Dealing with the Diagnosis

In How to Help Fathers Cope With a Child's Diagnosis, the article discusses how “Couples often seem to be at different stages in grief with mothers appearing further along in the journey.”

I find out that many parents have trouble accepting that their child might have some kind of disability that hinders their learning. Every parent wants to believe that their child is perfect so finding this out is heartbreaking!

I let parents know that I was an advocate for the student and I knew I had to give parents time to process the information. I made sure they had my contact information in case they needed to ask questions.

I also explained that having a disability involved with learning can be invisible like Diabetes. We don’t ignore it and we help the student cope with this situation. It is no one’s fault Too many parents blame themselves and wonder what they did wrong. I remind them that we need to stop looking at blame and look at the present time in order to help their child.

By the time I get some of the students on the high school level, many parents are told their child is just lazy and not putting in the effort. I need them to see that sometimes, their child is giving their full effort and is as frustrated as their parents. No one likes to be called lazy but if I’m going to fail anyway, why bother trying?

I need the parents to see that we are all on the same team and working for the same goal - their child’s success. I want the parents to know that they are not alone and I am walking beside them trying to find the key that unlocks learning for their child. I want the parents to know that I will work with them in trying different ways and that I won’t give up on their child.

How do you help parents deal with this? Please share.

Photo by Elisa Ventur on Unsplash

Acting Out Behaviors

Recently someone asked the following questions on an education forum that I participate in. I thought I would share my answer here.

“I am currently student teaching in a Kindergarten classroom. I have a student who often acts out for my attention, my mentors attention, our teacher assistants attention, and more often than not his peers attention. Often when the student acts out for his peers attention it takes away from the lesson that is being taught and it takes a while to regain everyones focus. The teacher assistant often pulls the student aside to complete a simple task when he starts acting out. However, he often yells across the room to get the students attention as well. How do I prevent these acting out behaviors from taking away from a lesson and the whole classes attention?”

I would start doing a functional behavior analysis and collect data on this behavior. Is it only happening when a new skill is being taught? Does it happen during other activities? Does the student gain attention which could be rewarding the behavior instead of diminishing it?

I would also contact the parents to see if the student has experienced any changes in his routine or life. Is the child acting out at home as well as in school? How do the parents handle his acting-out behaviors? Sometimes parents can give suggestions that might work in the school situation also.

Look for what may be causing the behavior and that might give you a clue on how to handle it. Maybe the student is anxious about learning a new skill. Maybe pairing the student with a buddy could help this anxiety if he knows he can ask a buddy for help.

Is there a behavior system implemented in the class? If not, one should be created for all of the students so that they are rewarded for appropriate behavior as well as consequences for inappropriate behavior. If there is one, is it being implemented consistently? I find that one of the hardest things for new teachers to follow through with because it is very time-consuming at the beginning but the pay off is worth it in the end.

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Communicating Effectively

In It’s easy to do (if you know how to do it) from Seth Godin's Blog, Seth Godin,

"This is the dilemma that every game designer, form creator, and teacher faces.

Writing an instruction manual, doing a survey, creating a map–they’re all difficult tasks because of the translation that’s required: the person doing the work already knows what they’re trying to teach. But the person interacting with the manual doesn’t.”

Sometimes when I’m teaching a new skill, I take it for granted that my students will know the things I didn’t say but should have said. When I know how to do something, it becomes easy and routine, so I forget all the little steps it also takes to do something.

So, before I teach a new skill, I write down all of the steps it takes to learn this new skill. Then I number them in the correct sequence. After doing this, I try the sequence out to see if ends up completing the goal that I want to achieve. Once I think it is right, I find a willing victim (I mean helper) to practice it on and I ask them to do only what I say to do and don’t do anything extra. This is where I find out all the little steps that I have forgotten and even though it may seem silly or frustrating, it really helps clarify what I want to teach.

