IEP Writing Lesson #2: Every IEP is an English 101 Term Paper

Next up on the Individualized Education Plan (IEP) writing mini-series train(wreck) is: “spelling/grammar/name errors” and “old/irrelevant information.”

Spelling/Grammar/Name Errors

These mistakes are pretty much the most rage inducing for me. I can’t say much more about this area other than: do you seriously expect me to believe that someone couldn’t take an extra ten minutes to re-read their work and hit the spell-check button on their IEP writing software? My Type-A eyes glow red writing about this. Do accidents happen? Absolutely, but not being mindful and correcting them is not okay. Spelling errors are lazy, and while some people may not be familiar with certain grammatical conventions, colleagues/supervisors are there to proof-read if there is any doubt. Even Microsoft Word can tell a writer if there are fragments and grammatical disagreements. That ten minutes of proofreading is going to look really appealing if you ever get an angry phone call from a parent (or advocate) who found the name “Demarcus” in their child’s IEP instead “Suzanne” because the writer copied/pasted un-checked work. Write every IEP like your freshman composition professor is standing behind you (I know you just checked btw).

<3 Oxford comma

Old/Irrelevant Information

While no longer as much of a problem within my building (because my team and I go over IEPs with a fine-tooth comb and I expect teachers to do the same at annual reviews), finding old/irrelevant information in IEPs from students transferring in from another site in the district or out of district is a huge problem. It is sadly commonplace to find Present Levels of Educational Performance (PLEPs) that haven’t been updated in years. This can include: wrong dates (“As of September 2010…”), referring to past grades (15yo Lily is no longer a “sixth grader”), old test scores (always have the most up-to-date data), incorrect physical/medical information (like medication name that a child no longer takes—best to leave them off completely), out-dated related service info (worst when a child no longer receives that service!), and more.

Since the IEP is a current educational “snapshot,” it should always contain the most up-to-date information and should be edited and updated at every meeting held for the student. Even if it’s just a quick amendment meeting to update a goal, make it a habit to also update the child’s curriculum-based measurement/DIBELS/AIMSweb/semester grades/number of office referrals or suspensions/strengths/preferences/etc. I understand that this could be tedious, but it doesn’t have to take a long time if you have easy access to the necessary info (or have the teacher making the edits) and will become second-nature, especially if the framework is already there. Whenever my Committee on Special Education (CSE) chairperson makes a new meeting agenda, we pop through each child’s IEP, change document and service “start” dates, clean out old data/scores, and make sure there’s no info older than the last annual review (within the year)—before writing any new information. The benefit of this is twofold: you get a current, compliant document, and if the child were to ever leave your school, the new building would have a very representative document and clear picture of where the kiddo is functioning. Err’body wins!

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IEP Writing Mini-Series!

I like to think I’m pretty good at writing Individualized Education Plans (IEPs). I pride myself on well-written work of all kinds (goes back to all those advanced English/composition classes, as well as a husband who studied journalism) and poorly written IEPs make me want to claw my eyes out. Seriously. My co-workers can attest that I pretty much Hulk-out over terrible IEPs because it means three things: 1) someone out there thought their product was acceptable and that makes me sad, 2) someone out there is lazy and/or doesn’t understand the process and could get in trouble with compliance, and 3) my team now has to clean up the mess.

“Poorly written” can mean a lot of things: unrealistic goals, a lack of quality information (or you know, any information at all), spelling/grammar errors or the wrong child’s name in the document (ugh!!), no quantifiable data, old/irrelevant information, overly negative… etc. IEPs are legally binding documents that are meant to be a holistic “snapshot” of a child’s current academic, social/emotional, and physical functioning, with appropriate accommodations and modifications to meet their needs, and goals to work on for the school year. That means they’re pretty stinkin’ important.

Since starting at my building four years ago, I’ve slowly taken over writing all initial and reevaluation IEPs from my Committee on Special Education (CSE) chairperson, who admits that it isn’t her strong suit. I definitely did not receive much/any training on IEP writing during graduate school, and have picked things up from supervisors/mentors, in-services, and reading exemplar IEPs. I’ve supported my special education teachers on how to write quality IEPs during annual review time through in-services and consultation. While I’m by no means an expert, I hope that small changes and education can lead to documents that are more in compliance, more representative of the student, and staff members who better understand the IEP writing process. As such, I’m going to start a mini-series here on the blog to tackle some of the “poorly written” IEP issues that come up most often! Keep in mind that I am no expert and am only sharing what I’ve learned along the way. Also remember that I’ll be discussing the way my district writes IEPs and that may not be representative of your district/area/state, but that general tips and tricks can translate into better documents anywhere.

Catch up on all the IEP writing mishaps and blunders here!

• Lesson #1: Time Saving Tricks
• Lesson #2: Every IEP is an English 101 Term Paper

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Another Year Under the Belt...

Third year down and probationary period over, huzzah! At the end of last school year, I did a Committee on Special Education year in review to recap the very busy, very fulfilling year I had for '11-'12. While '12-'13 didn't quite measure up in terms of the sheer amount of CSE meetings I held, let's take a peek at the numbers...

• The proportion of meetings held for male vs. female students held steady with disproportionality: 69 males vs. 30 females. The district remains heavily African American and male in the special education population.
• We had 20 new initial referrals for special education this year, down 10 from last year. These referrals were still predominantly for significant behavioral concerns, only 6 were solely for academic difficulties. 7 of the 20 did not qualify for services, with 4 being recommended for 504 Accommodation Plans.
• This year, we had 16 reevaluation meetings for more restrictive settings, such as to Integrated Co-Teaching, Special Classes, or agency/day school placements. We also held 11 reevaluation meetings where changes were made to programming or as part of a three-year reevaluation, in accordance with legal mandates.
• We had just 3 declassifications from special education services this year, and all were students who receiving only speech who had met their goals. 
• There were a whopping 36 amendment meetings this year, up 12 from last year. These meetings included minor changes to the Individualized Education Plan (IEP) included changing goals, fixing/cleaning up parts of the Present Levels of Educational Performance (PLEP), and adjusting program modifications and testing accommodations. 
• Last year, the highest volume of meetings came during November and December. This year, it was May and June (much more traditional). During those two months, we held 26 meetings and most were initials or reevaluations that required a lot of testing and time--yeouch! This number was much higher than normal because...
• We were assigned 10 preschoolers out of our building to transition from Committee on Preschool Special Education (CPSE) services to CSE services for kindergarten. These kids were all placed in Special Classes as special sites, so we did lots of traveling to go out to see them. More to come on that!

That puts me at 99 meetings for the '12-'13 school year, 16 less than last year. Almost makes me wish I had one more meeting to make it an even hundy... but that's the mildly OCD overachiever talking.

Happy summer, you Super Psychologists!

