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10) Testing Accommodations for Children With Disabilities

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10) Testing Accommodations for Children With Disabilities

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+Federal laws require that children who receive special education services due to disability are eligible for special accommodations during testing

+Disability anywhere from dyslexia to attention deficit hyperactivity and on

+Intellectual disabilities, emotional disorders, and sensory impairments are not considered learning disabilities

If impacting a childs' ability to learn they can be covered under special education laws

+IDEA guarantees free and appropriate public education designed to meet student individual needs

+Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act protects children who have learning disabilities but do not receive services through IDEA

+Americans with Disabilities Act covers full range of state or local public schools even if they do not receive federal funding

+Testing accommodations made to prevent a students' disability from interfering with their ability to demonstrate their actual skill level.

Not made to give unfair advantage and/or lower or higher standards

+To receive testing accommodations a student must be formally identified as having a learning disability

+Testing accommodations can include:

Extended time/ rest time or breaks

Preferential seating or exam in a quiet room

Provision of a scribe or ability to take exam on a computer

+Accommodations are chosen by parents and teachers at an IEP meeting

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Children who are eligible for special education services due to disabilities are eligible for special accommodations during testing.

Federal laws promise children with learning disabilities access to special education services, including testing accommodations.

What Learning Disabilities Qualify for Testing Accommodations?

There are many different kinds of learning disabilities (LD) that can require testing accommodations, but the three most common forms of learning disabilities are reading disabilities such as dyslexia, written language disabilities, and math disabilities.

Intellectual disabilities, emotional disorders, and sensory impairments are not considered learning disabilities. However, some disabilities that are not LD impact a child's ability to learn and are covered under the special education laws. For example, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is not a learning disability but does make it hard for children to control their behavior and to focus. Other disabilities that affect memory, social skills, or cognitive processes such as multi-tasking also affect learning.

What Laws Require Schools to Provide Special Education and Accommodations?

The federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) guarantees every child with a disability a free and appropriate public education designed to meet her individual needs. IDEA provides some funding for state-administered special education programs and guarantees education services for children with disabilities, including LD, from birth through high school.

Some children with LD do not qualify to receive services under IDEA but fortunately do qualify for similar protections under another law, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act provides that children with disabilities cannot be excluded from or discriminated against under any federally funded programs or activities because of disability.

Section 504 applies to public school districts, higher education institutions, and other state and local government education agencies. In addition, the Americans with Disabilities Act extends the range of Section 504 to cover the full range of state or local public schools, programs, or activities even if they do not receive any federal funding.

For more information, see Nolo's article on Section 504. Both Section 504 and IDEA permit testing accommodations. For an overview of the differences between IDEA and Section 504, go to ldonline.org.

When Testing Accommodations Must Be Made

A testing accommodation is any change made in testing in order to "level the playing field" and prevent children's disabilities from interfering with their ability to demonstrate their actual skill level. Testing accommodations are not intended to alter or lower the standards or expectations for a subject or test, or to give learning disabled children an unfair advantage.

To receive testing accommodations either IDEA or Section 504, a child must first be formally identified as having a learning disability. The child must then obtain an individualized plan from her school that details, among other things, what testing accommodations the child may receive in order to help increase their educational success. For children protected under IDEA, this plan is referred to as an Individualized Education Program (IEP). For those who qualify under the Rehabilitation Act it is called a "504 plan."

To find out more about the process for obtaining an Individualized Education Program (IEP) for your child, see Nolo's series of articles on IEPs and special education.

Types of Testing Accommodations

There are many different possible testing accommodations to consider when developing an IEP or 504 Plan. Testing accommodations may affect the presentation of the exam, permissible ways for the child to respond, the timing of the exam, and the setting in which the exam is given.

Some examples of testing accommodations include:

allowing extended time

allowing rest time or frequent breaks

preferential seating or administration of the exam in a quiet room

provision of a scribe to write down a child's oral answers or a tape recorder to capture responses, and

permission to take the exam on a computer.

The specific testing accommodations for a child are chosen jointly by the parents and teachers (or other school district representatives) at the IEP meeting.

Private Schools and Testing Accommodations

Under IDEA, the protections provided to children with disabilities enrolled in private school vary depending on two factors: whether the child was placed in private school by her parents or by the public school district, and whether this occurred before or after the child was found to be IDEA eligible. Children enrolled in private schools by their parents do not necessarily have the same rights to special education and testing accommodations as children in public schools. The National Center for Learning Disabilities provides more information on when children in public schools are entitled to special education services at www.ncld.org.

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Testing Accommodation for Children With Disabilities

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Children who are eligible for special education services due to disabilities are eligible for special accommodations during testing. Federal laws promise children with learning disabilities access to special education services, including testing accommodations.

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+Having a team of people who understand IEPs and their development helps understanding and productivity

+IEPs help focus on the unique needs of an individual student

+IEP goal describes what we hope the student will achieve with the intended outcome

Goals need to be measured in an objective way-- progress must be measurable

Must establish a criterion for mastery

Use standardized tests and informal assessments to measure progress

+Use SMART goals to create IEP goals

+Before developing goals; baseline has to be measured

Reading Goals

+Phonemic Awareness- ability to hear and sequence sounds in spoken words

+Phonics- Relationship between the letters of written language and the sounds of spoken language

+Fluency- The ability to read text accurately and quickly

+Vocabulary- the words students must know to communicate effectively

+Comprehension- The ability to understand and gain meaning from what has been read

+Learning to read requires the student to learn specific skills in a sequence.

Each step learns a new skill and builds upon another

+Goals can't be so broad; one skill with the action words surrounding it, giving a criterion and time for the goals to be tested and achieved

+Tips on writing IEP goals for different subjects, providing good examples of editing goals to be more conducive.

+Written to explain the process of writing goals for parents but educating on goals themselves

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Writing IEP Goals by Ruth Heitin, Ph.D., Independent Educational Consultant - Wrightslaw

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Suggested strategies for writing good IEP goals by Ruth Heitin, independent educational consultant

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8) Instructional Methods + Interventions

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8) Instructional Methods + Interventions

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+Preventive Interventions

Aims to stop something from happening or reducing a condition

In example, preventing manic episodes in students by maintaining a specific schedule

+Remedial Interventions

Eliminate effects of a disability buy equipping students with skills for individual work

Example, student with ADHD, developing entry point into activities-- improving task initiation

+Compensatory Interventions

Providing students with learning disabilities a special device that non-disabled children do not need

Example, giving an autistic student a phonetic spelling software to convert student typing to the word they intended

Conducting effective lessons

+ Establishing clear expectations, create structure, and discuss behavioral expectations

Provide needed materials, create a discussion around boundaries and expectations

+Reviewing previous material to get started on new material

Scaffolding

+Help students with participating during lessons

Create a cue for help

Do not rush

Self-concept development

+Group work as a way for students to maximize their learning using Think-Pair-Share

+Accommodate students with whatever they need to understand

+I didn't really like this website as much

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Teaching Strategies for Students With Special Needs

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In the United States, special education is free in the public education system, thanks to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

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+Created as a resource for teacher of exceptional children

72% of teachers of students with special needs modify their curriculum

Teachers rank lack of adequate resources as an important criteria for success

+ Lists activities, explanation of the activity, the parameters you can set with the game, what the activity works,

+Who raised their hand?

