SPE 500 Clinical Learning NotesAssigned Teacher Patricia Tessne.docx

SPE 500 Clinical Learning Notes
Assigned Teacher: Patricia Tessner at Rock Quarry Elementary
About Patricia Tessner
Greetings!
I am Patricia Tessner, a Special Education Teacher at The Rock.
Since working here over the past seven years I have taught
Special Education students in all grade levels. Currently I am
teaching students from Kindergarten through 2nd grade.
I am originally from Canada but Tuscaloosa has been my home
for over 17 years. My background is in Pediatric Nursing. My
time spent on a Pediatric Neurosurgical ward influenced my
decision to become a Special Education teacher. That
background and experience has enriched my understanding of
students with special needs.
I have two boys; one is in 11th grade at Northridge High and the
other is a junior at the University of Alabama. I decided to
become a teacher after spending time with them at school and
substitute teaching between my nursing and teaching careers. I
graduated from the University of Alabama from the Multiple
Abilities Program in 2007 with my Master of Arts in Special
Education and am certified in both General Education and
Special Education.
I have learned through my experiences that the way children
perceive, process and communicate about their world is unique
to each and every one. I work closely with the General
Education Teachers and am often in the General Education
classrooms. This allows students to learn with their peers and
develop the learning skills they need to become successful
independent learners.

I welcome parents questions, concerns, and input. Please feel
free to contact me by e-mail, leave a message for me with the
office, or send a note with your child. I can arrange my
schedule to be available to meet before or after school, or
during the school day.
Day 1: Initial Meeting at Rock Quarry Elementary 10/20/15
(2:45pm – 3:00pm)
Met with Special Education teacher Ms. Tessner at Rock Quarry
Elementary to discuss objectives and schedule to complete 15
hours of Clinical studies.
Day 2: 10/21/15 (8:10am – 1:00pm)
Met 1st graders Bryant and Alex and worked on:
Pronouncing words using flashcards and sound chart (pic in
attachment)
Pronouncing words with the “long a” and “short a” sounds,
using pictures/cards of words such as gas, game, pan, tape, cap,
cape, cake, gate, rake, cat, map, and lamp.
Ms.Tessner gave each student a small dry erase board to
practice writing the words
Kindergartners Alex and Callen started off writing the letter
“e”, pronouncing the “o” sound, and used pictures to pronounce
words and each syllable of the word.
I worked on reading and pronouncing words with 2nd grader
Sean.
3rd grader Demarian and the Mrs. Lewis, Rock Quarry
Elementary’s other Special Education teacher, worked on
reading comprehension. She gave him a passage to read, along
with 7 questions to answer
Assisted the Special Education students in the general education
class setting, along with Ms. Tessner.
Day 3: 10/22/15 (8:00am – 12:00pm)

2nd grader Sean worked on pronouncing words, sounds for
syllables, and alphabet sequencing, “tri-graph tch” (words
ending in “tch” such as match, batch, hatch, etc.)
1st graders Alex and Bryant worked on putting letters of the
alphabet in order, pronouncing words and identifying the “a”
sound used in the words. The silent “e” makes a word have the
long “a” sound and examples are: safe, name, late, came, face,
ate
Assisted special education students in general education classes.
Worked in the Self-contained special education classroom with
Neal and Jason, and took them to Physical Education to interact
with the general education students. The students were
accepted as normal and interacted with the kids.
Attended a Special Education eligibility meeting, including the
parent and staff (LEA, general education teachers of student,
special ed teacher, etc). The 2nd grader has been in RTI for a
year.
Day 4: 10/23/15 (11:15am – 1:55pm)
Worked with 2nd grader Sean with “rap” words (thankful,
restful, helpful, etc.), writing his name in cursive, and using the
textured wall in the classroom to spell words using his finger.
Assisted 1st graders in Mrs. Ford class with math:
Counting/writing to 50
Using flashcards with the numbers 1-9 to add/subtract
Paired the whole class and gave every group a cup with 10 balls
inside (one person had to take ball(s) out the cup and place
them on the table, while the other person figured out how many
balls where still inside the cup.
Day 5: 11/3/15 (8:40am – 12:00pm)
1st grader Bryant worked on learning/pronouncing vowels
Kindergartners worked on identifying and pronouncing the first
and last sounds in words
**Callen would not participate…not even talk/respond most of