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Declassification: When a Student No Longer Qualifies for Special Ed. Services

A reader on my Facebook page asked: "How [do you] ease the anxiety teachers may feel when students are doing well and you are recommending that the student be dismissed from special education?"

Dismissal, or declassification, from special education can be a tenuous celebration. The student has made adequate progress where support services are no longer needed, yay! But, what if the student starts to really struggle without those services, boo?

Typically, declassification reevaluations in my building are initiated by the teacher or speech/language pathologist (for kiddos who receive speech only). The direct service provider knows best how the student is functioning day-to-day in the classroom and can make the determination better than myself or the team alone. If a case comes up where as a Committee on Special Education (CSE) team we feel that services are no longer warranted, we start gathering oodles of information: standardized assessment data, classroom scores and curriculum based measurement data, attendance and report card grades, state-wide test scores, parent input and concerns, teacher interview and report, etc. We need to cover all bases to see how the student is functioning within the classroom. The key thing for school psychologists to consider when conducting any reevaluation is: does the student continue to meet the criteria that once qualified them under a certain special education classification?

If we make the decision that declassification is appropriate, we can choose a few different final outcomes. (it's important to remember that a kiddo's testing accommodations will follow them throughout their schooling and they can always access them if they choose) Some students we may choose to declassify "with support services" for a given period of time. For instance, if we are reevaluating for declassification mid-year, we can choose to continue to give the kiddo support services for the remainder of that school year, having them terminate for September. This would allow a sort of adjustment period. Another option would be to declassify from special education but refer for a 504 Accommodation Plan, which provides educational supports (program modifications, testing accommodations, formalized Functional Behavioral Assessments/Behavioral Intervention Plans) under general education. These options are both good for teachers and parents who may be unsure or uncomfortable with declassification because they allow the student a transition period.

The team may also recommend that a student no longer needs any services, and thus doesn't receive any further special education supports aside from testing accommodations, as mentioned above. If there is any uneasiness with this, we refer back to the data gathered--we don't make declass decisions lightly and without lots of supporting information. We also may recommend that a student receive tutoring with an adult or staff member in the building to reinforce skills, or suggest other ideas that can be done within the classroom (i.e. peer tutoring, flashcards, small group work, etc). Sometimes it helps assuage any fears when the teacher or parent remembers that the student will still have supports and help available to them, even if it isn't under special education.

How does your building or district handle special education declassifications? Do you have suggestions on how best to support teachers and ease their anxiety about it?

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March Madness: It's Not Just For Basketball Anymore

As the middle of March hits, if you're like me, you're kind of drowning. March and April are crazy busy months in education, especially special education. Many districts, like mine, conduct Annual Reviews of every special education student's Individualized Education Plan (IEP) in March, so there's constant questioning, checking, fire-putting-out, and meeting related to that. Also, early spring is when the final push to get children evaluated before the end of the year begins. This "In Like a Lion, Out Like a Lamb" and "April Showers Bring May Flowers" junk needs to go out the window. "In Like a Lion, Out Like a Strung Out Wildebeast" and "April Evals Bring Crazy, Exhausted School Psychs" perhaps!

I think the most important thing to remember when facing the uphill battle of spring evaluation season is this: you are one person. It is possible that you may not be able to meet timelines and deadlines for every evaluation. If this were to happen, it only means that you are not a super human (although you will always be a Super Psychologist), and it tells your district that they are understaffed for the demand. Seriously communicate the difficulties you're facing with your workload to your supervisors, other psychologists, and the superintendent, and stress that you may not be meeting compliance despite working your best to do so (they wanted to be cited less than you do!).

Take it one evaluation, one report, and one meeting at a time. Manage your time, get organized, and make things as streamlined as possible. Collaborate with other psychologists and professionals in your building or district. Be honest with people who try to draw you into other duties and responsibilities during the school day (lunch duty? I think not). Try your best to "leave work at work" and don't stay up til all hours writing reports and IEPs--it's not healthy and you won't be at your best pumping things out in mass quantities. Communicate with teachers and administrators who are making the referrals to see if something else may be more appropriate than a special education referral (i.e. RTI, counseling, mentoring, wraparound services, etc). And remember, you are one person.

You will likely be feeling all kinds of crazy stress, pressure, and general insanity. That's okay, and it comes with the territory any month of the year. Take care of yourself, first and foremost. You will not be an effective school psychologist to your students if you're totally burnt out. Check out some of my posts on stress management for suggestions on how to keep the crazy down.

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The Low Down on Manifestation Determination Reviews (MDRs)

One of the more challenging meetings for any school psychologist is the manifestation determination review. Manifestation determination reviews (MDRs) occur when a student with a disability has been suspended for 10 or more days, with the purpose of examining if the suspendable behavior had a direct and substantial relationship to the child's disability and/or if the behavior was a direct result of the school not implementing the student's Individualized Education Plan (IEP). I won't get into the legal guidelines and specifications of the MDR process, but highly recommend you understand the expectations of your state. For any New Yorkers out there, check out Part 201: Procedural Safeguards for Students with Disabilities Regarding Discipline.

When facing an MDR, remember your most important client: the student. You will have advocates, parents, teachers, administrations, and more all with things to say about the suspension, but MDR is all about making sure that the kiddo is not being punished for a behavior that is part of their disability or because their IEP wasn't implemented. Remember, IEPs are legally binding documents, and if they are not followed properly, you can have a lot of trouble on your hands. It is unfair to suspend a student for something they may not be able to help, and thus, we have MDR to protect them. It's serious, but it's important and a good thing, because it allows us to look out for a kiddo who might not be able to advocate for himself and to investigate a change in services if what is on the IEP is not sufficient.

As a psychologist who may be leading an MDR meeting, there's lots to do to prepare. You want all the information possible, even if it seems like too much! An extremely well-informed decision is the safest and most appropriate when we're talking about a kiddo's education. Some things to consider:

• Talk to everyone who witnessed or was involved in the incident that resulted in the suspension. Find out the facts, the chain of events, if this is a pattern of behavior, and more!
• Make sure you know the suspended student's IEP like the back of your hand... why and how the student meets criteria for a certain disability, every accommodation and modification, typical behaviors and levels of functioning for the student, etc. 
• In the same vein, interview the teacher either before the meeting or during and have them explain specifically how they're meeting each accommodation related to the behavior in question, such as special seating arrangements, refocusing & redirection, behavior modification, etc.
• Does the kid have any diagnoses outside of their special education classification (i.e. a student with a Learning Disability also being diagnosed with ADHD)? You need to consider those, too, when making a decision, so re-read any diagnostic criteria.
• Review the Functional Behavior Assessment/Behavior Intervention Plan (FBA/BIP) and talk to the teacher to see exactly how it's being implemented and the progress being made on it. Get data and specific information. 
• Find out if the student was in the appropriate program from their IEP when the behavior occurred. If not, the IEP may not have been implemented with fidelity. (i.e. if the IEP says a 6:1+1 for all academic and special areas, was that being followed, or was there no aide/a mixed group with general ed students/etc?)

