Educating Children with Special Education Needs and Communication Disorders in Schools

1. Educating Children with Special Education Needs and Communication Disorders in Schools Marlene B. Salas-Provance, Ph.D., CCC-SLP Associate Professor Department Head Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders

2. Special Education Teachers • 2009 All teachers, including special education • 437,000 (6.5 M children with disabilities) • Critical shortage of teachers in special education • 110,000 special education teachers grades 9-12 • 2,020 teachers in New Mexico/includes special education K-12

3. Speech-Language Pathologists • Approximately 166,000 certified SLPs in US • Approximately 2000 certified SLPs around the world • Prevalence of speech sound disorders is 8-9% of the population By first grade 5% of children have a noticeable speech disorder

4. Speech-Language Disorders • 6-8 million people in US have a language impairment • 3 million Americans stutter • 15 million in the world • 7.7 million Americans have a voice disorder • http://www.asha.org/Research/reports/children/

5. Students with Disabilities • 2009/2010 • 6.5 Million students • Ages 3-21 • 13% of population • 38% with specific learning disability • 22% with speech or language impairments (SLI) • 11% with health impairments • 6-7% with autism, intellectual disability, emotional disability, developmental delay

6. DISABILITY TYPE

7. REGULAR SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT

8. IDEA • IDEA – Individuals with Disability Act – 1975 mandates provision of ‘free’ and ‘appropriate’ public school education for children ages 3-21 who have disabilities • Building the Legacy: IDEA 2004 http://idea.ed.gov/ http://nichcy.org/laws/idea

9. ADA • ADA 1990 – Americans with Disabilities Act • Guarantee rights of full inclusion into mainstream • ADA Amendments Act of 2008 • http://www.dol.gov/dol/topic/disability/ada.htm

10. US Special Education School Placements • Special School Districts • Special Education in Regular Education School Districts • Regular classrooms/Co-teachers • Special Education Resource Rooms • Self-contained Classrooms • One-to-one speech-language therapy • Group speech-language therapy

11. Types of Settings (Public or Private) • Early Intervention • Birth to three • Preschool • School-Age Elementary • Middle School • High School • 95% of students with disabilities enrolled in regular schools • 86% with SLI spent most of day in regular classroom

12. Types of Settings • Schools for the Deaf • Schools for the Visually Impaired • Classrooms for children with Physical Handicaps • Classrooms for children with Behavioral Disorders

13. Effective Special Educator PracticesCo-Teaching • Provides specialized services to individual students in general education class • Co-Teaching Team • General educator, special educator, speech-language pathologist

14. Effective Special Educator PracticesCo-Teaching • Aspects of Co-Teaching Team • Agree on a goal • Share a common belief system • Demonstrate parity • Share leadership roles • Practice effective communication skills

15. Effective Special Educator PracticesCo-Teaching • Popular Teaching Model • Adheres to IDEA principles • Schools hold high expectations for all students • Schools ensure students have access to the curriculum of general education to maximum extent

16. Qualifications • No Child Left Behind (NCLB) 2001 http://www2.ed.gov/nclb/landing.jhtml • All children must receive instruction from “Highly Qualified” educators • Speech-language pathologist: Masters Degree with American Speech-Language Hearing Association (ASHA) Certificate of Clinical Competence (CCC) and state licensure • Special Education Teacher: Bachelors degree and state licensure, possible Masters degree, First license in general education K-12

17. Special Education Curriculums and Treatment Plans • Establish student learning objectives (SLOs) • Construct objectives that are aligned with general education class • Provide educational opportunities to ELLs (English Language Learners). Evaluate to determine if are eligible for special services

18. Special Education Curriculums and Treatment Plans • General and special educators work collaboratively Co-INSTRUCTING • One teach, one observe • One teach, one assist • Station Teaching • Parallel Teaching • Alterantive Teaching • Team Teaching Conderman, G ( March, 2011). Middle school co-teaching: Effective practices and student reflections. Middle School Journal, www.nmsa.org pp 24-31

19. Special Education Curriculums and Treatment Plans • Accommodate leaning needs for students with disabilities • Accommodate levels of performances for students with disabilities • All students who receive special education and related services must have an IEP/Individualized Educational Plan

20. Attitudes Towards Disabilityhttp://www.uwlax.edu/urc/JUR-online/PDF/2010/grames&leverentz.pdf • Objects of fear and pity • Over-indulged, behavior not controlled • Revered, a special gift • Hopeless condition • Incapable of contributing to society • To be cared for at home or in institutions • Uneducable

21. Conclusion • Education for individuals with disabilities in the US is advanced; spanning 50 years • More emphasis towards outcomes of teaching and treatment • More emphasis toward evidence-based practices • Emphasis toward person-first vocabulary • Child with autism, not an autistic child • Emphasis toward general educator/special educator collaboration

22. References • Flynn, P. (2010, August 31). New service delivery models: Connecting SLPs with teachers and curriculum. The ASHA Leader. http://www.asha.org/Publications/leader/2010/100831/Service-Delivery-Models.htm • Friend, M., & Cook, L. (2010). Interactions: Collaboration skills for school professionals (6th ed.)Boston: Pearson Education • Gately, S., & Gately, F.. (2001). Understanding co-teaching. TEACHING Exceptional Children, 33(4), 40-47 • Turnbull, R., Huerta, N., M., & Stowe, M. (2006). The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act as amended in 2004. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education.