the class. After I talked to Callen one on one, (trying to figure
out his issue, explaining to him he has to participate and listen
to his teachers, building his confidence, etc.) he finally
participated in class and answered the questions correctly.
Worked with 2nd grader Gloria for the first time…worked on
counting and pairing cubes to see if there’s an even amount or
not.
Attended a RTI meeting for 2nd graders
· New Referrals
· Children that need to be monitored
· Status of students already in RTI and progress towards goals
How will Response To Intervention (RTI) identify students with
Learning Disabilities different from a battery of standardized
assessments? State your understanding of one identification
process benefiting these students better than the other.
Chelsea,
I agree that RTI is better identifying students with learning
disabilities because using a standardize test to determine if a
child has a learning disability is not fair to the child. Everyone
is not good “test takers” and judging a child based on a
“standard” test can lead to more (unnecessary) cases of students
with “learning disabilities”. What if a student score the
minimum score of 6/10 to determine if they have a learning
disability? Does that alone determine if the student doesn’t have
a learning disability? The student passed the test…and vice
versa.
Explicit instruction is a “deceptively simple strategy” that
includes the following: teachers show students what to do, give
them opportunities to practice with teacher feedback, and then
provide opportunities for students to apply these skills on their

own over time (Hempenstall, 2004). It is not trial-and-error
learning, discovery, exploration, facilitated learning, or some
other approach where teachers assist or facilitate performance;
rather, the teacher’s “direct actions have a direct and
instructional influence on students’ learning” (Carnine, Silbert,
Kame’enui, & Tarver, 2010, p. 5).
Assessments commonly used with students with learning
disabilities include standardized intelligence and achievement
tests, criterion-referenced tests, curriculum-based measurement,
and direct and daily measurement.
The basic premise of response to intervention (RTI) is that
measuring a low-achieving student’s response to increasingly
intensive, scientifically validated instruction can determine
whether the child’s struggles to learn are the result of poor or
insufficient instruction or of a disability for which special
education is needed.
When done well, RTI has two functions:
screening/identification and prevention. A child’s positive
response to scientifically validated instruction eliminates
instructional quality as a viable explanation for poor academic
growth and suggests evidence of a disability (L. S. Fuchs,
Fuchs, & Hollenbeck, 2007). Children who respond favorably to
RTI’s increasingly intensive instruction benefit from the
preventive aspect of the approach. The trustworthiness of RTI
depends on two equally important elements: (a) the consistent,
rigorous implementation of research-based interventions and (b)
an accurate, reliable, easy-to-use measure for monitoring
student progress. CBM is the primary approach of progress
monitoring in RTI. Although there are numerous approaches to
RTI, a three-tiered model is most common (L. S. Fuchs &
Fuchs, 2007a, 2007b; Johnson, Mallard, Fuchs, & McKnight,
2006). A student who moves through each tier of the model
experiences all three levels of preventive intervention
introduced in Chapter 1 . The following examples describe
how RTI can be used to prevent reading problems and identify

children who need special education for reading disabilities.
TIER 1: PRIMARY INTERVENTION IN THE GENERAL
EDUCATION CLASSROOM
Primary prevention is provided to all students in the form of
evidence-based curriculum and instruction in the general
education classroom (Foorman, 2007).
TIER 2: SECONDARY INTERVENTION
Students who are struggling in the general education program
receive an intensive fixed-duration trial (e.g., 10 to 12 weeks)
of small-group supplemental tutoring using a research-validated
program (Vaughn & Roberts, 2007).
TIER 3: TERTIARY INTERVENTION
In most RTI models, Tier 3 is special education (Stecker,
2007). Some special educators recommend that students who do
not make progress with small-group intervention in Tier 2
receive intensive individualized interventions prior to a
determination of special education eligibility (e.g., Reschly,
2005).
I believe that Response to Intervention (RTI) is an extremely
useful tool determining if a student has a learning disability and
can be applied to students of all ages. In the text, “the basic
premise of response to intervention (RTI) is that measuring a
low-achieving student’s response to increasingly intensive,
scientifically validated instruction can determine whether the
child’s struggles to learn are the result of poor or insufficient
instruction or of a disability for which special education is
needed.” RTI also functions as a prevention method verses
battery of standard assessments only has one
function…screening/identification. RTI creates a fair playing
field for the student because it’s created based on the student