Students have to remember the order their classmates raised their hand then ask to speak and reproduce it

Parameters you can adjust-- sequence length, memorization time, number of elements

Works working and episodic memory

+Pocket Money

Randomized amounts-- no memorization

Recognizing and counting money

Can adjust the type of currency, amounts, and largest bills

Works planning, working memory, and shopping

+Get Dressed

Appropriately dress a mannequin in terms of the order of placement and situation

Parameters include: all types of clothing, presentation order, matching clothes, and types of distractors

Works decision making, body schema, planning, and dressing

+Space Conquest

Students have to jump between moving planets until they arrive at their final destination

Parameters are speed, number of planets, format, and distractors

Works spatial relationships, sustained attention, inhibition, planning, and processing speed

This is my favorite one

+Waiter in Action

Take the role of a waiter-- paying attention to different dishes and serve each customer

Customizable-- varying levels

Parameters are: Number of diners and food items, alternation of dishes, number of stimuli, maximum errors, and correction criteria

Works on alternating attention, selective attention, sustained attention, inhibition

A lot of potential in this

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More than 7 million students, or about 15% of those ages 3 to 21, received special education services in the 2020-21 school year under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

To ensure the quality of special education services and meet the many needs in their classrooms, teachers must invest a considerable amount of time in tailoring lessons and materials to their students.

In fact, what makes the role of a special educator especially challenging is the number and diversity of needs in a classroom. Teachers must support not only the academic needs of their students, but also communication, behavioral and physical needs, among others. However, special education teachers often operate without adequate materials to address these needs.

According to a survey conducted by the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) 72% of teachers of students with special needs modify their curriculum to support their individualization either most of the time or always. Moreover, teachers rank adequate resources requirements as the most important criteria for their success.

The lack of materials places a significant extra burden on teachers. Therefore, here are 10 activities developed to help learners with special needs achieve a higher level of self-sufficiency and success in school and in their community.

Activities for students with special education needs

Below you will find 10 exercises developed for special education teachers under the principles of ecological validity and generalizability with the aim of unlocking students' potential by addressing their special needs through cognitive stimulation activities in the classroom.

You will be able to customize and adapt the activities to their needs and capabilities increasing students' motivation and engagement, thus enhancing their performance.

1. Word Fishing

What does it consist of?

The first activity to work with special needs students that we present is Word Fishing. In this game students have to make words by putting syllables or individual letters in the correct order. It is divided into six levels of difficulty. They will automatically move up or down a level depending on his or her successes or mistakes.

We show you an example in the following video.

Activity customization

You will be able to customize this activity to meet the individual needs and capabilities of each child, being able to set the general features and parameters.

General features

On the one hand, you can adjust general features such as the number of exercises, the maximum time, whether or not you want a visible timer for the activity and an inactivity warning, or you can modify the instructions if you wish.

Parameters

And, on the other hand, the parameters, where you can select:

What does this activity work?

This activity works:

2. Who raised their hand?

What does it consist of?

In this activity children have to remember the order in which the classmates raised their hands to ask for a turn to speak and reproduce it. We show you an example below.

Activity customization

You will be able to customize this activity and set the general features and parameters:

General features

You can adjust general features such as the number of exercises, the maximum time, whether or not you want a visible timer for the activity, the number of tries and an inactivity warning, or you can modify the instructions if you wish.

Parameters

And, on the other side, the parameters, where you can select:

What does this activity work?

This special needs activity works:

3. Correct Image Name

What does it consist of?

Correct Image Name is a worksheet in which students must determine which word matches the image shown.

Work by levels

In addition, this exercise has different levels of difficulty so that the teacher can adapt the activity to the needs of each student with special needs: basic, easy, medium, difficult and advanced.

Here is an example of a medium level worksheet to work with people with special education needs.

Format

This worksheet is available in both digital and paper format.

What does this activity work?

This activity works on discrimination.

4. Get Dressed

What does it consist of?

Another NeuronUP activity for k-12 students with special needs to work on ADLs that we highlight is Get Dressed. In this game they have to appropriately dress a mannequin in terms of the order and placement of the items of clothing as well as the type of situation.

In the example below, students have to dress the woman for a special occasion.

Activity customization

You will be able to customize the activity to suit the special needs and abilities of each student.

General features

On the one hand, you can set general features. Here you can delimit the number of exercises, the maximum time, whether or not you want a visible timer for the activity and an inactivity warning, or you can modify the instructions.

Parameters

And, on the other hand, the parameters, where you can select:

Clothing: all or basic ones only.

Presentation of the clothing in order.

Matching clothing.

Setting: categories or wardrobe.

Type of distractors: none, obvious or diverses.

Maximum errors per type.

What does this activity work?

5. Pack your Backpack

What does it consist of?

This daily living activity involves packing the backpack for school by selecting only the objects necessary for that day of school. The aim of the game is that the children with special education needs don't forget anything, but also they don't have to pack things that they won't need. Here is a medium level example.

Activity customization

You will be able to customize this activity to suit the individual needs and abilities of each child and set the general features and parameters:

General features

In this ADL you can adjust general features such as the number of exercises, the maximum time, whether or not you want a visible timer for the activity and an inactivity warning, or you can modify the instructions if you wish.

Parameters

And in terms of parameters you can select:

What does this activity work?

This special needs resource works:

6. Pocket Money

What does it consist of?

This exercise is a generator. Generators allow you to create unlimited and ecological activities. The student can never memorize the answer, since each instance is different. This special education activity consists of selecting the amount of money requested. An example is shown below.

Activity customization

You will be able to customize this activity to suit the students' individual needs and abilities. In addition, you can setup the general features and parameters.

General features

In this generator you can configure general features such as the operation (correction or free mode and maximum errors allowed), the maximum time, whether or not you want a visible timer for the activity and an inactivity warning. Moreover, you will be able to modify the instructions if you wish.

Parameters

As for the parameters, you can select:

What does this activity work?

7.What is the best thing to do?

What does it consist of?

This worksheet consists of analyzing a situation and seeing what would be the right way to behave in it. Life is full of choices, and it is not always easy to make the right one. By showing different cases adapted to reality and giving them several behavioral options, we teach children to question several aspects of situations they may encounter in their daily lives and weigh the consequences of their decisions.

