the process of filling out a job application can be a daunting task. The passport containing all pertinent information would allow the person the opportunity for independence while minimizing the assistance of the job coach or mentor co-worker. I believe it is of vital importance to stress the benefits of collaboration. When transitioning students, it is necessary to look to the community and social service agencies. Once a child has transitioned out of high school the task is not done. Issues such as housing, transportation, medical management, job acquisition and job retention are all needs which should  be monitored in order to gain the maximum extent of independence possible for an individual. Through my experience, I have realized that each phase of a persons life presents its own unique issues and challenges. The transitioning process is one that lasts a lifetime.

7B Amanda Barbone responding on Catherine Valantasis research topic

Catherine,
As I was browsing through to try and determine who's research paper I was going to choose and reflect on it was simple because when I seen you took a closer look on parent involvement I knew I wanted to see what views you researched as well as gathering some suggestions for my parents.  I couldn't agree with you more when you touched on how parents not only influence a child's education but behavior as well.  You are right, parent involvement could higher student achievement and behavior.  It is sad to say, but many of my students in my ED classroom have a tough home life and my one female student says almost on a daily basis that her mom never wanted a girl and that she only wanted boys.  As speaking with the parent directly about the affect her words have on her daughter are very influencing.  Through conversation with her mom, she realized how her involvement and word choice can play a huge role on her daughter education and behavior.  It wasn't nearly three weeks after the conversation with her mom that she told her daughter they were moving and that she didn't know what school she would be attending.  However, mom never gave her daughter a direct answer and is in limbo which directly has affected my student in a negative way.  My student struggles as it is with change, and dealing with her feelings, and the not knowing of schools and moving has turned her into a whirlwind and she has become very aggressive.
I felt like you did a very good job with looking at the different culture groups and how they view special education and how to prepare teachers for those differences.  I think it is very important as well as you mentioned in your paper and power point that teachers need be prepared and know background information on the student and his/her family cultures to know and understand.
Your power point was a nice way in summarizing the information in your research paper along with answering your five questions.  I like how you wrote your question and directly after answering it, this made it much easier to follow your topic changes.
Overall I feel you did a nice job!

Amanda Barbone

Blog 7B Jim Ihnat to Sandra Zeman

I enjoyed your paper and powerpoint presentation. I agree that teaching exceptional learners individually but testing them as a whole is a complex situation.  Modifications and accommodations are put into place by the IEP team to help students overcome the problems of taking standardized state assessments.  After all, isn't that what education has turned into, successfully taking standardized tests.  Long gone are the days when a teacher could teach something fun and out of the ordinary.  No now every lesson, test, presentation and so-on is geared to the standardized test.  Because of this, accommodations are put into place to assist exceptional learners.  I am in favor of accommodations, whether exceptional learner or not.  lets face it, even if one is not an exceptional learner, we all have something that we need that would help us.  Modifications on the other hand are more tricky.  My client that I work with in the 5th grade is supposed to have his math work modified to help him.  It's in his IEP, yet I rarely saw evidence of accommodations since I started working with him in the 3rd grade.  what about the students that do receive modifications, are they going to be overwhelmed and frustrated when it come time to take the state test?  Not every student that receives modifications also receives alternative assessment.  Help will always be given to those who need it, however a teacher needs to take initiative and work with the student to help them understand how thins are being modified and what type of accommodations they are receiving.

7B-Sandra Zeman to Kelly Semple

I absolutely loved your paper.  I feel that you were right on track with every step in the transition process.  I found that everything you shared was a crucial part of creating a successful transition for the student.

The step involving the student learning to advocate for themselves is so important to their future.   The student has to have a gradual release of responsibility of their life.  We can't shelter and coddle a child for 18 years and then expect them to go out into the real world one day and be successful.  Teaching them to become independent is a process and learning to advocate for themselves in important to the process.

I also agree that early intervention is needed to assist the student in the future.  And we have already learned that early intervention does not only mean when they are a small child.  It also includes interventions throughout their school years.  This will help them plan for an independent life and be prepared much more easily.

