Parents Communication with Your Childs Teachers and Therapists is Vital, Informational Packet to Assist with this Process.

Establishing a communication protocol between family members, educators and therapists into the beginning of the child’s school year and thought-out his or her education is vital.
Immediate communication will assist in bridging the gap between the parents at home and teachers in the classroom.
Implementing this communication system will help to avoid any panic or crisis situations, it will help take the guess work out of getting to know the child through trail and error.
This system is an effective tool that I have used with my own child for years it is effective for children on the ASD Spectrum.
Please complete the questionnaire provided below. Working together as a team will help ensure that your child has a successful school year
Parents complete this packet and present it to your child’s teachers and therapists.
Provide the team with as much information about your child’s needs as possible so that the educators don’t waste valuable time trying to figure out situations that may arise.

1. Does your child have any sensitivity to materials, smells, sounds, temperatures, lights, touch or foods that I need to be aware of?

2. Does your child become anxious, overwhelmed or over-react or become physically sick in certain situations?

3. What signs or triggers might set him/her off?
Example: struggling with difficult work

4. Does your child require a calming item for sensory input?
Example: putty, chewing gum, water bottle.

5. Does your child have a defense he/she uses to protect himself in times of stress?
Example: pinching, biting, hitting

6. Does your child need structure and if something should go wrong would he need reassurance?

7. Does your child need time to process information?

8. Does your child ask for clarification when a subject isn’t understood?

9. Does your child need directions repeated, written down or modeled? Would it be best to have the child repeat directions back to the teacher to make sure it’s not misunderstood?

10. Is your child a fooler? Will he/she tell the teacher he understands and really doesn’t.

11. Does your child have difficulty starting, maintaining and ending conversations?

12. Does your child make eye contact?
If not would the child be aware of what is taking place in class even though he/she appears to not be listening?

13. Does your child need assistance with transitioning?
Example: a buddy to walk with in low traffic times.

14. Does your child prefer to work alone or with others?

15. Does your child form friendships easily?

16. How are your child’s organizational skills?

17. Is there anything the teacher should be aware of when planning assemblies, field trips or any outdoor activities?

18. Is your child good in sports? Would he/she be interested in participating in a competitive sport during gym class or recess?

19. Would your child require special equipment in gym class, such as; earplugs or modeling of a game before, during or after class?

20. Does your child have any fine/gross motor issues?
Example: can he/she draw in art class or kick a ball?

21. How would you rate his/her sense of self on a scale of 1-10?

22. Does he/she recognize his strengths and limitations?

23. Does he/she have a strong sense of justice?

24. What are your children’s sleeping patterns like?

25. Does your child require routine at home and in the classroom? Does he/she require advanced notice of change?

26. Will he come to me if he/she should encounter teasing or bullying?

27. Are there any significant family matters I need to be aware of?
Example: death or divorce

28. Is your child involved in any outside activities or participating in any clubs? Is there something the teacher can encourage him/her to get involved with here at school?

Provided below is an example of a letter that I send to the teachers and therapists in the beginning of school year. I introduce myself and explain all the information provided within this packet. I then would follow up with a phone call to every educator who will be involved with teaching my child to see if there are any questions that need to be addressed.

Good Afternoon,

I’m writing to you because my son has high functioning autism and I would like for you to get know him better.
I have provided letters from his former teachers. They have outlined his strengths and expressed concerns when it comes to academics and my Jordan’s personality.
The packet contains literature about Asperger Syndrome-basically Autism-in a simple bullet format provided from a website called www.aspergertips.com I have checked everything that applies to my child.
If you should need more information, please feel free to call me at xxx-xxx-xxxx. I look forward to hearing from you. Also, if you should notice Jordan struggling in any area, please contact me as soon as possible, so we can work together to keep him on task.
Jordan’s personal goal is to attend college and become a sports broadcaster, so I want to make sure he receives all the support he needs to reach that goal. If you would like to form an instant bond and gain Jordan’s trust immediately, you can talk about sports. He’s a huge Sox and Notre Dame Football fan.
Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns.
Rhonda Brunett

Letters from former teachers will help educators gain valuable insight about your child. I ask for these letters about 2 months before school lets out. Here are some examples of letters that I gathered though the years to pass along to Jordan’s present educators.

A letter from Resource Teacher

During the 2005- 2006 school year I had the pleasure of working with Jordan and his parents. During this time the team and I were able to get to know Jordan very well. Jordan is a wonderful student who brings many great qualities to the classroom. He is a hard worker and always is polite and well mannered in class.