and not standardized. “The trustworthiness of RTI depends on
two equally important elements: (a) the consistent, rigorous
implementation of research-based interventions and (b) an
accurate, reliable, easy-to-use measure for monitoring student
progress. CBM (curriculum-based measurement) is the primary
approach of progress monitoring in RTI. Although there are
numerous approaches to RTI, a three-tiered model is most
common (L. S. Fuchs & Fuchs, 2007a, 2007b; Johnson, Mallard,
Fuchs, & McKnight, 2006).” Primary prevention (Tier 1) is
provided to all students in the form of evidence-based
curriculum and instruction in the general education classroom
(Foorman, 2007). In Tier 2, students who are struggling in the
general education program receive an intensive fixed-duration
trial of small-group supplemental tutoring using a research-
validated program (Vaughn & Roberts, 2007). In Tier 3, the
student is placed in special education. It seems as RTI is used
to eliminate or reduce a student’s diagnosis of having a learning
disability.
Dan,
I agree with you, especially when you mentioned how RTI
"takes the student that is having issues, and measures the way
they react to the different screening techniques." Using a
standardized test does not identify the student's main problem.
By using the tiers, the student's problem can be identified and
certain techniques can be used to help the student.
Chapter 3: Collaborating with Parents and Families in a
Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Society
The first parent group on behalf of children with disabilities
was the National Society for Crippled Children, organized in
1921. The United Cerebral Palsy Association, founded in 1948,
and the National Association for Retarded Citizens (now called
The Arc), organized in 1950, are two national parent
organizations largely responsible for making the public aware
of the special needs of children with disabilities. The Learning

Disabilities Association of America, formed in 1963, also
organized by and consisting mostly of parents, has been
instrumental in bringing about educational reform. Parent
members of the Association for Persons with Severe Handicaps
(TASH), founded in 1975, have been effective advocates for
family-focused educational services and the inclusion of
students with severe disabilities in neighborhood schools and
general education classrooms. The mission of the Association
for Science in Autism Treatment, founded in 1998 by parents
and professionals, is to disseminate accurate, scientifically
sound information about autism and its treatment. Many other
parent-led organizations continue today to advocate for
effective education, community acceptance, needed services,
and the rights of individuals with disabilities.
Educators: Seeking Greater Effectiveness
Research shows a strong correlation between parent
involvement and improvements in a variety of measures of
academic achievement and school performance such as better
attendance, higher grades, better scores on standardized tests,
higher graduation rates, and improved social skills (Fan &
Chen, 2001; Hoover-Dempsey et al., 2005; Pomerantz,
Moorman, & Litwack, 2007; Speth, Saifer, & Forehand, 2008;
Westat and Policy Studies Associates, 2001).
Legislators: Mandating Parent and Family Involvement
Parent participation in the form of shared decision making is
one of the basic principles of IDEA that provide the general
framework for carrying out national policies for the education
of children with disabilities. IDEA stipulates procedures
schools must follow to ensure parents of children with
disabilities have input with regard to referral, testing, program
planning, placement, and evaluation. In addition, the law
mandates due process procedures if parents believe that their
child’s needs are not being met.
The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 also views parent
involvement as a key to academic success of students and spells

out three parent involvement components: schools must (a)
notify parents of their improvement status; (b) collaborate with
parents in developing and implementing a school improvement
plan in which parents, school staff, and students share
responsibility for improving academic achievement; and (c)
include strategies that promote “effective” parent involvement
in the plan (though “effective” strategies are not defined).
But the most important reasons that families and educators
should develop and maintain collaborative partnerships are that
children with disabilities will benefit from
• increased likelihood of targeting meaningful IEP goals;
• Greater consistency and support in their two most important
environments—home and school;
• increased opportunities for learning and development; and
• Access to expanded resources and services.
Early research on parents’ responses to having children with
disabilities identified mostly negative outcomes as parents went
through three stages of adjustment some call a grief cycle:
confronting, adjusting, and accepting or adapting (e.g.,
Anderegg, Vergason, & Smith, 1992; Blacher, 1984; Ferguson,
2003). First, parents experience a period of emotional crisis
characterized by shock, denial, and disbelief. This initial
reaction is followed by a period of alternating feelings of anger,
guilt, depression, shame, lowered self-esteem, rejection of the
child, and overprotectiveness. Eventually, parents reach a third
stage in which they accept and adapt to their child’s disability.
The Many Roles of the Exceptional Parent
CAREGIVER Caring for any young child is a demanding task.
But the additional caregiving requirements of children with
disabilities can be tremendous and cause added stress.
PROVIDER Food, clothing, shelter, transportation, health-
related expenses, childcare, not to mention music lessons,
sports, hobbies: it takes a lot of money to raise a child. The
U.S. Department of Agriculture calculated that raising a child