Perhaps the most important step mentioned was collaboration.  It is important to remember that every adult in that student's life has an interest in the transition process.  It is important to include parents, other educators, related service providers, and the student in the process.  The student will also benefit from those individuals remaining on the same page and keeping an open line of communication and collaboration throughout the transitioning time.

7B: Answers to Jonathan Bacak's 5 Questions by Karen Pavlansky

1. What are some instructional concepts in your school that teachers use when they are teaching inclusion classes?

There are three research based, proven strategies that I use in my inclusion classroom that could be used school wide, but has not been implemented.

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is the first strategy that I use with the general curriculum to ensure all students can access academic content information.  UDL provides a blueprint for creating instructional goals, methods, materials, and assessments that work for everyone, not a single, one-size-fits-all solution but rather flexible approaches that can be customized and adjusted for individual needs.  There are three elements of UDL.  First, multiple means of representation, which relates to the materials the teachers use to represent the content they are asking their students to learn.  Second, multiple means of action and expression, concerns how the materials provide alternative ways for student to demonstrate knowledge.  Third, multiple means of engagement, deals with how the materials take advantage of student interests and motivation to engage them in learning. 

The second strategy to benefit all students is Response to Intervention (RTI).  RTI is a means to determine whether any student, regardless of type of disability, needs more intensive instruction.  RTI is a multilayered system for struggling learners that provide increasingly intense levels of academic interventions and assessment.  CEC’s stance on RTI as a school-wide initiative, with special education as an explicit part of the framework, spanning both general and special education in collaboration with families.  The RTI process represents an inclusive partnership between all school personnel and families to identify and address the academic and behavioral needs of learners beginning as early as the preschool years. (CEC 2011)  RTI is a multi-tiered approach that may reduce the numbers of students referred for special education.  RTI promotes effective early intervention, provides diagnostic information to consider in the identification of a disability, and may reduce the impact of a disability on a child’s academic progress. 

Positive Behavior Support (PBS) is the third strategy.   Schools actually are required to have school-wide Positive Behavior System in place.  PBS is a systems-level, problem solving, data-based approach to reducing problem behavior, improving appropriate behavior and achieving important academic, social and communication outcomes for a particular student and for all students, throughout the school building.  Teachers instruct students to replace their problem behavior with appropriate behavior, enabling them to benefit much more effectively from the general curriculum.  Our school formed a committee (I was a member) and we developed a school wide PBS plan.  We met for many hours and had everything in place to begin implementation at the start of this school year.   A few teachers complained to the administrator and it was nixed.  

All three of these strategies work and require very little cost.  Even if schools are not utilizing them school wide, individual teachers can implement them within their classroom. 

 2. In your opinion, is the concept of inclusion the best way to educate students with disabilities?

In my opinion, I think inclusion is the best way to educate most of students with disabilities.  It provides them with access to the general curriculum.  With the change in the common core standards to better prepare students by having a curriculum that is geared towards college and career readiness beginning in Kindergarten through 12^th grade.  Inclusion allows students this opportunity for preparation for transition beyond high school.  Your research paper pointed out that inclusion students not only learn the general curriculum, but inclusion tries to build the self-confidence of the child. “Having students with a disability with the general population of students can motivate them to work harder, be more involved in group activities, and participate more in general lecture (Brandes & Crowson, 2010)”.   But I also agree that there are certain situations where inclusion isn’t the best for some students with certain disabilities.  Ultimately, it comes down to the families, schools and all the educators involved to make the determination for inclusion. My opinion also is that in the early childhood years, inclusion is the best placement for all students with disabilities.  The development of the whole child, socially, emotionally, and academically is such an evolution process that unless you try whom really knows what the capacity of development is for any child. 

 3. What are some of the co-teaching models that are used in your school systems? Are they effective? Give examples and support your answer.

