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Use the "+" Button below to add your thoughts about chapter 10 below. You should be able to respond directly to the posts of your peers. Do the same for each chapter.

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Use the "+" Button below to add your thoughts about chapter 10 below. You should be able to respond directly to the posts of your peers. Do the same for each chapter.

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You can use the tools below to add links or other items. For example, here is a Transition Assessment Tool Kit:

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You can use the tools below to add links or other items. For example, here is a Transition Assessment Tool Kit:

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Chapter TenA Comprehensive Assessment is needed if the screen indicates there is a problem. Kritikos (2010) suggest IDEA does not clarify the definition, which seems to me could be a problem (p. 210). There seems to be many cases that the definitions of services are not clear. I do think it is wonderful the needs of the parents are identified and help is provided for the family. Kritikos talks about the Bayley Scales of Infant Development assessment, and it is not always used correctly. I feel if the IDEA was clearer and more detailed maybe this could be avoided. I think the laws to help children are incredible and very much needed but maybe the wording could be improved. The Peabody assessments are mention often in our text; I would like to try that assessment. Using the WJ-IV was helpful when reading the text (when mentioned, I feel I have a connection).

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Chapter TenA Comprehensive Assessment is needed if the screen indicates there is a problem. Kritikos (2010) suggest IDEA does not clarify the definition, which seems to me could be a problem (p. 210). There seems to be many cases that the definitions of services are not clear. I do think it is wonderful the needs of the parents are identified and help is provided for the family. Kritikos talks about the Bayley Scales of Infant Development assessment, and it is not always used correctly. I feel if the IDEA was clearer and more detailed maybe this could be avoided. I think the laws to help children are incredible and very much needed but maybe the wording could be improved. The Peabody assessments are mention often in our text; I would like to try that assessment. Using the WJ-IV was helpful when reading the text (when mentioned, I feel I have a connection).

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Chapter 11This is my favorite chapter, for I find it interesting and helpful reading about the different eye conditions. I had no idea Albinism could cause problems with vision (p.233). The statistics for students that are visually impaired are very high—that is sad, but the statistics for deaf and blind are devesting. Has anyone worked with a student that had the disabilities of deaf and blind? I would like to know more about working with students that have eye disabilities. I would like to specialize in that area. I believe it is excellent that the curriculum now is mandated to support students that are visually impaired. I did not realize to what extent being visually impaired would affect social skills. It is interesting and good to know that attention deficit disorder (and other disorders) can be confused with a hearing disorder (p.253).

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Chapter 11This is my favorite chapter, for I find it interesting and helpful reading about the different eye conditions. I had no idea Albinism could cause problems with vision (p.233). The statistics for students that are visually impaired are very high—that is sad, but the statistics for deaf and blind are devesting. Has anyone worked with a student that had the disabilities of deaf and blind? I would like to know more about working with students that have eye disabilities. I would like to specialize in that area. I believe it is excellent that the curriculum now is mandated to support students that are visually impaired. I did not realize to what extent being visually impaired would affect social skills. It is interesting and good to know that attention deficit disorder (and other disorders) can be confused with a hearing disorder (p.253).

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Chapter 12It is heartbreaking to read that the drop-out rate for students with disabilities is so high-- I just never realize. I also had no idea how important Transitions are in the students’ IEP or ITP until this semester. The information that is required for the ITP is great and I feel should be known by each teacher even if not for the ITP. I am not sure what linkage goals are? I can see why it is helpful to have the students and parents input on the ITP. From what I have read the parents are part of the IEP/ITP, therefore the satisfice of parents that did not attend meetings seems high—15%. It is interesting and important to remember that the success of the plan increases when the students and parents are involved. I find it interesting that gender bias towards females did not change until 1974 in the Strong Vocation Interest Bank. 

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Chapter 12It is heartbreaking to read that the drop-out rate for students with disabilities is so high-- I just never realize. I also had no idea how important Transitions are in the students’ IEP or ITP until this semester. The information that is required for the ITP is great and I feel should be known by each teacher even if not for the ITP. I am not sure what linkage goals are? I can see why it is helpful to have the students and parents input on the ITP. From what I have read the parents are part of the IEP/ITP, therefore the satisfice of parents that did not attend meetings seems high—15%. It is interesting and important to remember that the success of the plan increases when the students and parents are involved. I find it interesting that gender bias towards females did not change until 1974 in the Strong Vocation Interest Bank. 

