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Hello, thank you all for attending this conference on Ben. As the special educator, I have worked closely to assess Ben's strengths and weaknesses these past few weeks and have outlined areas of growth and concerns based on progress monitoring and feedback from all of you. Ben remains positive while at school, he is respectful to his peers and teacher. Ben works best in small groups and requires an immense amount of support and prompting. He has demonstrated the most growth in reading but still struggles in Math. I'm aware that Ben has had difficulty completing tasks in the classroom and has yet to demonstrate growth through in-class tasks/participation. I would like to work with Ben by providing graphic organizers to scaffold the material as well as a script of the lesson (guided notes). I would like to work with the parent closely to have Ben preview any new material being taught at home. Ben appears to work well in the comfort of his home environment. I'm hopeful that by previewing the material, Ben might feel the confidence to participate in class and be intrinsically engaged. Being that Math is where Ben struggles most, I would like to try this with the focus on that subject. This will require a great deal of planning between myself and the teacher,  I would like to devote one prep period a week if possible to prepare and gather appropriate materials for Ben. I am hopeful that with these changes we will see Benny further his potential in the classroom setting.

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@General educator
I agree with David that we should follow up to see Ben's interests at home and further understand why he appears to exceed in that setting. If there are particular hobbies or interests he has maybe we could devote a Math lesson to a particular sport if that is what he interested in, I believe that by engaging Benny we will have a stronger retention rate and further clarity in his understanding. I would like to have Ben self-assess and see what his likes and dislikes are at school. By incorporating Ben's interests and by providing the additional support we will see development in his academically and socially.

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Emily, Appreciate your commitment to the work in the classroom. I think the suggestion of giving Benny a job to assume in the classroom is a great idea and something I am more than willing to do. It will also give me time to interact with him on a personal basis in addition to giving him this responsibility where he takes charge of his role.
I would definitely discuss the kinesthetic activity with you in advance in order to ensure maximum effectiveness.

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David, expect me to be in and out of the classroom on various occasions observing and working with Ben. With that being said, I will be first going into the classroom to make an ecological evaluation. The evaluation is the 2nd aspect and an intervention OT’s offer when working with students. This means i’ll be observing Ben’s interactions with classmates and his academic participation. Doing so, will help us notice whom in the class he has relationships with which can help with preferential seating and partnerships as you both hinted at to help Ben be more proactive and comfortable. I will also take note of how Ben behaves outside of the classroom (lunch and recess time). After both evaluations I will touch base with everyone on what patterns I might’ve noticed.

David, perhaps in the classroom you could assign Ben a job to assume responsibility in his academic environment. This will help him be responsible and take charge as well as maybe participate more with his peers and not zone out so much. Giving Ben a role in the classroom might bring out his personality more especially since it is September as mentioned and everyone is getting to know one another. I would suggest maybe even having Benny select the job so it can be more personal and of preference.

Amanda, I loved the idea of involving more kinesthetic activities and exercises throughout lessons for all the kids, especially Benny. A suggestion for something more specific that i’ve done with previous students before is work with clay, play-doh &/or string. Exercises with those materials can help strengthen Ben’s fine motor skills which will eventually help his writing. The exercises will help Ben shape out letters and along with homework tracing pages could be sent with him to formulate more practice.

David, we would have to discuss a time where for at least 30 minutes, I can go in and practice this idea with Benny. I would suggest for now maybe twice a week, during a time where not much is happening in the classroom (read aloud, independent work time), this way Ben does not feel excluded from whole class activity.

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Hi team, I’ve been reading your suggestions and ideas as to how we can help Ben be as successful as he can be. As his OT, I do agree with the tactics you guys have suggested thus far and would like to add some insight in order for things to be consistent and run smooth.

As an OT, part of the practices come from my ultimate intention with students to fully participate in their general education setting (Sailor,1991). This stems from 3 major aspects I look for and work on with the students. The first is collaborating closely with the members involved with the students. All of us on this team want the best for Ben and should constantly be in communication on strategies that are working, not working and why/how. Some strategies can be altered and changed to benefit Ben in a more positive and self fulfilling way.

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Hi Amanda,
This is a great idea and one that I had mentioned to my fellow general educators last week. Having more kinesthetic learning activities built into the day's lessons would be a great idea. I did not have any examples though, so your math suggestion is much appreciated and something that I will try to see if I can get a positive response from.

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Hi David, perhaps in the classroom you can incorporate some physical techniques for the entire classroom. For instance, have all the students stand up in the back of the class. Once they answer a math question correct they may sit down at their desk. Perhaps this will provide Ben with the incentive to actively participate and it will also stimulate his response to physical activity. This way it will not disrupt the sequence of the classroom, but it will help all the students participate while enjoying a small break from sitting at their desks.
Additionally, I think it is also important we continue to hold Ben to a high standard and continue to challenge his learning. If he is showing advanced math skills at home, then he is showing the ability to retain the lessons taught in class. Perhaps there are other hidden skills Ben has that can be shown once Ben receives the proper stimulation. While social skills and being invited to parties is very important for Ben’s development and life outside of school, it is also important that we challenge him academically as well.

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As Benny's teacher I want to do my best to make sure that he is engaged in my classroom. Obviously to this point there has been some reservation on his part and he does not seem to be responding the way his parents state he is capable of doing. I have read in his IEP that he is most engaged following physical activity, I will do my best to make sure the lessons Benny is having more trouble with follow activities such as recess or gym class. I also understand that it is only September, so with him making strides since Kindergarten as his mother states, I want to give Benny the time he needs to adjust to a new school year and a new setting.
Amanda, as you mention, we need to figure out a comfortable environment for Benny. I also want to speak to his paraprofessional and see if there is any insight they can give in order to get him more engaged. I also would like to talk to his parents and find out who his close friends are in the classroom, so I can have them near Benny in order to get him to interact more socially. I would also like to hear about the environment at home where he is clearly performing well. This way I can do everything in my power to make him feel comfortable in the classroom.

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Hello all, I am looking forward to working with each of you to create a consistent “game plan” for Ben’s success and progress. It seems there is a little tension involving Ben’s progress and his change in behavior at home versus at school. As a school psychologist, I would like to collaborate with everyone and come up with some strategies that can be done at home and at school in order to help Ben’s progress. These strategies can include more tailored lesson plans in the classroom, attending community programs to help with Ben’s interaction skills, and trying to make Ben feel more comfortable and engaging in the classroom (Zwiers & Johnson). At home Ben seems to be more outgoing and even demonstrates high math skills, however in the classroom Ben fails to recite basic facts and does not do his work. Clearly there is some disconnect happening with Ben. Hopefully by working together we can help Ben stay consistent in his progress. Ultimately, we are all here for Ben and for his betterment, and despite some of the tension involving this case, it is important to realize that all of us want the best for Ben.

I think it would be beneficial to look at how the different environments affect Ben and what can be done to help Ben feel engaged in the classroom. A main concern of Ben’s parents is trying to help him interact with other students. According to Ben’s parents they are happy with his functioning with his peers and that he is “invited to parties”. However, the teacher sees in the class that Ben seems disinterested in the other children. Perhaps we can find a program for kids like Ben that focus on the social skills, after school. One example is Dragon Masters, that specializes in developing social skills with children with autism, ADHD, Asperger’s and other special needs. Depending on Ben’s interests and his parent’s schedules and thoughts on after school programs, perhaps we can find a program that fits. This way Ben will receive the focused attention he needs to help develop his social skills and eventually this can leak into the classroom and he would be able to be more engaging with his peers.