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Elizabeth Guillermo/ Special Educator:  

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Elizabeth Guillermo/ Special Educator:  

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Hello to all, I am Ben's special educator. I have observed Ben and seen his improvement in his daily education. I work with ben one-on-one and have noticed his interest in different types of learning. Some of his strong points include animated learning. I would like to thank Ms. Silvia for the support in helping get Ben's education to the highest point possible. Some my recommendations include more interactive learning activities, ben is a student that learns through active engagement, i was thinking of producing more math actives that involve jumping. Ben has fallen back in recognizing his numbers of 1-100, and maybe an interactive game with jumping jacks could produce more focus on the subject therefore allowing him to memorize it.

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Pablo Aranela - Response to Psych + Speech Therapist

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Pablo Aranela - Response to Psych + Speech Therapist

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Hey guys! Thanks for joining us. I think both of you guys bring up very valid points and concerns.

I do believe that communication between the parent and teacher is vital to working this out in Ben's best interest. So please, I repeat, feel free to bring up any feelings/concerns to best help Benny.

I think that Ms. Fernandez brings up an amazing point about bringing in a bit of home for Benny. Things that work at home and won't be disruptive might be best to bring into the classroom. Whether it is from an OT perspective or anything at all. (It will help both the teacher and parent to put their heads together!) Thanks for bringing that in.

For the speech therapy I believe helping Ben with his social skills will vastly improve his vocabulary. His comfort with his classmates might help his speech.

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Pablo Aranela - Response to Psych + Speech Therapist 

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Pablo Aranela - Response to Psych + Speech Therapist 

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Hey guys! Thanks for joining us.
I think both of you guys bring up very valid points and concerns.

I do believe that communication between the parent and teacher is vital to working this out and that's why we're all here! So please, I repeat, feel free to bring up any feelings/concerns to better work together fo Benny as

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Hello everyone, I really believe it’s important for everyone involved in Ben’s education to be here. I would like to bring my expertise to the table and collaborate in order to bring Ben the best education he can get. Firstly, it is my job to help improve the student’s language, literacy, and communication skills.

Ben has been doing well with verbal and visual scaffolds. I believe that if these same types of scaffolding are used consistently in his areas that need improvement such as answering wh-questions, reading comprehension and writing, he will significantly improve. Although, his spontaneous speech has improved, we should be giving him opportunity to continue to improve and practice on that. We may have to experiment to see if he will be able to be less reliant on visuals over time. Overall, if we all implement this as a strategy, it will provide consistency for Ben’s learning in each of his environments, and we’ll be able to see some better progress.

I might also suggest lots of pair work with other students in the class. And likewise, co-teaching. I would be happy to push-in for a portion of Ben’s class. Push-in services may be the best scenario, as always sticking to the traditional pull-out session may be isolating him. It is also possible for us to take on a more consultative approach, in which I can work with you all to promote the achievement of Ben’s communication goals (ASHA, 1996). In addition, I would be able to prepare some professional development workshops or materials for us to implement some new strategies when working with Ben.

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Response to Parent & General Educator - Jastine Fernandez ( School Psychologist)

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Response to Parent & General Educator - Jastine Fernandez ( School Psychologist)

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After hearing your ideas and concerns, an ICT class would provide an environment with a general educator and special educator. For teachers of students with special needs, it does become difficult to manage a class and provide a quality attention to each student at the same time, therefore in this situation additional help can be very beneficial to both the teacher and Ben. It may also help if we can provide his general educator with more information about his disability since each student is unique and the way Ben can be approached will depend on how he works with his disability. There are much more to learn about Ben and it is important that we closely pay attention to his progress, his current stage of development is very important in determining his ability to succeed socially and academically.

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Hello everyone, I am Ben's school psychologist and I am looking forward to working with you all. I just want to express the importance of your role in this IEP team to ensure that Ben receives the best support and accommodation with his education and beyond.

After going through Ben's student information summary, I have a better understanding of Ben's progress and the concerns that both his general educator and parents have. Before we move on forward to tackling issues pertaining to Ben, I believe that it is as important that we establish clear communication between his parents and teacher. Both parties are essential in creating a plan that will best suit Ben. As Zwiers and Johnson stated "All students should receive a program that reflects their unique needs" and who else is better to identify these needs but the two persons that closely work with Ben? We all need to agree and compromise in our expectations for Ben. Once we all clearly communicate our concerns, we can move on forward and create a plan for Ben.