Academically Jordan made great strides throughout the year. When starting the year Jordan was more reluctant to interact with his teachers and the aides that were in his classes. In my opinion this was due to Jordan not having an established relationship with his teachers. This quickly was resolved as Jordan became more comfortable with the staff that was working with him. In literature and language Jordan was in a co-taught class. This was a successful fit for him. He did well with reading stories and answering literal comprehension questions. Jordan also did well with expository and persuasive writing. Both types of writing are formulaic and the pattern was easy for Jordan to follow. One of Jordan’s other strengths is the area of spelling. Jordan is able to memorize spellings of words and also match them to the correct definition. Jordan continues to work on inferential questions, multiple word meanings, and figurative language (similes, metaphors, idioms, etc.). These concepts are more difficult because of the abstract thinking that is required to gain meaning. Visual aides have helped as well as checking to make sure that Jordan understands what text is saying. In the area of math Jordan also did well. His strength is that he knows his multiplication and division facts. He does well adding and subtracting also. Jordan requires re-teaching when concepts are presented too quickly and this is a great benefit to him. Patience and explanation are two strategies that always help Jordan succeed.

When talking about large concepts in social studies and science Jordan benefits from graphic organizers and class notes given to him that are already completed. This takes the anxiety off of him having to take notes; his attention is on the concept and what the teacher is saying. Generalizing concepts and drawing conclusion through synthesizing information is an area of struggle for Jordan in all academic areas. Inferencing is an area where Jordan requires more assistance; making things as concrete as possible helps make him independent when tackling these tasks and boosts his confidence in himself. The teachers needed to be careful when working with Jordan because he can be a fooler; he will tell you when he understands something when he really doesn’tt. The easiest way to check his understanding is to ask him to tell you what the directions are so you can correct any misinformation that is in his explanation.

Jordan has friends in his classes that he talks with. He will usually talk with these same people throughout the year. He does work well in group situations; it is important to make sure that he understands what he needs to do and also understands the directions. Jordan is always polite with teachers and other staff members throughout the school. He wants to earn good grades all the time and when he doesn’t it can be stressful for him. Talking with Jordan about these situations helps him tremendously.

I predict that Jordan will have another successful year before he transitions to high school. His parents are extremely supportive and are in contact with his teachers consistently to make sure they are aware of Jordans needs. Working with Jordan has been a pleasure and I look forward to making another academic year as successful and rewarding as past years have been.

Respectfully submitted, xxxxxxxxxxx Resource Consultant

________________________________________

Letter Jordan
Middle School

Jordan joined our sixth grade team as an inclusion student. I am the 6th grade resource teacher and would be in charge of his IEP. Mr. xxxxxxx was to be his 6th grade classroom teacher. Mr. xxxxxxxx and I co-teach literature and language so we knew we would need to do some planning for Jordans academic needs. Well Jordan, you really surprised us when you entered that first day of school. You were happy and excited to be here and showed very little apprehension or anxiety. You connected with both of us very quickly. Your smile instantly captivated us.

As you transitioned into the middle school atmosphere you needed only slight support from us. After that first week you took off on your own and had no problems. We watched you confidently negotiate your schedule and the changing of classes, as well as consistently having all your materials for class and your homework regularly. What we did notice is that you needed support in the area of written language. You are a good writer but you needed assistance in getting more detail and support as well as vocabulary into your writing. You were always open to suggestions on improving your writing and revising it. You made very good progress.

Next we began to notice that at times in the areas of science, math and social studies, you seemed to have a hard time understanding the vocabulary. We met with Ms. Brennan the speech pathologist and she began working with you and us on improving the content vocabulary. In Math we realized that abstract concepts were causing you difficulty. Once we started to relate them to sports you did much better. That was a suggestion from Dad. Thanks Mr. xxxxxxx. It made a world of difference for Jordan.

Some of the modifications we made for you Jordan were not noticeable to the class. We often repeated directions to the entire class. We visually wrote them down in step format, and you found this helpful. When we gave out study guides we re-wrote them for you so there was less vocabulary to read. This enabled you to focus more on the content you needed to study. We would always read your tests to you in a small group setting and gave you extended time to complete them. This would help you feel less anxious about the tests and more confident. Word banks also were helpful to you on the test.

You proved that you are a very capable student, who gives his best effort everyday. You do not let your autism get in the way of your success. You always try whatever comes your way and you do so with and I can do this attitude. I think you taught Mr. xxxxxxxxx and I many lessons as teachers, but more than that you taught your fellow students many lessons. The most valuable one was this, No matter what difficulties you have if you keep trying you can overcome them and enjoy life. Keep this attitude always and you will be a success and role model for other adolescents with autism. Your parents have developed this attitude in you, and it is the attitude we see in your family. You are lucky to have such supportive, positive parents, and we have been lucky to work with them too.

We both enjoyed working with you this year and we will miss you in our class next year. You have given us a new outlook on autism and the academic and social progress that an autistic child entering adolescence can experience. We will continue to use you as an example of what can be accomplished by our future students who enter our classrooms with autism.
Thank you, Jordan for teaching us this life lesson.

________________________________________
________________________________________

End Of the 2005 School Year Letter from the Speech Teacher

Letter to Jordan
From: xxxxxxxxxx, Speech-Language Pathologist
Middle School

I met Jordan at the beginning of his 6th grade school year. This was the start of Jordans Middle School experience, which is quite a transition for any child. I can honestly say I just adored Jordan from the start. We clearly formed a bond when he found out my great interest and love of sports. Specifically, Jordan loved that I was a Sox fan! I also felt quite a connection to Jordan because he displays such positive energy around the school and has a smile on his face at all times. Positive energy is something I try to give off daily, and he motivated me to always keep that in mind.

