Do you have a struggling student?
Do they need special education support?
A guide by Stewart Dods
Know the signs
If you feel something is wrong,
look closer, you might be right!
Personal Behavior Signs
Declining participation
Reduced interest
Increased tardiness or absence
Noticeable social anxiety
Contentious and behaving defensive in class
Youtube video on Five Warning Signs
1) Bullying; 2)Constant Worry; 3) Early Signs of Depression; 4)Drug Use; 5) Poor Performance
Academic Signs
Handing in incomplete work
Low performance scores in assessment
Not making progress
At the start of the academic year, create a way to record profiles on struggling students. This record is used to help differentiate instruction as well as take note of students exhibiting signs
Planning for struggling students using a differentiated instruction approach. Try to identify which disability the student may have.
Differentiated Instruction
The teacher can differentiate content, process, or product to create a dynamic classroom environment that learners of all types and at all stages can flourish in.
See video for motivation:
Product
Activities designed to ensure students use key skills (JigSaw Method, color-coded stations, deliberate groupings based on observations and other data, mandated activities project).
Product
Vehicles used for students to demonstrate and extend what they have learned.
Formative/summative
providing prompts or cues,
word banks,
choices,
Rubrics
Peer assessment
Content
Content should be relevant, personal, and authentic (text sets, interdisciplinary, choice, gender and age considerations).
Talk to the other teachers of the student to make them aware of struggling students.
You might have a common worry or you can collaborate with a teaching method to support the student.
The record can be a notebook or a diary or it can be online such as a Google Doc
Taken from
Understandingspecialeducation.com, (n.d.).
Types of learning disorders
https://www.understandingspecialeducation.com/learning-disorders.html
SIGNS of LEARNING DISABILITIES:
Trouble learning the alphabet, rhyming words, and connecting letters to sounds.
Making many mistakes when reading aloud
Not understanding what they are reading
Awkward pencil grip and poor handwriting skills
Trouble understanding jokes and sarcasm
Trouble following multiple directions
Trouble organizing thoughts and what they want to say
Not following social rules of conversation
Confusing mathematical symbols and numbers
Not being able to tell a story in order
Not knowing where to begin a task
Emotional and/or social issues
Trouble sleeping or getting along with family
After a few weeks of differentiated classes and armed with a record of progress and behavior, approach the school special education department or the head of faculty.
With school support you can invite the parents for a conference without the student present. If other teachers have similar concerns for that student, invite them too.
Five quick tips for meetings with parents
Types of disabilities bubble map with the TEACH-NOW cohort
Advice and ideas for ASD
Tips for parent-teacher conference
Open communication
Avoid conflict or surprises.
Educate parents on importance of study habits
Quiet clean place to do work at home, free from distractions,
Routine time and place,
Healthy diet, plenty of sleep
Reinforce in-class content at home
Keep it positive.
Ask “How was your day?” or “What was your favorite part of the day?” instead of “Did you do your homework” or “What was your grade on the test?”
Make a plan and set goals in a learning contract
Be sensitive
With input from special education experts, create an individualized learning plan with the student and parents
Sign off on the plan. The plan should be reviewed frequently for progress and must be reviewed at least once a year to determine if the program is meeting your child's needs.
click to edit
Prepare for the meeting by going over this webpage on evaluation:
Parentinghub.com (Sep 9, 2017) Evaluating Children for Disability from
https://www.parentcenterhub.org/evaluation/
This can linked with a learning contract
Details on the process in the US are available on
Understandingspecialeducation.com (n.d.) The IEP process. https://www.understandingspecialeducation.com/IEP-process.html