The outcomes of MDR aren't always easy, especially when it means canceling a suspension because a student's behavior is related to their disability or the IEP wasn't implemented properly. At some point along the way (if you haven't already), you will have an angry teacher or administrator who doesn't want the student back in school because of the severity of their behavior. I can say myself that I had a teacher virtually run out of an MDR meeting down to the main office to scream at the principal that I was sending her kiddo back to school. But remember: your client is the child and your job is making sure that their educational needs are being met and they aren't being punished unfairly. 

Feel free to leave your comments and thoughts on MDR, particularly tips and tricks that have helped you! Go forth and MDR, you Super Psychologists! 

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How to Have Reliable, Productive Psychological Testing Sessions

Since Husband had eye surgery yesterday and Winter Storm Nemo is bearing down on Northeast, I thought today would be an excellent day to stay home and hunker down in a baggy ol' college sweatshirt with a Starbucks Skinny Cinnamon Dolce Latte and bust out a blog post!

Recently on my Facebook page, I mentioned a case where I had heard that two brothers were planning to throw their testing in order to get classified with special education services. Every now and then, I evaluate kids who do not give their "all" during testing--whether it's because they're unmotivated, uncooperative, excessively fidgety, or a plotful mastermind like these brothers. These kiddos can be challenging to test because we don't want to push too hard, but we also require reliable results for decision-making. It's a delicate balance.

Here are some general recommendations to make sure you're getting the most accurate scores possible:

• Make sure to spend the time building rapport with the kids you're testing. Whether it's a game of Uno, asking about their interests, reading a story together, or an extra long walk & chat to the testing location, making kids feel at ease and comfortable with you is the first step towards having a productive assessment session. 
• Pick a place to test that is relatively quiet, private, and distraction free. This is one of the first things you'll learn about assessment in grad school, and 30 years later it'll still be the solid base you need. Not all of us have our own offices or even a desk (or pencils, protocols, etc...), but doing your best to find a good place for testing can make a world of difference. You may have to get creative... nurse's exam room, librarian's office, or janitor's closet ring a bell?
• Be familiar with your own assessment materials. As you're fumbling to see if an answer is 1pt or 2pt, trying to find your place in the manual, or checking to see if you're putting a model together the right way, it give kiddos chances to get off-track. This will come with time and practice, but making sure you know the assessment like the back of your hand will let you focus on the kid, not the text (which you will be able to recite in your sleep). 
• Be open and flexible, but firm and structured. The more you test, the more you'll find the balance between being Robot Psychologist and Out of Control Psychologist. We need to maintain standardization and boundaries, but also be a person who the kid can relate to. Kids will run wild when given too much freedom, but can crack under someone who is too rigid. 
• For kids that are reluctant, uncomfortable being wrong, give up easily when challenged, or who seem to not being exhibiting all their effort--be encouraging. Obviously, we can't tell kids if they are right or wrong on an answer when they ask, but saying things like, "You worked really hard on that one," "This seems easy for you," "You're positive about that answer," "Excellent effort," etc can give kids the extra push to keep going. Make sure that you give positive feedback even if a child is incorrect--it's supportive and they'll pick up if you're only responding when they're right, which can throw them.
• For kids who are excessively fidgety, hyperactive, hard to focus--be consistent and repetitious. They are going to need multiple repetitions of directions and expectations, constant reminders to "sit on your bottom/look at me/put your listening ears on/take your time/look at these *tap finger*" and possibly breaks to let their energy out. There's nothing wrong with stopping after a few subtests (or every one) for some jumping jacks or to take a walk if it means that they'll be refocused afterwards. I always give kids the option for stretch and bathroom break halfway through regardless of their attention level--I don't like sitting for 1+hrs and I'm a typically-functioning adult (unless I have too much coffee, then I'm a tweak)! Providing reinforcers, such as M&Ms or small stickers, in short, variable intervals is also a good way to help maintain attention and give reinforcement.
• That being said, don't be afraid to break testing into multiple sessions, especially if you're administering more than one measures. You will have to for especially little kiddos, because developmentally they just can't focus for taxing tasks for extended periods. If kiddos start getting frustrated, pushing them to keep going is only going to irritate them more, leading to less reliable results. If you have an inkling that things aren't going as they should, it's best to postpone until a later date. You may even want to ask the kid when they'd like to finish--maybe getting out of a certain subject they don't like will be extra incentive or motivation for them!

We can bend over backwards as Super Psychologists and do all the little things to make an assessment session as close to perfect as possible, but kids are unpredictable precious monsters that can still go rogue. In these instances, you'll have to decide how to report your assessment findings. It will be very important to write a strong "behavioral observations" section describing explicitly with observable terms what the child did during testing that might have impacted your results, and how they reacted to the things you did to maintain them. You will also need to write a statement describing why your results may not be reliable. Mine usually comes at the end of my "behavioral observations" section, right before my "assessment results" and sounds something like: Due to XX, the following results are believed to be an inaccurate and unreliable representation of CHILD'S current levels of cognitive functioning." Where "XX" is, note whatever it was that may have skewed the testing, such as "inattentive and hyperactive behaviors," "a lack of consistent and appropriate effort," etc. It would be painful to completely throw out your results and hard work, so when I appropriate I also note that "scores should be interpreted with caution" in whichever areas were particularly impacted.

What other suggestions, tips, and tricks do you have for productive testing sessions? 

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Awkward Conversations at School, Part 2

(a warning for sexual slang terms in this post)

At our most recent Committee on Special Education (CSE) meeting day, we held a reevaluation for a young lady in 8th grade, T, who is classified as Emotionally Disturbed. Her special education teacher and Social Studies teacher, Mr. W, were in attendance. Mr. W is a distinguished African American guy in his early 30s who the students look up to as a mentor in the sense that he "got out" and "made something" of himself. He not only teaches Social Studies, but also life skills and lessons that meet the kids where they are. He's so well-spoken, I could listen to him talk all day (plus his voice is buttery smooth). But I digress...

Mr. W was telling the story about his first day back from medical leave and his first encounter with T:

Mr. W: "I was lecturing on the Civil War and how the slaves that could not escape to the North still supported the Northern soldiers in the South. I asked the class to tell me examples of this, and the students were discussing how the slaves sabotaged Confederate weapons, brought food and supplies to the Northern soldiers... all valid points. T responded, "Yeah mister, and they nutted in they food."

Me: 0_o

Mr. W: "The other students were appalled and didn't know what to say, and I have to admit, I was shocked as well..."

Social Worker, interrupting: "Wait, I'm sorry. What happened to their food?"

CSE Chairperson: "Yes, did she mean poison?"

Me (in head, hiding behind laptop): Oh no.

