Chapter 11

Referring and Evaluating for Special Education

Pre-Referral and Pre-Intervention

ECE/ECSE Settings & Providers

• Illinois –Regulatory Oversight– http://

faculty.kendall.edu/hweiman/Regulatory_Oversight.sdr

• Private

• Public– Including public programs subcontracted to private

facilities

• Child & Family Connections (0-3)

Team Members• Varies according to setting, resources and needs of

child– Private

• May have limited resources

– Public• Guidance Counselor

• Social Worker

• Psychologist

• School Nurse

• General Ed Teacher

• Special Ed Teacher

• Parents

• Other Specialists –OT, PT, Vision, Hearing, TBI, etc.

• School Administrator –Principal or VP

Team Leaders

• IFSP Service Coordinator

• IEP Team Leader

Pre-Intervention

• Begin building reliable alliances between school, community and family

• Implementing pre-referral intervention– Teacher Assistance Teams or School-Based

Problem-Solving– http://www.cps.k12.il.us/AboutCPS/Departmen

ts/OSS/SBPS-Service_Delivery_System.pdf

Pre-Intervention Models• Teacher Assistance Teams

– Guidance & support for implementing pre-intervention strategies

• School-Based Problem-Solving –Levels of support and team problem-solving– Level 1: Coordination with family/community –for

consistency and support across settings: interactive journaling, contracting, reward program, etc.

– Level 2: Consultative support --collaboration with other teachers, administrators and specialists

– Level 3: Shared group problem-solving –Includes some direct intervention from specialists

– Level 4: Specialized Services

Pre-Intervention Strategies

• Informal assessment –Systematic observations– Anecdotal records, time/event samplings, FBA, student

portfolio, etc.– Formative and summative measures

• Pre-intervention strategies– Move from less to more supports, accommodations &

modifications– Depend on strengths and needs of child

• Cultivate strengths and remediate weaknesses– Direct instruction in specific skill areas– Basic Behavioral Intervention Plan

Coordinating the Referral and Evaluation Process

• Reviewing pre-intervention successes and failures• Initiating and reviewing the referral• Providing notice and obtaining consent• Collecting evaluation information

– Conducting assessments and constructing portfolios

– Sharing of family story

– Expressing preferences, expectations, strengths & needs

Discussing Evaluation Results with Parents

• Notifying parents

• Taking the families’ perspective

• Fostering a reliable alliance

• Considering the student’s role in discussing evaluation results

• Following an agenda for discussing results

Chapter 12

Individualizing for Appropriate Education

Legal Requirements

Considerations in the IEP/IFSP• Identify:

– Current level of performance based on evaluation data

– Goals, objectives & benchmarks– All necessary services, including transportation

and extended school year– Time needed for specialized services– Least restrictive environment

IEP/IFSP Planning with Partners• Identifying appropriate

goals/objectives/benchmarks– Goals: Long-range, broadly stated, based on

standards– Objectives: Short-range, observable and

measurable, based on instructional level– Benchmarks: Performance expected at end of

each marking period

• Determining appropriate placement– Based on child’s needs and objectives, not

based on label

Chapter 13

Extending Learning into Home and Community

Incorporating Person-Centered Planning

• A process

• Listen to the “great expectations” of individuals with disabilities and their families

• Tailor lifestyle support to actualize those great expectations

Five Components of the Group Action Planning Process

1. Invite support

2. Create connections

3. Share great expectations

4. Solve problems

5. Celebrate success

Fostering Homework Collaboration

• Family concerns about homework

• Suggestions for homework collaboration

• Create options to minimize family responsibility for homework

• Provide ideas to improve practice

Behavioral Support

• Positive guidance and discipline • A problem solving, data-based, and

proactive orientation to maximizing students’ successful behavioral outcomes

• Consistency across settings• School-wide positive behavioral support• Individualized behavioral intervention plans

–Based on Functional Behavioral Analysis (ABCs: identified antecedents to behavior and consequences)

Current Discipline Challenges

Would you agree or add to this list? (p. 307)

• High rate of office referrals

• Suspensions/Expulsions/Drop-outs

• School violence

• Lack of motivation

Integrating Services

• How available to parents are services in your community?

• Do you have a full-service school? What steps would you need to take to have a single point of delivery?

Chapter 14

Attending and volunteering at School

Attending/Volunteering at School Events

• Attending general school events• Attending extracurricular activity events• Contributing to classroom instruction• Contributing to other school tasks• Attending classes for parents• Participating in the Parent-Teacher organization• Participating in family resource centers