Work by levels

What is better to do? is organized into five levels of difficulty: basic, easy, medium, difficult and advanced.

In the following video we show you an example of how to work with this activity with students with special education needs.

Ways to work with this special education resource

Correction mode: the platform corrects the student after each action.
Free mode: the platform does not correct the student until the end of the exercise.

Format

This worksheet is available is also available on paper format for you to work with your students.

What does this activity work?

This activity works on social cognition.

8. Space Conquest

What does it consist of?

In this set in space game, students have to jump between the moving planets until they arrive to their final destination. As in all NeuronUP games, the difficulty levels up and down automatically according to their progress. In addition, the professional can choose the level manually. In this image we show you a medium level example to work with students with special needs.

Activity customization

This special needs activity can be customized to meet the needs and abilities of each student. You can also establish the general features and parameters.

General features

In this game you can adjust general features such as the number of exercises, the maximum time, whether or not you want a visible timer for the activity, an inactivity warning and you can customize the instructions.

Parameters

You can customize some parameters such as:

Speed.

Number of rows on the screen.

Number of total rows.

Format.

Distractors: no, some or all.

What does this activity work?

This game works on:

Spatial relationship.

Sustained attention.

Inhibition.

Planning.

Processing speed.

9. That's Odd!

What does it consist of?

This generator consists of categorizing numbers as odd or even. It is an activity for students with special needs to become familiar with numbers before learning to do counting. Below you will find an example.

Activity customization

You can tailor this activity to the students' individual needs and abilities and you can set the general features and parameters.

General features

In this generator you can set up general features such as the operation (correction or free mode and maximum errors allowed), the maximum time, whether or not you want a visible timer for the activity and an inactivity warning. In addition, you can modify the instructions.

Parameters

You can customize the following parameters:

What does this activity work?

This activity works semantic memory.

10. Waiter in Action

What does it consist of?

Special education students, who take on the role of waiters, have to pay attention to the different dishes ordered in a restaurant in this activity. They must serve each customer the ordered dish and be attentive as the dishes will change. The game is divided into various levels. Level 1 being the easiest and level 9 being the most complicated. In the following video you can find an example of how to work with this exercise:

Activity customization

This special education resource can be customized to meet the needs and capabilities of each student. General features and parameters can also be set.

General features

In this game you can configure general features such as the number of exercises, the maximum time, whether or not you want a visible timer for the activity and an inactivity warning, or you can personalize the instructions.

Parameters

In addition, you can edit specific parameters such as:

Visible elements: number of diners and number of food items.

The alternation.

The variety of elements.

The number of target stimuli.

Correction criteria: totals, errors and omissions.

Number of stimuli.

Time of permanence of the stimuli.

Maximum errors.

What does this activity work?

Waiter in Action works on:

Extra activity to work with students with special needs: Hidden Code

What does it consist of?

Hidden Code is the last activity to work at the classroom with students with special education needs consists of finding as quickly as possible the numbers that stay still among a group of numbers that are constantly changing.

For example, in the following medium level exercise students have to discover the hidden 4-digit code.

Activity customization

You will be able to customize this activity and set the general features and parameters.

General features

You can set, on the one hand, the general features such as the number of exercises, the maximum time, whether or not you want a visible timer for the activity and an inactivity warning, or you can modify the instructions if you wish.

Parameters

And, on the other hand, the parameters, where you can select:

What does this activity work?

Bibliography

Fowler, S. A., Coleman, M. R. B., & Bogdan, W. K. (2019). The State of the Special Education Profession Survey Report. Arlington, VA: Council for Exceptional Children.

National Center for Education Statistics. (2022). Students With Disabilities. Condition of Education. U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved June 23, 2022, from https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator/cgg

If you liked this post on 10 activities for students with special education needs, you may be interested in these NeuronUP posts:

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10 activities for students with special education needs

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More than 7 million students, or about 15% of those ages 3 to 21, received special education services in the 2020-21 school year under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

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+Sign language is used as a form of communication for people with hearing impairments

Also been used to teach people with developmental disabilities that have little communication skills

+ Decrease in sign language communication as computerized systems have increased in use

+Recommended for individuals who have little or no verbal abilities

+Sign language can facilitate learning of social gestures-- an integral part of sign language

How to start teaching sign language

+ Begin with need based words and expressions

+Speech acceleration using sign language

With signed speech same areas of the brain is receiving stimulation, collaborating with each other building connections

+ASL provides a compact form of communication to convey full sentences in a short amount of time and movements

+"Alternate forms of communication that are more appropriate to the current functioning ability of the child will greatly accelerate the learning of language and speed up the eventual acquisition of speech and writing English."

+Disability related on a parents website

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This article is based on the information provided in 2001 by Dr. Benson Schaeffer, a clinical psychologist in Portland, Oregon. He is internationally known for his work on sign language for the people with cognitive disabilities. A summary of the information and additional commentary are provided by Tim Weiss, former board member of the Alaska Alliance for Deaf Children and parent of a child who is both deaf and has autism.

Sign language is primarily used in communication with people who have hearing impairments. Sign language has also been used to teach people with developmental disabilities who have little or no communication skills.

Using Sign Language to Accelerate Speech Development

Teaching children with autism how to use sign language is not as common a practice today as in previous years, possibly due to an increase in the use of computerized communication systems and facilitated communication.

However, research suggests that teaching sign language via Total Communication (especially involving simultaneously produced signs and words) will likely accelerate a person's ability to speak (Creedon, 1976; Kopchik, Rombach & Smilovitz, 1975; Larson, 1971; Miller & Miller, 1973). The idea of teaching sign language and speech simultaneously is sometimes referred to as Signed Speech.

Sign Language for People with Limited Communication

Sign language is useful for those individuals who have little or no verbal abilities or communication skills. It is not recommended for those who have a relatively large vocabulary.

Persons with a variety of functioning levels can be taught to use sign language. Many aberrant behaviors associated with autism and other developmental disabilities, such as aggression, tantrums, self-injury, anxiety, and depression, are often attributed to an inability to communicate to others. Signed speech may, at the very least, allow the person to communicate using signs and may stimulate verbal language skills.

Another common characteristic of individuals with autism is their inability to attend to the nonverbal, social gestures of others. When teaching a person to use sign language, another possible benefit may be the facilitation of their attentiveness to social gestures of others as well as of themselves.

Which Form(s) to Use?

There are several different forms of sign language. When implementing signed speech it is best to use the Signing Exact English or Signed English methods. This form of sign language uses the same syntax as spoken language and will help facilitate the use of syntactic rules of spoken language.

For example, a statement using both Signed English and speech would be: Look at the table. In contrast, the syntax of American Sign Language would be: Table look. Since the majority of people do not understand sign language, it may be ideal to use some form of picture system or computerized communication device in addition to signed speech to enable communication with those who do not understand signs.

