from 2005-2006 School Year
Lawrence
Special Services Overview
(Oct.
12, 2005)
Marie Luciano, Supervisor for Child Study Teams provided information on Special Education programs and services, and introduced two district professionals, an Occupational Therapist and a Learning Disability Teacher Consultant.
Child
Study Team Presentations
A list of the child study team members, their school
assignments and telephone numbers was provided and will be available at
future ASK meetings. Click here
to download PDF.
Occupational Therapist—Nancy Simon
Occupational Therapy involves
determining where the child is struggling in the day-to-day school life
and can include any activity, some examples: navigating hallways, putting
on jackets, making friends, handwriting. Services are delivered in the
classroom, often involving non classified children, small and large group
settings, individually, on the playground, co-treatment with other
specialists, sometimes in small groups.
Learning Disability Teacher Consultant (LDTC)—Pam Hernandez
A LDTC is required to have
teaching experience as well as certification as a LDTC. This teaching
experience helps in making decisions about what will actually work in the
classroom. Testing is used as part of the
evaluation as well as classroom observation of the child.
Intervention and Referral Service (I & RS)
This is a referral by a teacher
when the teacher suspects a child is having some difficulty and wants
assistance in determining the best way to work with the child. The teacher
meets with an administrator, I&RS lead person and other invited
professionals. The purpose is to provide early
intervention and to try modifications for 6 weeks before meeting to
determine the next step. Although this approach does not
usually involve the parent, the parent can also make this request to the
teacher.
DISCUSSION
ON NEW PROGRAMS IN LAWRENCE TOWNSHIP:
ELLI
- ELLI provides pre-school
education for a combination of classified, low income, and children chosen
by a lottery. Dana Hice is the project director for this initiative.
Special
Olympics
- Special Olympics runs a 9 week
program twice a year at the Middle School. The Fall program is already in
progress. Mike Giesert and Lisa Quarry are the Special Olympic coaches.
Wilson
Reading Program
- Teachers in the Middle School
and High School are certified in this structured, sequential, proven reading
program. It is expected that additional teachers will become certified on
the elementary level for next year. Although the district is providing for
this training, during the certification year, the teachers are providing the instruction on their own
time. For more information about the Wilson Reading program, visit www.wilsonlanguage.com.
Behavioral
Intervention Strategies
(Nov.
11, 2005)
Sue Douglas, Lawrence Township Behavioral Specialist, gave a presentation on Behavioral Intervention Strategies for Parents and Teachers. ASK thanks her very much for leading the meeting, given the absence of our other scheduled presenter, who was unexpectedly unable to attend. Marie Luciano introduced Sue, who this fall was hired for the newly created position of Behavioral Specialist. She has spent many years here in the Lawrence Township school district, and brings a wealth of experience to her job, having served as Special Education Teacher, Resource Room Specialist, Self-Contained Classroom teacher, and in differentiated (2 teacher) classrooms.
The position of Behavioral Specialist covers grades Pre-K to 8, six buildings, five days a week. (Mondays - Eldridge Park and Slackwood, Tuesdays - LIS, Wednesdays - Ben Franklin, Thursdays - LMS, Fridays - LES, and also where needed in
priority cases.) She is a resource for teachers and students, regular and classified. Parents who wish to contact her can make a request via their case manager. You may also wish to contact her via email, at sdouglas@ltps.org.
The Behavioral Specialist can be instrumental in devising behavior plans and modeling behavior modification strategies for teachers. She can create task cards and individualized behavior contracts. Sometimes whole classes use a contract, which is signed by the entire class, with rewards they would like to get for the class (eg. pizza party, video, etc.) In order for rewards to be effective, for individuals or classes, the reward has to be something the child(ren) want and are willing to work towards attaining. Rewards can be pretzels, candy, a small toy, lunch with the teacher, a video/movie night, a sleepover, extra story time, etc. Coping skills, techniques for dealing with frustration, and organizational strategies are other examples of things she provides to students.
The following is taken from a handout provided at the meeting:
GOOD TIPS FOR PARENTING SPECIAL NEEDS CHILDREN
1. Use positive reinforcement to increase positive behaviors.
2. Use immediate consequences to decrease negative behaviors.
3. Use token economies at home to help in following rules. (Use charts, chips, stickers to follow behaviors and create immediate rewards.)
4. Be proactive in your approach. (Create rewards and consequences and let your child know ahead of time what is expected.)