Co-teaching is a huge disappointment in my school building.  I say building because I am aware that co-teaching is working in our intermediate and middle school buildings.  The special education teachers and general educators have been through professional development for co-teaching, but what they actually do is quite different and disappointing.   They often just have one of the two teachers teaching while the other one tends to unrelated jobs or duties, preparing lessons and or materials. Unfortunately, there isn’t any accountability of what should be happening but isn’t.  I believe in co-teaching and its effectiveness in best serving all students but it just isn’t happening in my school. 

 4. How can we as educators change the negative criticism about inclusion that is brought upon from society?

I think to change the criticism there has to be a collaboration of administration, general educators, special educators and families of students with exceptionalities.  The system of inclusion can and does work.  The problem, which leads to criticism, is that inclusion and the use of best practices and full collaboration isn’t happening.  Students with disabilities are being placed in the general education classrooms and teachers aren’t receiving professional development or the support services necessary for success.  Funding is the other issue that prevents many of inclusion students from being serviced properly. 

5. What are some activities that we as educators can use to boost the morale of students with disabilities in the classroom? 

Schools thrive with diverse student populations when there is fairness and equity for all.   The school educators and administration need to have a collaboration and positive school morale to begin with.  When teachers are stressed out over working conditions, lack of support and the added demands of the educational process with extra duties it can be demoralizing for everyone.  Administrators can do a lot to alleviate much of this. 

Having special activities that build on getting to know each and every student really could boost the morale.  It also provides an opportunity to really discover who everyone really is and building relationships.  Themed days can be another way to get everyone involved and in a fun way.  Any type of extra social activity can be a lot of fun and get everyone involved in knowing each other in a better way.  Think Fun!  Think Positive! 

7B: Courtney Cruz Response to Sandy Zeman

Fair Test Taking Strategies for Students with Exceptional Learning Needs

I was very interested in your topic because I have a class of 1-3 graders and every year I give the OAA to my group of 3^rd graders and I see the pain that it causes them.  I was curious to see what kinds of fair test taking strategies you would address.

I read how you talked about giving students alternative assessments on state testing.  You named three alternative assessments: performance, authentic, and portfolio.  These are great methods in which to allow students with exceptional needs to be successful.

Unfortunately, the state does not make it easy to give these.  There is a requirement of a percentage of the students in a given school population that can take the alternative assessment.  It is not just an IEP team’s job (though I wish it was).  Because my school has a population of 60 special education students (most of which I could probably give cause for taking an alternative assessment or complete a student portfolio), however, the state tells us we are only allowed to have approx. 2% of the population take that alternative assessment and it ends up being the students with the lowest IQ scores. 

I really liked how you addressed the difference between a modification and an accommodation.  At times, in my career I have seen the need to remind teachers of this, especially at the general ed. level.  In fact, when I first began teaching in the field of special education I, too, struggled to understand the difference between the two.  Now, after writing IEPs for over 6 years, I truly see the need even to teach parents about the difference. 

I must agree with you about the positive and negative impact on test scores when it comes to accommodations.  I have witnessed both.  At my school, we have begun practicing the OAA once a month at my school, though I don’t like how it takes away from the teaching time, it is benefiting my students in understanding strategies in taking the test.  None of my students read on grade level, in fact, there aren’t many independent readers until the 4^th/5^th grade which makes it so difficult to take tests.  However, being able to read the questions aloud really gives them a chance.  So, I am 100% for accommodations for all students, but those who write the IEPs really do need to make them fit the need of the child!

Thank you so much for sharing your research.  

7B- Christina Neeley-Response to Amanda Barbone

     Assistive Technology for Students with Exceptional Learning Needs is a topic that intrigues me, it is the wave of the future.  I feel like every teacher that I correspond with is trying to write grants for I-pads in the classroom because they enhance an exceptional learners educational experiences.  I was drawn to your topic because I was curious as to what research had to say about this ever growing subject.

     As I read your paper I appreciated the different categories throughout.  It kept me interested and allowed me to jump right to areas of interest.  Your PowerPoint was informative and was a nice accompaniment to your paper.

