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Assessing Special Needs students : Done By: Jaydeen Handwatch - Coggle…
Assessing Special Needs students :
Done By: Jaydeen Handwatch
Resources
1.www.understood.org
2.Evaluation procedure:
https://www.understood.org/en/school-learning/evaluations/evaluation-basics/the-evaluation-process-what-to-expect
3.Understanding evaluation:
https://www.understood.org/en/school-learning/evaluations/evaluation-basics/understanding-evaluations
4.Eligibility Meeting:
https://www.understood.org/en/school-learning/evaluations/evaluation-basics/what-to-expect-at-an-iep-eligibility-meeting
5:IEP meetings:
https://www.understood.org/en/school-learning/special-services/ieps/the-iep-meeting-an-overview
Questionnaire done by Mayenziwe Mlumbi
Questionnaire done by Kristen Sonlin
Questionnaire done by Nokukhanya Nkosi
Teachers need to be given a training on how to be able to pick up the signs of special needs schools. Therefore we are able to identify it early and know how to fill out the first questionnaire professionally and not just on thoughts and opinions.
The school needs to hire a trained specialist to be the Special Education Teacher
The school needs to provide a special classroom to conduct these lessons in. It also should be equipped with all the necessary resources needed to achieve maximum student progress and development.
Ideal procedure that should be followed.
In the absence of a structured procedure what can teachers do?
Request a Special Needs Training Session/s, from the school because some students have been identified as having some special differences in comparison to others, and because there is no Special Education Program in place, teachers need to be better equipped to handle these students in the class.
Firstly, identify those students with special needs in your class.
How do we identify special need cases?
If students are easily distracted, constantly uneasy, abnormally unruly and disruptive and usually have a below normal concentration span.
What are the next steps
?
How can we as teachers assist these students?
As we can see there are many different ways to help these students. As there are different challenging areas that they may face.
In some cases you may allow them to help other students, and in some cases just giving them extra work to keep them occupied may also be a good strategy.
By keeping classes active and engaging, using different tools and methods to capture and keep students' focus. Also using play based learning and elements that student is attracted to or interested in.
1.Individual attention
2.Providing clearly detailed instruction and repeating it where necessary.
Ensure that you monitor progress and improvement levels (or lack of improvement) in students social and academic behavior.
Provide feedback and progression updates to parents on a regular bases (once or twice a month), to ensure that they are aware of the progress or a lack there of, also to encourage them to actively work with the teacher towards the common goal.
Communicate with parents. To find out if they are aware of it.
If they are aware of it
, ask them for some advice on some methods they use, especially if the student tends to be disruptive or violent.
If they are not aware of it
, inform them that you have picked up some of the signs of special needs. Inform the parents of ways that you can work together to monitor and improve the students progress.
Unable to perform simple tasks which are required for that level or age group. If students show obvious signs of no academic growth in comparison to the rest of the class, and there are no valid factors to justify this low level; such as age or new being a student.
Students that are excessively loud, hyperactive to extreme levels, abruptly violent and constantly having un usually high energy levels.
Or
Students that are extremely quiet, disengaged from both whole class and peer activities. Students that avoid contact and interaction with teachers and classmates. Students that tend to spend their time alone, in corners and isolated from everyone else.
After the first month of entry into the Kindergarten all teachers, and parents need to fill out a mandatory questionnaire to evaluate both academic level and social conduct behavior.
If students fall into the category of a possible special needs case, then parents can be asked if they would allow their child to undergo the Evaluation Process.
:
Eligibility meeting
Parents should be given the option to accept or decline the Evaluation process without any fear of having their child being removed from the kindergarten or discriminated or treated unequally in the classroom.
Evaluation Procedure
Evaluation Process
:
1.Psychological Evaluation- studies emotions,behavior, and social skills.
Psycho-Educational Testing- Includes cognitive and achievement testing.
Interviews- Can be face to face or via a questionnaire for student, teacher and family. The goal for this is to get more detailed insight into the students academic, functional and social history.
Classroom observations- This will give us greater details as to how the student functions within a classroom environment and with their peers.
Functional Behavioral Assessment (FBA): This assessment is to get a better understanding of the students' struggles with behavior that may be hindering their learning
Other Evaluations- These may include a range of areas such as occupational therapy, physical therapy and speech-language.
IEP (Individualized Educational Programs)
meeting
Special Education
Letter of completion or participation
:
There should be some kind of notice or valid certification given to the parents once the students leave the kindergarten.
Reason being: Here in China many students with disabilities are sometimes not accepted into the mainstream education system and parents are forced to place their children into special needs schools and in smaller cities or counties there are not many or no special needs schools. Therefore parents are forced to move or commute to a different district. However if parents had a form of certification that their child has been given professional help with their condition and they can cooperatively function within a normal class setting, then perhaps the entry process into primary school would be easier.
1 more item...
Normal class:
Feedback of students month to month progress and improvement both academically and socially as a result of special room classes. Therefore parents can see the ripple affect of the benefits that the special room class are having upon their child.
Special room:
Monthly feedback of students progress within the whole class. Therefore parents are constantly up to date with what's taking place in the class and of their child's progress and development within the class.
What should it entail?
A personalized learning plan for the student which will focus on both strengths and challenges.
Majority inclusion of the school day with the normal class. At kindergarten only up to 30 minutes of special class time.
LRE- Least restrictive environment
Ensuring that the necessary resources for progress are available.
5.The special room teacher should be a specialist or professional in this field.
6.No added costs of this service to the family.
The purpose of this meeting is to discuss the findings of the evaluation process and discuss recommendations. Also to make the final decision if the student needs to be placed into a Special Education Program. It is mandatory that this decision is made with the knowledge of all the findings of the evaluation and it is made by consensus.
Who attends?
This meeting should include:
1.Family
2.Homeroom teacher
3.Special education teacher
4.School administrator
5.The professional evaluator who conducted the evaluation so he/she can interpret his/her findings.
6.Education therapist- if parents or the school decides to have one present as they may contribute useful information.
7.A family friend- if parents feel that person has had sufficient contact and knowledge about the student that they could contribute helpful information.
The evaluation process would include the students homeroom teacher, the students family, the schools special education teacher and the school administrator.
This is a Comprehensive Educational Evaluation that assesses both the strengths and challenges of the student.
It is important that parents have all this information before they need to make the decision whether to accept or decline undergoing the evaluation process, because in many cases especially in China, because of stigmas associated with disabilities and assumptions of exclusion parents may make an irrational decision and decline the offer. Where as if they are well informed about the all the steps in the procedure, the structure of the possible special education programs and the many benefits short term and long term both academically and socially, they may be more inclined to consider it.
Parents should be given all the details, in detail, about the steps in the evaluation process, what will happen after; such as
The IEP meeting- (attendees of this meeting, this meetings agenda and goals.
Special Education- What exactly does it entail?.
If parents agree to the Evaluation process the school must receive and ensure that there is written consent from the parents that the student will undergo this evaluation process.
The reason for having it issued after one month would be to give the homeroom teacher time to observe the students classroom behavior and assess their academic level.
