SPecial EDition
SWEETWATER UNION HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT - Special Services
MESSAGE FROM THE DIRECTOR
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Hello, and Happy Fall! It’s been the longest summer I can remember--let’s hope we see some cooler weather.
Our special education service providers often go unnoticed and unrecognized. Believe it or not, some of that is with intent! It’s a victory when a student shows success in school with special support being provided behind the scenes without obvious accommodations and interventions.
Our Speech and Language Pathologists (SLPs) have modified the focus of their language sessions to align with district ELA initiatives, including Common Core State Standards. It is not uncommon to see an SLP using a current classroom assignment when working with a student, either previewing or reviewing key concepts. Several SLPs “push in” their services to the classroom, providing lessons that enhance the language of all students in the class. They also collaborate with teachers to develop useful strategies and techniques to enhance communication and language development.
The Visually Impaired (VI) program staff spend a great deal of time gathering student assignments and teacher lessons to ensure that all materials are prepared (enlarged or Brailled) in time for instruction. They convert Math and Science charts and graphs into tactile graphics—an extremely time-consuming process. They also troubleshoot equipment such as enlargers and Braille-note devices.
Students without vision receive Orientation and Mobility (O & M) services to orient them to their school campuses and plan the best route to get to their classrooms, the lunch area, restrooms, and various offices. Our O & M Specialists typically begin this process before the first day of school each semester, making refinements as schedules are modified. They also provide instruction on accessing public transportation and safely walking in the community, including crossing streets.
Some students require specialized technology such as personal devices or classroom FM systems. Our Assistive Technology (AT) staff plans in advance of every school year to ensure that students have this necessary equipment, with the appropriate features, to access their instructional program. Of course, with technology comes training and troubleshooting, so the AT staff often work with students and their devices during non-instructional time. It is their goal to not interrupt the instructional day.
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Not only are we responsible for the educational programs of students attending district schools, but also for resident students with disabilities that attend private schools and non-public schools. Paul Gil, school psychologist, and Thomas Maier, special education teacher, develop Individual Service Plans (ISPs—did you even know there was such a thing?) for students in private schools such as Calvary Christian and Mater Dei. Students attending non-public schools like the The Winston School and Stein Education Center are monitored by school psychologist, Nadia Braun, and counselor (yes, we have one!), Joe Kreitinger. These professionals do a tremendous job monitoring this group of students.
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I hope you’re ready for the holiday season! This is the time of year that there are several school breaks but don’t forget about the magical date of November 19. If you don’t know the significance of November 19, go to the home page on SEIS!
Ron
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SPEECH CORNER
By: Debbie Domenie and Sharon Marconi
INNOVATION AT SUHI- A PROMISING PARTNERSHIP
Lights, camera, action! Walk into Ben Cassel’s Beginning Drama/Social Communication class on any given day, and you will see a frenzy of activity. On some days, you may see students engaged in conversation, laughing or commenting about a game or video of interest, planning weekend events, or collaborating on the latest hairstyle. To the casual observer, one might never guess that all of these students have one thing in common. They all struggle with social communication.
Sweetwater High School is on the cutting edge of social communication intervention with an innovative new class offering. In its second year, this class, which is comprised of both special education and general education students, fuses principles of drama with the existing social communication curriculum used throughout the district. A unique collaboration between the general education teacher and speech-language pathologists provides an interactive vehicle for practicing social communication skills. Students improve social observation and non-verbal communication skills through various theater activities such as tableaux and pantomime. In addition, students write and act out scripts to bring various social communication concepts alive. Students are able to apply their social communication knowledge while discussing and acting out scripts about typical high school interactions. These scripts have been created by Mr. Cassel specifically for this class.
Even though this exciting program is still in its infancy, significant improvement in students’ social communication abilities suggests that this service delivery model is one to keep your eye on. It may be coming soon to a school near you!
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November - Employee of the Month
In a word, she is awesome! Actually, she means too much to our department to sum her up in one word. She is wonderful, giving, dedicated, compassionate, humble, hard-working…. You get the picture.
Officially, Angela is our Braille Transcriber. Unofficially, she is a great deal more. Her sincere devotion to students with visual impairments is evident in all she does. She keeps the program organized, handles orders, anticipates needs, and does it all with a positive attitude. Further, she keeps Special Services humming by voluntarily taking on a myriad of tasks. Angela says that even after 21 years in the field, she still loves coming to work every day. “Working with this population helped me have an 'aha' moment. I realized my problems are nothing. Sometimes we go through some bad times but we are blessed to be able to see, hear, speak, walk…. Our students need all the support they can get to succeed in life and as a team we can make sure our kids have the best education and skills needed. I am lucky to work with a great team.” Well, Angela, we are the lucky ones to have you in our department. Congratulations!
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Common Core Doesn't Have To Be Scary for Special Education
By C. Fax-Huckaby
I can hear the fear in my colleagues’ voices when they talk about the Common Core State Standards. There is so much uncertainty surrounding the new standards and how to teach to them.