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Chapter 13When I did my student teaching, we had a student exactly like Nicholas. He was extremely gifted in math, and actually he was gifted in all subjects. When I had control (a little control) of the class; I had him work ahead in math and gave him more advanced problems—the teacher put a stop to that. I told her, I believe he is acting out because he is bored and not challenged. She just sent him to the principal’s office most of the time, to get him out of her way. It is essential to know, and I will use in my classroom the process of understanding what modality is preferred by the student. The question on this page (p.295) will also be helpful: was the student frustrated or tired. I did not realize the student needs to make eye contact. I feel I must remember goals must be realistic (p.295) and it is important to break the goal into smaller pieces to help the student be successful in reaching that goal. 

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Chapter 13When I did my student teaching, we had a student exactly like Nicholas. He was extremely gifted in math, and actually he was gifted in all subjects. When I had control (a little control) of the class; I had him work ahead in math and gave him more advanced problems—the teacher put a stop to that. I told her, I believe he is acting out because he is bored and not challenged. She just sent him to the principal’s office most of the time, to get him out of her way. It is essential to know, and I will use in my classroom the process of understanding what modality is preferred by the student. The question on this page (p.295) will also be helpful: was the student frustrated or tired. I did not realize the student needs to make eye contact. I feel I must remember goals must be realistic (p.295) and it is important to break the goal into smaller pieces to help the student be successful in reaching that goal. 

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Chapter 11 – Assessing Students with Visual, Motor, and/or Hearing Disabilities

Low Incidence Disabilities is what I really assumed most disabilities were when I was younger. I thought most of the students who received special education services were the ones that we are reading about as having Low Incidence Disabilities. I can understand now after reading the chapter how it is difficult to initially determine how to help students with Low Incidence Disabilities because they are fairly rare. Having someone local (especially in a small/rural school district) who has experience in supporting a student with a Low Incidence Disability is probably not going to be available.

I do think that the listing of all the different specifics of Low Incidence Disabilities and if it makes them eligible for special education services, and the assessments that need to be done was overwhelming. I am hoping that even smaller school districts have access to the immense amounts of Assistive Technology that is available if it is needed.

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Chapter 12 – Transition

I had never considered the transition process for high school students with disabilities prior to working on a transition plan in EDSP 426. I really enjoyed looking at the different surveys/assessments available for students for special educators to use in forming a student’s transition plan. I agree with the importance of students being involved in their transition plan. I think the Collaboration Planning Assessment Tools for students with sensory and/or severe disabilities is interesting. Forming a “circle” and working together to decide what goals are and where in when to meet (Kritikos, 2010) is critical in formulating a positive plan for the student. Including caregivers, friends, family, community members, agency provider, and school representatives in an informal setting are part of the process for constructing steps to a plan for the individual (Kritikos, 2010).

The idea of a transition plan is intriguing, but I would be interested to see if transition plans are implemented in the way they are designed to help prepare students for life after school. I had a discussion with a retired school counselor who said that he had not seen a transition plan that included the processes that we are reading about in our texts. I think for transition plans to be successful, it is imperative to have a community that is supportive and to have full involvement and support from the individual’s family.

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Chapter 13 – Interpreting Tests and Reports

“A structured plan aiming at appropriate goals can provide a clearer path in terms of where to focus energies and experience success” (Kritikos, 2010). After all the assessments and evaluations, it is sometimes overwhelming to determine what we need to focus on. As teachers or special educators we need to look at results and come up with a plan on how to best help the student. Where should we focus? I remember looking at my son’s first IEP and the one of his annual goals wanted him to recognize the letters A, E, D, T, and S 80% of the time. At the time, I was shocked because my goal was for him to read. I had not internalized that these individual goals were steps that he “hopefully” could meet in a year. The simplicity of the goal was attainable and where my son was (whether or not I wanted to accept it). There were many other areas on his assessments/evaluations that showed he was below where he should be, but it is unrealistic for us to create goals for every area. Educators need to focus and meet goals to progress.

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Chapter 10

I thoroughly enjoyed chapter 10 because it brought me back to my undergrad and when I was doing a practicum at the Early Head Start. When children are under the age of three, they are not able to fend for themselves so they need their parents and other advocates to help them if they are at risk of a disability or during an assessment. The one thing that really caught my eye was doing interventions or assessments in a natural environment (pg. 219). I think it is key to conduct an assessment in an environment where the child is comfortable or familiar. This goes for any age of child but especially for children under three, if they are not familiar with their surroundings then you may not get the results you are looking for. Another thing that I thought was very important within this chapter is building trust between the parents and the team that is helping the child. Mutual trust is established between parents and educators when they find a common ground when understanding the child’s needs (pg. 222). Above everything else I find trust the most important because if you are not able to have trust between the two parties them you are not able to fully help the child to the fullest. The goal is to figure out what is best for the child and how to further their education but if you do not trust the person you are communicating with them the light at the end of the tunnel is not getting any closer.

