individualized education programindividualized education program
What Lessons Does Special Education Hold for Improving Personalized Learning?
Some Families Hope Pandemic Can Spur Change in Special Education
With Schools Closed, Kids With Disabilities Are More Vulnerable Than Ever
How Parents Can Help Their Dyslexic Child Get Needed Support
How to Recognize Dyslexia in Children, Including English Language Learners
How Dyslexia is a Different Brain, Not a Disease
Helping Students with Intellectual Disabilities Conquer College
What It Takes To Be A Special Education Teacher
Who Helps Kids With Dyslexia Gain Reading Fluency?
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frustration","imgSizes":{"thumbnail":{"file":"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2016/01/specialedteacher2_slide-3ff0fc5c8d764bcdc3dfd2542c4abcf5f7f90572-400x267.jpg","width":400,"height":267,"mimeType":"image/jpeg"},"medium":{"file":"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2016/01/specialedteacher2_slide-3ff0fc5c8d764bcdc3dfd2542c4abcf5f7f90572-800x533.jpg","width":800,"height":533,"mimeType":"image/jpeg"},"medium_large":{"file":"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2016/01/specialedteacher2_slide-3ff0fc5c8d764bcdc3dfd2542c4abcf5f7f90572-768x512.jpg","width":768,"height":512,"mimeType":"image/jpeg"},"large":{"file":"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2016/01/specialedteacher2_slide-3ff0fc5c8d764bcdc3dfd2542c4abcf5f7f90572-1440x960.jpg","width":1440,"height":960,"mimeType":"image/jpeg"},"fd-lrg":{"file":"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2016/01/specialedteacher2_slide-3ff0fc5c8d764bcdc3dfd2542c4abcf5f7f90572-1920x1280.jpg","width":1920,"height":1280,"mimeType":"image/jpeg"},"fd-med":{"file":"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2016/01/specialedteacher2_slide-3ff0fc5c8d764bcdc3dfd2542c4abcf5f7f90572-1180x787.jpg","width":1180,"height":787,"mimeType":"image/jpeg"},"fd-sm":{"file":"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2016/01/specialedteacher2_slide-3ff0fc5c8d764bcdc3dfd2542c4abcf5f7f90572-960x640.jpg","width":960,"height":640,"mimeType":"image/jpeg"},"post-thumbnail":{"file":"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2016/01/specialedteacher2_slide-3ff0fc5c8d764bcdc3dfd2542c4abcf5f7f90572-672x372.jpg","width":672,"height":372,"mimeType":"image/jpeg"},"twentyfourteen-full-width":{"file":"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2016/01/specialedteacher2_slide-3ff0fc5c8d764bcdc3dfd2542c4abcf5f7f90572-1038x576.jpg","width":1038,"height":576,"mimeType":"image/jpeg"},"guest-author-32":{"file":"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2016/01/specialedteacher2_slide-3ff0fc5c8d764bcdc3dfd2542c4abcf5f7f90572-32x32.jpg","width":32,"height":32,"mimeType":"image/jpeg"},"guest-author-64":{"file":"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2016/01/specialedteacher2_slide-3ff0fc5c8d764bcdc3dfd2542c4abcf5f7f90572-64x64.jpg","width":64,"height":64,"mimeType":"image/jpeg"},"guest-author-96":{"file":"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2016/01/specialedteacher2_slide-3ff0fc5c8d764bcdc3dfd2542c4abcf5f7f90572-96x96.jpg","width":96,"height":96,"mimeType":"image/jpeg"},"guest-author-128":{"file":"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2016/01/specialedteacher2_slide-3ff0fc5c8d764bcdc3dfd2542c4abcf5f7f90572-128x128.jpg","width":128,"height":128,"mimeType":"image/jpeg"},"cat_post_thumb_sizecategory-posts-2":{"file":"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2016/01/specialedteacher2_slide-3ff0fc5c8d764bcdc3dfd2542c4abcf5f7f90572-50x50.jpg","width":50,"height":50,"mimeType":"image/jpeg"},"detail":{"file":"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2016/01/specialedteacher2_slide-3ff0fc5c8d764bcdc3dfd2542c4abcf5f7f90572-75x75.jpg","width":75,"height":75,"mimeType":"image/jpeg"},"kqedFullSize":{"file":"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2016/01/specialedteacher2_slide-3ff0fc5c8d764bcdc3dfd2542c4abcf5f7f90572.jpg","width":3000,"height":2000}},"fetchFailed":false,"isLoading":false},"mindshift_42617":{"type":"attachments","id":"mindshift_42617","meta":{"index":"attachments_1591205162","site":"mindshift","id":"42617","found":true},"title":"Reading-boy","publishDate":1446178772,"status":"inherit","parent":41997,"modified":1446178782,"caption":null,"credit":"iStock","description":null,"imgSizes":{"thumbnail":{"file":"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2015/10/Reading-boy-400x225.jpg","width":400,"height":225,"mimeType":"image/jpeg"},"medium":{"file":"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2015/10/Reading-boy-800x450.jpg","width":800,"height":450,"mimeType":"image/jpeg"},"large":{"file":"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2015/10/Reading-boy-1440x810.jpg","width":1440,"height":810,"mimeType":"image/jpeg"},"fd-lrg":{"file":"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2015/10/Reading-boy-1920x1080.jpg","width":1920,"height":1080,"mimeType":"image/jpeg"},"fd-med":{"file":"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2015/10/Reading-boy-1180x664.jpg","width":1180,"height":664,"mimeType":"image/jpeg"},"fd-sm":{"file":"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2015/10/Reading-boy-960x540.jpg","width":960,"height":540,"mimeType":"image/jpeg"},"post-thumbnail":{"file":"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2015/10/Reading-boy-672x372.jpg","width":672,"height":372,"mimeType":"image/jpeg"},"twentyfourteen-full-width":{"file":"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2015/10/Reading-boy-1038x576.jpg","width":1038,"height":576,"mimeType":"image/jpeg"},"guest-author-32":{"file":"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2015/10/Reading-boy-32x32.jpg","width":32,"height":32,"mimeType":"image/jpeg"},"guest-author-64":{"file":"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2015/10/Reading-b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Sign up for the\u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/4a0ECQWOVBTXmK0mUMmpzp?domain=urldefense.proofpoint.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003ci> Hechinger newsletter here\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci>.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On a shelf in her Chicago classroom, third grader Arianna has a thick binder that details her achievements, strengths and goals as a student, along with some revealing information about her personality. It describes her love of guitar and singing and notes that she wants to advance to a higher level in reading and grasp math concepts more quickly. Her sister, Alanni, an eighth grader, has a binder too. It discusses her grades and standardized test scores, as well as her academic goals: to speak up more frequently in math class and read texts more closely.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The binders resemble, to a degree, the individualized education programs, or IEPs, that are at the heart of education for students with disabilities. But Arianna and Alanni aren’t special education students. Every child at their pre-K-8 school, Belmont-Cragin, has one of these so-called individual learner profiles. The profiles are part of the school’s embrace of personalized learning, which centers on the belief that a teacher lecturing at the front of a classroom is a bad fit for today’s students. Instead, the thinking goes, students must be encouraged to learn at their own pace, with lessons tailored to their specific aptitudes and needs, often with the aid of technology.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Personalized learning has, in recent years, become one of the most talked-about trends in education. Fueled by donations from Silicon Valley philanthropists, the instructional approach has spread to classrooms around the country and more than \u003ca href=\"https://www.ncld.org/personalized-learning/state-landscape\">40 states are exploring it in some form\u003c/a>. As education leaders cast about for solutions to the performance gaps exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic, some are hitting upon the idea that more personalized methods could help schools better serve students who’ve had wildly different experiences with education this year. In the process, they are finding inspiration in special education, which, since the 1975 passage of what’s now known as the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, has promised students with disabilities special services and accommodations to help them learn at their full potential.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Can you imagine the power of an individualized education plan for every student?” Richard Carranza, New York City’s education chancellor, \u003ca href=\"https://ny.chalkbeat.org/2020/12/10/22168384/nyc-schools-covid-learning-loss\">said recently\u003c/a> in discussing his agency’s plans for new tools to help students recover the learning they’ve lost during school closures. “Just think about identifying the explicit skills that students need to work on and the plan that we have to help them achieve a mastery of that explicit skill.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But there are plenty of reasons to be cautious. If anything, special education demonstrates the vast challenges of individualizing education. Tailoring learning to students’ exact needs takes significant resources, teacher training and, ideally, close collaboration with families — something many schools struggle to pull off. While there are limits to comparisons between the two educational approaches — special education is legally mandated and personalized learning is a loosely defined pedagogical philosophy that takes many forms — some of the cracks that have appeared in personalized learning are not unlike those facing special education. Both types of education, for example, require significant resources and trained staff — but often don’t get either. Schools introducing personalized learning have faced criticism for relying on technology to help kids learn at different paces within the same classroom as districts avoid having to drastically scale up their staff; staff shortages have long been \u003ca href=\"https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/sites/default/files/product-files/A_Coming_Crisis_in_Teaching_REPORT.pdf\">endemic in special education\u003c/a>. Meanwhile, for all the hype around personalized learning, evidence of its success remains scant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“School systems and schools have struggled to deliver on the promise of special education,” said Betheny Gross, associate director of the nonprofit Center on Reinventing Public Education. “It isn’t just a matter of taking the principles of special education and doing them at scale.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_57300\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1024px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-57300\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2021/01/GonserSPED9_2492-scaled-1.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2021/01/GonserSPED9_2492-scaled-1.jpeg 1024w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2021/01/GonserSPED9_2492-scaled-1-800x600.jpeg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2021/01/GonserSPED9_2492-scaled-1-1020x765.jpeg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2021/01/GonserSPED9_2492-scaled-1-160x120.jpeg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2021/01/GonserSPED9_2492-scaled-1-768x576.jpeg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Students at CICS West Belden often work in small groups or with the help of technology prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. \u003ccite>(Sarah Gonser for The Hechinger Report )\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>At present, roughly 7 million students, or \u003ca href=\"https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator_cgg.asp\">14 percent\u003c/a> of public schoolchildren, are enrolled in special education nationwide. As personalized learning advocates push forward with plans to roll out their approach to many more of the nation’s schoolchildren, it’s worth considering how lessons from 45 years of educating students with disabilities might help shape this latest educational experiment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One morning in 2019, close to 40 educators gathered in a commercial building on the Chicago riverfront that houses the offices of LEAP Innovations. LEAP is a nonprofit organization that trains schools and teachers to use personalized learning in their classrooms. The day’s professional development for these Chicago Public Schools teachers, alumni of the program, was a refresher, a way to strengthen their teaching practice, share ideas and return to the classroom newly inspired.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Chicago has embraced personalized learning in a big way. In early 2018, Chicago Public Schools and LEAP received $14 million in grants from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) to train teachers and principals on personalizing learning. (CZI is one of The Hechinger Report’s many donors.) The grant funding provided 35 city schools with two-and-a-half years of professional development and instructional coaching through LEAP, plus technology and classroom resources, via the school district’s \u003ca href=\"https://practices.learningaccelerator.org/artifacts/the-chicago-public-schools-elevate-program\">Elevate Program\u003c/a>, which aims to bring personalized learning to 150 Chicago schools by the end of 2021. Concurrently, a portion of the funding went to LEAP to help train principals and teachers at more than 100 Chicago-area schools on personalized learning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After a morning of workshops on topics like helping students puzzle through problems, working in teams and designing learning goals, teachers broke for lunch that day in 2019, gathering around large tables to chat. At one table, the conversation turned to the growing pains of changing course from the traditional “sage on a stage” teaching model, where a teacher holds forth at the front of the classroom while students listen, to a student-focused, personalized model.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We started this process five years ago and all I could think was: ‘Oh my god, this is going to be a nightmare!’ Because I thought this would mean that, on top of everything I was already doing, I’d be creating an IEP for every single student,” said Kathleen Bourret, a teacher at R.H. Lee Elementary, a Pre-K-8 school on Chicago’s southwest side. “I didn’t have the mindset to make this shift. I’ve been teaching for 30 years, and now you’re gonna make me do what?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bourret’s learning curve when it came to personalized learning is pretty typical for teachers, said Chris Liang-Vergara, who was then serving as LEAP’s chief of learning innovation. And it’s something the people at LEAP try to alleviate by bringing in past cohorts, like that day’s group, to mingle and continue sharing ideas and inspiration.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s definitely not always rainbows and sunshine,” said Liang-Vergara. “Keeping that honest and real is important. You don’t say: ‘I’m going to do personalized learning and it’s going to be beautiful.’ There’s a real shift that happens with you as a professional, with your kids in the classroom, and that change process takes time.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_57298\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1536px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-57298\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2021/01/GonserSPED7_2509-scaled-1.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1536\" height=\"1152\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2021/01/GonserSPED7_2509-scaled-1.jpeg 1536w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2021/01/GonserSPED7_2509-scaled-1-800x600.jpeg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2021/01/GonserSPED7_2509-scaled-1-1020x765.jpeg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2021/01/GonserSPED7_2509-scaled-1-160x120.jpeg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2021/01/GonserSPED7_2509-scaled-1-768x576.jpeg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1536px) 100vw, 1536px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Colleen Collins, school director at CICS West Belden, works with students prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. \u003ccite>(Sarah Gonser for The Hechinger Report )\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The shift in mindset involves moving away from a teaching model that is centered on curriculum and meeting benchmarks toward being student-centered in ways that demand differentiated instruction based on a child’s interests, strengths, weaknesses and background. Students often work in small groups, with help from a co-teacher, or one-on-one, with lessons fitted to their skills and abilities. In theory, their progress is tracked closely, with their goals and assignments updated continually to meet their needs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Much of this may sound familiar to teachers of special education. As part of their jobs, special education teachers assess students and develop teaching plans based on each student’s skill levels. They teach students as a class and one-on-one or in small groups. They collaborate with school-based service providers such as occupational, physical and speech therapists, in order to cull reams of information and write IEPs that, often, run more than ten double-sided pages, and ideally provide detailed documentation of a child’s strengths, weaknesses and goals.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But teachers often come unprepared to do this work, and don’t get the support they need from their schools and districts, in part because special education is \u003ca href=\"https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/why-the-feds-still-fall-short-on-special-education-funding/2020/01\">chronically underfunded\u003c/a>. They may struggle to assess students’ abilities and needs, education researchers say, and \u003ca href=\"https://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/module/tchr-ret/cresource/q1/p01/\">turnover\u003c/a> for special education teachers tends to be high. The paperwork involved can be overwhelming. All of this suggests that if personalized learning is to succeed, it must emphasize supporting teachers and investing in their professional development, say education experts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When you get a master’s degree in special education, do you come out knowing how to teach every single child with every singly kind of disability? Absolutely not,” said Megan Benay, senior national director of data systems and strategy at Great Oaks Charter Schools, a network of charter schools that focuses on preparing kids for college through personalized tutoring. “As far as I see it, the only path forward is to figure out how to invest in our people and invest in the kind of ongoing professional learning that provides practical, applicable research-infused training into the daily practice of our educators. This is hard because the reality of teaching is that you’re on every hour of the day, you’re lesson-planning, you’re calling parents, you’re writing curriculum. Oh, and then you have to figure out how to fit in eating lunch somewhere in there.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ace Parsi, senior consultant with Equity Journey Partners and the former director of innovation for the National Center for Learning Disabilities, said that if school districts don’t invest in teachers while making the shift to personalized learning, they are bound to fail. “It’s not that educators don’t want to try personalized learning. But it’s a vulnerable feeling when you’re trying to implement this new thing and you’re like: ‘Oh my god, how do I approach this for these students, I just don’t have the skill set to do this’,” he said. “It’s really incumbent on school districts and states to create a professional learning system that meets the educators and empowers them to actually implement personalized learning for all kids.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_57296\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1024px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-57296\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2021/01/GonserSPED5_2478-scaled-1.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2021/01/GonserSPED5_2478-scaled-1.jpeg 1024w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2021/01/GonserSPED5_2478-scaled-1-800x600.jpeg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2021/01/GonserSPED5_2478-scaled-1-1020x765.jpeg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2021/01/GonserSPED5_2478-scaled-1-160x120.jpeg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2021/01/GonserSPED5_2478-scaled-1-768x576.jpeg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Stacy Stewart, principal of Belmont-Cragin Elementary School seen here before the COVID-19 pandemic, credits personalized learning for helping to improve student engagement. \u003ccite>(Sarah Gonser for The Hechinger Report)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Stacy Stewart, principal of Belmont-Cragin, the school on Chicago’s northwest side that Alanni and Arianna attend, has heard teachers make comparisons between personalized learning and the IEPs that drive special education. “My teachers say: ‘It’s almost like all our students have an IEP’ — not formally, of course, but they each do have an individualized plan,” said Stewart. “It’s always evolving; it’s a very living document.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Stewart, though, cautions against drawing too-direct parallels between IEPs and the individual learner profiles her school uses, also known as personalized learning plans. IEPs are rigid legal documents, written not for students so much as for teachers, parents and lawyers. Individual learner profiles, she said, aim to involve parents in their children’s learning but also give students more control over their own education. At her school, students lead learner meetings at least twice a year where they give a presentation to their parents about their progress, goals and challenges. That’s different from IEP meetings, which are led by adults.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Stewart embraced personalized learning even before the Chicago school district began to do so. A few years after joining Belmont-Cragin in 2010, she turned to the approach to help close achievement gaps at her school, where the student body is predominantly Hispanic and low-income, and roughly \u003ca href=\"https://schoolinfo.cps.edu/schoolprofile/schooldetails.aspx?SchoolId=609922\">68 percent\u003c/a> of students are English language learners.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So far, the results are good. Between the 2015-16 and 2018-19 school years, attainment levels for third through eighth graders on the standardized Measures of Academic Progress test rose from 35 to 65 percent in reading and from 30 to 66 percent in math. Student growth in reading and math was far above average: in the 95th and 98th percentiles, respectively. Between the 2014-15 and 2017-18 school years, teacher retention grew from 60 to 90 percent.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the school, personalized learning has many facets, some of which are reminiscent of special education. One is to involve families in their children’s learning. In special education, under legal mandates, parental input and the recommendations of educators and therapists must receive \u003ca href=\"https://www.understood.org/en/school-learning/special-services/ieps/playing-a-role-in-the-iep-process\">equal consideration\u003c/a>. Stewart said she has found that parental involvement has been key to her students’ learning, because it gives teachers greater insight into their students’ needs and turns parents into partners in their children’s education. But she doesn’t limit it to scheduled meetings in an office.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One weekday morning before the pandemic shuttered school buildings, students gathered in an ageing auditorium for their daily morning assembly. One student read morning announcements in English and her partner made the same announcements in Spanish. The audience, a raucous, cheerful gathering of the entire school’s elementary-age students, plus more than a dozen parents, some with toddlers or babies scooting around nearby, greeted each announcement with cheering and hollering.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_57297\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1200px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-57297\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2021/01/GonserSPED6_2471-scaled-1.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1200\" height=\"900\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2021/01/GonserSPED6_2471-scaled-1.jpeg 1200w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2021/01/GonserSPED6_2471-scaled-1-800x600.jpeg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2021/01/GonserSPED6_2471-scaled-1-1020x765.jpeg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2021/01/GonserSPED6_2471-scaled-1-160x120.jpeg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2021/01/GonserSPED6_2471-scaled-1-768x576.jpeg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Before the pandemic, students at Belmont-Cragin often lead morning assemblies, part of an effort by the school to give young people more control over their own learning. \u003ccite>(Sarah Gonser for The Hechinger Report)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Stewart and her team began encouraging parents to join the morning assemblies a few years ago. Her colleagues also started “bring your parent to school” days in which parents were invited into the classroom to see how their kids learned; they created a parent leadership team and trained parent mentors who visited students in classrooms. Before the pandemic, Belmont-Cragin also sent teachers out on “empathy walks,” when they spent an entire day joining students at their homes early in the morning, and traveling with them to school and then back home again to see how evenings unfolded. This was important, Stewart explained, because it helped teachers get a stronger sense of what motivated students and thus, how to better guide them into meaningful learning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even the classrooms at Belmont-Cragin are personalized to students’ needs. Some have gentler lighting — twinkling holiday lights in lieu of flickering overhead lights. Seating options range from bean bags to structured armchairs; students can choose to study alone in quiet workspaces near a lava lamp or a bubbling fish tank, or in groups at clusters of desks and tables.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gross, of the Center on Reinventing Public Education, said one way in which special education goes awry is by becoming too compliance-oriented, with teachers struggling simply to fulfill the system’s legal and paperwork requirements. “The compliance requirements are intense and numerous and it’s very easy to fall into a compliance mindset,” she said. The schools that succeed in educating kids with disabilities are engaged not simply in following the legal rules but in finding the best way to serve each student; that same spirit will be key to tackling personalized learning, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, educators around the country are finding that it’s virtually impossible to do personalized instruction without relying heavily on technology — for good or ill. Otherwise, the burden of having kids learning at different paces within one classroom is too great. “I find it difficult to find a district doing personalized learning where tech is not the top two or three things they’re doing,” said Sean J. Smith, professor of special education at the University of Kansas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Ideally every student would have a teacher, but that’s simply not a possibility,” said John Pane, a senior scientist at the research organization RAND who has studied personalized learning. “It would be way too costly.” And that’s where tech tools come in, by making it easier for kids to learn at different paces, and focus on different goals, within a single class.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_57301\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1024px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-57301\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2021/01/GonserSPED10_2499-scaled-1.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2021/01/GonserSPED10_2499-scaled-1.jpeg 1024w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2021/01/GonserSPED10_2499-scaled-1-800x600.jpeg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2021/01/GonserSPED10_2499-scaled-1-1020x765.jpeg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2021/01/GonserSPED10_2499-scaled-1-160x120.jpeg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2021/01/GonserSPED10_2499-scaled-1-768x576.jpeg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">CICS West Belden uses Summit, an online learning platform that has drawn criticism from some parents who worry about excessive screen time. \u003ccite>(Sarah Gonser for The Hechinger Report )\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>CICS West Belden, a pre-K-8 school not far from Stewart’s elementary that is part of the Chicago International Charter School network, began rethinking its teaching model some six years ago. The school started with an initial push into blended learning, a teaching approach that aims to integrate online with traditional face-to-face learning, said Colleen Collins, the school director. Since then, Collins and her teachers — after receiving several grants, including a $100,000 technology planning grant and a Breakthrough Schools Next Generation Learning Challenges personalized learning grant — began working with LEAP to start personalized learning for each grade level.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In an eighth grade science class well before the pandemic hit, students were grouped at a variety of workstations. Some were seated on stools around tall desks, some worked at regular-height tables with traditional classroom chairs, others were on their feet working at standing desks. Each student was bent over a Dell Chromebook using Summit Learning software, a widely used online learning platform developed by the charter network Summit Public Schools with help from Facebook software engineers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Students David Diaz and Emani Torres had been using Summit software at CICS West Belden since sixth grade. They sat side-by-side at a two-person desk facing a bulletin board on the far side of the classroom, each working through different lessons at their own pace. A small yellow rubber duck sat on the desk between them, a stress-buster toy for whenever students need to work out some energy by squeezing something cute. Torres and Diaz described their feelings about using Summit learning software as a sort of love-hate relationship.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I like working independently and I can really go above and beyond,” said Diaz, his eyes glued to his laptop where an article titled “Creating Dramatic Tension” filled the screen.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Torres, on the other hand, said she misses a more traditional way of learning. “This is stressful, honestly. It’s so many deadlines and a lot more work,” she said, biting her lower lip. “But, I guess it does keep you engaged.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Alanni, the eighth grader at Belmont-Cragin, which also uses Summit and other online platforms, said she tired of all the time spent in front of a computer. “I do prefer working on paper just because it really hurts my eyes and it makes you sleepy and less motivated when you are on the computer for such a long time,” she said. Alanni said teachers would sometimes accommodate her by printing out lesson plans from the computer program and allowing her to complete the lessons offline.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In recent years, Summit has drawn protests from parents and students in places like \u003ca href=\"https://www.ksn.com/news/local/mcpherson-students-protest-against-summit-learning-platform-tuesday-afternoon/\">Kansas\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2018/12/20/why-parents-students-are-protesting-an-online-learning-program-backed-by-mark-zuckerberg-facebook/\">New York City\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2018/11/17/students-protest-zuckerberg-backed-digital-learning-program-ask-him-what-gives-you-this-right/\">Connecticut\u003c/a> who worry about excessive screen time, among other concerns. It remains to be seen how much the pandemic and remote learning will influence students’ and educators’ appetite for screen time and new tech tools that might help students who’ve fallen behind catch up. Smith and other researchers say tech can be good or bad, depending on how schools choose to use it. Technology should supplement, not supplant, the teacher, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At CICS West Belden, director Collins said the school never introduces students to new concepts through technology. “The best experience a child will have each day is the interaction with their teachers in small groups tailored to who they are,” she said. “Tech makes a lot of personalized learning possible, it helps us keep a close eye on progress, but it shouldn’t be the main experience students have each day.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, despite the parallels between personalized learning and special education, educators are still trying to unravel how the new approach can effectively serve students with disabilities. The hope is that individualizing education across the board would bring big benefits for students served by special education. By helping educators recognize that there is no such thing as an “average” or “typical” student, and that brain differences are normal, personalized learning could de-stigmatize, and improve, education for students with disabilities, education experts say.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s a reframing that the general inclusion movement for students with disabilities has been trying to accomplish for some time now,” said Laura Stelitano, an associate policy researcher at RAND. “But simply saying that all students with disabilities need to be included is a little different from saying all students have unique ways of learning and that learning needs to be tailored. It maybe takes inclusion a step forward.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At some schools, this appears to be happening. Brooklyn Laboratory Charter School, which serves middle school and high school students in New York, has embraced personalized learning. At the same time, it is gaining a reputation for serving kids with disabilities well — unusual among charter schools, which are frequently \u003ca href=\"https://www.edweek.org/leadership/charter-schools-more-likely-to-ignore-special-education-applicants-study-finds/2018/12\">criticized\u003c/a> for pushing out students with complex learning needs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“As somebody whose own profile as a learner was pretty darn jagged, I’m a big believer that we need to design and run schools in a way that leverages what special education has to offer,” said Eric Tucker, the Brooklyn school’s co-founder. “That means thinking through how we process information, how we learn, how we fill in language acquisition and processing gaps, while pushing for a level of rigor and inclusion for all young people that reflects what they’re really capable of.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the school, for example, every student, regardless of academic standing, receives small-group instruction for two hours a day. This has the dual benefit of helping students who are behind without making it obvious to their peers, while also enabling teachers to help high-achieving students go farther and deeper into the curriculum. It’s a leveler, of sorts, and a confidence-builder for children with disabilities who’ve traditionally been either pulled out of the classroom for special services or received “push-in” support in the classroom from therapists and special education teachers, according to Tucker.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And yet personalized learning has a long way to go when it comes to living up to the promise of improving education for kids with disabilities. Parsi, the consultant who formerly worked for the National Center for Learning Disabilities, said that children with disabilities have often been overlooked as states implement personalized learning. When the NCLD \u003ca href=\"https://www.ncld.org/research/personalized-learning/state-landscape\">examined how personalized learning was being developed in three states\u003c/a> — Colorado, North Carolina and New Hampshire — researchers found that “there was a lot of retrofitting happening,” he said. “They would say, ‘We’re doing personalized learning for all,’ and then they would implement it in a most generic way. And then they would realize, ‘Oh my god, our kids with disabilities aren’t doing any better, they’re actually struggling more.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Parsi said that goes back to the idea that schools and school systems aren’t spending enough time ensuring that general education teachers have the skills to meet students’ individual needs, including the kids with disabilities. Meanwhile, he added, “The special educators don’t get training to do this type of more personalized, deeper approach to learning. And the two don’t collaborate.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s concerning, to be sure. Still, advocates for personalized learning and researchers hope that the best models will proliferate, and that the personalized approach could ultimately avoid some of the pitfalls of special education while lifting learning for all. “If we have a system that is set up to individualize [education] for all students, we’re more likely to get quality special education,” said Stelitano of RAND. “The system just requires the right resources and the right training for teachers.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Caroline Preston contributed reporting. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>This story about \u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/Zo5GCOYZQziNogWotExyBT?domain=hechingerreport.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003ci>IEPs \u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci>was produced by\u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/pfwrCPNYRAu0q2pqT0zP2Z?domain=urldefense.proofpoint.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003ci> The Hechinger Report\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci>, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. Sign up for the\u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/4a0ECQWOVBTXmK0mUMmpzp?domain=urldefense.proofpoint.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003ci> Hechinger newsletter here\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci>.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n","blocks":[],"excerpt":"As educators seek to help students recover learning lost in the pandemic, they are turning to more personalized methods and finding inspiration in special education. But if anything, special education demonstrates the challenges of individualizing instruction. How can we apply lessons from special education, such as the use of Individual Education Programs, or IEPs, to personalized learning?","status":"publish","parent":0,"modified":1611652465,"stats":{"hasAudio":false,"hasVideo":false,"hasChartOrMap":false,"iframeSrcs":[],"hasGoogleForm":false,"hasGallery":false,"hasHearkenModule":false,"hasPolis":false,"paragraphCount":50,"wordCount":4264},"headData":{"title":"What Lessons Does Special Education Hold for Improving Personalized Learning? - MindShift","description":"As educators seek to help students recover learning lost in the pandemic, they are turning to more personalized methods and finding inspiration in special education. But if anything, special education demonstrates the challenges of individualizing instruction. How can we apply lessons from special education, such as the use of Individual Education Programs, or IEPs, to personalized learning?","ogTitle":"","ogDescription":"","ogImgId":"","twTitle":"","twDescription":"","twImgId":""},"disqusIdentifier":"57291 https://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/?p=57291","disqusUrl":"https://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2021/01/26/what-lessons-does-special-education-hold-for-improving-personalized-learning/","disqusTitle":"What Lessons Does Special Education Hold for Improving Personalized Learning?","nprByline":"\u003ca href=\"https://hechingerreport.org/\">Sarah Gonser, The Hechinger Report\u003c/a>","path":"/mindshift/57291/what-lessons-does-special-education-hold-for-improving-personalized-learning","audioTrackLength":null,"parsedContent":[{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003ci>This story about \u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/Zo5GCOYZQziNogWotExyBT?domain=hechingerreport.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003ci>IEPs \u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci>was produced by\u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/pfwrCPNYRAu0q2pqT0zP2Z?domain=urldefense.proofpoint.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003ci> The Hechinger Report\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci>, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. Sign up for the\u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/4a0ECQWOVBTXmK0mUMmpzp?domain=urldefense.proofpoint.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003ci> Hechinger newsletter here\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci>.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On a shelf in her Chicago classroom, third grader Arianna has a thick binder that details her achievements, strengths and goals as a student, along with some revealing information about her personality. It describes her love of guitar and singing and notes that she wants to advance to a higher level in reading and grasp math concepts more quickly. Her sister, Alanni, an eighth grader, has a binder too. It discusses her grades and standardized test scores, as well as her academic goals: to speak up more frequently in math class and read texts more closely.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The binders resemble, to a degree, the individualized education programs, or IEPs, that are at the heart of education for students with disabilities. But Arianna and Alanni aren’t special education students. Every child at their pre-K-8 school, Belmont-Cragin, has one of these so-called individual learner profiles. The profiles are part of the school’s embrace of personalized learning, which centers on the belief that a teacher lecturing at the front of a classroom is a bad fit for today’s students. Instead, the thinking goes, students must be encouraged to learn at their own pace, with lessons tailored to their specific aptitudes and needs, often with the aid of technology.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Personalized learning has, in recent years, become one of the most talked-about trends in education. Fueled by donations from Silicon Valley philanthropists, the instructional approach has spread to classrooms around the country and more than \u003ca href=\"https://www.ncld.org/personalized-learning/state-landscape\">40 states are exploring it in some form\u003c/a>. As education leaders cast about for solutions to the performance gaps exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic, some are hitting upon the idea that more personalized methods could help schools better serve students who’ve had wildly different experiences with education this year. In the process, they are finding inspiration in special education, which, since the 1975 passage of what’s now known as the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, has promised students with disabilities special services and accommodations to help them learn at their full potential.