Think About It Thursday--New (School) Year Resolutions

If you are anything like me you have probably completely forgotten what resolutions you made back in January. With the new school year starting I felt it was a perfect opportunity to come up with some new resolutions. I didn't want to overdo it so I have three top resolutions for this school year...

1. Go to bed earlier!- I have been a night owl for as long as I can remember. I swear my best ideas happen after 9pm which is horrible because no one likes tossing and turning at night because you can't stop thinking about how you are going to change a lesson or rearrange your desk! I need to go to bed earlier.

2. Get up earlier!- Anyone who has taught with me and pretty much anyone who has tried to meet me somewhere knows I am always late! This is mostly due to the fact that I am NOT a morning person. I move so slow in the morning and on most days I wish caffeine could be injected intravenously! I think a lot of this stems from the problem in resolution #1.

3. Leave school earlier!-(Hmmm I am beginning to sense a theme here.) As I mentioned last week, I am a bit of a perfectionist which leads to many late nights at school "perfecting" whatever project I am currently working on. This leads to getting home late... eating dinner late... and going to bed late. It's a vicious cycle!

Wish me luck on my resolutions and leave comments on what resolutions you want to have for this school year! Best of luck to all my readers on a new school year!

Think About It Thursday-- High Expectations

I am a total perfectionist! Anyone who knows me and has worked with me knows this about me. I have super high expectations for myself. I love a challenge and I love pushing myself to be my best.

I admit I push others to be better too. I try not to do it in a crazy Sue Sylvester way, but in a way that makes them see that there really is no other way. I have been super blessed. I feel my paraprofessionals respect that the reason I push our team is to give our kids the best education and quality of life that we can. I know they worry about the stress I put myself through to get us there but they work with me and it makes us a remarkable team.

However my high expectations for myself and my team is not what I find most important or fulfilling. It's the high expectations I have for my students and their ability to exceed them which are the most rewarding. My last couple Think About It Thursday posts have been about labels and all the things they imply students cannot do. If I focused on my students' labels and what their disabilities imply they cannot do, then I really shouldn't be teaching... especially not special ed.

I admit sometimes when I push my kids they push back! I have had people tell me that if one of my students doesn't want to do something and they put up a fight it would be better for me just to not make them do it. Ummm hello?! What kind of teacher would I be if I just let my students do whatever they want and stim in the corner?! Yeah, not gonna happen! Sometimes it takes meeting a student half way and then pushing them a bit slower than the rest of the kids but  in my experience they all get there eventually. 


Where do you feel like you fall when it comes to expectations?... for yourself, your team, your students? How do others perceive your expectations? Have as anyone ever suggested your expectations were too high for a student or that you shouldn't push your students to be better? 

Think About It Thursday-- Autism

Last week I discussed how I felt about labels and how I didn't think it was fair for a child's label to dictate the services they receive. This made me think of the label/diagnosis of autism.

Autism is basically diagnosed from a list of things a child cannot do...

He cannot relate to others.

She cannot communicate appropriately. 

He cannot stop obsessing about that toy or TV show.

She cannot handle loud noises.

He cannot handle changes in routine.

She cannot understand the risk of danger.

He cannot stand being touched.

She cannot make eye contact.

He cannot play with toys appropriately.

I hate all the focus on cannot for two reasons.

1. There is no mention of any of the things the child can do! And kids with autism can do some pretty amazing stuff! I admit some of what they can do may be unconventional but how many of us can repeat a Disney movie verbatim, determine what day of the week someone was born on just by knowing the date, or recite the first 100 players drafted in the NFL including where they went to college and their position?!?

2. It implies that the child will never be able to do any of these things. And from experience I can say this is 100% not true! Although I love teaching all students with special needs, working with children with autism has been remarkably rewarding for me. They have awed me again and again by exceeding expectations. Being able to help a child develop meaningful speech, eliminate difficult behaviors, and/or take interest in their classmates makes my job totally worth it.

I think a lot of what makes my students so successful is intensive intervention. For my kids who are on the more severe end of the spectrum I try to provide 1-3 ABA (Applies Behavioral Analysis) direct teaching sessions daily in addition to group activities (cooking, theme reading, specials). I started out doing ABA before I was even interested in special ed so I am a strong proponent. I wish all of these kids received in-home ABA in addition to what I provide at school. However, unfortunately, a majority of my students come to me at age five with no early intervention. And if they do come with early intervention it is typically preschool which provides no ABA.