Mr. W: "Oh, um. [pause] Uh... they ejaculated in their food."

Social Worker and CSE Chairperson: "OH OMG!"

Sweet T, thank you for the spectacularly embarrassing laugh we all shared after that revelation. I don't think I've ever seen two naive older ladies in their 50s turn so red, though I probably shouldn't be proud of the fact that I knew it really meant. Chalk it up to experience working in the proverbial trenches! It sure broke up the exhausting monotony of a full day of CSE meetings...

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Square Peg, Meet Round Hole

So we've all seen the cartoon at left, explaining why it's silly to force those of different abilities or skills into the same molds. I recently came across this very conundrum during a reevaluation for the Committee on Special Education (CSE) for a fourth grade student.

Z has been struggling for a long while, and is actually supposed to be in sixth grade but has been retained twice (almost three times, last year he was promoted mid-first quarter due to his age). Z has some severe language deficits that are really impacting his ability to read. He has extreme difficulty with decoding--confuses and substitutes sounds, reverses/transposes letters while reading and writing (i.e. will say "substitute" as "suditute" or "supitute"), doesn't retain learned sounds and sight words, etc. Z has been through the same, basic, 1st grade level reading program for two and a half years, and has made little lasting progress. He's practically memorized it, but can't translate it into classroom use in the subject areas, like science and social studies, and doesn't have the knowledge base and skills to move on to the next level. As the fourth grade curriculum becomes more challenging, he's stagnant. To say he's frustrated is an understatement.

So if everyone can learn to read using decoding and phonics, why can't Z? And why are we still instructing him using the same program he's already failed at twice? Because there isn't anything else available. In my building, we follow one to two district endorsed reading programs, all of which focus on phonics. Z is placed in an Integrated Co-Teaching classroom with two awesome teachers (he was in a model classroom last year, too), so he's received a great deal of individualized and small group instruction. His teachers have supported him in so many ways, and yet he still struggles. To say we're defeated is an understatement.

At his CSE meeting, we scratched our heads about what special education services we could provide for Z. Clearly, the Integrated Co-Teaching setting, despite his wonderful, attentive teachers, was not meeting all of his academic needs. We discussed placing him in a 15:1 Special Class, which in my district is for students with severe learning abilities who need more adult attention to achieve learning standards. We were hesitant, knowing that if he left our building for another placement, we couldn't guarantee that he would have a classroom with a high level of intervention, like he was getting from his two teachers (one would hope, but we can't assume). Unfortunately, we didn't have a good answer, a good place, or the right program to fit a kid like Z.

In the end, we did decide on a 15:1 Special Class, but it wasn't a comfortable one. His special education teacher in particular broke down in tears, knowing that despite providing a lot of support to Z, we didn't have what would be able to help him take off academically, especially with reading. It may be that the 15:1 won't either, but we're hoping that a very specific, detailed Individualized Education Plan (IEP) and a self-contained class will be able to provide him with more varied programs and curricula to draw from, so that he isn't sitting decoding CVC and CVVC words, like "cat" and "roar" for another year.

How do you support kiddos that don't fit the approved curricula and programs used in your schools, when there may not be the man power or budget for other options?

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A Committee on Special Education Year In Review... aka, I Am A Machine

Add glasses and this is surprisingly accurate.

As I bask in the glory of summer, I remember that this year was not all Zumba classes, bike rides, wedding planning, and watching TLC. As you may remember, this year was totally nutty-- my Committee on Special Education (CSE) chairperson was out for 9 months receiving chemo and I spent the year working with a district representative (which was fantastic); I single-handedly underwent a state ed. review; attempted to run Positive Behavior Intervention Supports like Check-in, Check-out; and of course, dealt with every day chaos and crisis. I'd be a big fat liar if I said I'm not enjoying the time off, that's fo sho.

Before school ended, I sat down and totaled up all of the stats for the Committee on Special Education meetings I've done during '11-'12. The results were all together staggering, nauseating, tiring, and awe-inspiring. Here are some fun facts...

• The meetings held for male vs. female students was 73 vs. 42. Our special education population at our building (and in the district) is disproportionately male and African American.
• We held 30 initial CSE meetings. Many of these meetings were kiddos that were being referred for services due to severe behavioral problems, and the students were recommended for more restrictive settings where their needs could be met, such as a Special Class. Five of these initial referrals did not qualify for services. 
• In a similar vein, we held 28 reevaluation meetings where a more restrictive setting was recommended. Many of these were for a Special Class, but others were a recommendation where a student moved from receiving only related services, like speech, to Integrated Co-Teaching services.
• We held 21 reevaluation meetings where changes were made to programming (adding or removing a related service, etc) or as part of a three-year reevaluation, in accordance with legal mandates.
• We declassified 8 students from special education services this year. One of them was due to chronic lack of attendance in school, thus not accessing special education services nor receiving appropriate instruction (he came to school four days all year).
• Although I had three full days of CSE meetings in March (on top of helping teachers with the Annual Review process for their caseloads), the biggest volume of CSE meetings came late fall, during the state ed. review. In November and December, I had a total of four meetings days, but they covered 30 kiddos. I'm getting hives just remembering... ugh.
• My building has a small population of preschoolers receiving special education services via the Committee on Preschool Education (CPSE). When they turn school age in kindergarten, we have to reevaluate their programs to see if they will transition into CSE services. We completed 4 CPSE to CSE reevaluations this year, two at the beginning of the year for '11-'12, and two at the end for '12-'13 (we got ahead of the game). 
• We amended 24 students' IEPs, making minor changes that don't overly affect their service levels. These included changing goals, fixing/cleaning up parts of the Present Levels of Educational Performance (PLEP), altering time durations for programming, and adjusting program modifications and testing accommodations. 

So, for those playing at home, that brings my Committee on Special Education meetings for the 2011-2012 school year to a whopping 115.

I am psychologist. Hear me roar.

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Not Your Typical English Language Learner

I am finally getting to the "unique case" mentioned on my Facebook page... it's been a nutty end of the school year, so sue me (hey '90s flashback catch phrase). On an up note, 4 more days!!

Every spring, elementary buildings in my district are in charge of reevaluating prekindergarten students receiving Committee on Preschool Special Education (CPSE) to see if they qualify for school age services conducted under the Committee on Special Education (CSE) when they enter kindergarten. We haven't had too many to do, but this interesting case made up for that.

O entered our prekindergarten in January, having not received any schooling since June 2011. We knew right away that O would need a lot of support, not only because he missed half a year of instruction, but because he is a hearing child of two parents who are deaf. American Sign Language is O's native language and what is used at home, so he is technically learning English. Curious, right? Because he has had so little exposure to English, his speech is similar to that of a person who is hearing impaired, and is only 30% intelligible. O receives speech/language therapy and special education teacher services as part of his CPSE programming.

