Inclusion involves supporting students with disabilities, in the general education class, so that they are able to access the general education curriculum and be held to the same high expectation as their peers.

Mainstreaming is the process of selectively placing special education students in general education classes based on a student’s ability to perform.

As time goes on, what worked as a child may not work during various stages of growth and metabolism changes.  Repeat the cycle of intervention strategies taking note of possible changes. Remember each child is different.

Keep a journal, all Dr. Records and IEP’s in a safe place.  Reread them once a year as a case study to see the overall progress and growth of your child.

What would you do?….you make the choice. Don’t look for a punch line, there isn’t one. Read it anyway. My question is: Would you have made the same choice?

At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves children with learning disabilities, the father of one of the students delivered a speech that would never be forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its

dedicated staff, he offered a question:

‘When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does, is done with perfection.

Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other children do. He cannot understand things as other children do.

Where is the natural order of things in my son?’

The audience was stilled by the query.

The father continued. ‘I believe that when a child like Shay, who was mentally and physically disabled comes into the world, an opportunity to realize true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people treat that child.’

Then he told the following story:

Shay and I had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were playing baseball. Shay asked, ‘Do you think they’ll let me play?’ I knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their team, but as a father I also understood that if my son were allowed to play, it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.

I approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not expecting much) if Shay could play. The boy looked around for guidance and said, ‘We’re losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning. I guess he can be on our team and we’ll try to put him in to bat in the ninth inning.’

Shay struggled over to the team’s bench and, with a broad smile, put on a team shirt. I watched with a small tear in my eye and warmth in my heart. The boys saw my joy at my son being accepted.

In the bottom of the eighth inning, Shay’s team scored a few runs but was still behind by three.

In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and played in the right field. Even though no hits came his way, he was obviously ecstatic just to be in the game and on the field, grinning from ear to ear as I waved to him from the stands.

In the bottom of the ninth inning, Shay’s team scored again.

Now, with two outs and the bases loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be next at bat.

At this juncture, do the others let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the game?

Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat. Everyone knew that a hit was all but impossible because Shay didn’t even know how to hold the bat properly, much less connect with the ball.

However, as Shay stepped up to the

plate, the pitcher, recognizing that the other team was putting winning aside for this moment in Shay’s life, moved in a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least make contact.

The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed.

The pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay.

As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball right back to the pitcher.

The game would now be over.

The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and could have easily thrown the ball to the first baseman.

Shay would have been out and that would have been the end of the game.

Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first baseman’s head, out of reach of all team mates.

Everyone from the stands and both teams started yelling, ‘Shay, run to first!

Run to first!’

Never in his life had Shay ever run that far, but he made it to first base.

He scampered down the baseline, wide-eyed and startled.

Everyone yelled, ‘Run to second, run to second!’

Catching his breath, Shay awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the base.

By the time Shay rounded towards second base, the right fielder had the ball. The smallest guy on their team who now had his first chance to be the hero for his team.

He could have thrown the ball to the second-baseman for the tag, but he understood the pitcher’s intentions so he, too, intentionally threw the ball high and far over the third-baseman’s head.

Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him circled the bases toward home.

All were screaming, ‘Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay’

Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, ‘Run to third!

Shay, run to third!’

As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were on their feet screaming, ‘Shay, run home! Run home!’

Shay ran to home, stepped on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the game for his team

‘That day’, said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face, ‘the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity into this world’.

Shay didn’t make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never forgotten being the hero and making me so happy, and coming home and seeing his Mother tearfully embrace her little hero of the day !

AND NOW A LITTLE FOOT NOTE TO THIS STORY:

We all send thousands of jokes through the e-mail without a second thought, but when it comes to sending messages about life choices, people hesitate.

The crude, vulgar, and often obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.

If you’re thinking about forwarding this message, chances are that you’re probably sorting out the people in your address book who aren’t the ‘appropriate’ ones to receive this type of message Well, the person who sent you this believes that we all can make a difference.

We all have thousands of opportunities every single day to help realize the ‘natural order of things.’

So many seemingly trivial interactions between two people present us with a choice:

Do we pass along a little spark of love and humanity or do we pass up those opportunities and leave the world a little bit colder in the process?

A wise man once said every society is judged by how it treats it’s least fortunate amongst them.

You now have two choices:

1. Do something for someone
2. Pass it on

May your day, be a Shay Day.

