Questions+for+Chapter+One

Question 2: It appears that Deja receives all of her instruction in the general education setting. In her case, is this the least restrictive environment? How do you know? Yes, Deja talks about how she knows that she can do it, but at times would like more help because the aides are there to assist. She talks about how the aides give gentle reminders and tell her that she can to this, she answers in the video that she knows she can and when they don’t help her, she feels this is fair. When asked about the state assessment she scored above average on the reading and exceeding standards on the math test. So, if you go by the state testing alone she obviously is doing okay with general assistance in the general education classroom and not having to come to the resource room for help.

Question 3: In the past, speech and language pathologists have “pulled” students with exceptional learning needs out of their classes to provide services. In this video, the members of the IEP team are discussing a potentially better way to meet Sean’s needs. Does it appear that the speech and language pathologist’s suggestion for the consultation model is more appropriate for Sean than a traditional pull-out model? Why or why not?

I believe that the program that they are trying to develop for Sean is a good one. The speech pathologist is right she is probably getting more real life interaction with him in a real life setting than a one on one setting. It sounded to me like maybe he was not responding during his speech one on one time or having some behavior problems whereas during lunch bunch it was a social time and maybe he was not noticing that he had to interact with others using different forms of speech or communication that they wanted to work on. In observing him in a different setting as well she could then see if he was using a variety of different words with his peers or other vocabulary differences that she may not see in her one on one setting. This type of consultation model that they were talking about I feel would be more beneficial for Sean.

The speaker discusses the academic, behavioral, developmental, and functional strengths and needs of students with exceptional learning needs. Depending upon the individual student, one or more of these areas may take on greater importance. Think about Dani, Deja, and Sean, and compare the importance of these four areas for each of them. Question 4 Hint: Dani, Deja, and Sean all have IEPs. Think about the discussions that the professionals had about each of these students and how each of them participated or responded to questions as you watched them.

For Sean, the functional part of his development is very important. Learning to live independently or with support is an ultimate goal for Sean. In order for this to happen his needs some functional goals like learning to shop and with this comes learning math skills, so that he can work with money. They talked about him maybe running a vending machine business one day but in order for him to be successful; he would need to have this skill. Also, communication was another skill that they addressed with Sean. One of his strengths is that he is able to hear and understand communication very well, his weakness is being able to express himself as well as him might like to. So, an important goal in his IEP is working on his communication skills with others. They also mentioned that even though Sean did not verbally communicate during his IEP it was essential that he was a part of the process, so that people know why they are there.

For Deja, she needs little assistance in the classroom. Her strengths are reading and it sounds like she may struggle some in math, but with assistance she may be able to be a success at it. I feel she is working toward a goal of independent living on her own and can see her achieving college with assistance if she is given the right help. She needs more assistance in the academic goals than any other area. I believe because of her age it was essential for her to participate in the IEP process and she also is old enough to recognize that if she pushes herself she can do it. The teachers are even giving her gentle reminders to try and she is being able to be a success with a little push.

For Dani, She receives academic support in the classroom in social studies, science, and writing, and it sounds like she may go to the resource room for reading and math. Also, she does have speech services. I think it is essential that she was a part of her IEP process because she is in fifth grade now going into 6th soon and she needs to be a part of her plan and the transition process from here on out. Dani may need more developmental goals in the area of communication just by the way she was talking in the video that seemed to be an area of concern and she may be a little behind her peers in math and reading, which is why she is receiving help in the resource room. But I think it is a likely goal that she will be able to function independently based on the little information given in the video.