For example, when I wanted to teach how to write a check and log it into the checkbook register, I found out there were a lot of little steps that I didn’t include. When I tried out the lesson with my husband, the lesson didn’t end up like I wanted it to. First, I didn’t name the parts of the checkbook, so he didn’t realize what the checkbook register was. I didn’t show examples so he didn’t write it in the register like I thought it should be done. With a few corrections and additions, the next practice lesson went much better,

When I’m writing an article that I want to share with others, I must think about the audience. If I want to share something about education to a person who is not in education, I ask someone not in education to read my article. I ask them to let me know if there is something they don’t understand. Sometimes when someone is in education for a long time, they take it for granted that others reading certain material will understand all the jargon or background that is included. If someone not familiar with the field of education reads this, it might not make any sense to them. This review helps me make my writing clearer.

When I ask my graduate students, who take my practicum class, to write a newsletter home to parents each week, I ask them to not use abbreviations or education jargon. I look over the letters to explain why parents might not understand what they are trying to say. I don’t want my teachers to talk down to parents but I want them to communicate in a way that anyone is able to understand.

How do you make sure that the message you are trying to send makes sense to your audience? Please share.

Photo by Antenna on Unsplash

Surviving Unruly Students

Here is another question that was asked recently:

“After many years of teaching, today I wanted to throw in the towel and quit. I have 2 classes that are horrible, it isn't the entire class but three or four constantly interrupting, using inappropriate language, getting up and down, being disrespectful and harassing other students. I write them up, they may get one day in ISS then they are right back in class doing the same thing again. Its not only in my class but in on our entire team. I really don't know what to do. I love teaching and I hate what the few are doing to me and entire class. If something doesn't change I may have to find a new profession. Looking for all the advice I can get.”

Here is my advice:

"Start calling parents and bragging on the ones that are doing great. Talk about how you enjoyed talking to their parents during class. Give lots of praise in class. Find these "bad" kids doing something good and call home to praise them, It might take a while but soon, the kids will start trying to be good so you will call home. I've done this for years from elementary to high school and it really works."

I believe that we don’t involve parents enough as teachers. Maybe we are afraid that we will seem weak or incompetent if we ask the parents for help. Instead, we need to see parents as another part of the team that will help us reach our goal. Our goal is to help the student be successful. Parents and teachers should not be adversaries! Communicating often with the parents is key to a successful classroom. It will show that you care and that you want to help the student succeed. It will also make your job in the classroom much easier since you won’t have to spend so much time on discipline and can spend more time on teaching content.

Simply ignoring bad behavior doesn’t work if you don’t give students something else to replace it with. Sometimes it is hard to find something good that the student has done but I look really hard even if it is to say that I can see the student trying. The more positive things you can start saying about the student the easier it gets because the student starts working hard to do more positive things. Then when the student act up, it is easier to ignore and explain that you are looking for good behavior so you can call and brag about them.

This strategy takes time and you need to be patient. It also helps the students who are acting appropriately because it shows that they aren’t forgotten. They don’t have to do something bad in order to be noticed. It rewards them for acting appropriately.

What advice would you give this teacher? Please share.

Photo by Thomas Park on Unsplash

Changing Behavior

Here is another question that was posed to my special education group:

“I teach an LLD self-contained class in high school. The last two years I had about 6 students. This year it is 14, most of whom are typical LLD. One of my students I had for the past two years is the one I am asking for ideas for. She is 16 and was placed in my room for ADHD and her Learning Disabilities. She always had some behavior issues such as: talking back, or calling out in class. This year though the behaviors have escalated 110 %. She is extremely disrespectful to me, my paras etc. The students try to ignore her and at lunch do not want to even sit with her. I have had a reinforcement program in place to earn pts toward watching a movie, or a game day. She did not earn this for the past two weeks. I also try to ignore the behavior and redirect. I have spoken with CST and they said to revamp my reinforcement program. I am an 18yr veteran of teaching and have taught BD before but I am at a point where I am frustrated and not sure what else to do. My BD students were easier than this along with students I had that had ODD as well. Can anyone offer ideas for me to implement in my classroom so my other students do not lose out on learning?”

Here was my answer:

• Have you done an FBA to see what is happening that causes this behavior?
• Have you talked to the student to find out if she can give you some insight into her behavior?
• Have you asked her what would help her to behave more appropriately?
• Did something happen this summer that may have caused this change in behavior?
• Have you talked with the parents to help you find some answers?