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Can you imagine the power of an individualized education plan for every student?” Richard Carranza, New York City’s education chancellor, \u003ca href=\"https://ny.chalkbeat.org/2020/12/10/22168384/nyc-schools-covid-learning-loss\">said recently\u003c/a> in discussing his agency’s plans for new tools to help students recover the learning they’ve lost during school closures. “Just think about identifying the explicit skills that students need to work on and the plan that we have to help them achieve a mastery of that explicit skill.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"fullwidth"},"numeric":["fullwidth"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But there are plenty of reasons to be cautious. If anything, special education demonstrates the vast challenges of individualizing education. Tailoring learning to students’ exact needs takes significant resources, teacher training and, ideally, close collaboration with families — something many schools struggle to pull off. While there are limits to comparisons between the two educational approaches — special education is legally mandated and personalized learning is a loosely defined pedagogical philosophy that takes many forms — some of the cracks that have appeared in personalized learning are not unlike those facing special education. Both types of education, for example, require significant resources and trained staff — but often don’t get either. Schools introducing personalized learning have faced criticism for relying on technology to help kids learn at different paces within the same classroom as districts avoid having to drastically scale up their staff; staff shortages have long been \u003ca href=\"https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/sites/default/files/product-files/A_Coming_Crisis_in_Teaching_REPORT.pdf\">endemic in special education\u003c/a>. Meanwhile, for all the hype around personalized learning, evidence of its success remains scant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“School systems and schools have struggled to deliver on the promise of special education,” said Betheny Gross, associate director of the nonprofit Center on Reinventing Public Education. “It isn’t just a matter of taking the principles of special education and doing them at scale.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_57300\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1024px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-57300\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2021/01/GonserSPED9_2492-scaled-1.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2021/01/GonserSPED9_2492-scaled-1.jpeg 1024w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2021/01/GonserSPED9_2492-scaled-1-800x600.jpeg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2021/01/GonserSPED9_2492-scaled-1-1020x765.jpeg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2021/01/GonserSPED9_2492-scaled-1-160x120.jpeg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2021/01/GonserSPED9_2492-scaled-1-768x576.jpeg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Students at CICS West Belden often work in small groups or with the help of technology prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. \u003ccite>(Sarah Gonser for The Hechinger Report )\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>At present, roughly 7 million students, or \u003ca href=\"https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator_cgg.asp\">14 percent\u003c/a> of public schoolchildren, are enrolled in special education nationwide. As personalized learning advocates push forward with plans to roll out their approach to many more of the nation’s schoolchildren, it’s worth considering how lessons from 45 years of educating students with disabilities might help shape this latest educational experiment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One morning in 2019, close to 40 educators gathered in a commercial building on the Chicago riverfront that houses the offices of LEAP Innovations. LEAP is a nonprofit organization that trains schools and teachers to use personalized learning in their classrooms. The day’s professional development for these Chicago Public Schools teachers, alumni of the program, was a refresher, a way to strengthen their teaching practice, share ideas and return to the classroom newly inspired.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Chicago has embraced personalized learning in a big way. In early 2018, Chicago Public Schools and LEAP received $14 million in grants from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) to train teachers and principals on personalizing learning. (CZI is one of The Hechinger Report’s many donors.) The grant funding provided 35 city schools with two-and-a-half years of professional development and instructional coaching through LEAP, plus technology and classroom resources, via the school district’s \u003ca href=\"https://practices.learningaccelerator.org/artifacts/the-chicago-public-schools-elevate-program\">Elevate Program\u003c/a>, which aims to bring personalized learning to 150 Chicago schools by the end of 2021. Concurrently, a portion of the funding went to LEAP to help train principals and teachers at more than 100 Chicago-area schools on personalized learning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After a morning of workshops on topics like helping students puzzle through problems, working in teams and designing learning goals, teachers broke for lunch that day in 2019, gathering around large tables to chat. At one table, the conversation turned to the growing pains of changing course from the traditional “sage on a stage” teaching model, where a teacher holds forth at the front of the classroom while students listen, to a student-focused, personalized model.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We started this process five years ago and all I could think was: ‘Oh my god, this is going to be a nightmare!’ Because I thought this would mean that, on top of everything I was already doing, I’d be creating an IEP for every single student,” said Kathleen Bourret, a teacher at R.H. Lee Elementary, a Pre-K-8 school on Chicago’s southwest side. “I didn’t have the mindset to make this shift. I’ve been teaching for 30 years, and now you’re gonna make me do what?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bourret’s learning curve when it came to personalized learning is pretty typical for teachers, said Chris Liang-Vergara, who was then serving as LEAP’s chief of learning innovation. And it’s something the people at LEAP try to alleviate by bringing in past cohorts, like that day’s group, to mingle and continue sharing ideas and inspiration.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s definitely not always rainbows and sunshine,” said Liang-Vergara. “Keeping that honest and real is important. You don’t say: ‘I’m going to do personalized learning and it’s going to be beautiful.’ There’s a real shift that happens with you as a professional, with your kids in the classroom, and that change process takes time.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_57298\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1536px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-57298\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2021/01/GonserSPED7_2509-scaled-1.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1536\" height=\"1152\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2021/01/GonserSPED7_2509-scaled-1.jpeg 1536w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2021/01/GonserSPED7_2509-scaled-1-800x600.jpeg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2021/01/GonserSPED7_2509-scaled-1-1020x765.jpeg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2021/01/GonserSPED7_2509-scaled-1-160x120.jpeg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2021/01/GonserSPED7_2509-scaled-1-768x576.jpeg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1536px) 100vw, 1536px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Colleen Collins, school director at CICS West Belden, works with students prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. \u003ccite>(Sarah Gonser for The Hechinger Report )\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The shift in mindset involves moving away from a teaching model that is centered on curriculum and meeting benchmarks toward being student-centered in ways that demand differentiated instruction based on a child’s interests, strengths, weaknesses and background. Students often work in small groups, with help from a co-teacher, or one-on-one, with lessons fitted to their skills and abilities. In theory, their progress is tracked closely, with their goals and assignments updated continually to meet their needs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Much of this may sound familiar to teachers of special education. As part of their jobs, special education teachers assess students and develop teaching plans based on each student’s skill levels. They teach students as a class and one-on-one or in small groups. They collaborate with school-based service providers such as occupational, physical and speech therapists, in order to cull reams of information and write IEPs that, often, run more than ten double-sided pages, and ideally provide detailed documentation of a child’s strengths, weaknesses and goals.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But teachers often come unprepared to do this work, and don’t get the support they need from their schools and districts, in part because special education is \u003ca href=\"https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/why-the-feds-still-fall-short-on-special-education-funding/2020/01\">chronically underfunded\u003c/a>. They may struggle to assess students’ abilities and needs, education researchers say, and \u003ca href=\"https://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/module/tchr-ret/cresource/q1/p01/\">turnover\u003c/a> for special education teachers tends to be high. The paperwork involved can be overwhelming. All of this suggests that if personalized learning is to succeed, it must emphasize supporting teachers and investing in their professional development, say education experts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When you get a master’s degree in special education, do you come out knowing how to teach every single child with every singly kind of disability? Absolutely not,” said Megan Benay, senior national director of data systems and strategy at Great Oaks Charter Schools, a network of charter schools that focuses on preparing kids for college through personalized tutoring. “As far as I see it, the only path forward is to figure out how to invest in our people and invest in the kind of ongoing professional learning that provides practical, applicable research-infused training into the daily practice of our educators. This is hard because the reality of teaching is that you’re on every hour of the day, you’re lesson-planning, you’re calling parents, you’re writing curriculum. Oh, and then you have to figure out how to fit in eating lunch somewhere in there.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ace Parsi, senior consultant with Equity Journey Partners and the former director of innovation for the National Center for Learning Disabilities, said that if school districts don’t invest in teachers while making the shift to personalized learning, they are bound to fail. “It’s not that educators don’t want to try personalized learning. But it’s a vulnerable feeling when you’re trying to implement this new thing and you’re like: ‘Oh my god, how do I approach this for these students, I just don’t have the skill set to do this’,” he said. “It’s really incumbent on school districts and states to create a professional learning system that meets the educators and empowers them to actually implement personalized learning for all kids.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_57296\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1024px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-57296\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2021/01/GonserSPED5_2478-scaled-1.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2021/01/GonserSPED5_2478-scaled-1.jpeg 1024w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2021/01/GonserSPED5_2478-scaled-1-800x600.jpeg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2021/01/GonserSPED5_2478-scaled-1-1020x765.jpeg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2021/01/GonserSPED5_2478-scaled-1-160x120.jpeg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2021/01/GonserSPED5_2478-scaled-1-768x576.jpeg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Stacy Stewart, principal of Belmont-Cragin Elementary School seen here before the COVID-19 pandemic, credits personalized learning for helping to improve student engagement. \u003ccite>(Sarah Gonser for The Hechinger Report)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Stacy Stewart, principal of Belmont-Cragin, the school on Chicago’s northwest side that Alanni and Arianna attend, has heard teachers make comparisons between personalized learning and the IEPs that drive special education. “My teachers say: ‘It’s almost like all our students have an IEP’ — not formally, of course, but they each do have an individualized plan,” said Stewart. “It’s always evolving; it’s a very living document.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Stewart, though, cautions against drawing too-direct parallels between IEPs and the individual learner profiles her school uses, also known as personalized learning plans. IEPs are rigid legal documents, written not for students so much as for teachers, parents and lawyers. Individual learner profiles, she said, aim to involve parents in their children’s learning but also give students more control over their own education. At her school, students lead learner meetings at least twice a year where they give a presentation to their parents about their progress, goals and challenges. That’s different from IEP meetings, which are led by adults.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Stewart embraced personalized learning even before the Chicago school district began to do so. A few years after joining Belmont-Cragin in 2010, she turned to the approach to help close achievement gaps at her school, where the student body is predominantly Hispanic and low-income, and roughly \u003ca href=\"https://schoolinfo.cps.edu/schoolprofile/schooldetails.aspx?SchoolId=609922\">68 percent\u003c/a> of students are English language learners.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So far, the results are good. Between the 2015-16 and 2018-19 school years, attainment levels for third through eighth graders on the standardized Measures of Academic Progress test rose from 35 to 65 percent in reading and from 30 to 66 percent in math. Student growth in reading and math was far above average: in the 95th and 98th percentiles, respectively. Between the 2014-15 and 2017-18 school years, teacher retention grew from 60 to 90 percent.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the school, personalized learning has many facets, some of which are reminiscent of special education. One is to involve families in their children’s learning. In special education, under legal mandates, parental input and the recommendations of educators and therapists must receive \u003ca href=\"https://www.understood.org/en/school-learning/special-services/ieps/playing-a-role-in-the-iep-process\">equal consideration\u003c/a>. Stewart said she has found that parental involvement has been key to her students’ learning, because it gives teachers greater insight into their students’ needs and turns parents into partners in their children’s education. But she doesn’t limit it to scheduled meetings in an office.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One weekday morning before the pandemic shuttered school buildings, students gathered in an ageing auditorium for their daily morning assembly. One student read morning announcements in English and her partner made the same announcements in Spanish. The audience, a raucous, cheerful gathering of the entire school’s elementary-age students, plus more than a dozen parents, some with toddlers or babies scooting around nearby, greeted each announcement with cheering and hollering.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_57297\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1200px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-57297\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2021/01/GonserSPED6_2471-scaled-1.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1200\" height=\"900\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2021/01/GonserSPED6_2471-scaled-1.jpeg 1200w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2021/01/GonserSPED6_2471-scaled-1-800x600.jpeg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2021/01/GonserSPED6_2471-scaled-1-1020x765.jpeg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2021/01/GonserSPED6_2471-scaled-1-160x120.jpeg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2021/01/GonserSPED6_2471-scaled-1-768x576.jpeg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Before the pandemic, students at Belmont-Cragin often lead morning assemblies, part of an effort by the school to give young people more control over their own learning. \u003ccite>(Sarah Gonser for The Hechinger Report)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Stewart and her team began encouraging parents to join the morning assemblies a few years ago. Her colleagues also started “bring your parent to school” days in which parents were invited into the classroom to see how their kids learned; they created a parent leadership team and trained parent mentors who visited students in classrooms. Before the pandemic, Belmont-Cragin also sent teachers out on “empathy walks,” when they spent an entire day joining students at their homes early in the morning, and traveling with them to school and then back home again to see how evenings unfolded. This was important, Stewart explained, because it helped teachers get a stronger sense of what motivated students and thus, how to better guide them into meaningful learning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even the classrooms at Belmont-Cragin are personalized to students’ needs. Some have gentler lighting — twinkling holiday lights in lieu of flickering overhead lights. Seating options range from bean bags to structured armchairs; students can choose to study alone in quiet workspaces near a lava lamp or a bubbling fish tank, or in groups at clusters of desks and tables.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gross, of the Center on Reinventing Public Education, said one way in which special education goes awry is by becoming too compliance-oriented, with teachers struggling simply to fulfill the system’s legal and paperwork requirements. “The compliance requirements are intense and numerous and it’s very easy to fall into a compliance mindset,” she said. The schools that succeed in educating kids with disabilities are engaged not simply in following the legal rules but in finding the best way to serve each student; that same spirit will be key to tackling personalized learning, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, educators around the country are finding that it’s virtually impossible to do personalized instruction without relying heavily on technology — for good or ill. Otherwise, the burden of having kids learning at different paces within one classroom is too great. “I find it difficult to find a district doing personalized learning where tech is not the top two or three things they’re doing,” said Sean J. Smith, professor of special education at the University of Kansas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Ideally every student would have a teacher, but that’s simply not a possibility,” said John Pane, a senior scientist at the research organization RAND who has studied personalized learning. “It would be way too costly.” And that’s where tech tools come in, by making it easier for kids to learn at different paces, and focus on different goals, within a single class.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_57301\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1024px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-57301\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2021/01/GonserSPED10_2499-scaled-1.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2021/01/GonserSPED10_2499-scaled-1.jpeg 1024w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2021/01/GonserSPED10_2499-scaled-1-800x600.jpeg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2021/01/GonserSPED10_2499-scaled-1-1020x765.jpeg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2021/01/GonserSPED10_2499-scaled-1-160x120.jpeg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2021/01/GonserSPED10_2499-scaled-1-768x576.jpeg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">CICS West Belden uses Summit, an online learning platform that has drawn criticism from some parents who worry about excessive screen time. \u003ccite>(Sarah Gonser for The Hechinger Report )\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>CICS West Belden, a pre-K-8 school not far from Stewart’s elementary that is part of the Chicago International Charter School network, began rethinking its teaching model some six years ago. The school started with an initial push into blended learning, a teaching approach that aims to integrate online with traditional face-to-face learning, said Colleen Collins, the school director. Since then, Collins and her teachers — after receiving several grants, including a $100,000 technology planning grant and a Breakthrough Schools Next Generation Learning Challenges personalized learning grant — began working with LEAP to start personalized learning for each grade level.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In an eighth grade science class well before the pandemic hit, students were grouped at a variety of workstations. Some were seated on stools around tall desks, some worked at regular-height tables with traditional classroom chairs, others were on their feet working at standing desks. Each student was bent over a Dell Chromebook using Summit Learning software, a widely used online learning platform developed by the charter network Summit Public Schools with help from Facebook software engineers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Students David Diaz and Emani Torres had been using Summit software at CICS West Belden since sixth grade. They sat side-by-side at a two-person desk facing a bulletin board on the far side of the classroom, each working through different lessons at their own pace. A small yellow rubber duck sat on the desk between them, a stress-buster toy for whenever students need to work out some energy by squeezing something cute. Torres and Diaz described their feelings about using Summit learning software as a sort of love-hate relationship.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I like working independently and I can really go above and beyond,” said Diaz, his eyes glued to his laptop where an article titled “Creating Dramatic Tension” filled the screen.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Torres, on the other hand, said she misses a more traditional way of learning. “This is stressful, honestly. It’s so many deadlines and a lot more work,” she said, biting her lower lip. “But, I guess it does keep you engaged.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Alanni, the eighth grader at Belmont-Cragin, which also uses Summit and other online platforms, said she tired of all the time spent in front of a computer. “I do prefer working on paper just because it really hurts my eyes and it makes you sleepy and less motivated when you are on the computer for such a long time,” she said. Alanni said teachers would sometimes accommodate her by printing out lesson plans from the computer program and allowing her to complete the lessons offline.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In recent years, Summit has drawn protests from parents and students in places like \u003ca href=\"https://www.ksn.com/news/local/mcpherson-students-protest-against-summit-learning-platform-tuesday-afternoon/\">Kansas\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2018/12/20/why-parents-students-are-protesting-an-online-learning-program-backed-by-mark-zuckerberg-facebook/\">New York City\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2018/11/17/students-protest-zuckerberg-backed-digital-learning-program-ask-him-what-gives-you-this-right/\">Connecticut\u003c/a> who worry about excessive screen time, among other concerns. It remains to be seen how much the pandemic and remote learning will influence students’ and educators’ appetite for screen time and new tech tools that might help students who’ve fallen behind catch up. Smith and other researchers say tech can be good or bad, depending on how schools choose to use it. Technology should supplement, not supplant, the teacher, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At CICS West Belden, director Collins said the school never introduces students to new concepts through technology. “The best experience a child will have each day is the interaction with their teachers in small groups tailored to who they are,” she said. “Tech makes a lot of personalized learning possible, it helps us keep a close eye on progress, but it shouldn’t be the main experience students have each day.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, despite the parallels between personalized learning and special education, educators are still trying to unravel how the new approach can effectively serve students with disabilities. The hope is that individualizing education across the board would bring big benefits for students served by special education. By helping educators recognize that there is no such thing as an “average” or “typical” student, and that brain differences are normal, personalized learning could de-stigmatize, and improve, education for students with disabilities, education experts say.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s a reframing that the general inclusion movement for students with disabilities has been trying to accomplish for some time now,” said Laura Stelitano, an associate policy researcher at RAND. “But simply saying that all students with disabilities need to be included is a little different from saying all students have unique ways of learning and that learning needs to be tailored. It maybe takes inclusion a step forward.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At some schools, this appears to be happening. Brooklyn Laboratory Charter School, which serves middle school and high school students in New York, has embraced personalized learning. At the same time, it is gaining a reputation for serving kids with disabilities well — unusual among charter schools, which are frequently \u003ca href=\"https://www.edweek.org/leadership/charter-schools-more-likely-to-ignore-special-education-applicants-study-finds/2018/12\">criticized\u003c/a> for pushing out students with complex learning needs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“As somebody whose own profile as a learner was pretty darn jagged, I’m a big believer that we need to design and run schools in a way that leverages what special education has to offer,” said Eric Tucker, the Brooklyn school’s co-founder. “That means thinking through how we process information, how we learn, how we fill in language acquisition and processing gaps, while pushing for a level of rigor and inclusion for all young people that reflects what they’re really capable of.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the school, for example, every student, regardless of academic standing, receives small-group instruction for two hours a day. This has the dual benefit of helping students who are behind without making it obvious to their peers, while also enabling teachers to help high-achieving students go farther and deeper into the curriculum. It’s a leveler, of sorts, and a confidence-builder for children with disabilities who’ve traditionally been either pulled out of the classroom for special services or received “push-in” support in the classroom from therapists and special education teachers, according to Tucker.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And yet personalized learning has a long way to go when it comes to living up to the promise of improving education for kids with disabilities. Parsi, the consultant who formerly worked for the National Center for Learning Disabilities, said that children with disabilities have often been overlooked as states implement personalized learning. When the NCLD \u003ca href=\"https://www.ncld.org/research/personalized-learning/state-landscape\">examined how personalized learning was being developed in three states\u003c/a> — Colorado, North Carolina and New Hampshire — researchers found that “there was a lot of retrofitting happening,” he said. “They would say, ‘We’re doing personalized learning for all,’ and then they would implement it in a most generic way. And then they would realize, ‘Oh my god, our kids with disabilities aren’t doing any better, they’re actually struggling more.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Parsi said that goes back to the idea that schools and school systems aren’t spending enough time ensuring that general education teachers have the skills to meet students’ individual needs, including the kids with disabilities. Meanwhile, he added, “The special educators don’t get training to do this type of more personalized, deeper approach to learning. And the two don’t collaborate.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s concerning, to be sure. Still, advocates for personalized learning and researchers hope that the best models will proliferate, and that the personalized approach could ultimately avoid some of the pitfalls of special education while lifting learning for all. “If we have a system that is set up to individualize [education] for all students, we’re more likely to get quality special education,” said Stelitano of RAND. “The system just requires the right resources and the right training for teachers.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Caroline Preston contributed reporting. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"floatright"},"numeric":["floatright"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>This story about \u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/Zo5GCOYZQziNogWotExyBT?domain=hechingerreport.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003ci>IEPs \u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci>was produced by\u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/pfwrCPNYRAu0q2pqT0zP2Z?domain=urldefense.proofpoint.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003ci> The Hechinger Report\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci>, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. Sign up for the\u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/4a0ECQWOVBTXmK0mUMmpzp?domain=urldefense.proofpoint.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003ci> Hechinger newsletter here\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci>.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}}],"link":"/mindshift/57291/what-lessons-does-special-education-hold-for-improving-personalized-learning","authors":["byline_mindshift_57291"],"categories":["mindshift_21358"],"tags":["mindshift_21344","mindshift_21343","mindshift_358","mindshift_20935","mindshift_421","mindshift_20934"],"featImg":"mindshift_57299","label":"mindshift"},"mindshift_57071":{"type":"posts","id":"mindshift_57071","meta":{"index":"posts_1591205157","site":"mindshift","id":"57071","score":null,"sort":[1607329340000]},"guestAuthors":[],"slug":"some-families-hope-pandemic-can-spur-change-in-special-education","title":"Some Families Hope Pandemic Can Spur Change in Special Education","publishDate":1607329340,"format":"standard","headTitle":"MindShift | KQED News","labelTerm":{"site":"mindshift"},"content":"\u003cp>\u003cem>This story about special education services was produced by \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://hechingerreport.org/\">\u003cem>The Hechinger Report\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. Sign up for \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://us2.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=66c306eebb323868c3ce353c1&id=d3ee4c3e04\">\u003cem>Hechinger’s newsletter\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Single mom Nicole Vaughn has spent the better part of her adult life advocating for her five adopted children with disabilities. But when schools shuttered for the coronavirus last spring, Vaughn gained a slew of new responsibilities, like helping her kids access virtual classrooms and coordinating the special education services they receive.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I had to send emails to the speech and language provider saying, ‘Hey, they haven’t seen you, I haven’t seen you. What’s going on?’ ” said Vaughn, who lives in the Detroit metropolitan area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Once those services resumed, Vaughn said sessions were shorter than the time mandated by her children’s individualized education programs. Known as IEPs, these plans are meant to ensure that students with disabilities receive specialized instruction and services tailored to their needs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Vaughn decided to let it go.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s to the point now you have to pick and choose your battles,” she said. “Because other than that, I’m calling and texting everybody, every day, about something.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_57072\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1452px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-57072\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2020/12/Cayla-Bamberger-Bamberger-special-ed-in-crisis-5.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1452\" height=\"1936\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2020/12/Cayla-Bamberger-Bamberger-special-ed-in-crisis-5.jpg 1452w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2020/12/Cayla-Bamberger-Bamberger-special-ed-in-crisis-5-800x1067.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2020/12/Cayla-Bamberger-Bamberger-special-ed-in-crisis-5-1020x1360.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2020/12/Cayla-Bamberger-Bamberger-special-ed-in-crisis-5-160x213.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2020/12/Cayla-Bamberger-Bamberger-special-ed-in-crisis-5-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2020/12/Cayla-Bamberger-Bamberger-special-ed-in-crisis-5-1152x1536.jpg 1152w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1452px) 100vw, 1452px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Though they’re in different grades, each member of the Vaughn family gathers around the table for their respective online classes. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Nicole Vaughn )\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Simultaneous crises of a pandemic and recession are further straining a special education system that has long struggled to effectively serve students with disabilities. Chronic shortfalls in federal funding have burdened local education agencies and families, and — in the most extreme cases — denied these children access to quality education. Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), today, \u003ca href=\"https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator_cgg.asp\">more than 7 million children, or 14 percent of public school students\u003c/a>\u003cu>, \u003c/u>are entitled to special services and accommodations to help them learn. But in the legislation’s almost 50-year history, the federal government has never fulfilled its promise to pay 40 percent of the average cost of educating students with disabilities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Special education teachers, meanwhile, tend to be among the least-experienced educators, and states often have trouble filling those positions. In Vaughn’s state of Michigan, over 40 percent of teacher vacancies last year were in special education, according to a Michigan Association of Superintendents & Administrators \u003ca href=\"https://hechingerreport.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Teacher-Shortage-Survey-Results.pdf\">survey\u003c/a> with responses from roughly half the state’s school districts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The consequences are evident in the data: \u003ca href=\"https://hechingerreport.org/high-schools-fail-provide-legally-required-education-students-disabilities/\">Graduation rates\u003c/a> for young people with disabilities often fall far below those of other students, and without the right support, children in special education are also much more likely to \u003ca href=\"https://www.ncld.org/research/state-of-learning-disabilities/supporting-academic-success#ch3challenge3\">repeat grades\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.ncld.org/research/state-of-learning-disabilities/social-emotional-and-behavioral-challenges#ch4challenge2\">twice as likely to be suspended\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“These students in particular are getting the short end of the stick, and they have been for some time,” said Elena Silva, director of the pre-K-12 education policy program at the think tank New America and the mother of a child with a physical disability. “The schools, the staff — they know it. You talk to anybody at a school or staff about the need, and whether they have what they need to meet the needs of these kids. And they’ll tell you, they don’t.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But some families and their advocates are hopeful that the pandemic could prompt a reckoning and systemic change. During distance learning, educators have needed to get creative to reach all their students, leading to new ways of collaborating with parents and approaches to instruction that education experts say could be integrated into how schools operate going forward.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I don’t think anyone’s going to say that what we were doing worked or was equitable,” said Meghan Whittaker, the director of policy and advocacy at the National Center for Learning Disabilities. “And this gives us a chance to rethink that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Vaughn’s advocacy on behalf of her kids came to a temporary standstill this spring, when she was hospitalized with the coronavirus. In late March, her symptoms worsened quickly and doctors put her on a ventilator.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Vaughn feared how her absence would affect her children’s education. “I cannot leave them,” she remembered thinking before slipping into a coma. “Nobody is going to go to bat for my kids the way I go to bat for them.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After waking up five days later, she wasted no time trying to help her kids adapt to their new normal, which included online classes. Before she could even speak again, she wrote messages on a whiteboard that a nurse read over the phone to her children and sister, who was filling in as their guardian.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s not unusual for parents of students with disabilities to take an outsize role in their children’s education. Special education can be a confusing and impenetrable system, and parents often have to become experts in state and federal laws to ensure their kids receive appropriate support.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Parents are co-equal members of an IEP team,” said Julie Causton, chief executive of Inclusive Schooling, an education consultancy, and a former professor of special education at Syracuse University. But not all families have the time or means to take on that responsibility, so the goal must be to “make sure kids get what they need without relying on the family structure,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_57073\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1152px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-57073\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2020/12/Cayla-Bamberger-Bamberger-special-ed-in-crisis-8.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1152\" height=\"1438\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2020/12/Cayla-Bamberger-Bamberger-special-ed-in-crisis-8.jpg 1152w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2020/12/Cayla-Bamberger-Bamberger-special-ed-in-crisis-8-800x999.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2020/12/Cayla-Bamberger-Bamberger-special-ed-in-crisis-8-1020x1273.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2020/12/Cayla-Bamberger-Bamberger-special-ed-in-crisis-8-160x200.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2020/12/Cayla-Bamberger-Bamberger-special-ed-in-crisis-8-768x959.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1152px) 100vw, 1152px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Nicole Vaughn adopted five children with disabilities who qualify for special services and accommodations in Michigan public schools. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Nicole Vaughn )\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>A graduate of Detroit Public Schools and the first in her family to earn a bachelor’s degree, Vaughn adopted a newborn named Daniel in 2001 and, later, his biological younger brother, Jacob. When Daniel’s preschool teachers said he was often restless and impulsive, and Jacob missed typical milestones for walking and talking, both boys were assessed for disabilities. Together, they were diagnosed with autism, ADHD and cognitive impairment, and Vaughn was told Jacob might never be able to live independently. Vaughn recalls feeling like the special education professionals were speaking in code.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“All these educational terms and these acronyms — it was just all new to me, and it was also very intimidating,” said Vaughn. “I would come home after we had one of these meetings or sessions, and I’m Googling, I’m researching, and it’s overwhelming.” In time, Vaughn decided to get a master’s degree in special education to make sense of the system. She also adopted three more children: a daughter and twins with speech and language delays.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even with her training, Vaughn ran into problems as she tried to help her kids. The school district in which her elder children were previously enrolled, Dearborn Heights School District 7, graduates special education students with regular diplomas at a rate of 73 percent, well below the state’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.michigan.gov/documents/mde/PartBC_IndicatorDescriptions_550415_7.pdf\">target rate\u003c/a> of 80 percent, according to the state’s most recent \u003ca href=\"https://www.michigan.gov/documents/cepi/Public_Reporting_File_Masked_Part_B_Member_District_3-19-20_ADA_685172_7.xlsx\">special education public report\u003c/a>. The district and surrounding area also have trouble with staffing: As of mid-November, there were around \u003ca href=\"https://www.applitrack.com/resa/OnlineApp/default.aspx?Category=Center+Based+and+Special+Education+Services\">40 special education job vacancies\u003c/a> in Wayne County, where Dearborn Heights is located, and about \u003ca href=\"https://4.files.edl.io/f7a9/05/08/19/221423-fa291483-ca10-44f4-b94b-6c93b5d2f28b.pdf\">13 percent of all teachers and 32 percent of principals and school leaders\u003c/a> in the district lacked prior experience in these roles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When Jacob was in third grade, Vaughn said she was informed that his speech and language and occupational therapies were ending. “ ‘He’s pretty much plateaued; he’s reached his maximum level of performance,’ ” Vaughn said the IEP team told her. “ ‘We don’t want him just lingering in the services. We have other children.’ ” On another occasion, a social worker referred to Jacob as “she” in his behavior plan, Vaughn said. She confronted the principal for reusing another child’s program. “It’s called an individualized education plan!” she recalled saying.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Today, Vaughn works as a counselor for Detroit Public Schools and said she sympathizes with overburdened school staff. “It keeps going back to time and money, which it seems like school districts never have enough of,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Vaughn was not alone in her struggles to get her children services this year. Last spring, during remote learning, just 20 percent of students with disabilities received the services to which they were entitled, and 39 percent received no support at all, according to a \u003ca href=\"https://parentstogetheraction.org/2020/05/27/parentstogether-survey-reveals-remote-learning-is-failing-our-most-vulnerable-students/\">survey\u003c/a> by ParentsTogether Action, a parent-led advocacy group. And an American Institutes for Research \u003ca href=\"https://www.air.org/sites/default/files/COVID-Survey-Spotlight-on-Students-with-Disabilities-FINAL-Oct-2020.pdf\">survey\u003c/a> found that nearly three-quarters of 744 school districts reported it was more or substantially more difficult to provide appropriate accommodations for their students with disabilities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“For a student that has a learning, attention or behavioral disability, being at home — without teachers, without educators, without one-on-one support, being on screens — is almost an impossible way for them to learn well,” said Silva of New America.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some families have grown so discouraged with special education during the pandemic that they have opted out of the school system altogether, at least for now. In March, LaTonya Davis, an education consultant in Houston, decided to pull her 10-year-old son with autism out of his KIPP public charter school and home-school him for the duration of the pandemic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I'm solely responsible for making sure I make the best choices for him,” she said of her decision.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Davis, a single mother, developed a daily schedule of activities tailored to her son’s needs, known as a “\u003ca href=\"https://www.understood.org/en/learning-thinking-differences/treatments-approaches/therapies/sensory-diet-treatment-what-you-need-to-know\">sensory diet\u003c/a>,” which she’d tried unsuccessfully to have his teachers adopt in the past. She said she hopes that giving her son one-on-one attention will help him get a quality education even during school closures.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_57074\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 908px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-57074\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2020/12/Cayla-Bamberger-Bamberger-special-ed-in-crisis-9.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"908\" height=\"535\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2020/12/Cayla-Bamberger-Bamberger-special-ed-in-crisis-9.png 908w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2020/12/Cayla-Bamberger-Bamberger-special-ed-in-crisis-9-800x471.png 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2020/12/Cayla-Bamberger-Bamberger-special-ed-in-crisis-9-160x94.png 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2020/12/Cayla-Bamberger-Bamberger-special-ed-in-crisis-9-768x453.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 908px) 100vw, 908px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">LaTonya Davis, who is homeschooling for the duration of the pandemic, created a virtual classroom for her 10-year-old son with autism. \u003ccite>(LaTonya Davis)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But few parents have the expertise to support their kids around the clock like Davis, which could put students in special education, who are already among the most vulnerable, further behind. Indeed, special education experts have already sounded the alarm about \u003ca href=\"https://hechingerreport.org/it-feels-a-little-hopeless-parents-of-kids-with-disabilities-worry-coronavirus-quarantine-will-mean-regression/\">academic regression and loss of life skills\u003c/a> during school closures.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Recognizing the unique obstacles that students with disabilities face in remote learning, several of the country’s biggest school districts, including Los Angeles County and Baltimore City, have prioritized bringing back at least some special education students to school buildings before their peers. But doing so has proved very difficult. Seattle Public Schools, which approved a school-reopening plan prioritizing kids with disabilities in August, made \u003ca href=\"https://www.seattletimes.com/education-lab/only-1-seattle-public-schools-student-is-receiving-special-education-services-in-person-right-now/#:~:text=Ishisaka-,Only%201%20Seattle%20Public%20Schools%20student%20is%20receiving%20special,services%20in%20person%20right%20now&text=Education%20Lab%20is%20a%20Seattle,persistent%20challenges%20in%20public%20education.&text=Other%20districts%20are%20usi\">headlines\u003c/a> in October because just one student was receiving in-person services.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yet, for schools continuing to teach remotely, resources are getting harder to come by. In California’s Hawthorne School District, special education teacher Albert Morales teaches transitional kindergarten (an extra year of instruction before kindergarten) through first grade. Classes will be online until at least the spring.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This fall, Morales has struggled to get the tools he needs to support his students. The district distributed Chromebooks at the start of the school year, but several of his young students with disabilities couldn’t use the mouse and keyboard. And though the school is swapping out the devices for iPads, which are more accessible to kids with disabilities, there weren’t enough for all students, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Morales added that education companies made a few services that worked for his students free this spring, but that’s no longer the case. “All these great resources are out there,” he said. “But teachers have to pay out of pockets.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Special education teachers aren’t meant to carry the financial burden. However, the federal government reimburses just 15 percent of the additional costs for educating students with disabilities — far short of the 40 percent promised under IDEA — according to the \u003ca href=\"https://ncld.org/news/policy-and-advocacy/idea-full-funding-why-should-congress-invest-in-special-education/\">National Center for Learning Disabilities\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And a budget crisis won’t help close funding gaps: “They’re not going to have as much money, and they’re going to need to do twice as much,” said Silva of New America. “What do you do for your most vulnerable, when you have to do so much more and you have half the money?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That’s just a very real problem,” she said. “I don’t think we can innovate out of that problem.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bills introduced in the \u003ca href=\"https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/4100/text\">Senate\u003c/a> this summer and the \u003ca href=\"https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/8523/text\">House\u003c/a> in October would provide more than $12 billion for students with disabilities, but both have stalled. Special education advocates, however, are hopeful that President-elect Joe Biden, whose wife, Jill, is an educator, could make good on \u003ca href=\"https://hechingerreport.org/opinion-is-america-finally-getting-woke-to-its-largest-minority-group/\">a promise he made\u003c/a> to fully fund IDEA within 10 years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Without additional financial help, some public schools could be forced to make do with even fewer experienced staff serving kids with disabilities. Shortages of special education teachers are a national problem, with 48 states and D.C. reporting difficulty hiring and retaining staff, according to a 2016 report from the \u003ca href=\"https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/sites/default/files/product-files/A_Coming_Crisis_in_Teaching_REPORT.pdf\">Learning Policy Institute\u003c/a>\u003cu>,\u003c/u> the most recent data available. The problem is most severe in districts predominantly serving students of color and from low-income backgrounds, where schools are already \u003ca href=\"https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/sites/default/files/product-files/Restart_Reinvent_Schools_COVID_REPORT.pdf\">more likely\u003c/a> to be staffed by a transient group of untrained teachers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nationally, special education has the highest proportion of unlicensed teachers, even though many districts waive certain typical teacher licensure requirements for those positions, according to Roddy Theobald, a researcher at the Center for Analysis of Longitudinal Data in Education Research. Throughout the pandemic, many states have waived even more requirements, said Dan Goldhaber, director of the center. That could ultimately cause harm to students if it means they are being instructed primarily by teachers who lack the skills to serve them, experts say.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, paraprofessional positions, an hourly role supporting students with disabilities, are \u003ca href=\"http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/District_Dossier/2020/08/districts_layoff_thousands_of_.html\">on the chopping block\u003c/a> in districts around the country. Some experts worry that special education teacher positions could be next. The first teachers to be laid off are typically the least-experienced, which could disproportionately affect special education teachers, who tend to be younger on account of the profession’s high attrition rates, said Goldhaber.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Budget cuts haven’t hit Hawthorne’s special education staff yet, but the pandemic has deepened staffing issues in Morales’ district nonetheless. In 2018, nearly \u003ca href=\"https://gettingdowntofacts.com/sites/default/files/2018-09/GDTFII_Report_Darling-Hammond.pdf\">eight in 10\u003c/a> California schools had openings for special education teachers, and \u003ca href=\"https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/product/interactive-map-understanding-teacher-shortages-california\">more than two-thirds\u003c/a> of Hawthorne’s new hires had not met all of California’s teacher certification requirements, according to the Learning Policy Institute. This September, a deficit of teachers trained to support students with disabilities meant that when a special education colleague was absent, Morales had to teach an online class twice the size of his usual group, which he said made high-quality instruction impossible.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_57077\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-57077\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2020/12/Cayla-Bamberger-Bamberger-special-ed-in-crisis-4.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2020/12/Cayla-Bamberger-Bamberger-special-ed-in-crisis-4.png 1920w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2020/12/Cayla-Bamberger-Bamberger-special-ed-in-crisis-4-800x533.png 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2020/12/Cayla-Bamberger-Bamberger-special-ed-in-crisis-4-1020x680.png 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2020/12/Cayla-Bamberger-Bamberger-special-ed-in-crisis-4-160x107.png 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2020/12/Cayla-Bamberger-Bamberger-special-ed-in-crisis-4-768x512.png 768w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2020/12/Cayla-Bamberger-Bamberger-special-ed-in-crisis-4-1536x1024.png 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Albert Morales, a transitional kindergarten through first grade special education teacher, tries to plan lessons that are both engaging and accessible for his students. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Albert Morales)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>And that’s in California, which has done more than many states to mitigate the effects of the pandemic. At a time of widespread budget cuts, it is boosting support for special education: Its \u003ca href=\"http://www.ebudget.ca.gov/2020-21/pdf/Enacted/GovernorsBudget/6000.pdf\">2020-21 budget\u003c/a> allocates an additional $550 million to special education and $100 million for students requiring specialized services, and sets aside $15 million to recruit and train special education teachers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With the special education system under strain, many weary parents and teachers share a common mantra: a hope that things will get back to normal soon. However, advocates say that “normal” isn’t good enough when public school wasn’t designed to support every child in the first place; instead, what’s needed is systemic change that goes further to improve schools for all children, especially the most vulnerable.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“How do we take what we’re doing in this moment and use this chance to prioritize equity and put marginalized students first, so that building our system back, they are at the center of it, rather than at the margins?” said Whittaker of the National Center for Learning Disabilities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fueled by pandemic-driven necessity, some districts have found ways for parents and educators to collaborate more closely to support kids with disabilities. This spring, many states implemented what are often called “individualized distance learning plans,” which spell out more clearly than IEPs do how schools and families should work together.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The importance of parent-teacher cooperation is outlined in IDEA, yet “we don’t do it well at all,” said Silva of New America. “This is an opportunity to connect home and school in a way that we’ve always promised and never been able to achieve.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And though IEPs have long pledged individualized instruction, distance learning often makes it a requisite. “It acknowledged that students have lives outside of school with very real stressors and responsibilities,” said Causton of Inclusive Schooling.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During the pandemic, teachers across the country have been forced to find ways to reach their students in a manner suited to their needs: by recording videos for children who missed synchronous lessons, sending worksheets home with kids who lacked internet access and adjusting deadlines to fit students’ schedules. Causton wants to see schools continue this creative, flexible approach with all students going forward. Not only will children with disabilities benefit, she said, “but so will everyone else.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Part of that goal involves rethinking special education so that disability doesn’t suggest a deficit in a student’s ability to learn, but rather a set of individualized needs that schools must meet — not unlike a student without internet access’s need for a hard-copy alternative.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We for too long sorted and separated human beings based on disability,” said Causton. “This is the moment where we need to look at all the structures that have created such inequitable outcomes for kids,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Instead of measuring how ready a student is to fit into our system, we can measure how ready our system is to support all students together,” she added.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s the kind of change Nicole Vaughn hopes to see. At a meeting this fall to discuss her son Jacob’s IEP, a social worker told her for the sixth consecutive year that the boy, now a high school senior, doesn’t answer open-ended questions, she said. This time, Vaughn had had enough.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I said, ‘Please don’t say it anymore, because it’s the equivalent of saying a person that’s in a wheelchair cannot run a marathon,’ ” said Vaughn. “ ‘I don’t want to hear any more about what he can’t do. Let’s talk about what Jacob can do.’ ” Though he won’t receive a high school diploma, Jacob will graduate this spring with a certificate of completion. He also talks, engages and learns in a classroom alongside his peers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“All kids learn,” she said. “They just don’t all learn at the same pace, the same way.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>This story about \u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/HGvSCG69GouB0WxytKlr2O?domain=hechingerreport.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003ci>special education services\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci> was produced by \u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/LthZCJ6PLruB1pG4tGnrpx?domain=hechingerreport.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003ci>The Hechinger Report\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci>, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. Sign up for \u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/vH_VCKr6MvTDB8gAs3eBve?domain=us2.list-manage.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003ci>Hechinger’s newsletter\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci>.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n","blocks":[],"excerpt":"The pandemic and recession are further straining a special education system that has long struggled to effectively serve students with disabilities. Chronic shortfalls in federal funding have burdened local education agencies and families, and — in the most extreme cases — denied children access to quality special education services. But some families and their advocates are hopeful that the coronavirus crisis could prompt systemic change.","status":"publish","parent":0,"modified":1607329340,"stats":{"hasAudio":false,"hasVideo":false,"hasChartOrMap":false,"iframeSrcs":[],"hasGoogleForm":false,"hasGallery":false,"hasHearkenModule":false,"hasPolis":false,"paragraphCount":56,"wordCount":3319},"headData":{"title":"Some Families Hope Pandemic Can Spur Change in Special Education - MindShift","description":"The pandemic and recession are further straining a special education system that has long struggled to effectively serve students with disabilities. Chronic shortfalls in federal funding have burdened local education agencies and families, and — in the most extreme cases — denied children access to quality special education services. But some families and their advocates are hopeful that the coronavirus crisis could prompt systemic change.","ogTitle":"","ogDescription":"","ogImgId":"","twTitle":"","twDescription":"","twImgId":""},"disqusIdentifier":"57071 https://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/?p=57071","disqusUrl":"https://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2020/12/07/some-families-hope-pandemic-can-spur-change-in-special-education/","disqusTitle":"Some Families Hope Pandemic Can Spur Change in Special Education","nprByline":"\u003ca href=\"https://hechingerreport.org/\">Cayla Bamberger, The Hechinger Report\u003c/a>","subhead":"Special education was imperfect before the coronavirus crisis. As districts contend with the fallout from slapdash online classes for kids with disabilities, will the pandemic prompt a reckoning?","path":"/mindshift/57071/some-families-hope-pandemic-can-spur-change-in-special-education","audioTrackLength":null,"parsedContent":[{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>This story about special education services was produced by \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://hechingerreport.org/\">\u003cem>The Hechinger Report\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. Sign up for \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://us2.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=66c306eebb323868c3ce353c1&id=d3ee4c3e04\">\u003cem>Hechinger’s newsletter\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Single mom Nicole Vaughn has spent the better part of her adult life advocating for her five adopted children with disabilities. But when schools shuttered for the coronavirus last spring, Vaughn gained a slew of new responsibilities, like helping her kids access virtual classrooms and coordinating the special education services they receive.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I had to send emails to the speech and language provider saying, ‘Hey, they haven’t seen you, I haven’t seen you. What’s going on?’ ” said Vaughn, who lives in the Detroit metropolitan area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Once those services resumed, Vaughn said sessions were shorter than the time mandated by her children’s individualized education programs. Known as IEPs, these plans are meant to ensure that students with disabilities receive specialized instruction and services tailored to their needs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Vaughn decided to let it go.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"fullwidth"},"numeric":["fullwidth"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s to the point now you have to pick and choose your battles,” she said. “Because other than that, I’m calling and texting everybody, every day, about something.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_57072\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1452px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-57072\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2020/12/Cayla-Bamberger-Bamberger-special-ed-in-crisis-5.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1452\" height=\"1936\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2020/12/Cayla-Bamberger-Bamberger-special-ed-in-crisis-5.jpg 1452w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2020/12/Cayla-Bamberger-Bamberger-special-ed-in-crisis-5-800x1067.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2020/12/Cayla-Bamberger-Bamberger-special-ed-in-crisis-5-1020x1360.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2020/12/Cayla-Bamberger-Bamberger-special-ed-in-crisis-5-160x213.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2020/12/Cayla-Bamberger-Bamberger-special-ed-in-crisis-5-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2020/12/Cayla-Bamberger-Bamberger-special-ed-in-crisis-5-1152x1536.jpg 1152w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1452px) 100vw, 1452px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Though they’re in different grades, each member of the Vaughn family gathers around the table for their respective online classes. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Nicole Vaughn )\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Simultaneous crises of a pandemic and recession are further straining a special education system that has long struggled to effectively serve students with disabilities. Chronic shortfalls in federal funding have burdened local education agencies and families, and — in the most extreme cases — denied these children access to quality education. Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), today, \u003ca href=\"https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator_cgg.asp\">more than 7 million children, or 14 percent of public school students\u003c/a>\u003cu>, \u003c/u>are entitled to special services and accommodations to help them learn. But in the legislation’s almost 50-year history, the federal government has never fulfilled its promise to pay 40 percent of the average cost of educating students with disabilities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Special education teachers, meanwhile, tend to be among the least-experienced educators, and states often have trouble filling those positions. In Vaughn’s state of Michigan, over 40 percent of teacher vacancies last year were in special education, according to a Michigan Association of Superintendents & Administrators \u003ca href=\"https://hechingerreport.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Teacher-Shortage-Survey-Results.pdf\">survey\u003c/a> with responses from roughly half the state’s school districts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The consequences are evident in the data: \u003ca href=\"https://hechingerreport.org/high-schools-fail-provide-legally-required-education-students-disabilities/\">Graduation rates\u003c/a> for young people with disabilities often fall far below those of other students, and without the right support, children in special education are also much more likely to \u003ca href=\"https://www.ncld.org/research/state-of-learning-disabilities/supporting-academic-success#ch3challenge3\">repeat grades\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.ncld.org/research/state-of-learning-disabilities/social-emotional-and-behavioral-challenges#ch4challenge2\">twice as likely to be suspended\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“These students in particular are getting the short end of the stick, and they have been for some time,” said Elena Silva, director of the pre-K-12 education policy program at the think tank New America and the mother of a child with a physical disability. “The schools, the staff — they know it. You talk to anybody at a school or staff about the need, and whether they have what they need to meet the needs of these kids. And they’ll tell you, they don’t.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But some families and their advocates are hopeful that the pandemic could prompt a reckoning and systemic change. During distance learning, educators have needed to get creative to reach all their students, leading to new ways of collaborating with parents and approaches to instruction that education experts say could be integrated into how schools operate going forward.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I don’t think anyone’s going to say that what we were doing worked or was equitable,” said Meghan Whittaker, the director of policy and advocacy at the National Center for Learning Disabilities. “And this gives us a chance to rethink that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Vaughn’s advocacy on behalf of her kids came to a temporary standstill this spring, when she was hospitalized with the coronavirus. In late March, her symptoms worsened quickly and doctors put her on a ventilator.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Vaughn feared how her absence would affect her children’s education. “I cannot leave them,” she remembered thinking before slipping into a coma. “Nobody is going to go to bat for my kids the way I go to bat for them.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After waking up five days later, she wasted no time trying to help her kids adapt to their new normal, which included online classes. Before she could even speak again, she wrote messages on a whiteboard that a nurse read over the phone to her children and sister, who was filling in as their guardian.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s not unusual for parents of students with disabilities to take an outsize role in their children’s education. Special education can be a confusing and impenetrable system, and parents often have to become experts in state and federal laws to ensure their kids receive appropriate support.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Parents are co-equal members of an IEP team,” said Julie Causton, chief executive of Inclusive Schooling, an education consultancy, and a former professor of special education at Syracuse University. But not all families have the time or means to take on that responsibility, so the goal must be to “make sure kids get what they need without relying on the family structure,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_57073\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1152px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-57073\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2020/12/Cayla-Bamberger-Bamberger-special-ed-in-crisis-8.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1152\" height=\"1438\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2020/12/Cayla-Bamberger-Bamberger-special-ed-in-crisis-8.jpg 1152w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2020/12/Cayla-Bamberger-Bamberger-special-ed-in-crisis-8-800x999.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2020/12/Cayla-Bamberger-Bamberger-special-ed-in-crisis-8-1020x1273.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2020/12/Cayla-Bamberger-Bamberger-special-ed-in-crisis-8-160x200.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2020/12/Cayla-Bamberger-Bamberger-special-ed-in-crisis-8-768x959.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1152px) 100vw, 1152px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Nicole Vaughn adopted five children with disabilities who qualify for special services and accommodations in Michigan public schools. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Nicole Vaughn )\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>A graduate of Detroit Public Schools and the first in her family to earn a bachelor’s degree, Vaughn adopted a newborn named Daniel in 2001 and, later, his biological younger brother, Jacob. When Daniel’s preschool teachers said he was often restless and impulsive, and Jacob missed typical milestones for walking and talking, both boys were assessed for disabilities. Together, they were diagnosed with autism, ADHD and cognitive impairment, and Vaughn was told Jacob might never be able to live independently. Vaughn recalls feeling like the special education professionals were speaking in code.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“All these educational terms and these acronyms — it was just all new to me, and it was also very intimidating,” said Vaughn. “I would come home after we had one of these meetings or sessions, and I’m Googling, I’m researching, and it’s overwhelming.” In time, Vaughn decided to get a master’s degree in special education to make sense of the system. She also adopted three more children: a daughter and twins with speech and language delays.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even with her training, Vaughn ran into problems as she tried to help her kids. The school district in which her elder children were previously enrolled, Dearborn Heights School District 7, graduates special education students with regular diplomas at a rate of 73 percent, well below the state’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.michigan.gov/documents/mde/PartBC_IndicatorDescriptions_550415_7.pdf\">target rate\u003c/a> of 80 percent, according to the state’s most recent \u003ca href=\"https://www.michigan.gov/documents/cepi/Public_Reporting_File_Masked_Part_B_Member_District_3-19-20_ADA_685172_7.xlsx\">special education public report\u003c/a>. The district and surrounding area also have trouble with staffing: As of mid-November, there were around \u003ca href=\"https://www.applitrack.com/resa/OnlineApp/default.aspx?Category=Center+Based+and+Special+Education+Services\">40 special education job vacancies\u003c/a> in Wayne County, where Dearborn Heights is located, and about \u003ca href=\"https://4.files.edl.io/f7a9/05/08/19/221423-fa291483-ca10-44f4-b94b-6c93b5d2f28b.pdf\">13 percent of all teachers and 32 percent of principals and school leaders\u003c/a> in the district lacked prior experience in these roles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When Jacob was in third grade, Vaughn said she was informed that his speech and language and occupational therapies were ending. “ ‘He’s pretty much plateaued; he’s reached his maximum level of performance,’ ” Vaughn said the IEP team told her. “ ‘We don’t want him just lingering in the services. We have other children.’ ” On another occasion, a social worker referred to Jacob as “she” in his behavior plan, Vaughn said. She confronted the principal for reusing another child’s program. “It’s called an individualized education plan!” she recalled saying.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Today, Vaughn works as a counselor for Detroit Public Schools and said she sympathizes with overburdened school staff. “It keeps going back to time and money, which it seems like school districts never have enough of,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Vaughn was not alone in her struggles to get her children services this year. Last spring, during remote learning, just 20 percent of students with disabilities received the services to which they were entitled, and 39 percent received no support at all, according to a \u003ca href=\"https://parentstogetheraction.org/2020/05/27/parentstogether-survey-reveals-remote-learning-is-failing-our-most-vulnerable-students/\">survey\u003c/a> by ParentsTogether Action, a parent-led advocacy group. And an American Institutes for Research \u003ca href=\"https://www.air.org/sites/default/files/COVID-Survey-Spotlight-on-Students-with-Disabilities-FINAL-Oct-2020.pdf\">survey\u003c/a> found that nearly three-quarters of 744 school districts reported it was more or substantially more difficult to provide appropriate accommodations for their students with disabilities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“For a student that has a learning, attention or behavioral disability, being at home — without teachers, without educators, without one-on-one support, being on screens — is almost an impossible way for them to learn well,” said Silva of New America.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some families have grown so discouraged with special education during the pandemic that they have opted out of the school system altogether, at least for now. In March, LaTonya Davis, an education consultant in Houston, decided to pull her 10-year-old son with autism out of his KIPP public charter school and home-school him for the duration of the pandemic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I'm solely responsible for making sure I make the best choices for him,” she said of her decision.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Davis, a single mother, developed a daily schedule of activities tailored to her son’s needs, known as a “\u003ca href=\"https://www.understood.org/en/learning-thinking-differences/treatments-approaches/therapies/sensory-diet-treatment-what-you-need-to-know\">sensory diet\u003c/a>,” which she’d tried unsuccessfully to have his teachers adopt in the past. She said she hopes that giving her son one-on-one attention will help him get a quality education even during school closures.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_57074\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 908px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-57074\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2020/12/Cayla-Bamberger-Bamberger-special-ed-in-crisis-9.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"908\" height=\"535\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2020/12/Cayla-Bamberger-Bamberger-special-ed-in-crisis-9.png 908w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2020/12/Cayla-Bamberger-Bamberger-special-ed-in-crisis-9-800x471.png 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2020/12/Cayla-Bamberger-Bamberger-special-ed-in-crisis-9-160x94.png 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2020/12/Cayla-Bamberger-Bamberger-special-ed-in-crisis-9-768x453.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 908px) 100vw, 908px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">LaTonya Davis, who is homeschooling for the duration of the pandemic, created a virtual classroom for her 10-year-old son with autism. \u003ccite>(LaTonya Davis)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But few parents have the expertise to support their kids around the clock like Davis, which could put students in special education, who are already among the most vulnerable, further behind. Indeed, special education experts have already sounded the alarm about \u003ca href=\"https://hechingerreport.org/it-feels-a-little-hopeless-parents-of-kids-with-disabilities-worry-coronavirus-quarantine-will-mean-regression/\">academic regression and loss of life skills\u003c/a> during school closures.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Recognizing the unique obstacles that students with disabilities face in remote learning, several of the country’s biggest school districts, including Los Angeles County and Baltimore City, have prioritized bringing back at least some special education students to school buildings before their peers. But doing so has proved very difficult. Seattle Public Schools, which approved a school-reopening plan prioritizing kids with disabilities in August, made \u003ca href=\"https://www.seattletimes.com/education-lab/only-1-seattle-public-schools-student-is-receiving-special-education-services-in-person-right-now/#:~:text=Ishisaka-,Only%201%20Seattle%20Public%20Schools%20student%20is%20receiving%20special,services%20in%20person%20right%20now&text=Education%20Lab%20is%20a%20Seattle,persistent%20challenges%20in%20public%20education.&text=Other%20districts%20are%20usi\">headlines\u003c/a> in October because just one student was receiving in-person services.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yet, for schools continuing to teach remotely, resources are getting harder to come by. In California’s Hawthorne School District, special education teacher Albert Morales teaches transitional kindergarten (an extra year of instruction before kindergarten) through first grade. Classes will be online until at least the spring.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This fall, Morales has struggled to get the tools he needs to support his students. The district distributed Chromebooks at the start of the school year, but several of his young students with disabilities couldn’t use the mouse and keyboard. And though the school is swapping out the devices for iPads, which are more accessible to kids with disabilities, there weren’t enough for all students, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Morales added that education companies made a few services that worked for his students free this spring, but that’s no longer the case. “All these great resources are out there,” he said. “But teachers have to pay out of pockets.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Special education teachers aren’t meant to carry the financial burden. However, the federal government reimburses just 15 percent of the additional costs for educating students with disabilities — far short of the 40 percent promised under IDEA — according to the \u003ca href=\"https://ncld.org/news/policy-and-advocacy/idea-full-funding-why-should-congress-invest-in-special-education/\">National Center for Learning Disabilities\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And a budget crisis won’t help close funding gaps: “They’re not going to have as much money, and they’re going to need to do twice as much,” said Silva of New America. “What do you do for your most vulnerable, when you have to do so much more and you have half the money?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That’s just a very real problem,” she said. “I don’t think we can innovate out of that problem.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bills introduced in the \u003ca href=\"https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/4100/text\">Senate\u003c/a> this summer and the \u003ca href=\"https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/8523/text\">House\u003c/a> in October would provide more than $12 billion for students with disabilities, but both have stalled. Special education advocates, however, are hopeful that President-elect Joe Biden, whose wife, Jill, is an educator, could make good on \u003ca href=\"https://hechingerreport.org/opinion-is-america-finally-getting-woke-to-its-largest-minority-group/\">a promise he made\u003c/a> to fully fund IDEA within 10 years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Without additional financial help, some public schools could be forced to make do with even fewer experienced staff serving kids with disabilities. Shortages of special education teachers are a national problem, with 48 states and D.C. reporting difficulty hiring and retaining staff, according to a 2016 report from the \u003ca href=\"https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/sites/default/files/product-files/A_Coming_Crisis_in_Teaching_REPORT.pdf\">Learning Policy Institute\u003c/a>\u003cu>,\u003c/u> the most recent data available. The problem is most severe in districts predominantly serving students of color and from low-income backgrounds, where schools are already \u003ca href=\"https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/sites/default/files/product-files/Restart_Reinvent_Schools_COVID_REPORT.pdf\">more likely\u003c/a> to be staffed by a transient group of untrained teachers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nationally, special education has the highest proportion of unlicensed teachers, even though many districts waive certain typical teacher licensure requirements for those positions, according to Roddy Theobald, a researcher at the Center for Analysis of Longitudinal Data in Education Research. Throughout the pandemic, many states have waived even more requirements, said Dan Goldhaber, director of the center. That could ultimately cause harm to students if it means they are being instructed primarily by teachers who lack the skills to serve them, experts say.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, paraprofessional positions, an hourly role supporting students with disabilities, are \u003ca href=\"http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/District_Dossier/2020/08/districts_layoff_thousands_of_.html\">on the chopping block\u003c/a> in districts around the country. Some experts worry that special education teacher positions could be next. The first teachers to be laid off are typically the least-experienced, which could disproportionately affect special education teachers, who tend to be younger on account of the profession’s high attrition rates, said Goldhaber.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Budget cuts haven’t hit Hawthorne’s special education staff yet, but the pandemic has deepened staffing issues in Morales’ district nonetheless. In 2018, nearly \u003ca href=\"https://gettingdowntofacts.com/sites/default/files/2018-09/GDTFII_Report_Darling-Hammond.pdf\">eight in 10\u003c/a> California schools had openings for special education teachers, and \u003ca href=\"https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/product/interactive-map-understanding-teacher-shortages-california\">more than two-thirds\u003c/a> of Hawthorne’s new hires had not met all of California’s teacher certification requirements, according to the Learning Policy Institute. This September, a deficit of teachers trained to support students with disabilities meant that when a special education colleague was absent, Morales had to teach an online class twice the size of his usual group, which he said made high-quality instruction impossible.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_57077\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-57077\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2020/12/Cayla-Bamberger-Bamberger-special-ed-in-crisis-4.