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The Steps Adults can Take to Refer Students for an IEP

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Referring students to receive an IEP can be a long and dreadful process. I know that DCPS can take up to 4  months.  1. A teacher or parent has to refer their child verbally or in writing to the SPED coordinator. 2. If a teacher refers, the school will have to get permission from the parent to observe and evaluate the child (even if a child clearly needs services, if their parent DENIES it, then they cannot receive services. Crazy, right?" 3. After observation, a team will have to deem the child as eligible or ineligible. 4. If they are eligible then the team can create the student's IEP, if they are not eligible then the school will need to look for other resources to help the student learn (ex. tutoring, interventions, or a Behavior Intervention Plan if the student is not learning due to behavioral problems). Also, I have learned that because many students have IEPs, it does not make them all the same. Ex. if a child needed help with communication (little to non-verbal) they...
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Exceptionalities I Have Experienced and a Resource for Educators

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 Personally, at work, I have seen ADHD, ODD, Autism, and Visual/Hearing Impairment. ADHD is Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity disorder. During a lesson, ADHD can look like a child not paying attention to the teacher talking, constantly moving around, and behaviors can be disruptive.  ODD is oppositional defiant disorde r. Students with ODD  are uncooperative, defiant, and hostile toward peers, parents, teachers, and other authority figures. At the beginning of my time working at my school, I had a student with ODD. He would hit his teachers, curse, run in the halls, and never do his work. His mom had to come up to the school almost every day.  I work with students with autism every day! I love my job and I am so glad that DCPS has incorporated the CES (Communication and Education Supports). The majority of the students are non-verbal. To communicate with them, we do a lot of sign language and visuals. Similar to the video on the first post, we do a lot of first-then bo...
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Learners with Exceptionalities

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Who are learners with exceptionalities? Honestly, every child is exceptional. However, if exceptionality fits the majority of students then they can be put in groups. According to Slavin, Learners with exceptionalities can be described as "any individuals whose physical, mental, or behavioral performance is so different from the norm—either higher or lower—that additional services are required to meet their needs" (2021, pg. 313). Exceptionalities can include but are not limited to:  Autism Deaf-blindness Deafness Developmental delay Emotional disturbance Hearing impairment Intellectual disability Multiple disabilities Orthopedic impairment Other health impairment Specific learning disability Speech or language impairment Traumatic brain injury Visual impairment, including blindness Impairment, Disability, and Handicap: How are individuals with exceptionalities included? The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act ’04 (IDEA ’04)   is the national law that guarantees an ap...
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