COURSE INSTRUCTOR:SARAH O’LEARY, M.S. IN ED

Welcome to EP230-06“Survey of Special Needs”

Allow me to introduce myself

My name is Sarah O’LearyLeary. Please call me Sarah or Professor Sarah!

EP230-06: Seminars are at Thursday at 8:00 pm ESTEP230-08 : Seminars are on Wednesday at 9:00 pm EST*This is a FLEX seminar so you need to just choose which seminar to

attend. I will be the instructor Thursday nights and David Cantor is the instructor for Wednesday nights.

Feel free to chat while you wait for class to begin.

Office Hours will be by appointment. AIM: sarahmoleary

Our agenda for tonight’s discussion focuses on discussing the key topics from this unit on education al disabilities and the role of a paraprofessional in an inclusive setting.

What can you expect from me?

1)  To monitor the message system on a daily basis, and reply to you within 24 hours (48 hours on a weekend).

2)  To be prepared for class, and to always be available by appointment for office hours.

3)  To provide consistent and informative assignment evaluation, delivered in time so that you may benefit from my feedback.

What do I expect from you?

1)  To ask questions whenever you don’t understand something. Remember there is no such thing as a bad question.

2)  To do the required readings and assignments when they are due. Catching up can be a tough hill to climb.

3)  To benefit from the feedback that I provide you on your weekly assignments.

4)  To avoid scheduling conflicts with the chat time for this class.

5)  To keep a good attitude about class and to participate, participate, participate!

The Discussion Board

The key to your success in all Kaplan courses is the Discussion Board!!!

This is the nerve center of our course and you should post to it every opportunity you get.

Your postings are expected to be well thought out, complete, and free of spelling and grammatical errors.

Please be sure to cite the appropriate source when needed on discussion boards!

The Course Syllabus

Please take the time to carefully read the course syllabus!

Please remember you can access the course syllabus from the course directly.

There are two places you can find the syllabus within the course. It is posted in the "Class Syllabus" under the Course Home Page and in the "Doc Sharing." Once you get into the course, you should be able to easily navigate to these areas in the classroom.

Course Assignments

Remember assignments need to be submitted in a timely manner:

They must be sent to me at the end of the week they are assigned (our weeks run Wednesday morning through midnight on Tuesdays EST).

If you have any problems with submitting your assignments, please communicate with me as soon as possible!

As per the syllabus, late projects will be marked down 5 points per week late with a maximum of -20 points.

Addressing Technical Difficulties

Be sure you have participated in the student orientation.

Please make note of the Help Links on every page

Keep the Help Desk phone number handy in order to contact them if you ever have any trouble with the classroom. Their number is (866) 522-7747, select option 2, then 1

I look forward to sharing in all of your successes as you begin your new

journey in this course!

Now let us begin!

Reactions to Federally Defined Educational Disabilities (taken from Unit 1 reading, (Hammeken, 2009)

13 areas of exceptionality (keep in mind the labels are only an identification tool)

1. Autism2. Deaf-Blindness3. Deafness4. Emotional Disturbance5. Hearing Impairment6. Mental Retardation7. Multiple Disabilities8. Orthopedic Impairment9. Other Health Impairment10.Specific Learning Disability11.Speech and Language Impairment12.Traumatic Brain Injury13.Visual Impairment (includes blindness)

The Role of a Paraprofessional in an Inclusive setting

Support the special needs child in the general education setting

Modify work as neededGive student strategies so that being in this

setting is beneficialImprove and individualize the existing

curriculumCollaborate with all the professionals

working with the particular student

What is inclusion?

Inclusive education – providing necessary supports and services so that children with disabilities can participate with children who do not have disabilities in school, community and recreational activities. (Hammeken, 2009)

Please share your own experiences with special needs children……..