     I was not surprised to find out that colleges do not prepare students to use assistive technology in the classroom.  By requiring only one 3 credit hour course does not offer enough information to back up researchers claims to the amended IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) in 1997.  The amendment put force onto teachers, and schools to consider more use of AT to fulfill the implementation of a child’s IEP (Individualize Education Plan) to help children reach their full potential (Dalton, 2002).

     I was surprised to find out that The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) now requires all elementary and secondary schools to provide assistive technology when two conditions are met, an education professional deems it necessary, and the technology is written into the child’s Individual Education Plan (IEP)—every child in Special Education receives an IEP (Raskind, 2000).  If it is medically necessary, the child’s insurance will pay for it if the school does not have funds available.  It is now a student’s right to use assistive technology when it is in the best interest of the child and fulfilling their IEP goals.  Today schools do not have a choice and they are required to provide the assistive technology needed to assist any child and obey by what the child needs according to his/her IEP plan. 

     Thank you for sharing this wonderful topic, I found it informative and enlightening as an educator of several exceptional learners.  I look forward to learning more about the technology that will assist the students in my classroom.

Blog Post 7B- Catherine Valantasis- In response to Kelly Semple

New Transitions, written by Kelly Semple, aims to explain the topic of post-secondary transitions for students with exceptional learning needs. Within the world of special education, this seems to be somewhat of a hot topic in terms of how to appropriately prepare our exceptional learners for their future. This research discusses what special educators can do in order to further help their students transition successfully, what federal and state laws have been put into place, and how students can help themselves by advocating for themselves.

I agree with the fact that post-secondary training should be based on an individual's needs, as well as a child's strengths, preferences, and interests. If you give exceptional learners the chance to receive training in an area that they are interested in, they will enjoy the work that they are doing. I believe that  Kelly was correct when she stated that early intervention is the most important factor in building a stable foundation for our exceptional learners. If special educators help exceptional learners to understand their strengths and the nature of their disability, they will then have a greater awareness of themselves in order to be their own advocates.

As a preschool teacher, I understand the importance of laying a strong foundation in order for my students to succeed. I often think about where my students will be in the next five, ten, or fifteen years. My concern for their success comes from the fact that some parents do not understand the importance of promoting independence in their children's lives. I have come to understand that I must encourage my students' parents to think about their children's future and how they can help their children succeed. It is crucial that we think of post-secondary transitions from the time that an exceptional learner enters school in order to provide them with the skills and knowledge to be successful in all of their endeavors.

7B: Nicole's Response to Kelly Bujdos; TBI

Dear Kelly Bujdos,

            I really enjoyed reading your paper, power point, and discussion questions on traumatic brain injuries.  When I worked in Lexington, Kentucky at a speech clinic, I worked with many young adults that obtained their brain injury because of a car accident during their high school years.  When working there, I asked the workers what are some of the reasons that they have so many clients with traumatic brain injuries due to car accidents and their response was in Kentucky there is no law that requires individuals to wear helmets while operating a motorcycle.  I thought that this was very interesting that probably half of their clients did obtain their injury because of not wearing a helmet while operating a motorcycle.  I know you mentioned that transportation accidents are 50% of the top causes in the United States and that statistic does follow their client history too.

            Also while working with these individuals, many of the tasks that we worked on in therapy sessions involved activities that would help them to live on their own, work on organization skills, and interact with peers.  One of the top activities that we worked on was how to carry on a conversation and for the client to ask the questions and initiate the conversation.

            When looking over your power point and research paper, I really enjoyed how you mentioned different strategies for math, writing, and reading.  I think that it is important for teachers to understand that when an individual has a traumatic brain injury, not everyone is the same.  The individual needs to have their own educational plan and they can learn through visual, auditory, and kinesthetic.  In addition to this, you mentioned lock-in memory strategies which are rehearsal, grouping, and association strategies.  I believe that this is important for these individuals because they often forget what they just learned and need to use some type of strategy to help them.  During our therapy sessions, we would have a planner that they would write in to list all of the activities that they worked on that day.  Before leaving the facility, the front desk would ask what they learned and if they could not remember they knew to take out their planner.   

