The Special Education IEP and the Parent Underdog

Are you a parent of a child with a learning disability? The deck is stacked against you for achieving a quality, special education IEP. Learn how to get the best possible program for your child.

What is an IEP ? The special education IEP (Individualized Education Program) process was created by the Federal law called IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) to ensure that students with learning disabilities would receive an appropriate education. The IEP process can be confusing, stressful, and sometimes terrifying to parents. The process comes to a head at the IEP meeting, so this is often the most stressful part of the IEP process.

Why is this process so difficult for parents? Through a series of 3 articles, we'll look at the IEP process, why the deck is stacked against parents, steps to take to even the odds, the IEP success method to follow for an effective IEP meeting, and how to prepare for IEP 911.

What are the IEP Process Steps? Identify that a problem exists and it cannot be solved Educate yourself about the IEP process Assess and test the student Analyze the test results Prepare for the meeting / get and give input in advance Meet to review information and create (or deny) an IEP Evaluate the plan and alternatives Execute the plan or alternative Negotiate changes Monitor progress Manage transitions Repeat the process, at least annually

The IEP - Why are Parents at a disadvantage? 1. You are usually outnumbered.
2. The other attendees are speaking a language that is difficult for you to understand-educationese, legalese, and medicalese.
3. Your child is one of many students. This is their job, but your child. This sets you up for emotional reactions.
4. Because you are emotionally involved, it is harder to be objective. You feel you have more to lose; it's easy to become defensive or lose your temper.
5. The people sitting across from you are people you learned to respect, obey, and / or fear as a child. Principals, medical people, teachers. You may not see yourself as an equal.
6. You are asking for something. It is implied that anything you ask for will take away from another student.
7. Some of these people attend dozens of IEP meetings every month. You may go to one or two a year. They have experience on their side.
8. The school personnel earn a salary while they attend these meetings. You may give up some salary to attend.
9. The school district has an attorney. You may know of an attorney!
10. You may not be sure what is "wrong" with your child.
11. You have no way of judging if the school's recommendations will help your child or not.
12. If your child attends the meeting, hearing certain things may upset your child, then you.
13. If the school rejects the IEP, you may feel as if you have just lost your lifeline.
14. If you have argued before, threatened legal action, complained about an IEP and on and on, the relationship inside the room might have moved over to confrontational or adversarial. The above are true even if you are in a cooperative, collaborative meeting and all working together. You can continue the list from here if you have moved over to an adversarial meeting!

How do you even the odds? 1. You need to prepare for the IEP meeting and review test results before the meeting. 2. You need to study negotiating before the meeting. 3. You need to be organized and to have everything written down. 4. You need to bring a short list of topics you want to discuss such as a particular teacher / problem, etc. 5. You need to come ready with a written plan (See Part II and III). 6. You need to cite or quote the evidence and experts as proof of the validity or correctness of your plan and follow the IEP Success Method in Part II. 7. You need to understand the legal basis for what you are asking for. 8. If the meeting focuses on negatives, you need to redirect the meeting by pointing out your child's strengths. Discuss successes your child had outside of school. 9. You need to stay calm and bring someone with you to take notes so you can focus on the meeting. 10. If necessary, you need to bring an advocate or a relative with you who can be less emotional but is acquainted with your child. 11. If you are confused or not happy with the entire IEP, you need to remain calm and state that you need time to review the IEP before you sign. 12. If there is any area you are unsure of, you need to postpone decisions you are unsure of until you do the research. Next: Part II will discuss the special education IEP Success Method and IEP Meeting Mottos.

Deepa Singh
Business Developer
Web Site:-http://www.gyapti.com
Blog:- http://gyapti.blogspot.com

Email Id:-deepa.singh@soarlogic.com

Special Education Has Changed Over Time

Special education has been assisting students with learning disabilities in the United States education system since the end of World War II. The first push for special education started when a group of parent-organized advocacy groups surfaced. In 1947 one of the first organizations, the American Association on Mental Deficiency, held its first convention. That marked a starting point for special education as we know it today.

Started during the Civil Rights Movement in the early 1950s, the United Cerebral Palsy Association, the Muscular Dystrophy Association, and John F. Kennedy's Panel on Mental Retardation were among an increased amount of advocacy groups for assisted learning programs. This strong push helped bring special education into schools across the country in the 1960's as school access was established for children with disabilities at state and local levels.

The parent advocacy groups dating back to 1947 laid the ground floor for government legislation being approved by Congress in 1975 that was called the "Education for All Handicapped Children Act" (Public Law 94-142). This act went into effect in October of 1977 and it was the beginning for federal funding of special education in schools nationwide. The act required public schools to offer "free appropriate public education" to students with a wide range of disabilities, including "physical handicaps, mental retardation, speech, vision and language problems, emotional and behavioral problems, and other learning disorders."

The law from 1977 was extended in 1983 to offer parent training and information centers. Later in 1986 the government started programs targeting youngsters with potential learning disabilities. The Act from 1975 was changed to the "Individuals with Disabilities Education Act" (IDEA) in 1990. Since establishment of IDEA more than 6.5 million children and 200,000+ toddlers and infants are being assisted each year.

Special education in schools often unintentionally overlooks a key aspect of why students suffer from learning disabilities. The reasons for common learning disabilities are weak cognitive skills. Studies show that 80% of students enrolled in special education at some level suffer from underlying weak cognitive skills. Cognitive skills are the mental capabilities that one needs to successfully learn academic subjects. In more detail cognitive skills are learning skills used to retain information; process, analyze, and store facts and feelings; and create mental pictures, read words, and understand concepts. They are not to be confused with academic skills which would include subjects like math, science, or history.

Proper testing to identify these weak cognitive skills will help quality learning centers put together a plan of action to strengthen them. This sort of training will last a lifetime. By not targeting the cognitive skills a student will struggle for the rest of their life until they are trained properly. It is highly recommended that you get your child tested at a learning training center that provides cognitive testing. Once tested a personal, unique training program can be developed for your child to overcome their learning disability.

Deepa Singh
Business Developer
Web Site:-http://www.gyapti.com
Blog:- http://gyapti.blogspot.com
Email Id:-deepa.singh@soarlogic.com

Learning Disabilities and Late Intervention

While learning disorders are being diagnosed earlier and earlier nowadays, sometimes certain cases still slip through the cracks. This is unfortunate, since the sooner a problem is identified, the sooner it can be dealt with. However, it's always better to know that an issue exists than to never know, so if this is what's happened with your family, keep in mind that there are still plenty of treatment options available to your child. Of course, the first step is figuring out whether or not your child has a learning problem, and if so, which one.

Below, you'll find a list of symptoms grouped by disability type: Dyslexia: Teenagers and adults who have yet to be diagnosed with dyslexia may have considerable difficulty with spelling. This may be demonstrated by spelling the same word multiple ways within the same essay. Those with dyslexia often rely heavily on phonetics when trying to spell a word. They may also write their letters or punctuation marks incorrectly (backwards, upside down, etc.) or put them in the wrong order.

