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Online Book Club: Supporting Young Children with Disabilities in the Classroom

  • 1.  Online Book Club: Supporting Young Children with Disabilities in the Classroom

    Posted 01-28-2019 10:47 AM

    Hi everyone,

    Welcome to the first week of our book club on The Essentials: Supporting Young Children with Disabilities in the Classroom, I am excited to get this book club started! For this week's question, read up to page 22, including "About this Book" (pp. ix-x), "Chapter 1: Different, Yet Alike" (pp. 1-7) and "Chapter 2: Identifying the Needs of Young Children with Disabilities" (pp 8- 22).

    I'd love hear about a child or children in your classroom whose development has concerned you. What were the signs? What was the "red flag" for you? Who did you turn to for help?



    ------------------------------
    Dr. Pam Brillante
    Assistant Professor of Special Education
    William Paterson University of NJ
    Wayne, NJ
    ------------------------------


  • 2.  RE: Online Book Club: Supporting Young Children with Disabilities in the Classroom

    Posted 01-28-2019 07:56 PM
    Looking forward to reading!

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    Alana Levitt
    Early Childhood Learning Center
    Los Angeles CA
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  • 3.  RE: Online Book Club: Supporting Young Children with Disabilities in the Classroom

    Posted 01-30-2019 06:53 PM
    :)

    ------------------------------
    Dr. Pam Brillante
    Assistant Professor of Special Education
    William Paterson University of NJ
    Wayne, NJ
    ------------------------------



  • 4.  RE: Online Book Club: Supporting Young Children with Disabilities in the Classroom

    Posted 01-29-2019 11:17 AM
    I have a child in my classroom who I was able to help get a diagnosis of autism for. He entered my class last January when he was 3 and a half and I quickly noticed how he behaved at a younger developmental level than I would have expected. He engaged in repetitive play (such as pouring sand through a tube over and over), had a lack of interest in other children, avoided using crayons or other drawing implements, and used only a few words to communicate. At group time, he sat away from the group and refused a turn during group games. In getting to know the family, I learned that he had previously received speech therapy services though he was no longer receiving these services at the time. The family sought out a re-evaluation of his speech after we discussed his language use at school. They freely shared the report from the speech therapist with me and it was clear to both the family and myself that the report was hinting at a larger developmental issue. At this point, I met with the mother one-on-one to discuss the report, my observations of her son at school, and how to best proceed with services for her child. I suggested she share my observations with her son's pediatrician and seek a developmental screening (rather than simply a speech screening) through the local public school district. After evaluation, her son did receive an autism diagnosis and my program is working in coordination with the school district. Two separate individuals have observed the child at school and at home and he is now attending a part day special day program in addition to my program.

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    Sherrie Rose Mayle
    Director/Teacher
    Campbell Parents' Participation Preschool
    Campbell, CA
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  • 5.  RE: Online Book Club: Supporting Young Children with Disabilities in the Classroom

    Posted 01-30-2019 06:52 PM
    Hello Sherrie! 

    I am so glad that you trusted your instincts and had enough of a relationship with the family to be able to share what you were seeing. It also says so much about you and your program that you are welcoming the coordination with the school district and following through with what is happening in his other program. Please keep in contact with the other teachers and therapists as much as you can, even if they are not keeping in touch with you! Bug them if you have to because it is so important to work on the same skills in the same way they are to help the child grow and develop as much as he can!

    Pam

    ------------------------------
    Dr. Pam Brillante
    Assistant Professor of Special Education
    William Paterson University of NJ
    Wayne, NJ
    ------------------------------



  • 6.  RE: Online Book Club: Supporting Young Children with Disabilities in the Classroom

    Posted 02-04-2019 02:57 PM

    Hi everyone,

    We've had such a great discussion so far. For this week's question, read the Chapter 3: Where to Start: Developmentally Appropriate Practice, Inclusion, and Universal Design (pp 23-34).

    Please share with all of us all of the great things that your school does to include children with disabilities. What do you think you would need to make the inclusive practices even more successful?



    ------------------------------
    Dr. Pam Brillante
    Assistant Professor of Special Education
    William Paterson University of NJ
    Wayne, NJ
    ------------------------------


  • 7.  RE: Online Book Club: Supporting Young Children with Disabilities in the Classroom

    Posted 02-05-2019 12:13 PM
    In my school, we implement developmentally appropriate activities that all children in our program can engage in up to their own comfort level. Activities are intentionally open ended, flexible, and play based so that all children have access to the curriculum. We have a variety of materials, including when it comes to dress up play, so that every child can take part.

    We do not force any children to attend circle time or complete small group activities though we hope these activities are engaging and fun enough that children will choose to participate. I have a child with autism in my class and he has always attended circle time but has not always wanted to have a turn to be the calendar helper, weather helper, or even to take a turn in a game we are playing. After many months of inviting him and him saying, "no," he has finally started engaging and taking these turns. I am flexible with him so he can participate successfully and feel that success internally. I have a typically developing student who noticed that I let the student with autism say it's a sunny day even if there are a few clouds out the window - when he brought this up, I explained to him that this other child gets an exception when it comes to weather and it's okay if his report is not completely accurate.

    When the student with autism was diagnosed, he qualified and enrolled in a special day program that conflicts with our class time. We were able to prorate his tuition so he can still participate in our program on days the special day class does not conflict. Since he started in this program, I have made every effort to have open communication with the special day program employees and specialists.

    With all children, I make an effort to provide activities they are interested in. I frequently use emergent curriculum themes. For example, I notice that my student with autism enjoys running sand and water through tubes so I put out a sensory tub with tubes and jurassic sand.