I don't think that just revamping your reinforcement program will help change her behavior. I think you need to investigate more into what is causing this drastic increase in inappropriate behavior. It seems like she is pushing everyone away from her for a reason and it may be a defense mechanism. Maybe have her keep a journal about her day and her feelings which could help her in the long run. She could either write about it or record it orally and she could share it with you or keep it totally private but it might be an outlet for her.

What advice would you give this teacher? Please share.

Photo by Julien L on Unsplash

IEP Meeting Facilitator

It is really hard to be an IEP meeting facilitator because you are juggling many different hats. You are the liaison between administrators, educators, and parents. You are the leader who needs to keep everyone following the meeting agenda. You are also the peacemaker during conflicts.

Recently on one of my discussion boards, this question was asked:

“I am preparing for a job interview as an IEP meeting facilitator in my building. What would be the best way to respond to the question, how would you handle when a member of an IEP team disagrees with placement or eligibility?”

Here is what I responded:

“In response to how I would handle a situation when a member of an IEP team disagrees with placement or eligibility, I would do the following:

• Listen to why the team member disagrees.
• Consider their concerns.
• Offer possible answers to their concerns.
• If further information or consideration is needed to make an informed decision, ask that the meeting be reconvened at a later time to address these concerns.”

Further discussion brought other responses such as

“I have often dealt with this question. On my team we take the time to discuss the eligibility and the placement prior to the meeting. On our agenda we have a goal to meet at a Special Ed team up to 10 days prior to the meeting. As you know you have 45 days to meet with the parents therefore on my team we set a goal to have testing finished in 35 days. This way if there is any disagreement we can discuss it and make sure the team is clear on the recommendations. Be sure that the decision for the recommendation is based on the data of the testing, observations, teacher and parent input.”

As a response to the above comments, someone stated, “I know that a lot of teams will have 'the meeting before the meeting', but I would be very careful about discussing placement before an IEP is written because we cannot pre-determine placement. That is the last piece. After the IEP is agreed upon, the team must determine LRE. Be careful about documenting pre-determinations as that could get you into some legal issues.”

I also felt the need to respond because I feel that parent involvement is vital to helping the student be successful in whatever placement is decided. It is easy to fall into ways that seem easier for the educators but is really not appropriate no matter how much easier it is.

Remember that parents are part of the IEP team. Any discussions about placement or eligibility need to involve them in order to make the best decision for the student. The law clearly states that parents have the right to participate in meetings related to the evaluation, identification, and educational placement of their child.

By not including parents in the discussion and then having a meeting where it is apparent that the educators have already made a decision will only make parents and educators adversaries instead of team players. All discussions need to be transparent and all team members, of which parents are a part, need to be included in the discussion.

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Parents or Practitioners

A few weeks ago I attended a free seminar on Parents or Practitioners that was excellent and I wanted to share the information with you. 

“Webinar 1: Parents or Practitioners? 

Clarifying responsibilities of caretakers and practitioners of students with disabilities in remote learning environments 

Questions addressed: 

1. What does IDEA say about the role of parents or caretakers should have in their child's education? 
2. Have there been hearing decisions related to the role of parents or caretakers in remote and online learning environments? 
3. What does research say about how parents or caretakers support their child with a disability in remote and online learning environments? 
4. What are the differences between the duties of a special education teacher and parent or caretaker in remote learning environments?” 

Handout 

FAQ 

If you have the time, please look over these materials. They give such great information and may help you in your remote classroom.

High-Leverage Practice 2: Collaborate

I am going to discuss High-Leverage Practices as mentioned on the CEC website organized around four aspects of practice. I hope you will join in the conversation!

“HLP2- Organize and facilitate effective meetings with professionals and families.”

One of the scariest things I had to do as a new teacher was to set up and facilitate a meeting with other professionals and families. Luckily, I had an interim principal (filling in for my principal who was on medical leave) who was a great role model and ran my first meeting for me. I took lots of notes on the procedure and who she handled the meeting. Many years later, when I began teaching preservice teachers, I tried to do the same thing. We had mock meetings so they could feel comfortable when the real situation occurred. Then I started coming up with a “recipe” of sorts on how to facilitate the meeting.

