|
>
Back to Newsletter Archive
Forest Cottage Centre Email Newsletter: September
2005
School Planning for Special Needs
Children
Dear Tanya,
As September approaches, parents and
educators once again face the challenge of creating
individualized plans for special needs children. These
plans must incorporate a broad range of topics, including
the practical educational goals, behavioural strategies,
processing delays, sensory issues, family issues, classroom
management, and safety issues – a huge task for
everyone involved.
Here are some tips to help you prepare
for the coming year:
Tips for Everyone Involved
Step 1: Express your concerns openly
and as objectively as possible. Challenging children
are experts are triangulation and quickly pit parents,
educators and professionals against one another. It
is important to keep the lines of communication open,
even if it means agreeing to disagree.
Step 2: Remember that executive function
deficits are common for children with a variety of severe
behaviours and mental health disorders. These affect
the student's ability to organize, strategize, and plan,
among other things. See http://www.schoolbehavior.com/conditions_edf.htm
for a number of articles for educators and parents on
how to better organize the child or adolescent.
Step 3: Remember that learning lags may
greatly impact children with neurological deficits.
The child may simply have to be kept in a "holding
pattern" for a period of time. Going through the
motions of attending school, while only requiring minimal
work, may be necessary for some children. Skills may
regress and then suddenly return, over days, weeks,
months or years. When skills appear to be high, gradually
increase expectations. If skills are low, reduce expectations.
Functioning capabilities may not be there until years
after their peers but if a positive attitude is maintained
about school, they may eventually be able to graduate,
even if as adults.
REMEMBER to maintain a sense of humour. Every September
I return to a website that includes favorites such as
"10 Ways to Have More Fun at Your IEP Meeting",
"Dr. Seuss' IEPs", and the "Top 10 Signs
You're Going to have a Bad IEP Meeting." Click
here for IEP humour!
Tips for Parents
#1) Recognize your child's unique challenges
and acknowledge these at the meeting. If you can talk
openly about your child and the realities they face,
educators will feel more comfortable contacting you
to discuss problems during the year.
#2) Identify your emotions and deal with
these appropriately. Many parents find IEP (Individualized
Education Plan) meetings stressful and feel judged by
professionals in the room. Before the meeting, talk
to a friend or trusted professional and develop a plan
for dealing with these feelings. Consider bringing someone
along to support you or take notes if you get overwhelmed.
#3) Review any previous IEPs, and take
a copy of last year's with you to the meeting. Highlight
any changes or issues you want to discuss so you can
find the sections quickly.
#4) Take a list to the meeting of the issues that are
most important to you to cover, as well as other information
such as:
-
A list of recreational/social activities
your child will be participating in
-
Contact information, and reports
or letters from the professionals working with your
child. E.g. letters from the psychiatrist or therapist
with any recommendations they have for your child's
education.
-
Results you have from private assessments
such as the neuropsychological testing. These test
results should support your child's need for specialized
services.
-
Medication adjustments, if you
wish to share this information
-
Bring along examples of your child's
work that demonstrate areas of difficulty.
-
List your goals for the child for
that year
-
If you feel able, write a list
or provide a chart to help the IEP team better understand
how to interpret disruptive behaviors and recommend
how to develop interventions which will reduce these
behaviors.
-
Usually the professionals can think
up many positive attributes of your child but parents
who have challenging kids may be so frustrated that
they have difficulty thinking of anything positive
to say, beyond omission (Comments such as "Well,
he didn't kill anyone this year" may appear
hostile and are may be seen as inappropriate. Avoid
such statements even if you view them as true markers
of success. Write down one positive that you can
contribute at the meeting.
-
Speak openly of safety concerns.
If you feel that your child is a risk to others,
themselves, or is at risk from others, mention these
specifically at a group meeting. Work with the school
to develop a safety plan and an emergency protocol
that states what would happen if such an incident
occurred.
#5) Accept that you will likely observe regression
or learning lags before educational tests reveal problems.
Note your concerns at the IEP,and then realize that
it may be a year or two before additional supports
are implemented. Schools tend to provide learning
assistance, etc. only if the child is functioning
two years or more behind grade level. If you feel
strongly that supports are needed, consider private
psycho-educational testing or tutoring.
#6) State your requests clearly and support them
with a rationale. If you feel that a particular teacher
is more suitable for your child, express this to school
administration as early as possible. However, be aware
that they must juggle the needs of many students simultaneously.
I find it is most useful for administrators if you
give a particular "wish list" and then explain
how that teacher might fit that criteria. For example,
"My Grade 4 child is functioning a year behind,
and would do better in a split grade (3/4) so they
could review the material. As well, he works well
with firm boundaries and clear expectations. I feel
Mrs. X would fill these needs."