Video part 1

video part 2

I would truly like to say that Special Education Teachers are some of the most caring people that I have met.  While parents are the experts with their one child, Most Special Ed teachers are trying to balance twenty to thirty students with different disabilities.  In these trying times I want to encourage you, Special Ed teachers, to keep your priorities straight. It is easy to forget why you are here. We all have to deal with time restrictions, meetings, lesson plans, reduction of staff, increase of students on your caseload and so much more.  As the liaison between the District who mandates your caseload and the parents. It is still our job to to help these students reach their full potential.

” You cannot make the disability or problems go away. But you can take the tools that you have learned and make the child and their family feel beautiful again” Help them reach their full potential despite what is going on around you.

1. CALENDAR EVENTS:  Be aware of school calendar, and all events and meetings the first month.  Plan early for assessments and IEP’s

2.  REVIEW IEP FILES:   Some teachers feel by reading the IEP comments, it may give the them a negative view of the student not allowing for a fresh start.  As the case carrier, you are responsible for all content and time lines within the IEP.  It is important to review and follow all goals, service pages, and read notes pages.  

3. BUS SCHEDULES:  The first day of students arriving by bus can and is usually confusing.  If at all possible, get your bus list together with students and bus numbers.  Place cones to designate  areas for busses.  Parents feel they can pull up to any available curb and  drop off their kids.  This is hazardous and cause further delays.  Also be prepared with phone numbers for the the district contact, bus company and parents.

SpecialEd Classroom in not affiliated with Solution Tree. 

However we recomend, that if you are close enough to one of these events, that you go.

solution-tree.com 800.733.6786 Response to Intervention Institute November 11–13 Hollywood, CA Renaissance Hollywood Hotel Preconference Workshop Available November 10 Featuring William Bender, Austin Buffum, Thomas Guskey, Robert Howell, Mike Mattos, Elaine McEwan-Adkins, Sandra Patton, and Donna Walker Tileston This Institute goes beyond process rhetoric to offer educators specific recommendations on how to intervene at the classroom, building, and district levels. Hear from expert practitioners who have seen real gains in their schools. Take valuable tools and strategies back to your school or district and achieve the same results. Focus on four components: Creating a culture for RTI Creating a tight, focused standards-based curriculum Aligning assessment systems to universal screening and progress monitoring Designing and implementing appropriate interventions Key Takeaways: Develop stakeholder support for educational redesign Establish a leadership team Use the professional learning community infrastructure to make RTI highly effective Create and use an RTI Intervention Team Select and use research-based interventions to meet individual student needs Use data to monitor progress and inform instruction Garner parental support Implement the RTI model systemically Register today! The new book by William Bender, Beyond the RTI Pyramid (available summer 2009), is included with your Institute registration. Getting SMART About Your RTI Plan Preconference Workshop November 10 Hollywood, CA Renaissance Hollywood Hotel       Featuring Anne Conzemius Having an RTI plan is one thing; it’s quite another to have a SMART (Strategic and Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Results-based, and Time-bound) plan and a process for implementing and monitoring RTI effectiveness. By the end of the day, participants will know: A process that will support implementing and monitoring RTI plans How to analyze data to create a goal and a plan that is strategically focused on specific student needs New skills for running effective meetings aimed at instructional improvement Register today! Solution Tree events may sell out. Please confirm your registration before making travel arrangements. Speakers are subject to change. Visit solution-tree.com for the latest updates. Pyramid RTI Workshops May 2009 6–7 Denver, CO 7–8 Boston, MA SOLD OUT 13–14 Dallas, TX September 2009 16–17 Raleigh, NC 21–22 Minneapolis, MN 28–29 Seattle, WA 30– Oct. 1 San Diego, CA October 2009 12–13 Boston, MA 14–15 Baton Rouge, LA 19–20 San Antonio, TX 22–23 Minneapolis, MN November 2009 4–5 San Diego, CA 4–5 Seattle, WA 16–17 Nashville, TN 18–19 Baton Rouge, LA See a complete list of Solution Tree events.   RTI Resources Pyramid Response to Intervention: RTI, Professional Learning Communities, and How to Respond When Kids Don’t Learn By Austin Buffum, Mike Mattos, and Chris Weber Order now!                     Pyramid Response to Intervention is included with your Workshop registration. Understanding Response to Intervention: A Practical Guide to Systemic Implementation By Robert Howell, Sandra Patton, and Margaret Deiotte Order now!   93IEW 800.733.6786 | Request a Catalog | About Us | Professional Development

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World Autism Day April 2, 2009

April 2nd is Autism Awareness Day

April 2nd 2008

This money is being recommeded for Professional Development use and short term-interventions.

See: Ed.gov; American Recovery and Reinvestment  Act of 2009