I began to notice some areas that were a challenge for Jordan during the first weeks of school. Jordan joined the cross-country team and had after school practice. One day, I noticed him standing outside a locked school door so I let him in. As he ran past me to get to a cross-country meeting inside, he kept saying, I got locked up, I got locked up. I finally realized that he was trying to say he had been locked OUT and was trying to get back in. These small nuances of language, higher-level language and more abstract language are the areas that pose a challenge for Jordan. The more deeply I probed the more I realized that Jordan needs to be taught and explained certain phrases or abstract ideas, as he thinks more concretely. Making certain ideas visual and walking through the meaning together improves Jordans understanding of the real meaning. This comes to play with idioms and expressions and we have worked on and discussed the meaning of various expressions this year.

Jordan and I do share a love for sports, which is a great thing, but we have focused this year on getting him to communicate about a wider variety of topics. Current events, school activities, and opinions are discussed together in speech to enhance Jordans ability to verbalize about more issues. This has been extremely beneficial for Jordan.

Additionally, we work on listening comprehension and I check for Jordans understanding of information read aloud. I have found through this year that Jordan often misses key aspects to directions or information. Jordan benefits from checks for understanding greatly. I ask him questions after material is read or have him summarize the information for me so that I know he is really grasping the material. This is an area that is key for Jordan. He is able to get through classes and listen well, but he may not always fully understand the information or directions. Jordan may not know that he is missing key points, so he will not always raise his hand and ask for clarification. When I check for clarification with Jordan I get a much better understanding of what he is grasping.

Jordan has made such amazing gains this year. He joined a sports team, he met new friends, he did wonderful in his classes, he began talking about a greater variety of subjects, and he continues to gain more and more independence with each day. The area of speech and language is still a need for Jordan but he continues to astound me and reach more and more goals with each day.
I feel that I have been given a gift by having the opportunity to work with Jordan and his family. They are amazingly lovely people who are dedicated to each other and determined to succeed despite any obstacles along the way. Jordan is lucky to have such wonderful parents, and his parents are a tribute to Jordans fine character. I am honored to help him improve and to work with him every day! The legendary runner Steve Prefontaine once said, to give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift.There is no better way to sum up Jordan. He is a gift to all who meet him, and he is an inspiration as he constantly strives to reach his potential with each and every day. I am privileged to be a part of his journey.

Letter Resourse Teacher
8th. Grade

In the academic part of his education Jordan continues to make strides. His greatest success was in his co taught math class. The beginning of the year was review and Jordan felt confident that he could do the work. . Concrete examples are so helpful for Jordan when working with new concepts. This was especially true in the geometry unit. Jordan struggles with the abstract concepts presented in that unit but with help and repetition, he was able to be successful. Due to his confidence in the area of math Jordan participated more and also asked for help independently. To help with the abstract concepts that are presented in reading Jordan was in a resource class for his 8th grade year. Jordan is an excellent reader in that he can read the stories fluently. Inferential questions continue to be difficult for him. His resource teacher worked very hard with the skill of inferring by asking the same questions and requiring the same answer. For example, the question would always be, what do you infer about ____? And be sure to provide evidence from the reading.Jordans answer would have to be, I infer _________ because in the text it says ________.When working with the poetry unit and figurative language Jordan made good progress. He was able to identify similes, metaphors, and personification in pieces of writing and also decipher that they were not literal meanings. He did struggle with coming up with what the pieces of figurative language were really trying to say. Science was an area that Jordan worked diligently in this past year. The curriculum was very abstract and Jordan did utilize the aide that was in the classroom. This class also required a lot of group work and his teacher noted that Jordan was at times reluctant to participate. The team attributes this to Jordan not feeling comfortable with what was required of him academically. An area that continues to be Jordans strength is memorization of facts. He was able to utilize this strength in social studies throughout the year. Homework completion has and is an area where Jordans is consistently consistent. Patience and explanation are two strategies that always help Jordan succeed.

Socially Jordan continues to make strides as well. He had friends in his classes and would interact with them appropriately. He did need to be reminded, at times, to stay on task but that was all part of the normal classroom behavior for all the kids. At times he doesn’t know when to stop joking around with another student but will take the direction from an adult. The team feels that Jordan will transition to high school with some apprehension about going to a new place and meeting new people, but as time goes on he will find his niche within xxxxxxxxxx and be successful.

On a personal note, it has been my pleasure to work with Jordan and his family for the past two years. Jordan is an amazing young man and the support that he receives from his parents has made him the person he is today. As a teacher, he has enriched my life by teaching me about autism and shown me how to be a better teacher. I will truly miss him as he moves on to high school. I know that he will accomplish many things in the coming years and knowing that I was a part of his education makes those accomplishments special. I wish him and his family nothing but success in the coming years.