without disabilities from birth to age 17 costs an average of
$226,920 in 2010 dollars (Leno, 2011). Providing for a child
with disabilities means additional expenses.
TEACHER Most children learn many skills without anyone
teaching them. Children with disabilities, however, often do not
acquire new skills as naturally or independently as their
typically developing peers do.
COUNSELOR All parents are counselors in the sense that they
deal with their children’s changing emotions, feelings, and
attitudes. But parents of a child with disabilities must also deal
with their child’s feelings that result from his particular
disability
BEHAVIOR SUPPORT SPECIALIST All parents are
challenged and frustrated from time to time by their children’s
noncompliance and misbehavior. But the frequency and severity
of challenging behaviors exhibited by some children with
disabilities can make it nearly impossible for their families to
experience and enjoy normal routines of daily life.
PARENT OF SIBLINGS WITHOUT DISABILITIES Children
are deeply influenced by having a brother or a sister with
special needs (McHugh, 2003); the nature of that influence,
however, is varied. Some studies have found negative effects,
such as a higher incidence of emotional or behavioral problems
(Orsillo, McCaffrey, & Fisher, 1993), lower self-esteem
(McHale & Gamble, 1989), or resentment or jealousy (Hutton &
Caron, 2005) in siblings of children with disabilities.
MARRIAGE PARTNER Having a child with disabilities can
put stress on a marriage. Specific stressors can be as diverse as
arguing over who is to blame for the child’s disability;
disagreeing about expectations for the child’s behavior; and
spending so much time, money, and energy on the child with
disabilities that little is left for each other
INFORMATION SPECIALIST Grandparents, aunts and uncles,
neighbors, the school bus driver: all of these people can be

important influences on a child’s development. While parents of
children without disabilities can reasonably expect them to
receive certain kinds of treatment from significant others,
parents of children with disabilities know they cannot depend
on appropriate actions and reactions from others.
ADVOCATE IDEA not only defines the rights of parents of
children with disabilities, it also requires specific efforts and
responsibilities. Although involvement in their child’s
education is desirable for all parents, participation is a must for
parents of children with disabilities.
Principles of Effective Communication
Ongoing two-way communication is the key operational element
of the family– professional partnership. The family members in
the study by Blue-Banning and colleagues (2004) said they
needed frequent communication, but they also highlighted the
importance of the quality of communication.
ACCEPT PARENTS’ STATEMENTS Accepting parents’
statements means conveying through verbal and nonverbal
means that parents’ input is valued. Parents are more likely to
speak freely and openly when they believe that what they say is
respected.
LISTEN ACTIVELY Good listeners attend and respond to a
conversation partner in a sincere and genuine manner. A good
listener pays attention to content, noting who said it and how.
QUESTION EFFECTIVELY Educators should ask mostly
open-ended questions when communicating with parents. An
open-ended question such as “What did Shareena do with her
homework project last week?” is more likely to evoke a
descriptive and informative reply from parents than is the
closed-ended question “Is Shareena having trouble with her
homework?” which might result in a yes or no response.

Parent–Teacher Conferences
Parent–teacher conferences are a universal method of home–
school communication. In a face-to-face meeting, teachers and
parents can exchange information and coordinate their efforts to
assist the child with disabilities in school and at home.
CONDUCTING THE CONFERENCE The child’s classroom is
an appropriate setting for most parent–teacher conferences
because it provides ready access to student records and
curriculum materials and reminds the teacher and parents that
the purpose of the conference is to work together to improve the
child’s education.
Written Communication
Although much can be accomplished in a face-to-face meeting,
parent–teacher conferences should not be the sole means of
home–school communication. Written messages, especially
when part of a systematic program of ongoing information
exchange, can be an effective way to maintain home–school
communication.
Teachers should never rely on written messages, regardless of
their form, as the sole method of communicating with parents.
Educators must also be sensitive to the cultural and linguistic
backgrounds and educational levels of parents.
HOME–SCHOOL CONTRACTS A home–school contract
specifies parent-delivered rewards for the child contingent on
her behavior or academic performance in the classroom.
Parent-to-Parent Groups
Parent-to-parent (P2P) programs help parents of children with
special needs become reliable allies for one another (Santelli,
Poyadue, & Young, 2001). The programs give parents of
children with disabilities the opportunity to receive support
from a parent who has experienced similar circumstances and
challenges.