Of course, the district has specific procedures on the invitation paperwork, who to invite, and deadlines to follow. Once everyone is invited, the date and time set, it is time to figure out what to do next.

I also ask someone to take minutes of the meeting while I run the meeting. These minutes are official notes about our meeting, and I ask everyone to sign them at the end of the meeting.

Agenda: Before we meet, I like to come up with an agenda to follow during the meeting. This helps keep everyone on track during the meeting and helps it go smoothly. I usually make contact with the parents before the meeting to see if there are any issues, they would like to address during the meeting so I can add it to the agenda.

Greeting and Introductions – After everyone is seated, I like to introduce myself if necessary and then ask everyone around the room to introduce themselves and state their positions.

Meeting Agenda – I review the agenda and then ask everyone if they have anything to add to the agenda. I also make it clear that we will not meet more than 1 hour and if it goes longer, we will need to reconvene so that we can cover all the items on the agenda.

Review IEP goals – I always like to review the goals and tell how the student is progressing.

Other professionals – I ask that the other professionals if they have anything they would like to add.

Issues – If there are any issues, we go over each one of them. I like to address the issues from the parents first in case we run out of time. I want them to feel that their issues are important to us and that we will address them.

Closing – I like to review what we covered during the meeting and will ask the person taking notes to read aloud the minutes. I ask if anyone has anything they would like to add to the minutes. If everyone is agreed with what was read or added, everyone signs the minutes.

Thank you – I thank everyone for attending the meeting.

Do you facilitate meetings? What would you add to the list? Please share.

Photo by Tim Gouw on Unsplash

S is for Successful

During this holiday season, I thought it would be fun to use the word Christmas and apply it to education.

Today’s letter is S and S stands for Successful

As a teacher, we want our students to be successful in our classrooms and in their futures. So do their parents. We need to work together to help this student be successful. We are a team. We can’t do it alone.

In order to work successfully as a team, we have to learn to communicate with each other.

I need to be able to share with the parents what the student is doing in my classroom. I need to let them know what he is able to do and what he is struggling to do. I need to share my observations with the parents but I need to let them know that I care about this student and want to do what is necessary to help him. I also need to share the student’s victories with the parents so they can see progress in his learning.

The parents need to share with the teacher some strategies that work in the home. The parents were this student’s first teachers. They may know specific things that work well with their child and what doesn’t work well. There is no reason for the teacher to reinvent the wheel if the parents have such valuable input. Parents also need to share how the student is doing with his homework when he is home. Does he understand what he needs to do? Is he doing it carefully? What study habits does he have at home?

The student needs to be honest with the parents and the teacher about what he needs. If he is struggling, he needs to let them know.  He might need for them to help him think of ways to overcome the obstacles in his way. If he thinks he knows of some way that might help him do better, he needs to give his input to his parents and teacher. They, in turn, need to really listen to his input. He needs to know it is okay to be a self-advocate. He might have some suggestions that his parents and teachers haven’t even thought about.

How do you help your students be more successful in the classroom? Please share.

Photo by Evelyn on Unsplash

Class Tag Contest for Teachers

Class Tag - “is the free, easy-to-use collaborative platform that lets teachers effortlessly engage with parents. Classrooms earn ClassTag Coins when parents and teachers communicate, volunteer, or attend events such as parent teacher conferences. For teachers, the cloud-based ClassTag app is easy to access and use from any computer or smartphone at ClassTag.com so classrooms can start earning ClassTag Coins even before school doors open as teachers begin to reach out to parents.”

Contest:

ClassTag Parent-Teacher Engagement Contest:

Share innovative and creative ways you've engaged with your students' parents in 500 words or less for a chance to win $1,000 in ClassTag Coins, a digital currency that can be exchanged for an array of classroom supplies through ClassTag's Marketplace. 

Submissions close August 20, and the top 10 teachers will be announced August 24.