Respectfully submitted, xxxxxxxxx Resource Consultant

Letter from High School Algebra Teacher

Dear Mrs. Brunett,
I want to start by telling you that you have a great son who was a pleasure to have in class. Jordan did everything I have asked him to do, and unlike other students, when I asked him to do it. Aside from being a little quiet in class, there was nothing about Jordan that outwardly separated him from other students. He was able to handle social situations well and have positive interactions with classmates both male and female.
Our Extended Algebra class was arranged in two rows from right to left from the front of the room. Desks were arranged in teams of four students with six teams in the class. This arrangement allowed students to work individually, with another student, and in teams of four. The activities were varied throughout the period to take advantage of this setting. We used two overhead projectors to present material. One projector was centered and used for notes and presenting new material. The second was in the front corner of the room and used for presenting calculator work and putting up previous notes for students who needed extra time to copy them. The class was team taught with a full time math teacher and myself. We took turns presenting material and moving through the classroom and helping students. We divided the paperwork and administrative duties such as taking attendance and recording grades. The class lasted 110 minutes and was more than twice the length of a normal class. The material covered was the same as an Algebra I class, but was presented over a longer period of time.
Jordan started in the class midyear and had no trouble adjusting to the new setting. Since several students were new to the class, Jordan fit right in. I did make sure that Jordan was seated in the front row of the class to make note taking easier and placed him with students who could support him during team and partner work. A number of the students in the class received extended time for tests and quizzes making extended time for Jordan unremarkable. I was fortunate enough to have Jordan for a Study Tutorial class following the Extended Algebra class. During this time I was able to review the material presented in class, explain the homework assignment, have him complete a test or quiz, or review material he was having trouble with. Since this class is limited to 15 students and occurred early in the day when other students did not have work that they needed assistance with, Jordan usually had my undivided attention when he needed it. In working with Jordan, it was apparent that there were some concepts that he had difficulty grasping and needed reinforcement with.
The math teacher and I would review the upcoming test or quiz and decide if it needed to be modified for Jordan and several other students. I found many of the tests and quizzes to be crowded and confusing requiring them to be copied, cut out and reassembled to allow more space between the questions and reducing the number of questions per page. This was particularly helpful when work was required for the problem. For tests which were longer, I would reduce the number of questions testing the same idea or concept. For the final exam, I allowed Jordan and other students to mark their answers on the test itself rather than transfer answers to a Scantron sheet. Jordan was seldom confused about what the homework assignment was since we gave each student a schedule for the unit with a dated list of the assignments and he followed it.
During class, Jordan would first ask a team member about something he did not understand and then would ask for assistance if they were not able to help. He would respond if called upon, but usually did not volunteer. In preparation for the final exam, a lottery was held and students were randomly chosen to sign up for a topic to present to the class in a three to five minute presentation. This method promoted ownership since they had chosen the topic. Jordan was absent when his turn to present came, but presented his topic when he returned. He did a great job in sharing the material, working through an example, and answering questions all on the overhead projector. It was apparent that he was prepared and knew his topic.
Jordan seemed to respond well to the setting we were able to provide for him second semester with the support of the Study Tutorial following the class. He worked hard and made the most of the time he was in class. I wish him continued success in all of his classes. It has truly been a pleasure having him as a student.

Dr. xxxxxx xxxxx
Xxxxxxxx Special Education Department

________________________________________

Provide a copy of your child’s IEP with in the packet; I have learned the hard way that not all teachers read the IEP this is unfortunate but true. Providing the IEP and making it readily available for the team will make it less likely for them to come up with excuses for not looking it over!

Jordan’s IEP notes this may assist you in learning more about the needs of higher functioning children in the classroom