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2020/12/Cayla-Bamberger-Bamberger-special-ed-in-crisis-4.png 1920w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2020/12/Cayla-Bamberger-Bamberger-special-ed-in-crisis-4-800x533.png 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2020/12/Cayla-Bamberger-Bamberger-special-ed-in-crisis-4-1020x680.png 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2020/12/Cayla-Bamberger-Bamberger-special-ed-in-crisis-4-160x107.png 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2020/12/Cayla-Bamberger-Bamberger-special-ed-in-crisis-4-768x512.png 768w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2020/12/Cayla-Bamberger-Bamberger-special-ed-in-crisis-4-1536x1024.png 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Albert Morales, a transitional kindergarten through first grade special education teacher, tries to plan lessons that are both engaging and accessible for his students. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Albert Morales)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>And that’s in California, which has done more than many states to mitigate the effects of the pandemic. At a time of widespread budget cuts, it is boosting support for special education: Its \u003ca href=\"http://www.ebudget.ca.gov/2020-21/pdf/Enacted/GovernorsBudget/6000.pdf\">2020-21 budget\u003c/a> allocates an additional $550 million to special education and $100 million for students requiring specialized services, and sets aside $15 million to recruit and train special education teachers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With the special education system under strain, many weary parents and teachers share a common mantra: a hope that things will get back to normal soon. However, advocates say that “normal” isn’t good enough when public school wasn’t designed to support every child in the first place; instead, what’s needed is systemic change that goes further to improve schools for all children, especially the most vulnerable.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“How do we take what we’re doing in this moment and use this chance to prioritize equity and put marginalized students first, so that building our system back, they are at the center of it, rather than at the margins?” said Whittaker of the National Center for Learning Disabilities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fueled by pandemic-driven necessity, some districts have found ways for parents and educators to collaborate more closely to support kids with disabilities. This spring, many states implemented what are often called “individualized distance learning plans,” which spell out more clearly than IEPs do how schools and families should work together.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The importance of parent-teacher cooperation is outlined in IDEA, yet “we don’t do it well at all,” said Silva of New America. “This is an opportunity to connect home and school in a way that we’ve always promised and never been able to achieve.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And though IEPs have long pledged individualized instruction, distance learning often makes it a requisite. “It acknowledged that students have lives outside of school with very real stressors and responsibilities,” said Causton of Inclusive Schooling.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During the pandemic, teachers across the country have been forced to find ways to reach their students in a manner suited to their needs: by recording videos for children who missed synchronous lessons, sending worksheets home with kids who lacked internet access and adjusting deadlines to fit students’ schedules. Causton wants to see schools continue this creative, flexible approach with all students going forward. Not only will children with disabilities benefit, she said, “but so will everyone else.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Part of that goal involves rethinking special education so that disability doesn’t suggest a deficit in a student’s ability to learn, but rather a set of individualized needs that schools must meet — not unlike a student without internet access’s need for a hard-copy alternative.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We for too long sorted and separated human beings based on disability,” said Causton. “This is the moment where we need to look at all the structures that have created such inequitable outcomes for kids,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Instead of measuring how ready a student is to fit into our system, we can measure how ready our system is to support all students together,” she added.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s the kind of change Nicole Vaughn hopes to see. At a meeting this fall to discuss her son Jacob’s IEP, a social worker told her for the sixth consecutive year that the boy, now a high school senior, doesn’t answer open-ended questions, she said. This time, Vaughn had had enough.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I said, ‘Please don’t say it anymore, because it’s the equivalent of saying a person that’s in a wheelchair cannot run a marathon,’ ” said Vaughn. “ ‘I don’t want to hear any more about what he can’t do. Let’s talk about what Jacob can do.’ ” Though he won’t receive a high school diploma, Jacob will graduate this spring with a certificate of completion. He also talks, engages and learns in a classroom alongside his peers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“All kids learn,” she said. “They just don’t all learn at the same pace, the same way.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"floatright"},"numeric":["floatright"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>This story about \u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/HGvSCG69GouB0WxytKlr2O?domain=hechingerreport.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003ci>special education services\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci> was produced by \u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/LthZCJ6PLruB1pG4tGnrpx?domain=hechingerreport.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003ci>The Hechinger Report\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci>, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. Sign up for \u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/vH_VCKr6MvTDB8gAs3eBve?domain=us2.list-manage.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003ci>Hechinger’s newsletter\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci>.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}}],"link":"/mindshift/57071/some-families-hope-pandemic-can-spur-change-in-special-education","authors":["byline_mindshift_57071"],"categories":["mindshift_21358"],"tags":["mindshift_21344","mindshift_21343","mindshift_358","mindshift_20935","mindshift_20934"],"featImg":"mindshift_57076","label":"mindshift"},"mindshift_55654":{"type":"posts","id":"mindshift_55654","meta":{"index":"posts_1591205157","site":"mindshift","id":"55654","score":null,"sort":[1585416589000]},"guestAuthors":[],"slug":"with-schools-closed-kids-with-disabilities-are-more-vulnerable-than-ever","title":"With Schools Closed, Kids With Disabilities Are More Vulnerable Than Ever","publishDate":1585416589,"format":"standard","headTitle":"MindShift | KQED News","labelTerm":{"site":"mindshift"},"content":"\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Updated at 9:31 a.m. ET\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With school closed, Marla Murasko begins her morning getting her 14-year-old son, Jacob, dressed and ready for the day. They have a daily check-in: How are you doing? How are you feeling? Next, they consult the colorful, hourly schedule she has pinned on the fridge.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jacob, who has Down syndrome, loves routine. So this daily routine is important. Schools in Hopkinton, Mass., \u003ca href=\"https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Fu-SeJ1r2ylgPg64Cn6AnHe9vOl1EgcZ4GoI1wDOwdA/edit\">are closed until May 4th\u003c/a>, so Jacob's morning academic lesson — which according to the schedule starts at 9 a.m. — has been temporarily moved to the basement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But there's been one big hiccup to all this: What, exactly, to learn during these at-home sessions? Some of Jacob's teachers have sent packets home — one, for a science class, includes a video and a worksheet on wolves — but teachers haven't included any of the modifications, or \"accommodations\" he normally gets that are designed to adapt the lessons to his learning style. Normally, Jacob is in a general education classroom, with special help. In some subjects, like reading and math, he works with different teachers and sometimes does different lessons.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"It has been very frustrating for us,\" says Murasko, \"he can't look at a five-page worksheet and learn. He needs it very simplified in order for him to learn it. If there's no accommodations or modifications for him, he really can't attend to that lesson plan unless I modify it for him.\" So Murasko, who insists she is not and has never been a teacher, has had to get creative. She found some worksheets online that help break down readings into Who, What, Where, When and Why? She says they're helping.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I'll be honest with you, I've approached my day at this point with trying to figure out the positives,\" she says, \"because I can't keep staying in this negative arena of when are they going to provide me something?\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As the vast majority of schools in the U.S. have transitioned from the classroom to the computer — teachers and administrators have struggled to offer learning to special needs students. The Hopkinton school district, where Jacob attends, did not respond to requests for comment on how it's handling the needs of students in special education.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some districts have plowed ahead with holding one-on-one lessons over software like Zoom and virtual meetings to discuss the individualized education plans — known as IEPs — that are required for students in special education. Others have put all learning on a pause, as they figure out how to use distance learning to serve all students — not just those with disabilities but also those who don't have computers or high-speed internet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As we've reported, \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2020/03/26/821921575/the-biggest-distance-learning-experiment-in-history-week-one\">schools have had to move online\u003c/a> within a very short time frame, often without extra resources and very little training.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An estimated 14% of public school students receive special education services in the U.S. The federal Individuals With Disabilities Education Act ensures that those children have a right to a free, appropriate public education whenever and wherever schools are operating.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Our district overall is implementing Google Classroom,\" explains Ann Hiebert, a special education teacher for the Ferguson-Florissant School District, in the suburbs of St. Louis, \"but that doesn't work well for my students, since I have students with more significant needs.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Her students have intellectual disabilities, including autism. Many are non-verbal, and some struggle with writing and typing and can't use technology independently.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"So all of these things that are out there aren't really going to be the best option for my kids,\" Hiebert says. She has been sending emails with videos of her classes' morning routine — they include familiar songs and pictures of their classroom calendar. \"Routine is very important to my students,\" she says. She sent packets home for students, but she's \"still trying to figure out ways that I can have meaningful content for them.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>An urging to stay flexible\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Saturday, the U.S. Education Department\u003ca href=\"https://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/urging-states-continue-educating-students-disabilities-secretary-devos-publishes-new-resource-accessibility-and-distance-learning-options\"> announced it was giving schools flexibility in interpreting IDEA\u003c/a>, saying that complying with the law, \"should not prevent any school from offering educational programs through distance instruction.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jeanne Allen, who founded the Center for Education Reform, an advocacy group that promotes school choice, said she was relieved to get the guidance, as there's been, \"confusion about what schools, school districts and educators were permitted to do.\" She acknowledges that there are concerns about equity, but argues that schools should be looking to ed tech innovators and seeking creative solutions, rather than putting a hold on all learning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"The law does not say if you don't educate every single person today in real time, you're going to get penalized,\" she maintains, \"You don't stop schools and leaders from educating students to find the perfect solution.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A new federal relief package, \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2020/03/27/822062909/house-aims-to-send-2-trillion-rescue-package-to-president-to-stem-coronavirus-cr?origin=NOTIFY\">which President Trump signed into law on Friday\u003c/a>, offers Education Secretary Betsy DeVos the opportunity to go one step further: \u003ca href=\"https://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/campaign-k-12/2020/03/senate-coronavirus-bill-passes-education-funding.html?r=2004858939&r=2109321903\">She now has 30 days to seek waivers\u003c/a> for additional provisions of IDEA in order to provide schools with \"limited flexibility.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This provision makes disability advocates nervous. \"We're talking about waiving a civil right for our most vulnerable people in our society, children who don't vote, who have no voice, who are relying on their parents to advocate for them,\" says Stephanie Langer, a Florida civil rights attorney who focuses on education and disability.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She worries that if the federal government lets states and districts off the hook for providing accommodations for students with disabilities, schools and teachers won't even try. \"If they know they won't be held accountable at the back end, they simply will not try,\" Langer maintains. \"Having the requirements in place requires schools to do something rather than nothing, even if it's not perfect.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the meantime, it's really up to parents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For the first few days of virtual learning, Ann Hiebert says she was focused on how to adapt lessons for her students, but in recent days she has shifted her thinking. Now, she says, \"I'm trying to be more of a resource to parents.\" She's planning on making videos — with help from her own son, who is also home from school — to demonstrate to parents how she works with students in class, so parents can model her movements.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Parents have now become the teacher, the therapist, the advocate. They are everybody all in one,\" says Catherine Whitcher, \u003ca href=\"https://www.catherinewhitcher.com/\">who works with both families and school districts to craft IEPs\u003c/a>. \"The teachers have really started to flip their thinking of, 'How can I support the parents and what they're doing during this time?' \"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Whitcher says parents are stressed out because they're worried their special-needs child isn't going to make academic progress at home, but she argues that's not where the focus should be for families. \"Right now, we need to stabilize as human beings inside of our homes. It's about life skills. It's about community. It's about connection.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She says the time spent over video chat, or at home, is a great opportunity for parents and teachers to actually get to know the students in the context of their family.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lessons from a virtual school \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There are schools with extensive experience teaching online, including a number of virtual charter schools. \"All of our instruction has always been delivered online,\" says Jamie Desrochers, the director of special education at the PA Distance Learning Charter School in Pennsylvania. \"Our special ed teachers, pretty much everything that they can do in a brick and mortar school, we can do on a cyber.\" The only services they normally do in-person are things like speech therapy, occupational therapy and physical therapy, but they have partnerships with companies like PresenceLearning \u003ca href=\"https://www.presencelearning.com/\">that offer these services over video chat\u003c/a>, and are leaning on them even more now.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When everything is through a computer, Desrochers says, teachers \"have to be that much more animated to get the kids' attention.\" Sometimes teachers wear different silly hats and they ask lots of questions about the students' living environment. \"The kids love to show off their pet,\" she says. \"Giving the students an opportunity to do a show-and-tell online gets them engaged and builds that relationship.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For special education teachers adapting to a new virtual reality, Desrochers suggests making sure lessons connect to real life. And she urges teachers and parents to lean into the tools and objects students have in the home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For example, if you'd use blocks for counting in the classroom, use something like pasta. For a lesson about surface area, have students count how many tiles are in the kitchen, or how many steps it takes to get from one side of the room to the other. And for parents, she adds, don't forget about household chores: \"Cooking with your kids, is a great way to teach math.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.\u003cimg src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=With+Schools+Closed%2C+Kids+With+Disabilities+Are+More+Vulnerable+Than+Ever&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/div>\n\n","blocks":[],"excerpt":"About 14% of U.S. public school students receive special education services. And as schools transition from the classroom to the computer, many of those students could get left behind.","status":"publish","parent":0,"modified":1585546501,"stats":{"hasAudio":false,"hasVideo":false,"hasChartOrMap":false,"iframeSrcs":[],"hasGoogleForm":false,"hasGallery":false,"hasHearkenModule":false,"hasPolis":false,"paragraphCount":32,"wordCount":1536},"headData":{"title":"With Schools Closed, Kids With Disabilities Are More Vulnerable Than Ever | KQED","description":"About 14% of U.S. public school students receive special education services. And as schools transition from the classroom to the computer, many of those students could get left behind.","ogTitle":"","ogDescription":"","ogImgId":"","twTitle":"","twDescription":"","twImgId":""},"disqusIdentifier":"55654 https://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/?p=55654","disqusUrl":"https://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2020/03/28/with-schools-closed-kids-with-disabilities-are-more-vulnerable-than-ever/","disqusTitle":"With Schools Closed, Kids With Disabilities Are More Vulnerable Than Ever","nprByline":"Elissa Nadworny ","nprImageAgency":"Maria Fabrizio for NPR","nprStoryId":"821926032","nprApiLink":"http://api.npr.org/query?id=821926032&apiKey=MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004","nprHtmlLink":"https://www.npr.org/2020/03/27/821926032/with-schools-closed-kids-with-disabilities-are-more-vulnerable-than-ever?ft=nprml&f=821926032","nprRetrievedStory":"1","nprPubDate":"Sat, 28 Mar 2020 09:46:00 -0400","nprStoryDate":"Fri, 27 Mar 2020 15:01:00 -0400","nprLastModifiedDate":"Sat, 28 Mar 2020 09:46:08 -0400","nprAudio":"https://ondemand.npr.org/anon.npr-mp3/npr/atc/2020/03/20200327_atc_with_schools_closed_kids_with_disabilities_are_more_vulnerable_than_ever.mp3?orgId=1&topicId=1013&aggIds=812054919&d=274&p=2&story=821926032&ft=nprml&f=821926032","nprAudioM3u":"http://api.npr.org/m3u/1822728452-6a3fd0.m3u?orgId=1&topicId=1013&aggIds=812054919&d=274&p=2&story=821926032&ft=nprml&f=821926032","path":"/mindshift/55654/with-schools-closed-kids-with-disabilities-are-more-vulnerable-than-ever","audioUrl":"https://ondemand.npr.org/anon.npr-mp3/npr/atc/2020/03/20200327_atc_with_schools_closed_kids_with_disabilities_are_more_vulnerable_than_ever.mp3?orgId=1&topicId=1013&aggIds=812054919&d=274&p=2&story=821926032&ft=nprml&f=821926032","audioTrackLength":null,"parsedContent":[{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Updated at 9:31 a.m. ET\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With school closed, Marla Murasko begins her morning getting her 14-year-old son, Jacob, dressed and ready for the day. They have a daily check-in: How are you doing? How are you feeling? Next, they consult the colorful, hourly schedule she has pinned on the fridge.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jacob, who has Down syndrome, loves routine. So this daily routine is important. Schools in Hopkinton, Mass., \u003ca href=\"https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Fu-SeJ1r2ylgPg64Cn6AnHe9vOl1EgcZ4GoI1wDOwdA/edit\">are closed until May 4th\u003c/a>, so Jacob's morning academic lesson — which according to the schedule starts at 9 a.m. — has been temporarily moved to the basement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But there's been one big hiccup to all this: What, exactly, to learn during these at-home sessions? Some of Jacob's teachers have sent packets home — one, for a science class, includes a video and a worksheet on wolves — but teachers haven't included any of the modifications, or \"accommodations\" he normally gets that are designed to adapt the lessons to his learning style. Normally, Jacob is in a general education classroom, with special help. In some subjects, like reading and math, he works with different teachers and sometimes does different lessons.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"It has been very frustrating for us,\" says Murasko, \"he can't look at a five-page worksheet and learn. He needs it very simplified in order for him to learn it. If there's no accommodations or modifications for him, he really can't attend to that lesson plan unless I modify it for him.\" So Murasko, who insists she is not and has never been a teacher, has had to get creative. She found some worksheets online that help break down readings into Who, What, Where, When and Why? She says they're helping.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"fullwidth"},"numeric":["fullwidth"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I'll be honest with you, I've approached my day at this point with trying to figure out the positives,\" she says, \"because I can't keep staying in this negative arena of when are they going to provide me something?\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As the vast majority of schools in the U.S. have transitioned from the classroom to the computer — teachers and administrators have struggled to offer learning to special needs students. The Hopkinton school district, where Jacob attends, did not respond to requests for comment on how it's handling the needs of students in special education.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some districts have plowed ahead with holding one-on-one lessons over software like Zoom and virtual meetings to discuss the individualized education plans — known as IEPs — that are required for students in special education. Others have put all learning on a pause, as they figure out how to use distance learning to serve all students — not just those with disabilities but also those who don't have computers or high-speed internet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As we've reported, \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2020/03/26/821921575/the-biggest-distance-learning-experiment-in-history-week-one\">schools have had to move online\u003c/a> within a very short time frame, often without extra resources and very little training.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An estimated 14% of public school students receive special education services in the U.S. The federal Individuals With Disabilities Education Act ensures that those children have a right to a free, appropriate public education whenever and wherever schools are operating.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Our district overall is implementing Google Classroom,\" explains Ann Hiebert, a special education teacher for the Ferguson-Florissant School District, in the suburbs of St. Louis, \"but that doesn't work well for my students, since I have students with more significant needs.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Her students have intellectual disabilities, including autism. Many are non-verbal, and some struggle with writing and typing and can't use technology independently.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"So all of these things that are out there aren't really going to be the best option for my kids,\" Hiebert says. She has been sending emails with videos of her classes' morning routine — they include familiar songs and pictures of their classroom calendar. \"Routine is very important to my students,\" she says. She sent packets home for students, but she's \"still trying to figure out ways that I can have meaningful content for them.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>An urging to stay flexible\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Saturday, the U.S. Education Department\u003ca href=\"https://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/urging-states-continue-educating-students-disabilities-secretary-devos-publishes-new-resource-accessibility-and-distance-learning-options\"> announced it was giving schools flexibility in interpreting IDEA\u003c/a>, saying that complying with the law, \"should not prevent any school from offering educational programs through distance instruction.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jeanne Allen, who founded the Center for Education Reform, an advocacy group that promotes school choice, said she was relieved to get the guidance, as there's been, \"confusion about what schools, school districts and educators were permitted to do.\" She acknowledges that there are concerns about equity, but argues that schools should be looking to ed tech innovators and seeking creative solutions, rather than putting a hold on all learning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"The law does not say if you don't educate every single person today in real time, you're going to get penalized,\" she maintains, \"You don't stop schools and leaders from educating students to find the perfect solution.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A new federal relief package, \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2020/03/27/822062909/house-aims-to-send-2-trillion-rescue-package-to-president-to-stem-coronavirus-cr?origin=NOTIFY\">which President Trump signed into law on Friday\u003c/a>, offers Education Secretary Betsy DeVos the opportunity to go one step further: \u003ca href=\"https://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/campaign-k-12/2020/03/senate-coronavirus-bill-passes-education-funding.html?r=2004858939&r=2109321903\">She now has 30 days to seek waivers\u003c/a> for additional provisions of IDEA in order to provide schools with \"limited flexibility.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This provision makes disability advocates nervous. \"We're talking about waiving a civil right for our most vulnerable people in our society, children who don't vote, who have no voice, who are relying on their parents to advocate for them,\" says Stephanie Langer, a Florida civil rights attorney who focuses on education and disability.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She worries that if the federal government lets states and districts off the hook for providing accommodations for students with disabilities, schools and teachers won't even try. \"If they know they won't be held accountable at the back end, they simply will not try,\" Langer maintains. \"Having the requirements in place requires schools to do something rather than nothing, even if it's not perfect.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the meantime, it's really up to parents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For the first few days of virtual learning, Ann Hiebert says she was focused on how to adapt lessons for her students, but in recent days she has shifted her thinking. Now, she says, \"I'm trying to be more of a resource to parents.\" She's planning on making videos — with help from her own son, who is also home from school — to demonstrate to parents how she works with students in class, so parents can model her movements.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Parents have now become the teacher, the therapist, the advocate. They are everybody all in one,\" says Catherine Whitcher, \u003ca href=\"https://www.catherinewhitcher.com/\">who works with both families and school districts to craft IEPs\u003c/a>. \"The teachers have really started to flip their thinking of, 'How can I support the parents and what they're doing during this time?' \"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Whitcher says parents are stressed out because they're worried their special-needs child isn't going to make academic progress at home, but she argues that's not where the focus should be for families. \"Right now, we need to stabilize as human beings inside of our homes. It's about life skills. It's about community. It's about connection.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She says the time spent over video chat, or at home, is a great opportunity for parents and teachers to actually get to know the students in the context of their family.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lessons from a virtual school \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There are schools with extensive experience teaching online, including a number of virtual charter schools. \"All of our instruction has always been delivered online,\" says Jamie Desrochers, the director of special education at the PA Distance Learning Charter School in Pennsylvania. \"Our special ed teachers, pretty much everything that they can do in a brick and mortar school, we can do on a cyber.\" The only services they normally do in-person are things like speech therapy, occupational therapy and physical therapy, but they have partnerships with companies like PresenceLearning \u003ca href=\"https://www.presencelearning.com/\">that offer these services over video chat\u003c/a>, and are leaning on them even more now.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When everything is through a computer, Desrochers says, teachers \"have to be that much more animated to get the kids' attention.\" Sometimes teachers wear different silly hats and they ask lots of questions about the students' living environment. \"The kids love to show off their pet,\" she says. \"Giving the students an opportunity to do a show-and-tell online gets them engaged and builds that relationship.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For special education teachers adapting to a new virtual reality, Desrochers suggests making sure lessons connect to real life. And she urges teachers and parents to lean into the tools and objects students have in the home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"floatright"},"numeric":["floatright"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For example, if you'd use blocks for counting in the classroom, use something like pasta. For a lesson about surface area, have students count how many tiles are in the kitchen, or how many steps it takes to get from one side of the room to the other. And for parents, she adds, don't forget about household chores: \"Cooking with your kids, is a great way to teach math.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.\u003cimg src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=With+Schools+Closed%2C+Kids+With+Disabilities+Are+More+Vulnerable+Than+Ever&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/div>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}}],"link":"/mindshift/55654/with-schools-closed-kids-with-disabilities-are-more-vulnerable-than-ever","authors":["byline_mindshift_55654"],"categories":["mindshift_21345"],"tags":["mindshift_21344","mindshift_21343","mindshift_358","mindshift_20784","mindshift_1040","mindshift_20935"],"featImg":"mindshift_55655","label":"mindshift"},"mindshift_54917":{"type":"posts","id":"mindshift_54917","meta":{"index":"posts_1591205157","site":"mindshift","id":"54917","score":null,"sort":[1574843606000]},"guestAuthors":[],"slug":"how-parents-can-help-their-dyslexic-child-get-needed-support","title":"How Parents Can Help Their Dyslexic Child Get Needed Support","publishDate":1574843606,"format":"standard","headTitle":"MindShift | KQED News","labelTerm":{"site":"mindshift"},"content":"\u003cp>\u003cem>This is chapter four of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/54743/the-mindshift-guide-to-understanding-dyslexia\">MindShift Guide to Understanding Dyslexia\u003c/a>. You can find the remaining chapters and a complete \u003ca href=\"https://kqed-org-assets.s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/Mindshift-Guide-to-Understanding-Dyslexia.pdf\">printable\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://kqed-org-assets.s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/Mindshift-Guide-to-Understanding-Dyslexia.pdf\">PDF\u003c/a> of the entire guide by clicking \u003ca href=\"https://kqed-org-assets.s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/Mindshift-Guide-to-Understanding-Dyslexia.pdf\">here\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Experts know that the only effective help for students with dyslexia is targeted, specific intervention that addresses each student’s issues. How students receive that intervention largely depends on where they live.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Federal law guarantees those with dyslexia a free and appropriate education under the \u003ca href=\"https://sites.ed.gov/idea/\">Individuals with Disabilities Education Act\u003c/a> (IDEA). However, the patchwork condition of state laws means there’s a lack of uniformity in defining dyslexia and how students are to be accommodated. As recently as a few years ago, some states had put ‘Say Dyslexia’ or ‘Dyslexia Awareness Week’ laws into effect in order to create consistency around dyslexia accountability in schools—but the laws didn’t have much impact.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s beginning to change, according to dyslexia expert Nancy Mather, as states update existing laws to include language for dyslexia specifically, instead of using more general terms like ‘learning disability,’ ‘reading deficit,’ etc.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-54919\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2019/11/Youman-Dyslexia-Laws.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1163\" height=\"880\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2019/11/Youman-Dyslexia-Laws.png 1163w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2019/11/Youman-Dyslexia-Laws-160x121.png 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2019/11/Youman-Dyslexia-Laws-800x605.png 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2019/11/Youman-Dyslexia-Laws-768x581.png 768w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2019/11/Youman-Dyslexia-Laws-1020x772.png 1020w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1163px) 100vw, 1163px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.hsutx.edu/academics/schools-colleges/college-human-sciences-educational-studies/autism-dyslexia-center/\">Texas\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"http://dese.ade.arkansas.gov/divisions/learning-services/curriculum-and-instruction/dyslexia\">Arkansas\u003c/a> in particular have comprehensive laws, and recently California made headlines as it beefed up its universal screening and issued a high-quality, \u003ca href=\"https://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/se/ac/documents/cadyslexiaguidelines.pdf\">comprehensive guidance guidebook on dyslexia\u003c/a> (Tennessee and a handful of other states have also issued dyslexia guidance).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A comprehensive list of dyslexia laws from state to state can be \u003ca href=\"https://www.dyslegia.com/state-dyslexia-laws/\">found here\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But parents of dyslexic students say that having the laws on the books is just the first step to getting help, according to Mather. Getting schools and districts to pay attention is more important. “Hopefully this increased spotlight on dyslexia will result in many more students getting the kind of help and support that they need to become avid, fluent readers,” she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>ADVOCATES FOR NECESSARY SUPPORT: THE CRUCIAL ROLE OF PARENTS AND CAREGIVERS\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>After several years of advocating for her dyslexic daughter in school settings, Nashville, Tennessee, parent Anna Thorsen began to realize \u003cstrong>how crucial parents and caregivers were to helping students get the interventions they need.\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A former lawyer, Thorsen now spends her days advocating for dyslexic students through the Dyslexia Advisory Council for the state of Tennessee and is a member of Decoding Dyslexia Tennessee. The parent role is complex, Thorsen says, and collaborating with the school requires both strength and understanding, knowing when to push and when to hold back.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As a parent advocate, you have to be fierce and tireless. Many parents of children with special needs say they feel so much stress because they are their child’s caregiver, IEP case manager, tutor, advocate and lawyer, all wrapped into one. With all of the other demands of work and family life, these roles can be overwhelming and many parents don’t have the luxury of time at the end of a busy work week to dedicate themselves to being the all-around expert on their child’s education. After years of playing all these roles, parents get worn out and really must struggle to work to build collaborative relationships with schools.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thorson offers the following advice and tips for parents and caregivers of dyslexic children who may be facing the same issues.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>5 TIPS TO BUILD A COLLABORATIVE RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR CHILD’S SCHOOL\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>By Anna Thorsen\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Building a collaborative relationship takes a lot of work, and it is not easy. I certainly do not always do a good job at it myself, especially when I am tired, angry and stressed out. But what I always tell parents is that you are stuck working with your school, your teachers and your school administration for a year or many years. You do not need them to write you off as a crazy parent. Here are my tips to build a strong relationship.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>1. When it comes to your dyslexic child, don’t be one-dimensional \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s crucial to keep communication flowing with your child’s school, so don’t strain communications by only talking about your child’s problems or harass teachers about something that went wrong in class. If you are “that” parent, teachers and administrators will begin to avoid you. Instead, I advise parents to say hello to your child’s teacher when you see them, tell a funny story or ask how they are doing. If possible, try not to make every encounter about your child’s reading problems; it goes a long way in building a trusting relationship with your child’s teacher.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>2. Make yourself invaluable \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If possible, become a part of the school in some way, by donating your time. Volunteer, mentor, or do something to show teachers and administration that you want to be part of the school. If it’s not possible to spend more time at school, then ask teachers or administration how you can help. Forming relationships with your school will build trust and only help your student.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>3. Don’t be a bull in a china shop \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Instead of demanding action, connect with teachers and administrators on an emotional level. After all, they are humans, too, and many have kids of their own. Describe what’s really happening in your family and don’t be afraid to share your emotions–there’s nothing wrong with saying “I am scared for my child,” or “I have been losing sleep worrying.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>4. Bring conversations back to your child \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In meetings, remind people that you are talking about a real, live child, and not a data point. Bring a picture or video of your child. Ask for your child to come by the meeting to tell the school group things are going well and things that are hard. Tell the school about your child’s dreams and abilities outside of school. Once the team connects with you and your child, you will be more successful. We, as humans, help people we know and have a harder time denying someone what we have a connection to.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>5. When all else fails, don’t be afraid to be a bull in a china shop \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If nothing is working, then you have to be willing to take it to the next level until you get what your child needs. I always advise parents to use force as an absolute last resort, and try to assume that schools will do the right thing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thorsen, along with Eileen Miller, founding member of Decoding Dyslexia, TN, and of Ignite Dyslexia, offer the following hard-won wisdom regarding Individualized Education Program (IEP) meetings:\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>12 Tips to Remember in an IEP Meeting\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>1. Never sign the IEP document in the meeting. You may sign that you were present at the meeting, but don’t sign off on the IEP itself. Go home and read it. Make sure it is what you want before you sign.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>2. Never go to an IEP meeting alone. Bring an advocate, a spouse or a friend.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>3. If possible, record the meeting. It’s difficult to understand everyone at once.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>4. Ask that people in the room at the IEP meeting introduce themselves and what their role is. Write down everyone’s name and position. You may need to follow up with them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>5. Take your time and have the IEP team meeting go at your pace. Don’t feel rushed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>6. Ask for clarification of acronyms and educational terms.