Learning+Logs

__Learning Log # 1__ 6/7/09

1. After reading the article " Curriculum Access for Students with Low-incidence Disabilities: The Promise of UDL," I remained focused on the concept that special education is no longer considered a place, but rather a delivery system of services and supports for students with disabilities. I attempted to compare my secondary School Community Based Program to this model. Although my students receive their functional academics in a "special classroom," they do receive supports and services across vocational, community, and school settings as well. The Speech/Language Pathologist works with my students in my classrooom, rather than "pulling" them to her therapy room. We have both observed a significant increase in language skills in my students with low-incidence disabilities this year. The occupational therapist frequently works with students at their vocational sites so that she can address their needs in the natural setting. I monitor one of my students in the cafeteria during lunch time, and assist him to complete a daily self-check list of appropriate cafeteria behaviors. My staff and I program voice output devices and assist students in the implementation of these devices during grocery shopping and restaurant tasks in the community. I view my my School Community Based Program is more of a system of supports and services beyond the classroom. My staff has noticed significant growth, particularly in the areas of language ansd social skills with my students this year.

2. I learned several new pieces of information from the article, "Curriculum Access for Students with Low-Incidence Disabilities: The Promise of UDL." Since my research focuses on individuals with significant developmental disabilities, I found this section of the article particularly useful. According to this article, the number of individuals identified as mentally retarded has significantly decreased in recent years due to a change in the IQ portion of the definition, from one to two standard deviations below the norm. In contrast however, in my classroom, the majority of my students are coded primarily as students with mental retardation.

3. Another fact I learned from the previously-mentioned article is that according to (Waterhouse & Morris, et al., 1996), about 75 % of individuals with autism also have mental retardation and function on a cognitive level commensurate with their level of autism. This is true with one of my students with autism who also has mental retardation. His level of cognitive functioning and his level of autism appear significantly parallel.

__Learning Log # 2__: (Assignment 4) 6/14/09

The Universal Design for Learning concept is applicable to my teaching situation because I work with a diverse population of secondary students with low-incidence disabilities. I will implement the concepts of UDL more consistently in future lessons; however, upon reflection, I realize that I implement some of the UDL guildelines already. My students require multiple approaches to learning through representation, expression, and means of engagement. Two of the areas for which I implement UDL concepts currently are the areas of representation and expression. Three of my students are unable to write, so I plan alternate methods for them to express written information and to assess what they know. I primarily use the Promethean Board and Active Studio software to present functional academics and social stories, which allows these students to "click and drag," circle the correct response, draw a line to match, or use their Activote devices to make selections. My staff and I have observed significant progress in my students this year because their learning is now more interactive.

Many of my students are visual learners, and I plan lessons which match their learning style. However, I need to expand the UDL concepts in my future planning to more individually address the needs of the auditory learners, the students with autism and sensory issues, the students with hearing disabilities, the students with physical/multiple disabilities, and the students wilth behavior problems. (However, I have observed that making learning more interactive decreases the opportunities for behavior problems). I hope to incorporate more video-based instruction, more assistive technology, and more vocabulary supports into my lessons. I would like to concentrate on how my students perform tasks and how they engage in learning. I will adjust my "mindset" to plan for individual students in my class, and not just for my "School Community Based Program class."

__Learning Log # 3 Assignment 5__ 6/25/09

As a teacher of high school students with low-incidence disabilities, I have been implementing picture communication symbols and visual organizers with my students for years as standard practice. However, after completing the readings in the textbook and viewing the PowerPoint presentations this week, I began to gain some additional perspective, and I felt a new empathy for some of my students as I realized how "lost" they must be at times during the instructional day with all the verbal communication happening around them. I tried to envision myself in a two-hour IEP meeting in which all of my colleagues were speaking in Spanish, and I couldn't understand anything they said. This must be a similar experience for my student with autism, who in reality probably understands very little of the verbal directions, comments, conversations, and other communications taking place in my classroom all day long. (Is it any wonder these students demonstrate extreme anxiety for no apparent reason)?! Although I provide this young man with extra picture cues in PCS, which have improved his behavior, I can see the need for even further task analyses and visual supports of daily activities, such as getting ready for lunch, so that he can see and understand exactly what will happen and what is expected of him. In the future I plan to more extensively implement visual schedules in picture communication symbols, especially the mini schedules as ancillary visual supports for all of my students.