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This chapter was very informational and I learned things that I did not know before. I find the information helpful because I can begin to see what children may have what disorder and assistive technology they could use. In order to assess children with visual, motor and hearing disabilities you have to accommodate to their learning and find ways to assess them respectfully in order to get the results needed. I honestly can’t pinpoint one certain thing to talk about because this chapter was so good, so I will touch base on the assistive technology because it really opened my mind on what assistive technology is (pg. 251). When I think of assistive technology I really only thought of Ipads as talkers for those that can’t communicate well. Obviously this is not the case, there is so much more that can be used in order to better assist children with disabilities.

Motor assistive technology was very interesting because after reading about it, it made me realize that we use assistive technology everyday for a child that has CP (pg. 254). In order to get this child to do daily things she needs certain assistive technology to get through the day. She has a very light and delicate voice and in order to full hear her, she needs a amplifier for everyone to hear her when she talks. This child has her standard wheelchair that her pair pushes and she is in that one 85% of the time, however sometimes she is put in her motorized wheelchair to get more independence in her life when she wants to go certain places. This chapter has deepened my knowledge of assessing visual, motor and hearing disability children and gives me the information I need in order to better assess and accommodate their lives when at school.

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Transitioning a child with disabilities takes a village in order to get them ready for the next chapter whether it is life after high school or going from elementary to middle school. “Transitional planning into the secondary setting begins at age 14 within the IEP” (pg. 268). I read this same quote in another book for another class and I feel like this is too young for a child to start thinking of life after high school. I understand why they start it that young but in order to have the child involved and in charge of their future they should be able to understand what exactly is going on. “50% of children with disabilities are less likely to be employed than individuals without disabilities, “(pg. 268). I find this very sad because sometimes people who have disabilities could be the most loyal employees; it just takes extra time and patience.

In order for the transitions to be successful the child needs to be involved and apart of the process. They need to be the one taking control of their future and have a voice when discussing the IEP and what their goals should be. “6% of students with disabilities did not attend the IEP meeting,” (pg. 270). Once the child hits 14 years old they should be involved in the progress because it is their future that they are talking about.

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This chapter was a great way to end the book and put everything together. Learning and interpreting test scores is never easy and I would get confused if I was given a paper with a bunch of numbers on it. Figure 13.1 was a nice visual of how the evaluation report is really but together and how you need to have all the information put into the report in order for it to be complete. Even though this chapter was short and sweet, it really gave me a better understanding of what has to be done after giving a child an assessment. It also gave me a better understanding of what I have to look forward to with conducting the WCJ IV for one of our assignments.

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I thought this chapter had a lot of information, almost too much, about testing in  early childhood.  Table 10.1, p213, has a listing of different tests and what age is appropriate for the tests.  The text presents the idea of natural setting or environment  (p219). I thought this was very interesting when the studies indicated testing in the child’s natural setting/environment which for really young children is probably their own home , or childcare or wherever they spend the most time and seem comfortable and the text indicates most of the testers would prefer to test in a more controlled environment (p219-220). I just think this builds a bigger case that none of us are unbiased and we all need to pay attention to all parts of the process and put aside our own assumptions during the whole process.
Heather B. - I tried logging in several times ".....but alas I got earwax flavor...."😉

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I really liked this chapter not only because it gives a brief overview of different physical disabilities but also the corresponding adaptive technologies both low-tech and some high-tech so we can get a basic understanding of the whys and hows. I like the diagram on page 256, figure 1.4 adaptions.  I was able to use this for adaptions in some of my lesson plans for my other classes.   Also, the multicultural consideration at the end of the chapter, p257-259, really made me think about how would I teach a student that has a physical impairment, like deafness, and still take into consideration their culture and how they would be talked to at home and how to incorporate that into their everyday schooling.  That would be a tall order and require the participation of the family for sure.
Heather B.