How to Start Teaching Sign Language

When beginning a sign language program, it is best to start with signs expressing needs, such as the need to eat, drink, and use the toilet. In this way, the person will be motivated to use the signs to communicate needs. It may take anywhere from a few minutes to a few months to teach the first sign. But, as the person acquires more and more signs, it will be much easier and faster to learn new signs.

Learning to speak is usually accelerated by teaching sign language and speech at the same time. One possible reason is that both forms of communication stimulate the same area of the brain. PET scans, which measure the amount of activity occurring in the brain at a given time, indicate that the same area of the brain is activated when a person talks or when a person uses signs (Poizner, Klima & Bellugi, 1990).

Thus, when utilizing the signed speech method, the area of the brain involved in speech production is receiving stimulation from two sources (signing and speaking) rather than stimulation from one source (signing or speaking). Also, if there are problems with auditory processing, this form of communication should be unaffected.

Summary and Comments

In conclusion, teaching sign language to people with autism and other developmental disabilities does not interfere with learning to talk and evidence indicates that teaching sign language along with speech actually accelerates verbal communication. The book entitled Signed Speech Language Program for Nonverbal Students, written by B. Schaeffer, A. Raphael, and G. Kollinzas provides an excellent description of the steps needed to implement such a program.

Commentary: Dr. Schaeffer's methods provide a valuable means of accelerating language and speech in children who are non-verbal. However, it is also necessary to provide an important caveat. The signed speech methods described above tend to be slower than the normal rate of speech. Sign language requires that a person maintain concentration on the person signing, while speech does not require as much focused attention. The problem occurs when a person with developmental disabilities also has little or no hearing, or (as is the case with some children with autism) may be screening out most auditory input. These children cannot stay focused long enough for you to convey a full thought using signed speech.

My son is both deaf and has autism. I first tried Signing Exact English and Signed English, but made very little progress. It wasn't until we switched to American Sign Language with its highly compact grammatical structure that we started to make progress. American Sign Language (ASL) has its own independent grammar structure that is not based on English (it owes part of its origins to French Sign Language). ASL has the ability to convey an entire sentence in one combination gesture. It allows punctuation, tenses, modifiers, and several linguistic concepts (such as classifiers) that are not used in English, through body language and sign, to convey complex concepts at the same time. For example, you can modify a sign with your body position, body movement, speed of sign, eyebrows, mouth, head movement, etc., to convey numerous words at the same time.

The value of ASL becomes clear when you see a nonverbal child who does not respond to voice and has a short attention span. It is important for me to convey a full sentence in only a few seconds (or less) while my son is still looking. ASL is the only communication system that allows this sort of highly compact visual communication that can get through. As a child's attention span or focus on auditory stimuli increases you may wish to consider moving more toward English order, however, it is necessary that some communication be started as soon as possible.

I have heard many professionals state that it is necessary to reinforce the dominant method of communication used in our society so the child can function independently in the future and that the dominant method should be started as early as possible. This is not what the research shows as being effective. Alternate forms of communication that are more appropriate to the current functioning ability of the child will greatly accelerate the learning of language and speed up the eventual acquisition of speech and writing in English. Rigidly teaching the accepted mode of adult communication may actually slow such a child's communication progress.

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Sign Language for People with Developmental Disabilities | Parents Inc

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Sign language helps people with hearing impairments. It's also useful for people with developmental disabilities and little communication.

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+Written for educators to have some understanding of special education laws.

Important to have access to this information for all teachers, as special education students rely on schools learning environment for their success.

Inclusive classrooms pushing forward the need for informed practice to create environments that encompass all students

+The Education for all Handicapped Children Act

Schools who accept federal funds must provide equal access education for children with and/or mental disabilities.

Created the need for evaluation of children with disabilities to create individualized educational plans, to accommodate unique student needs.

+The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)

Requiring IEPs for students eligible for special education services

Provide students with appropriate restrictive environments

Creates procedural safeguards to protects the rights of children and families with disabilities, giving parents rights to review educational records, get independent evaluations, and more.

Creates appropriate evaluation processes, prohibiting single evaluations to dictate students disability, protecting from misidentification and discrimination

+The Assistive Technology Act

Provides technology to assists disabled students so they can participate better in education, employment, and daily activities

Provides funding for low-cost loans

+The Handicapped Children's Protection Act

Schools receiving federal support to provide special-needs students nondiscriminatory access to the educational programs.

Amended to authorize the award of attorney fees to parents or guardians of a handicapped students who wins in a civil suit.

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According to data from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), there are about seven million students age 3 to 21 receiving special education services in the U.S. - 14 percent of all public school students. Because special education students have distinct needs, they rely on a teaching environment that's tailored to them. With that in mind, our nation's schools have evolved over the years to refine their approaches to educating special needs students.

One notable change has been the shift toward a more inclusive classroom structure that allows such students to learn in the general education environment alongside their peers. This means it isn't just special education teachers who need to be well-versed in the laws and regulations that impact students with special needs - all teachers should have a solid understanding of special education laws and policies.

To help get you up to speed, we've outlined four laws that have worked to preserve special needs students' educational rights.

4 Special education laws that helped shaped the U.S. school system

Familiarizing yourself with these laws can help you gain a better understanding of how special education has progressed over time.

1. The Education for All Handicapped Children Act

To ensure that special education services are available to children who need them

To guarantee that decisions about services to students with disabilities are fair and appropriate

To establish specific management and auditing requirements for special education

To provide federal funds to help states educate students with disabilities

2. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act

What was known as the EHA eventually became the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in 1990. The following six pillars are what IDEA ensures:

Public schools are required to create an Individualized Education Program (IEP) for each student who is found to be eligible for special education services. IEPs must be designed to meet the unique educational needs of that child in the least restrictive environment appropriate.

To the maximum extent appropriate, IDEA ensures that all students are given the opportunity to learn in the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) - an inclusive classroom environment in which a special needs student can achieve the most academic success.

Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) is an educational right that ensures education and related services are designed to meet handicapped persons' individual needs as adequately as the needs of non-handicapped persons.

IDEA includes a set of procedural safeguards designed to protect the rights of children with disabilities and their families, and to ensure that all special-needs students receive a FAPE. The safeguards include the opportunity for parents to review their child's full educational records, the right of parents to request an independent educational evaluation and more.

IDEA ensures the use of appropriate evaluation processes. This minimizes the number of misidentifications, provides a variety of assessment tools and strategies, prohibits the use of any single evaluation as the sole criterion and provides protections against evaluation measures that are racially or culturally discriminatory.

Cross collaboration is key for a student to receive the education necessary for success. IDEA enables parents, teachers, school psychologists and other relevant parties to work in tandem when developing IEPs, determining the proper LRE and discussing other important considerations for each student.