Challenging areas for Jordan:
1. Higher level language tasks including how and why questions, explaining reasons why and inferring.
2. Rote memory is a skill Jordan excels at, he greatly struggled with recalling sentences that are presented to him verbally.
3. One of Jordans biggest struggles during testing is he attempts to memorize each word as it comes, so he misses the entire message. It’s hard for him to see and recall the entire picture, or the whole sentence.
4. Summarizing information is a challenge along with hearing information, than to explaining it in his own words.
5. Jordan often may miss some key components of the message and it is a challenge for him to recall the information on his own.
6. During Speech sessions when I have read a statement or a message and he has to recall it, his performance has been from 0% to 50% independently. With a cue, Jordan does show improvements, but even with the message repeated he continues to struggle. I have broken this task down for Jordan where he is able to see the message, I say the message and he writes down the paraphrase first. Jordan has improved independently with this, scoring above 60% accuracy. We are going to continue at this level to aid in Jordans understanding of what it means to paraphrase information on your own. Inferring continues to be a struggle for Jordan. He greatly benefits from cues provided to ensure that even though he cannot find the exact answer in the text, he knows that he can use cues to help him. This is a continued focus for Jordan.
7. Abstract concepts such as solving extended response questions where Jordan has to choose important information and than select a process to solve the problem are difficult for Jordan.
8. Struggles with key information
9. Reading comprehension, Jordan does better with literal concepts, answers that can be found within the text. (Concrete) are much easier than inferring or reasoning to find the answer
10. Written Language has also been a struggle with organizing thoughts into specific paragraphs that maintain focus throughout.
11. Continued areas should be a focus:
Paraphrasing, recalling information, and putting it into his own words summarizing, higher level language questions, vocabulary.
12. He receives modifications in Spanish, preferential seating, accommodated tests and quizzes, and tests are read to him. He works well with a partner that is emphatic.
13. Science, He does not participate well in class, participation is spontaneous and inconsistent. He is able to complete the classroom objectives with the help of an aide. He requires cueing and leading questions to make his inferences. He has become frustrated in class but has been able to work though episodes with assistance. We accept late work, extended time for tests and Quizzes. His work is sufficient given his disability
14. Jordan struggles with fine motor skills
Goals:
Objective: Jordan will ask appropriate questions to obtain needed information, obtain clarification of directions, and aid in decision making.
Objective: Jordan will compose verbal sentences to summarize information to a listener regarding an event, story, or other information.
Objective: Jordan will paraphrase a direction, message, statement, etc. after it is provided auditorily.
Objective: Jordan will show understanding of Vocabulary word meaning by verbalizing the meaning in his own words.
Objective: Jordan will identify, understand, and use cues from sentences, short information, stories or events, to help his correctly respond to higher level questions regarding information.
Objective: Jordan will improve in use of strategies to help find cues to retrieve answers for inferring questions or scenarios, and improve in responses to inferring and interpretations questions.
Objectives: Jordan will improve his responses to why questions though verbalizing more than one reason why when presented with various questions.

Modifications and supports:
1. Extended Time. (all areas)
2. Modified Exam format (all areas)
3. Tests administered individually or in small groups ( all areas)
Instruction Curriculum 1. Adjusting pace of material (all areas)
2. Note taking Assignments (all areas)
3. Reduced complexity of material (all areas)
4. Shortened assignments. (all areas)
5. Simplification or repetition of instructions (all areas)
6. Visual Aids, graphic organizers, pictures, sending a copy of a project home for an example, etc. (all areas)

Environment
1. Seated in area free from all distractions.
Study Skills/ Organization 1. Assignment notebook (all areas)
2. Posted Assignments (all areas)
3 Written assignments given to student. (all areas)
4. An extra set of books for home, also checking to see if he has correct information in his assignment notebook.
5. Frequent updates emails to parents

Example of a Letter:
Sent to the High School Super Intendant and Principle.

Things were not as stated in the IEP, if I didn’t make a stand up for Jordan he would have failed. Parents you need to speak up….
I did, you are a part of the team!
When it comes to your childs education parents your in charge......
Stand up for your child no one else will do it for you!

Dear Mr. xxxxxx

I am a mother of a child with high-functioning autism who is at xxxxxxxx
High School. He is receives special education services through inclusion.

Our son has been extremely successful in school and life. We truly feel that working together as a team will allow Jordan to continue his success and lead the way for children following in his footsteps. I have consistently advocated for my son and together the school and I have always found strategies for success.

A huge part of this success is communication. We need to bridge the gap between school and home. Working together as a team includes; family members, administrators, teachers, assistants, and therapists and anyone else who can provide in the best interest of the child.

A key perspective for the entire team to consider is thinking outside the box. Jordan, nor any other child with Autism came with rules or a guidebook. The team needs to realize that student success should matter more than preset standards or standard rules. .

I realize teaching a disabled student can be terrifying, but there are resources available to help us all work together. Differentiating Instruction involves providing instruction that is accessible and challenging to all. Dr. Paula Kluth is a master at this skill and holds workshops, please consider having her come in and speak to all regular education teachers and parents as well!

My mission is to try to help educate so everyone has equal opportunities to learn parents, educators, therapists, and students. If everyone could lower their defenses, just a little, we could make great strides.

Nobody knows it all. We each have to be willing to learn more. This letter is a request for further education of your staff on Autism and Asperger’s Syndrome. It is time to assume intellect when it comes to these very capable children who learn just a little differently.

The first semester has shown me that there are members of your staff that are not willing to be teachable or work together as a team. This saddens me because these kids are very capable learners and as of this point are falling though the cracks of our school system.

The staff needs to realize this is a nation wide epidemic a child is born every 20 minutes with autism. This epidemic is higher that childhood diabetes and most childhood cancers.
If your teachers don’t have a child under the spectrum as of know they will… that’s a fact!

In addition, general IEP protocols have not been followed through with. Jordan’s team had not all read Jordan’s IEP until we were significantly into the school year and I made the request to do so. I realize educating the staff on Autism may not be mandatory, but following through on the IEP is required.

The school has unfortunately for my child dropped the ball in many areas. Below is a summary of recent events.

Jordan needs in many prompts and cues. This is stated within his IEP.

Jordan’s math teacher called me to inform me that Jordan was not re-taking his quizzes as she asked him once to do. I asked her if she was aware that he had autism and her response was yes.

I explained he needs a visual prompt such as a print out of the list of the quizzes he needed to retake and a room number to where he had to retake the quizzes.