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>7. Get everything in writing. If it is not in writing — it never happened.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>8. Be prepared and know what you want. Do your homework on your child’s disability, be familiar with the law and know your rights.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>9. It helps to have a binder to keep all the information on your child.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>10. Ask the team to go over documents with you.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>11. Consider bringing your child to a portion of the meeting. It helps the team to hear from them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>12. Never give up. You are the parent and you know your child better than anyone.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More Parent Resources Can be Found Here:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>• How You Can Help Your Child with Dyslexia, \u003ca href=\"https://www.understood.org/en/learning-thinking-differences/child-learning-disabilities/dyslexia/what-is-dyslexia?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIjfj6iZqE1gIV3UwNCh3iYA4FEAAYAiAAEgJXefD_BwE\">Understood.org\u003c/a>\u003cbr>\n• Support and Resources for Parents, \u003ca href=\"https://ldaamerica.org/parents/\">Learning Disabilities Association of America\u003c/a>\u003cbr>\n• 10 Things Parents Need to Know to Help a Struggling Reader, \u003ca href=\"http://dyslexia.yale.edu/resources/parents/what-parents-can-do/ten-things-to-help-your-struggling-reader/\">Yale Center for Dyslexia & Creativity\u003c/a>\u003cbr>\n• Dyslexia: Three Strategies for Parents, \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2016/11/29/503766818/raising-a-child-with-dyslexia-3-things-parents-can-do\">NPR\u003c/a>\u003cbr>\n• Six Ways Parents Can Help, \u003ca href=\"https://www.nessy.com/us/parents/dyslexia-information/6-ways-parents-can-help-dyslexia/\">Nessy.com\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This is chapter four of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/54743/the-mindshift-guide-to-understanding-dyslexia\">MindShift Guide to Understanding Dyslexia\u003c/a>. You can find the remaining chapters and a complete \u003ca href=\"https://kqed-org-assets.s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/Mindshift-Guide-to-Understanding-Dyslexia.pdf\">printable\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://kqed-org-assets.s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/Mindshift-Guide-to-Understanding-Dyslexia.pdf\">PDF\u003c/a> of the entire guide by clicking \u003ca href=\"https://kqed-org-assets.s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/Mindshift-Guide-to-Understanding-Dyslexia.pdf\">here\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n","blocks":[],"excerpt":"Parents of dyslexic students say that having dyslexia laws on the books is just the first step to getting help. Getting schools and districts to pay attention is more important.","status":"publish","parent":0,"modified":1574843606,"stats":{"hasAudio":false,"hasVideo":false,"hasChartOrMap":false,"iframeSrcs":[],"hasGoogleForm":false,"hasGallery":false,"hasHearkenModule":false,"hasPolis":false,"paragraphCount":42,"wordCount":1465},"headData":{"title":"How Parents Can Help Their Dyslexic Child Get Needed Support | KQED","description":"Parents of dyslexic students say that having dyslexia laws on the books is just the first step to getting help. Getting schools and districts to pay attention is more important.","ogTitle":"","ogDescription":"","ogImgId":"","twTitle":"","twDescription":"","twImgId":""},"disqusIdentifier":"54917 https://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/?p=54917","disqusUrl":"https://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2019/11/27/how-parents-can-help-their-dyslexic-child-get-needed-support/","disqusTitle":"How Parents Can Help Their Dyslexic Child Get Needed Support","path":"/mindshift/54917/how-parents-can-help-their-dyslexic-child-get-needed-support","audioTrackLength":null,"parsedContent":[{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>This is chapter four of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/54743/the-mindshift-guide-to-understanding-dyslexia\">MindShift Guide to Understanding Dyslexia\u003c/a>. You can find the remaining chapters and a complete \u003ca href=\"https://kqed-org-assets.s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/Mindshift-Guide-to-Understanding-Dyslexia.pdf\">printable\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://kqed-org-assets.s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/Mindshift-Guide-to-Understanding-Dyslexia.pdf\">PDF\u003c/a> of the entire guide by clicking \u003ca href=\"https://kqed-org-assets.s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/Mindshift-Guide-to-Understanding-Dyslexia.pdf\">here\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Experts know that the only effective help for students with dyslexia is targeted, specific intervention that addresses each student’s issues. How students receive that intervention largely depends on where they live.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Federal law guarantees those with dyslexia a free and appropriate education under the \u003ca href=\"https://sites.ed.gov/idea/\">Individuals with Disabilities Education Act\u003c/a> (IDEA). However, the patchwork condition of state laws means there’s a lack of uniformity in defining dyslexia and how students are to be accommodated. As recently as a few years ago, some states had put ‘Say Dyslexia’ or ‘Dyslexia Awareness Week’ laws into effect in order to create consistency around dyslexia accountability in schools—but the laws didn’t have much impact.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s beginning to change, according to dyslexia expert Nancy Mather, as states update existing laws to include language for dyslexia specifically, instead of using more general terms like ‘learning disability,’ ‘reading deficit,’ etc.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"fullwidth"},"numeric":["fullwidth"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-54919\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2019/11/Youman-Dyslexia-Laws.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1163\" height=\"880\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2019/11/Youman-Dyslexia-Laws.png 1163w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2019/11/Youman-Dyslexia-Laws-160x121.png 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2019/11/Youman-Dyslexia-Laws-800x605.png 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2019/11/Youman-Dyslexia-Laws-768x581.png 768w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2019/11/Youman-Dyslexia-Laws-1020x772.png 1020w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1163px) 100vw, 1163px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.hsutx.edu/academics/schools-colleges/college-human-sciences-educational-studies/autism-dyslexia-center/\">Texas\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"http://dese.ade.arkansas.gov/divisions/learning-services/curriculum-and-instruction/dyslexia\">Arkansas\u003c/a> in particular have comprehensive laws, and recently California made headlines as it beefed up its universal screening and issued a high-quality, \u003ca href=\"https://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/se/ac/documents/cadyslexiaguidelines.pdf\">comprehensive guidance guidebook on dyslexia\u003c/a> (Tennessee and a handful of other states have also issued dyslexia guidance).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A comprehensive list of dyslexia laws from state to state can be \u003ca href=\"https://www.dyslegia.com/state-dyslexia-laws/\">found here\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But parents of dyslexic students say that having the laws on the books is just the first step to getting help, according to Mather. Getting schools and districts to pay attention is more important. “Hopefully this increased spotlight on dyslexia will result in many more students getting the kind of help and support that they need to become avid, fluent readers,” she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>ADVOCATES FOR NECESSARY SUPPORT: THE CRUCIAL ROLE OF PARENTS AND CAREGIVERS\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>After several years of advocating for her dyslexic daughter in school settings, Nashville, Tennessee, parent Anna Thorsen began to realize \u003cstrong>how crucial parents and caregivers were to helping students get the interventions they need.\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A former lawyer, Thorsen now spends her days advocating for dyslexic students through the Dyslexia Advisory Council for the state of Tennessee and is a member of Decoding Dyslexia Tennessee. The parent role is complex, Thorsen says, and collaborating with the school requires both strength and understanding, knowing when to push and when to hold back.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As a parent advocate, you have to be fierce and tireless. Many parents of children with special needs say they feel so much stress because they are their child’s caregiver, IEP case manager, tutor, advocate and lawyer, all wrapped into one. With all of the other demands of work and family life, these roles can be overwhelming and many parents don’t have the luxury of time at the end of a busy work week to dedicate themselves to being the all-around expert on their child’s education. After years of playing all these roles, parents get worn out and really must struggle to work to build collaborative relationships with schools.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thorson offers the following advice and tips for parents and caregivers of dyslexic children who may be facing the same issues.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>5 TIPS TO BUILD A COLLABORATIVE RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR CHILD’S SCHOOL\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>By Anna Thorsen\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Building a collaborative relationship takes a lot of work, and it is not easy. I certainly do not always do a good job at it myself, especially when I am tired, angry and stressed out. But what I always tell parents is that you are stuck working with your school, your teachers and your school administration for a year or many years. You do not need them to write you off as a crazy parent. Here are my tips to build a strong relationship.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>1. When it comes to your dyslexic child, don’t be one-dimensional \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s crucial to keep communication flowing with your child’s school, so don’t strain communications by only talking about your child’s problems or harass teachers about something that went wrong in class. If you are “that” parent, teachers and administrators will begin to avoid you. Instead, I advise parents to say hello to your child’s teacher when you see them, tell a funny story or ask how they are doing. If possible, try not to make every encounter about your child’s reading problems; it goes a long way in building a trusting relationship with your child’s teacher.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>2. Make yourself invaluable \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If possible, become a part of the school in some way, by donating your time. Volunteer, mentor, or do something to show teachers and administration that you want to be part of the school. If it’s not possible to spend more time at school, then ask teachers or administration how you can help. Forming relationships with your school will build trust and only help your student.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>3. Don’t be a bull in a china shop \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Instead of demanding action, connect with teachers and administrators on an emotional level. After all, they are humans, too, and many have kids of their own. Describe what’s really happening in your family and don’t be afraid to share your emotions–there’s nothing wrong with saying “I am scared for my child,” or “I have been losing sleep worrying.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>4. Bring conversations back to your child \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In meetings, remind people that you are talking about a real, live child, and not a data point. Bring a picture or video of your child. Ask for your child to come by the meeting to tell the school group things are going well and things that are hard. Tell the school about your child’s dreams and abilities outside of school. Once the team connects with you and your child, you will be more successful. We, as humans, help people we know and have a harder time denying someone what we have a connection to.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>5. When all else fails, don’t be afraid to be a bull in a china shop \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If nothing is working, then you have to be willing to take it to the next level until you get what your child needs. I always advise parents to use force as an absolute last resort, and try to assume that schools will do the right thing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thorsen, along with Eileen Miller, founding member of Decoding Dyslexia, TN, and of Ignite Dyslexia, offer the following hard-won wisdom regarding Individualized Education Program (IEP) meetings:\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>12 Tips to Remember in an IEP Meeting\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>1. Never sign the IEP document in the meeting. You may sign that you were present at the meeting, but don’t sign off on the IEP itself. Go home and read it. Make sure it is what you want before you sign.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>2. Never go to an IEP meeting alone. Bring an advocate, a spouse or a friend.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>3. If possible, record the meeting. It’s difficult to understand everyone at once.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>4. Ask that people in the room at the IEP meeting introduce themselves and what their role is. Write down everyone’s name and position. You may need to follow up with them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>5. Take your time and have the IEP team meeting go at your pace. Don’t feel rushed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>6. Ask for clarification of acronyms and educational terms.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>7. Get everything in writing. If it is not in writing — it never happened.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>8. Be prepared and know what you want. Do your homework on your child’s disability, be familiar with the law and know your rights.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>9. It helps to have a binder to keep all the information on your child.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>10. Ask the team to go over documents with you.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>11. Consider bringing your child to a portion of the meeting. It helps the team to hear from them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>12. Never give up. You are the parent and you know your child better than anyone.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More Parent Resources Can be Found Here:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>• How You Can Help Your Child with Dyslexia, \u003ca href=\"https://www.understood.org/en/learning-thinking-differences/child-learning-disabilities/dyslexia/what-is-dyslexia?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIjfj6iZqE1gIV3UwNCh3iYA4FEAAYAiAAEgJXefD_BwE\">Understood.org\u003c/a>\u003cbr>\n• Support and Resources for Parents, \u003ca href=\"https://ldaamerica.org/parents/\">Learning Disabilities Association of America\u003c/a>\u003cbr>\n• 10 Things Parents Need to Know to Help a Struggling Reader, \u003ca href=\"http://dyslexia.yale.edu/resources/parents/what-parents-can-do/ten-things-to-help-your-struggling-reader/\">Yale Center for Dyslexia & Creativity\u003c/a>\u003cbr>\n• Dyslexia: Three Strategies for Parents, \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2016/11/29/503766818/raising-a-child-with-dyslexia-3-things-parents-can-do\">NPR\u003c/a>\u003cbr>\n• Six Ways Parents Can Help, \u003ca href=\"https://www.nessy.com/us/parents/dyslexia-information/6-ways-parents-can-help-dyslexia/\">Nessy.com\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"floatright"},"numeric":["floatright"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This is chapter four of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/54743/the-mindshift-guide-to-understanding-dyslexia\">MindShift Guide to Understanding Dyslexia\u003c/a>. You can find the remaining chapters and a complete \u003ca href=\"https://kqed-org-assets.s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/Mindshift-Guide-to-Understanding-Dyslexia.pdf\">printable\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://kqed-org-assets.s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/Mindshift-Guide-to-Understanding-Dyslexia.pdf\">PDF\u003c/a> of the entire guide by clicking \u003ca href=\"https://kqed-org-assets.s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/Mindshift-Guide-to-Understanding-Dyslexia.pdf\">here\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}}],"link":"/mindshift/54917/how-parents-can-help-their-dyslexic-child-get-needed-support","authors":["4445"],"categories":["mindshift_193"],"tags":["mindshift_160","mindshift_20935","mindshift_550","mindshift_21254"],"featImg":"mindshift_54948","label":"mindshift"},"mindshift_54900":{"type":"posts","id":"mindshift_54900","meta":{"index":"posts_1591205157","site":"mindshift","id":"54900","score":null,"sort":[1574843478000]},"guestAuthors":[],"slug":"how-to-recognize-dyslexia-in-children-including-english-language-learners","title":"How to Recognize Dyslexia in Children, Including English Language Learners","publishDate":1574843478,"format":"standard","headTitle":"MindShift | KQED News","labelTerm":{"site":"mindshift"},"content":"\u003cp>\u003cem>This is chapter two of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/54743/the-mindshift-guide-to-understanding-dyslexia\">MindShift Guide to Understanding Dyslexia\u003c/a>. You can find the remaining chapters and a complete \u003ca href=\"https://kqed-org-assets.s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/Mindshift-Guide-to-Understanding-Dyslexia.pdf\">printable\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://kqed-org-assets.s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/Mindshift-Guide-to-Understanding-Dyslexia.pdf\">PDF\u003c/a> of the entire guide by clicking \u003ca href=\"https://kqed-org-assets.s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/Mindshift-Guide-to-Understanding-Dyslexia.pdf\">here\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>THE CHALLENGE OF DETECTION\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>One of the most challenging aspects of properly addressing the different brains of dyslexic children is recognizing them in the first place.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dyslexia occurs on a continuum and there is no “\u003ca href=\"http://www.interventionsforliteracy.org.uk/home/schools/use-of-the-term-dyslexia/\">sharp dividing line\u003c/a>” between having dyslexia and not having it. In the early years of elementary school, all children are learning to read, and all are developing their reading skills at different rates. “The behaviors of 4-to-6 year-olds who are at risk for dyslexia are not very different from those of children who are not,” writes professor Mark Seidenberg, cognitive scientist at the University of Wisconsin, in Language at the Speed of Sight. “Typically developing children learn to read at different rates for constitutional and environmental reasons.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Further, because dyslexia’s symptoms and manifestations can change over time, families, teachers, and schools understandably struggle to identify dyslexia in children.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the way dyslexia presents itself in young readers is far from the only hurdle: sometimes elementary teachers haven’t been given the proper tools to recognize the early warning signs, and many who recognize the symptoms of reading trouble ahead don’t know how to address those issues.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For example, when Dr. Martha Youman \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/41997/who-helps-kids-with-dyslexia-gain-reading-fluency\">first began\u003c/a> her career as a second grade teacher, she knew that some of her students simply couldn’t read but she didn’t know what to do about it: “I kept them busy. Truly, there were interventions they needed, I just didn’t know how to help them,” says Youman, who now treats kids with dyslexia. “I had a master’s in teaching, and didn’t know how to deal with these students.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Often the diagnosis of dyslexia comes after months or years of exhausting frustration and failure for students, parents, and teachers. It’s \u003ca href=\"http://www.ldonline.org/article/19296/\">common\u003c/a> for dyslexic children to avoid reading and become angry or upset in class or when it’s time to do homework or read aloud in front of others. Sometimes these students are seen as smart but lacking motivation or not working hard enough. To make things more complicated, dyslexic children often have \u003ca href=\"https://dyslexiaida.org/attention-deficithyperactivity-disorder-adhd-and-dyslexia/\">another developmental disorder like ADHD\u003c/a> alongside their reading challenges.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The key to preventing reading failure is early detection.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>WHAT DOES DYSLEXIA LOOK LIKE?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Though dyslexia can take on many forms, two common areas where differences can be clearly seen and heard are \u003cstrong>slow reading\u003c/strong> and \u003cstrong>difficulty with handwriting and spelling\u003c/strong>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Also, in some cases, certain speech patterns can be an early indicator of dyslexia, like mispronouncing familiar words or using “baby talk.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the following video, a fourth grader with dyslexia reads from Rosie Revere, Engineer, and then writes what she’s looking forward to when she gets to fifth grade (see picture below). At the time when this video was taken, she had already had 1.5 years of targeted \u003ca href=\"https://www.wilsonlanguage.com/dyslexia/\">Wilson dyslexia tutoring\u003c/a>, and her reading had improved significantly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMa2GSE3Afs&feature=youtu.be\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>WHAT’S IT LIKE TO READ WITH DYSLEXIA?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>For kids who are entering school, according to the Yale Center for Dyslexia and Creativity,\u003ca href=\"http://dyslexia.yale.edu/dyslexia/signs-of-dyslexia/\"> signs of dyslexia\u003c/a> in kindergarten and elementary school children include:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>• Difficulty sounding out simple words like cap, map, nap\u003cbr>\n• Difficulty associating letters with sounds, and can’t break words apart\u003cbr>\n• Talks about how hard reading is and/or resists reading\u003cbr>\n• Family history of reading difficulties\u003cbr>\n• Difficulty speaking In second grade and up, signs of dyslexia might include:\u003cbr>\n• Avoids reading out loud\u003cbr>\n• Exhibits slow and awkward reading, and difficulty in acquiring new reading skills\u003cbr>\n• Makes wild guesses when sounding out a word\u003cbr>\n• Has no strategy for sounding out unfamiliar words\u003cbr>\n• Relies on vague language when searching for a word, like “things” or “stuff”\u003cbr>\n• Mispronounces long or unfamiliar words\u003cbr>\n• Uses lots of pauses, hesitation, and “umm’s” when speaking\u003cbr>\n• Seems to need extra time to answer questions\u003cbr>\n• Has extreme difficulty learning a foreign language\u003cbr>\n• Has messy handwriting\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For more signs of dyslexia in younger children and adults, including particular dyslexic strengths, visit the Yale Center’s \u003ca href=\"http://dyslexia.yale.edu/dyslexia/signs-of-dyslexia/\">Signs of Dyslexia\u003c/a> page.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>DYSLEXIA IN ENGLISH LEARNERS: EXTRA HURDLES\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>According to Pew Research Center, there are about \u003ca href=\"https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/10/25/6-facts-about-english-language-learners-in-u-s-public-schools/\">5 million English Language learners\u003c/a> in American public schools, or nearly 10 percent of the school population. While the vast majority (77 percent) of American English learners’ first language is Spanish, the top five are rounded out by Arabic, Chinese, Vietnamese and Somali. Among states, California has the highest number of English learners, with more than 20 percent of school children speaking a different language at home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For schools, teachers and parents, diagnosing dyslexia in English learners can present an extra set of hurdles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dr. Kelli Sandman-Hurley, co-founder of the Dyslexia Training Institute in San Diego, California, says dyslexics learning English can sometimes be overlooked for two reasons: first, there’s not a lot of research on the topic and often educators don’t know what to look for, and second, reading difficulties can often be attributed to learning a new language.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>ENGLISH LEARNERS AND RECOGNIZING DYSLEXIA: INSIGHTS AND SUGGESTIONS FROM TWO EXPERTS\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>According to Sandman-Hurley, students who have trouble with phonemic awareness in their first language will also find learning letters and sounds in English difficult. But if it’s not possible to screen kids’ phonemic awareness in their first language, educators can look for other clues that children are struggling.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sandman-Hurley says it’s often important to check and see if English learners are having trouble in other subjects—that is, if a child learns math quickly and relatively easily, then a reading disability might be at play.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sandman-Hurley makes two recommendations to educators trying to spot reading difficulties in English learners:\u003c/p>\n\u003col>\n\u003cli>If possible, provide screening in the child’s native language\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Dig into what’s going on at home—since dyslexia tends to run in families, find out if other family members also had difficulties with reading, or if children had displayed some of the early warning signs, like an inability to rhyme words or learn the alphabet.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ol>\n\u003cp>Speech-language pathologist Dr. Elsa Cardenas-Hagan has spent 25 years working with biliterate and bilingual students at the Valley Speech Language and Learning Center in Brownsville, Texas, and says that educators should look to see if the English learner has trouble learning the English alphabet or has trouble with writing. Even if they’re still learning English as a new language, those should be considered warning signs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We want to give English learners plenty of listening, speaking, reading and writing opportunities. To do any writing you have to be aware of sounds, so if a child is having trouble being able to sound out a word and write it, that should be a red flag.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cardenas-Hagan also agrees that looking into family history can help teachers who don’t speak the child’s first language. Because dyslexia tends to run in families, asking if anyone else in the family had troubles with reading and writing when they were growing up might provide indicators.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She says it’s also helpful to ask about when the child developed language. “Did the child speak on time? Did they start using words on time, did they produce the words with clarity and precision? We watch those kids very carefully, because if you have trouble hearing and speaking sounds in whatever language you learned, you’re going to have that same trouble reading and writing,” she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>DETECTION/ASSESSMENT TOOLS\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Universal Screening.\u003c/strong> Requirements vary wildly between states and even between districts. Beginning in kindergarten many schools use universal screeners like the RAN/RAS (Rapid Automatized Naming) test and the PAR (Predictive Assessment of Reading/Rapid Alternating Stimulus) to assess children’s knowledge of phonemes, letter recognition, and vocabulary.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, not all screeners are created equal and often do not provide a complete picture of a child’s talents and deficiencies, according to Drs. Brock and Fernette Eide at \u003ca href=\"https://www.dyslexicadvantage.org/best-early-dyslexia-screeners-for-schools-elementary/\">Dyslexic Advantage\u003c/a>. For a more complete picture, students whoaren’t reading at grade level most often need a full evaluation by a school psychologist in order for parents and the school to implement the proper intervention.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Find out\u003ca href=\"https://www.dyslexicadvantage.org/50-states-approved-assessment-tools/\"> each state’s approved reading assessment tools\u003c/a>, courtesy of Dyslexic Advantage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To learn more about screening standards and what to look for in high-quality assessments and screeners, read Literate Nation’s white paper on how to select screening instruments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>RTI—Response to Intervention.\u003c/strong> Another way for teachers to recognize reading trouble is through the \u003ca href=\"http://www.rtinetwork.org/learn/what/whatisrti\">Response to Intervention\u003c/a> (RTI), a multi-tier reading program designed in the 1990s to determine whether a child has a Specific Learning Disability (SLD) like dyslexia. RTI has been mandated in 14 states and is widely used among others. The program aims to identify who is at risk for reading failure and to provide targeted instruction to those students through different tiers:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>• Tier 1\u003c/strong> interventions involve a blend of high-quality classroom instruction, adequate screening and group interventions that typically last around 8 weeks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>• Tier 2\u003c/strong> Students who don’t make adequate progress in Tier 1 move to Tier 2, where intervention is more targeted and intensive, where instruction can last up to a grading period.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>• Tier 3\u003c/strong> When students don’t progress in Tier 2 they are moved to Tier 3, where they receive one-on-one targeted and intensive instruction and often a full evaluation to determine whether they qualify for special education services.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Curriculum and instruction aren’t uniform but designed by schools or districts individually.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Due to the varying quality of programs, response to RTI has been mixed. A comprehensive \u003ca href=\"https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/pubs/20164000/\">2015 RTI evaluation\u003c/a> by the National Center of Education Evaluation found that first graders who participated in the RTI program did worse than those who didn’t receive any targeted assistance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“RTI is thoughtful, logical, well-designed program. It has only one flaw: it has to be implemented in real-world environments that are often inhospitable,” Seidenberg writes in Language at the Speed of Sight that “How well the RTI program works depends on how well it’s implemented, which is left to the school districts or system to decide.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Full Evaluation.\u003c/strong> Even when schools provide universal screeners and assessments to identify at-risk students, if reading doesn’t progress, students need more complete evaluations to determine the cause of the reading failure and then a way forward. In most cases, that means an \u003cstrong>Individualized Education Program (IEP)\u003c/strong> for special reading services.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>THE CHALLENGE OF ASSESSMENT: DYSLEXIA TERMINOLOGY\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Most schools offer an evaluation through the school psychologist, but these evaluations can be complicated for several reasons.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>First, school psychologists are often overworked and backlogged, so testing and a full evaluation can often involve long wait times. This is often why families with the financial means to do so will take their child to a private psychologist to be evaluated and speed up intervention.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Next, complete evaluations can be complicated and difficult to understand, because different states, districts and psychologists use more than one term to describe reading difficulties. Terms like ‘Specific Learning Disability’ (SLD), ‘reading deficit,’ or ‘language learning deficit’ are often used interchangeably with other terms, like ‘dyslexia.’\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But according to dyslexia expert Nancy Mather, professor emeritus in the Department of Disability and Psychoeducational Studies at the University of Arizona, the different labels create undue confusion for parents and students, since more than 80 percent of reading disabilities are in fact dyslexia.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It creates confusion,” she says. “The parents are told their child has an ‘SLD’ but they don’t realize their child has dyslexia.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But using the right terminology means that the student is much more likely to get the right kind of help, because dyslexics need a very specific kind of reading intervention and a specially trained teacher in order to read.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For that reason, some families have their children evaluated outside the school, like a university or private testing center, where the cost of testing can be very high. Universities sometimes offer free or low-cost testing, but families might spend six to nine months on a waitlist.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This is chapter two of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/54743/the-mindshift-guide-to-understanding-dyslexia\">MindShift Guide to Understanding Dyslexia\u003c/a>. You can find the remaining chapters and a complete \u003ca href=\"https://kqed-org-assets.s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/Mindshift-Guide-to-Understanding-Dyslexia.pdf\">printable\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://kqed-org-assets.s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/Mindshift-Guide-to-Understanding-Dyslexia.pdf\">PDF\u003c/a> of the entire guide by clicking \u003ca href=\"https://kqed-org-assets.s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/Mindshift-Guide-to-Understanding-Dyslexia.pdf\">here\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n","blocks":[],"excerpt":"Because dyslexia’s symptoms and manifestations can change over time, families, teachers, and schools understandably struggle to identify dyslexia in children. Here are some tips for recognizing those signs in English speakers and multilingual students. ","status":"publish","parent":0,"modified":1574843478,"stats":{"hasAudio":false,"hasVideo":true,"hasChartOrMap":false,"iframeSrcs":[],"hasGoogleForm":false,"hasGallery":false,"hasHearkenModule":false,"hasPolis":false,"paragraphCount":46,"wordCount":2170},"headData":{"title":"How to Recognize Dyslexia in Children, Including English Language Learners | KQED","description":"Because dyslexia’s symptoms and manifestations can change over time, families, teachers, and schools understandably struggle to identify dyslexia in children. Here are some tips for recognizing those signs in English speakers and multilingual students. ","ogTitle":"","ogDescription":"","ogImgId":"","twTitle":"","twDescription":"","twImgId":""},"disqusIdentifier":"54900 https://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/?p=54900","disqusUrl":"https://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2019/11/27/how-to-recognize-dyslexia-in-children-including-english-language-learners/","disqusTitle":"How to Recognize Dyslexia in Children, Including English Language Learners","path":"/mindshift/54900/how-to-recognize-dyslexia-in-children-including-english-language-learners","audioTrackLength":null,"parsedContent":[{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>This is chapter two of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/54743/the-mindshift-guide-to-understanding-dyslexia\">MindShift Guide to Understanding Dyslexia\u003c/a>. You can find the remaining chapters and a complete \u003ca href=\"https://kqed-org-assets.s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/Mindshift-Guide-to-Understanding-Dyslexia.pdf\">printable\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://kqed-org-assets.s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/Mindshift-Guide-to-Understanding-Dyslexia.pdf\">PDF\u003c/a> of the entire guide by clicking \u003ca href=\"https://kqed-org-assets.s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/Mindshift-Guide-to-Understanding-Dyslexia.pdf\">here\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>THE CHALLENGE OF DETECTION\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>One of the most challenging aspects of properly addressing the different brains of dyslexic children is recognizing them in the first place.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dyslexia occurs on a continuum and there is no “\u003ca href=\"http://www.interventionsforliteracy.org.uk/home/schools/use-of-the-term-dyslexia/\">sharp dividing line\u003c/a>” between having dyslexia and not having it. In the early years of elementary school, all children are learning to read, and all are developing their reading skills at different rates. “The behaviors of 4-to-6 year-olds who are at risk for dyslexia are not very different from those of children who are not,” writes professor Mark Seidenberg, cognitive scientist at the University of Wisconsin, in Language at the Speed of Sight. “Typically developing children learn to read at different rates for constitutional and environmental reasons.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Further, because dyslexia’s symptoms and manifestations can change over time, families, teachers, and schools understandably struggle to identify dyslexia in children.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the way dyslexia presents itself in young readers is far from the only hurdle: sometimes elementary teachers haven’t been given the proper tools to recognize the early warning signs, and many who recognize the symptoms of reading trouble ahead don’t know how to address those issues.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"fullwidth"},"numeric":["fullwidth"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For example, when Dr. Martha Youman \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/41997/who-helps-kids-with-dyslexia-gain-reading-fluency\">first began\u003c/a> her career as a second grade teacher, she knew that some of her students simply couldn’t read but she didn’t know what to do about it: “I kept them busy. Truly, there were interventions they needed, I just didn’t know how to help them,” says Youman, who now treats kids with dyslexia. “I had a master’s in teaching, and didn’t know how to deal with these students.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Often the diagnosis of dyslexia comes after months or years of exhausting frustration and failure for students, parents, and teachers. It’s \u003ca href=\"http://www.ldonline.org/article/19296/\">common\u003c/a> for dyslexic children to avoid reading and become angry or upset in class or when it’s time to do homework or read aloud in front of others. Sometimes these students are seen as smart but lacking motivation or not working hard enough. To make things more complicated, dyslexic children often have \u003ca href=\"https://dyslexiaida.org/attention-deficithyperactivity-disorder-adhd-and-dyslexia/\">another developmental disorder like ADHD\u003c/a> alongside their reading challenges.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The key to preventing reading failure is early detection.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>WHAT DOES DYSLEXIA LOOK LIKE?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Though dyslexia can take on many forms, two common areas where differences can be clearly seen and heard are \u003cstrong>slow reading\u003c/strong> and \u003cstrong>difficulty with handwriting and spelling\u003c/strong>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Also, in some cases, certain speech patterns can be an early indicator of dyslexia, like mispronouncing familiar words or using “baby talk.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the following video, a fourth grader with dyslexia reads from Rosie Revere, Engineer, and then writes what she’s looking forward to when she gets to fifth grade (see picture below). At the time when this video was taken, she had already had 1.5 years of targeted \u003ca href=\"https://www.wilsonlanguage.com/dyslexia/\">Wilson dyslexia tutoring\u003c/a>, and her reading had improved significantly.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/WMa2GSE3Afs'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/WMa2GSE3Afs'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003ch2>WHAT’S IT LIKE TO READ WITH DYSLEXIA?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>For kids who are entering school, according to the Yale Center for Dyslexia and Creativity,\u003ca href=\"http://dyslexia.yale.edu/dyslexia/signs-of-dyslexia/\"> signs of dyslexia\u003c/a> in kindergarten and elementary school children include:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>• Difficulty sounding out simple words like cap, map, nap\u003cbr>\n• Difficulty associating letters with sounds, and can’t break words apart\u003cbr>\n• Talks about how hard reading is and/or resists reading\u003cbr>\n• Family history of reading difficulties\u003cbr>\n• Difficulty speaking In second grade and up, signs of dyslexia might include:\u003cbr>\n• Avoids reading out loud\u003cbr>\n• Exhibits slow and awkward reading, and difficulty in acquiring new reading skills\u003cbr>\n• Makes wild guesses when sounding out a word\u003cbr>\n• Has no strategy for sounding out unfamiliar words\u003cbr>\n• Relies on vague language when searching for a word, like “things” or “stuff”\u003cbr>\n• Mispronounces long or unfamiliar words\u003cbr>\n• Uses lots of pauses, hesitation, and “umm’s” when speaking\u003cbr>\n• Seems to need extra time to answer questions\u003cbr>\n• Has extreme difficulty learning a foreign language\u003cbr>\n• Has messy handwriting\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For more signs of dyslexia in younger children and adults, including particular dyslexic strengths, visit the Yale Center’s \u003ca href=\"http://dyslexia.yale.edu/dyslexia/signs-of-dyslexia/\">Signs of Dyslexia\u003c/a> page.