Mircea is a 4-year-old boy from Romania who was recently enrolled in pre-K. His teacher noticed he did not line up with the other students and had difficulties with eye contact, interaction, and behavior. He came from Romania with his family and had no prior educational experience. An evaluation found low scores in social domains and he was placed in an autism classroom. His mother had concerns about his behaviors and language skills declining. A new thorough evaluation determined he had mild intellectual disabilities, not autism. An IFSP meeting was held with an interpreter and team to develop a new educational plan focusing on an inclusive pre-K setting, behavior support, collaboration between teachers and parents, and language support.

1. Mircea

2. Content of the Presentation Part 1 Introduction Family Background Educational History Educational Experience Role Playing IFSP meeting Part 2 Our suggestions for the new educational setting Questions & Discussion

3. Introduction to the “cast” Mircea Ms. Harper – first general ed. teacher Ms. & Mr. Popescu – Mircea’s mother Ms. Ramona – interpreter, spec. ed. student Ms. Goodheart – second general ed. teacher And the others…

4. “ Line up, it’s time to play outside! Everybody line up!” Ms. Harper, the pre-K teacher noticed that all children are grouping to line up, except for one. She calls Mircea again “Myrcia, come line up with everybody else”. “I don’t understand… Why doesn’t he look at me when I call him? Doesn’t he hear me? Why doesn’t he line up like everybody else? Why isn’t he like everybody else…?”

5. Mircea 4 years old boy from Romania Big brown eyes Only child of a loving family

6. Educational history No previous educational history back in Romania Raised by his grandmother Never interacted with other children

7. Family background Came from Romania with a lottery to work First time experience with English language, free language courses Mother works as a cook at hospital cafeteria, father works in constructions

8. Educational Experience Need for a placement since both parents are working First educational setting –Ms. Harpers pre-K classroom First day in school Raising complaints about Mircea Noncompliance, lack of interaction, behavior problems: hitting, screaming, lack of eye contact

9. Educational exp. (cont.) First referral with a “quick” evaluation Multidisciplinary team Low scores on social domains Passive involvement of parents Lack of interpreter Parents received limited information from the team members Eligibility for autism class

10. Educational Exp. (cont.) In the autism class: Parents hope for the best Mother raising concerns about Mircea’s behaviors: hitting, screaming, loosing his language abilities Mother pays a visit to school Mother meets Ms. Popescu and an advocate group Appeal to school First referral with a “quick” evaluation Passive involvement of parents Placement in autism class

11. Educational exp. (cont). A through evaluation; Interdisciplinary team, weekly meetings Classroom observations; lack of language ability, imitation of peers for communication purposes, cultural differences, lack of experience in a classroom setting Information gathered from the parents Assessment; scores app. 2 S.D. below average New diagnosis; mild intellectual disabilities Call for a new meeting

12. Educational exp. (cont.) IFSP meeting; Active participation of parents Presence of an interpreter, Ms. Ramona Presence of general education teacher, Ms. Goodheart, special education teacher, school principal, district supervisor, speech pathologist, ESL teacher, occupational therapist, and a member of the advocate group

14. Suggestions for the new educational setting Inclusive setting Pre-K general education classroom with special education support services Behavior support plan Conducted by the special education teacher and a paraprofessional Both at school and at home Special education support Part time special education teacher

15. Suggestions (cont.) Collaboration Active collaboration of interdisciplinary team members facilitated by a team member Meetings every two months for IFSP progress report Developmentally Appropriate Practice IFSP goals written with the consensus of team members Reflecting family expectations Focusing on communication and social interaction skills

16. Suggestions (cont.) Language support Provided by ESL teacher and speech language pathologist Focusing on grammar and pronunciation Parental Support Regular home visits for active involvement of both parents Informing parents on their parental rights Providing information on behavior management