Her response was he’s in high school known I should only have to tell him once!

I asked her if she would work with me on this. I would print the information out if she would help me make sure he followed through. She said she would try she has 125 other students to deal with.

Looking over Jordan’s Power school on line I saw he was receiving an 86% in the classroom, so he understands the content but was failing his tests so I put in a call to his math teacher.

I asked if he could take the tests orally. Maybe it was too much information on the test or he didn’t understand the language? I wasn’t quite sure at this point.

The math teacher stated she had told Jordan he can take the tests in the testing room and he had gone only when another child went other wise he stayed behind.

I asked her do you think he knows he can go anytime. She thought maybe he was possibly intimidated to go alone.

NOTE: I asked Jordan when he came home that day about testing and he didn’t realize he could go every time, just as I suspected.

I suggested the use of a prompt I asked her if she would write out a pass which she would have to do anyway and hand him the pass with his test to prompt him to go to the testing room. I explained I would follow though and explain to Jordan he can go every time there’s a test so she would only have to prompt him a couple of times.

Her response to me was she was not going to be responsible for this…
I asked if she read Jordan’s IEP because if she did she would know that she is responsible this is her job.

I also stated that I have never come across a teacher in nine years of working with them that was not willing to bend even slightly for the best interest of the child’s education I told her that she frustrated me.

She than said she was not trying to be difficult.

I expressed my concerns with his case worker and speech teacher knowing that there wasn’t a lot they could do on their own.

The next thing I saw on the power school was Jordan received a zero in note taking?

Jordan should not receive a zero in this on his IEP he has note taking in all areas its extremely hard for him to listen and take notes at the same time. Note taking is supposed to be provided for him according to the IEP. It is stated “in all areas”.

In speaking with xxxxxxxxx on this subject she explained that just because it states on the IEP note taking is in all areas doesn’t necessarily mean it is in all areas…

I asked her to explain to me what all areas means to her because all areas to me means it covers everything…

I asked her to contact his 8th grade resource teacher that we worded the IEP that way to cover all bases.

I also enquired as to why he wasn’t in an extended co-taught algebra class that should include a special education teacher, in which I thought he was in because that is what was agreed on in the IEP?

My son won’t make it without the proper assistance needed.

As of today I believe everything has been taken care of, however if it weren’t for my persistence, sadly my son would be flunking and it wouldn’t be his fault. How many others are falling though the cracks?

In conclusion, the primary intent of this letter is to illustrate and inform you as to the need for training in autism in particular for the regular education staff and their responsibilities in managing IEP’s.

I am a proactive parent and will assist in a positive manner in any way possible.

Sincerely,

Rhonda Brunett 630-xxxxxxxxx

Suggested Resources:

Paula Kluth PH.D: Consultant, former special educator, inclusion facilitator, author, advocate, and independent scholar. She lives in Oak Park please consider educating your regular education teachers help them feel more confident and comfortable in teaching our children.

Paula Kluth http://www.paulakluth.com

Her books: (Your Going to Love this Kid), (Autism in a Inclusive Classroom), (A Land We Share), this book is about teaching literacy to students with autism.

Diane Heacox www.freespirit.com Differentiating Instruction in the Regular Classroom.

Rhonda Brunett www.autism2allstar.com From Autism to All-star.

Autism tips and examples for teachers

Are you aware that Bill Gates, Thomas Jefferson, Albert Einstein, Henry Ford, Charles Shultz’s, Thomas Edison just to name a few are and were under the autistic spectrum as you can see where dealing with very capable high functioning autistic individuals.
Even though each is different always assume intellect….

1. Paraphrasing of summarizing information. This is key to ensure that the student is grasping the direction or message. Have the students retell you the direction, message, statement, etc. in their own words to ensure understanding.

2. Teachers check in at the end of the period with the student.
To ensure that the student understands what happened in class and the exact details of the homework, have a check in at the end of the period.
The student can come up to the teacher and show their assignment notebook or agenda to the teacher.

The student should have the assignment written down and the teacher can have the student explain in his own words what the assignment is. If there is no homework or as an addition, the teacher can ask a few basic questions to the student to see if they grasped the material for the day.

This check in can just be a quick routine for the student because the teachers are busy and the student has another class to get to.
However, if the student gets used to this check in and makes it apart of his or her day, it will greatly limit the number of difficulties that can occur throughout the year.

3. Checks for comprehension throughout the period.
This would involve asking questions throughout the lesson- literal and abstract to see what the student is getting and what they are missing.
The teacher can possibly use this information to create an additional assignment for the student to work on at home with the parents if extra assistance is needed to help grasp material.

4. Quick recall checks thought out the period. As the teacher is giving directions thought out the lesson, you can periodically call on different students to say,
“What was my direction, or what did I just say?” This way all students know that you are periodically checking to see if they are on task and it helps focus.

5. For the student with autism, sometimes simply walking around the room and tapping on the page that the teacher is speaking on ensures the student stays with the lesson.

6. Vocabulary work. For vocabulary work, if the teacher has the students find definitions from the dictionary; have the students write the definition in their own words.