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    Sherrie Rose Mayle
    Director/Teacher
    Campbell Parents' Participation Preschool
    Campbell, CA
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  • 8.  RE: Online Book Club: Supporting Young Children with Disabilities in the Classroom

    Posted 02-07-2019 05:21 PM
    With every child developmentally appropriate practice is the foundation of what they need to succeed. I love the fact that he was starting to engage with your activities. Is the program he is in in the school district inclusive of typical peers? It is wonderful that you are trying to connect with the professionals in his new program, how open are they to this communication?

    Pam

    ------------------------------
    Dr. Pam Brillante
    Assistant Professor of Special Education
    William Paterson University of NJ
    Wayne, NJ
    ------------------------------



  • 9.  RE: Online Book Club: Supporting Young Children with Disabilities in the Classroom

    Posted 02-08-2019 09:45 AM
    Unfortunately, the program he is in in the school district is not inclusive of typical peers.  (This is part of why I am so happy we were able to help him remain in our program part time.)  The professionals in the special day program are open in their communication - though of course some more than others.  Two professionals have visited our school to observe him in our environment and one simply observed while the other was able to give me suggestions on things I can do to support this child's development.  For example, when he needs help, he often simply calls out, "Need help!"  She encouraged me to ask him to verbalize the entire sentence of what he needs help with before assisting him (it is usually apparent what he needs help with).  We will have an ABA therapist accompanying him starting next week, so I'm looking forward to see what that will look like also.
    All the Best,
    Sherrie Rose

    ------------------------------
    Sherrie Rose Mayle
    Director/Teacher
    Campbell Parents' Participation Preschool
    Campbell, CA
    ------------------------------



  • 10.  RE: Online Book Club: Supporting Young Children with Disabilities in the Classroom

    Posted 02-11-2019 02:15 PM

    Hi everyone,

    Welcome to the third week of our book club! To get started think about your experiences with one to one assistants in your classrooms or just your thoughts in general on extra adult assistants in the the classroom.  Then share your answer to the following question.

    Q: Many people believe that a child with a disability will need a one to one assistant to support them in the general education classroom. Research tells us that is not always the best idea – but what do you think?



    ------------------------------
    Dr. Pam Brillante
    Assistant Professor of Special Education
    William Paterson University of NJ
    Wayne, NJ
    ------------------------------



  • 11.  RE: Online Book Club: Supporting Young Children with Disabilities in the Classroom

    Posted 02-19-2019 12:47 PM

    Hi everyone,

    Welcome to the final week of our book club! To get started think about what are your ideas  on inclusion and mainstreaming. Do your ideas change depending on a child's specific disability? Think about these ideas while you share your answer to the following question.

    Q:  Have you had experience including a child with a speech and language impairment, autism spectrum disorder, visual and hearing impairment, physical disability, intellectual disability, learning disability, and/or ADHD in your classroom? Tell us about both the success you have had and the barriers you have faced.



    ------------------------------
    Dr. Pam Brillante
    Assistant Professor of Special Education
    William Paterson University of NJ
    Wayne, NJ
    ------------------------------



  • 12.  RE: Online Book Club: Supporting Young Children with Disabilities in the Classroom

    Posted 02-20-2019 06:17 AM
    Hello,
    I currently teach 2 children with some form of special need. One has speech development and motor skill challenges and the other is selective mute. At the start of this school year, it was a struggle to assess their progress using the assessment tool that is acceptable by the school. However, I found that having them join in with all the other activities as the other children helped them retain concepts that were taught mentally. Both needed some form of intervention. We worked with their parents for some support. We had to engage a speech therapist for one and the child who exhibited selective mutism had his mum come in at playtime to facilitate a smooth transition from home to school.
    Right now, the child with selective mutism speaks only to the adults in class. I am positive that by the end of this school year, he will be speaking with his peers.
    The child with speech development challenges now communicates using single words and gestures and plays alongside his friends. He is now learning to respond to questions with the correct answer instead of repeating the question. He has made huge milestones with his learning as he is beginning to replicate in his play all that he had been observing during teaching time. 
     One of the strategies that worked really well for me was getting parents involved and sending home these children's IEP to encourage reinforcement at home.

    Catherine

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    Catherine Akpan
    Teacher
    Education
    FCT
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  • 13.  RE: Online Book Club: Supporting Young Children with Disabilities in the Classroom

    Posted 02-21-2019 06:01 PM
      |   view attached
    Thanks to all who have participated in this discussion on Inclusion. The members of the At-Risk and Special Needs Interest Forum would enjoy further discussion with you. If you haven't yet clicked on us to join our Interest Forum, please do. There are good resources posted. Our members have said that what they want most is resources, so we regularly send a newsletter with resources we particularly like.

    I thought the attached planning form would be helpful to many. It isn't that it has to be filled out each and every time you are planning, but it does give a way to think about and plan for more youngsters than you'd thought possible.

    It also made me realize that some need a bit of information to clarify the difference between modifications and accommodations, terms often used when youngsters have either an IFSP or IEP. This is from one of my favorite web sources, understood.org. They explain: "While they sound similar, they serve different purposes. Accommodations change how a student learns the material. A modification changes what a student is taught or expected to learn." Here is a link to the website with more on that:  Understood.org on Modifications and Accommodations.  This is a site I have bookmarked and use often, really often. Give the whole site a visit.

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    Mary Wonderlick
    co facilitator
    At Risk & Special Needs Interest Forum
    Chicago IL
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    curric mod planning form.pdf   175 KB 1 version