Dyscalculia: People who don't know that they have dyscalculia may still have extreme difficulty with basic mathematical principles and practices, such as addition and subtraction. They may have trouble dealing with number sequences, columns of numbers, and mathematical symbols. Other common signs of dyscalculia include overreliance on calculators and confusion with left and right.

Dysgraphia: Those with dysgraphia have a hard time writing or drawing within a defined space, like a piece of lined paper. This is due to poor development of fine motor skills. Another symptom of dysgraphia is illegible handwriting, which isn't due to carelessness, but instead indicates a difficulty with handling a pen or a pencil. Audio and Visual Perception Disabilities: If your child often has to ask you to repeat yourself, it may be a sign that they have an audio perception problem. It's not that he or she isn't listening carefully enough to you, it's that their brain is unable to sort out which sound or tone to interpret first. Those with visual perception problems may transpose letters, punctuation marks, numbers, and mathematical symbols. Once again, this is an issue of sequencing malfunction in the brain, not lack of attention.

Memory Disabilities: These can manifest themselves in different ways. One common symptom is the inability to retain information that has just been relayed. For example, if your child can't remember a passage that they have just finished reading, they may continue to reread that passage over and over again. This indicates a problem with short-term memory. Long-term memory problems may announce themselves through difficulties with retrieving information. For instance, if your child can't recall the mathematical formula that allows them to calculate the circumference of a circle, long-term memory problems are at fault. Of course, the two are related, since if a piece of information doesn't stick in your short-term memory, it won't make it to your long-term memory either.

Deepa Singh
Business Developer
Web Site:-http://www.gyapti.com
Blog:- http://gyapti.blogspot.com
Email Id:-deepa.singh@soarlogic.com

Learning to Think: Part Two - Mindfulness Throughout the Day

School has been in session for over a month now, and students are busily working on their studies. Teachers have dug into the content of their curriculum for the year, and everyone has had time to adjust to the new routine. As a former teacher, curriculum was an integral part of my day; and working with students with special needs could be very challenging, especially when trying to pull from so many different pieces of curriculum. I did my best to look at each child's unique needs, and best match their capabilities with the curriculum options I had available; however, I still found myself struggling with what I had. My students needed extra practice and a slower pace, which most curricula today do not allow. I also wanted to see my students learning to think and process information instead of learning static skills.

While pondering this issue about mindfulness and curricula, I found myself creating opportunities during the day for thinking and problem solving. I continued to use modified forms of curriculum with my students in order to meet their academic goals; but, I found that providing my students with opportunities to think and do problem solving made a tremendous impact in all aspects of their education and livelihood. Here are a few suggestions for adding moments of "mindfulness" to your day with students.

• Allow your students to get the materials they need instead of doing it for them. For many teachers, it is easier to get the materials that we need before inviting our students to join us. However, asking our students to get the materials themselves gets them thinking ahead to what it is that you will be doing, and to prepare for the activity themselves. This allows for a great deal of thinking on the student's part, which is very important. You are not only teaching them how to think but also how to plan, which is a necessary life skill that every child should have.
• Include a "Surprise Bag" in your daily routines. I have used a "Surprise Bag" for many years now, and all of my students have enjoyed it. When undertaking this activity, you need to have a fabric bag that closes and that cannot be seen through. Each day, pick a student to help you put into the surprise bag something that no one else knows about. They can pick an item from the classroom, or take the bag home and put an item into it. Have the child stand up with you and share three clues about what is inside. You can also pass the bag around and let your students feel the item without looking into the bag. Once the clues have been shared or everyone has felt the bag, you can allow your other students to guess what is inside. This activity is a lot of fun for everyone, and fosters great cognitive thinking and problem solving skills.
• Make mistakes intentionally in front of your students, and have them correct you. It is important for children to see adults in their lives making mistakes, and even more important to discover how adults handle mistakes. As you are teaching, feel free to make simple mistakes that you know your students will catch. When looking at the number 3, for example, you could refer to it as "the number 5" and then wait for a response. When your students correct you, it will be important for you to model how to handle the mistake. For example, you could respond by saying, "Thank you, John, for correcting me. I made a mistake, but that is okay. I am so glad I have a friend like you to help me."

By providing my students with more opportunities to be mindful and do problem solving on their own, I saw a dramatic change in their academic skills as well as in their functional skills. It is very exciting to see children begin to think and problem solve on their own. The possibilities are endless! I look forward to sharing more about "Mindfulness in the Classroom" next month.

Deepa Singh
Business Developer
Web Site:-http://www.gyapti.com
Blog:- http://gyapti.blogspot.com
Email Id:-deepa.singh@soarlogic.com

Alternative Education and the ADD - ADHD Child

A recent article in USA Today reports that home schooling has been on a steady rise for the last five years. There are now 1.5 million children being home schooled, up 74% since 1999. A desire for religious or moral instruction, formerly the number one reason to choose homeschooling, is now the second most popular reason. The first reason is safety and avoidance of peer pressure and exposure to drugs. Third is the dissatisfaction with academic instruction and fourth is interest in nontraditional approaches.

Current statistics indicate that the number of alternative educational/school choices, not including religious based schools or military schools, is somewhere around twelve thousand. That is the largest number of choices ever to exist outside the traditional public school system and the number keeps growing.

Obviously, the selection of public versus private includes many factors, among them the practical aspects of cost, location, transportation and does the alternative represent a basic ideology that the parent feels would be detrimental to the child. What follows is a look at some of the factors in choosing an educational format.

Determining the educational goal, as a parent, is an easy way to eliminate whole groupings of alternative educational choices. However, a parent might be wise to avoid automatically eliminating, for example, religiously based schools because they are simply not of the family's religion. A school might be quite passive about religious "recruitment" of the child, as are many Catholic private schools, or they may be very active, even aggressive, in the "recruitment" of a child, as are many more fundamentally based religious schools. In one case, a parent chose such a school because of its educational quality but did not fully understand the aggressiveness of the school in converting her child to its belief system. At least not until her child started coming home every day, in tears, begging her mother to convert because she would go to hell if she didn't. Upon further questioning, it was clear that the school had made the child responsible for the task of converting the mother. The child was nine. The mother moved the child the following week.

Next, we want to look at the child. It is imperative to look at the child from multiple perspectives, not just does he/she have ADD/ADHD. Because ADD plays out differently based on learning style, processing style and communication style, the parent should find the school that either actively teaches in a variety of styles or specializes in the styles that best enable his/her child to learn. The parent should also consider aspects such as the child's emotional age and if the child has already found his/her passion(s) in life. If the child is brilliant in computer programming and development and could possibly be the next Bill Gates, the parent would be wise to enroll that child in a school program that specializes in dealing with technically gifted children, as long as all the other bases are covered. Personality and gender also play a role in the whole child. Finally, it is important to gravitate to schools that interweave the development of critical thinking with the development of personal responsibility.

Other things to consider:

· Does the child need structure or is he/she self-structuring?

· How well does the child function independently?

· Does the child have difficulty dealing with change?

· Does the child relate better to a male or a female teacher -- or does it matter?

· What is the child's social skill level with peers and, if this is a challenge, how does the school deal with those kinds of issues?

· What kind of participation is required of the parent, and is this level of participation possible within the framework of the entire family?

If the parents are investigating home schooling, there are some pros and cons to consider.