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>DYSLEXIA IN ENGLISH LEARNERS: EXTRA HURDLES\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>According to Pew Research Center, there are about \u003ca href=\"https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/10/25/6-facts-about-english-language-learners-in-u-s-public-schools/\">5 million English Language learners\u003c/a> in American public schools, or nearly 10 percent of the school population. While the vast majority (77 percent) of American English learners’ first language is Spanish, the top five are rounded out by Arabic, Chinese, Vietnamese and Somali. Among states, California has the highest number of English learners, with more than 20 percent of school children speaking a different language at home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For schools, teachers and parents, diagnosing dyslexia in English learners can present an extra set of hurdles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dr. Kelli Sandman-Hurley, co-founder of the Dyslexia Training Institute in San Diego, California, says dyslexics learning English can sometimes be overlooked for two reasons: first, there’s not a lot of research on the topic and often educators don’t know what to look for, and second, reading difficulties can often be attributed to learning a new language.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>ENGLISH LEARNERS AND RECOGNIZING DYSLEXIA: INSIGHTS AND SUGGESTIONS FROM TWO EXPERTS\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>According to Sandman-Hurley, students who have trouble with phonemic awareness in their first language will also find learning letters and sounds in English difficult. But if it’s not possible to screen kids’ phonemic awareness in their first language, educators can look for other clues that children are struggling.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sandman-Hurley says it’s often important to check and see if English learners are having trouble in other subjects—that is, if a child learns math quickly and relatively easily, then a reading disability might be at play.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sandman-Hurley makes two recommendations to educators trying to spot reading difficulties in English learners:\u003c/p>\n\u003col>\n\u003cli>If possible, provide screening in the child’s native language\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Dig into what’s going on at home—since dyslexia tends to run in families, find out if other family members also had difficulties with reading, or if children had displayed some of the early warning signs, like an inability to rhyme words or learn the alphabet.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ol>\n\u003cp>Speech-language pathologist Dr. Elsa Cardenas-Hagan has spent 25 years working with biliterate and bilingual students at the Valley Speech Language and Learning Center in Brownsville, Texas, and says that educators should look to see if the English learner has trouble learning the English alphabet or has trouble with writing. Even if they’re still learning English as a new language, those should be considered warning signs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We want to give English learners plenty of listening, speaking, reading and writing opportunities. To do any writing you have to be aware of sounds, so if a child is having trouble being able to sound out a word and write it, that should be a red flag.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cardenas-Hagan also agrees that looking into family history can help teachers who don’t speak the child’s first language. Because dyslexia tends to run in families, asking if anyone else in the family had troubles with reading and writing when they were growing up might provide indicators.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She says it’s also helpful to ask about when the child developed language. “Did the child speak on time? Did they start using words on time, did they produce the words with clarity and precision? We watch those kids very carefully, because if you have trouble hearing and speaking sounds in whatever language you learned, you’re going to have that same trouble reading and writing,” she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>DETECTION/ASSESSMENT TOOLS\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Universal Screening.\u003c/strong> Requirements vary wildly between states and even between districts. Beginning in kindergarten many schools use universal screeners like the RAN/RAS (Rapid Automatized Naming) test and the PAR (Predictive Assessment of Reading/Rapid Alternating Stimulus) to assess children’s knowledge of phonemes, letter recognition, and vocabulary.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, not all screeners are created equal and often do not provide a complete picture of a child’s talents and deficiencies, according to Drs. Brock and Fernette Eide at \u003ca href=\"https://www.dyslexicadvantage.org/best-early-dyslexia-screeners-for-schools-elementary/\">Dyslexic Advantage\u003c/a>. For a more complete picture, students whoaren’t reading at grade level most often need a full evaluation by a school psychologist in order for parents and the school to implement the proper intervention.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Find out\u003ca href=\"https://www.dyslexicadvantage.org/50-states-approved-assessment-tools/\"> each state’s approved reading assessment tools\u003c/a>, courtesy of Dyslexic Advantage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To learn more about screening standards and what to look for in high-quality assessments and screeners, read Literate Nation’s white paper on how to select screening instruments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>RTI—Response to Intervention.\u003c/strong> Another way for teachers to recognize reading trouble is through the \u003ca href=\"http://www.rtinetwork.org/learn/what/whatisrti\">Response to Intervention\u003c/a> (RTI), a multi-tier reading program designed in the 1990s to determine whether a child has a Specific Learning Disability (SLD) like dyslexia. RTI has been mandated in 14 states and is widely used among others. The program aims to identify who is at risk for reading failure and to provide targeted instruction to those students through different tiers:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>• Tier 1\u003c/strong> interventions involve a blend of high-quality classroom instruction, adequate screening and group interventions that typically last around 8 weeks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>• Tier 2\u003c/strong> Students who don’t make adequate progress in Tier 1 move to Tier 2, where intervention is more targeted and intensive, where instruction can last up to a grading period.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>• Tier 3\u003c/strong> When students don’t progress in Tier 2 they are moved to Tier 3, where they receive one-on-one targeted and intensive instruction and often a full evaluation to determine whether they qualify for special education services.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Curriculum and instruction aren’t uniform but designed by schools or districts individually.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Due to the varying quality of programs, response to RTI has been mixed. A comprehensive \u003ca href=\"https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/pubs/20164000/\">2015 RTI evaluation\u003c/a> by the National Center of Education Evaluation found that first graders who participated in the RTI program did worse than those who didn’t receive any targeted assistance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“RTI is thoughtful, logical, well-designed program. It has only one flaw: it has to be implemented in real-world environments that are often inhospitable,” Seidenberg writes in Language at the Speed of Sight that “How well the RTI program works depends on how well it’s implemented, which is left to the school districts or system to decide.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Full Evaluation.\u003c/strong> Even when schools provide universal screeners and assessments to identify at-risk students, if reading doesn’t progress, students need more complete evaluations to determine the cause of the reading failure and then a way forward. In most cases, that means an \u003cstrong>Individualized Education Program (IEP)\u003c/strong> for special reading services.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>THE CHALLENGE OF ASSESSMENT: DYSLEXIA TERMINOLOGY\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Most schools offer an evaluation through the school psychologist, but these evaluations can be complicated for several reasons.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>First, school psychologists are often overworked and backlogged, so testing and a full evaluation can often involve long wait times. This is often why families with the financial means to do so will take their child to a private psychologist to be evaluated and speed up intervention.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Next, complete evaluations can be complicated and difficult to understand, because different states, districts and psychologists use more than one term to describe reading difficulties. Terms like ‘Specific Learning Disability’ (SLD), ‘reading deficit,’ or ‘language learning deficit’ are often used interchangeably with other terms, like ‘dyslexia.’\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But according to dyslexia expert Nancy Mather, professor emeritus in the Department of Disability and Psychoeducational Studies at the University of Arizona, the different labels create undue confusion for parents and students, since more than 80 percent of reading disabilities are in fact dyslexia.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It creates confusion,” she says. “The parents are told their child has an ‘SLD’ but they don’t realize their child has dyslexia.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But using the right terminology means that the student is much more likely to get the right kind of help, because dyslexics need a very specific kind of reading intervention and a specially trained teacher in order to read.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For that reason, some families have their children evaluated outside the school, like a university or private testing center, where the cost of testing can be very high. Universities sometimes offer free or low-cost testing, but families might spend six to nine months on a waitlist.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"floatright"},"numeric":["floatright"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This is chapter two of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/54743/the-mindshift-guide-to-understanding-dyslexia\">MindShift Guide to Understanding Dyslexia\u003c/a>. You can find the remaining chapters and a complete \u003ca href=\"https://kqed-org-assets.s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/Mindshift-Guide-to-Understanding-Dyslexia.pdf\">printable\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://kqed-org-assets.s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/Mindshift-Guide-to-Understanding-Dyslexia.pdf\">PDF\u003c/a> of the entire guide by clicking \u003ca href=\"https://kqed-org-assets.s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/Mindshift-Guide-to-Understanding-Dyslexia.pdf\">here\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}}],"link":"/mindshift/54900/how-to-recognize-dyslexia-in-children-including-english-language-learners","authors":["4445"],"categories":["mindshift_193"],"tags":["mindshift_160","mindshift_20935","mindshift_550","mindshift_21128"],"featImg":"mindshift_49850","label":"mindshift"},"mindshift_54872":{"type":"posts","id":"mindshift_54872","meta":{"index":"posts_1591205157","site":"mindshift","id":"54872","score":null,"sort":[1574843329000]},"guestAuthors":[],"slug":"how-dyslexia-is-a-different-brain-not-a-disease","title":"How Dyslexia is a Different Brain, Not a Disease","publishDate":1574843329,"format":"standard","headTitle":"MindShift | KQED News","labelTerm":{"site":"mindshift"},"content":"\u003cp>\u003cem>This is chapter one of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/54743/the-mindshift-guide-to-understanding-dyslexia\">MindShift Guide to Understanding Dyslexia\u003c/a>. You can find the remaining chapters and a complete \u003ca href=\"https://kqed-org-assets.s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/Mindshift-Guide-to-Understanding-Dyslexia.pdf\">printable\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://kqed-org-assets.s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/Mindshift-Guide-to-Understanding-Dyslexia.pdf\">PDF\u003c/a> of the entire guide by clicking \u003ca href=\"https://kqed-org-assets.s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/Mindshift-Guide-to-Understanding-Dyslexia.pdf\">here\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As a frame of reference, the act of reading is a human invention that’s only a few thousand years old. In Europe and the United States, mass literacy—meaning more than 50 percent of the population knows how to read—has only been around for about 150 years. In other areas of the world, such as most of Asia, the Middle East, and Africa, it’s much more recent.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>THE READING BRAIN\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Because the human brain doesn’t come already wired to read, there is no “reading center” of the brain and there are no “reading genes.” As Proust and the Squid author Maryanne Wolf writes, each individual brain must learn how to read on its own.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In learning to read, the brain performs an amazing feat: it creates a specialized circuit that’s just for reading, forging a new circuit by combining parts of the brain that were originally designed to serve other functions, such as retrieving names. This new “reading circuit” combines processes from different areas of the brain and then runs at a speed so fast it’s nearly automatic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But not all brains forge a flowing reading circuit easily. This is the case with dyslexia. Rather than being a disease or a medical condition (the common misperception), dyslexia is a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/41845/understanding-dyslexia-and-the-reading-brain-in-kids\">different brain organization\u003c/a>—one in which the brain’s reading circuit has been disrupted or re-routed in at least one way, and sometimes in two or three ways. This re-routing slows down critical parts of the reading process:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>attaching the right sound to a letter happens more slowly and\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>forming words or sentences takes longer, then comprehending what was just read also takes longer\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>Dyslexia can additionally\u003ca href=\"http://dyslexia.yale.edu/resources/educators/instruction/math-memory-challenges/\"> affect memory\u003c/a>, especially working memory, making it harder for students to remember what they just read, or directions and learning sequences. It’s important to note that dyslexia is NOT caused by visual problems, and it isn’t the flipping of letters, or reading letters backwards, or mispronouncing words—and it’s not related to motivation or intelligence. It’s merely the result of a brain with a different organization that makes reading and writing more difficult.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>READING CIRCUIT ISSUES\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>In the dyslexic brain, the reading circuit can be interrupted in several areas and cause problematic development. Because each brain is unique, there isn’t a singular form of dyslexia, but there are common issues:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>ISSUE #1: Phonemic Awareness\u003c/strong> — identifying individual units of sound is a major challenge in the dyslexic brain. There are 44 sounds, or phonemes, in the English language. The main problem for kids with dyslexia is the ability to notice and work with all the sounds, and then be able to match those sounds to the right letters. In younger children, this is why not being able to rhyme words is an important early sign of dyslexia—often dyslexic kids don’t recognize the ways two rhyming words sound alike. English is an irregular language so there are many different combinations of letters that match to phonemes, making reading and spelling really hard for kids with challenges working with and remembering speech sounds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>ISSUE #2: Fluency, or getting the reading circuit to work together quickly\u003c/strong>, is the second-biggest issue. Even when children can process all the phonemes, they can still have trouble associating the sounds with the right letters, perhaps due to the right hemisphere’s control over the left hemisphere-centered language processing. This makes reading even the simplest words very slow, and then automaticity doesn’t develop properly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>ISSUE #3: Comprehension\u003c/strong> is the third (but no less crucial) issue in reading. Once letters and sounds are matched together, some children will have trouble putting the words together to form sentences and meaning. Often, this kind of dyslexia doesn’t show up until children are older, around third grade and up, when there is a switch from learning to read to reading to learn.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For dyslexics, the work of reading is slow and laborious, so often otherwise bright and intelligent students who haven’t received proper intervention never become fluent readers. Many dyslexic students can get by for years by memorizing words without actually reading them, but by the third or fourth grade, when learning switches from learning to read to reading to learn, struggling students can’t read fast enough to keep up. They often experience repeated failure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yet, with explicit and systematic specialized instruction specifically for the different brain structure, the reading circuit can be re-trained to work toward fluidity. But first, students, parents, and teachers must understand that the dyslexic’s brain isn’t “broken” or deficient, just organized in a different way.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>DO DYSLEXICS HAVE SPECIAL TALENTS?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Special \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/42064/dyslexia-and-the-wider-world-of-creativity-and-talent\">gifts and talents\u003c/a> can emerge from dyslexic brains, and whether this happens because of the unique setup of the dyslexic brain or in spite of it continues to be an ongoing subject of research and discussion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dyslexics quickly learn that very successful people, some considered geniuses in their field, like Pablo Picasso, Thomas Edison, Steven Spielberg, Octavia Spencer, Erin Brockovich and Nobel Prize-winner Elizabeth Blackburn, also struggled to read and write, and it didn’t affect their ability to achieve.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Does the dyslexic brain connote certain talents or even an advantage over a more typical reading brain? Some experts and writers like Malcolm Gladwell even call dyslexia an \u003ca href=\"https://www.dyslexicadvantage.org/\">advantage\u003c/a> or a \u003ca href=\"https://www.forbes.com/sites/knowledgewharton/2013/12/05/272013/#1ea0ee9a470d\">desirable disadvantage\u003c/a>—a disadvantage that ends up being at least partly responsible for a person’s success.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the research behind whether or not dyslexia is an actual advantage, or whether special talents emerge from dyslexic brains, is complex—it’s difficult to tease out causes and correlations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s certainly possible that some dyslexics have special abilities in areas not related to reading, just as other kids could have special abilities in one or two areas but struggle in other areas,” says research scientist and speech-language pathologist Peggy McCardle, former branch chief at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), U.S. National Institutes of Health.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We know that there are gifted children in the world, and that some of them are dyslexic. What we don’t know —and to date there is no real evidence of this—is whether the dyslexia and the giftedness or talent are connected, or just happened to co-occur in that person. People are looking at ways to study that, with good research designs and solid methods, but so far it has not been done.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>A FINE LINE\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>For practitioners who work with dyslexic students, it’s often a fine line between encouraging students to use their nonreading talents to succeed, and for not short-changing themselves on what they are able to do.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dr. Sheryl Rimrodt-Frierson, who runs the pediatric clinic at the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center Reading Clinic, says that reading and writing are still vital skills that need to be addressed, and she’s cautious about dyslexic kids selling themselves short when it comes to academic work. “I will make sure they know there are plenty of good people out there who have done plenty—academic work, medical school, law school.” Rimrodt-Frierson says that kids need to understand there is a world of possibilities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As cognitive neuroscientist Maryanne Wolf writes in her book Proust and the Squid, “The single most important implication of research in dyslexia is not ensuring that we don’t derail the development of a future Leonardo or Edison; it is making sure that we do not miss the potential of any child. Not all children with dyslexia have extraordinary talents, but every one of them has a unique potential that all too often goes unrealized because we don’t know how to tap it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This is chapter one of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/54743/the-mindshift-guide-to-understanding-dyslexia\">MindShift Guide to Understanding Dyslexia\u003c/a>. You can find the remaining chapters and a complete \u003ca href=\"https://kqed-org-assets.s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/Mindshift-Guide-to-Understanding-Dyslexia.pdf\">printable\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://kqed-org-assets.s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/Mindshift-Guide-to-Understanding-Dyslexia.pdf\">PDF\u003c/a> of the entire guide by clicking \u003ca href=\"https://kqed-org-assets.s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/Mindshift-Guide-to-Understanding-Dyslexia.pdf\">here\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n","blocks":[],"excerpt":"Students, parents, and teachers must understand that the dyslexic’s brain isn’t “broken” or deficient, just organized in a different way. And there is specialized reading instruction specifically for the different brain structure.","status":"publish","parent":0,"modified":1574843802,"stats":{"hasAudio":false,"hasVideo":false,"hasChartOrMap":false,"iframeSrcs":[],"hasGoogleForm":false,"hasGallery":false,"hasHearkenModule":false,"hasPolis":false,"paragraphCount":24,"wordCount":1408},"headData":{"title":"How Dyslexia is a Different Brain, Not a Disease | KQED","description":"Students, parents, and teachers must understand that the dyslexic’s brain isn’t “broken” or deficient, just organized in a different way. And there is specialized reading instruction specifically for the different brain structure.","ogTitle":"","ogDescription":"","ogImgId":"","twTitle":"","twDescription":"","twImgId":""},"disqusIdentifier":"54872 https://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/?p=54872","disqusUrl":"https://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2019/11/27/how-dyslexia-is-a-different-brain-not-a-disease/","disqusTitle":"How Dyslexia is a Different Brain, Not a Disease","path":"/mindshift/54872/how-dyslexia-is-a-different-brain-not-a-disease","audioTrackLength":null,"parsedContent":[{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>This is chapter one of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/54743/the-mindshift-guide-to-understanding-dyslexia\">MindShift Guide to Understanding Dyslexia\u003c/a>. You can find the remaining chapters and a complete \u003ca href=\"https://kqed-org-assets.s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/Mindshift-Guide-to-Understanding-Dyslexia.pdf\">printable\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://kqed-org-assets.s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/Mindshift-Guide-to-Understanding-Dyslexia.pdf\">PDF\u003c/a> of the entire guide by clicking \u003ca href=\"https://kqed-org-assets.s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/Mindshift-Guide-to-Understanding-Dyslexia.pdf\">here\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As a frame of reference, the act of reading is a human invention that’s only a few thousand years old. In Europe and the United States, mass literacy—meaning more than 50 percent of the population knows how to read—has only been around for about 150 years. In other areas of the world, such as most of Asia, the Middle East, and Africa, it’s much more recent.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>THE READING BRAIN\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Because the human brain doesn’t come already wired to read, there is no “reading center” of the brain and there are no “reading genes.” As Proust and the Squid author Maryanne Wolf writes, each individual brain must learn how to read on its own.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In learning to read, the brain performs an amazing feat: it creates a specialized circuit that’s just for reading, forging a new circuit by combining parts of the brain that were originally designed to serve other functions, such as retrieving names. This new “reading circuit” combines processes from different areas of the brain and then runs at a speed so fast it’s nearly automatic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But not all brains forge a flowing reading circuit easily. This is the case with dyslexia. Rather than being a disease or a medical condition (the common misperception), dyslexia is a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/41845/understanding-dyslexia-and-the-reading-brain-in-kids\">different brain organization\u003c/a>—one in which the brain’s reading circuit has been disrupted or re-routed in at least one way, and sometimes in two or three ways. This re-routing slows down critical parts of the reading process:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>attaching the right sound to a letter happens more slowly and\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>forming words or sentences takes longer, then comprehending what was just read also takes longer\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>Dyslexia can additionally\u003ca href=\"http://dyslexia.yale.edu/resources/educators/instruction/math-memory-challenges/\"> affect memory\u003c/a>, especially working memory, making it harder for students to remember what they just read, or directions and learning sequences. It’s important to note that dyslexia is NOT caused by visual problems, and it isn’t the flipping of letters, or reading letters backwards, or mispronouncing words—and it’s not related to motivation or intelligence. It’s merely the result of a brain with a different organization that makes reading and writing more difficult.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>READING CIRCUIT ISSUES\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>In the dyslexic brain, the reading circuit can be interrupted in several areas and cause problematic development. Because each brain is unique, there isn’t a singular form of dyslexia, but there are common issues:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"fullwidth"},"numeric":["fullwidth"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>ISSUE #1: Phonemic Awareness\u003c/strong> — identifying individual units of sound is a major challenge in the dyslexic brain. There are 44 sounds, or phonemes, in the English language. The main problem for kids with dyslexia is the ability to notice and work with all the sounds, and then be able to match those sounds to the right letters. In younger children, this is why not being able to rhyme words is an important early sign of dyslexia—often dyslexic kids don’t recognize the ways two rhyming words sound alike. English is an irregular language so there are many different combinations of letters that match to phonemes, making reading and spelling really hard for kids with challenges working with and remembering speech sounds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>ISSUE #2: Fluency, or getting the reading circuit to work together quickly\u003c/strong>, is the second-biggest issue. Even when children can process all the phonemes, they can still have trouble associating the sounds with the right letters, perhaps due to the right hemisphere’s control over the left hemisphere-centered language processing. This makes reading even the simplest words very slow, and then automaticity doesn’t develop properly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>ISSUE #3: Comprehension\u003c/strong> is the third (but no less crucial) issue in reading. Once letters and sounds are matched together, some children will have trouble putting the words together to form sentences and meaning. Often, this kind of dyslexia doesn’t show up until children are older, around third grade and up, when there is a switch from learning to read to reading to learn.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For dyslexics, the work of reading is slow and laborious, so often otherwise bright and intelligent students who haven’t received proper intervention never become fluent readers. Many dyslexic students can get by for years by memorizing words without actually reading them, but by the third or fourth grade, when learning switches from learning to read to reading to learn, struggling students can’t read fast enough to keep up. They often experience repeated failure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yet, with explicit and systematic specialized instruction specifically for the different brain structure, the reading circuit can be re-trained to work toward fluidity. But first, students, parents, and teachers must understand that the dyslexic’s brain isn’t “broken” or deficient, just organized in a different way.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>DO DYSLEXICS HAVE SPECIAL TALENTS?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Special \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/42064/dyslexia-and-the-wider-world-of-creativity-and-talent\">gifts and talents\u003c/a> can emerge from dyslexic brains, and whether this happens because of the unique setup of the dyslexic brain or in spite of it continues to be an ongoing subject of research and discussion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dyslexics quickly learn that very successful people, some considered geniuses in their field, like Pablo Picasso, Thomas Edison, Steven Spielberg, Octavia Spencer, Erin Brockovich and Nobel Prize-winner Elizabeth Blackburn, also struggled to read and write, and it didn’t affect their ability to achieve.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Does the dyslexic brain connote certain talents or even an advantage over a more typical reading brain? Some experts and writers like Malcolm Gladwell even call dyslexia an \u003ca href=\"https://www.dyslexicadvantage.org/\">advantage\u003c/a> or a \u003ca href=\"https://www.forbes.com/sites/knowledgewharton/2013/12/05/272013/#1ea0ee9a470d\">desirable disadvantage\u003c/a>—a disadvantage that ends up being at least partly responsible for a person’s success.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the research behind whether or not dyslexia is an actual advantage, or whether special talents emerge from dyslexic brains, is complex—it’s difficult to tease out causes and correlations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s certainly possible that some dyslexics have special abilities in areas not related to reading, just as other kids could have special abilities in one or two areas but struggle in other areas,” says research scientist and speech-language pathologist Peggy McCardle, former branch chief at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), U.S. National Institutes of Health.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We know that there are gifted children in the world, and that some of them are dyslexic. What we don’t know —and to date there is no real evidence of this—is whether the dyslexia and the giftedness or talent are connected, or just happened to co-occur in that person. People are looking at ways to study that, with good research designs and solid methods, but so far it has not been done.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>A FINE LINE\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>For practitioners who work with dyslexic students, it’s often a fine line between encouraging students to use their nonreading talents to succeed, and for not short-changing themselves on what they are able to do.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dr. Sheryl Rimrodt-Frierson, who runs the pediatric clinic at the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center Reading Clinic, says that reading and writing are still vital skills that need to be addressed, and she’s cautious about dyslexic kids selling themselves short when it comes to academic work. “I will make sure they know there are plenty of good people out there who have done plenty—academic work, medical school, law school.” Rimrodt-Frierson says that kids need to understand there is a world of possibilities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As cognitive neuroscientist Maryanne Wolf writes in her book Proust and the Squid, “The single most important implication of research in dyslexia is not ensuring that we don’t derail the development of a future Leonardo or Edison; it is making sure that we do not miss the potential of any child. Not all children with dyslexia have extraordinary talents, but every one of them has a unique potential that all too often goes unrealized because we don’t know how to tap it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"floatright"},"numeric":["floatright"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This is chapter one of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/54743/the-mindshift-guide-to-understanding-dyslexia\">MindShift Guide to Understanding Dyslexia\u003c/a>. You can find the remaining chapters and a complete \u003ca href=\"https://kqed-org-assets.s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/Mindshift-Guide-to-Understanding-Dyslexia.pdf\">printable\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://kqed-org-assets.s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/Mindshift-Guide-to-Understanding-Dyslexia.pdf\">PDF\u003c/a> of the entire guide by clicking \u003ca href=\"https://kqed-org-assets.s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/Mindshift-Guide-to-Understanding-Dyslexia.pdf\">here\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}}],"link":"/mindshift/54872/how-dyslexia-is-a-different-brain-not-a-disease","authors":["4445"],"categories":["mindshift_193"],"tags":["mindshift_160","mindshift_20784","mindshift_1040","mindshift_20935","mindshift_550","mindshift_851"],"featImg":"mindshift_49712","label":"mindshift"},"mindshift_54652":{"type":"posts","id":"mindshift_54652","meta":{"index":"posts_1591205157","site":"mindshift","id":"54652","score":null,"sort":[1572067875000]},"guestAuthors":[],"slug":"helping-students-with-intellectual-disabilities-conquer-college","title":"Helping Students with Intellectual Disabilities Conquer College","publishDate":1572067875,"format":"standard","headTitle":"MindShift | KQED News","labelTerm":{"site":"mindshift"},"content":"\u003cp>\u003cem>This story about \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://hechingerreport.org/helping-students-with-intellectual-disabilities-conquer-college/\">\u003cem>intellectual disabilities\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> was produced by \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"http://hechingerreport.org/\">\u003cem>The Hechinger Report\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. Sign up for \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://hechingerreport.org/newsletters/\">\u003cem>Hechinger’s newsletter\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>LOGAN, Utah — It was Day One of orientation for the 15 students in Utah State University’s program for students with intellectual disabilities, and the group was playing a game of Get-to-Know-You Bingo. Courtney Jorgensen, pen in hand, wandered the courtyard, searching for the unlikely individuals who didn’t use Facebook and didn’t like dessert.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I know one we both have!” Jorgensen’s new roommate, Jessica, exclaimed, marking an X in a box in the left column. “We both love to dance.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It was a bittersweet moment for Casey and Dean Jorgensen, Courtney’s parents, who live two hours away from the college, in Grantsville, Utah. They’d always hoped that their daughter might be able to attend college, but a college education was never a guarantee. They were excited for her, but like many parents of college freshmen, not quite ready when the time came to go.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m probably going to cry all the way home,” said Casey.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some students in the Aggies Elevated program, named for the university’s agricultural college origins, have Down Syndrome, some have autism and several have multiple diagnoses. All have IQs of 70 or less.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Without a program like Aggies Elevated, many of these students would be living at home, working menial, minimum-wage jobs. The employment rate for adults with cognitive disabilities is just \u003ca href=\"https://www.thinkwork.org/sites/default/files/files/statedata2018_web_F.pdf\">19 percent\u003c/a>, according to recent estimates. Those who do work make half of what adults without disabilities earn.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_54674\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-54674\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2019/10/fieldintellectual2-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1364\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2019/10/fieldintellectual2-1.jpg 1920w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2019/10/fieldintellectual2-1-160x114.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2019/10/fieldintellectual2-1-800x568.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2019/10/fieldintellectual2-1-768x546.jpg 768w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2019/10/fieldintellectual2-1-1020x725.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2019/10/fieldintellectual2-1-1200x853.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Aggies Elevated students and advisors wait for the bus. \u003ccite>(Kim Raff for The Hechinger Report)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The goal of Aggies Elevated — and the 274 other postsecondary transition programs for students with cognitive disabilities scattered across the country — is to prepare students for meaningful work and independent living. By the end of the two-year program, these students should have not only a certificate, but also the connections and confidence they will need to become self-sufficient adults.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Results so far are encouraging. Close to two-thirds of students who completed one of 25 \u003ca href=\"https://thinkcollege.net/tpsid\">federally funded programs\u003c/a> between 2015 and 2017 found paid work within a year, according to a \u003ca href=\"https://thinkcollege.net/resource/program-evaluation/year-three-annual-report-of-the-tpsid-model-demonstration-projects-2017\">recent survey\u003c/a>. Ninety percent of Utah State’s 19 graduates are currently employed, and three-quarters are living on their own, according to program researchers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But there still aren’t enough programs to meet demand, and federal funding for some of them expires next year. That’s left colleges like Utah State scrambling to find other sources of money.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Courtney’s dream is to become a florist and a mom. As a child, she’d make weed bouquets for her parents; as a teenager, she won three blue ribbons in the state fair for her floral arrangements. But she couldn’t find work, in part, her mom believes, because “employers see a person with a disability and aren’t willing to take a risk.” She hopes the internships her daughter will get through the program will help convince employers that she’s capable.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_54680\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-54680\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2019/10/fieldintellectual3-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2019/10/fieldintellectual3-2.jpg 1920w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2019/10/fieldintellectual3-2-160x107.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2019/10/fieldintellectual3-2-800x533.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2019/10/fieldintellectual3-2-768x512.jpg 768w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2019/10/fieldintellectual3-2-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2019/10/fieldintellectual3-2-1200x800.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Courtney Jorgensen, right, rides the bus with other Aggies Elevated students. \u003ccite>(Kim Raff for The Hechinger Report)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Courtney, meanwhile, said she’s excited to learn “life skills that will help me throughout my life.” She thinks the hardest thing about college will be having to advocate for herself. “I’m a little shy … well, a lot shy,” she said with a smile. “I struggle with reading and spelling. It’s hard to ask for help.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Courtney’s disability is hard to pin down. When she was young, doctors thought she might be deaf, or have autism, her parents said. They tested other theories, but nothing fit. Eventually, her parents stopped looking for a label.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When she was 8, we were riding in the car and she asked me ‘Mommy, what’s wrong with me?’ ” her mother recalled. “I said ‘Nothing,’ and we went and got ice cream.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By high school, Courtney was a bundle of contradictions. She had trouble processing spoken language, but she sang beautifully; she stumbled over some words, mispronouncing or slurring them, but she could recite theatrical monologues by heart; she had severe clinical anxiety, but she loved socializing, and was active in swimming and theatre.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“She’s a mystery,” said Dean. “Doctors have done brain scans and EKGs, but they can’t figure her out.