Point of view: Lack of teaching training

Most of the posts you will read here in regards to special education will be from the parent's perspective, because that's what most of us are-parents. However, I have a unique situation where I'm also a teacher. I want to share this information with you so you can look at your conflicts with the school from another perspective. Before my child was born, I was a general education teacher. But let's start a little earlier than that:
When I was in school as a student myself, I never saw children with disabilities. I don't know where they were and I never thought to ask. When I went to college to study to be a teacher, no one ever discussed special education law and the fact that as a general education teacher, I might have students with special education services in my classes. When I student taught, my lead teachers/mentors, never identified any students in their classes as having disabilities or an IEP. Consequently, my personal experiences and professional training never led me to ask about special education or learn about it.
My first teaching job involved a "basic level" class with students who struggled in school. I had some methodology training to try to address these issues, but no staff member ever identified any of those students as receiving special education services. I suspect some did have IEP's, but since the majority of those students were in segregated classes and no special education teacher had indicated anything different, I just plowed ahead blindly. I'm sure I failed to meet those student's needs. I wasn't trying to be neglectful, or malicious; I was just young and unprepared.
My next teaching job included exceptional students. I knew I had some students with learning disabilities in my classes because the special education teacher across the hall gave me a list. What she failed to give me was an IEP, accommodations/modifications, etc. And again, I didn't ask. I was asked to report progress for those students every six weeks, but that was all I knew. One time I was asked to give one student less spelling words, but that was the extent of it.
I didn't know about IDEA. I didn't know about IEP's. I didn't know about case conferences and was never invited to one. Am I making excuses for my behavior? No. I am just trying to share what many general education teachers DON'T KNOW. I doubt it comes as a surprise to you. As a parent, I can clearly see that it's a huge part of the problem in trying to include my child in a general education classroom.

Ensuring that all students gain access to the general education curriculum not only requires teacher commitment, but necessitates that districts support individual schools' efforts to improve teacher skills. Each school has its own set of unique circumstances. When staff identify and address their own training needs, they become better able to tackle the challenges they face in the classroom.

Improved student learning requires teachers, schools, and districts to give up unproductive traditions and beliefs, replacing them with validated practices and a full understanding of the intent of the law. Successful student access to the general education curriculum is most likely when there is general acceptance of the following principles:

* Responsibility for the learning outcomes of special education students is equally shared by the classroom teacher and the special education teacher.

* The classroom teacher is not only aware of the student's IEP goals, but plays a significant role in determining those goals and providing instruction to help the student reach them.

* The classroom teacher is concerned with each student's strengths and needs.

* Administrators understand that teachers need time within their contracts to prepare standards-based activities and materials designed to meet the diverse needs of their students.

* Collaboration is valued: Time is allocated for teachers to collaborate with other teachers and parents regarding students. Ideally, paid days at the end of each school year are provided so that teachers can discuss their students, improving the students' chances for smooth transitions to the next grade.

* Expectations are not set according to a student's classification; it is recognized that a classification does not determine how much or how well the student will learn or perform.

* It is understood that good instruction incorporates variation in delivery, activities, expectations, and assessment to accommodate diverse learning strengths and needs.

* Parents are considered to be part of the team.

As a parent, try to help the teacher help your child. If you're a teacher, recognize that you, too, might need an education.

Vote again by 1/15 to fully fund Medicaid waivers!

Final round voting runs from January 5 - January 15.

Fully Fund Medicaid Waivers for the Developmentally Disabled ***ALERT: Make sure your VOTE counts. Click on the number to the left with "Vote" under it – it will change to “Voted”. Registering on this site and posting a comment is not a vote!***

National Priority for the Economic Stimulus Package: Fully Fund Medicaid

Funding health care and services for individuals with developmental disabilities, disabilities and the elderly creates jobs, careers, business opportunities while filling a critical need.

I propose that the federal government:
1. Fully fund the Medicaid Waiver Program as part of the next Economic Stimulus Package.
2. Consider this as an increased federal match so that states are not put into an impossible situation.
3. Create portability of services across states and counties as is allowed with Medicare and Social Security.

Facts:
*Across America, an estimated 300,000 people cannot obtain essential support to live and work in the community because of lack of funding.