On the positive side, there are many educational support programs for home schooling currently available and more coming on line all the time. They vary in participation level needed by the parent. Just like shopping for a school, the parent needs to look for an education support program that will best work with the specific child and with the family. Home schooling can allow a child to learn at his/her own pace and can be creatively modified as the child goes on.

On the negative side of home schooling is the stress on the parents. Does the home schooling parent have a flexible teaching style and can that parent switch between the teaching and the parenting roles easily? The teaching parent should currently communicate well with the child and have been successful in helping the child learn new things and to develop new skill sets. As a simple measure, how has the parent done on helping the child with his/her homework to date? There may be resentment between parents caused by the time, energy, and effort required for teaching, on one hand, and by the resulting relationship with the child on the other. More effort will be required of the parents to ensure that the child gets both sufficient social interaction and is exposed to the diversity that the world has to offer, including opinions other than the parent's own. Finally, can the parents help the child to develop the skill sets to manage well in the world when the home schooling ends?

Home schooling is a viable option. If the parents live in a big enough area, they are even likely to find local home schooling groups that do things together. The home schooled child may also attend a class here or there in order to fill out the educational experience. The parents need to make an extra effort in the area of social skills, to be wary of creating an unhealthy attachment or dependency on themselves and to guard against becoming insular in a way that limits the child in dealing with the ever-growing diversity of the world.

The key to finding a successful educational format for the child is for the parents to do their own homework! They need to determine what their educational priorities are and to diligently investigate their options in light of the whole child regardless of ADD/ADHD.

Deepa Singh
Business Developer
Web Site:-http://www.gyapti.com
Blog:- http://gyapti.blogspot.com
Email Id:-deepa.singh@soarlogic.com

Educational techniques for ADHD -- Bracketing distracting thoughts

One meaning of the term “bracketing” is “to place within.” This concept of “placing within” is a helpful strategy that students and adults can use to identify and appropriately deal with distracting thoughts. In stage one, students decide whether their current thoughts are appropriate for the task at hand. If they are not, students can bracket them in stage two.

It is very helpful to teach students (and adults) to classify thoughts into three groups:

Now: appropriate to follow up on now, i.e. thoughts that promote full engagement in the lesson or other current task. During reading, for example, a “now” thought would be about the content of the reading (reading comprehension) or about ways to stay focused on reading.

A “now” thought about comprehension of a history text assignment could be, “There are three branches of the state government, and the governor is the head of the executive branch of the government.” A “now” thought about the process of reading could be something such as, “I didn’t understand what I just read…I need to read that again.”

Later: appropriate to pursue, but not now, for example, an interesting related idea, a clarifying question or an important task to perform. A “later” thought might be, “I wonder what laws our governor is in favor of? I could look that up on the internet.” Another example is, “I forgot to talk to my English teacher. I have to do that after school.”

Never: not an appropriate thought, for example, a discouraging or negative thought such as “I can’t get this,” or “This is stupid.” “Never” thoughts are power destroyers; they erode confidence and commitment and should be dealt with and eliminated every time they surface!

Procedure:

Help your child make a list of examples of thoughts in each group. Discuss these thoughts and why they are “now” “later” or “never” thoughts. Be sure your child can give good examples on their own of thoughts in each group.Help your child use their imagination to draw a “container” into which they can place their “later” thoughts in order to relieve distraction. Your child may wish to choose a container that could hold keepsakes such as a chest or jewelry box. Ask your child to draw and decorate the “later” container in a special manner, worthy of important thoughts!

Encourage your child to visualize a trash can into which they place their “never” thoughts. Have your child draw the container. Since “never” thoughts are power bandits, they must be tossed away every time they occur. If left alone, they can poison other thoughts! When attention begins to drift from the task at hand, decide if the thought is a “later” or a “never” thought and place in the appropriate container. If the thought is a “later” thought, make a note to follow up at a future time. As children become older, they can write a quick note to themselves if the later thought is very important. The most important part of this process is that your child is taking conscious control over their thoughts, gaining a powerful mechanism to direct their attention in productive rather than destructive ways.

Deepa Singh
Business Developer
Web Site:-http://www.gyapti.com
Blog:- http://gyapti.blogspot.com
Email Id:-deepa.singh@soarlogic.com

Educational techniques for ADHD -- What are executive function skills?

Individuals with ADHD and ADD often have difficulty with Executive Skills, also called Executive Functions. These are the skills that help us manage and direct our lives. They are analogous to the activities that an executive engages in to manage and direct a company or business.

Executive skills allow us to plan and organize our behavior, make well-considered decisions, overrule immediate desires in favor of longer-term goals, take conscious control of our emotions, and monitor our thoughts in order to work more efficiently and effectively.

There are a number of different theories and definitions of the skills that constitute executive functions. The following is a compilation that illustrates the full range of skills needed to effectively manage our lives.

Executive Functions

Planning and prioritizing
The ability to create a plan to complete a task or to develop an approach to achieving a goal. This skill includes making decisions about what to direct attention toward and the ordering of the steps needed to achieve the goal.

Time management
The sense that “time” is an important concept, the ability to accurately estimate how much time a task will take, knowing how to apportion your time, and how to stay within time constraints to meet deadlines.

Organization
The ability to arrange ideas or objects according to a defined structure.

Working Memory
The ability to remember information while using the information to perform complex tasks.

Metacognition
The ability to take a top-down view of your problem solving approach and to self-monitor and evaluate performance.

Response Inhibition
The power to resist the urge to say or to do something; taking time to think before acting.

Self-regulation of Affect
The ability to deal with emotions so that they don’t get in the way of completing tasks or achieving goals.

Task Initiation
The ability to start a task at the appropriate time without delay or procrastination.

Flexibility
The ability to adapt your responses, behaviors and plans when necessary in order to achieve toward your goals.

Goal-directed Persistence
The ability to follow through to complete tasks and achieve goals.

Sustained Attention
The capacity to pay attention to a task, particularly if the task is not interesting.

Disengaging Attention
The ability to stop directing your attention towards one thing and direct it towards something else.

Regulation of Processing Speed
The ability to make a conscious decision about how slowly or quickly to perform a task based upon its importance to you.

Deepa Singh
Business Developer
Web Site:-http://www.gyapti.com
Blog:- http://gyapti.blogspot.com
Email Id:-deepa.singh@soarlogic.com

Teacher's Characteristics that Promote Positive Classroom Behavior in Emotionally Troubled and Acting-Out Students

Psycho-education is an educational approach for managing emotionally troubled and acting-out students that is based on the principle that students can grow socio-emotionally and can learn how to self-control their behaviors. Psycho-educational interventions are skills-based, where socio-emotional skill building is the key intervention. Psycho-education is multidisciplinary, incorporating perspectives and techniques from disciplines such as psychology, sociology, and social work. Psycho-education challenges teachers to be versatile in current psychological and child guidance techniques. In schools, psycho-educational techniques can be adapted for use with practically any child, at any age or skill level.