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I looked at Chapter 12 from a Secondary perspective.  My first certification will be in CTE (Career and Technical Education) and I though great finally some information.  I have been gearing all of my LP'S for SPED because I knew that is where I will be focusing on and this chapter really a dismal point of view.  Coming from the bad place, California, where there is almost a program for  every need I saw many transition programs for students and even adults but I was just an observer there.  Knowing the part that many special needs persons lose their jobs because of "inadequate attendance"(p278) was a huge problem for some because the larger companies that took on challenged employees would not account for the fact that most ( not all) special needs person get sick more often especially working with the public.  I think part of the inflexibility of businesses also contributes to the lower employment rate for challenged employees.   Also students havig access to different types of vocational assessments is a really great part of the chapter. The student can indicate their interests (p275) and also have access to the aptitude tests (p274) and see what would fit for that student and hopefully find a vocation they would be happy to pursue at that time.  Introducing the idea of Post-Secondary education, either in a vocational school or 2 or 4 year college for special needs students  had not occurred to me so I thought that was really neat.  I looked through the references and there are several journals I intend to read the articles about transitioning.
Heather B

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Chapter 13 is a wrap up to the whole book and figure 13.1, p291, pretty much sums up the chapter with the components of an evaluation report.  The chapter goes into a little detail about each part of test administering, interpreting, and recommending to the parents like a little preview of what actually happens.  I just really liked the Multicultural Considerations throughout the whole text because, for me being a white female, it made me think about how I could be relating, including, and understanding other cultural perspectives even in testing. I had not considered the fact that some cultures even have different meanings to some words and the American interpretation could be dofferent even offensive and we as educators/testers have to remember to take into account a student’s cultural perspective.
Heather B

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Hello Samantha, I agree it is frustration when our loved ones show problems in certain areas. I have noticed with my daughter she gets offended when I tell her I see signs that my grandson has problems in communicating with people. I try to tell her if there is a problem it should be caught early. She just says, “I think everyone has a disorder”.  She might be right. The child that shows behavior issues at your work, I am sure it is not you. My grandson I talked about earlier is in kindergarten, he does have behavior issues with me, but not at school. I hope it does not change when he becomes comfortable in his new environment. Currently he is being pulled out for reading. 

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Hello Samantha, I agree it is frustration when our loved ones show problems in certain areas. I have noticed with my daughter she gets offended when I tell her I see signs that my grandson has problems in communicating with people. I try to tell her if there is a problem it should be caught early. She just says, “I think everyone has a disorder”.  She might be right. The child that shows behavior issues at your work, I am sure it is not you. My grandson I talked about earlier is in kindergarten, he does have behavior issues with me, but not at school. I hope it does not change when he becomes comfortable in his new environment. Currently he is being pulled out for reading. 

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Hi Heather, I agree this chapter had a lot of information on testing. I feel it helped being familiar with the WJ-VI assessment. I could make a connection, and not get overwhelmed when I can visualize what they are talking about. The students or child’s home would be the most comfortable probably, but I wonder how many assessments are given in the child’s home. I know I have never had a teacher to my house for any reason when my children were growing up, or even when I was a child. My son was tutored throughout grade school, and I would take him to the instructor. At that time, they did not pull out children for extra help, or diagnose the student with learning disabilities, for if they did, my son would have been pulled-out. One year he received all F’s on his report card. The teacher said he would just like to tie him in his seat. Now, my son is Director of Finance at Cal Poly University in California, but he had a difficult time in grade school and high school. Deborah

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Hello, I thought the same thing about low incidence disabilities—that most students with disabilities were low incidence. The assessments that need to be done are overwhelming-can you imagine how overwhelmed the students would feel. I also hope small schools have access to technology, for I have not realized that they might not have access. I feel if they have a knowledgeable person working with the school it would be of help finding the proper technology for the students. I would like to know more about technology—for I would love to be that knowledgeable person to find technology for the school, although I say that about every chapter—I want to do that. If I keep finding different things I want to specialize in; I will be a hundred when I finish school (or die a happy school girl). Deborah

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Hello, I thought the same thing about low incidence disabilities—that most students with disabilities were low incidence. The assessments that need to be done are overwhelming-can you imagine how overwhelmed the students would feel. I also hope small schools have access to technology, for I have not realized that they might not have access. I feel if they have a knowledgeable person working with the school it would be of help finding the proper technology for the students. I would like to know more about technology—for I would love to be that knowledgeable person to find technology for the school, although I say that about every chapter—I want to do that. If I keep finding different things I want to specialize in; I will be a hundred when I finish school (or die a happy school girl). Deborah