SUMMARY
Support for Family Involvement
• Three factors are responsible for the increased emphasis on
parent and family involvement in the education of children with
disabilities: parent advocacy, educators’ desire to increase their
effectiveness, and legislative mandates.
• A successful parent–teacher partnership provides benefits for
the professional, the parents, and, most important, the child.
Understanding Families of Children with Disabilities
• Many parents experience similar sequences of emotions and
challenges as they react and adjust to the birth or diagnosis of a
child with a disability (e.g., shock, denial, grief, reflection,
advocacy, appreciation).
• After a period of uncertainty, most families of children with
disabilities exhibit strength and resilience, reestablish healthy
family functioning, and become determined to do whatever they
can to meet their children’s needs and to move forward with an
enlightened sense of optimism.
• Parents of children with disabilities fulfill at least nine roles
and responsibilities: caregiver, provider, teacher, counselor,
behavior support specialist, parent of siblings without
disabilities, marriage partner, information specialist/trainer for
significant others, and advocate for school and community
services.

• A child’s disability affects parents and siblings without
disabilities in different ways during the different lifecycle
stages of the family.
• Respite care—the temporary care of an individual with
disabilities by nonfamily members—is a critical support for
many families of children with severe disabilities.
Developing and Maintaining Family–Professional Partnerships
• Five principles of effective communication between educators
and parents are accepting what is being said, active listening,
questioning appropriately, encouraging, and staying focused.
• Attitudes of and behaviors by professionals that serve as
barriers to communication with parents and families include
making assumptions about the services and information that
parents need, treating parents as clients or adversaries instead
of partners, keeping professional distance, acting as if parents
need counseling, blaming parents for their child’s disability or
performance, disrespecting parents’ suggestions, and labeling
parents who don’t act the way the professionals believe they
should.
• Dialoguing is an approach to conflict resolution in which both
parties try to see each other’s point of view.
Working with Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Families
• Differences in the cultural beliefs and linguistic practices of
professionals and families often serve as barriers to parent
involvement.
• Cultural interpreters help school personnel understand the
home culture and help the family understand school culture,
policies, and practices.
• Understanding differences between our own perspectives and
those of people from other cultures and ethnic groups requires
careful examination of our own cultural background and belief
system.
Home–School Communication Methods
• The most common modes of home–school communication are

parent–teacher conferences, written messages, and telephone
calls. Teachers are using class newsletters, websites, and e-mail
to communicate with families with increasing frequency and
effectiveness.
• Ten guidelines for communicating with parents of children
with disabilities:
• Don’t assume you know more about a child than the parents
do.
• Junk the jargon, and speak in plain, everyday language.
• Don’t let assumptions or generalizations guide your efforts.
• Be sensitive and responsive to cultural and linguistic
differences.
• Don’t be defensive toward or intimidated by parents.
• Refer families to other professionals when needed.
• Help parents strive for a realistic optimism.
• Start with something that parents can be successful with.
• Allow and respect parents’ right to say no.
• Don’t be afraid to say, “I don’t know.”
Other Forms of Parent Involvement
• Many parents can help teach their child with disabilities.
• Parents and professionals should work together in planning
and conducting parent education groups.
• Parent-to-parent groups provide new parents of children with
disabilities support from parents who have experienced similar
circumstances and challenges.
• Parents who serve as research partners help brainstorm
research questions, collect performance data on their children,
and share those data with other parents and teachers.
• The mirror model of parent involvement assumes that not all
parents need everything that professionals have to offer and that
no parent should be expected to participate in every form of
school involvement.
· Question 1
1 out of 1 points

Mrs. Lucas is preparing for an annual review of Mia's IEP. The
team has recommended that Mia receive services in the resource
room rather than a self-contained classroom. Mia's current
teacher has informed Mrs. Lucas that her parents expect Mia to
receive lots of individual attention in class. Mrs. Lucas is
expecting Mia's parents to be angry about the decision and she
has prepared herself to stand firm and defend the team's
decision. Which barrier to effective communication is being
displayed by Mrs. Lucas?
Selected Answer:
She is treating Mia's parents like adversaries.
Correct Answer:
She is treating Mia's parents like adversaries.
· Question 2
1 out of 1 points
All of the following are features of two-way home- school
communication forms except
Selected Answer:

they include spaces for students to write comments
Correct Answer:
they include spaces for students to write comments
· Question 3
1 out of 1 points
Which of the following statements has the least support from
the literature on culturally diverse families?
Selected Answer:
They may view school officials as part of their extended family.
Correct Answer:
They may view school officials as part of their extended family.
· Question 4
1 out of 1 points
Effective home-school partnerships are characterized by