In the psycho-educational classroom, we believe that when a single set of strategies becomes the only one that the teacher knows and applies to deal with students having difficulty with emotional and/or behavioral self-control (one size fits all), the stage is set for limited effectiveness and teacher’s discouragement. For example, a behavior management intervention structured exclusively around rewards and environmental control fails to explain and address each child’s unique socio-emotional needs, offering only a very narrow view of the problem and few available options or solutions. This does not mean that teachers should avoid behavior modification techniques in the classroom; it simply means that behavior modification is only one of the many options available to teachers.

Psycho-educational teachers believe that there are multiple options for every situation, and the more child guidance theories, methods, and interventions teachers know, the broader our understanding of the problem behavior and the more effective we are in applying skilled individualized techniques for each particular child.

Characteristics of Psycho-educational Teachers:

    1. Psycho-educational teachers go slowly to build success, thinking of making a slight change each day, not a big one. They always keep in mind that little changes together make a big change at the end.

    2. Psycho-educational teachers accept that change takes time and that each child is responsible for his or her behavioral change.

    3. Psycho-educational teachers choose to perceive children’s problem behaviors as challenges, not threats. The psycho-educational teacher’s motto is “I choose to be challenged by this child’s behavior.”

    4. Psycho-educational teachers are “cool reactors,” avoiding reacting emotionally to students’ disruptive behaviors.

    5. In each disruptive event, psycho-educational teachers look for opportunities to teach students how to handle their emotions and behavior.

    6. They do not personalize the disruptive behavior and stay calm throughout the disruptive event.

    7. They are flexible and capable of adjusting to each specific child.

    8. Psycho-educational teachers understand that, if we want the disruptive student to learn new behaviors, then we need to teach explicitly those behaviors.

    9. They show the child that they believe in him or her, and never give up on a child, no matter how challenging the behavior.

    10.  Psycho-educational teachers see problem behaviors as a reflection of children’s inability to cope with stress and conflict in an age-appropriate and productive way; in other words, disruptive children are deficient in social problem solving skills. Psycho-educational teachers analyze problem behavior using problem solving techniques and give options to students for solving social problems.

    11. Psycho-educational teachers teach social problem solving skills; that is, searching for information, generating alternative courses of actions, weighing the alternatives with respect to the outcome, and selecting and implementing an appropriate plan of action.

    12. Psycho-educational teachers use behavior specific language (description of the problem behavior), not evaluative remarks. In changing behavior, they coach, not criticize.

    13. Psycho-educational teachers coach children by presenting a set of instructions for appropriate behaviors and then having the child rehearse those behaviors while the teacher provides verbal feedback.

    14. They detach from the problem behavior, discussing the behavior without engaging, blaming, or accusing the student.

    15.  Psycho-educational teachers do not focus on causes, or where the child has been, but on goals, or where we want the child to go.

    16. They focus on the child’s competencies (strengths) instead of his deficits or weaknesses. In changing behavior, they consider and use the child’s strengths.

    17. Psycho-educational teachers empower the child by focusing the child on successes rather than failure.

    18. Psycho-educational teachers focus on the possible and changeable.

    19. They do not bring up old issues, focusing on the here and now.

    20. Psycho-educational teachers do not use language that implies that the child has no choice; for example, “You must…” or “You have to…” They train the child in using the language of choice, e.g., “I choose to do _____ because I want _____.” Psycho-educational teachers help students understand that they have the choice of behavioral change.

    21. Psycho-educational teachers give students ownership of the social problem they have created.

    22. Psycho-educational teachers rely primarily on preventive discipline; they are proactive, and plan ahead.

     

      Deepa Singh
Business Developer
Web Site:-http://www.gyapti.com
Blog:- http://gyapti.blogspot.com
Email Id:-deepa.singh@soarlogic.com

Learning And Teaching Social Skills: A Relationship-Based Approach

For those of us committed to helping children overcome learning challenges, the quest to teach social skills is particularly important. Social learning impairments are associated with a wide variety of learning disabilities, although they are especially problematic for people with nonverbal learning disabilities (NLD), noted to have underdeveloped right-hemisphere abilities, including deficits in:

• reading facial expressions
• perceiving emotions
• using nonverbal communication (body language)

The constellation of social skills deficits often encountered in school age children are perhaps best described as pragmatic communication deficits, which encompass challenges understanding social conventions and applying social cognitive skills. On the next page you will find some common examples of pragmatic communication skills. This information is taken from my book, Boys of Few Words: Raising Our Sons to Communicate and Connect, 2006.

Pragmatic (Practical) Communication Skills

**All these skills should be considered in an age-appropriate context. Many of these skills are developed in adolescence. Compare your child's abilities relative to his peers.

PHYSICAL

Maintaining appropriate conversational distance
Example: Other children may complain that "he's bothering me," or say "tell him to stop touching me" while playing together. Sometimes inserts himself physically into a group of children by pushing or nudging others out of the way in order to join the conversation.

Eye contact

Example: Doesn't look others in the eye; hides behind hair/hat/sunglasses; stares to the point of discomfort.

Linking gestures with ideas and emotions

Example: Body language doesn't match speech (thanks you for giving him a desired gift but slumps and stares off into space); waves too strongly or too unenthusiastically for the circumstances; forgets to reinforce emotion with body language.

Using facial expression effectively

Example: Facial expressions don't convey interest in other people; expression is not congruent with topic or situation; doesn't nod to show he gets the point, looks furious at small disappointment; forgets to smile.

VERBAL

Attending to time and place

Example: Talks too fast; doesn't know when to interject a comment or let others speak, doesn't know how much information to share (goes on and on about a subject to someone's obvious irritation).

Turn-taking

Example: Consistently interrupts; doesn't perceive when it's someone else's turn to talk.

Voice modulation

Example: Has trouble with prosody (pitch, tone, volume, inflection); speaks too softly or loudly without regard for physical proximity (you're across the room but he doesn't raise his voice to answer you).

Giving compliments

Example: Doesn't know how to give a compliment relevant to a person and circumstances; sometimes unintentionally insults people ("you're a lot less fat than you were").

Greetings and Good-byes

Example: Doesn't know how to introduce himself to individuals or groups; can't initiate social contact (avoids parties and gatherings); doesn't know how to close a conversation (just walks off when he's done talking); doesn't shake hands/share hugs with close friends or family members; forgets to say "hello."

THINKING

Detecting emotions in other people

Example: Doesn't consider other people's emotional state before speaking (you're in the middle of an argument with someone and he asks you to make him a snack); doesn't realize when it's time to "back off"; doesn't read signs about how you feel (thinks you're mad when you're not)

Perceiving and expressing humor

Example: Takes jokes, sarcasm or irony literally; laughs at inappropriate times; doesn't engage in word play or friendly teasing with peers.

Knowing how to make conversational transitions

Example: Forgets to take his turn in conversations (calls you up on phone and then says nothing); discussions filled with uncomfortable "dead space"; doesn't pick up on "leads" to continue conversation (So, you like baseball? Who's your favorite team?)

Anticipating other people's reactions

Example: Neglects to consider the impact of his words before speaking; can't easily imagine how his words or actions will be perceived by others (says he likes one present more than another at his birthday party without anticipating that someone's feelings will be hurt).

Why Are Social Skills So Hard To Learn?

