Exceptional Children

1. Exceptional Children Staff Development – Day 2

2. Exceptional Children

3. Before Special Education… • Denied access to education • Denied opportunities to learn • Institutionalized • Even in 1970….U.S. schools educated only one in five children with disabilities • Many states had laws excluding certain students from its schools • (deaf, blind, emotionally disturbed or mentally retarded)

4. LAW Education for All Handicapped Children Act (1975) / IDEA* (2004) • a free appropriate public education • Protect rights of children with disabilities & of their parents • Assist States and localities to provide for the education of all children with disabilities • Assess and assure the effectiveness of efforts to educate all children with disabilities *Reauthorized as Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act (IDEA)

5. Federal Laws…Compliance is not Optional • IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act) • IEPs – Individualized Education Plans • Section 504 (Vocational Rehabilitation Act) • Must provide access (accommodations) • FERPA (Family Education Rights and Privacy Act) • Access to Records, Privacy • ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act)

6. Today • 6.5 million children and youth (Age 3 – 21) receive special education and related services • 50% of students at PACE are identified as eligible for EC services • NCLB and IDEA hold schools accountable for making sure students with disabilities achieve high standards. • The success of EC Students is central to the success of ANY school – including PACE. • Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP)

7. EC Process • Identification • Regular Ed. Interventions • Referral for Evaluation • Evaluation • Eligible? Yes / No • IEP • Goals, Placement, Accommodations

8. Areas of Eligibility* • Specific Learning Disability • Other Health Impairment • Intellectual Disability • Autism • Emotional/Behavioral Disturbance

9. Intellectual Disabilities • Not everyone with intellectual disabilities are alike. One person can have mild problems while another may have severe problems. • A person with an intellectual disability may: • have difficulty understanding what other people say or mean; • may have difficulty saying what they mean or how they feel; • understanding social cues (for example, if you turn away they may not know this means you don’t want to talk to them); • have difficulty learning and concentrating; • have to do things many more times than average before they learn it; • act younger than their age; • not understand when someone is making fun of them; • may find it hard to read or write; • may not understand when someone tells them to do something wrong.

10. Activity 1 • Sit back to back. (or not facing one another) • Person 1: View the abstract shape. Do not look at your partner. Explain how to draw the shape. • Person 2: You have a pencil and piece of paper. Please draw the shape. Be sure to listen and follow your partner’s instructions.

11. Der Deutsche hat an und für sich eine starke Neigung zur Unzufriedenheit. Ich weiB nicht, wer von uns einen zufriedeen Landsmann kenn. Ich Kenne sehr viele Franzosen, die vollstäämit ihrem Geshcick, mit ihren Eriebuissen zufrieden sind. Wenn sie ein Handwerk ergreifen, so stellen sie sich die Aufgabe, durch dasselbe, wenn’s möglich ist, vielleicht bis zum 45., 50. Jahre eine gewise Vermögensquote zu erreichen; haben sie die, so ist ihr ganzer Ehrgeiz, sich als Rentier bis zu ihrem Lebensende zurückzuziehen. Vergleichen Sie damit den Deutschen; dessen Ehrgeiz ist von Hause aus nicht auf eine nach dem 50. Jahre zu genie ende Rente gerichtet, sein Ehrgeiz ist schrankenlos. Der Bäcker, der sich etabliert, will nicht atwa der wohlhabendste Bäcker in seinem Ort werden, nein, er will Hausbesitzer, Rentier, er will nach seinem gröBeren Berliner Ideal schliech Bankier, Millionär werden. Sein Ehrgeiz hat keine Gemzen. (Im Reichstag, 9.Oktober 1887) 1. Eine starke Neigung zur Unzufriedenheit hat der ____________________. 2. Nit ihrem Geschick und ihren Eriebuissen sind viele __________________. 3. Sie stellen sich die _____ eine gewisse Vermögensequote zu __________. 4. Der Ehrgeiz der Deutschen ist _______________________________. 5. Der Bäcker will Hausbesitzer, _____________________ werden. 6. Nach seinem gröBeren ________Ideal will er Bankier, Millionär ________. 7. Keine ________________________ hat sein Ehrgeiz. From a speech by Otto von Bismarck before the German Reichstag on 9 October 1887.

12. First, read the following one time. FINISHED FILES ARE THE RE- SULT OF YEARS OF SCIENTIF- IC STUDY COMBINED WITH THE EXPERIENCE OF MANY YEARS.

13. Life with Intellectual Disability… • What were the problems? What would have helped? • How did it feel to be given a German test and told to “try harder”? • Did that help you do it? • Did you stop trying? • How did it feel to realize they didn’t count all the Fs? How did it feel to have your brain “trick” you on this test? • How would it feel if this happened to you all the time, every day?

14. Learning Disability • Difficulty with acquiring, storing, or demonstrating learned information • Difference between a person’s ability and achievement • Difficulty with PROCESSING • Math Calculation • Math Reasoning • Reading Comprehension • Reading Decoding • Written Expression • Language Comprehension • Oral Expression

15. Read the words listed. • YELLOW BLUE ORANGE • BLACK RED GREEN • PURPLE YELLOW RED • ORANGE GREEN BLACK • BLUE RED PURPLE • GREEN BLUE ORANGE

16. Read the COLOR in which the word is written, not the word itself • YELLOWBLUE ORANGE • BLACK RED GREEN • PURPLE YELLOW RED • ORANGE GREEN BLACK • BLUE RED PURPLE • GREENBLUE ORANGE

17. Experiencing a Learning Disability • How does your brain want to read the actual word? • This is an example of how difficult it is for students with learning disabilities to get through the day. Their brain understands what needs to be done, but they have to struggle to make it come out right.

18. Learning Disability Sort • Match the definitions to the key terms.

19. Autism Spectrum Disorders • Autism is a developmental disability that usually appears during the first three years of life. The cause is unknown. • Autism is a “spectrum disorder.” • We will have 6-8 students with ASD during the 2010-2011 school year.

20. Implications at PACE • When a person has autism, they may have problems: • letting you know what they want; • thinking; • understanding what other people say or want; • ignoring sounds; • ignoring things or people that are moving; • ignoring lights; • being touched; • understanding social rules; • showing affection; • controlling their feelings; • knowing how to play with other kids; and • dealing with changes.

21. Activity • You will play the part of a person with autism. • Your job is to try and listen to what I am reading to you, so you can take a test on the material. • Try to ignore everything else.

22. Life with ASD • How did it feel to be have so much commotion going on? • Did it make you want to scream or get away? • Were you able to concentrate on the paragraph being read? • What might have helped?

23. Jot down five words which bring back your experiences from today. These may be content connections, feelings, recollections, or descriptors. Choose your best three and share them with your group. As a group, choose one word which captures the essence of today and be ready to share it. 5-3-1