Intellectual Disabilities In Middle Schools

Keaunna Knox has been a Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP) since 2007, and has worked ever since 2000 with children with special needs who had speech and language disorders. She began as an “Instructional/Speech Aide” at Pasadena Unified School District working with children with moderate and severe intellectual disabilities. All the students she worked with had speech and language disorders, and, since the Districts therapy was overloaded Keaunna implemented the communication goals she wrote. Based on that experience and many others, Keaunna decided to enroll at Cal State Los Angeles to pursue her professional career in teaching. She received her Master’s in Mild-Moderate Disabilities in Special Education from Cal State Los Angeles and a second

According to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, students with disabilities should be placed in a “least restrictive environment.” One of the main ideas of this act was to improve the learning experiences of students with disabilities by giving them learning opportunities outside of a special education classroom. The number of students with disabilities being placed in their general education classrooms is increasing more and more each year. The U.S Department of Education’s 27th annual report to Congress on the implementation of The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (2005) indicates that the number of students with disabilities in general education classrooms has risen to almost 50 percent. This is about a 17 percent increase from the 1997 U.S

When learning about Intellectual Disability (ID) it is important to explore the subject with people that work with students of ID. The (SPED) special education team placed together for a student in order to determine the students individual education plan (IEP). This SPED team consist of: Special Educator: Mr. Richard Franklin, General Educator: Ms. Rama Smith (Spelling, Literature), Speech Therapist: Mrs. LuDonna Martin, Principal: Mr. John Denton, Community Organizer and Retired Teacher: Mrs. Nelda Clements and I as the Special

The No Child Left Behind and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act entail that students with disabilities or special needs to be open to the overall education and determine the progress of the child. Three unsurpassed practice strategies for supporting young children on the autism spectrum (including Asperger's Syndrome) in an early learning environment. The first strategy is reinforcement. Reinforcement is a critical strategy of evolving and maintaining the enthusiasm of this type of student. A teacher must use objective or actions that the students would like or enjoy that can be obtainable behavior. In my field experience observed I have seen the Pre-K teacher use the computer and smartboard to interact with the class as well

Diagnostic/Prescriptive/Evaluative (DPE) process is a type of instruction according to Thomas (1996) that helps students with Intellectual Disabilities (ID) accomplish the best chance of success and independence, when accompanied with life goal planning, and goal instructional analysis (GIA), which is a fundamental part of the DPE teaching. The DPE process takes lesson planning, breaks down instruction into manageable segments specialized for the individual student, which provide the necessary educational flexibility to ensure successful outcomes. The first step of this process is to diagnose the student’s skill level along with his/her strengths and weaknesses, and then devise or prescribe a lesson path, where student progress can be

Bayes, D. Heath, A. Williams, C. & Ganz, J. (2013) Pardon the Interruption: Enhancing Communication Skills for Students with Intellectual Disability. TEACHING Exceptional Children, 00400599, 20130101, Vol. 45, Issue

Therefore, because students with autism have difficulty processing the most obvious information environments, it is essential to incorporate visual instruction, visual organization, and visual clarity. Visual supports allow students with autism to engage in life. In addition, providing visual cues provide opportunities of structure, routine, and sequence that many children with autism required to participate in daily activities. Furthermore, providing visual supports combined with systematic instruction provides the opportunity to ensure learned skills, while promoting high levels of engagement. Communication is essential and has a significant purpose for a child with autism spectrum disorder. It is necessary to build on these communication skills, once a student understands how to interact with others and communicate wants and needs the student will improve their quality of life. Understanding your student’s strengths and weaknesses, talents and interests, and other areas of difficulties will allow opportunities to create design effective approaches and strategies that can substantially affect your student in every phase of their

Interventions are a necessary asset intended for achieving success within any classroom. An educator who is attempting to encourage and motivate their students to the highest extent should utilize a plethora of interventions. Similarly, the intervention process is an important, albeit indispensable resource while addressing the needs of students with learning disabilities. Throughout my course and classroom experiences I have studied, identified, and observed a multitude of effective intervention strategies. Various texts, professors, and education professionals have helped to enlighten me in regards to the necessity of flexible and consistent interventions. In analyzing my prior experiences, I anticipate applying three particularly effective intervention strategies when assisting students with a learning disability. Students with learning disabilities can significantly benefit from instruction which is scaffolded, suitable manipulatives, as well as rigorous self-monitoring. Consequently, it is my objective to adequately utilize these encompassing and powerful interventions within my future classroom.