Most people use social skills quickly and automatically, and as a result, don't have the benefit of time to analyze which skills will be used in particular situations, or how best to apply them. When our social reflexes are well-attuned and effective, we don't need time to think - we just do and say what comes naturally.

Important to emphasize is that social skills are built on a foundation of interpersonal awareness. Without an appreciation of other people's nonverbal behavior, including sensitivity to nuances of language rhythm and intonation (prosody), it is difficult to formulate appropriate and constructive verbal and behavioral responses. In addition to having a basic awareness of other people, having an empathetic orientation toward others is very helpful in bolstering one's intuition about how to relate effectively. As some readers may be aware, a disproportionate number of children and adolescents with learning disabilities are observed to have low empathy.

To be in an empathic relationship with another person or group is the opposite of self-absorption. Empathy implies a departure from a state of self-centeredness, and immersion into the subjective experience of others. By definition, empathy is prosocial, because it emphasizes the value of comprehending and appreciating the thoughts and feelings of other people.

We all function in various types of groups: families, schools, teams, neighborhoods, and communities, among others. Social skills make our participation in these groups easier and more satisfying. Although lack of empathy has been associated with the presence of NLD, I would argue that what is missing for many learning disabled children are overt expressions of empathy, as are often conveyed through pragmatic communication. This is very different from the absence of empathy found among antisocial children and adolescents.

Many children with nonverbal learning disabilities are better understood as being asocial, meaning that they can appear indifferent to social interaction.

We Can Help Teach Children to Solve Their Own Social Problems

Not long ago, I was leading a social skills group for 3rd and 4th grade boys, about half of whom had been identified as having a learning disability. We were huddled in my office with kids bunched on sofas, sitting on the floor, and twirling in my desk chair. One seven year-old boy, Grant, resisted joining in our group activity, which was to design and build a big "cyborg." He stood near the door on the periphery of the group with a scowl on his face and body language that conveyed his fear and distrust of the group. Grant wasn't responding to cajoling and encouragement to join us. I tried all kinds of approaches, changing the tone of my voice and my facial expression, in search of the combination that would help him join in. Still, he would not budge.

Several years earlier, my frustration probably would have resulted in me taking Grant outside and pleading with him to sit down and join the group. That's because I used to have the faulty impression that "leading" a group, meant "controlling" the group. Since then, I have come to appreciate the extraordinary strong will of boys to do things in ways that reflect their own logic about how problems should be solved.

As the situation unfolded, it became apparent that Grant's resistance provided the boys with a good problem-solving opportunity, and so I posed a question to the group. Did anyone have any ideas about how we could get Grant to join us? Most of the kids responded with suggestions of various kinds of rewards: games, candy, or premium seating (twirling chair). One typically shy boy, Tyler, suggested we could "buddy-up" so that everyone could have a partner, including Grant. Tyler also suggested that buddies sit next to each other so they could share tools. Most of the boys agreed this was a good idea and so we began a discussion of how buddies would be chosen. Again, Tyler spoke up, suggesting that Grant could pick his buddy.

Throughout this process, I was watching Grant closely, and was struck by his awareness of the group's concern about him. His facial expression changed from one of distrust to a cautious grin. He'd obviously had some significant doubt about whether the boys would accept him, and how he would fit in, figuratively and literally. Tyler's leadership in breaking through his fears paved the way for his integration in the group. As you might imagine, I felt very proud of Tyler for his sensitivity to Grant, and his ability to apply that sensitivity through active problem-solving. Although he never verbalized Grant's feelings, Tyler's suggestions were, emotionally speaking, quite sophisticated, and reflected an understanding of what Grant was feeling.

Socializing is not a "Logical" Process

When we think about teaching social skills to children, it is a natural step for us to begin thinking about skills as component parts of a larger system. While this may be a logical and practical way to go about the teaching of a "system," it is not necessarily the best, or only, aspect of a therapeutic process designed to facilitate the development of social skills.

In addition, for individuals such as psychologists or counselors who may teach social skills, there is a tendency to systematize the teaching of such skills in limited periods of time, such as teaching one skill per session for 12 - 15 weeks. When social skills are taught to groups this approach may be inevitable, but when working with children individually, there is typically more latitude, including allowing the child to play an important role in how the learning evolves. Experience has taught me not to exclude the importance of the relationship between teacher and student, or therapist and client, in helping children integrate new skills. In this sense, professionals allow the process of learning to be as organic as would be the process of healing syndromes like depression or anxiety.

An excellent working alliance is a critical foundation for learning most things, including how to relate to others.

This is because gaining social competence is more than conceptually grasping "skills," it also involves relaxing enough to take risks - trying new things with uncertain outcomes.

From Skills to Awareness

Perhaps we need to remember that for the brain and mind to integrate new ideas, a fertile ground of receptivity must first be prepared. That receptivity often springs from an effective, trusting, working alliance. For many children, this means engaging in therapeutic and relational activities that are not purely didactic, because such structured activities are often associated with domains where they lack success. In other words, you can make it fun - play is the work of children.

While I would never want to give up my use of behavioral charts and records, or surrender my collection of therapeutic games designed to teach things like communication pragmatics and listening skills, I have come to believe that those exercises are somewhat empty without a solid alliance between my clients and myself.

The alliance gives children and teens the capacity to be receptive. Sometimes, people may not even be aware of their own resistance to learning new skills. For children with learning disabilities, these walls often come down slowly, but they do come down with tools like patience, commitment, and belief in the desire of children to connect with others.

Anything that might help a child connect the development of social awareness with a positive outcome should be considered a potential tool. Still, we should remember that what we are building with these tools is a mind, and a mind is not a machine - it is the very essence of being a person. We simply can't program a mind according to standards of efficiency without regard for the individual within whom that mind lives. 

Deepa Singh
Business Developer
Web Site:-http://www.gyapti.com
Blog:- http://gyapti.blogspot.com
Email Id:-deepa.singh@soarlogic.com

Earning a Special Education Credential Online

Special education was originally a classroom full of kids who for one reason or another, couldn’t learn at the pace of their original classmates, or who had behavioral problems.  Today there are several categories of special education and in most states, licenses to match those categories.  That means special education teachers face an additional educational component for licensure and when they obtain it, will most likely be paid at a higher scale than regular classroom teachers. The options for obtaining special education licensure are usually the traditional educational institutions because of the requirement for supervised classroom work that is a feature of any teacher education program.  However there are a few schools with online programs that are accredited by the Teacher Education Accreditation Council (TEAC) or by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE).

Categories for Special Education Students

The education community and the organization of school psychologists have assembled a list of impairments that require special education.  Those include impaired hearing, impaired vision, emotional disability, developmental delay, autism, mental retardation, orthopedic impairment, speech impairment, traumatic brain injury, and a category for “other” health impairments.  Then there are the specific learning disabilities such as dyslexia that are not the result of any physical condition or injury.