Simply put, IDEA replaced EHA to place more focus on the individual learner, as opposed to the condition that individual may have.

3. The Assistive Technology Act

Under the law, each U.S. state receives a grant to fund Assistive Technology Act Programs (ATAP) that provide services to persons with disabilities for their entire lives. The 56 ATAPs created under the law provide a place where users can go for product demonstrations, low-cost loans for their purchases and information on these products.

State financing activities

Device reutilization programs

Device loan programs

Device demonstration programs

4. The Handicapped Children's Protection Act

The HCPA came to be after the United States Supreme Court's ruling in the 1984 case Smith v. Robinson. It was found that existing enforcement mechanisms of disability rights did not cover how, when and/or where legal costs are to be resolved.

Protect the dignity of students with disabilities

As you review some of the core special education laws that have shaped how we accommodate special needs students, you may find yourself eager to get involved. Whether you already have some classroom experience under your belt or you're just starting out, it's possible you're now trying to decide if you have what it takes to be a special education teacher.

If so, there's no better time to explore the field - our nation's teacher shortage has hit special education particularly hard. To help you determine if you're a good fit for this type of teaching position, it's worth looking into the most sought-after traits employers look for in qualified special education teachers. Learn more by heading over to our article, " 5 Signs you'd excel in educating special needs students ."

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laws protecting students with disabilities

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4 Laws that shaped special education in the U.S.

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Special education has come a long way in the United States, but it wouldn't have been possible without these critical laws that every teacher should know

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+This article is aimed at inclusive teaching for the deaf and others with hearing impairment. Aimed at teachers it provides information on the impact of hearing loss as well as methods to teach with accommodations in mind and

+ Hearing impairment is a common occurrence within the Australian population-- 1/6

Communication is an essential part of life, and students with hearing loss can be accomodated, whether with technology or interpreters, based on student need.

+Impacts of hearing loss can affect the lives of students in several ways:

Decreased level of literacy

Need of assitive technology

Lack of accessible resources

+Teaching strategies that can be beneficial to students with hearing impairments

Accommodating seating

Have supports; microphone, interpreter, assistive technologies

Speak towards students

Provide information and instruction in physical form to access

Specific terms made available early in the course for interpreters

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According to Deafness Forum Australia, approximately one in six Australians has a significant hearing loss. Within this population, most individuals have some level of hearing impairment and only a small proportion of the group is deaf. Types of hearing loss include sensorineural (nerve-related), conductive (affecting the outer or middle ear) or a mixed hearing loss (mixture of both types.) People who use Australian Sign Language (Auslan) often prefer to be referred to as deaf rather than hard of hearing. They see this as a positive identity rather than a negative label.

People who have a hearing loss are either pre-lingually deafened or post-lingually deafened. People who are pre-lingually deafened have lost their hearing before they acquired language. People who are post-lingually deafened acquired their hearing loss after they acquired language. For each group the impact of the hearing loss and the degree of deafness will vary.

Some people who are pre-lingually deafened use Auslan. Many received cochlear implants early at birth. Some rely on spoken language. Many communicate with a combination of spoken language and sign language. Some have normal language and literacy development. Some may have issues with literacy. It varies greatly, so it is important to understand the needs of each individual. All these factors need to be considered when assessing the types of reasonable adjustments.

People who have a post-lingual hearing loss generally acquired their hearing loss later in life. They may or may not benefit from listening devices. Some may learn sign language as a means to diversify access to communication. As with people who are pre-lingually deafened, it is important to assess the needs of each individual before implementing any reasonable adjustments. This is because the requirements of each individual can be diverse.

Students with a hearing loss may require accommodations and assistive devices to have the best access to education. Accommodations may be as simple as preferential seating or as complex as wireless assistive listening devices in the classroom. Some will require Auslan interpreters and live remote captioning. Each learner with a hearing loss should be assessed individually and accommodations should be implemented based on the unique needs of each student.

Impact of Hearing Loss

The learning processes of students with a hearing loss may be affected in the following ways:

Students who have been deafened in early childhood can be very different to students who have lost hearing later in life in terms of educational disadvantage. For example, their range of vocabulary may be limited, which in turn may affect their level of English literacy.

Deaf and hard of hearing students can sometimes prefer visual learning strategies. This can be a challenge in an environment where much essential information is delivered exclusively by word of mouth.

Students with a hearing loss may need to use assistive technology to participate in class. This assistive technology can be the laptop where software such as Skype can be used to deliver Auslan interpreters or captioning. For some it will be in the form of listening devices. For others it will be a combination of technology that includes both listening devices and computer based software.

The impact of hearing loss can cause delays in receiving learning material. Students who need information transcribed from tape must sometimes wait for a significant period of time for this to happen. This needs to be considered in terms of developing suitable timelines for the completion of work for each student.

Students with hearing loss may appear isolated in the learning environment. The possibility for social contact and interaction with other students is often limited, and this isolation or separateness may have an impact on learning.

Participation and interaction in tutorials may be limited. Students who cannot hear the flow and nuances of rapid verbal exchange will be at a disadvantage.

Some students with hearing loss coming straight from the school system have been familiar with a structured learning environment, and may require a period of adjustment when entering into the post-secondary learning environment. Communication difficulties and adjustments may lead to a level of anxiety about performing in front of others. This may affect participation in tutorials, particularly for students whose speech development has been impacted by their hearing loss.

Teaching Strategies

There is a range of inclusive teaching strategies that can assist all students to learn but there are some specific strategies that are useful in teaching a group that includes students with a hearing impairment:

Encourage students with a hearing loss to seat themselves toward the front of the lecture theatre where they will have an unobstructed line of vision. This is particularly important if the student is using an interpreter, lip-reading, relying on visual clues or using a hearing aid which has a limited range. Be aware that some students may not be comfortable with this suggestion or have alternate strategies. Respect their choices.

Use assistive listening devices such as induction loops if these are available in the lecture theatre. Hearing aids may include transmitter/receiver systems with a clip-on microphone for the lecturer. If using such a microphone, it is not necessary to change your speaking or teaching style.

Ensure that any background noise is minimised.

Repeat clearly any questions asked by students in the lecture or class before giving a response.

Do not speak when facing the blackboard. Be aware that moustaches, beards, hands, books or microphones in front of your face can add to the difficulties of lip-readers. Students who lip-read cannot function in darkened rooms. You may need to adjust the lighting in your teaching environment. If a sign interpreter is employed, follow the hints for working with a sign interpreter.

It is difficult for a student watching an interpreter to also take notes from an overhead or blackboard. An interpreter is unable to translate concurrently both your words and any information given on an overhead. It is important therefore that all information should also be available as handouts.

Provide written materials to supplement all lectures, tutorials and laboratory sessions. Announcements made regarding class times, activities, field work, industry visits etc, should be given in writing as well as verbally.