Selected Answer:
a climate of mutual respect and trust
Correct Answer:
a climate of mutual respect and trust
· Question 5
1 out of 1 points
Principles for effective communication between parents and
educators include all of the following except
Selected Answer:
Passive Listening
Correct Answer:
Passive Listening
· Question 6

1 out of 1 points
The steps in the RERUN approach to conflict resolution
described by Gonzales-Mena (2006) are
Selected Answer:
reflect, explain, reason, understand, negotiate
Correct Answer:
reflect, explain, reason, understand, negotiate
· Question 7
1 out of 1 points
Which of the following is not one of the ten guidelines for
communicating with parents and families?
Selected Answer:
Don't take "No" for an answer.
Correct Answer:

Don't take "No" for an answer.
· Question 8
1 out of 1 points
Mrs. Rodriquez thinks that Byron, a student with a physical
disability should have surgery so that he can use special
equipment that will allow him to stand for several minutes each
day. Byron's mother, Mrs. Williams will not consent to the
surgery because it is very risky and will not enable him to walk.
Therefore, she feels it is not worth it, Mrs. Rodriquez respects
the decision that Byron's mother has made. She is demonstrating
Selected Answer:
cultural reciprocity
Correct Answer:
cultural reciprocity
· Question 9
1 out of 1 points

Teachers who implement home-school contracts
Selected Answer:
depend on parents to deliver rewards for progress in the
classroom
Correct Answer:
depend on parents to deliver rewards for progress in the
classroom
· Question 10
0 out of 1 points
Patricia is a 5th grade student with a learning disability. Mrs.
Duley, her teacher, wants Patricia's mother to provide some
home tutoring in reading. She has sent a list of tutoring
guidelines to Patricia's mother. Which of the following
guidelines on Mrs. Duley's list is inappropriate?
Selected Answer:
Tutoring should allow your child to practice or extend skills
learned at school.
Correct Answer:

Set aside time each day for tutoring.
· Question 11
1 out of 1 points
Which of the following statements about phone calls to parents
is true?
Selected Answer:
Regular phone can be effective in maintaining parent
involvement.
Correct Answer:
Regular phone can be effective in maintaining parent
involvement.
· Question 12
1 out of 1 points
Research on the use of a Talking Photo Album as a strategy to
enable parents of English language learners to provide tutoring

in vocabulary concluded that
Selected Answer:
the strategy was effective for teaching new vocabulary to
parents and children
Correct Answer:
the strategy was effective for teaching new vocabulary to
parents and children
· Question 13
1 out of 1 points
What percentage of parents' rights documents are written so that
most parents are able to read and understand them?
Selected Answer:
4%-8%
Correct Answer:
4%-8%

· Question 14
1 out of 1 points
The key operational element of family-professional partnerships
is
Selected Answer:
ongoing two-way communication
Correct Answer:
ongoing two-way communication
· Question 15
1 out of 1 points
Common feelings of siblings of children with disabilities
include all of the following except
Selected Answer:

fear that they will be rejected by their disabled sibling
Correct Answer:
fear that they will be rejected by their disabled sibling
· Question 16
1 out of 1 points
Which of the following strategies would be least effective in
increasing the involvement of families from culturally and
linguistically diverse backgrounds?
Selected Answer:
Scheduling meetings during the teacher's planning time
Correct Answer:
Scheduling meetings during the teacher's planning time
· Question 17
1 out of 1 points
Which of the following is an assumption of the mirror model for

parent involvement?
Selected Answer:
Parents may not need everything that professionals offer.
Correct Answer:
Parents may not need everything that professionals offer.
· Question 18
1 out of 1 points
Which of the following is a universal method of home-school
communication?
Selected Answer:
Parent-teacher conferences
Correct Answer:
Parent-teacher conferences