            Overall, you did a really nice job.  Your paper was well-written and I enjoyed reading about the strategies that can be used by teacher to enhance the students learning.  

7B – Raymond Marks – Response to Catherine Valantasis

Catherine,

I enjoyed your research on this topic. It is important that we as educators take into account the cultural background of all of our students, but we must be especially aware and sensitive to those of our students with special needs. In many cases, the school setting is where parents learn that their child is in need of special education. In some cases, like Asian-Americans, as you mention, that fact could be minimized, with the expectation that their child will conform to cultural norms. In others, especially in impoverished areas, parents might feel intimidated by the system, as they might not feel they have the intellectual capital necessary to ask questions.

Part of the difficulty in breaking through these cultural barriers may also be historic: In Chapter five of "Education for All," minorities, specifically African-Americans, Latino-Americans, and Native Americans have all experienced discrimination in our Education System, and sadly, this continues to a certain extent today. You only need to look at case law - Johnson v. San Francisco Unified School District (1971), Larry P. v. Riles (1972), Diana v. California State Board of Education (1970), and Guadalupe Organization v. Tempe Elementary School District (1972) - to see discrimination in the system. And before you dismiss those cases as being too far in the past, remember, many of those who were affected by these rulings are of an age to have children in school today, and cultural memories run deep.As well, Congress has admitted that minorities are still disproportionately represented to this day.

So, how do we bridge that trust gap? Your suggestions go a long way toward fostering that trust between parent - teacher and parent - administration that is so critical to helping the student. I especially liked the suggestion that the teacher learn just a few simple phrases in a parent's language can go a long way in establishing rapport, which can eventually bring trust. I had an experience like that with a student I was tutoring to take the SAT. She went to a Private Academy in Massachusetts, which are notoriously stressful, and on top of that, she was an exchange student from Germany. (As a bit more background, I had taken German in High School, about 10 years before our meeting). As English was not her native tongue, she was having difficulty with the Verbal Part of the exam. One of the word pairs in the comparison portion of the test was "Bat:Mammal", and she would have to choose the answer that showed the same relationship.She was stuck on "bat."  It could have been that it was spring, and baseball was beginning, coupled with the issue that the word has multiple meanings, but she could not make the relationship work.  I dug into my memories - "surely there is a word for bat" - and I remembered (die fledermaus).  When I relayed the word, her face lit up, and she was able to complete the task. Prior to our subsequent meetings I would look ahead at the lesson plan, to see if there were words that might cause an issue.  If there were, I would attempt to translate the word or phrase. I would also carry a German/English dictionary to help with the words I might have missed. As a result, my student and I had great sessions, and she performed quite well on the test.  Because I was willing to exert some effort, she became more interested in succeeding and engaged me with more enthusiasm. My point is thus: just by making the effort, you are showing respect to those parents and their culture, from which you can build trust and bridge the cultural divide.

Once again, I really enjoyed your work! It seems to me that you have a great future ahead of you.  Good Luck!

BLOG 7B (Kelly Semple)

A perspective on:  The Concept of Least Restrictive Environment by, Nicole Yozzwiak

          I was just curious if reading these types concepts get easier when you teach?  I understand but is it innate – knowing the concepts and laws or is it impractical for teachers to interact with student and see were the concepts fit?

            It almost seems as if excessive to take an idea mainstreaming and tweak it, call it something else inclusion principle and tweak it again and call it Least Restrictive Environment (LRE).  I keep thinking I am missing the idea. "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet", what matters is what something is, not what it is called and this seems to be where I get hung up.   Am I getting too hung up on the names and missing the concepts?  Since I don’t teach it is really hard for me to answer this question and no matter how much I study LRE is still mainstreaming, because that is how I was initially taught the concept.   Of course over time anything will evolve that is nature so why does it have to be renamed or is it that much of a difference?  Teachers where the same 20 or so years ago, they wanted to teach and usually always had the students best interest at heart.   