Students with autism are often good with rote memory skills or copying information they simply copy the word for word of the definition in the book.
They have known idea what it means. Try to get the students used to putting things in their own words

7. Visuals, visuals, visuals……. as often as the teacher is able to!
Pointing and gesturing, pictures, or modeling when giving directions.

8. Write homework on the board everyday. Have all students write in there agenda.

9. Finding the main idea can be a challenge. Try to find ways to incorporate this thought out the lesson.

For example at the end of the period, ask the students what the main idea of today’s lesson was?

Another example, ask students to summarize what they did over the weekend in one sentence. Get the students used to summarizing and finding the main idea.

10. Any changes that are being made tell at least one week in advance if at all possible.

11. Modeling of specific things that need to be done in class. (Heading of papers, specific math problems.)

12. Graphic organizers break tasks into smaller chunks. In this way, you take what is largely an invisible abstract concept and make it visible and concrete.

13. Inferential questions

Example: When reading Anne Frank, a student would be asked a question such as: “Why do you infer that Anne would dress in Peter’s cloths?”

Prompt them by saying, “Think about what boys and girls do when they like each other.” To which the student would respond “I infer Anne dressed in Peters cloths because she might like him.”

14. Figurative language (idioms specifically)

Autistic children take what you are literally saying (I’m in a pickle they will picture someone standing inside a pickle.)

You can find pictures as an example to help them better understand such as someone getting yelled at by an adult. When they are assessed you
can put the picture on the assessment so they can remember what each idiom really meant.

To see a Parent and Teacher School Year Checklist for Successful Inclusion Created by:
Angelina Strum (Special Education Teacher)
See Angelina’s Profile blog for this post.
A monthly check to ensure sure everything is flowing smoothly!

Passed on to me from an unknow source...

IEP Checklist of Items for Students with Physical Disabilities or Special Health Needs

FAMILY
[] Goals/ priorities
[] Liaison
[] Collaboration
[] Communication
[] Other ________________________________________
ACCESSIBILITY/MOBILITY
[] Need for assistance
[] School entrance
[] Hallways
[] Classrooms/ specials
[] Health room
[] Stairs/ elevators
[] Bathroom
[] Classrooms
[] Locker
[] Locker location
[] Gym
[] Playground
[] Cafeteria
[] Library
[] Extra time to get to class
[] Vocational areas
[] Auditorium (stage)
[] Administrative offices
Proximity considerations
[] Classrooms
[] Lunchroom
[] Gym
[] Other ________________________________________
SPECIAL HEALTH NEEDS AT SCHOOL
[] Regular basis
[] As needed
[] Use of bathroom as needed
[] Other ________________________________________
Specify
[] Who _______________________________
[] What _______________________________
[] Backup person _______________________________
SPECIAL SUPPLIES OR EQUIPMENT
[] Storage
[] Whose responsibility ____________________
[] At school only
[] Shared between home and school
Other considerations: ________________________________________
HEALTH SERVICES
[] Health Assessments, including student strengths
[] Individualized Health Care Plan
[] Emergency Plans
[] Health status monitoring
[] Specialized health procedure
[] Health teaching/ counseling
[] Medication
[] Personnel training
[] Personnel supervision
[] Staff consultation
[] Family support/ liaison
[] Physician consultation/ orders
[] Parent authorization
[] Release of information
[] Other ________________________________________
BACKUP MEDICAL SUPPORT
List specific health-related emergencies that may occur:
________________________________________
________________________________________
Who to contact
________________________________________
________________________________________
Where to go
________________________________________
________________________________________
What to do in an emergency
________________________________________
________________________________________
Side effects implications for:
[] Regular school schedule
[] Test schedule
[] Special events/activities
[] Other ________________________________________
PHYSICAL ARRANGEMENT OF THE CLASSROOM
[] Seat student near the teacher
[] Student facing instruction
[] Stand near the student when giving instruction
[] Provide a structured routine
[] Provide organizational strategies; charts, timelines, graphic organizers
[] Use a variety of teaching and learning styles
[] Adaptive or special furniture
[] Other ________________________________________
FIRE SAFETY
[] Evacuation Plan
[] Evacuation practice
[] Back-up Plan
[] Other ________________________________________
SELF-HELP SKILLS
[] Eating
[] Dressing
[] Toileting
Student needs:
[] Assistance
[] Training
[] Other ________________________________________
Grooming:
[] Bathing/washing
[] Tooth brushing
[] Other ________________________________________