*Institutional care costs $88-$225,000 per person per year depending on the level of care. Community-based care costs $20-$75,000 per year (varies by state and level of care).

* Waivers are not portable. Families cannot move out of state or even out of their current county in some places for military duty, to accept jobs, or to live closer to family because they must go to the bottom of decades-long waiting lists at their new location.

Benefits of this proposal:
1). Job creation in the form of service providers. $12-$15B per year would create an estimated 244,000 jobs.
2). Community living costs less than institutionalization.
3). Parents and affected individuals can return to their careers, earn income, pay taxes and obtain health insurance.
4). Some families will come off public assistance which reduces overall tax burden.
5). Families will be able to move to accept new jobs or military assignments.
6). Improved health of affected people and caregivers.
7). Reduced financial burden on aging parents.

Stay involved in this issue: Email noewait@noewait.net

On January 16, Change.org and the Case Foundation are co-hosting an event at the National Press Club in Washington, DC to announce the top 10 rated ideas and then launch a national campaign behind each idea and mobilize the collective energy of the millions of members of Change.org, MySpace, and partner organizations to ensure that each winning idea gets the full consideration of the Obama Administration and Members of Congress.

Free webinars available this month

Learn from the experts without leaving your home!

Advocate Academy Webinar archives offer a wealth of information from leading experts on an array of topics. Webinar archives are perfect for support group meetings, or for your own virtual reference library.

INTRODUCTORY OFFER: Start the New Year with new knowledge! Now you can enjoy unlimited access to four Advocate Academy Webinar archives throughout January 2009. You get unlimited access to 90-minute presentations by leading experts on these topics:

• Realistic Ways to Build Collaboration in IEP Meetings
• Response to Intervention (RtI): What Special Education Advocates Need to Know
• Transition Planning Under IDEA 2004
• Negotiating Assistive Technology Supports and Services

Order your free Webinar archives here.

Writing letters to the school

One of the things you need to realize about dealing with the schools and your child's education is that they are creating a paper trail. There is a folder at the school with all pertinent info about your child. You need to do the same. If there becomes a time where you have to consider a due process hearing or other legal actions, you will need documentation of the school's actions, and yours. One of the easiest things you can do is to keep a notebook, paper or electronic, of your interactions with the school. If the school calls, keep a log of "he said" , "she said" about the conversation. Write the time/date and all relevant details. If you have a mtg with someone at school, formally or informally, take notes or use a voice recorder.

The other thing you can do to create a paper trail is to write letters. Any time you send an email, keep a copy in your sent folder. Any time the school sends you an email, keep it in a dedicated folder. Write letters as follow ups to conversations and meetings. You may need the documentation some day.

Here is an excerpt from the Art of Writing Letters by Pam Wright:
When parents fire off a letter to the school, they are usually in the middle of a crisis that involves their child. At that moment, they want to DO SOMETHING. They may be trying to right a wrong or protect their child from harm. Sometimes, parents write angry letters after a series of bad experiences or incidents that have occurred over a period months or years.

Before you send a strongly worded letter to the school, it is important for you to keep several things in mind. First, after you send a letter to the school, it is out of your hands forever. You can never change it!

Second, your letter will be read by strangers. Schools are bureaucracies. In many cases, important decisions will be made by administrators who are a level or two above your contact person. These administrators don’t know you or your child. They don’t know the "history" behind your letter.

Third, no one will wade through a long letter to a nugget of gold. This means that you have to capture the reader’s interest and attention within the first few sentences. If you don’t capture the reader’s interest quickly, the reader will skim a page or two and put your letter away.

Fourth, your letter is a personal statement about you and your situation. What are you saying about yourself if you give in to the urge to DO SOMETHING and write an angry, threatening, or demanding letter? The decision-making strangers who make decisions in the school bureaucracy don’t know or care that this was the last straw or that the letter is the culmination of many negative experiences. A letter gives you an opportunity to make an impression and tell your side of the story. You need to think about the impression you want to make on the stranger. Do you want the stranger to see you as an angry, negative complainer? Or, do you want the stranger to see you as a rational, thoughtful parent who is expressing valid concerns?

Read the entire article, 12 Rules for Writing Effective Letters. If you follow these rules, you make it more likely that you will get the relief you want.