            The Idea of where can individuals can be placed, now that concept has evolved immensely. The longevity of people of course has extended and with that comes the concept “now what”, so there was a push to reevaluate how to educate and what works best for the whole.   

            Finally, I wanted to briefly address the thought of inclusion and how it benefits “typical students”.  I know for a fact that teenagers typical or not, are teenagers and when you combine them there are benefits but there are also setbacks.  It is not uncommon to have a disabled teenager to develop an interest in a typical teenager it just seems more difficult trying to explain to a disabled teenager why the prom queen doesn’t like him or vice a verse. Also, the older I get it seems unrealistic to see the glass half full; most individuals are products of genetics.  It takes an extraordinary teacher to teach humility and compassion.

            Information presented was abundant and helpful.  Transitioning from topic to topic was effortless.  Hopefully, the information will become second nature.

Blog #7A – A response to: Johnathan Bacak – An Investigation About How Inclusion Benefits Students with Disabilities in the Classroom and Society 

            First and foremost, I apologize for my tardiness.  I meant no disrespect and have no excusable reason but I am very sorry.  I believe in most of our projects I have a disadvantage because I am not a teacher nor have I been in the educational system in anyway.

            With that being said, I felt overall your paper was a tough read, mainstreaming and inclusion although different in “technical definition” are from the outside looking in the same.  Mainstreaming is the dated ideology of inclusion, with many improvements, broader eccentrics and an introduction of new methods. 

            Parental Involvement, most of the time is non-existent by the time a child gets to third or fourth grade the parents and/or caregivers are very frustrated.  Inclusion requires a huge support system and without the proper early educational guidance parents are confused, frustrated and financially encumbered.  The option of transition with parental involvement is one of the last steps of inclusion. Most caregivers and/or family members are inundated with information that would intimate the most educated, well rested, holistic individual.  I am confused is inclusion preparing the student and their families for higher education or basic life skills?

            A child’s confidence is a delicate structure and it is proven that confidence is built by achieving stated goals. I see how you related the increased confidence with increased responsibility and academic achievements.  However, I am not sure if you are stating inclusion is best practice if it contributes to bullying and isolation.  Is it a reality for a child with cognitive disabilities to survive in the general education after middle school?

            “Best Practice” seems to involve the teachers being an omnipotent.  The new academic standards for teachers are overwhelming and to compound the workload we expect them to collaborate all of the systems by inclusion?  How does that work, with lack of personal, school monies and time? 

            Overall I felt your paper transitioned well and addressed important topics.   Nevertheless, I felt it was contradicting and aloof?  Does it really work, is it a possibility that teachers can be all encompassing and collaborate with families, support services and other teachers?  I realize that the information is negating and it is child by child. I felt your resources where abundant and citing was very ingenious

7A Corey Creamer-- Response to Kelly Semple; New Transitions

Kelly,

I really enjoyed reading your paper on New Transitions. I think it is very important as educators we not only teach the children in our classroom’s but focus on teaching them skills that will translate and be successful after the classroom learning is over. I enjoyed learning about the three transitional ideas considered to be extremely important…….

1.      Coordinated Set of activities

2.      Outcome-oriented process

3.      The student’s preferences and interests

I found it interesting in your resource that Ohio has exceeded the requirements of the Federal government on the issue of transition and is requiring more detailed programs that will better provide the transition support and skills needed by our special education students. Are other states exceeding the transition requirements set forth by the Federal government? A quality idea you provided is the use of “self-checking” by the student, which means he/she will check their own behavior/attitude in specific situations in and out of the classroom environment. Would you regard “self-checking” and effective strategy?

I found the section of your paper discussing developing “21^st” century skills very innovative. Special education students must develop what are known as the four C’s to be successful from transitioning from high school to post secondary education and the workforce.  Besides these four C’s, is there any other terms that you would coin important for better preparing our special education students for transition?