Online Programs at Traditional Universities

The University of North Carolina offers several online programs for licensed teachers.  The East Carolina campus has a master’s program for licensed teachers that leads to a MAEd with emphasis on one of the following: mental retardation, emotional/behavioral disabilities, learning disabilities, or low-incidence disabilities.  The Chapel Hill campus has a MAT program with general training in special education for students with mild disabilities. The Western Carolina campus offers an online MAEd with three tracks: mild disabilities, severe disabilities, and gifted children. The University of Massachusetts Online (UMassOnline) has several special education options.  There is a Master of Education in special education for children with impaired vision, and a MEd in vision rehabilitation.  A MEd in Curriculum & Instruction is available with emphasis on children with autism.  There is also a certificate program for Behavioral Intervention with Autistic Students. 

A Mixture of Specialized Degrees and Certificates

The University of North Texas and the University of Minnesota/Mankato both have graduate certificate programs in special education.  Florida State University offers the Master of Science in Special Education with specialization in severe disabilities (autism and severe cognitive disability), early childhood special education (birth through age 5 years), and high incidence disabilities.  The University of Kentucky and Gonzaga University both have online graduate degrees in special education.  The University of Missouri/Columbia offers a MEd in Mental Health Practices in Schools, designed for both teachers and administrators.

Most of these programs are designed to meet teacher licensing requirements in the state where the campus is located; however there is a license reciprocity agreement for teachers with at least 33 states as participants.  There are a few exclusively online schools with accredited special education programs; the first to achieve NCATE recognition is Western Governors University, which also offers several K-12 teaching degrees that meet licensure standards. 

If you are a licensed teacher wishing to break into special education there are several viable online programs available to you.  There are also MAT programs in special education for individuals who are not licensed teachers but are interested in making a career change into education.  Special education has become a respected and well paid educational niche that requires extra education, which is increasingly available to teachers who would like to go back to school and continue working.

Deepa Singh
Business Developer
Web Site:-http://www.gyapti.com
Blog:- http://gyapti.blogspot.com
Email Id:-deepa.singh@soarlogic.com

A Clinical/Educational Approach to Remediation with Learning Disabled Students

A Clinical/Educational Approach to Remediation

with Learning Disabled Students

by Robert DePaolo

Abstract

This article discusses the possible effectiveness of incorporating assertive psychotherapy methods in remediation plans for students with learning disabilities. Assertive therapy is a method typically used to alleviate anxiety but also provides other benefits such as enhanced focusing capacities, reduction in self consciousness and greater goal orientation

All special and regular classroom educators are faced with a conundrum when it comes to working with learning disabled students. Unlike developmental disorders, attention deficit, severe cognitive impairments, and speech and language impairments, the term learning disability lacks a clear clinical definition. For example research evidence is rapidly beginning to show that children with ADHD appear to have an under-aroused brain, typified by nor-epinephrine depletion which precludes summoning the energy to focus on tasks. (Hunt 2006). Autism is beginning to look more and more like a multi-faceted neuro-developmental disorder originating in the cerebellum (a part of the hindbrain responsible for automaticity, and other cognitive and motor/map regulatory functions (Courchesne, Courchesne et al 1988).

On the other hand the diagnostic criterion for a learning disability is mostly statistical (and hypothetical). As per the discrepancy model, a comparison is typically made between and among academic test scores, classroom performance and intellectual test scores to determine whether the differences are significant, thus warranting identification of the student as having a learning disability.

While some research on the neurology of learning disabilities suggests they have larger brains requiring a broader, more cumbersome search for information in the brain (Russell 2008), (Shaywitz, Shaywitz et al (2008) (ironically a negative factor in child development because the brain actually performs better as neural tissue is shed in child development) it is spotty. Other research on neurotransmitter functions has yielded inconsistent results. Therefore at present, no one knows what a learning disability really is.

For that reason, the move toward Response to Intervention Methods, while perhaps overly ambitious, is perfectly understandable. On the other hand, sidestepping the question of what an “LD” actually is, does little to resolve it. That has implications for educational practices and efficacious outcomes down the road.

A Generic (Clinical) Hypothesis

One way to describe a learning disability in a clinical context might involve combining elements of neurology and Information Theory – the brain being ultimately an information processing instrument. In any given classroom, irrespective of student teacher ratios, funding issues or whether or not staff are “highly qualified” there are really only three variables at work. In terms of information theory they are as follows.

1. The intended message (lesson) conveyed by the teacher

2. The presence of noise, in the form of interfering thoughts, daydreaming, physiological-based distractibility and/or competing thoughts…for example… “ I hate school“…“Why do I need to learn this stuff…” “Oh, God, I hate math.”

3. The message received by the student

Here it is argued that, whether arising from an overly large brain (which exacerbates noise interference), a negative disposition, anxiety/shyness, or self consciousness the core causative factor in a learning disability is “noise” which in various forms precludes a close correlation between the teacher’s message and the learner’s comprehension of that message. Noise equates with interference in any information system and so a learning disability can be defined clinically as one or more ongoing interference patterns arising within the brain from several possible sources that interrupt the message and compromise receipt of that message. The interference can be temporary, situation-specific (“I don’t like that teacher, he’s too intimidating”) or chronic (in the form of anxiety, self consciousness and other arousal mechanisms). The fact that interference can have varying origins might explain why classroom performance, test scores, independent work capacities and comprehension of subject matter are variable for learning disabled students.

There is another potential factor, which is a Piagetian staple. In order for the message to be received requires prior schemes (cognitive templates) that make the teacher’s message at least partially recognizable to the student (Satterly 1987). In that context, it serves the instructor well to invoke a variation on that old saw…there is nothing new under the sun. In educational terms it would be stated slightly differently, to wit: The presentation of new information absent a frame of reference precludes effective teaching. However since most good teachers use simile, frame their lessons in terms of personal experience and use concrete examples to “break in” new topics that factor is left for another time and perhaps another article. For purposes of this article the true and most essential remedial strategy for the learning disabled student is considered to be noise reduction.

An Unorthodox, Yet Simple Solution

There is little research in the field of education regarding methods for reducing “noise.” One recent innovation was the portfolio approach which was an attempt to personalize the subject matter in such a way as to maximize student investment. One of its prime tenets was that if academics could somehow be incorporated into the self image, student motivation (a precious, yet ever-waning factor among today’s students) could be enhanced. The problem with that approach is that it assumes the student is interested in the activities that comprise the portfolio in the first place. Thus is a particularly rugged male student might view drawing pictures with a personal theme as either too “goofy,” threatening or expository. Consequently he might not warm to the task, in which his case his motivation would be dampened rather than enhanced. Yet there is ample research within the domain of clinical psychology that does address the issue of noise, which is often equated with anxiety. The research indicates that people, including children, can overcome inhibition, self consciousness, fear and anxiety through assertive training, or assertive therapy. (Bornstein, Bellack et al 1977) (Colter & Guerra (1976).

Nuts and Bolts of Assertive Methods

The fundamental premise of assertive training is that anxiety and noise interference cannot be simultaneously activated alongside anger/arousal. (Cansier 2010) (Bower, Bower 1991). The reason is found in a process called reciprocal inhibition, which mandates that the neural circuits for aggression inhibit those for anxiety and inhibition and vice versa (Wolpe, 1958). In the clinical field this is most often applied to individuals with social phobias and anxiety disorders (Sue, D Sue, DM et al 1990), Cooley, E & Nowicki, JR (1984), Schlenker & Leary 1982). The therapist, or trainer typically begins with role playing to get the client used to expressing anger, contrariness and oppositional language in the controlled setting of the therapist’s office. Then those behaviors are whittled down, from verbal aggressive (which does not work socially and could create more problems than it solves for the client) to verbal assertiveness (which is defined as a heartfelt, high-focus set of behaviors - usually language-related - that are socially effective, yet at the same time serve to inhibit the anxiety and noise that otherwise hamstring the client in social settings.