If you have a copy of the book, From Emotions to Advocacy (check your local library if you don't have it-they can also get it through interlibrary loan) continue your learning process. In Wrightslaw: From Emotions to Advocacy (FETA) read Chapter 22 "Creating Paper Trails," Chapter 23 "How to Write Good Evidence Letters," and Chapter 24 "Writing the 'Letter to the Stranger,'" and the Sample Letters at the end of Chapters 23 and 24. With a little practice, you will become the expert on writing effective and powerful letters.

From Emotions to Advocacy

One of the books I have found helpful in my own education is From Emotions to Advocacy by Pam and Pete Wright. Learning the law is only one of the steps in becoming a champion for your child-you also have to learn how to successfully advocate in a meeting when your stomach is in knots and you're on the verge of tears. I've spent years learning special education law-I know what my child is entitled to-but the minute they say something negative about her, I turn to mush. I can barely remember my name, let alone the provisions for obtaining a 1:1 paraprofessional.
So, I'm excerpting an article from Pam Wright below, and am including a link to the entire article so you, too, can try to learn how to secure a meaningful education for your child.

From Emotions to Advocacy: The Parents' Journey
by Pamela Wright, MA, MSW
Worry. Sadness. Fear. Guilt. Helplessness. Anger. Confusion. Disappointment. More worry.

Parenting has always encompassed difficult periods — times when parents feel concerned and confused — sleepless nights when they worry about how well they are fulfilling their responsibilities to their children. Raising a disabled child "ups the ante." Meeting the complex needs of the child with a disability can be extraordinarily difficult, frustrating, emotionally draining — and expensive!

Parents of disabled children understand one crucial fact—that only by obtaining an appropriate education will my child have a real opportunity to lead a fulfilling, productive life. Unfortunately, statistics about the outcomes of special education programs will not alleviate your concerns.

Researchers have found that most special education programs fail to confer adequate educational benefit to many of the youngsters they are designed to serve.

Emotions: Energy Source or Achilles Heel?

"The pure rage that stems from an unredressed injury can be more fearsome than that produced by the original wrong." (Gerry Spence, respected attorney-litigator and commentator on civil rights in America)

John sat on the couch in my office. His face reddened and his fists clenched as he talked about his son Chris and his contacts with the teachers and administrators at Chris’s school:

"My son is 13 years old and he still can’t add simple numbers. He can’t add 15 and 9. He can’t read either, and he’s been in special ed since he was six years old.

"This year they put him in regular classes with some sort of collaborative teacher-they say that’s how they teach LD kids at his school, and that’s all they can do. And now he’s failing everything—everything! Last grading period—four F’s and one D. The only thing he’s passing is Science."

As I sifted through several inches of disorganized documents that John brought to the meeting, John continued: "And when I complained that he isn’t learning, they told me it’s my fault because I’m not making him do homework! Do you know what a nightmare homework is? He’s exhausted when he comes home from school — where he hasn’t learned anything. Then he has to spend two or three hours doing papers. It’s a nightmare. A real nightmare . . .

I continued to skim through the documents — old standardized tests, letters from Chris’ teachers, school papers, report cards, IEPs from the first grade to the present — all mixed up. No current psychological or educational testing. John’s voice raised in anger: "Pam, you don’t understand. They lie. They blame kids for not learning when they are not teaching . . . And they are stupid. They can’t teach, they can’t do anything. They are morons! And I told the principal that when I met with him last week . . ."

Tragically, John’s case is not an isolated situation. This father’s frustrations and fears had driven him to explode and demean school personnel. His reaction — an angry outburst — gave him short-term relief from his intense feelings of frustration.

Did his explosion and insults lead to the development of a more appropriate educational program for his son? Of course not. Will it be more difficult for John to work effectively with school personnel in the future? Definitely. Will Chris be the ultimate loser? You bet!

The intense emotions experienced by parents often become their "Achilles heel" as they attempt to obtain an appropriate education for their child. When the local school system fails to provide the child with that critical "special" educational experience or offers "too little, too late," many parents are shocked and angry.

These parents feel betrayed by the one system which they had trusted to help with the difficult task of educating their [child with disabilities]. Once lost, trust is hard to regain. As Gordon, the father of a fourteen year old learning disabled boy erroneously diagnosed by the school district as "seriously emotionally disturbed," explained:

"One of the great tragedies of parental disillusionment is that even if we finally find a good educational program, we know that our child has been damaged by people within the school system. We don’t know how severe or enduring the damage will be. The feelings of betrayal are often so strong and bitter that there will never be any trust by the parents."