· Question 19
1 out of 1 points
Which of the following statements about parent involvement
and special education is true?
Selected Answer:
Parent involvement is an essential element of special education.
Correct Answer:
Parent involvement is an essential element of special education.
· Question 20
1 out of 1 points
Who is/are the most powerful and pervasive influence(s) in a
child's life?
Selected Answer:
Family
Correct Answer:

Family
In reference to Chapter 1 of the text, how do you envision
special education having an impact on your teaching based upon
individual planning, Specialized instruction, Intensive teaching,
or Goal-directed curriculum design? You may want to reflect on
pages 36-37 of the text.
An educator’s primary responsibility is designing and
implementing instruction that helps students with special needs
learn useful academic, social, vocational, and personal skills. A
teacher should not wait patiently for an exceptional student to
learn, attributing lack of progress to some inherent attribute or
faulty process within the child, such as intellectual disabilities,
learning disability, attention-deficit disorder, or emotional
disturbance. Instead, the teacher should select evidence-based
practices and then use direct and frequent measures of the
student’s performance as the primary guide for modifying those
methods as needed to improve their effectiveness. This,
I believe, is the real work of the special educator. I find that
overcorrecting students does not get the behavior to stop, but
that encouraging those who are doing the right thing usually
leads the others to follow suit.
All children exhibit differences from one another in terms of
their physical attributes (e.g., some are shorter, some are
stronger) and learning abilities (e.g., some learn quickly and use
what they have learned in new situations; others need intensive
instruction and have difficulty maintaining and generalizing

new knowledge and skills).
The term exceptional children includes children who
experience difficulties in learning as well as those whose
performance is so advanced that modifications in curriculum
and instruction are necessary to help them fulfill their potential.
Thus, exceptional children is an inclusive term that refers to
children with learning and/or behavior problems, children with
physical disabilities or sensory impairments, and children with
superior intellectual abilities and/or special talents. The term
students with disabilities is more restrictive than exceptional
children because it does not include gifted and talented
children.
Impairment refers to the loss or reduced function of a particular
body part or organ (e.g., a missing limb). A disability exists
when an impairment limits a person’s ability to perform certain
tasks (e.g., walk, see, add a row of numbers). A person with a
disability is not handicapped , however, unless the disability
leads to educational, personal, social, vocational, or other
problems. For example, if a child who has lost a leg learns to
use a prosthetic limb and functions in and out of school without
problems, she is not handicapped, at least in terms of her
functioning in the physical environment. Handicap refers to a
problem or a disadvantage that a person with a disability or an
impairment encounters when interacting with the environment.
A disability may pose a handicap in one environment but not in
another. The child with a prosthetic limb may be handicapped
(i.e., disadvantaged) when competing against nondisabled peers
on the basketball court but experience no disadvantage in the
classroom. The term at risk refers to children who, although not
currently identified as having a disability, are considered to
have a greater than usual chance of developing one. The term is
also used to refer to students who are experiencing significant
learning or behavioral problems in the general education
classroom and are therefore at risk of being diagnosed with a
disability.
Although the pros and cons of using disability category labels

have been widely debated for several decades (Hobbs, 1976a,
1976b), neither conceptual arguments nor research has produced
a conclusive case for the total acceptance or absolute rejection
of labeling practices.
Labeling is bad because it focuses on the child’s deficits,
labeling makes it more likely that others will expect poor
performance or bad behavior from the child, and labels may
damage the child’s self-esteem.
Schools must use nonbiased, multifactored methods of
evaluation to determine whether a child has a disability and, if
so, whether the child needs specially designed instruction to
benefit from education.
An individualized education program (IEP) must be developed
and implemented to meet the unique needs of each student with
a disability. The IEP specifies the child’s present levels of
performance, identifies measurable annual goals, and describes
the specific special education and related services that will be
provided to help the child attain those goals and benefit from
education.
Fluency is the combination of accuracy and speed that
characterizes competent performance. A person who is fluent
performs a skill automatically, without hesitations, as if by
second nature. Whereas two students might each complete a
page of math problems with 100% accuracy, the one who
finishes in 2 minutes is much more accomplished than the one
who needs 7 minutes to answer the same problems.
Employers with 15 or more workers may not discriminate
against a qualified individual with a disability in the application
and hiring process or in opportunities for advancement.
The ultimate goal of NCLB was that all children would be
proficient in reading and math by 2014 and be taught by
qualified teachers highly trained in their subjects.
Special education is, first of all, purposeful intervention
designed to prevent, eliminate, and/or overcome the obstacles
that might keep a child with disabilities from learning and from