We went around and around about programming and an appropriate classification for O when he enters kindergarten. He has a great deal of need, so we knew he would qualify for services, but for what, we were unsure. New speech testing indicated severe language delays in all areas (receptive, expressive, language structure, articulation). He also had a highly variable cognitive profile and limited school readiness skills. Despite a high profile of academic need, I could not classify him as a student with a Learning Disability, due to his lack of exposure to appropriate instruction from June '11 to January '12 (per New York State regulations). We decided to go with a classification of Speech/Language Impairment.

Our district has a few classrooms at the kindergarten level for students with severe language impairments. One is a regular sized class that has a full-time teacher plus a full-time speech/language therapist, and the other is a 15:1 Special Class with a full-time special education teacher and speech/therapist. Both of these classes offer 60 minutes of speech therapy every day, on top of ongoing remediation provided within the room during the way. We recommended O for the 15:1 level of service, so that he can not only receive intensive speech services, but his academic deficits can also be addressed. At the end of kindergarten, the CSE team at his new building will reevaluate his program, examine his progress, and determine the most appropriate services as he gets older.

Have any of you ever worked with a student who has parents who are hearing impaired? What strengths and weaknesses did they have? How did they fair learning/refining their English skills in school?

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The Ins and Outs of Intellectual Disabilities

Monica over at The Undergrad Tales of a Psychology Major emailed me a fantastic group of questions that set me off and running in my (probably long-winded and unnecessarily detailed) response. She had some questions about intellectual disabilities, a topic that I find pretty cool. According to New York State, "intellectual disability" is defined as:

"...significantly subaverage general intellectual functioning, existing concurrently with deficits in adaptive behavior and manifested during the developmental period, that adversely affects a student's educational performance." [Part 200.1(zz7)]

If we're talking about the numbers and standard scores, a student with an intellectual disability (ID) generally has cognitive ability, academic achievement, and adaptive behavior at or below a standard score of 70. However, every child with ID looks totally different from every other one. Each has their own strengths, weaknesses, etc, and each needs to be educated in their own particular way to maximize their learning. When developing interventions for students with ID, you must go on a kid-by-kid basis. A good place to start is to modify assignments and instruction to what each child needs (i.e. fewer items, extra repetition, larger print, extra pictures/graphs, pre-taught vocabulary, re-taught material, manipulatives and hands-on learning, additional time to complete assignments, etc).

I looked through my cases over this year and found a few examples to send Monica, which I'll share here. Note that none of these five kiddos has exactly the same background, scores, profile, strengths, weaknesses, levels of services, or placement. That's why I find ID so fascinating!

For all the scores below, 90-109 is Average, with a 15 point standard deviation on either side. Also note that a classification of ID should not be taken lightly. The classifying psychologist and team need to conduct a thorough record review, social history, teacher interview, observations, medical exam, academic assessment, intellectual assessment, adaptive assessment, and in some cases, visual-motor, memory, projective, etc tests, if they so choose.

Kindergartener— 
See this blog post for background information. After a very thorough evaluation, we classified this kiddo as a student with Multiple Disabilities due to pervasive delays, ID level cognitive ability, head trauma, and Fetal Alcohol Diagnosis. He was placed in a 6:1+1 Special Class for medically fragile students outside of our building. He receives occupational therapy (OT) and speech therapy, as well as services during the summer to prevent substantial regression.

Wechsler Preschool & Primary Scales of Intelligence, 3rd Ed. – Full Scale IQ (FSIQ) = 77
Bracken-3 Self Concept Scale – School Readiness = 77
Vineland Adaptive Behavior Composite = 74

Third Grader—
This kiddo was referred by her teachers in '10-'11 and had extensive interventions by a variety of school personnel. She was classified as a student with a Learning Disability and was placed in an Integrated Co-Teaching program (one gen ed teacher, one SPED teacher). We reevaluated her this year, and at that time, she was reading 26 words per minute (goal is 110 by end of 3rd) and was unable to recognize, identify, and count numbers to 100, let alone attempt addition and subtraction. She was academically very delayed, but was socially competent. She loved coming down for chats at lunch and was always giving hugs in the hallway. She was placed in a 15:1 Special Class outside of our building and her classification was changed to ID.

Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, 4th Ed. – FSIQ = 71
Woodcock-Johnson III Tests of Achievement – Broad Reading= 73; Broad Math= 79; Broad Written Language= 86

Fifth Grader—
This kiddo is currently in a 6:1+1 Special Class for students with intense behavioral and academic needs and is classified as a student with an Other Health Impairment. He has a diagnosis of ADD, for which he is not currently medicated, and he is uber distractible. He also displays symptoms of Autism (visual self-stimulation with small toys, perseverating on topics of interest, like TV shows). He has very limited social skills and often aggravates his more advanced classmates by violating their social boundaries to be friendly. He has no concept of social cues and is a big target for physical aggression--we have a safety plan for him so he doesn’t get killed by the boys in his class with Emotional Disturbances. Academically, he is at the first grade level or lower and reads 41 words per minute (goal is 115 by end of 5th). He is highly delayed both academically and socially. We are reevaluating him now and will be having his meeting at the end of the month. We have a placement saved for him for next year at a 12-month private school providing instruction in self-care and vocational skills to students with intellectual disabilities. His classification will be changed to ID.

Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence, 2nd Ed. - FSIQ = 66
Woodcock-Johnson III Tests of Achievement – Brief Reading= 64; Brief Math= 54; Brief Written Language= 63
Vineland-II Adaptive Behavior Composite = TBD (I just finished testing him)

Fifth Grader—same classroom as above
This kiddo is also in a 6:1+1 classified as Learning Disabled. She has highly delayed daily living skills—can’t tie her shoes, has had bathroom accidents and not told anyone, can’t tell time or count coins, and has difficulty keep an orderly appearance that is socially appropriate (pulls her shirt and skirt up in class). She also tantrums in response to minor upsets and has very low frustration tolerance and coping skills. Her social skills are also impaired and she exhibits socially immature behaviors that hinder friendships. The kicker is that she’s a grade level reader at 118 words per minute and has passable writing skills, but her math is highly delayed. We reevaluated her and will be contacting the personnel in charge of the community-based life skills program within our district to evaluate her for their program.

Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, 4th Ed. – FSIQ = 60
Woodcock-Johnson III Tests of Achievement – Broad Reading= 85; Broad Math= 61; Broad Written Language= 89
Vineland-II Adaptive Behavior Composite = 62

Seventh Grader—
This kiddo was classified as a student with a Learning Disability and is currently placed within a 15:1 Special Class. Records indicated that she suffered a few strokes at birth due to ingesting meconium during delivery, but has not had any concerns past age four. On state exams in reading and math, she scored a Level 1, which does not meet basic standard. She cannot tell time or count coins, and has very basic skills in all academic areas. She is very immature socially and has difficulty working with others, but is an absolutely pleasant, sweet girl who is always smiling. We changed her classification to ID and she remains appropriately placed.

Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence, 2nd Ed.- FSIQ = 62
Woodcock-Johnson III Tests of Achievement – Brief Reading= 83; Brief Math= 56; Brief Written Language= 71

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When Parents Disagree With CSE Decisions

What do you do when parents disagree with decisions made regarding special education eligibility and programming at Committee on Special Education (CSE) meetings?


We recently had a case where the CSE recommended a more restrictive setting for a student. A is having a hard time maintaining appropriate behavior within her Integrated Co-Teaching classroom, and her grades are suffering. She exhibits a lot of tantruming, controlling/adultified, and noncompliant behavior. There have been a lot of interventions put in place, including a classroom management plan, Check-in, Check-out, and weekly individual counseling with a mental health counselor in our building, but there hasn't been much response. At the CSE table, we discussed behavior, cognitive skills, academic knowledge, etc and recommended A for a 12:1+1 Special Class placement. Dad was on board, as he wanted to do anything for A that would help her succeed.

Within a day, there were rumblings in the building that Dad was no longer in agreement with the decision. He didn't want her to move schools (we don't have a 12:1+1 placement), didn't want her to have transition in the middle of the year, didn't want her in special education, and didn't want her labeled. All very valid concerns. He felt that much of her behavior was due to the other less than well-behaved students in her class, and that she was watching them and acting out. He wanted us to try more interventions in our building to help her instead, though we felt we had exhausted them all. He was even considering pulling special education services completely, as he never signed consent for them, A's mother did when she was still in her custody.

Lots of meetings with Dad, our building parent advocate, the teachers, and even the principal ensued. As a CSE, we stood by the decision we made to move her to the 12:1+1. Oftentimes when parents disagree with or question a meeting outcome, they are referred to an impartial district CSE team to appeal it. I am uncomfortable changing a decision made in a CSE meeting, as I do not recommend classification or program changes without careful consideration of what is best for the child, gathering of data, consulting with relevant school personnel, and lots of time spent writing the report and Individualized Education Plan (IEP).

Ultimately, Dad was recommended to contact the district CSE team to appeal our decision, instead of revoking all consent for services. He also wanted her placed in the other classroom at her grade level, which is not an Integrated Co-Teaching classroom, in order to get her away from any students who might be affecting her behavior. It would also give him information to see how she would do without ICT supports, should he wish to revoke consents for services once he has the meeting with the district appeal team.

It's a very slippery slope trying to make teachers, parents, and administrators happy with decisions, while ultimately keeping in mind the best interest of the child. At the end of the day though, I always remember that my duty  is to serve the student, and support them with whatever they might need to be successful, no matter if it goes against what another party wants. Administrators can be reasoned with and will get over it, parents can appeal a decision, but the kid usually has no say. The primary client of the school psychologist is always the kid. (Note: this is not to say that the parents', teachers', and administrators' views, opinions, and information are to be ignored. They are extremely valuable in decision-making, and those parties should always be consulted with.)

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My Lunch Buddy is on "Vacation"

You may remember my Michael Jackson-loving, big dreamer blog star, H. A quick recap for our viewers at home: H is diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome and exhibits "classic" symptoms: rote, bookish speech (and hilarious one-liners), poor peer social interactions and a preference for being with adults, resistance to changes in routine, and extreme negative reactions to overstimulating (loud, noisy, busy, overpopulated) environments.

H was a case I looked at due to our ongoing state review, but was one we had already planned to reevaluate. H was receiving Integrated Co-Teaching (ICT) services within the general education classroom. When she moved up to first grade, she began having an extremely difficult time maintaining herself in the large classroom, and would shut down for hours at a time when overwhelmed. She would cry, sob, refuse to do work, and “ramble” incoherently. She also was refusing to go into the lunchroom, saying she is “scared” of the noise. She was unable to calm herself independently, a teacher is generally needed to do so, or removal from the overstimulating environment. Crying/shutting down episodes typically happened 2-3 times per half an hour period, and the crying lasted for up to 30 minutes afterwards.

H's special education teacher started interventions at the beginning of the year. Here's a quick list, none of which made a significant impact on her behavior, as little change occurred in her shutting down:

-planned breaks following periods of appropriate work.

-pulled into small groups within the class, to isolate her from the whole class.

-attempts to console, soothe, and calm her within the classroom (almost always had to be removed due to the disruption and intensity).

-given headphones to wear within the classroom to help her block out some of the noise of the other children. 

-lunch in my office, outside of the overstimulating lunch room (always a hoot).

-individual counseling on coping, calming down, and problem-solving skills at least 3x/week.

As a result of the reevaluation, we decided to move H to a classroom specifically for students with Autism. It proved to be a fantastic move that all of the Committee on Special Education (CSE) was pleased with (including H, who was reportedly needing "a vacation" from our school). The self-contained classes for students with Autism in our district not only target the academic needs of these students, but also do intense social, problem-solving, and coping skill training. The kiddos get to socialize with students "like them" within a controlled setting, teaching them age-appropriate interactions and helping them to overcome social and emotional deficits inherent in the disorder. They also learn more appropriate ways to cope with frustrations, changes in routine, and other upsets, as the "default" coping mechanism for many students with Autism is to cry/shut down, self-stimulate, or in extreme cases, self-injure (bite, scratch, or head-bang). 

H is reportedly doing great over at her new school, and while I will miss my daily lunch buddy and her fantastic (if inadvertent) humor, she's in a much more appropriate educational setting. Enjoy your "vacation," H!

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Multiply Disabled, Doubly Blessed

Earlier this month, we had a Committee on Special Education (CSE) meeting on a rather tough case. X, a kindergarten student, was referred by his foster mom/aunt and his doctor due to suspected developmental delays. I had to blog about X and his CSE referral, since cases like his don't come around very often. Here's a list of notable things in X's social history, shortened for brevity:

Facial features of children with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

-heavily exposed to alcohol and marijuana in utero. Recently diagnosed with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. (also exhibits facial features)

-traumatic brain injury at 6-months (suspected that biological mother dropped him, cracking his skull).

-no medical care after first well-visit after birth.

-significant history of malnutrition (often left to fend for himself to eat, which led to injuries as he attempted to cook for himself; currently, hoarding food and pica-like behaviors of eating inedible objects).

-not toilet trained (a requirement for attending kindergarten in my district--he was asked not to return to school until he was toilet trained, because he was having accidents throughout the day).

-much smaller than is typical for his age--looks about 3 years old when he's 5-years, 7-months.

-speech concerns (articulation, voice tone and quality, expressive and receptive language deficits).

-underdeveloped fine motor abilities (shoe tying, writing, cutting; also sensory concerns).

-removed from biological mom's care 6-months ago due to severe neglect; living with his aunt.