In simple, neuro-functional terms, one cannot be in both flight and fight mode simultaneously. Flight mode is conducive to noise interference. Fight mode provides a uni-focus and blocks peripheral distractions (which is why athletes try to psych themselves up to perform better in big games).

In that context one could surmise that teaching students to be assertive learners would result in noise reduction, as well as galvanize their focus, ameliorate self-consciousness and other distractions in favor of an intense focus on the lesson at hand. The key element, as with clinical methods, would be to find an acceptable format and style of assertive expression for students in the classroom. While each teacher and student might approach this in a unique way, there are some general guidelines that might provide grist for the mill. First, a caveat. Not all personality types necessarily benefit from assertive training. Some required aggressive statements and posturing can, even in rehearsal, be ego-dystonic for some clients and result in heightened anxiety and possible disruption of the self image. There are ways around this, one being the use of positive assertions (which amount to the use of positive language with “brio” – eg “I really enjoy this class and I find history unimaginably appealing due to its revelations about the present.” In addition, unlike the Response to Intervention Method, this approach would not disregard formal testing, for the following reasons: Students with low average-borderline cognitive abilities and/or significant language retrieval difficulties might become quite alienated by such a teaching method. That does not mean they can’t participate, but perhaps concrete training formats adapted to their comprehension levels could be employed to create some degree of enhanced proficiency as well. In effect it is strongly emphatic tone rather than the specific language or the student’s disposition that elicits the assertive posture. It is powerful expression that due to the concomitant release of supportive neurotransmitters creates a constructive, quasi-fight rather than flight reaction, thus converting passive, distractible., avoidant learners into aggressive learners. In that context the question is whether assertive/academic training implemented on a grand scale might improve academic performance and/or reduce the number of students identified with learning disabilities. Logic and prior research suggests it would, but when it comes to education the proof is always in the pudding.

Application

The next issue and the hardest to address is the “how” of this proposed methodology. What should a teacher do to create the focus/brio inherent in this personality/achievement transition?

In a counseling format it is easy to implement. It could begin with disinhibiting exercises such as

1. The client present opposing viewpoints in contrast to the counselor’s in role playing sessions.

2. The client using emphatic expression to compliment the counselor, once again in role playing, as well as practicing tonality and use of the pronoun “I.”

3. The client complaining about his lot in life fervently, then resolving to take action to work things out.

4. The client asking questions whenever there is the slightest level of ambiguity.

5. The counselor tabulating the number of questions, challenges etc to gauge self-advocative growth during the process.

Then comes the in vivo or real life application. Assignments are given to the client to behave in acceptable but self-advocative and if necessary, contrary ways in his natural environment. These are monitored by the counselor to make sure the client is not going overboard. (While assertive counselors consider themselves behaviorists, fact is they often resort to ego therapy as a means of determining whether the client has a firm enough grasp of self in society to make the right decisions and in the correct proportion vis a vis their assertive actions. Can this be converted for educational purposes? Assertive training has been used effectively in selected educational settings (Mehrabizadi, Taghavi et al (2009). Still many of the clinical nuances would be difficult to carry out in the context of a classroom – though enlisting the aid of a school psychologist could help in that regard. Yet even a classroom teacher could use it in the context of his or her teaching style; for example with the following introduction…

Some of you are highly motivated to do well in class, others are probably nervous and maybe even a bit intimidated. Still others might not give a hoot about what happens in this class. My goal as a teacher is to bridge those gaps, to invest and include all of you in the process. In other words this ship ain’t leaving until all the passengers are on board. Here’s how I intend to make that happen. Part of the course - part of your grade - will be based on your ability to think and express. If that means challenging some of the ideas presented by me in class – fantastic. I want your opinions to come forth. That doesn’t mean I’ll agree with you in every instance. In fact we might end up in a rigorous debate at times. Still I want you to feel the course material in your bones, not just listen and take notes. Occasionally we will have debates in class so that students can challenge one another’s opinions and ideas. I’ll often let you choose the topic – which car is the best, which sports team is best of all time, which movie surpasses all others in its interest level, creativity and visual effects. As long as your tone is and remains respectful, and by that I mean no insults, threats, or use of profanity you will have latitude in this expressive format. Now, some of you will be more comfortable with this method than others. I would ask the shy kids to try to get something out – you’ll be surprised at how easy it is to overcome shyness by merely getting in the habit of expressing opinions – and we all have opinions. Still, I will not punish the shy kids. You will not be downgraded for not participating. Your test scores, homework completion and work product will determine your grade. On the other hand the expressive part of this class will allow you to get extra credit. So if your

One final aspect of this approach is that it would lend itself to simple, yet meaningful research paradigms reflective of academic performance and investment. For example correlation co-efficient studies could be done comparing factors such as:
Number of assertive expressions to grade level achievement and/or standard test scores
Number of assertive expressions to student attendance
Number of assertive expressions vis a vis student attitude toward class (in the form of surveys)
Graphs reflecting increase in assertive expression visa viis grade progressions through each quarter
Number of problematic behavioral episodes by identified special ed students vis a vis number of assertive expressions in class
Number of students identified with learning disabilities vis a vis frequency of assertive expression.
Other factors could be measure through this simple but broadly influential, “noise-busting” method. Perhaps the most important and heuristic will be the correlation between expression and number of students deemed in need of special education services. A reduction in special ed rosters (long awaited by both teachers and administrators) would really have a positive impact on American Education.

REFERENCES
Bower, SA, Bower, GH (1991) Asserting Yourself; A Practical Guide for Positive Change, 2^nd Edition, Reading, MA Addison Wesley
Bornstein, MR. Bellack, AS. Herson, M (1977) Social Skill Training for Unassertive Children; A Multiple Baseline Analysis. Journal of Applied Behavioral Analysis 10 (2) 183-195
Cansier, L 2010 The Basics of Assertive Training. Article in Suite 101.com
Cooley, E, & Nowicki, JR. (1984) Locus of Control and Assertiveness in Male and Female College Students. Journal of Psychology 117, 85-87
Colter, S.B., Guerra, J (1976) Assertion Training; A Humanistic-behavioral guide to Self-Dignity. Champaigne, IL Research Press
Courchesne, E, Yeung-Courchesne, R. Press, GA. Hesselink, JR & Jernigan TL (1988). Hypoplasia of cerebellar vermal lobes VI and VII in autism. New England Journal of Medicine Vol. 318: 1349-1354
Hunt, R (2006) Functional Roles of Norepinephrine and Dopamine in ADHD, Medscape Psychiatry and Mental Health
Notes on neurology of learning disabilities. Article in Disability News cites the work of Shaywitz and Shaywitz (The Neurobiology of Reading and Dyslexia) and Russell in pointing out that students with learning disabilities use more brain to recruit information than normal students. Article posted in Disability News, Spring 2003, page 3
Satterly, D. (1987) Piaget and Education. In RL Gregory (ed) The Oxford Companion to the Mind. Oxford, Oxford University Press
Schlenker, BR & Leary, MR (1982) Social Anxiety and Self-Presentation: A Conceptualization and Model. Psychological Bulletin 92 (3) 641-669
Sue, D. Sue, DM, Ino, S (1990) Assertiveness and Social Anxiety in Chinese American Women. Journal of Psychology Vol. 124 (2) 155
Wolpe, J (1958) Psychotherapy by Reciprocal Inhibition, California, Stanford University Press. 53-62
grade is C and you want to raise it to a B or an A, expression and assertion are the ways to do this. We’ll start slow this semester, but by Christmas I hope to have a group of strong, respectful voices free to raise questions and offer interesting opinions on various topics. I can assure you that will make class will be more interesting. You’ll have more fun and – most important, I’ll have more fun. 