full and active participation in school and society. Special
education provides three basic types of intervention: preventive,
remedial, and compensatory.
PREVENTIVE INTERVENTION Special educators design
preventive intervention to keep a potential or minor problem
from becoming a disability. Preventive interventions include
actions that stop an event from happening and those that reduce
the negative outcomes of a disability or condition that has
already been identified. Prevention can occur at three levels:
Primary prevention- designed to reduce the number of new
cases ( incidence ) of a disability;
Secondary prevention- is aimed at individuals who have already
been exposed to or are displaying specific risk factors and is
intended to eliminate or counteract the effects of those risk
factors.
Tertiary prevention- is aimed at individuals with a disability
and intended to prevent the effects of the disability from
worsening.
REMEDIAL INTERVENTION Remediation attempts to
eliminate specific effects of a disability. The word remediation
is primarily an educational term; to teach the person with
disabilities skills for independent and successful functioning.
COMPENSATORY INTERVENTION Compensatory
intervention involves teaching a substitute (i.e., compensatory)
skill that enables a person to engage in an activity or perform a
task in spite of a disability.
WHO We have already identified the most important who in
special education: exceptional children whose educational needs
necessitate an individually planned program of instruction.
WHAT Special education can sometimes be differentiated from
general education by its curriculum—that is, by what is taught.
Educators often use the term functional curriculum to describe
the knowledge and skills that some students with disabilities
need in order to achieve as much success and independence as

they can in school, home, community, and work settings.
HOW Special education also differs from general education by
its use of specialized, or adapted, materials and methods.
WHERE Special education can sometimes be identified (but
not defined) by where it takes place. Although the majority of
children with disabilities spend most of the school day in
general education classrooms, others are in separate classrooms
or separate residential and day schools. And many of the
students in general education classrooms spend a portion of
each day in a resource room, where they receive individualized
instruction.
General education is an entitlement for all students; it is the
universal, basic, compulsory, and free education developed in
the United State to offer opportunity to all, regardless of race,
class, or social standing. Special education, on the other hand,
is reserved for students with disabilities who need a unique,
different, and special education.
The focus of general and special education is different. General
education is oriented to the group. Students are placed in
classes and grades and, while there continue to be lively debates
about optimal class size, these debates do not question the basic
premise that general education is delivered to groups. In
contrast, special education is directed to the individual. The
right to a special education is based on individualized decision
making and involves individualized educational programming.
General education is a place. It is the “normal” educational
setting. It is where everyone goes to school. Special education
is not a place; it is a service. The service can be delivered in
any number of places from mainstream classroom to residential
school. And no matter the place, students with disabilities in
need of a special education should be receiving instruction that
is specialized, individualized, and intensive.

SUMMARY
Who Are Exceptional Children?
• Exceptional children are those whose physical attributes
and/or learning abilities differ from the norm, either above or
below, to such an extent that an individualized program of
special education is necessary.
• Impairment refers to the reduced function or loss of a
particular body part or organ.
• A disability exists when an impairment limits a person’s
ability to perform certain tasks in the same way that most
people do.
• Handicap refers to the problems a person with a disability
encounters when interacting with the environment.
• A child who is at risk is not currently identified as having a
disability but is considered to have a greater than usual chance
of developing one if intervention is not provided. How Many
Exceptional Children Are There?
• About 6 million children with disabilities, birth through age
21, received special education services in 2009–2010.
• Children in special education represent approximately 12% of
the school-age population.
• Children receiving special education under the two largest
disability categories, learning disabilities and speech or
language impairments, make up 60% of all school-age special
education students.
Why Do We Label and Classify Exceptional Children?
• Some educators believe that disability labels have negative
effects on the child and on others’ perceptions of her and can
lead to exclusion; others believe that labeling is a necessary
first step to providing needed intervention and is important for
comparing and communicating about research findings.
As a future counselor, my focus is to form plans based on

individuals, rather than groups, which is similar to special
education. I agree with Naomi Zigmond saying, “General
Education and Special Education are (and Should be) Different”
because every person has their own way of learning, but the
general educators gives options to their students to receive the
information versus forming a plan for each individual student.
“Special education” is viewed as negative, but why? I coach
high school baseball and one my players is in special education,
but I wouldn’t have guessed it because he

SPE 500 Clinical Learning NotesAssigned Teacher Patricia Tessne.docx

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