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In school, Courtney had a reduced workload, a paraprofessional teacher assigned to help her in her classes and was allowed other accommodations, like permission to dictate answers and use a calculator. Her school district also provided support to help Courtney transition out of high school, which federal law requires for students who qualify for special education, but her mother says there was little mention of college as part of the program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After graduation, Courtney took part in a life skills program for young adults with intellectual disabilities. But the other participants had more severe disabilities than she did, and Courtney got a little depressed, her dad said. He thinks she’ll fit in better in Aggies Elevated — and maybe even continue on to a four-year degree.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_54676\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 5703px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-54676\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2019/10/fieldintellectual4-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"5703\" height=\"4019\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2019/10/fieldintellectual4-1.jpg 5703w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2019/10/fieldintellectual4-1-160x113.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2019/10/fieldintellectual4-1-800x564.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2019/10/fieldintellectual4-1-768x541.jpg 768w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2019/10/fieldintellectual4-1-1020x719.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2019/10/fieldintellectual4-1-1200x846.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 5703px) 100vw, 5703px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Aggies Elevated Program Director Sue Reeves helps students Jessica Otty, left, and Courtney Jorgensen, right, fill out an intake form at the local independent living center, Options for Independence. \u003ccite>(Kim Raff for The Hechinger Report)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>They found the program through a state resource center and chose it “almost by default,” said Dean. It was the only one in Utah.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We want her to have the experience everyone else can have if she wants it,” he said. “I think this program will be life-changing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It was students and their parents who pushed for the first programs for students with intellectual disabilities, roughly 20 years ago. Some families even financed them, through donations to the colleges. “They’d been educated in inclusive school environments,” said Robert Morgan, a professor of special education and rehabilitation at Utah State. “Their peers went on to college, and they said ‘why not me?’ ”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But selling professors and administrators on the programs wasn’t always easy. Some worried about a dilution of standards, or a lessening of institutional prestige. Others had practical concerns about risk and liability.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Morgan encountered many of those objections when he proposed creating a program at Utah State around 2000-01 after hearing about similar efforts elsewhere. He managed to convince colleagues to create an employment preparation program for high school students with an Individualized Education Program (IEPs set forth goals for students with disabilities and specify the services, accommodations and modifications they will receive).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That program, which is still in existence, “broke down the resistance” to the creation of a college transition program, Morgan said. When three families approached the college a few years later with an offer to fund a program their children could attend, administrators said yes. The first cohort of eight students enrolled in 2014.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_54681\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-54681\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2019/10/fieldintellectual5-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1238\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2019/10/fieldintellectual5-2.jpg 1920w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2019/10/fieldintellectual5-2-160x103.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2019/10/fieldintellectual5-2-800x516.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2019/10/fieldintellectual5-2-768x495.jpg 768w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2019/10/fieldintellectual5-2-1020x658.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2019/10/fieldintellectual5-2-1200x774.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A board used to talk about healthy relationships with Aggies Elevated students during a presentation at Options for Independence. \u003ccite>(Kim Raff for The Hechinger Report)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Nationally, over the past decade, the number of programs for students with disabilities has increased by 85 percent, according to Think College estimates. Much of that growth can be attributed to a 2008 reauthorization of the Higher Education Act that, among many other changes, allowed students without a high school diploma to receive federal financial aid to attend approved “comprehensive transition and postsecondary programs.” It also created a decade-long $110 million grant program that has financed programs at 44 two- and four-year institutions, including Utah State.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Before Congress made that change, students had to pay for programs out-of-pocket or use Medicaid or Vocational Rehabilitation funds, which are designed to help people with mental or physical disabilities become independent and find employment. But not every state allows adults with intellectual disabilities to use such funds for college, and some low-income students couldn’t afford to attend.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The law “lit a fire under the movement for sure,” said Cathryn Weir, program director for the Think College National Coordinating Center at the University of Massachusetts Boston.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The federally supported programs \u003ca href=\"https://thinkcollege.net/resource/program-evaluation/year-three-annual-report-of-the-tpsid-model-demonstration-projects-2017\">vary widely\u003c/a> in size, ranging from two to 80 students, and cost, ranging from free to $65,206. Some of the transition programs prepare students for a specific profession, while others offer a more general credential. Just under half offer student housing, and three-quarters are considered “academically inclusive,” meaning that at least half of course enrollments are in mainstream courses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Aggies Elevated falls somewhere in the middle, offering some specialized courses, while permitting Aggies students to enroll in freshman- and sophomore-level courses. Students pay standard tuition, room and board, plus a $5,000 program fee.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_54678\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-54678\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2019/10/fieldintellectual6-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1276\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2019/10/fieldintellectual6-1.jpg 1920w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2019/10/fieldintellectual6-1-160x106.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2019/10/fieldintellectual6-1-800x532.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2019/10/fieldintellectual6-1-768x510.jpg 768w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2019/10/fieldintellectual6-1-1020x678.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2019/10/fieldintellectual6-1-1200x798.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Courtney Jorgensen and other Aggies Elevated students practice shopping for groceries. \u003ccite>(Kim Raff for The Hechinger Report)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>This year, 25 students applied for the 10 slots. They went through a lengthy application process that involves inventories, interviews and a campus visit, during which applicants interacted. Sue Reeves, the program director, said they’re looking for the student “who wants to go to college that would not otherwise be able to.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If it’s just their parents’ idea, they’re not going to do well,” she explained.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The morning after the Orientation Bingo game, after the chosen 10 said goodbye to their parents and spent the first night on their own in the dorms, they headed to a classroom for a crash course on college expectations. Reeves handed out Post-its and asked students to write down three ways college is the same as high school and three ways it’s different.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Courtney sat in the front row, and spoke her answers slowly into her phone. She then transcribed the recording. The device helps her spell words, she explained.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Reeves read the students’ responses aloud. Under the “same” category: “You have to be on time;” “You have to turn in your assignments” and “No swords allowed.” Under “different”: “No more 5-minute bells,” “More freedom” and “You have to be responsible for yourself.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Any Spiderman fans out there?” Reeves asked. “With great freedom ….”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Comes great responsibility,” several students finished, in unison.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When Reeves lectured the students about using smartphones in class, Courtney quickly tucked hers into her pocket, worried about breaking the rules. During a break, she asked Reeves if it would be OK to use a phone for transcribing. Reeves reassured her: “If it’s a tool you use, it’s OK,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the end of the day, Courtney was tired and a bit overwhelmed. When a graduate student mentor asked the students to rate their stress level for the day, on a scale of 1 to 5, she gave hers a 3 or 4.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s a lot,” she said simply.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Courtney was raised in the Mormon faith, and “has a firm belief that trials and challenges can make you stronger,” her mother said. One of her favorite religious songs is Laura Story’s “Blessings,” which asks, “What if your healing comes through tears?” Before she left for college, Casey bought two teardrop-shaped crystals — one for her, one for Courtney — to remind her daughter of that line. Courtney put hers on the desk of her dorm room. It reminds her that “you can do it — you’re not alone.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Although the number of college programs for students like Courtney is growing, they’re hardly keeping up with demand, advocates say. In some states, there still isn’t a single program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even the most established programs face an uncertain future, with funding subject to the whims of changing college administrations, said Weir, of Think College. “The programs are still pioneers, and they constantly have to show their worth and prove themselves,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To help them in that process, Think College published a set of voluntary standards for inclusive higher education in 2012. It’s now working on standards for program accreditation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Weir said that true educational equity for students with intellectual disabilities is still years off: “275 programs sounds like a lot, but there are over 4,000 institutions” in this country.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Federal support for the grantees expires next year, and many programs are scrambling to identify new sources of funding. Some are looking to nonprofits or foundations for support, while others are considering scaling back staffing or raising fees, Weir said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At Utah State, the president has pledged to continue Reeves’ position through university funds. The program fee, added this year, and other funding sources will pay for mentors and staff.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Colleges got a bit of good news this September, when the Education Department issued guidance clarifying that states can use vocational rehabilitation funds to support students with intellectual disabilities attending college. In recent years, some states — Utah included — have denied funds to students on the grounds that the programs weren’t awarding “industry recognized credentials,” a narrowly defined category that excludes the two-year certificate in Integrated College and Community Studies that Aggies Elevated students earn.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Getting to graduation won’t be easy for any of the students in the Aggies Elevated program. Many of them struggle with time management and have trouble with irregular schedules. Several have difficulty navigating new places; some have never been required to turn in homework; some are used to being told where to be at all times, says Reeves.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Weir said college is the “perfect incubator” for young adults with intellectual disabilities, providing a relatively safe space where they can take charge of their own lives. She said the “sense of self-determination and confidence” that students gain through college is key to their success in the labor market.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The skills they learn related to employment are important, but part of it is that their view of themselves changes,” she said. “It’s hard to measure, but it’s quite obvious when you see it. They talk more, they look you in the eye more.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By the second day of orientation, Courtney seemed more confident. During a group grocery-shopping trip, part of a lesson on meal-planning and preparation, she took charge, leading her team to the carrots and watermelons, and asking the questions that drove their decision-making — Small bag or large? One container or two?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The students rode the city bus to the store to learn how it works, and on the way home, the driver asked, “Are we having fun?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Yeah!” the students said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Got the bus system down?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“No!” replied Courtney, laughing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story about \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://hechingerreport.org/helping-students-with-intellectual-disabilities-conquer-college/\">\u003cem>intellectual disabilities\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> was produced by \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"http://hechingerreport.org/\">\u003cem>The Hechinger Report\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. Sign up for \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://hechingerreport.org/newsletters/\">\u003cem>Hechinger’s newsletter\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\n","blocks":[],"excerpt":"At the 275 postsecondary transition programs for students with intellectual disabilities scattered across the country, students not only earn a certificate, but also the connections and confidence they will need to become self-sufficient adults. The number of such programs is growing, but it’s not keeping up with demand, and even established programs face an uncertain future.","status":"publish","parent":0,"modified":1572067875,"stats":{"hasAudio":false,"hasVideo":false,"hasChartOrMap":false,"iframeSrcs":[],"hasGoogleForm":false,"hasGallery":false,"hasHearkenModule":false,"hasPolis":false,"paragraphCount":58,"wordCount":2633},"headData":{"title":"Helping Students with Intellectual Disabilities Conquer College | KQED","description":"At the 275 postsecondary transition programs for students with intellectual disabilities scattered across the country, students not only earn a certificate, but also the connections and confidence they will need to become self-sufficient adults. The number of such programs is growing, but it’s not keeping up with demand, and even established programs face an uncertain future.","ogTitle":"","ogDescription":"","ogImgId":"","twTitle":"","twDescription":"","twImgId":""},"disqusIdentifier":"54652 https://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/?p=54652","disqusUrl":"https://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2019/10/25/helping-students-with-intellectual-disabilities-conquer-college/","disqusTitle":"Helping Students with Intellectual Disabilities Conquer College","nprByline":"\u003ca href=\"https://hechingerreport.org/\">Kelly Field, The Hechinger Report\u003c/a>","path":"/mindshift/54652/helping-students-with-intellectual-disabilities-conquer-college","audioTrackLength":null,"parsedContent":[{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>This story about \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://hechingerreport.org/helping-students-with-intellectual-disabilities-conquer-college/\">\u003cem>intellectual disabilities\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> was produced by \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"http://hechingerreport.org/\">\u003cem>The Hechinger Report\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. Sign up for \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://hechingerreport.org/newsletters/\">\u003cem>Hechinger’s newsletter\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>LOGAN, Utah — It was Day One of orientation for the 15 students in Utah State University’s program for students with intellectual disabilities, and the group was playing a game of Get-to-Know-You Bingo. Courtney Jorgensen, pen in hand, wandered the courtyard, searching for the unlikely individuals who didn’t use Facebook and didn’t like dessert.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I know one we both have!” Jorgensen’s new roommate, Jessica, exclaimed, marking an X in a box in the left column. “We both love to dance.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It was a bittersweet moment for Casey and Dean Jorgensen, Courtney’s parents, who live two hours away from the college, in Grantsville, Utah. They’d always hoped that their daughter might be able to attend college, but a college education was never a guarantee. They were excited for her, but like many parents of college freshmen, not quite ready when the time came to go.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m probably going to cry all the way home,” said Casey.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"fullwidth"},"numeric":["fullwidth"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some students in the Aggies Elevated program, named for the university’s agricultural college origins, have Down Syndrome, some have autism and several have multiple diagnoses. All have IQs of 70 or less.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Without a program like Aggies Elevated, many of these students would be living at home, working menial, minimum-wage jobs. The employment rate for adults with cognitive disabilities is just \u003ca href=\"https://www.thinkwork.org/sites/default/files/files/statedata2018_web_F.pdf\">19 percent\u003c/a>, according to recent estimates. Those who do work make half of what adults without disabilities earn.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_54674\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-54674\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2019/10/fieldintellectual2-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1364\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2019/10/fieldintellectual2-1.jpg 1920w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2019/10/fieldintellectual2-1-160x114.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2019/10/fieldintellectual2-1-800x568.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2019/10/fieldintellectual2-1-768x546.jpg 768w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2019/10/fieldintellectual2-1-1020x725.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2019/10/fieldintellectual2-1-1200x853.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Aggies Elevated students and advisors wait for the bus. \u003ccite>(Kim Raff for The Hechinger Report)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The goal of Aggies Elevated — and the 274 other postsecondary transition programs for students with cognitive disabilities scattered across the country — is to prepare students for meaningful work and independent living. By the end of the two-year program, these students should have not only a certificate, but also the connections and confidence they will need to become self-sufficient adults.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Results so far are encouraging. Close to two-thirds of students who completed one of 25 \u003ca href=\"https://thinkcollege.net/tpsid\">federally funded programs\u003c/a> between 2015 and 2017 found paid work within a year, according to a \u003ca href=\"https://thinkcollege.net/resource/program-evaluation/year-three-annual-report-of-the-tpsid-model-demonstration-projects-2017\">recent survey\u003c/a>. Ninety percent of Utah State’s 19 graduates are currently employed, and three-quarters are living on their own, according to program researchers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But there still aren’t enough programs to meet demand, and federal funding for some of them expires next year. That’s left colleges like Utah State scrambling to find other sources of money.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Courtney’s dream is to become a florist and a mom. As a child, she’d make weed bouquets for her parents; as a teenager, she won three blue ribbons in the state fair for her floral arrangements. But she couldn’t find work, in part, her mom believes, because “employers see a person with a disability and aren’t willing to take a risk.” She hopes the internships her daughter will get through the program will help convince employers that she’s capable.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_54680\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-54680\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2019/10/fieldintellectual3-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2019/10/fieldintellectual3-2.jpg 1920w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2019/10/fieldintellectual3-2-160x107.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2019/10/fieldintellectual3-2-800x533.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2019/10/fieldintellectual3-2-768x512.jpg 768w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2019/10/fieldintellectual3-2-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2019/10/fieldintellectual3-2-1200x800.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Courtney Jorgensen, right, rides the bus with other Aggies Elevated students. \u003ccite>(Kim Raff for The Hechinger Report)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Courtney, meanwhile, said she’s excited to learn “life skills that will help me throughout my life.” She thinks the hardest thing about college will be having to advocate for herself. “I’m a little shy … well, a lot shy,” she said with a smile. “I struggle with reading and spelling. It’s hard to ask for help.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Courtney’s disability is hard to pin down. When she was young, doctors thought she might be deaf, or have autism, her parents said. They tested other theories, but nothing fit. Eventually, her parents stopped looking for a label.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When she was 8, we were riding in the car and she asked me ‘Mommy, what’s wrong with me?’ ” her mother recalled. “I said ‘Nothing,’ and we went and got ice cream.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By high school, Courtney was a bundle of contradictions. She had trouble processing spoken language, but she sang beautifully; she stumbled over some words, mispronouncing or slurring them, but she could recite theatrical monologues by heart; she had severe clinical anxiety, but she loved socializing, and was active in swimming and theatre.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“She’s a mystery,” said Dean. “Doctors have done brain scans and EKGs, but they can’t figure her out.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In school, Courtney had a reduced workload, a paraprofessional teacher assigned to help her in her classes and was allowed other accommodations, like permission to dictate answers and use a calculator. Her school district also provided support to help Courtney transition out of high school, which federal law requires for students who qualify for special education, but her mother says there was little mention of college as part of the program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After graduation, Courtney took part in a life skills program for young adults with intellectual disabilities. But the other participants had more severe disabilities than she did, and Courtney got a little depressed, her dad said. He thinks she’ll fit in better in Aggies Elevated — and maybe even continue on to a four-year degree.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_54676\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 5703px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-54676\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2019/10/fieldintellectual4-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"5703\" height=\"4019\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2019/10/fieldintellectual4-1.jpg 5703w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2019/10/fieldintellectual4-1-160x113.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2019/10/fieldintellectual4-1-800x564.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2019/10/fieldintellectual4-1-768x541.jpg 768w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2019/10/fieldintellectual4-1-1020x719.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2019/10/fieldintellectual4-1-1200x846.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 5703px) 100vw, 5703px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Aggies Elevated Program Director Sue Reeves helps students Jessica Otty, left, and Courtney Jorgensen, right, fill out an intake form at the local independent living center, Options for Independence. \u003ccite>(Kim Raff for The Hechinger Report)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>They found the program through a state resource center and chose it “almost by default,” said Dean. It was the only one in Utah.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We want her to have the experience everyone else can have if she wants it,” he said. “I think this program will be life-changing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It was students and their parents who pushed for the first programs for students with intellectual disabilities, roughly 20 years ago. Some families even financed them, through donations to the colleges. “They’d been educated in inclusive school environments,” said Robert Morgan, a professor of special education and rehabilitation at Utah State. “Their peers went on to college, and they said ‘why not me?’ ”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But selling professors and administrators on the programs wasn’t always easy. Some worried about a dilution of standards, or a lessening of institutional prestige. Others had practical concerns about risk and liability.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Morgan encountered many of those objections when he proposed creating a program at Utah State around 2000-01 after hearing about similar efforts elsewhere. He managed to convince colleagues to create an employment preparation program for high school students with an Individualized Education Program (IEPs set forth goals for students with disabilities and specify the services, accommodations and modifications they will receive).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That program, which is still in existence, “broke down the resistance” to the creation of a college transition program, Morgan said. When three families approached the college a few years later with an offer to fund a program their children could attend, administrators said yes. The first cohort of eight students enrolled in 2014.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_54681\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-54681\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2019/10/fieldintellectual5-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1238\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2019/10/fieldintellectual5-2.jpg 1920w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2019/10/fieldintellectual5-2-160x103.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2019/10/fieldintellectual5-2-800x516.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2019/10/fieldintellectual5-2-768x495.jpg 768w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2019/10/fieldintellectual5-2-1020x658.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2019/10/fieldintellectual5-2-1200x774.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A board used to talk about healthy relationships with Aggies Elevated students during a presentation at Options for Independence. \u003ccite>(Kim Raff for The Hechinger Report)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Nationally, over the past decade, the number of programs for students with disabilities has increased by 85 percent, according to Think College estimates. Much of that growth can be attributed to a 2008 reauthorization of the Higher Education Act that, among many other changes, allowed students without a high school diploma to receive federal financial aid to attend approved “comprehensive transition and postsecondary programs.” It also created a decade-long $110 million grant program that has financed programs at 44 two- and four-year institutions, including Utah State.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Before Congress made that change, students had to pay for programs out-of-pocket or use Medicaid or Vocational Rehabilitation funds, which are designed to help people with mental or physical disabilities become independent and find employment. But not every state allows adults with intellectual disabilities to use such funds for college, and some low-income students couldn’t afford to attend.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The law “lit a fire under the movement for sure,” said Cathryn Weir, program director for the Think College National Coordinating Center at the University of Massachusetts Boston.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The federally supported programs \u003ca href=\"https://thinkcollege.net/resource/program-evaluation/year-three-annual-report-of-the-tpsid-model-demonstration-projects-2017\">vary widely\u003c/a> in size, ranging from two to 80 students, and cost, ranging from free to $65,206. Some of the transition programs prepare students for a specific profession, while others offer a more general credential. Just under half offer student housing, and three-quarters are considered “academically inclusive,” meaning that at least half of course enrollments are in mainstream courses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Aggies Elevated falls somewhere in the middle, offering some specialized courses, while permitting Aggies students to enroll in freshman- and sophomore-level courses. Students pay standard tuition, room and board, plus a $5,000 program fee.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_54678\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-54678\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2019/10/fieldintellectual6-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1276\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2019/10/fieldintellectual6-1.jpg 1920w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2019/10/fieldintellectual6-1-160x106.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2019/10/fieldintellectual6-1-800x532.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2019/10/fieldintellectual6-1-768x510.jpg 768w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2019/10/fieldintellectual6-1-1020x678.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2019/10/fieldintellectual6-1-1200x798.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Courtney Jorgensen and other Aggies Elevated students practice shopping for groceries. \u003ccite>(Kim Raff for The Hechinger Report)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>This year, 25 students applied for the 10 slots. They went through a lengthy application process that involves inventories, interviews and a campus visit, during which applicants interacted. Sue Reeves, the program director, said they’re looking for the student “who wants to go to college that would not otherwise be able to.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If it’s just their parents’ idea, they’re not going to do well,” she explained.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The morning after the Orientation Bingo game, after the chosen 10 said goodbye to their parents and spent the first night on their own in the dorms, they headed to a classroom for a crash course on college expectations. Reeves handed out Post-its and asked students to write down three ways college is the same as high school and three ways it’s different.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Courtney sat in the front row, and spoke her answers slowly into her phone. She then transcribed the recording. The device helps her spell words, she explained.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Reeves read the students’ responses aloud. Under the “same” category: “You have to be on time;” “You have to turn in your assignments” and “No swords allowed.” Under “different”: “No more 5-minute bells,” “More freedom” and “You have to be responsible for yourself.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Any Spiderman fans out there?” Reeves asked. “With great freedom ….”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Comes great responsibility,” several students finished, in unison.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When Reeves lectured the students about using smartphones in class, Courtney quickly tucked hers into her pocket, worried about breaking the rules. During a break, she asked Reeves if it would be OK to use a phone for transcribing. Reeves reassured her: “If it’s a tool you use, it’s OK,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the end of the day, Courtney was tired and a bit overwhelmed. When a graduate student mentor asked the students to rate their stress level for the day, on a scale of 1 to 5, she gave hers a 3 or 4.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s a lot,” she said simply.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Courtney was raised in the Mormon faith, and “has a firm belief that trials and challenges can make you stronger,” her mother said. One of her favorite religious songs is Laura Story’s “Blessings,” which asks, “What if your healing comes through tears?” Before she left for college, Casey bought two teardrop-shaped crystals — one for her, one for Courtney — to remind her daughter of that line. Courtney put hers on the desk of her dorm room. It reminds her that “you can do it — you’re not alone.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Although the number of college programs for students like Courtney is growing, they’re hardly keeping up with demand, advocates say. In some states, there still isn’t a single program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even the most established programs face an uncertain future, with funding subject to the whims of changing college administrations, said Weir, of Think College. “The programs are still pioneers, and they constantly have to show their worth and prove themselves,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To help them in that process, Think College published a set of voluntary standards for inclusive higher education in 2012. It’s now working on standards for program accreditation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Weir said that true educational equity for students with intellectual disabilities is still years off: “275 programs sounds like a lot, but there are over 4,000 institutions” in this country.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Federal support for the grantees expires next year, and many programs are scrambling to identify new sources of funding. Some are looking to nonprofits or foundations for support, while others are considering scaling back staffing or raising fees, Weir said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At Utah State, the president has pledged to continue Reeves’ position through university funds. The program fee, added this year, and other funding sources will pay for mentors and staff.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Colleges got a bit of good news this September, when the Education Department issued guidance clarifying that states can use vocational rehabilitation funds to support students with intellectual disabilities attending college. In recent years, some states — Utah included — have denied funds to students on the grounds that the programs weren’t awarding “industry recognized credentials,” a narrowly defined category that excludes the two-year certificate in Integrated College and Community Studies that Aggies Elevated students earn.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Getting to graduation won’t be easy for any of the students in the Aggies Elevated program. Many of them struggle with time management and have trouble with irregular schedules. Several have difficulty navigating new places; some have never been required to turn in homework; some are used to being told where to be at all times, says Reeves.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Weir said college is the “perfect incubator” for young adults with intellectual disabilities, providing a relatively safe space where they can take charge of their own lives. She said the “sense of self-determination and confidence” that students gain through college is key to their success in the labor market.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The skills they learn related to employment are important, but part of it is that their view of themselves changes,” she said. “It’s hard to measure, but it’s quite obvious when you see it. They talk more, they look you in the eye more.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By the second day of orientation, Courtney seemed more confident. During a group grocery-shopping trip, part of a lesson on meal-planning and preparation, she took charge, leading her team to the carrots and watermelons, and asking the questions that drove their decision-making — Small bag or large? One container or two?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The students rode the city bus to the store to learn how it works, and on the way home, the driver asked, “Are we having fun?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Yeah!” the students said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Got the bus system down?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“No!” replied Courtney, laughing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story about \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://hechingerreport.org/helping-students-with-intellectual-disabilities-conquer-college/\">\u003cem>intellectual disabilities\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> was produced by \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"http://hechingerreport.org/\">\u003cem>The Hechinger Report\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. Sign up for \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://hechingerreport.org/newsletters/\">\u003cem>Hechinger’s newsletter\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"floatright"},"numeric":["floatright"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}}],"link":"/mindshift/54652/helping-students-with-intellectual-disabilities-conquer-college","authors":["byline_mindshift_54652"],"categories":["mindshift_192"],"tags":["mindshift_21261","mindshift_20784","mindshift_1040","mindshift_20935","mindshift_163"],"featImg":"mindshift_54673","label":"mindshift"},"mindshift_43314":{"type":"posts","id":"mindshift_43314","meta":{"index":"posts_1591205157","site":"mindshift","id":"43314","score":null,"sort":[1452067863000]},"guestAuthors":[],"slug":"what-it-takes-to-be-a-special-education-teacher","title":"What It Takes To Be A Special Education Teacher","publishDate":1452067863,"format":"standard","headTitle":"MindShift | KQED News","labelTerm":{"site":"mindshift"},"content":"\u003cp>It's getting harder and harder to find quality special education teachers, which is why 49 out of 50 states report shortages.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Why? It's a tough sell.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even if you're up for the low pay and noisy classrooms, special education adds another challenge: \u003ca href=\"http://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2015/11/09/436588372/behind-the-shortage-of-special-ed-teachers-long-hours-crushing-paperwork\">crushing paperwork\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This is something I understand firsthand. You see, I was a special education teacher and I just couldn't hack it. Though I'm somewhat ashamed to admit it, I lasted only a year in the classroom.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I chose special education for what felt like the right reason. I wanted to help the students who struggle to learn. But I soon realized that was only a part of the job.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The paperwork, the meetings, the accountability. Eventually it got to me. I couldn't do it all and I got tired of showing up to a job I knew I couldn't do. It's that simple.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So as I've been looking into the teacher shortage it hasn't felt like a revelation that people are leaving the profession. I get it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But I have been curious about my friends and colleagues who have stayed. Especially one colleague in particular: Stephanie Johnson.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I know Stephanie from my college days. We were in the same special education program at Brigham Young University three years ago. But as a mother of three returning to school in her 40s, Stephanie wasn't your typical student.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She's now going on her third year teaching eighth grade math and ninth grade English to students with a wide range of disabilities at Oak Canyon Junior High School in Lindon, Utah, which is about 40 miles south of Salt Lake City.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>'My Joy Is In The Classroom'\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I visited Stephanie's classroom during a math lesson. She was reviewing how to find the slope of a line, through word problems. You know, x-axis-y-axis-type stuff. The students copied some problems from the board and got to work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_43316\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-43316\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2016/01/specialedteacher3_slide-72eea018ce32aa643933ea6e276c26c4a7f7493b-e1452066572964.jpg\" alt=\"Johnson gives a brief review in front of the class before jumping in to help the students one on one.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Johnson gives a brief review in front of the class before jumping in to help the students one on one. \u003ccite>(Alex Hale/NPR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The class was surprisingly quiet and focused. If I had been teaching I might have leaned back, put my feet up on the desk and enjoyed the moment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But not Stephanie.