Laws such as the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) allows for teachers and schools to enhance the academic curriculum for all learners. However, this inclusion mandate, proves more challenges for individuals with disabilities who are also CLD. Most educators do not reside in the areas that they teach, so this disconnectedness between the schools and the students, has little resemblance and these students are not represented properly (Ford et al., 2014). This is why these educators and professionals need to be trained in diversity and be well educated on the subject. If they are, then they can represent the students well and provide a level of relationality that the students and families can trust. Once the educators reach that level of trust, then they can truly help create the best program for the students. The students’ cultural and linguistic diversity can definitely affect instructional practices. The professionals working with the families must be sensitive to their situations and cultural differences. Children with ASD already have difficulty communicating, so for them to already have a different language spoken at home, it adds another challenge. Teachers need to get to know their students and

In topic 4 I learned about students with intellectual disabilities, autism spectrum disorder, and severe or multiple disabilities. Intellectual disabilities are disabilities that are characterized by limitations in both intellectual functioning and adaptive behavior. These students may have difficulty with learning and memory and also regulating their behavior. The have a deficit in adaptive skills such as developing relationships and language skills, and taking care of their personal needs. Students with intellectual disabilities often have trouble in areas of reading and mathematics. These students often have trouble with motivation, and often reflect learn helplessness behaviors. Early intervention is key for students with intellectual disabilities.

A Special Education Team has one thing in common, the best interest of a student to achieve their educational goals. Having the opportunity to speak with two experienced teachers I learned that not everyone teaches in the same way or believes that students learn a certain way, but in the end they have the needs of the students first. Mrs. Peterson’s definition of terminology, their classification and their learning techniques and social skills play a large part in the curricular needs she teaches in her classroom to promote independent learning. Mr. Olson may view the terminology a little different, but still feels students with intellectual disabilities should be independent in their learning and social skills. Students with Intellectual disabilities

Each child is unique and learns in different ways; however, most schools still have a tendency to cling to the one-size-fits-all education philosophy. It is often overviewed when catering to a classroom that each child has specific needs, and that a small group of children within the class may also need further attention. Disability isn’t always visible nor is it always what we think it is. A child may have an undiagnosed hearing or vision problem, he or she may have difficulty with attention or with sitting still, or may have difficulties comprehending instructions. Whatever the need, the issue of whether or not that child should be pulled from the classroom and work with a specialist in a resource room,

During the interview process, I went over several questions pertaining to students with Intellectual Disabilities (ID) in a classroom setting. I had interviewed Ms. Chisolm (Special Education Teacher) for the Jersey City Public Schools District, who works with students of multiple disabilities. Intelligence disabilities (ID) mean the mental capabilities of a child’s knowledge and skills. Intellectual disability can be developed during childbirth or before the age of eighteen. It is imperative for me to know, “What are the characteristics of students with intellectual disabilities? Ms. Chisolm explained that students with ID have certain limitations which are below- average intelligence level, lacking mental and physical and adaptive skills, and social skills. Actually, students with ID have difficult learning disabilities such as short-term memory, attention hyper- active deficit disorder, down- syndrome disorder and speech impairment. Children with ID have a lower IQ rate due to their disabilities.

When working with students with intellectual disabilities (ID), there are a few things that every educator should keep in mind. To help better understand the characteristics of ID and the strategies use to work with and teach students with ID, an IEP meeting for a little girl with ID was attended, and an interview was conducted with a local teacher who has worked in the field for over twenty years. Cathy Eichelberger, or Mrs. Ike, as she is also known by has been a source of inspiration and encouragement in regards to her work as a special education teacher. This is an educator who has been tested by her students on a daily bases, and yet still brings a

One of the most controversial issues facing educators today is the topic of educating students with disabilities, specifically through the concept of inclusion. Inclusion is defined as having every student be a part of the classroom all working together no matter if the child has a learning disability or not (Farmer) (Inclusion: Where We’ve Been.., 2005, para. 5). The mentally retarded population has both a low IQ and the inability to perform everyday functions. Activities such as eating, dressing, walking, and in some cases, talking can be hopeless for a child with mental retardation.