Special Education Referral Pathway
(by Leah Thayer)


Green line indicates pathway; blue line represents information important in identification of a student who is struggling; and purple line indicates things that teachers MUST do as the student progresses along the green path


The teacher plays a critical role in identifying issues early and raising them to the right people, but it is a team that ultimately refers a student for assessment--made up of a senior administrator + school psychologist/nurse/special education administrator + teacher


This process might take anywhere from a couple of months to a couple of years. The goal is always to keep the student in the least restrictive environment possible


The parent should be treated as a partner throughout this process, and good communication with the parent is key


For other examples, including for specific identified disabilities, please see:


https://coggle.it/diagram/X8jke1JoLDuI969K/t/idea-categories-of-disabilities-cohort-6amir-disability


https://coggle.it/diagram/X8T9bpiaCSw0MpgH/t/my-classroom's-special-education-process-images


https://coggle.it/diagram/X8jW1ZiaCS5GNsAy/t/student-support-process/1a5d7cabeb4124521321e1e3dba12e6b34f3b49f9dd3999dadc3ce9c796cab5c

Teacher identifies that a student is struggling

Teacher reaches out to parent for informal discussion on concerns (not calling a parent immediately, but also not letting a problem become full-blown; it is important not to blind-side a parent)

Teacher collects and analyzes data on student performance, and possibly does some additional in-classroom assessment; carefully documents concerns, including specific examples

Teacher makes appropriate (general education) classroom modifications ideally using a multi-tiered system of services; if student performance improves, process stops here

Teacher continues to routinely engage with the parent to share feedback

Teacher engages school psychologist / special education liaison / behavior specialist (to be called special education liaison)

Teacher continues to collect and analyze data on student performance; carefully documents concerns, including specific examples; for process to move forward, data must demonstrate that interventions are not working and that stronger interventions are necessary and critical

Teacher or special education liaison brings senior administrator into the process

Teacher continues to collect and analyze data on student performance; carefully documents concerns, including specific examples; for process to move forward, data must demonstrate that interventions are not working and that stronger interventions are necessary and critical

Administrator or special education liaison convenes meeting including parent, teacher, administrator special educational liaison; development of more in-depth classroom modification plan

Teacher continues to collect and analyze data on student performance; carefully documents concerns, including specific examples; for process to move forward, data must demonstrate that interventions are not working and that stronger interventions are necessary and critical

If there is still not adequate improvement in performance, then the administrator and/or special education liaison calls a more serious meeting (e.g. 504 meeting, IEP meeting)--for more intensive modification or referral for more intense services

Examples of initial/simple modifications

Examples of Tier 2/more complex modifications

Behaviors that might indicate a student who is struggling

Decline in classroom test scores for on-going assessments

Issues with not turning in homework

Social difficulties (being withdrawn or bullying)

Absenteeism

Not being able to get the work done in the right amount of time/at the rate that others can do it

Disengagement in the classroom (not actively engaged in learning, not raising hand, not answering questions)

Being the class clown

Wide discrepancy between IQ and achievement scores

Acting out

Wide discrepancy on achievement test between different skill areas

Apathy

Reversals (writing b for d or g for q)

Decrease work so they can show mastery

More visual/auditory/tactile learning opportunities (depending on student's strengths)

More proactive behavior management

Review homework expectations

Changing student's seat for better access to teacher

Decreasing homework load

If trouble taking notes, may offer pre-written notes

Differentiated and authentic assessment (authentic assessment is assessment that is real work—something connected to the standards that student is working on and needs for the future)

Student is provided with necessary special education services; services might include anything from separate/special day classes, to only special sessions with a resource teacher; the goal should always be to keep the student in the least restrictive environment possible**

IMPORTANT: On-going assessment style is key—must use multiple kinds of assessments (visual, oral, written, tactile) to understand what a student really knows/can do

Extension could be to create a Student Study Team (SST) to meet, look at interventions and accommodations that are appropriate; note that this is still a general education and not yet a special education function

Extra help/support from learning specialist or teacher

On-going assessment would likely be in a particular area (e.g. speech and language)

Student is continually monitored with the goal of getting student back into general education as soon as possible

If testing has been done on a student already, issues to watch would be big discrepancies between IQ and quality of work that student is doing, or big discrepancies between IQ and achievement scores; also wide discrepancy on achievement test between different skill areas

Doing an auditory and visual test early is important, because sometimes a student has a particular disabilities that keeps him/her from performing

References

Accommodations and Supports for School-Age Students on the Autism Spectrum. Center for Autism Research. (2020). https://carautismroadmap.org/accommodations-and-supports-for-school-age-students-with-asd/.

Bergman , J. (2018). 5 Important Classroom Accommodations For Children With Autism. Caring 4 Our Kids. http://caring4ourkids.com/important-classroom-accommodations-for-autistic-children/.

Hobbs, K. (2020, August 8). Assistive Communication Devices for Children with Autism. Autism Parenting Magazine. https://www.autismparentingmagazine.com/assistive-technology-autism/.

Ontario Teachers' Federation. Accommodations. Accommodations | Teach Special Education. https://www.teachspeced.ca/accommodations.

Rudy, L. J. (2020, September 17). Overview of Assistive Technology for Autism. Verywell Health. https://www.verywellhealth.com/assistive-technology-for-autism-5076159.

Supports, Modifications, and Accommodations for Students. Center for Parent Information and Resources. (2020, February 8). https://www.parentcenterhub.org/accommodations/.

Thayer, L. M., Jones, K. K., & Warnemuende, C. P. (2020, December 4). Special Education Referral Process. Personal interview.

Watson, S. (2018, July 2). 28 Suggested Accommodations for Students with Special Needs. ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/accommodations-to-support-student-success-3110984.

What are typical challenges and accommodations for students with Autism Spectrum Disorder? What are typical challenges and accommodations for students with Autism Spectrum Disorder? | DO-IT. (2019). https://www.washington.edu/doit/what-are-typical-challenges-and-accommodations-students-autism-spectrum-disorder.

Linked Cohort Diagrams and Comments

Chris Labrum:


https://coggle.it/diagram/X8T9bpiaCSw0MpgH/t/my-classroom's-special-education-process-images


Looks good, Leah. I like how you made a list of behavior indicators and used one of your interviews as a reference. Some good practical examples as well.