The fear is even more prevalent in the special education community, and with good reason. I spent 15 years in the classroom as a special-education teacher, and I would have been terrified if somebody told me, “We want you to teach math and science and health this year. Not only that, but we want you to teach in a way that goes deeper and requires more mastery from students than ever before.”
While special-education teachers do a wonderful job of helping students gain access to information in various subjects, they’re not necessarily experts in particular subject areas. As I’m sure you can imagine, they’re now tasked with an incredibly overwhelming burden.
In my new role as a special education academic support teacher (SEAST), part of my job is to listen to and empathize with these teachers’ frustrations. But my next question is, “I know it’s going to be tough — so where do we go from here?”
A new perspective
Getting past a teacher’s mental hurdles is a daunting task, so I try to help them see common core in a new light.
If you’re familiar with special education at all, you might be familiar with the buzzwords “universal design for learning” — an educational framework that has been around for several years. UDL is very popular in the special education community, and it’s starting to catch on in mainstream classes as well.
Essentially, UDL suggests the most effective way to design a lesson plan or a classroom is by thinking about how it will affect every student, including students with disabilities. If you’re building a new classroom, this can save you costly retrofitting down the road. And if you’re writing a lesson plan, it saves special-education teachers the stress of rewriting their lesson to fit their students’ needs.
Naturally, special-education teachers love UDL. Their students are being considered from day one, instead of being added as an afterthought. But most teachers are a little surprised when I tell them UDL isn’t all that different from common core. In fact, I’d say a UDL teaching model is essential for common core success. Like UDL, common core tells teachers, “We want you to reach these kids in multiple ways. We don’t want you to just stand up and lecture to them.”
Teachers are also being asked to give students a variety of ways to show that they have mastered something. So instead of just telling students, “Write what you know,” excluding students who aren’t good writers, teachers can allow students to demonstrate mastery in a way that makes sense to them.
That could be by creating a PowerPoint presentation, making a Prezi, shooting a video — or, if a student wants to dance to a song they wrote about the Revolutionary War, more power to them! Common core asks students to represent what they’ve learned in their own way, instead of treating every student the same.
When you understand the goals of common core, it’s easy to see the connection between these abstract standards and UDL. For common core to work, teachers across the country will need to weave UDL principles into their instruction. If you’re a special-education teacher, that should be cause for celebration.
What you can do
Once my teachers have a new outlook on common core, I give them resources to make this transition a little easier.
We’ve found our professional learning communities to be incredibly helpful in this regard. I’ve started bringing general-education teachers to our SPED PLC meetings, which allows the general-education teachers to talk about the common core standards they’re focusing on in class and equip special-education teachers to take that information back to their students. At the same time, the special-education teachers can share some UDL principles to help the general-education teachers design their lesson plans more effectively.
We’re also relying on new educational technology, particularly products that are designed specifically for the common core. As an example, we’ve been using Learning Upgrade, an online math and reading curriculum that uses catchy songs and fun games to address common core standards in a relatable way. The courses also have built-in reporting features that make them ideal for case management.
We have so many great tools and great minds right at our fingertips, and we’re trying to pull them together so the transition to common core will be successful.
Out of all the educational movements that have been thrown at teachers over the years, I strongly believe common core has the most potential for the greatest growth for our students. Change is always a little scary, but I’m so glad I have the chance to help teachers see the big picture and inspire them to make a difference in their students’ lives.
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SPREAD THE WORD!
The 2nd in our series of parent outreach meetings
Transition With Your Teen “Understanding ALL Post-Secondary Options”
December 4 - 6:00pm – 7:30pm
Parents and students will:
· explore community options that support students with disabilities
· gain self-advocacy tips in school for post-secondary life
· participate in a resume building workshop
https://sweetwaterschools.instructure.com/courses/1028949/pages/itp-support
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AUTISM TEAM
By L. McMurray
Medical & Mental Health Issues
“When meeting the daily demands of social life is a constant challenge, when achieving vocational goals is a statistical long shot, and when living a life free of mental health challenges is unlikely, we cannot consider the disorder of AS to be a ‘milder’ form of anything.” – Emily Rubin
The number of children being identified with autism continues to rise. Current statistics are:
• 1:68 children have autism.
• 5x more common in boys
• 31% IQ < 70
• 23% 71-85
• 46% > 85
More children will be diagnosed with autism this year than with AIDs, diabetes & cancer combined.
It is important that as we work with our autistic students that we don’t overlook other conditions. This includes medical and mental health issues.
• 10% of people with autism have comorbid medical conditions.
• 25-30% have seizure disorder
• Up to 65% may have sleep disorders
Likewise students with autism are particularly vulnerable to mental health problems such as anxiety and depression, especially in late adolescence and early adult life. (Tantam & Prestwood, 1999)
Depression is common among people on the autism spectrum. Rates among the general population are between 2.3% & 3.2% for males and 4.5% & 9.23% for females. Rates for persons on the autism spectrum may be as high as 52.2% and 23.2 having major depression. (Ghaziudin et al. 1988)
Studies have shown that as much as 84.1% of students with autism met the criteria of at least one anxiety disorder.