-no exposure to school or age-appropriate social interactions prior to entering kindergarten this year.

During testing with me, X exhibited no spontaneous conversation, and when he did speak, it was in a whisper (I must've driven him nuts asking him to repeat himself so much because I couldn't hear him!). His sentences were no more than three words and he would gesture or point rather than speak at times. Throughout our time together, he exhibited flat affect and appeared lethargic. He was slow to respond to many assessment tasks. He rarely smiled or responded appropriately when I tried to make him laugh (I probably am not funny).

Lots of assessments were done, to get a full picture of X's developmental levels. Speech/language and occupational therapy evaluations were indicative of significant delays, so he qualified to receive those related services. My cognitive testing was in the borderline intellectually disabled range, as was standardized academic testing (i.e. standard scores in the 70 range). Behavioral rating scales were also completed by X's teacher, which indicated high levels of atypical or "strange" behaviors and moderate hyperactivity and attention problems. Adaptive behavior was also delayed, with daily living skills (self-care skills) and socialization were the lowest areas.

Standard scores within the 70 range across all areas (cognitive, academic, adaptive behavior) would in most cases lead to a classification of Intellectually Disabled. However, I recommended a classification of Multiple Disabilities. What are the criteria for this disability, in New York State?

Multiple disabilities means concomitant impairments..., the combination of which cause such severe educational needs that they cannot be accommodated in a special education program solely for one of the impairments. The term does not include deaf-blindness. [Part 200.1(zz 8)]

Due to his pervasive level of delays and needs, and concurrent head trauma and Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, Multiple Disabilities was a more appropriate classification for X. After the New Year, we are going to look into an agency self-contained classroom for him to be placed in. This setting will meet not only his educational needs, but also his daily living, self-care, and toileting.

So with all these hurdles to overcome, why is X "doubly blessed?" Because of his foster mother and aunt. She is working so hard to support him and provide him with the nurturing environment that he has lacked for the last five years. He is receiving routine medical care, nutritious food, an education, and most importantly, love and social interaction. She has advocated for him in ways that most people would find difficult, starting first by taking him in when she has other children of her own, and by initiating the special education referral that will get him the support he needs. I am confident that X will quickly catch up to where he needs to be with her care and appropriate educational services.

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Integrating our Teachers

Previously, I wrote about our self-contained classes, and today I'm going to give you a peek at the other special education program housed in my building: Integrated Co-Teaching (ICT). ICT goes beyond the typical consultant teacher or resource room programming, where students with disabilities are removed ("pulled out") from the classroom to receive special education services. The ICT model has two teachers in the classroom full-time, one general education and one special education, to service the needs of all students. Both teachers equally teach lessons and curriculum, and both teachers help to differentiate instruction. The special education teacher is not viewed as an aide or helper only for "those kids," but as a teacher of all students.

Integrated Co-Teaching has a huge amount of potential. I highly recommend Dr. Marilyn Friend's DVD The Power of 2, which gives a great overview of the benefits of ICT and provides training on six different models of how two teachers can work together to instruct their class. It also has a lot of testimonials of co-teachers who love the model (a great plug for the system, eh?).

In my building, we have one Integrated Co-Teaching classroom each in third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth grade. This is our first year with this many classes in a full ICT model. At any given time in our ICT classes, you can see either teacher doing a lesson, one teacher with a group of students (while the other teaches the rest of the class) reinforcing skills, pre- or re-teaching materials, providing advanced work, or giving curriculum based assessments, or both teachers teaching together. In our seventh and eighth grades, the ICT teacher travels with the students from subject to subject, teaching lessons, reinforcing concepts, and working alongside students or in small groups. In eighth grade, we also have a resource room period at the end of the day, where the ICT teacher can go over skills, assist with assignment completion, and do post-secondary preparation work (filling out job and practice college applications and do transition planning).

Do you have Integrated Co-Teaching in your building? How is it working? What benefits or challenges are your teachers reporting?

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8, 12, 15, 6, Our Self-Contained Classes Need a Fix

So you've often heard me talk about self-contained classrooms, where I toss around numbers like 6:1+1, 15:1, and other seemingly simple math equations. As part of our compliance review, one of the things we looked at was to see if there was a similar of profile of needs among the kiddos in our self-contained classes, and if there were kids that did not match the profile, then we found a more appropriate placement for them. So what do these classrooms look like in my district?

15:1 (15 students, 1 teacher) - colloquially, 15:1 classrooms are reserved for the "low" kiddos. Students who are appropriate for this classroom are students with low IQ who are slow processors and need a lot of assistance to complete work. The small classroom size affords them with the more individualized help they wouldn't get in a classroom of 25+ kiddos. Students in 15:1 classes are typically classified as Learning Disabled and/or Intellectually Disabled (the new Mental Retardation classification). Students in 15:1 classes should have no behavior problems.

12:1+1 (12 students, 1 teacher, 1 teacher aide) - students in this classroom type have a similar academic needs profile as those in a 15:1, but these students also have mild to moderate behavior problems. Students in this class might exhibit hyperactivity or impulsivity, have trouble with complying with classroom rules and teacher directives, or have some difficulty interacting appropriately with peers. The extra adult ensures that these students have the opportunity for more consistent behavior management (many will have BIPs) than a general education classroom and more small group work. Students are typically classified Learning Disabled, Other Health Impairment (such as for a diagnosis of ADHD or ODD), and/or Emotional Disturbance. There are also 12:1+2 classrooms for students who are Multiply Disabled and/or have severe medical needs.

8:1+1 (8 students, 1 teacher, 1 teacher aide) - students in this classroom are typically on grade level in all academic areas, but their behavioral needs keeps them from being instructed effectively in a general education classroom. Often, these kiddos have more extreme impulsivity issues, aggression, and opposition/defiance. The extra adult in this room helps greatly with behavior management, since students in this room need lots of redirection, monitoring, and will likely have BIPs. Students in an 8:1+1 are typically classified Other Health Impaired and/or Emotional Disturbance.

6:1+1 (6 students, 1 teacher, 1 teacher aide) - the most common 6:1+1 is a classroom for students with severe behavioral and academic needs, those that have trouble floating in a 12:1+1. Their needs are a combination of the high academic needs of those in a 15:1 and the intense social/emotion concerns of those in an 8:1+1. 6:1+1 classrooms for academic/behavior concerns can be in a typical public school or at an agency placement, and are typically reserved for students with Emotional Disturbances, though we do have a few Other Health Impaired students in them too. There are also 6:1+1 classes for students classified with Autism, students who are Multiply Disabled with severe health/medical needs, and students who have severe Intellectual Disabilities (such as Down Syndrome).

What self-contained classes do you have in your buildings? Do the profile of needs at your buildings match the description of the classes at mine?