I just don't know how in 2012 the awareness is still not out there about intensive early intervention for children with autism... specifically ABA? I wonder what resources doctors give when a child is newly diagnosed? Whose job should it be to educate these parents? Doctors? Parent Advocates? School Districts? It seems like no one is helping these parents unless they do the research themselves. Teachers and parents of children with autism... what have your experiences with early intervention been? Parents, how did you know where to go for help? Teachers, how do you approach parents when you think a child needs more intensive intervention? Perhaps a younger sibling of a student comes in and all of a sudden red flags start going off... what do you do?

Think About it Thursday-- Labels

Nobody likes labels. Labels always bring with them certain connotations. As a special education teacher, I have personally struggled with what to call myself and I often find myself tailoring it to meet the needs of my audience (is it a fellow educator or a parent of an intervention student?). Some of the "labels" I have given myself over the past 5 years include:

Intervention Specialist

Special Education Teacher

Cross-Categorical Teacher

Multiple Disabilities/MD Teacher

Resource Room Teacher

Honestly, it doesn't matter to me what label I am given as long as I get to work with my special kiddos each day! 

However, labels can be a very tricky thing when it comes to my students. Typically in special ed, a label defines all the things that child cannot do... He cannot see. She cannot hear. They cannot sit still.

Since they have moved all of our "MD" classrooms (which were labeled Cross-Categorical classrooms until they were conveniently relabeled this year for the move), they have began to restrict which students can receive our services. In the past, I have worked with a wide variety of kids and I have LOVED it! Kids with more severe needs were with me all day in the self-contained classroom (they would be included for specials and lunch/recess) while kids who just needed intensive academic intervention would come to my room for pull out. It is challenging for sure but it provides my students with experiences with peers with a range of abilities. It has allowed my kids with lower IQs the opportunity to see skills modeled by peers with higher IQs and it has allowed my kids with higher IQs the opportunity to be leaders (which they would have not been able to do in the typical classroom). But now they want to limit us to only serving students with the educational disability of "Multiple Disabilities". In my classroom of 9 last year only 4 of them were labeled MD. The rest had a CD or Autism label. Of my kids labeled CD and Autism, half of them were non-verbal and all of them were 1-2 years (if not more) behind grade level. Where are these kids supposed to go? We have ISs in the other buildings but they are generally doing all inclusion. Additionally, of my kids with an MD label, half of them were only with me for pull out and not all day.

Fellow special educators and parent readers, how does your district meet the needs of identified students? Do you like the system your district uses?

Think About It Thursday--Gluten Free Diets

Today I received an email from a parent of one of my kiddos. She shared that he had been put on a gluten and dairy free diet this summer and that they were seeing great results. This student has always had toileting issues so I am glad to hear they have found a solution, however I am a little nervous about this new diet.The biggest diet restrictions I have had in my classroom are no chocolate/caffeine and no peanut butter. So this will be a big change. I am mostly concerned about adapting our weekly cooking activities to meet this students needs.

Has anyone worked with kids with gluten-free diets? Have you seen a big change? Other than bowel issues, what are other reasons gluten-free is used?

Do you know of any resources our there for teachers that will help with these restrictions? Perhaps kid-friendly cookbooks?

Thanks!

Think About It Thursday--Vision Problems

I saw this picture today on fb and it really hit home! I have always thought a majority of my kids have undiagnosed vision issues that no one ever does anything about. I have expressed concern to parents and they think everything is fine because the doctors haven't said anything or because they pass the vision screening Half of my kids cannot even understand how to do the screening test and none of them would be able to express if they couldn't see correctly. How many of us have gotten new glasses or contacts and thought "WOW! I didn't know what I was missing!". I can only imagine how clueless my little ones with special needs are especially if it's a condition they've had their whole lives.

Do other teachers have this issue? How do you address these concerns with parents who think everything is fine? Do you think vision issues are more prevalent in kids with special needs, particularly Autism?

Leave a comment to let me know your thoughts!