It is important for us to not attribute students' medical and mental health issues as being “just their autism” and make sure they are getting the help they need.
Treatment and support services need to be individualized and specific to each person. Treatment is often multi-faceted and requires collaboration and a multi-disciplinary team approach.
If you have any concerns regarding a student, please complete an autism referral. Referrals can be found on the Special Services Autism Team's page on Canvas.
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FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) regarding IEP Procedures
By Kathryn Kinslow and Shiela Fernandez
When should I delete OLD goals?
OLD goals may be deleted prior to printing Progress on Goals in December and June.
Who affirms/attests IEPs?
School psychologist secretaries
Please make sure to submit all IEP’s (even if parent is not in attendance) immediately to your school psychologist secretary. This is critical in order to document that a meeting occurred.
Who affirms/attests Progress on Goals?
Case carriers
This adds a timestamp to Progress on Goals and is documentation of progress recorded.
What do I need to do when a parent doesn’t attend an IEP meeting?
First, attempt to contact parent and hold a phone conference.
If unable to hold a phone conference, hold IEP meeting with team members present and obtain all members’ signatures. Print two copies of IEP signature page and have all members sign both copies.
Send signed IEP to school psychologist secretary as soon as possible. The IEP must be affirmed within seven days. Retain one original for the second attempt meeting.
Schedule a new IEP meeting (create a second notice in SEIS—Go to Future IEP and use “Meeting Notice A,” then select “Create new notice of Meeting A”). All new meetings will be recorded as an amendment. Note continuation of IEP meeting and any changes on the amendment. If parent is present at second meeting, parent and IEP team members should sign amendment. Parent should also sign retained original IEP signature page.
If parent is not present at second meeting, schedule third attempt immediately. Inform school psychologist secretary so they may create and send the third notice by certified mail.
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Transitioning Youth with Intellectual & Developmental Disabilities to College
By Rosanna Santos
With the transition to Common Core State Standards, California students in the Moderate & Moderate/Severe Programs are preparing for College, Career, and the Community. After reading this first sentence, most of you are questioning College??? The idea of attending college may seem scary, but some have begun to pave the road for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Open the Doors to College is a program initiative of the Tarjan Center at UCLA, A University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD). It was developed by the California Consortium on Postsecondary Options for People with Developmental Disabilities in 2005 and received its initial support from the California State Council on Developmental Disabilities. Since 2008, Open the Doors has been the designated developmental disability and autism consultant to the California Community College Chancellor’s Office and its 112 community colleges. This initiative brought about the College 2 Career (C2C) programs in California.
History of College to Career
In 2010, College to Career was founded through collaboration between the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office, Department of Rehabilitation (DOR) and the UCLA Tarjan Center. Five pilot programs were funded by California’s Department of Rehabilitation in response to consumer choice and changes in public policy for greater access to postsecondary education. DOR felt compelled to respond to data gathered nationwide indicating a postsecondary education experience for students with intellectual disabilities significantly increased their likelihood of a successful employment outcome and an opportunity to earn higher wages. The five colleges funded during the fall of 2010 were College of Alameda, Sacramento City College, San Diego County Community College District, Santa Rosa Jr. College, and North Orange County Community College District. The C2C Program in San Diego continue to provide services and has been successful in connecting young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities to their dreams.
For more information about the College 2 Career Program in San Diego, contact Brianne Kennedy at (619) 388-6807 or email her at bkennedy@sdccd.edu
Frequently Asked Question
Question: Can students who are Regional Center clients attend College 2 Career?
Answer: YES, Regional Center would need to open a case with DOR for that client.
Information was taken from http://www.semel.ucla.edu/opendoors/
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iOS Accessibility Features
By Christine Yarzabek - Apple Professional Development
There are many great built in accessibility features on the iPad. Below are three features
that can easily be turned on to assist your special education students!
1. Speak Selection:
Speak Selection allows students to have emails, web pages, ebooks and more read out
loud to them. Tap and hold the screen to activate the speech option. You can adjust
the speed and even have words highlighted as they are read.
To turn on Speak Selection: Settings — General — Accessibility — Speech
2. Assistive Touch:
Assistive Touch allows students with limited motor capabilities to better adapt to the
iPad with just one touch. Instead of gestures, swipes and pinches, students can simply
tap the screen. Students can also personalize their device by creating their own special
gestures to accommodate their needs.
To turn on Assistive Touch: Settings — General — Accessibility — Assistive Touch
3. Dictation:
For many students, it may be easier to speak an idea rather than type it. With dictation,
students can simply tap on the microphone icon to create a note or email. In order for
Dictation to work, Siri must be turned on. Siri also can help students by setting
reminders or calendar events just with their voice.
To turn on Siri: Settings — General — Siri
To learn about more accessibility features, visit: https://www.apple.com/education/
special-education/ios/
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