5. Keep directions simple. (Give only one or two directions or instructions.)
6. Use eye contact. (When giving instructions and directions keep the child's eyes on your face.)
7. Review your expectations often. (Make sure they are appropriate for your child's emotional level as well as their chronological age.)
8. Create proactive systems to help your child. (Label drawers, notebooks and clothing. Use charts to remind them of their routines. Keep things the same, keep things simple, post routines.)
9. Look for talents. (Look for their creativity, their musical ability, and their artistic ways.)
10. Keep your home as structured as possible so your child knows what to expect. (Routines and structure make your
child's life more orderly.)
The meeting ended with an informal question and answer period along with a discussion of suggested topics for future ASK presentations. Bullying, sibling relationships, bus/transportation issues, and transition planning (from K-3 to Intermediate, from Intermediate to Middle, from Middle to High School, Vocational Training, Career Planning were some of the options mentioned. Thank you to all those who attended the meeting and our special thanks go to Marie Luciano, Sue Douglas and Laurie Kruger Azer for presenting and participating.
How to Handle A Bully &
Peaceful Parenting (Feb.
8, 2006)
Naomi Drew, a conflict resolution expert spoke about "How to Handle Bullying and Peaceful Parenting."
Ms. Drew is author of several books, serves as a consultant to school
districts, leads seminars and runs parenting courses. Her latest book is Hope
and Healing: Peaceful Parenting in an Uncertain World. She began
ASK's meeting by telling parents that we need to help build our child's resilience.
Believe in your child. Help them capitalize on the talents and intelligences that they have, what they succeed at. Are they good at remembering facts, computers, art, music? Focus on their strengths, build on them and have them focus on them as well. Keep a running list of what they are good at, keep adding to it, even small
things. Have the child add to it. Special interests can lead to special talents.
Reframe negative messages that they make to themselves. When they fail a test, help them to say, "This (subject) is hard for me, but _____ is so easy for me, I am good at... Is there something I can do differently to do better? Messages should be reframed so they are not permanent, pervasive or personal. ( I may not succeed at this moment...) Isolate the problem are, this is something that can change, there is not something innately wrong with me.
Provide simple mantras (instead of I am stupid, to I am strong, I can succeed, I will succeed at something else.)
Model resilience and optimism. Model it, teach it, reinforce it, expect it. Reinforce every success. Spell it out specifically. Ask child "how did you feel accomplishing that, how did you feel succeeding?" Hold up a mirror to their most positive self.
Seek out role models with similar challenges. Help children learn about others who have been successful and help them to identify with them.
Teach pro social skills, how to calm oneself, anger management, conflict resolution.
7 Steps for Kids When Faced with a Bully
1. Stand up tall, look person in the eye, say firmly "Leave me alone" or "Cut it out" Stand in the power stance, chin forward, feet apart, standing tall.
2. Take slow deep breaths and repeat a calming statement to self like "I can handle this"
3. Walk away with head held high. Think "Your words are meaningless to me, you have the problem, you are mean, hurtful, insecure.
4. Don't take their words personally.
5. Join other people. Being alone can make you a target.
6. If what you've tried hasn't worked, tell and adult. (Not in a tattling way, say "I've tried handling this myself but it is continuing to bother me, etc."
7. Join forces with others to help other kids who are being bullied.
Naomi provided parents with several helpful handouts. These included:
Eight Keys to Peaceful Parenting
Family Meetings
Cooling Off
The Win/Win Guidelines for
Resolving Conflicts
12 Steps to Help Your
Kids Stop Fighting
Fostering Compassion
Managing Anger
Peacemaking Resources
Please visit www.learningpeace.com for more information.
Power Advocacy for Your Special Needs Child
(Mar. 7,2 006)
ADVOCACY does not mean ADVERSARIAL. Education and knowledge yields
confidence and collaboration. The result??? Ultimately... the best
academic experience for your child. Advice on advocating for your child,
understanding test scores, record keeping and how to approach IEP meetings
was presented by guest expert Martha Lisa Flinsch.
Handouts included:
What I Have Learned
Forms:
Child Study Team Form
- Adapt this to handle requests to Child Study Team Members
General Information
Form - Useful in providing to Professionals who will be working with
and helping you child.
Medical Release Form
- To be signed by children between the ages of 14 and 18, preserving
parents rights to medical information
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