Chapter 3 Low Incidence Disabilities

Things I Do And Plan To Do…..

       I have some experience with autism. I had a student in Pre School that I found fascinating. This student needed a routine or he would get very upset. I tried very hard to keep things the same so he would understand where and when we would be going to different places. He loved playing with balls. He was so entertained and excited when he would roll a ball. I was unable to communicate with him because he was nonverbal. He would make noises but it was when he was excited or angry. I will always wonder what he was thinking. He would rarely smile or look at me but when he did it just melted my heart. His parents were wonderful and did anything they could to help him progress. If I do have students that have autism, I plan to research and find different strategies to help them succeed.

Things I Do Not Do……

       I do not have any experience with students with hearing problems or blindness. I found some great strategies in the book that I feel would be very helpful if I have a student that is visually or hearing impaired. Some strategies I found were making sure the environment is suitable for students such as allowing them up front so they can hear or see better, showing visual cues or sound cues when transitioning, fixing lighting, and adjusting teacher movement in the room so students can read lips. These are all helpful tips that I have not thought of.

Things I Need To Improve……

       I need to research more about students that have multiple disabilities. I have not experienced this but I would like to know more about it. I need to observe classrooms that have students with different disabilities that I am not familiar with so I can see first hand how to solve problems and ways to teach students. I need to also make a contacts list of people I can call or meet if I have questions about different disabilities or disorders. 

Chapter 2 High Incidence Disabilities

Things I Do And Plan To Do……

I have a little experience with students with ADHD. One student was on medicine so I just had to monitor and keep in contact with their mother. I made sure that this student was in a place where they could focus. I had another student that was not diagnosed but was observed by the school psychologist and was in the process of getting medication. I made sure this student was in an environment where they could focus and have hands on activities to keep them busy. I have had several students that are in speech class. I follow any accommodations that the students may have. I have also experience culture differences. I had one student that had a very hard time understanding certain words. I try to translate any words to help students understand the content better and communicate with the ESL teacher.

Things I Do Not Do……..
       I sometimes struggle with organizing schedules for when students leave for resource or speech. Most of the time the students leave at the same time during the week but other times it is a different time. So I have a hard time making sure they get work done that they have missed. I really hate to give them work during recess but I guess there is not a choice sometimes.

Things I Need To Improve……

       I need to research and become more familiar with different disorders, disabilities and syndromes. I noticed after reading I am very inexperienced with several disorders. Some examples are EBD, Intellectual disability, and Asperger Syndrome. I have just recently heard about students with EBD. While doing an after school program I noticed a student that showed several signs of it but I am not sure whether or not he has it. I feel as if I need to read and learn about different disorders incase I have a students that may be suffering from a something that has not yet been diagnosed. 

Chapter 4 Collaboration

Things I Do and Plan To Do……

Collaboration is working together as a team with two or more people to achieve a goal. It is sharing knowledge and gaining knowledge from others. I personally enjoy working together with someone. When I did a long term substitute I was so thankful to have teachers their to help and guide me. I was able to meet with a veteran teacher once a week that helped me tremendously through the couple months that I was there. When I did have a student that was being evaluated, I made sure to keep close ties with the school psychologist to make sure the student was getting all the help they could. I think that you can usually get more accomplished and end up achieving more as you work together. Collaboration is something that I use a lot in my classroom. Depending on the students I allow them to work together with a partner or in groups. I think that students can learn from each other and need to sometimes have a chance to work with someone rather than always doing independent work.

Things I Do Not Do…..

         Working with families and parents is intimidating to me. I worry that I will make parents or guardians mad because of something I taught or did not do correctly. In the text, it discusses how students with disabilities have a more successful experience if the teacher and parents work together. This is something that I struggle with and must work on before I have a classroom of my own. I also do not teach the listening skills to students. I think teaching responsive, nonverbal, and verbal skills should be taught in every grade so students know how to listen to others in the classroom. This would help students not argue or overreact when there is a disagreement.

Things I Need To Improve…..

            Communication and listening skills are two main keys that I can improve on. I never thought about teaching students listening and communication skills. There has been numerous times where I will catch students arguing or not getting along during partner work. I usually would switch the partners but I never thought the problem might simply be a miscommunication or listening skills were not being used. I need to before using groups or partners, teach students how to work with others. Students need to be able to respect, communicate and listen.

Chapter 1 Response to Intervention

Things I Do and Plan To Do….

I have only had a few months of experience with students with disabilities. When I did a long-term substitute, I had a file for accommodations for two students. I made sure the student’s accommodations were met. For example, putting them in the front of the class, putting them near students that could help them not hinder them, and monitoring them during assessments. If I did have any problems with the students, I made sure to communicate with their resource teacher.

Things I Do Not Do….

I have not used the problem-solve approach or the hybrid approach. I think that these two approaches are very useful and should be used with students that may have a learning disability. I like how the problem-solve approach has easy steps to follow. Keeping assessment records are beneficial to parents and students that have a disability. Keeping these records shows whether or not a student is progressing or regressing.

Things I Need To Improve….

I believe, there are many areas to improve on. There is so much to know and learn about Response to Interventions. I did not realize there were so many great strategies that would help me in the classroom. The strategy that stuck out to me the most was the problem solving approach.  The first step discusses how to identify and validate the problem. The second step is to design strategies to address the problem. It is so important to plan strategies to help the students. The third step is to monitor and document the student. Documenting is something that I have to really work on. I get so busy with other things that I forget to document important information about students. The last step is to reconvene and establish the next steps. By using these steps, it gives you an effective way to respond to intervention.