Allow students to record lectures or, preferably, make available copies of your lecture notes. Flexible delivery of teaching materials via electronic media is also particularly helpful for students who have difficulty accessing information in the usual ways. For students with a hearing loss, new technology - and the internet in particular - can be used to bridge many gaps.

Ensure that lists of the subject-specific jargon and technical terms which students will need to acquire are made available early in the course. If interpreters or captioning are being used as an adjustment, make this list available to the professionals providing the service as early as possible.

Any videos or films used should, where possible, be captioned. When this is not possible, you will need to consider alternative ways for students with hearing impairment to access the information.

In tutorials, assist students who lip-read by having the student sit directly opposite you and ensure, if possible, that they can see all other participants. Control the discussion so that only one person is speaking at a time.

Students with hearing loss, especially those with associated speech issues, may prefer to have another student present their tutorial papers.

Language abilities are often affected by hearing loss, depending on the age of onset. Students who acquired their hearing loss early in life may have literacy issues. In some cases, providing reading lists well before the start of a course for students with a hearing loss can be beneficial. Consider tailoring these reading lists when necessary, and provide guidance to key texts.

Allow assignments or reviews to be completed on an in-depth study of a few texts rather than a broad study of many.

Using Auslan interpreters and live remote captioning may require some adjustments in teaching styles, particularly the pace of the learning. Consult with the providers of the service early to identify any potential changes.

Where live remote captioning is provided, a transcript of the session can usually be assessed within 24 hours. It is recommended that these be emailed directly to the student as an accurate record of reference.

Assessment Strategies

Always consider alternative forms of assessment where necessary. Standards are not expected to be lowered to accommodate students with a disability but rather are required to give them a reasonable opportunity to demonstrate what they have learnt. Once you have a clear picture of how the disability impacts on learning, you can consider alternative assessment strategies:

When their range of literacy is an issue, students may require the use of a thesaurus or dictionary during exams. A personal computer with spelling and grammar functions may be required.

Provide alternatives to those assignments which are based on interviews or questionnaires, and be flexible with assignment deadlines, particularly if students have had to wait for transcripts of learning sessions.

Provide extra time in examinations, particularly extra time for reading questions. Some students will prefer to have questions and instructions 'signed' to them.

Related Resources

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Inclusive Teaching: Deaf and Hard of Hearing

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Inclusive teaching practices for Deaf an hard of hearing students.

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Literacy Opens the World to a Child with Disabilities

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+"It's not only about being understood, its about understanding your world."

+Emphasis on literacy being the foundation for learning for development, communication, and creation of a better life.

+The impacts that disabilities can create that influence the way a student can learn impacting day-to-day life.

Global developmental delay affecting motor skills, social-emotional development, and cognitive abilities

Epilepsy causing lapses in processing and learning

+The importance of utilizing different learning styles to create associations; visual, auditory, tactile, musical, kinesthetic...

Build learning confidence by implementing non-primary learning styles to bring content into different contexts

Creating awareness by putting learning material into context, focusing on subjects, nouns and verbs to create recognition and understanding within a story.

+Literacy allows for students to access their potential, and be active in their life by recognizing the journey of their self. Literacy creates the foundation for further learning and awareness of life and with that can be used to create a bright future.

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Literacy Opens the World to a Child with Disabilities

When Maddie Lewis was born full term and healthy six years ago, everything seemed storybook perfect. By the time she was nine months old, however, the tale began to take an unexpected twist. Maddie wasn't crawling, and her language abilities, along with other skills, were slowing. Concerned, her mother, Kelly, had her evaluated, and Maddie began receiving early intervention services. Shortly thereafter, in January 2003, Kelly received the news that her first-born child had epilepsy and global developmental delay.

The news came as a shock, but Kelly was determined to rewrite the story into something with a better ending than was foreshadowed. She's doing it in part by focusing on literacy. "Literacy is universal," she says. More than just being able to read or write, it is a key component of learning, development, communication, and a richer life. "It's not only about being understood, it's about being able to comprehend your world," Kelly explains.

For Maddie, the oldest of three children, both diagnoses influence her ability to learn. Global developmental delay affects her fine and gross motor skills, social-emotional development, daily skills, and cognitive abilities. Her epilepsy manifests as absence seizures-short, subtle slowdowns in her brain. Kelly describes the seizures as like a "pause/play" button that slows Maddie's processing and learning.

"Focusing long enough to absorb a letter or sight word has been hard for her," Kelly explains. "The seizures slow her cognition, and she processes at a slower pace."

To compensate, Kelly uses several approaches to help Maddie learn. One way is by focusing on multiple learning styles-visual, auditory, tactile, musical, kinesthetic, and more. "Maybe looking at an apple isn't enough," Kelly says. "Maybe she needs to hold an apple, bite it, do an apple puzzle. She needs to wake her body up.

"There's more than one intelligence," Kelly adds, "so I might put clay on a plate and have her write her name in it. She sees it and feels it; she moves and controls it with her finger. You look at your child's primary way of learning, but that's not all you use. You raise the bar so they don't feel intimidated but challenged."

Another approach is to help her look at picture books and talk about what she sees. It improves Maddie's "ability to recognize pictures, what's happening in it, and generalize it into her environment," Kelly says. "If you can't understand the picture and what's happening, you can't associate it with the label or the letter."

Predicting what's going to happen next in a story is also part of learning and literacy. "A child has to be able to sequence-to listen to a story and know what's coming," Kelly says. "She needs to learn how to anticipate and be able to describe what she sees. One of the tools we use is taking pictures out of a magazine and focusing on the subject, the noun, and verb. I say, 'tell me a story.' It gets her to think about what she sees-are the children in the picture happy or sad? Are they running?" When she can do that, she has increased her attention, and that means she can better focus and learn. By looking at people's faces and body language in a story, Maddie also learns nonverbal cues of communication.

At school, Kelly has worked closely with staff to identify ways to reach specific literacy goals for Maddie. They made her a classroom helper to help her attend and learn sequencing. They changed her speech and occupational therapy to focus on letters and are using computer-based literacy games to support reading and literacy skills. They're also finding library books on audio so she can pace herself.

Literacy also helps Maddie learn about herself and her feelings. One book she loves is "Today I Feel Silly & Other Moods That Make My Day," by Jamie Lee Curtis. A fun rhyming book about emotions, it ends with the question "how do you feel today?" and includes a mood wheel where readers can manipulate a character's eyes and mouth to show their own emotions. "The most important thing I can give my child is self-love," Kelly says. "I want her to know her feelings." When Maddie reaches that last page, "she now actively says, 'Here give me the page, I'll tell you,'" Kelly says. "We end our day with it. She is able to self-reflect. If she can do that, she can get her needs met."