1. Commute

2. Collaborate

3. Critical Thinking

4. Creativity

I was unaware of the monumental tasks that are faced by many area transitional coordinators.  What suggestions do you have for limiting the workload of these coordinators? Although the state of Ohio currently requires transitions be implemented from age 14 and on…. Do you think that teachers should begin implementing post secondary transitions before the age of 14? Could an extra year or so of transition make a big difference in preparing the children for life after high school?

Outside of a few spelling/grammar/alignment issues your paper was very interesting and very research oriented. I like that you were very thorough with your sources, and had plenty of recent resources to back up the research that was provided. I thought your discussion questions were also answered very thoroughly in your paper as well. Stellar work!

Blog Post 7A- Sandra Zeman's Response to Jim Ihnat

I absolutely loved the way you began your paper.  It was extremely interesting and grabbed my attention as soon as I began reading.  It made me want to hear more.  I found Dr. Wolfensberger's idea of normalization to be crucial to the advancement of the "mentally retarded."  Although it can be argued that the idea is obsolete, I still feel that it is important to praise Dr. Wolfensberger and his courage to bring such an important issue to light.  There was no rights for people with intellectual disabilities at this time and it was the accepted norm to institutionalize them and hide them away from society.  Although there were advocated for these individuals, such as their parents and family, there was nothing being done and no changes in the foreseeable future to change how they were treated. 

I liked the idea of SRV that Dr. Wolfensberger later adopted and advocated for.  I agree that this is a more acceptable term rather than normalization.  The two strategies that were implemented with SRV seemed like things that every human being would strive to have in life.  Some people at this time thought that the "mentally retarded" were not able to be educated which was far from the truth! Getting people to change this mindset and teaching these individuals with disabilities how to live a fulfilling life were the goals of SRV.

Although I feel that normalization is dated and that inclusion is more of an accepted modern concept, they both have a function.  Normalization does not only relate to education and schooling, it mainly refers to the individuals with disabilities within their community.  It deals with life skills and teaching them to be self-sufficient.  Inclusion, on the other hand, relates to students within the educational setting and how they are thought of as an individual learner. 

Blog Post 7A: Karen Pavlansky's response to Kelley Bujdos's "Every 21 Seconds"

  After reading your critical issue paper “Every 21 Seconds” which discusses; Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) in school age students, approaches to identifying resulting disabilities, recognizing deficits in academic performance and plans for special education needs for each case, I am surprised by the fact that TBI happens every 21 seconds in America.  Being a teacher, coach, high school official and former student-athlete, I can appreciate that many of these TBI’s are sports related. Emergency rooms treat approximately 500,000 sports related head injuries each year (American Association of Neurological Surgeons AANS 2011).

As your paper suggests, many of the TBI’s are not identified due to normal appearance of students and false impressions that the injuries have healed.

 

As a high school basketball official there has been an increased effort to recognize and prevent head injuries and their complications.  Educational programs have been created and are now mandated for coaches, administrators, officials, and medical personnel.

A concussion is a type of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) caused by a bump, blow, or jolt to the head that can change the way your brain normally works. Concussions can also occur from a blow to the body that causes the head to move rapidly back and forth. What seems to be a mild bump or blow to the head can be serious.

Concussions can occur in any sport or recreation activity. All coaches, parents, and athletes need to learn concussion signs and symptoms and what to do if a concussion occurs. 

Concussion in Sports:

• A concussion is a brain injury and all are serious.
• Most concussions occur without loss of consciousness.
• Recognition and proper response to concussions when they first occur can help prevent further injury or even death.

Recently many states, schools, and sports leagues and organizations have created policies or action plans on concussion in youth and high school sports. While these policy efforts show some promise, more research is needed to learn if these strategies can help educate coaches and parents about this issue and help protect children and teens from concussion and other serious brain injuries.

Beginning in 2009, the state of Washington passed the first concussion in sports law, called the Zackery Lystedt Law.  One month later Max’s Law passed in Oregon. Within the next 3 years, 43 states and the District of Columbia passed laws on concussions in sports for youth and/or high school athletes.  Most were called “Return to Play laws”.  The National Conference of State Legislatures created online maps to track and update laws on concussions.