__Learning Log # 4__ 7/3/09

Students who are not positioned correctly and/or do not have appropriate mobility equipment do not function successfully in daily living and/or instructional activities across environments. These students demonstrate decreased communicative intent, social interactions, and an increased dependence on adults to meet their needs. Their lack of independence inhibits their opporutunities to access the general education curriculum. However, students positioned correctly with the appropriate equipment and mobility aids have a more positive quality of life. They navigate their school and community environments at maximum levels of performance and independence. Their increased independence facilitates significantly more opportunities to access the general education curriculum through the implementation of assistive technology strategies.

__Learing Log # 5__ 7/4/09

Research-based best practices for planning instruction for students with low-incidence disabiliites requires educators to integrate the SETT framework, the universal design for learning principles, specifically the representation, expression, and means of engagement, and the implementation of picture communication symbols and visual schedules. Educators must further consider students' correct positioning, provide them the appropriate equipment and mobility aids to facilitate optimum learning and independence, and provide them access to assistive technology strategies within the general education curriculum.

The SETT framework provides educators, therapists, and parents with a "map" for deciding how students with low-incidence disabilities can access the general curriculum, as well as graduation standards. The IEP team must consider the student, the learning environments, the tasks required for successful participation in classroom activities, and the tools required for task completion to inclusively integrate students into their school and community environments.

Implementing the Universal Design for Learning principles allows educators to customize teaching strategies to provide flexible goals, methods, and assessments to accommodate individual differences and learning preferences. During instruction teachers must provide multiple means of representation so that students have various ways of acquiring information, such as the Promethean Board, books on tape, large print books, and other multimedia supports. Teachers must provide students with multiple means of expression to demonstrate their knowledge, for example, will the students use an augmentative communication device, write, circle, speak, use eye gaze, or point to indicate their response? Finally educators must implement multiple means of engagement to integrate students' interests, learning preferences, and challenges to increase their motivation to actively participate in instruction. For example, planining a trip to McDonalds to determine the cost of a meal, is more meaningfu/motivating to students than adding prices on a worksheet. The Universal Design for Learning principles must be incorporated for __all students__, including those with disabilities.

Students with low-incidence disabiliites frequently require visual supports in the natural environment to learn more efficiently, reduce aggressive behaviors, decrease frustration, provide smooth transitions and to facilitate independence. Visual supports help this population of students follow rules, understand how to complete tasks, know daily events, understand when an activity is completed, and provide them with methods of making choices. When selecting visual supports for students with low-incidence disabilities, the teacher must consider the child's developmental and cognitive levels. Does the child require the implementation of real objects, black and white pictures, photographs, or word and phrase-base systems? The educator must also consider how the child communicates. Does he or she gesture or point, use socially appropriate communications, or demonstrate joint attention ? Does the child dispaly challenging behaviors? All these factors must be considered in the implementation of visual supports.

Visual supports may include calendars with special events relevant to the students, visual schedules, mini schedules to visually task analyze more complex activities, picture communication symbols, picture cue cards, text to picture systems, topic communication boards, and social stories. Consistent integration of visual supports across natural settings will facilitate independence in students with low-incidence disabilities and provide increased opportunities for scucessful integration into their school and community environments.

Finally, educators must consider the impact of postioning of students in the classroom, specifically those with multiple/physical disabilites, as this effects their communicative intent, motivation to communicate, social interactions, and integration into the classroom community.. Teachers and therapists must collaborate to provide correct postioning, appropriate equipment and mobility aids to improve their quality of life, facilitate independence, optimize learning, and increase their opportunities for access to assistive technologies and the general education curriculum.