^........

There is an antidote to feelings of helplessness, hopelessness and despair.

As you come full circle, having experienced the denial, anger, guilt, and sadness that are the inevitable reactions of the loving parent, you will find that your emotions can be freed to use in a positive search for information and for solutions to the problems you face. You must transform your emotions into energy-the battle to obtain a good education for your child will be long and arduous. You need to conserve your strength and focus on what is important-obtaining an appropriate education for your child.

Becoming an advocate means becoming an expert. In the course of your journey, you need to learn all that you can about your child’s particular disabling condition and how this condition can be remediated.

You must learn about evaluations — psychological, educational, neuropsychological, psychiatric neurological—and what these evaluations measure. Depending upon your child’s unique problems, you may also need to learn about speech-language, physical therapy, and occupational therapy evaluations too.

In your advocacy journey, you will need two things-accurate information and support. This journey is more difficult if undertaken alone.

Join an Organization . . . or Two

It is essential that you join disabilities organizations that represent your child's disability. These organizations represent a rich source of information and support that is invaluable to parents, regardless of the child’s [] condition.

.......

Learn to use your emotions as a powerful driving force.

Understand that pity is a negative emotion — it is always destructive.

Our children can accept some blows from the system and survive. Ultimately, children grow and flourish by facing adversity — if they know that we understand them, support them, and believe in them!

Read the entire article here.

Actually keeping the resolution

As I mentioned, I follow several blogs (many focusing on technology in the classroom and how that could better serve learners with different abilities) and today one featured tools to manage your life. Since I just posted about making a resolution and trying to stick to it, I thought I'd share that blog post so you can explore some of the options.
And, since I'm always looking for multiple applications, I'd like to point out that the one featured here has steps to goal setting that mirror goals/objectives in an IEP, so if you'd like to use it to develop a plan for your child, have at it!
BTW, this is also a perfect example of how ALL of us can use and benefit from AT (assistive technology)!

Lifetick
Lifetick is an online goal setting application that helps you to define your values, set goals, create tasks, stay motivated, track your progress, measure your performance and reflect on your experience. The interface is easy to use and also includes an iPhone app. The free version allows for 4 goals, while paid version costs $20 per year and allows for unlimited goals, and more journaling features.

Make sure your goal is S.M.A.R.T.

Specific	Does the Goal clearly state what it will achieve?
Measurable	Will you know if you have achieved your Goal?
Achievable	Is this a Goal which can actually be achieved?
Relevant	Does this goal reflect your values in life?
Time Specific	When do you want to achieve this goal by?

The rest of the tools are posted at The Power of Educational Technology.

New Year's Resolution

Ok, if you're like me, you make resolutions every year and then fail to follow through. This year though, I'm going to ask you to make a resolution I hope you'll try to keep. I want you to try to learn more about special education law. Your child is served under IDEA from age 0-22 in Indiana so it's important to understand the law. You'll have to determine where you are in your learning curve and set a goal of taking that knowledge one step further.

According to Wrightslaw:
To be effective advocates, parents must learn new skills.

You must learn about your child's disability. You need accurate information about what works- about effective educational practices.

You need to learn about legal rights & responsibilities.

Since you negotiate with the school on your child's behalf, you must learn to negotiate and persuade.

I know it's overwhelming, so try to break it into chunks that you can handle. If you're not familiar with your child's disability and what approaches work best, start your learning there. You will be the constant in your child's life and it will be up to you to educate others about your child's disability. If you're not familiar with the law, try to at least get an overview of what your child is entitled to. If you know the basic law, then look deeper into one of the areas your child needs to be successful: assistive technology, a behavior intervention plan, accommodations and modifications, etc. If you feel comfortable with those areas as well, then look at advocacy a little closer. How can you best use your knowledge to work with the schools to give your child the best foundation?

A little reminder I use for myself to remember to work on new learning everyday is to subscribe to blogs in a reader. You can click the button to the left to subscribe to this blog so future posts about special education are delivered directly to you.

Ready. Set. LEARN.