#7) Ask what educators need to make their job easier.
They may require documentation from outside agencies
in order to obtain specialized supports for your child.
Follow-up on any promises you make, and provide copies
of all reports they require.
#8) Provide an brief information package about your
child's disorder/diagnosis (if made), and include
a list of books you have found helpful, in case the
teacher wants to do extra reading. An online search
should provide at least one page of school-related
material about your child's problem.
#9) If there is an ongoing problem, don't be afraid
to advocate for your child. Start with the teacher
and express your concerns. Document the problem and
any meetings/comments made so that you have notes
to refer to if problems persist. If changes do not
happen, go to the next level, including the principal,
school district, and school board. It is generally
better to move up the ladder one step at a time. If
it involves emotional or physical safety issues, however,
do not allow the process to drag on.
#10) Remember that school is just one part of your
child's life. While education should be taken seriously,
you also have a huge influence on the rest of the
child's life, and you are the only one who will be
consistently involved over their lifetime. Take a
deep breath and just do the best you can to support
your child's education.
Tips for Educators
#1) Remember that parents are thinking long-term,
not year-long. If you feel that they are expecting
too much in a year, ask them to help you find one
or two things that could help the child move in that
direction. For example, if they do not expect the
child to go on to higher education, ask them what
life skill would most benefit that child (Telling
time? Counting money?) and build that into the IEP.
#2) Acknowledge that while parents may not be objective,
they are experts about their child. Take their perspective
seriously and do not assume that it is necessarily
biased.
#3) Speak openly of safety concerns. If other children
are being targeted, it is important that plans are
in place to minimize risk. For example, the child
may need to use the handicap washroom rather than
using a joint one. Write out a safety plan, as well
as an emergency protocol and have all parties sign
it when they sign the IEP.
#4) Parents of severe behaviour children tend to
be targeted by their child because of the intimate
nature of the parent/child relationship. Some children
display much more severe behaviour at home than they
ever will at school. Recognize that these parents
are struggling to manage their child; many have symptoms
of post-traumatic stress disorder and feel that they
are living in a war zone. They may forget meetings,
make inappropriate jokes, and seem overly hostile.
Ask them how you can help (e.g. an e-mail reminder
of upcoming meetings, mailing newsletters home rather
than expecting that the child will deliver them home,
etc.). Building a rapport will often reveal a loving
parent who does not have enough professional support.
#5) State your needs and concerns clearly. Remember
that many parents do not have higher education or
be familiar with educational terminology. Avoid jargon,
and give examples where possible. Give parents a written
checklist of documentation or items you will need.
#6) Be willing to learn more about the specific
diagnosis the child has, and their unique needs. Many
disorders and hidden neurological deficits cause complex
learning difficulties and behavioural problems. Work
with families and professionals to develop strategies
that address these areas.
Schooling Alternatives
The behaviour of some children may reach a level
where educators and parents must consider alternatives
to traditional schooling. These are tricky situations
that require individualized plans, but here are some
general guidelines:
-
If the child cannot be managed
within a classroom, individualized tutoring within
the school setting, should be considered.
-
If the child already targets their
mother, homeschooling should not be considered.
Period.
-
If the child has anxiety issues
and classroom strategies have been tried and failed,
homeschooling may be helpful.
-
Homeschooling using computers,
particularly using dynamic, video-enhanced programs,
can benefit children with mood and attentional problems.
Parting Words...
Every child is unique. Adapt these suggestions to
help you meet the child's needs and remember that
the most important thing is helping that child be
as healthy as possible – whether they are in
school or not. After all, school will always be there
next year…
Have a great September!
-Tanya
*September Special
For the month of September 2005, special school consulting
packages are available (*Limited sessions available).
Package includes an e-mail pre/post assessment and
one half-hour telephone consultation with Tanya. Cost:
$50 CDN (+ GST). E-mail Tanya@ForestCottageCentre.com
for more information.
|
About Forest Cottage
Centre
Forest Cottage Centre provides
attachment-based support for parents of severe behaviour
or special needs children, attachment Disorder resources
and training and workshops for professionals working
with challenging children. Services include individual
and group sessions, workshops and retreats.
© 2003 Forest Cottage
Centre. All rights reserved. You are free to use material
from this newsletter in whole or in part, as long
as you include complete attribution and copyright
information, including live web site link and email
link. Please also notify Forest Cottage where and
when the material will appear.
Comments or questions? Contact
Tanya Helton, M.Sc., Life Coach at Forest Cottage
Centre Inc.
Phone Toll-Free 1-877-261-6361
Tanya@ForestCottageCentre.com
www.ForestCottageCentre.com
|