 

The state of Ohio set up a concussion policy through the Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA).  The policy states that all adults involved with high school athletics (such as administrators, officials, and medical personnel) are responsible for knowing, understanding, and following this policy. Here are some of the highlights:

“Any athlete who exhibits signs, symptoms or behaviors consistent with a concussion (such as loss of consciousness, headache, dizziness, confusion or balance problems) shall be immediately removed from the contest and shall not return to play until cleared with written authorization by an appropriate health care professional. In Ohio, an “appropriate health care professional” shall be a physician (doctors of medicine (M.D.) and doctors of osteopathy (D.O.)), or a certified athletic trainer.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has created free tools for youth and high school sports coaches, parents, athletes, and health care professionals that provide important information on preventing, recognizing, and responding to a concussion.

More information can be found at the following: 

• www.cdc.gov/concussion
• http://ohsaa.org/medicine/default.asp#Brain
• www.NationwideChildrens.org/Concussions

7A: Courtney Cruz Response to Karen Pavlansky

7A-Courtney Cruz- Response to Karen Pavlansky

Dear Karen,

I enjoyed reading your research paper entitled Educating the Exceptional Student: Personnel Challenges.  I very much appreciate your take on this topic.  Often, it’s the teachers’ voices that do not get heard.  I am sure that all teachers can relate to the challenges that you addressed. 

As stated on page 6, “Education is changing everyday…”  This statement rings so true in the ears of educators.  Just when we think we have things figured out or we have been “professionally developed” something changes.  It’s one of the challenges.  Too many changes in a short amount of time, causes for frustration levels to rise and most importantly, students are not able to reach their full potential. 

In response to the part about Ohio’s Report Card: I work in a special education school for students with learning disabilities.  Year after year, our school falls short and we get a failing grade according to this report card.  Our OAA scores fall short every year.  I understand that the state needs to hold schools like ours accountable; however, it is disheartening when teachers at this school pour all their time, energy, resources, and love into these struggling students and they are looked down upon as poor educators at the state level.  These students have been taken out of the general education setting, because their parents felt their needs weren’t being met not only academically but most importantly, emotionally and socially.  The beast we have to overcome is the disability.  What the state doesn’t see is the “realness of the disability” and expects that somehow these students are going to enter our school 2 or more grades behind in a given subject and within 6 months be able to take an on-grade level assessment.  Often many of the ideas coming from a government level such as Obama’s Blueprint for Reform look really great on paper, but it’s the implementation as you have pointed out that are really challenging. 

Inclusion proves to have “good outcomes for children with disabilities: reaching individualized education program goals, improving communication and social skills, increasing positive peer interactions”. 

Key Points:

95% of disabled children are educated in inclusive classrooms.

96% of classrooms are inclusive

UDL: Universal Design for Learning will ensure that all students can access academic content information.  The 3 elements of UDL are as follows:

1^st: multiple means of representation

2^nd: multiple means of action and expression

3^rd: multiple means of engagement

RTI: multilayered system for struggling learners which provides increased intense levels of academic interventions and assessment

PBS: systems-level, problem solving, data-based approach to reducing problems with behavior

“Classroom teachers are required to teach a more diverse student population than ever before, while also being held accountable for meeting the individualized needs of special education students placed in their classrooms.  Most of this is done with little or no input from special education administrators.”

I think you hit a very important point here.  There is a lack of collaboration for many reasons among gen. education and special education educators.  If these forces were able to combine more how much more could the community of learners be positively influenced? 

“Having a positive school climate can counteract some of the stress associated with teaching students with disabilities.” 

This was my favorite quote from your paper, because this positive climate radiates throughout my school building every single day.  Something I learned that also influences this climate: “Be flexible”… in your teaching, in your thinking, and in your perspective.  

                                                                      Thank you again for sharing!

                                                                      Courtney