Deepa Singh
Business Developer
Web Site:-http://www.gyapti.com
Blog:- http://gyapti.blogspot.com
Email Id:-deepa.singh@soarlogic.com

Psycho-Educational Principles Therapeutic Teachers Use to Reduce Habitually Disruptive Behaviors in the Classroom

Psycho-educational or therapeutic teachers believe that behavioral change is primarily a teaching and learning process. To be effective and long-term, behavior change strategies must include cognitive (thinking), affective (feelings), and behavioral aspects. We also believe that we all have a choice of behavioral change, and that all students, including students that exhibit habitually disruptive behaviors in the classroom, can learn new and more positive ways of behaving. In the psycho-educational classroom, educating disruptive children about the motivation behind their behavior plays a vital role. Once children understand that they choose their behavior, they also understand that they can change their behavior. Psycho-educational teachers believe that strengthening children’s coping and social problem solving skills is therapeutic. The psycho-educational or therapeutic model is one of social problem solving and socio-emotional growth rather than disciplining and punishment.  

When teachers consistently and systematically follow psycho-educational principles, they can influence the direction of any exchange with a student to move the child away from confrontation and disruptive behaviors and towards restoring a climate of learning in the classroom. The teacher-student relationship is the glue that binds the behavior management interventions to successful outcomes. Simply put, teachers’ interactions with students are our most powerful behavior change tool. Through rapport, benign confrontation, optimistic messages and high expectations, psycho-educational teachers defuse disruptive behaviors, generating positive behavioral responses in students.  

Psycho-Educational Principles 

One size does not fit all. The process of behavioral change must respond to the unique socio-emotional needs of the disruptive student.

Relationships with students are dependent on language. For therapeutic and growth promoting relationships, we need to use positive language. 

Positive messages and high expectations generate positive emotional and behavioral responses. Critical and negative messages generate negative behavioral responses. 

By changing our messages and vocabulary from critical to supportive and positive, we shape children’s behavior and get better class control. 

We can reduce disruptive behaviors by communicating positive expectations. What we expect influences what we get. 

Approaching classroom situations differently can change students’ behavior and the classroom atmosphere. 

Responding differently to disruptive behaviors in the classroom empowers the teacher. Our greatest power is the power to choose how we are going to react to our students’ disruptive behaviors. We can treat difficult and disruptive behaviors as a challenge or as a threat. 

Psycho-educational teachers see students’ disruptive behaviors as an opportunity to help children develop more productive and effective ways of thinking, feeling, and behaving. 

The disruptive student does his behavior, but he is not his behavior. Disruptive behaviors are dysfunctional behaviors, not a fixed personality characteristic. In other words, the behavior is the problem; the child is not the problem. 

Disruptive behaviors are actions capable of change. 

Positive and therapeutic relationships with adults shape social roles, problem solving skills, and decision-making.

Some rapport with children arises naturally, some we have to create. 

Teachers can enhance children’s socio-emotional growth. Students that exhibit disruptive behaviors can grow socio-emotionally and can improve themselves. 

We can teach self-control and self-management of behavior. In the psycho-educational classroom, the long-term goal of discipline is to develop self-awareness, self-direction, and self-control. 

Students engage in fewer disruptive behaviors when they believe that they have the skills to control (self-manage) their behavior.Students are empowered in behavioral change and self-control when they believe that their effort makes a difference. 

Self-management of behavior stems from the child’s personal understanding and decision-making skills, rather than founded in external controls and reinforcement. 

Students have the resources they need to improve their behaviors. The psycho-educational teacher’s role is to notice those resources and to ally with the child in the process of behavioral change. 

Deepa Singh
Business Developer
Web Site:-http://www.gyapti.com
Blog:- http://gyapti.blogspot.com
Email Id:-deepa.singh@soarlogic.com

A Special Education Success Story With ADD And ADHD

The Problem

In our rapidly moving culture, special education students, diagnosed with ADD or ADHD (Attention Deficit Disorder or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) are an ever-increasing challenge for teachers. Having taught in some capacity for nearly 40 years and being a parent of an active little boy, I have studied these conditions with immediate personal interest.

Holding Their Attention

Early in my work with the attentionally challenged, I observed that if the learning activity were engaging enough, many of these students could hold attention for long periods. Special Education students diagnosed with ADD or ADHD often have the ability to attend for long periods working with computers or video games. I wondered, could the problem lie more in the pace of the learning activity?

Give Them What They Need

Subsequently, I began to provide activities in my classroom that had some of the same qualities of the immediate response achieved in those computerized attention-holders. One of the most successful of these was the excavation of fossils.

The Setup

Fossil excavation was a 6-week class - more of a club, really ? in which students excavated a real fossil fish from a soft rock matrix. This time the class was made up of many special education students with various learning challenges, especially ADHD. The outcome of the class was remarkable.

Getting Their Interest and Attention

We started with a sort of guessing game involving fossils hidden in velvet bags and moved quickly into individual excavation of the fossils. Within minutes, my work was done; the students worked independently for the remainder of the two-hour class. My hardest work that day was to enforce clean-up-the students simply didn?t? t want to stop working.

Tools And Supplies

The only tools needed for this activity were small screw drivers-the sort that are available from any hardware store in a set of increasing sizes beginning with an eye-glass tool . I also provided magnifiers of varying types. The most sought after were the dissecting microscopes, which gave the individual the best view of the fragile fossil. However, much of the work could be easily accomplished using the naked eye or a magnifier in a stand, just to leave the hands free.

And Then There Are the Behavioral Challenges

I was presented with a new challenge about halfway into the second class: a behaviorally disruptive student who had been removed from another class. I did what I could to introduce him to our work and bring him up to speed. His initial work was little more than digging a hole through his rock, paying little attention to the fossil it contained.

Success!

Then a wonderful thing happened. Another boy, a challenging special education student who generally had little academic success, began to teach. You see, this boy was enthralled with digging out the fossil and he was having incredible success. He single-handedly took over and my work was done.

Deepa Singh
Business Developer
Web Site:-http://www.gyapti.com
Blog:- http://gyapti.blogspot.com
Email Id:-deepa.singh@soarlogic.com