Literacy is more than knowing letters and words and reading. It is the main character in a lifelong story about learning, communication, self-awareness, and fulfillment. By finding a variety of ways for Maddie to gain those literacy skills, "I'm creating her potential," Kelly says. "You want the child to love learning like a dog to a bone," she adds. "It's a lifeline to maximize the child's potential into the future."

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Literacy Opens the World to a Child with Disabilities

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When Maddie Lewis was born full term and healthy six years ago, everything seemed storybook perfect. By the time she was nine months old, however, the tale began to take an unexpected twist. Maddie wasn't crawling, and her language abilities, along with other skills, were slowing.

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2) Twice Exceptional Kids and Difficulties and Identification

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2) Twice Exceptional Kids and Difficulties and Identification

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+This website provides context of what exactly a twice exceptional student is.

Showing how 2e students can fall through the cracks, compensating for deficits using inferential reasoning and utilizing their cognitive capacity to "get by" despite difficulties.

Often misdiagnosed, displaying behaviors of autism and ADHD, including oversensitivity to stimuli. Or otherwise not diagnosed, leading to lack of support leading to emotional and behavioral issues, continuing the lack of understanding of the conditions of twice exceptional students.

+Identification of 2e students using neuropsychological exams to collect a complete profile of a students cognitive strengths and weaknesses to compile an individualized curriculum'

Emphasizing the concept of twice exceptional students to parents and teachers to better recognize student behavior and ability, such as exceptional ability in math and visual-spatial thinking yet a lack of ability in other subjects.

No universal definition of exceptional children, allowing for wide spread set of circumstances and abilities

+Challenges educating 2e children including; focusing between intellectual abilities and special education needs.

For many the tools are not in place for them to receive support, staring with the lack of support provided through an IEP plan.

+There are many benefits to providing students with support (of course).

Showcasing that through recognition and understanding students' needs and accommodating appropriately can help shift perspective to a more understanding and beneficial for parents and teachers.

+This article is based more in disability related educational context to support recognition and understanding of the twice exceptional concept.

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Some children are highly gifted in areas such as math, writing or music. Then there are those with challenges that affect learning: They could have ADHD, dyslexia or dyscalculia, or perhaps they're autistic or have sensory processing issues. But there are also kids who fit both categories. They're called twice-exceptional, or 2e, which means that they have exceptional ability and disability. They are gifted in some way but they also face learning or developmental challenges.

Children who are both gifted and challenged can be tough to understand. Gifted kids can use their strengths to compensate for the special need, and in the process mask their learning problems. Or the special needs can mask the giftedness. In some cases, neither the disability nor the giftedness is recognized.

Once 2e kids are identified, it can still be difficult to get the supports these children need in school. If they're in a gifted program, they may be floundering in a certain area. If they're placed in a special-ed program, it may not challenge them, and they may be frustrated and restless. In either case, anxiety, depression, a lack of self-esteem and emotional dysregulation can result, leading to behavior problems.

Why 2e kids are overlooked

One reason twice-exceptional kids are in danger of slipping through the cracks is that their schools are set up to help kids meet grade-level academic skills, and they may be on grade level, despite their challenges.

"Let's take bright kids who have a reading disability," says Adam S. Zamora, PsyD, a neuropsychologist at the Child Mind Institute. "When they're reading, there are words that they don't know how to decode but they use inferential reasoning and their overall cognitive capacity to kind of figure out what the missing word might be. These kids might go under the radar."

They may eventually be diagnosed with a learning disability if they hit a wall when they reach later grades and expectations rise, or they may never receive the diagnosis and support they need.

Then there's the case of a 2e child who may have issues that overshadow his giftedness.

This was the case at first with Jenn Choi 's son, Logan, now 14. His special needs (ADHD and then dyslexia) were identified after he was asked to leave his first preschool for his "behaviors," which included not being able to sit in circle time.

But it wasn't until Logan was turning 5 and had his first neuropsychological assessment that his parents realized his potential, when he scored in a very superior range in visual-spatial thinking, including perception, analysis and synthesis. This can translate into excellence in math, science and engineering.

"It was a big surprise to us that he was really smart," Choi says. And it wasn't until first grade, when he attended an afterschool program at the Quad Mahattan, created for twice-exceptional kids, that she learned the term. Choi now offers a listserve for 2e parents in New York City.

Emotional and behavioral issues

Not having both talents and disability identified can have emotional and behavioral consequences for children.

"They know that they're capable of more and yet something is holding them back, and they can't really figure out why," says Laura Phillips, PsyD, a neuropsychologist at the Child Mind Institute."That's why you often see a lot of frustration and anxiety and even behavioral dysregulation in a lot of these kids."

They may come off as lazy because they're clearly bright but performing poorly in some areas. They may get a lot of criticism from parents and teachers: "You're just not trying on this math!" Their self-esteem suffers and they may experience depression.

Or they seem oppositional to teachers and parents. "Frustrated by their difficulties, they act out in infinite ways, and they get mischaracterized or misunderstood as being oppositional," Dr. Phillips says.

Giftedness can lead to misdiagnosis

Children who are gifted may have behaviors that look like ADHD or autism.

"One of the things we know about gifted children almost universally is that they are intense," says psychologist James T. Webb, who specializes in them. "If they're into dinosaurs, they eat, drink, live dinosaurs. If they're into math and factors, they love it. If they're into power struggles or sibling rivalry, it's equally as intense."

This intensity can make sitting in a regular classroom very frustrating. "The research indicates that for most gifted children, from one fourth to one half the regular classroom time is spent waiting for others to catch up," Webb notes. "If you're sitting there and your mind is intensely churning, you're likely to be seen as being off task, fidgety, interrupting others, classic behaviors that would be ADHD-like."

It's also easy to misdiagnose gifted kids as being on the autism spectrum. There's that intensity in interests. Also, "gifted children as a group just seem to be quirkier than other kids," Dr. Webb says.

Gifted kids can also be oversensitive to stimuli, making them avoid bright lights, noise and crowds. The combination of over-excitability and intellectual advancement can make them a bad match for their noisy and boisterous peers. "They just don't play well with others," he says. "They try to structure their world in a rigid way. They have difficulty with being redirected to new tasks. All of these are behaviors are ones you often see on the spectrum."

Of course a child can also be 2e - both gifted and have ADHD or autism.

How to identify 2e children

First, Dr. Webb emphasizes, parents and teachers need to be familiar with the concept of twice exceptionality. "One of the big myths about gifted children is that they will be equally gifted in all areas, or very close to that," he says.

"There really is no universally agreed upon definition of 'gifted' - even with respect to general intellectual ability," Dr. Phillips says, "as giftedness in its truest definition is not limited to intellectual potential, but instead can refer to extraordinary capabilities in creative thinking, specific academic areas, psychomotor functioning, or visual/performing arts." She says she and most school placement decisions use a Standard Score in IQ testing of 130 as the cut-off for gifted intelligence, which would place the child in the top 2 percent of the population.