Since Ben's behavior is very different between the two environment that is his home and school, creating a space that resembles the comfort of his home can help him assimilate more within the classroom. This can be simply done by providing Ben with materials/items that he uses at home for his learning such as the calculator. As for the social aspect, Ben's time of interaction and socialization is not limited within the classroom. Exposing Ben to different activities, such as art classes and sports can help him learn and adapt into a variety of social settings.

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Hey guys!
Although I still haven't been able to observe little Ben for too long in the classroom, there are a couple of things that I believe would be uber helpful to help him succeed in the classroom - and with the support of the wonderful Ms. Silva, I'm sure he will!

As per your first question Ms. Isaac, I think a great way of engaging Ben from our point of view is keeping him moving somehow. We could possibly give him some sort of fidget toy, or possibly engineer a chair that allows for some movement. Since we know that he works better while jumping and moving, this would allow him to have some more movement in the classroom without being disruptive and possibly keep him engaged in the class lesson. Another option is to include some sensory activities into the lesson, and that would be up to Ms. Silva. It definitely would help to possibly include movement in the classroom (even if it is just walking around the classroom).

Although it would also be up to Ms. Silva, the one on one time could happen in the classroom without too much of a need for the special educator. Ms. Silva could always drop by and give Ben a little love during independent work so it isn't making Ben feel to out of place in the class. However, if having a special educator makes you and Ben feel comfortable - let's go for it!

Something that I would like to speak about, which wasn't mentioned is Benny's spacing and sizing issue when writing. Ideally, to help Benny, I was thinking of editing an idea I read in Diane Hammon Kellegrew and Delores Allen's case example in their article, "Occupational Therapy in Full-Inclusion Classrooms: A Case
Study From the Moorpark Model." 6 year old Marie in the example reminded me a lot of Ben while I was reading. In her case, to help with her spacing and formation, they developed a specific handwriting program... that used a shortened pencil to facilitate the web space of Marie's hand, paper with dark line guides to promote proper letter placement on the page, and a letter formation guide strip taped to her desk" (723). I was thinking of doing all of this for Benny, but with dark boxed paper to not only help with the spacing, but also the size! I think it would be ideal for him to learn. Let me know what you think.

As Ms. Silva said - we are ALL here for Benny and to help him in anything he needs. Please always feel free to reach out to us and let us know how we can best accomodate Ben.

Can't wait to hear all of your thoughts on his plan!

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Michelle Isaac/Parent                                                                                                   Hi, I am looking forward to hearing from you all about the next steps for Ben. I have several concerns and questions regarding the update of Ben’s progress in school. The first is centered on his engagement; What are some of the steps being taken on the teacher's part to engage all of the students in her class including Ben? “The amount of information students gain from teacher-directed presentations can be increased by using a variety of learning arrangements in which students work collaboratively, such as collaborative discussion teams, send a problem, numbered heads together, think-pair-share, and bookends”(Salend, 312).Ben has been on medication for his ADHD, which seems to counteract his progress as an active member in class. However, according to the Occupational Therapist, he is excited and engaged whenever he is doing a sensory activity. Are there any sensory activities that can be added into the instruction to increase his level of engagement? Maybe the special education teacher can give us some insight on this. Also, is having a Co-Teacher for this classroom a possibility? At times it may be difficult to reach every single child individually at their learning level depending on the amount of students in the room. This definitely comes with a lot of experience but problems like this are easily solved with the addition of another teacher. Instead of pausing the entire class to have a one on one (which Ben should be getting according to his plan) with a student, the second teacher in the room could be specifically responsible for taking care of the one on ones. This way 100% of the class is engaged in the material and understands the material quicker. 	                                                                                                                      My second concern is the redirection plan for Ben. I understand the effects of my son having ADHD but I find it strange that he refuses to respond every time he is called on to share his response. “Many students with learning disabilities have memory, attention, and organizational difficulties that hinder their ability to learn and master academic content”(Salend, 50). It is indeed difficult for him to remember thoughts but I think that prolonging the amount of time his hand is raised is a part of the problem. Would the teacher be able to restate the question to Ben or prompt him with small context clues that assures him of the invitation he is receiving to be a part of the classroom conversation. Ben transitions easily, and he is eager to learn. Despite him needing constant redirection and prompting due to his attention issues, he requires verbal and physical cues as stated by the speech therapist for this redirection to work. If he is not responding when he is called upon to answer, is the teacher only giving verbal cues? Are there any physical cues she can add along with the verbal cue to make it extra clear to him that he is receiving an opportunity to express his idea or thought? 	                                                   Lastly, I believe that there is hope for my son to be successful in this class. I am willing to implement different activities at home that Ben is learning in school to increase the amount of practice he receives. I can also come in on specific days to see if my physical presence in the room makes a difference for his learning. If he is making progress with the occupational and speech therapists and not with his educational teacher I think there may be a relationship barrier. 

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Michelle Isaac/Parent                                                                                                   Hi, I am looking forward to hearing from you all about the next steps for Ben. I have several concerns and questions regarding the update of Ben’s progress in school. The first is centered on his engagement; What are some of the steps being taken on the teacher's part to engage all of the students in her class including Ben? “The amount of information students gain from teacher-directed presentations can be increased by using a variety of learning arrangements in which students work collaboratively, such as collaborative discussion teams, send a problem, numbered heads together, think-pair-share, and bookends”(Salend, 312).Ben has been on medication for his ADHD, which seems to counteract his progress as an active member in class. However, according to the Occupational Therapist, he is excited and engaged whenever he is doing a sensory activity. Are there any sensory activities that can be added into the instruction to increase his level of engagement? Maybe the special education teacher can give us some insight on this. Also, is having a Co-Teacher for this classroom a possibility? At times it may be difficult to reach every single child individually at their learning level depending on the amount of students in the room. This definitely comes with a lot of experience but problems like this are easily solved with the addition of another teacher. Instead of pausing the entire class to have a one on one (which Ben should be getting according to his plan) with a student, the second teacher in the room could be specifically responsible for taking care of the one on ones. This way 100% of the class is engaged in the material and understands the material quicker. 	                                                                                                                      My second concern is the redirection plan for Ben. I understand the effects of my son having ADHD but I find it strange that he refuses to respond every time he is called on to share his response. “Many students with learning disabilities have memory, attention, and organizational difficulties that hinder their ability to learn and master academic content”(Salend, 50). It is indeed difficult for him to remember thoughts but I think that prolonging the amount of time his hand is raised is a part of the problem. Would the teacher be able to restate the question to Ben or prompt him with small context clues that assures him of the invitation he is receiving to be a part of the classroom conversation. Ben transitions easily, and he is eager to learn. Despite him needing constant redirection and prompting due to his attention issues, he requires verbal and physical cues as stated by the speech therapist for this redirection to work. If he is not responding when he is called upon to answer, is the teacher only giving verbal cues? Are there any physical cues she can add along with the verbal cue to make it extra clear to him that he is receiving an opportunity to express his idea or thought? 	                                                   Lastly, I believe that there is hope for my son to be successful in this class. I am willing to implement different activities at home that Ben is learning in school to increase the amount of practice he receives. I can also come in on specific days to see if my physical presence in the room makes a difference for his learning. If he is making progress with the occupational and speech therapists and not with his educational teacher I think there may be a relationship barrier. 

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General Educator;
Hello there! I am Ben's general educator and taking into consideration all the information and data that has been collected for Benny's IEP, I have some important things I have to share to help Benny succeed in school.

Firstly, I'd like to support the special Education teacher in anything, and work collaboratively to make sure Benny gets the education he deserves. We want to make sure that our classroom is a secure and inviting environment for Benny. I am advocate of inclusive classrooms, and seeing all the steps and progress benny has made, I would never suggest to put him back into a self-contained class. As mentioned in the article by Ingram: "we must first understand our own beliefs and assumptions about it and acknowledge where we stand on the issue. In order for us to truly support students with disabilities in the inclusion classroom, we must determine the potential benefits of inclusivity."
Benny has responded well working with other children and although there needs to be some changes, we are all working together for benny's benefit.

Also one of the main things is that all of the staff who is working to help benny are on the same page as the parents. There should not be any issues in between all these parties. We need to work together and come to an agreement about how to help Benny in his situation.

Let's start by analyzing the things Benny enjoys doing at home and implementing them into the math lessons, in this way benny will familiarize himself with the material and will be eager to learn. We can also  see in his IEP that he enjoys and works well in small groups, and we can use this during readings so benny has a familiar group of students he works with and learning becomes fun.

These are a few of the steps we can take towards benny's progress, and this can happen as long as we are all working together to see his growth in his academic achievements.