SCHEDULING
[] Length of day
[] Number of days
[] Rest period
[] Flexible schedule
[] Testing schedule
[] Changing the time of day for a subject
[] Other ________________________________________
TRANSPORTATION
[] Regular bus
[] Van
[] Wheelchair accessible bus
[] Equipment
[] Seatbelt
[] Car seat
[] Safety
[] Positioning
[] Emergency plan
[] Communications
Other ________________________________________
Special Assistance
[] To and from home to vehicle
[] To and from school to vehicle
[] Aide
[] Positioning
[] Evacuation
[] Other ________________________________________
THERAPIES
[] Occupational therapy
[] Physical therapy
[] Speech therapy
[] Other ________________________________________
OTHER RELATED SERVICES
[] Social Work
[] Counseling
[] Psychology
[] Adapted PE
[] Itinerant Services
[] Other ________________________________________
OTHER PROGRAM ADAPTATIONS
[] Curriculum/ instruction
[] Special equipment
[] Activities of daily living
[] Scheduling of health interventions
[] Positioning
[] Mobility
[] Special diet
[] Other ________________________________________
SETTING
[] Working in small groups
[] Provide an individual work place
[] Reduce extraneous noise
[] Allow movement to increase physical comfort
[] Other ________________________________________
EQUIPMENT
[] Copy of peer or teacher notes
[] Allow use of a tape recorder
[] Allow use of a calculator
[] Allow use of a computer
[] Keep accurate assignment notebook
[] Extra set of books at home
[] Other ________________________________________
RESPONDING
[] Allow student to tape record responses
[] Allow oral presentations
[] Avoid speed tasks
[] Provide a scribe for written responses
[] Other ________________________________________

MATERIALS
[] Simplify complex directions
[] Provide same context at a lower reading level
[] Reduce homework assignments
[] Other ________________________________________
INSTRUCTION
[] Provide study guides
[] Provide a written outline
[] Provide a copy of board work
[] Provide concrete examples
[] Pre-teach vocabulary
[] Books on tape
[] Enlarged materials
[] Fewer items on a page
[] Extra time to complete a task
[] Check for understanding
[] Other ________________________________________
TEST TAKING
[] Open book exam
[] Oral exam
[] Give a multiple choice instead of short answer
[] Multiple testing sessions
[] Extra time for exam
[] Test read to student
[] Other ________________________________________
ORGANIZATION
[] Assign homework buddy
[] Weekly progress report to parents
[] Checklist to assist student's organization
[] Other ________________________________________
BEHAVIOR
[] Natural consequences for behavior
EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES
[] Special learning opportunities
[] Extended programs
[] Clubs
[] Sports
[] Social Events
[] Transportation
[] Access
[] Other ________________________________________
FIELD TRIPS
[] Medication Plan
[] Emergency Plan
[] Personnel
[] Transportation
[] Other ________________________________________
TUTORING/ HOME/ HOSPITAL
[] Supplemental in-school-tutor-regular or intermittent
[] Plan for continuous programming-school/home/hospital
[] Regular home/hospital program
[] Other ________________________________________

Checklist of Items for Consideration
in the Developing Individualized Education Plan (IEP)
for Students with Physical Disabilities or Special Health Needs

1. Transportation: special equipment (seat belt, etc.), assistance from vehicle to school?
2. Building accessibility and bathroom accessibility?
3. Occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech therapy, etc.?
4. Medications -- is copy of prescription for files necessary; who is to give them (student, nurse, teacher, etc.); side effects; where will they be kept?
5. Stamina?
6. Positioning?
7. Self help skills: feeding, dressing, toileting, etc.; will child need assistance or training or both?
8. Special medical needs while in school: regular or irregular basis, what, who?
9. Special supplies or equipment: storage, anyone to be notified?
10. Backup medical support: who, where, what emergencies likely to arise?
11. Equipment needed for student to progress effectively: typewriter, computer, special grip pencils, etc.?
12. Specially prepared curriculum materials (information to be taped or prepared in a different way) -- who, when?
13. Art/music/other enrichment classes and activities -- any modifications needed for inclusion?
14. Physical education: regular program as is, modified, or adaptive physical education program (any special equipment or staff required)?
15. Mobility and need for any assistance, back-up person?
16. Fire safety: a plan with indications of who is responsible and back-up person?
17. Field trips (best to attempt to notify ahead) special comments? transportation, aide, any special comments?
18. Home/hospital tutoring: is this needed now or will it be likely to occur; outline plan (even if only tentative)?
HEALTH CARE PLAN CHECKLIST
(To Be Placed in Student's Temporary Records File
and Maintained by Nurse or Health Coordinator)

DATE
Parent, Administrator, Health coordinator Pre-Placement Meeting ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬-________

Health/Medical Update Completed ________

Case study Components Approved ________

Educational Placement ________

Specific Health Care Plan Approved by Health Care coordinator, M.D., Parent ________

Child-Specific Procedures written ________

Emergency Procedures written ________

Parent Approval/signature Physician's Approval/Signature ________

Educational Team Meeting Health Care Plan in Child's Record/IEP ________

Transportation Considerations written ________

Staff Training:
General Staff Awareness Activity to Describe Student's Needs Completed ________

Specific Training of All Staff Working with Student Completed ________

Care Giver Skills Checklist ________

Follow Up:
Monitoring Schedule and Plan by Nurse/Health Coordinator ________

Training Reviews (Dates Completed) ________

I hope you can implement this material and I hope you find it useful!
Good Luck, I still hit bumps in the road as I have shared in previous blogs please feel free to email any questions email me(:

Rhonda Brunett