| This page is designed for the regular educator.
We hope to give you some information about special education.
These are the topics discussed: |
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| WHAT IS SPECIAL EDUCATION? |
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| Special Education is a specifically designed individual
plan of instruction developed from an extensive evaluation and
in consultation with the parents/guardians, the student’s teacher
and appropriate special education staff, to meet the specific
needs of a disabled child. Instructional programs, interventions
and consultations are tailored to meet each students needs in
order to provide a successful school experience. These services
are provided at not cost to the parent or guardian |
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| HOW DOES A TEACHER ACCESS SPECIAL
EDUCATION SERVICES? |
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| The following steps are necessary for a student to receive
special education services: |
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- Pre-referral consultations with teacher or parents
to suggest possible instructional /behavioral strategies (interventions)
that might solve the problem without a formal referral
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| RESOURCES AND
IDEAS FOR INTERVENTIONS |
Click here for
possible classroom interventions
Click
here for possible accommodations
Click
here for an Excel spreadsheet specific to behavior accommodation
form |
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| Please click
here to link to the resource page which has web sites with
intervention ideas. |
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- If strategies and interventions prove to be unsuccessful,
a referral is made for the student to be evaluated for a possible
disability
- Parents of the referred student agree and sign consent
for evaluation form.
- Evaluations are completed.
- Parents, the student’s teacher(s), an administrator
and special education personnel share and discuss the results
of the evaluation. This meeting is called a Child Study Team
(CST) meeting. This team, including the student (if appropriate)
determines whether the student meets established criteria
for a disabling condition.
- If eligible, an Individual Education Plan (IEP)
is developed by the parents, the student’s teacher, staff
and other involved professionals.
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INDENTIFIED
HANDICAPPING CONDITIONS: |
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| There are a variety of reasons why a child may have
difficulty performing in school. Some learning difficulties involve
physical or mental disabilities. Under IDEA (Individual with Disabilities
Education Act) both federal and state law requires school districts
to provide children with disabilities a “Free Appropriate Public
Education” (FAPE) which meets the student’s individual needs.
A child identified with a disability qualifies for special education
services under one or more of the following categories: |
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| Autism - a child that has a developmental disability that
results in severe difficulty with communication and social interaction. |
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| Child with Disabilities – a child under the age of six (6)
who experiences a severe delay in the areas of cognitive, physical,
communication, social/emotional or adaptive functioning skills.
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| Cognitively Delayed – A child whose general intellectual
ability is significantly below average and whose ability to adapt
socially is significantly delayed from what might be expected
for his/her age. |
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| Deaf- A child who has a hearing loss which is so severe
that his/her hearing is not Functional for education purposes. |
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| Deaf-Blindness – A child who has impairments in both hearing
and vision who cannot be accommodated in an educational program
designed for either deaf or for blind students. |
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| Emotionally Disturbed- A child whose behavior is so disruptive
or withdrawn that he/she cannot function successfully in school. |
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| Hearing Impaired - A child whose hearing loss interferes
with learning. |
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| Orthopedically Impaired- A child with server orthopedic
impairment which interferes with his/her educational performance. |
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| Other Health Impaired- A child whose health condition adversely
affects a student’s expected educational performance. |
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| Specific Learning Disability – A child with normal intelligence
and physical abilities who demonstrates significant difficulty
acquiring information in one or more learning areas, such as,
reading, mathematics, written or spoken language. |
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| Speech/Language Impairment- A child with a communication
problem such as fluency, articulation, language or voice disorders
which interfere with his/her interpersonal relationships or educational
performance. |
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| Traumatic Brain Injury – A child that has disabilities that
result from a brain trauma that was caused by external force,
stroke or aneurysm. |
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| Visually Impaired – A child whose vision impairment even
after correction interferes with his/her ability to learn. |
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| LEVELS OF SERVICE |
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- The student participates in his/her classroom and
the special education staff provides assistance or consultation
in making accommodations within the curriculum to insure the
student’s progress.
- The student participates in his/her classroom for
the majority of the school day receiving services from special
education staff and spends some time with non-disabled students
in his/her classroom.
- The student is in a full time special education
classroom, special school or facility for disabled children.
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| This range of services insures that the student’s program
can be designed to meet his/her individual learning needs. IDEA
requires that a student, identified as disabled, receive his/her
education in the least intrusive or segregated situation as possible.
The student must be educated in an environment which provides
an opportunity to interact and participate in their classroom
with non-disabled peers for as much time as possible. This is
called placement in the "Least
Restrictive Environment". (LRE) This inclusion
aids the student and his/her peers in accepting one’s uniqueness
and diversity as well as providing the student an opportunity
for social, emotional and behavioral development. |
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| If you don’t find what you are looking
for here and you have a question please click
here to link with our FAQ page and submit your question one
of our directors will answer the question |
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