Experts suggest that when a teacher sees a child who does just okay in some areas, but in one or two areas is a prodigy - or does exceptionally well in all areas except one, where she is lagging - the child should be referred for testing.

The optimal way to pick up on twice exceptionality is through a neuropsychological evaluation.

"Neuropsych evaluations are really the best way to understand a student's full profile of cognitive and academic strengths and weaknesses, and to individualize a curriculum, which really is what these kids need," Dr. Phillips explains. "They might be three grade levels ahead in math, but they might need extra support in reading."

The challenge of educating the 2e child

According to a survey spearheaded by Choi of 503 parents with 2e kids, 254 of whom attend New York City public schools, their biggest challenge is being forced to choose between cultivating the child's intellectual ability and helping with their special-education needs; they are not usually offered at the same time.

One way to try to get the individualized teaching 2e kids need is by being placed in an Integrated Co-Teaching (ICT) class, with one general-education teacher and one special-needs teacher. But if 2e kids are performing at grade level, it can make it difficult to persuade schools that they should provide remediation or accommodations through an Individualized Education Program or a 504 Plan.

Choi says the survey showed parents are told that children in a gifted and talented program can't have an IEP, which is not true. The survey also showed that only 5 percent of the 2e kids had a gifted and talented placement in an ICT classroom.

Should kids be moved to older classrooms for the subjects where they excel? Dr. Phillips says it can be tricky because they don't have the maturity level to handle the homework and social demands. In some cases, parents may opt for private schools, with smaller classes and/or curriculum tailored to a particular student's strengths and weaknesses.

Instead of placing kids in older classes, Dr. Phillips recommends that parents provide a lot of enrichment outside school. One such resource: the Davidson Institute, including its Davidson Young Scholars Program for 2e students. Also, some museums provide weekend programming for gifted students.

How support can help

Getting support can help twice-exceptional children reach their full potential, both in terms of academics and on the emotional front.

When 2e kids are identified and supported, Dr. Zamora says, they can do better in school and have higher self-esteem. "If parents are well informed about what's going on with the kid, if the teachers really understand that this is a bright kid who just has these one or two areas of weakness, it can affect the way the teachers talk to the kid, the way they teach the kid," he says.

Another way to help 2e kids, adds Dr. Phillips, is to let them know it will get easier. "When I work with any sort of learning disability, I tell parents the years from kindergarten through 12 th grade are going to be the hardest years in their kids' lives" because they are required to take all the core subjects. But when they head off to college, they can select the courses in their areas of strength. "After that, they can choose careers that are suited to their strengths again and really shine there as well."

As for Logan, he attended three private schools between kindergarten and the middle of seventh grade, partially for behavioral issues but also because the curriculum wasn't challenging enough for him. Eventually he settled into a gifted and talented program in a public school, which has been a better fit. This month, he started at a competitive public high school Even with the changes, Choi says she feels all of Logan's needs haven't been met. She says his gifts put him on an engineering path, something that won't be addressed in school. Instead, she says, "We are going to have to figure it out as we go along."

What are twice exceptional, or 2e, students?

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Twice-Exceptional Kids: Both Gifted and Challenged - Child Mind Institute

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Twice-exceptional, or 2e kids have exceptional ability but also disability. They may have ADHD, autism, dyslexia, or another learning disorder. And they have a unique set of issues that need addressing.

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+This website is about inclusion classrooms and how to cultivate an inclusive school environment.

+School related website

+Cool fact 2007-2008 13% of population in public schools had identified disabilities.

+It seems the switch to make schools inclusive is created by a culture shift within the school; working collaboratively, support services integrated into the school, resource availability, communal involvement, i.e...

+Presenting the process to attain inclusivity; describing ways to create sustained change through distributed leadership

+Development of your team through engagement, recruitment, and show of action plan and achievement

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The DEC Recommended Practices are designed to help improve the learning outcomes of young children (birth through age five) who have or who are at-risk for developmental delays or disabilities. Please note that, because the IRIS Center has not yet developed resources aligned with DEC Topic 8: Transition, that topic is not currently listed on this page.
Leadership

L1. Leaders create a culture and a climate in which practitioners feel a sense of belonging and want to support the organization's mission and goals.

L2. Leaders promote adherence to and model the DEC Code of Ethics, DEC Position Statements and Papers, and the DEC Recommended Practices.

L3. Leaders develop and implement policies, structures, and practices that promote shared decision making with practitioners and families.

L4. Leaders belong to professional association(s) and engage in ongoing evidence-based professional development.

L5. Leaders advocate for policies and resources that promote the implementation of the DEC Position Statements and Papers and the DEC Recommended Practices.

L6. Leaders establish partnerships across levels (state to local) and with their counterparts in other systems and agencies to create coordinated and inclusive systems of services and supports

L7. Leaders develop, refine, and implement policies and procedures that create the conditions for practitioners to implement the DEC Recommended Practices.

L8. Leaders work across levels and sectors to secure fiscal and human resources and maximize the use of these resources to successfully implement the DEC Recommended Practices.

L9. Leaders develop and implement an evidence-based professional development system or approach that provides practitioners a variety of supports to ensure they have the knowledge and skills needed to implement the DEC Recommended Practices.

L10. Leaders ensure practitioners know and follow professional standards and all applicable laws and regulations governing service provision.

L11. Leaders collaborate with higher education, state licensing and certification agencies, practitioners, professional associations, and other stakeholders to develop or revise state competencies that align with DEC, Council for Exceptional Children (CEC), and other national professional standards.

L12. Leaders collaborate with stakeholders to collect and use data for program management and continuous program improvement and to examine the effectiveness of services and supports in imp roving child and family outcomes.

L13. Leaders promote efficient and coordinated service delivery for children and families by creating the conditions for practitioners from multiple disciplines and the family to work together as a team.

L14. Leaders collaborate with other agencies and programs to develop and implement ongoing community-wide screening procedures to identify and refer children who may need additional evaluation and services.

Environment

E1. Practitioners provide services and supports in natural and inclusive environments during daily routines and activities to promote the child's access to and participation in learning experiences.

E2. Practitioners consider Universal Design for Learning principles to create accessible environments.

E3. Practitioners work with the family and other adults to modify and adapt the physical, social, and temporal environments to promote each child's access to and participation in learning experiences.

E4. Practitioners work with families and other adults to identify each child's needs for assistive technology to promote access to and participation in learning experiences.

E5. Practitioners work with families and other adults to acquire or create appropriate assistive technology to promote each child's access to and participation in learning experiences.

E6. Practitioners create environments that provide opportunities for movement and regular physical activity to maintain or improve fitness, wellness, and development across domains.

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By completing the entire Perspectives & Resources section and reviewing the accompanying activities, the learner will: