Ideas for an Inclusive Classroom

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Ideas for an Inclusive Classroom

• Accommodations for Students with Disabilities
• Kelly Southall
• FMEA 2008 Conference
• January 9th, 2008

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Boy is Empowered By His Weakness Los
Angeles Times January 7, 2008
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• Disability is a natural part of the human
  condition
• U.S. Developmental Disabilities Act and the Bill
  of Rights Act, 1993

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Person First Language

• Person first language puts the person before
  the disability, and it describes what a person
  has, not what a person is.

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Person First Language

• Are you myopic or do you wear glasses?
• Are you freckled or do you have freckles?
• Is a person handicapped or disabled or does
  she have a disability?
• Snow, K. 2003

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Examples of People First Language

• Say
• People with disabilities
• He has a cognitive disability
• She has a learning disability
• I have several students who receive ESE services

• Instead of
• The handicapped or disabled
• Hes mentally retarded
• Shes learning disabled
• I have several ESE students

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People First Language

• And no more special needs! That term evokes
  pity, and a persons needs arent special to him,
  theyre normal and ordinary! Keep thinking
  there are many descriptors we need to change.
• Snow, K. 2003

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Federal Laws that Govern Accommodations and
Modifications

• No Child Left Behind (NCLB) 2001
• Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
  (IDEA) 1997 and 2004 Amendments
• American Disabilities Act (ADA) 1990
• Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973

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No Child Left Behind (NCLB) 1997

• Requires all states to use assessments to
  determine if a school has made adequate yearly
  progress in the proficiency of all students,
  including students with disabilities. The law
  provides for accommodations and alternate
  assessments for students with disabilities who
  need them.

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Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
(IDEA) 1997

• Governs educational programs for students with
  disabilities. It requires access to general
  curriculum, development of individual educational
  plans (IEPs), due process and procedural
  safeguards

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American Disabilities Act (ADA) 1990

• Ensures accessibility in all areas of life for
  those with disabilities.

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Section 504

• Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973
  prohibits discrimination on a disability and
  requires that accommodations be provided to
  students with a disability, even if they dont
  have an IEP and who are not eligible under IDEA

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Least Restrictive Environment

• The least restrictive environment principle
  provides an opportunity for students to attend
  school in the most inclusive setting possible,
  which is most often defined as the general
  education setting with their peers who are
  nondisabled.
• U.S. Department of Education, 2002

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Continuum of Educational Services
10. Hospital or Institution
Most restrictive
severe
9. Homebound Instruction
8. Residential School
7. Special Day School
Educational Placement
6. Full-Time Special Education Classroom.
Educational Need
5. Special Education Classroom with Part
Time in General Education Classroom.
4. General Education Classroom Placement
with Resource Room Assistance
3. General Education Classroom Placement
with Itinerant Specialist Assistance
Least restrictive
mild
2. General Education Classroom Placement with
Collaborative Teacher Assistance
1. General Education Classroom Placement with
Few or No Supportive Services
Spencer J. SalendCreative Inclusive Classrooms
Effective and Reflective Practices for All
Students, 5e
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Accommodations and Modifications

• Federal and state laws and regulations require
  schools to provide accommodations and
  modifications to make sure that students with a
  disability have access to an appropriate
  education program.

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Accommodations vs. Modifications

• Accommodations are made to the WAY students learn
  and HOW they are tested

• Modifications are changes made to WHAT students
  are expected to learn

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What is inclusion?

• Inclusion is a philosophy that brings diverse
  students, families, educators and community
  members together to create schools and other
  social institutions based on acceptance,
  belonging, and community (Bloom, Perlmuter,
  Burrell, 1999)

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Keys to Successful Inclusion

• Collaboration, Collaboration, Collaboration
• Become familiar with the Individual Education
  Plan (IEP)
• Determine what modifications or accommodations
  are required in your curriculum, instruction or
  physical space
• Assistance from peers and paraprofessionals
• Establish and model class rules, procedures and
  routines
• Create a positive classroom environment
• Monitor progress
• Provide feedback
• Reflection

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Principles of Differentiated Instruction

• Planning is based on individual learners
• Students participate in respectful work
• Multiple learning strategies are used

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Principles of Differentiated Instruction

• Assessment occurs in a variety of ways
• Teaching concepts provide focus and a foundation
• Flexible grouping is essential for student
  movement

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Assistive Technology

• FM Listening System
• Variable Speed Tape/CD Recorders and Players
• Talking Calculators
• Personal Digital Assistants
• Palm Pilots
• AlphaSmarts
• Laptops
• Optical Character Recognition Devices
• Speech Synthesizers/Screen Readers
• Alternative Keyboards
• Graphic Organizers Inspiration, Kidspiration
• Proofreading Software
• Speech Recognition Software
• Word Prediction Software

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Universal Design for Learning

• Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a
  framework for designing curricula that enable all
  individuals to gain knowledge, skills, and
  enthusiasm for learning. UDL provides rich
  supports for learning and reduces barriers to the
  curriculum while maintaining high achievement
  standards for all.

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Universal Design for Learning

• Incorporates three principles of flexibility into
  the design
• Multiple methods of presentation
• Multiple options for participation
• Multiple means of expression

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High Incidence Disabilities

• Learning Disabilities
• Speech or Language Impairments
• Cognitive Disabilities
• Emotional Disturbance

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Learning Disabilities

• The student may have challenges with one or more
  of the following areas
• Visual Perception
• Auditory Perception
• Body and Spatial Relationships
• Memory
• Behavior

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Accommodations for Students with Learning
Disabilities

• Establish routines and schedules, with time built
  in for transitions
• Post the schedule or agenda for the day, so the
  student can check to see what is coming next
• Allow sufficient time at the end of class or the
  day for the student to write assignments down and
  gather materials
• Provide graphic organizers with explicit
  explanations
• Provide models of what a final product is
  expected to look like

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Accommodations for Students with Learning
Disabilities

• Provide a positive learning climate that fosters
  improved self esteem/confidence
• Provide a quiet place for independent work if
  necessary
• Peer mentoring
• Cooperative learning activities
• Provide specific skill instruction

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Accommodations for Students with Learning
Disabilities

• Keep instructions and directions simple, one at a
  time
• Repeat or rephrase instructions
• Reduce working time and expectations initially to
  ensure the student is successful
• Try to ensure that there's a good partnership
  between home and school and keep parents informed
  as to how they can support at home
• Provide alternative testing strategies vocal,
  dictated etc.

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Accommodations for Students with Learning
Disabilities

• Provide opportunities for extra practice
• Teach strategies for summarizing
• Link new information to previously learned
  information
• Present information in as many modalities as is
  possible
• Provide consistent and ongoing clarification
• Teach the students 'strategies' not just facts

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Emotional Disturbances

• A condition exhibiting one or more of the
  following characteristics over a long period of
  time and to a marked degree that adversely
  affects a child's educational performance--
• (A) An inability to learn that cannot be
  explained by intellectual, sensory, or health
  factors
• (B) An inability to build or maintain
  satisfactory interpersonal relationships with
  peers and teachers
• IDEA, 1997

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Emotional Disturbances

• (C) Inappropriate types of behavior or
  feelings under normal circumstances.(D) A
  general pervasive mood of unhappiness or
  depression.(E) A tendency to develop physical
  symptoms or fears associated with personal or
  school problems. Code of Federal Regulations,
  Title 34, Section 300.7(c)(4)(i)
• IDEA, 1997

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Emotional Disturbances

• Hyperactivity (short attention span,
  impulsiveness)
• Aggression/self-injurious behavior (acting out,
  fighting)
• Withdrawal (failure to initiate interaction with
  others retreat from exchanges of social
  interaction, excessive fear or anxiety)
• Immaturity (inappropriate crying, temper
  tantrums, poor coping skills)
• Learning difficulties (academically performing
  below grade level)
• National Dissemination Center for Children with
  Disabilities, 2004

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Accommodations for Students with Emotional
Disturbances

• Consider Positive Behavioral Support (PBS)
• Structured environment
• Predictable rules, routines and procedures
• Consistent management strategies
• Positive reinforcement
• Token economy
• Contracting
• Time-out
• Modeling, discussion and role playing of
  acceptable behaviors and trying situations
• Provide relaxation choices
• Teach self-monitoring

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Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD/ADHD)

• Begins in early childhood
• Symptoms are severe and persistent
• May include hyperactivity
• Demonstrates impulsivity
• May be easily frustrated
• Appears inattentive
• Rushes through assignments with careless mistakes
• Fidgets
• Gets out of seat at inappropriate times

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Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD/ADHD)

• Individuals with ADD/ADHD may be
• Friendly and social
• Creative
• Willing to take a risk of do something unusual
• Fast moving and enjoy interactive games
• Bossy (strong leadership skills)

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ADD/ADHD

• Try these things
• Provide alternative seating and standing desks
• Provide frequent breaks
• Establish acceptable behaviors for all procedures
  in the classroom
• Provide peer support ask three, then me
• Post and repeat all directions and assignments
• Provide activities that encourage movement
• Stress balls
• Assign jobs and allow students to assist with
  set up and class routines
• Assist with self-monitoring strategies to remain
  on task

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Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD)

• Autism is a developmental disability
  significantly affecting verbal and nonverbal
  communication and social interaction, generally
  evident before the age of 3, that adversely
  affects educational performance.
• IDEA

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Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD)

• Aspergers Syndrome
• Childhood Disintegrative Disorder
• Retts Disorder
• Pervasive Development Disorders

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Characteristics of Students with Autism

• May repeat phrases (echolalia)
• May not initiate conversation or engage in
  normal conversation
• Will not understand sarcasm or irony
• Difficulty with abstract thinking
• May have exceptional ability to memorize trivia

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Characteristics of Students with Autism

• Prefers to be alone
• May not initiate play or form friendships with
  peers
• Usually dislikes being touched
• May engage in improper hugging or sexual touching
  of self and others
• May engage in self-stimulating behaviors such as
  rocking, swinging, hand flapping and self hitting
• May be awkward in both posture and fine and gross
  motor control (Proprioceptive Dysfunction)

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Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) Suggestions

• Reinforce and model appropriate social behaviors
• Provide alternative seating therapy balls, bean
  bags, standing desks or areas
• Post agendas, rubrics and checklists for
  assignments and procedures
• Do not take personally what a student with autism
  says or does
• Allow peers to assist with organizational tasks
  and daily functioning Encourage working in groups
• Emphasize developing communication skills
• Help the student learn to verbally express
  feelings of discomfort
• Provide Sensory Breaks (shoe boxes filled w/rice,
  beans, etc)
• Provide a place for the student to reorganize

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Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD)Suggestions

• Provide headphones, earplugs, nose plugs, etc.
  for sensitivities
• Teach to the students strengths
• Be flexible by allowing multiple methods of
  presentation, multiple options for participation,
  multiple means of expression (UDL)
• Do not rely on the student to deliver messages
  home
• Provide a visual schedule to review when the
  student arrives
• Break down assignments
• Post a facial expression chart
• Music and music therapy help calm the student and
  reduce stimulating behavior

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Resources

• The Advocacy Center for Persons with
  Disabilities, Inc.
• http//www.advocacycenter.org/
• Misunderstood Minds
• http//www.pbs.org/wgbh/misunderstoodminds/
• Learning Disabilities and ADHD
• http//ldonline.org/
• Center for Applied Special Technology Based on
  the Principles of Universal Design for Learning
• http//www.cast.org/
• The Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) is the
  largest international professional organization
  dedicated to improving educational outcomes for
  individuals with exceptionalities, students with
  disabilities, and/or the gifted.
• http//www.cec.sped.org//AM/Template.cfm?Sect
  ionHome
• VSA arts of Floridas mission is to create a
  society where people with disabilities can learn
  through, participate in enjoy the arts
• http//www.vsafl.org/
• Good Classroom Teaching for All Kinds of Learners
• http//www.hellofriend.org/teaching/good_cla
  ssroom.html

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Resources

• The Family and Professional Site for the Special
  Needs Community
• http//www.eparent.com/
• National Center for Learning Disabilities
• http//www.ncld.org/
• National Dissemination Center for Children with
  Disabilities
• http//www.nichcy.org/
• The mission of the Access Center is to provide
  technical assistance that strengthens State and
  local capacity to help students with disabilities
  effectively learn in the general
  education curriculum http//www.k8accesscenter.org
  /index.php
• TASH is an international association of people
  with disabilities, their family members, other
  advocates, and professionals fighting for a
  society in which inclusion of all people in all
  aspects of society is the norm.
  http//www.tash.org/index.html
• A nonprofit institute for understanding
  differences in learning
• http//www.allkindsofminds.org/Excerpt.aspx?p
  roductid1

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Thank you!
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Contact Information

• southallk_at_stlucie.k12.fl.us
• www.myteacherpages.com/webpages/southall