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Increasing Parent Involvement

Working in a large, low socioeconomic status, urban district, we have very low parent participation at my building, both at CSE meetings and at other school functions. What's a super psychologist to do? We know (or hope) that parents care about their kids and how they're being educated, but what can we do to get parents involved in our school community?

Parent involvement in our CSE process is poor. I think it's for a number of reasons: lack of understanding of special education, apathy about the educational system, and general involvement. We constantly come up against disconnected phones, wrong addresses/transient families, and have to fight to get consents signed to do evaluations. Our social worker makes many home visits to obtain signatures and social history reports. Most parents do not attend our CSE meetings (though we had FOUR parents attend this week, I think it was a record!). In order to meet their needs and hopefully get them to school, we will try and schedule a meeting time according to what the parent wants (i.e. an afternoon meeting for the parent that works mornings). We've had our guidance counselor pick up parents and bring them to school if they do not have a means of transportation. We also do phone conferences if the parent can take a longer phone call while at work. Otherwise, we go ahead with CSE meetings without the parent, notes that in our meeting minutes, then call them afterwards to go over the results and committee decision. Our social worker has also made home visits to go over meeting findings. 

Two brothers at our math & literacy night last year.

In terms of other school functions, I can recommend two things whole-heartedly that will get parents to school: food and gifts! We ALWAYS feed our families when they come to school for functions. For a lot of inner city families, having a meal served is really important for them, plus the school gets the added bonus of having parents in. Last year, we had a spaghetti dinner during our math & literacy night, we served pizza and cupcakes at parent/teacher conference night last year, and to start this school year, we had a BBQ in our courtyard. We also offer incentives for if parents decide to come to school functions, like educational games (Monopoly, Uno, Checkers, Chess, Sorry, Battleship, etc), books, and door prizes. We also usually have a bounce house set up in our gym, which is a big hit. I usually have to stop myself from kicking off my leopard print shoes and jumping in.

How do you involve parents in your building? What strategies work for you to help parents get invested in your school community? What suggestions do you have to schools that struggle with parent involvement?

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Helpful Resource on How to Give Parents "Bad" News

Angela over at The Cornerstone for Teachers posted an excellent blog entry today about how to give parents bad news at parent meetings. There's a great list of tips and suggestions on how to have productive conferences, or in the case of the school psychologist, perhaps how to facilitate them. How often do we struggle with this, or see others struggling? I know I've sat in on a few parent meetings where it's an all out offensive from the teacher at the parent, which is utterly unproductive. What parent wants to come into school to talk to a teacher that's on high alert and hear how horrible their child is?

I always talk about positives first, whether in parent meetings or at the CSE table. What can the child do? What is positive about their work habits, personality, behavior, etc? What skills to they have? Then, I discuss any deficits, concerns, or problems. Going in guns blazing on what’s “wrong” only serves to put the parent on the defensive. If that's the case, no one's working to help the child.

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E= mc... huh?

The most common type of learning disabilities I see in my work are verbal learning disabilities, meaning that they affect the way a student reads or writes, listens, and/or speaks. These are the most widespread, largely due to the fact that they're easy to see. When a student has difficulty following directions, remembering information, reading fluently and comprehending classroom material, it's obvious to teachers that something's up.

Less common, or perhaps less often identified, are nonverbal learning disabilities. Kids with these difficulties often go unnoticed because they are highly verbal and on grade level in reading. However, they lack organizational skills, forget class materials and homework, have trouble with graphic material (graphic organizers, maps, graphs, charts, etc), and struggle with math. Some students also present with poor social skills and symptoms similar to Asperger's Syndrome. Academic difficulties become more pronounced as the students get older and have to deal with algebra, fractions, and all that other math nonsense (math was never my thing).

This summer, I worked with J, a student who was referred because he has been retained several times and is much older than he should be for the grade he's in. He's had some learning and behavioral difficulties, so I was asked to evaluate him to determine if he would qualify for special education. J is going into seventh grade and racked up oodles of suspensions last year. When I spoke to his teacher, she said that it seemed like J had "given up" and would try to get suspended so he could stay home. J was on grade level in reading and can read over 130 words per minute, but was failing math and lacked a lot of the basic skills needed to do more advanced math. Sounds like a job for Super Psychologist!

J did not attend summer school, so his mom brought him in for testing. When he entered our office, he removed his hat, necklace chains, and wallet chain and set them aside on top of a cabinet so they wouldn't "get in his way" during testing. He worked with our CSE chairperson doing achievement testing first, then I took him for cognitive testing. While working with me, J was well-spoken and articulate, polite, and respectful. I noticed right away that he had an excellent vocabulary and was able to verbalize his responses accurately and concisely. Most kiddos ramble without any direction, but J would nail an answer on the head in five words or less (made testing go by sooo much more quickly).

When J was working on nonverbal tasks, it was another story. On the first perceptual reasoning task, J had to put blocks together to replicate a printed pattern. He was so flustered and overwhelmed it was almost awkward to watch. He scrambled with the blocks, did trial and error combinations, and had little attention to detail. At first I attributed some of it to nerves, but as he did other nonverbal, visual-spatial reasoning tasks, I realized that he seriously lacked perceptual skills. He had trouble finding visual patterns and grouping pictures based on shared characteristics. Things that made me say, "hmmm."

When the scores were calculated, J scored within the average to high average range on all areas of cognitive testing, with the exception of perceptual reasoning. His perceptual score was so low that, when compared to other cognitive areas, a score profile like his happens in less than 2% of the population. On achievement testing, his math score was the pits, while reading and writing were age appropriate. J had trouble correctly identifying which operation (add, subtract, multiply, divide) to use on simple math problems, couldn't borrow/regroup, and struggled greatly with even simple word problems, let alone do algebra. What does all this mean? J had a classic nonverbal, math learning disability profile.

 

I have to admit, I totally geeked out. I had to tell everyone that might have even remotely cared or knew what I was talking about (who has two thumbs and is a loser? this gal). Being such a nerd, seeing a textbook case of something that was considered more "rare" in my line of work was kind of exciting. My CSE chairperson and I started putting together an Individual Education Plan (IEP) for J. We put in a lot of testing support and program accommodations for J to use in math and when taking math tests, such as extended time, use of a calculator, additional math examples, and simplified charts, graphs, organizers. These supports are designed to level the playing field educationally, so that with them, J can access the curriculum to a level comparable to his non-disabled peers.

J's referral to special education at the beginning of the summer was a bit of a fluke, but in the end, I'm glad that the referral went through, since we identified a kid who otherwise would've continued having difficulty unnoticed. Looking at J's past year of not-so-great behavior, it makes sense that he purposefully acted out to get suspended and intentionally had poor attendance, since he likely did not want to show that he was having difficulty, or wanted to be doing something difficult in the first place. I'll be very curious to see how J does this year with special education supports in the classroom. I also hope that he'll find positive ways to use his verbal gifts... if only my school had a debate club, poetry club, or other public speaking goodness!