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She weaved through the desks, kneeling beside each student and checking in. I could tell she was in her element.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I checked in with a few students too. Each one had the same responses to my questions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Do you like math?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>No.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Are you good at it?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>No\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>How are you doing in Mrs. Johnson's class?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Good. It makes sense when she explains it.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"My joy is in the classroom,\" Stephanie told me afterward. \"When they catch on to something and they have those 'aha' moments.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Those \"aha\" moments are no small feat. Each of Stephanie's students has some type of learning disability. Many have become accustomed to the feeling of being totally lost during their classes, especially math.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But there they were, scribbling away with that scrunched concentration on their faces. None of them looked lost.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This didn't surprise me. Back in college it was obvious that Stephanie would be a dynamic teacher.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For starters, she understood special education from a parent's perspective. One of her sons, Alec, was in special education classes from second through ninth grade. She knows the heartache and worry that come when a parent is told her child learns differently.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Now, as the teacher, I can say, 'I know exactly how you feel. I've been there and it's going to be OK,' \" Stephanie says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She was also a teaching assistant in a special education classroom at a middle school for five years. And on top of that she was an extremely driven student.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Because of all this, my classmates and I looked up to her. She was a kind of mentor to us. She helped us see the purpose in what we were preparing to do.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I was really clear on why I was there,\" Stephanie remembers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She pauses. \"I wish that was more clear now.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_43317\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-43317\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2016/01/specialedteacher1_slide-30b4f0ea78ce397b1789583e19b24ee021e28e98-e1452066657569.jpg\" alt=\"Johnson's room has no windows, and there's barely enough room for the desks. Yet she has somehow managed to make it feel homey.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Johnson's room has no windows, and there's barely enough room for the desks. Yet she has somehow managed to make it feel homey. \u003ccite>(Alex Hale/NPR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Not Enough Hours In The Week\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>From the outside, it looks like Stephanie has everything under control. But that's not how she feels.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I don't know how to describe it,\" she says. \"It's just so much work.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She's not talking about teaching or lesson planning or even working with disruptive students. She really likes those parts of the job.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"It's all the other compliance and laws and paperwork.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All of that stuff can be summed up with three letters: IEP, for Individualized Education Program. Each student in special education has one. It's required by law. And each IEP requires hours and hours of upkeep.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Forms need to be updated, data have to be tracked and there are additional meetings with parents and other staff. Multiply that by the 43 students Stephanie has, and there goes all of her free time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I stay at work hours typically every day,\" Stephanie said. What she doesn't finish, she takes home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2011, Donald Deshler, a professor of special education at the University of Kansas, set out to examine just how many hours all that paperwork consumes. He and a doctoral student \u003ca href=\"https://kuscholarworks.ku.edu/handle/1808/8165\">wanted to find out \u003c/a>what the typical special education teacher's workload looked like.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They decided to observe a few teachers during their workday. \"We followed them everywhere, except the bathroom,\" Deshler says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They then broke down the teacher's typical workday into four main categories with the percentage of time spent on each:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>Management, IEP paperwork and administrative responsibilities: 33 percent\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Collaboration, co-teaching, assisting other teachers and meetings: 27 percent\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Instruction, teaching students in their classroom: 27 percent\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Diagnostic, testing and data tracking: 13 percent\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>Of the 27 percent time spent teaching, only 21 percent was what Deshler considered \"specialized instruction,\" meaning the teachers were using methods that were evidence-based and focused on students' individual needs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Twenty-one percent of their time is spent teaching the best of what we know. That roughly translates into one day a week,\" Deshler explains. \"If we wonder why teachers are frustrated, this data sheds some light on it.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And that frustration leads good teachers like Stephanie to question whether they can stay in the profession. She admits she thinks about leaving all the time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Just because I'm exhausted,\" she says. \"But I'm changing kids' lives, I'm making a difference, so why would I want to walk away from that?\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Stephanie feels stuck. It's an extremely difficult decision for an extremely difficult job.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">Copyright 2016 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.\u003cimg src=\"http://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=It%27s+Not+Easy+Teaching+Special+Ed&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\" alt=\"\">\u003c/div>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\n","blocks":[],"excerpt":"Beyond the ability to educate students well, teaching special education requires a lot time for paperwork and administrative duties. ","status":"publish","parent":0,"modified":1452067863,"stats":{"hasAudio":false,"hasVideo":false,"hasChartOrMap":false,"iframeSrcs":[],"hasGoogleForm":false,"hasGallery":false,"hasHearkenModule":false,"hasPolis":false,"paragraphCount":50,"wordCount":1159},"headData":{"title":"What It Takes To Be A Special Education Teacher | KQED","description":"Beyond the ability to educate students well, teaching special education requires a lot time for paperwork and administrative duties. ","ogTitle":"","ogDescription":"","ogImgId":"","twTitle":"","twDescription":"","twImgId":""},"disqusIdentifier":"43314 http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/?p=43314","disqusUrl":"https://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2016/01/06/what-it-takes-to-be-a-special-education-teacher/","disqusTitle":"What It Takes To Be A Special Education Teacher","nprByline":"Lee Hale, \u003ca href=\"http://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2016/01/02/461590749/its-not-easy-teaching-special-ed\">NPR\u003c/a>","nprImageAgency":"Alex Hale for NPR","nprStoryId":"461590749","nprApiLink":"http://api.npr.org/query?id=461590749&apiKey=MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004","nprHtmlLink":"http://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2016/01/02/461590749/its-not-easy-teaching-special-ed?ft=nprml&f=461590749","nprRetrievedStory":"1","nprPubDate":"Mon, 04 Jan 2016 13:53:00 -0500","nprStoryDate":"Sat, 02 Jan 2016 07:54:00 -0500","nprLastModifiedDate":"Mon, 04 Jan 2016 13:53:56 -0500","nprAudio":"http://pd.npr.org/anon.npr-mp3/npr/wesat/2016/01/20160102_wesat_its_not_easy_teaching_special_ed.mp3?orgId=1&topicId=1013&d=344&p=7&story=461590749&t=progseg&e=461753999&seg=7&ft=nprml&f=461590749","nprAudioM3u":"http://api.npr.org/m3u/1461754128-2a04ea.m3u?orgId=1&topicId=1013&d=344&p=7&story=461590749&t=progseg&e=461753999&seg=7&ft=nprml&f=461590749","path":"/mindshift/43314/what-it-takes-to-be-a-special-education-teacher","audioUrl":"http://pd.npr.org/anon.npr-mp3/npr/wesat/2016/01/20160102_wesat_its_not_easy_teaching_special_ed.mp3?orgId=1&topicId=1013&d=344&p=7&story=461590749&t=progseg&e=461753999&seg=7&ft=nprml&f=461590749","audioTrackLength":null,"parsedContent":[{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>It's getting harder and harder to find quality special education teachers, which is why 49 out of 50 states report shortages.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Why? It's a tough sell.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even if you're up for the low pay and noisy classrooms, special education adds another challenge: \u003ca href=\"http://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2015/11/09/436588372/behind-the-shortage-of-special-ed-teachers-long-hours-crushing-paperwork\">crushing paperwork\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This is something I understand firsthand. You see, I was a special education teacher and I just couldn't hack it. Though I'm somewhat ashamed to admit it, I lasted only a year in the classroom.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I chose special education for what felt like the right reason. I wanted to help the students who struggle to learn. But I soon realized that was only a part of the job.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"fullwidth"},"numeric":["fullwidth"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The paperwork, the meetings, the accountability. Eventually it got to me. I couldn't do it all and I got tired of showing up to a job I knew I couldn't do. It's that simple.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So as I've been looking into the teacher shortage it hasn't felt like a revelation that people are leaving the profession. I get it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But I have been curious about my friends and colleagues who have stayed. Especially one colleague in particular: Stephanie Johnson.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I know Stephanie from my college days. We were in the same special education program at Brigham Young University three years ago. But as a mother of three returning to school in her 40s, Stephanie wasn't your typical student.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She's now going on her third year teaching eighth grade math and ninth grade English to students with a wide range of disabilities at Oak Canyon Junior High School in Lindon, Utah, which is about 40 miles south of Salt Lake City.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>'My Joy Is In The Classroom'\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I visited Stephanie's classroom during a math lesson. She was reviewing how to find the slope of a line, through word problems. You know, x-axis-y-axis-type stuff. The students copied some problems from the board and got to work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_43316\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-43316\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2016/01/specialedteacher3_slide-72eea018ce32aa643933ea6e276c26c4a7f7493b-e1452066572964.jpg\" alt=\"Johnson gives a brief review in front of the class before jumping in to help the students one on one.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Johnson gives a brief review in front of the class before jumping in to help the students one on one. \u003ccite>(Alex Hale/NPR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The class was surprisingly quiet and focused. If I had been teaching I might have leaned back, put my feet up on the desk and enjoyed the moment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But not Stephanie.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She weaved through the desks, kneeling beside each student and checking in. I could tell she was in her element.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I checked in with a few students too. Each one had the same responses to my questions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Do you like math?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>No.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Are you good at it?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>No\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>How are you doing in Mrs. Johnson's class?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Good. It makes sense when she explains it.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"My joy is in the classroom,\" Stephanie told me afterward. \"When they catch on to something and they have those 'aha' moments.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Those \"aha\" moments are no small feat. Each of Stephanie's students has some type of learning disability. Many have become accustomed to the feeling of being totally lost during their classes, especially math.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But there they were, scribbling away with that scrunched concentration on their faces. None of them looked lost.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This didn't surprise me. Back in college it was obvious that Stephanie would be a dynamic teacher.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For starters, she understood special education from a parent's perspective. One of her sons, Alec, was in special education classes from second through ninth grade. She knows the heartache and worry that come when a parent is told her child learns differently.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Now, as the teacher, I can say, 'I know exactly how you feel. I've been there and it's going to be OK,' \" Stephanie says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She was also a teaching assistant in a special education classroom at a middle school for five years. And on top of that she was an extremely driven student.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Because of all this, my classmates and I looked up to her. She was a kind of mentor to us. She helped us see the purpose in what we were preparing to do.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I was really clear on why I was there,\" Stephanie remembers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She pauses. \"I wish that was more clear now.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_43317\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-43317\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2016/01/specialedteacher1_slide-30b4f0ea78ce397b1789583e19b24ee021e28e98-e1452066657569.jpg\" alt=\"Johnson's room has no windows, and there's barely enough room for the desks. Yet she has somehow managed to make it feel homey.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Johnson's room has no windows, and there's barely enough room for the desks. Yet she has somehow managed to make it feel homey. \u003ccite>(Alex Hale/NPR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Not Enough Hours In The Week\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>From the outside, it looks like Stephanie has everything under control. But that's not how she feels.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I don't know how to describe it,\" she says. \"It's just so much work.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She's not talking about teaching or lesson planning or even working with disruptive students. She really likes those parts of the job.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"It's all the other compliance and laws and paperwork.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All of that stuff can be summed up with three letters: IEP, for Individualized Education Program. Each student in special education has one. It's required by law. And each IEP requires hours and hours of upkeep.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Forms need to be updated, data have to be tracked and there are additional meetings with parents and other staff. Multiply that by the 43 students Stephanie has, and there goes all of her free time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I stay at work hours typically every day,\" Stephanie said. What she doesn't finish, she takes home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2011, Donald Deshler, a professor of special education at the University of Kansas, set out to examine just how many hours all that paperwork consumes. He and a doctoral student \u003ca href=\"https://kuscholarworks.ku.edu/handle/1808/8165\">wanted to find out \u003c/a>what the typical special education teacher's workload looked like.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They decided to observe a few teachers during their workday. \"We followed them everywhere, except the bathroom,\" Deshler says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They then broke down the teacher's typical workday into four main categories with the percentage of time spent on each:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>Management, IEP paperwork and administrative responsibilities: 33 percent\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Collaboration, co-teaching, assisting other teachers and meetings: 27 percent\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Instruction, teaching students in their classroom: 27 percent\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Diagnostic, testing and data tracking: 13 percent\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>Of the 27 percent time spent teaching, only 21 percent was what Deshler considered \"specialized instruction,\" meaning the teachers were using methods that were evidence-based and focused on students' individual needs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Twenty-one percent of their time is spent teaching the best of what we know. That roughly translates into one day a week,\" Deshler explains. \"If we wonder why teachers are frustrated, this data sheds some light on it.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And that frustration leads good teachers like Stephanie to question whether they can stay in the profession. She admits she thinks about leaving all the time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Just because I'm exhausted,\" she says. \"But I'm changing kids' lives, I'm making a difference, so why would I want to walk away from that?\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Stephanie feels stuck. It's an extremely difficult decision for an extremely difficult job.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">Copyright 2016 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.\u003cimg src=\"http://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=It%27s+Not+Easy+Teaching+Special+Ed&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\" alt=\"\">\u003c/div>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"floatright"},"numeric":["floatright"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}}],"link":"/mindshift/43314/what-it-takes-to-be-a-special-education-teacher","authors":["byline_mindshift_43314"],"categories":["mindshift_192"],"tags":["mindshift_20784","mindshift_1040","mindshift_20935","mindshift_20934"],"featImg":"mindshift_43315","label":"mindshift"},"mindshift_41997":{"type":"posts","id":"mindshift_41997","meta":{"index":"posts_1591205157","site":"mindshift","id":"41997","score":null,"sort":[1446189640000]},"guestAuthors":[],"slug":"who-helps-kids-with-dyslexia-gain-reading-fluency","title":"Who Helps Kids With Dyslexia Gain Reading Fluency?","publishDate":1446189640,"format":"standard","headTitle":"MindShift | KQED News","labelTerm":{"site":"mindshift"},"content":"\u003cp>When Martha Youman was starting out as a second-grade teacher, every Friday she would stay late after school to make what she called “seat work” for her 30 students— packets to help differentiate instruction for the three levels of learners in her classroom.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p2\">“My high-level [students] would get lots of reading passages with reading comprehension questions,” she said. “My medium level would get the same thing, but shorter. And my students at the low level would get things like coloring pages, connect the dots — just things to keep them busy so they wouldn’t act out.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p2\">She said that some students at the lowest learning level couldn’t even write the alphabet yet, so she’d even put kindergarten-style trace-the-letter pages into their seat work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p2\">While the “seat work” kept behavior in check, it was failing as a teaching strategy. Youman, who had been a New York City Teaching Fellow, said she knew that some of these kids were struggling to read, but also knew from class interactions that they were smart. “I kept them busy. Truly, there were interventions they needed, I just didn’t know how to help them,” she said. “I had a master's in teaching, and didn’t know how to deal with these students.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p2\">Youman now understands that some of her struggling second-graders were most likely dyslexic, with neurobiologically different brains that often fail to read words and sentences without direct, specific intervention.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p2\">“I received zero dyslexia training in grad school,” she said. “I received one class in how to teach reading, one in how to teach language arts, how to teach science, how to teach math. But these classes focused more on lesson planning and strategies at a class level. We did not talk at all about kids who can’t catch up, ever. The word dyslexia was never even mentioned.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p2\">After a few years in what felt like “the front lines of a war zone,” she went back to school to pursue a Ph.D. in school psychology, figuring she’d become the expert the struggling kids needed to intervene on their behalf.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p2\">It was only after she took a doctorate-level class called “High-Incidence Disabilities” with \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2015/10/08/why-recognizing-dyslexia-in-children-at-school-can-be-difficult/\">Dr. Nancy Mather\u003c/a> at the University of Arizona did the lightbulb switch on. She learned that reading disabilities affect anywhere from 5 percent to 20 percent of students. Youman recalled discussing dyslexia in the class and feeling perplexed. “I stopped and said, 'Wait, this happens a lot? Then why don’t we know about it?' ”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p2\">The 7- and 8-year-olds who couldn’t even write the alphabet, she discovered, might have been helped if someone had stepped in to find out \u003ci>why\u003c/i>—was it a deficiency with roots in the child’s environment, or lack of phoneme awareness? Or a comprehension deficiency, or some combination of any or all of them? Youman quickly decided that this is where she could be useful -- to go inside schools and help find the kids who were struggling, figure out what was happening and try to intervene.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p2\">Armed with a Ph.D. in school psychology and currently diagnosing disabilities at a middle school in the Jefferson Elementary School District in Daly City (near San Francisco), Youman now understands more clearly why she didn’t know then how to help her struggling students: First, she was never trained how to specifically help students become better readers; and second, there are multiple bureaucratic barriers standing in the way of students getting help. For example, until very recently, California law provided 13 disability categories that could qualify students for services through an Individualized Education Program (IEP), but dyslexia wasn’t one of them.*\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p2\">“When I’m testing a child to decide if they need special education services, I have to say that they have a Specified Learning Disorder, or SLD,” she said, noting that dyslexia is one of the categories buried under the umbrella term SLD. “But that can be confusing for parents if psychologists in one state say your kid has dyslexia. If they were to move to another state and say, 'We were told our child has dyslexia,' their new school might say, ‘Dyslexia isn’t a thing here.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p1\">That’s recently changed, aided in part by advocacy work Youman herself has done to get a new bill passed that addresses dyslexia in schools directly. On October 8, the California state legislature enacted \u003ca href=\"http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201520160AB1369\">Assembly Bill 1369\u003c/a>, which will require schools to assess young readers for dyslexia specifically. The new law, which will make allowances for school psychologists to diagnose a “phonological processing deficit” also known as dyslexia, may seem like a small change, but Youman said its impact on how children can get intervention will be huge.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p1\">“With this change, we can actually tell parents and teachers that a child being evaluated has dyslexia,” said Youman. “And we can recommend specific interventions that help at home and in the classroom. Hooray! This change seems very minor, but it is really huge.” Although Youman said that no direct changes have come to schools yet, at least they are on their way. And she’s hoping that just being able to say the word dyslexia will open the doors to more and better changes, including more sophisticated in-school tutoring and teacher training on how to recognize and teach to dyslexics.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p1\">Assembly Bill 1369 has helped to clarify the overall SLD category, which Youman described as “messy.\" Much of the time, she is forced to rely on her clinical judgement to decide who gets an IEP.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p1\">In addition, Youman said that whether or not IEPs actually help depends upon the individual school’s resources, because teachers and paraprofessionals need to be trained on what exercises to do to help students diagnosed with dyslexia, and the best results come from individual instruction. She admitted that in many cases, IEPs don’t really work and many families must rely on private tutors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p2\">Youman wishes that dyslexia intervention had the outcomes of speech and language therapy, a school-rendered intervention she said actually works. “For speech and language therapy, the student sees a trained person. What they do is targeted, one-on-one or two-on-one, and they do a really good job targeting the specific areas of weakness.” But with dyslexia (or SLD), at her school, students are pulled out in groups of 10 to get help with their homework, and that’s the whole of the intervention. And Youman, now an expert in dyslexia, said it’s not enough.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p2\">\u003cstrong>Where is the Training?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p2\">In a recent New York Times op-ed titled “\u003ca href=\"http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/08/opinion/teachers-arent-dumb.html?_r=0\">Teachers Aren’t Dumb,”\u003c/a> cognitive psychologist Daniel T. Willingham at the University of Virginia wrote that many teachers don’t know the basic concepts of reading -- ones agreed upon by the \u003ca href=\"https://www.nichd.nih.gov/research/supported/Pages/nrp.aspx\">National Reading Panel\u003c/a>. He cited one study of undergraduates preparing to be teachers, “fresh from their coursework in reading instruction,” in which 42 percent couldn’t correctly define the term “phonological awareness,” the first of the \u003ca href=\"http://www.readinghorizons.com/reading-strategies/teaching/\">five pillars of reading\u003c/a>. In Willingham's estimation, American schools of education are dropping the ball when it comes to preparing teachers how to teach.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p2\">Laurie Cutting, professor of special education and faculty director of the \u003ca href=\"http://vkc.mc.vanderbilt.edu/vkc/services/disabilityservices/reading_clinic/\">Vanderbilt Kennedy Center Reading Clinic\u003c/a>, called the lack of American teacher training in reading “a disgrace,” considering she has yet to meet a teacher who doesn’t want to do right by her students. Yet misinformation abounds. She said teachers who don't know how to teach reading make a logical, if flawed, observation about it, based on classroom experience: 50 percent of any group of kids are going to “magically” learn how to read. Teachers then may assume that the second half will also magically learn how to read, given enough time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p2\">Cutting said that’s not the case. That second half will struggle and need some direct instruction; within that group, a portion will need a whole lot of direct instruction (perhaps even intervention). The half (maybe a little more in affluent schools) that learns to read as if it were natural can subtly influence how teachers think of reading -- which may lead teachers to lean on more holistic views of language, focusing more on enriching vocabularies and exposure to literature instead of phonics.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p2\">But the 50 percent who need direct instruction need first to learn how to \u003ca href=\"http://www.readinghorizons.com/reading-strategies/decoding/what-is\">decode\u003c/a>, or be able to match the sounds of letters to print letters in order to form words. Teaching the whole class the basics of decoding will not damage the students who are already reading (Cutting said some research suggests that it might actually make their reading stronger). But direct instruction on exactly how to teach phonemic awareness and decoding to that other 50 percent may be getting short shrift in education schools (think of Martha Youman, with her master's in teaching, but no idea how to help struggling readers). Dr. Louisa Moats, vice president of the International Dyslexia Association, has called this gap between what the scientific community knows about reading and what teachers learn the \u003ca href=\"http://www.childrenofthecode.org/interviews/moats.htm\">“Knowledge Gulf.”\u003c/a> She travels widely, offering whole-school interventions in reading training.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p2\">“It really is a disgrace,” Cutting said, “because we know how to do it [teach decoding]. We have these tools, and we know how to teach this part of reading. The other parts are not as easily addressed, like fluency, but we know how to teach kids how to decode.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p2\">Cutting said approximately 1-2 percent of kids will always struggle, but that leaves 48 percent -- nearly all of that second half of the classroom -- who would be greatly helped with direct instruction correctly administered.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p2\">Enriching students and exposing them to literature is a necessary part of learning to read, but only one leg of the \u003ca href=\"http://psychology.uiowa.edu/maclab/research/reading\">triangle model\u003c/a> of reading. Cutting explained that in order for reading fluency to happen, students must have strong connections in all three pieces: a semantic representation, or knowing what the word means; an orthographic representation, knowing what the word looks like; and a phonological representation, knowing what the word sounds like.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p2\">For many dyslexics, at least one piece of this triangle isn’t represented, sometimes two. But, as Maryanne Wolf wrote in \"Proust in the Squid,\" the most common deficit among children who can't read is phoneme awareness: the ability to see letters and sound them out efficiently to form words.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p2\">\u003cstrong>What Individualized Instruction Looks Like\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p2\">Since each human brain must learn to \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2015/10/01/understanding-dyslexia-and-the-reading-brain-in-kids/\">read on its own\u003c/a>, Cutting, along with Brooke Soden, associate director at the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center Reading Clinic, understand that deficiencies and weaknesses are individual, and often must be addressed on a case-by-case basis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p2\">That’s how the clinic tackles reading disabilities: one child at a time. Soden coordinates and manages the clinic, overseeing one-on-one tutoring as well as providing community training to teachers on how to teach reading. Often children arriving at the clinic are the hardest ones to work with, after their parents and teachers have tried everything else, so Soden assesses students to tease out what’s really going on and where their weaknesses are, then works with tutors on individual plans of action for each child. In most cases, the tutoring involves systematic, direct instruction, much of which is a version of the Orton-Gillingham method created to teach dyslexics to read nearly 100 years ago.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p2\">Developmental pediatrician Sheryl Rimrodt, who works with Cutting and Soden in helping to diagnose children with both behavioral and reading disabilities, said that since dyslexia doesn’t have any biomarkers to distinguish it, diagnoses are made up of descriptions of what they see happening, blended with the child’s history.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p2\">Often, reading problems go hand-in-hand with attention and impulsivity issues like ADHD (Cutting suggested that current research may find a link between the two, having to do with executive function), which creates yet another challenge: Is the child acting out because they can’t read? Or, is it the other way around?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p2\">If sorting out the diagnosis and treatment of dyslexia weren’t complicated enough, the Vanderbilt researchers mention the most crucial piece for schools and clinics alike: deciding who is going to get special intervention services. The Reading Clinic costs money, even though scholarships are available to the financially needy. And IEPs in schools also cost money; it costs money to train teachers and bring on extra staff to do the crucial one-on-one work necessary to improve dyslexia.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p2\">“You have a finite amount of money, and a bunch of kids. The kids who are going to get the services are most likely the ones who are the most severe, or have the most advocates,” Cutting said. “It’s sort of a fundamental fact of life. It’s too bad that we are not able to capture kids early enough to do some remediation so that they don’t have as many word-level problems. It’s too bad that teachers many times aren’t trained in a way that allows those kids to work through their weaknesses, to sound out their words. Because that would benefit all of the kids.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p2\">\u003cem>*Note: An earlier version of this post misidentified \"Individualized Education Program\" as \"Individualized Education Plan.\" It also misidentified Youman's school district as the San Francisco Unified School District. We regret these errors. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n","blocks":[],"excerpt":"Educating kids with dyslexia can be a major challenge for teachers, especially when training specific to dyslexia might be overlooked in teacher training programs. ","status":"publish","parent":0,"modified":1447264038,"stats":{"hasAudio":false,"hasVideo":false,"hasChartOrMap":false,"iframeSrcs":[],"hasGoogleForm":false,"hasGallery":false,"hasHearkenModule":false,"hasPolis":false,"paragraphCount":3,"wordCount":2345},"headData":{"title":"Who Helps Kids With Dyslexia Gain Reading Fluency? | KQED","description":"Educating kids with dyslexia can be a major challenge for teachers, especially when training specific to dyslexia might be overlooked in teacher training programs. ","ogTitle":"","ogDescription":"","ogImgId":"","twTitle":"","twDescription":"","twImgId":""},"disqusIdentifier":"41997 http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/?p=41997","disqusUrl":"https://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2015/10/30/who-helps-kids-with-dyslexia-gain-reading-fluency/","disqusTitle":"Who Helps Kids With Dyslexia Gain Reading Fluency?","path":"/mindshift/41997/who-helps-kids-with-dyslexia-gain-reading-fluency","audioTrackLength":null,"parsedContent":[{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>When Martha Youman was starting out as a second-grade teacher, every Friday she would stay late after school to make what she called “seat work” for her 30 students— packets to help differentiate instruction for the three levels of learners in her classroom.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p2\">“My high-level [students] would get lots of reading passages with reading comprehension questions,” she said. “My medium level would get the same thing, but shorter. And my students at the low level would get things like coloring pages, connect the dots — just things to keep them busy so they wouldn’t act out.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p2\">She said that some students at the lowest learning level couldn’t even write the alphabet yet, so she’d even put kindergarten-style trace-the-letter pages into their seat work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p2\">While the “seat work” kept behavior in check, it was failing as a teaching strategy. Youman, who had been a New York City Teaching Fellow, said she knew that some of these kids were struggling to read, but also knew from class interactions that they were smart. “I kept them busy. Truly, there were interventions they needed, I just didn’t know how to help them,” she said. “I had a master's in teaching, and didn’t know how to deal with these students.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p2\">Youman now understands that some of her struggling second-graders were most likely dyslexic, with neurobiologically different brains that often fail to read words and sentences without direct, specific intervention.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"fullwidth"},"numeric":["fullwidth"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p2\">“I received zero dyslexia training in grad school,” she said. “I received one class in how to teach reading, one in how to teach language arts, how to teach science, how to teach math. But these classes focused more on lesson planning and strategies at a class level. We did not talk at all about kids who can’t catch up, ever. The word dyslexia was never even mentioned.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p2\">After a few years in what felt like “the front lines of a war zone,” she went back to school to pursue a Ph.D. in school psychology, figuring she’d become the expert the struggling kids needed to intervene on their behalf.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p2\">It was only after she took a doctorate-level class called “High-Incidence Disabilities” with \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2015/10/08/why-recognizing-dyslexia-in-children-at-school-can-be-difficult/\">Dr. Nancy Mather\u003c/a> at the University of Arizona did the lightbulb switch on. She learned that reading disabilities affect anywhere from 5 percent to 20 percent of students. Youman recalled discussing dyslexia in the class and feeling perplexed. “I stopped and said, 'Wait, this happens a lot? Then why don’t we know about it?' ”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p2\">The 7- and 8-year-olds who couldn’t even write the alphabet, she discovered, might have been helped if someone had stepped in to find out \u003ci>why\u003c/i>—was it a deficiency with roots in the child’s environment, or lack of phoneme awareness? Or a comprehension deficiency, or some combination of any or all of them? Youman quickly decided that this is where she could be useful -- to go inside schools and help find the kids who were struggling, figure out what was happening and try to intervene.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p2\">Armed with a Ph.D. in school psychology and currently diagnosing disabilities at a middle school in the Jefferson Elementary School District in Daly City (near San Francisco), Youman now understands more clearly why she didn’t know then how to help her struggling students: First, she was never trained how to specifically help students become better readers; and second, there are multiple bureaucratic barriers standing in the way of students getting help. For example, until very recently, California law provided 13 disability categories that could qualify students for services through an Individualized Education Program (IEP), but dyslexia wasn’t one of them.*\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p2\">“When I’m testing a child to decide if they need special education services, I have to say that they have a Specified Learning Disorder, or SLD,” she said, noting that dyslexia is one of the categories buried under the umbrella term SLD. “But that can be confusing for parents if psychologists in one state say your kid has dyslexia. If they were to move to another state and say, 'We were told our child has dyslexia,' their new school might say, ‘Dyslexia isn’t a thing here.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p1\">That’s recently changed, aided in part by advocacy work Youman herself has done to get a new bill passed that addresses dyslexia in schools directly. On October 8, the California state legislature enacted \u003ca href=\"http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201520160AB1369\">Assembly Bill 1369\u003c/a>, which will require schools to assess young readers for dyslexia specifically. The new law, which will make allowances for school psychologists to diagnose a “phonological processing deficit” also known as dyslexia, may seem like a small change, but Youman said its impact on how children can get intervention will be huge.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p1\">“With this change, we can actually tell parents and teachers that a child being evaluated has dyslexia,” said Youman. “And we can recommend specific interventions that help at home and in the classroom. Hooray! This change seems very minor, but it is really huge.” Although Youman said that no direct changes have come to schools yet, at least they are on their way. And she’s hoping that just being able to say the word dyslexia will open the doors to more and better changes, including more sophisticated in-school tutoring and teacher training on how to recognize and teach to dyslexics.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p1\">Assembly Bill 1369 has helped to clarify the overall SLD category, which Youman described as “messy.\" Much of the time, she is forced to rely on her clinical judgement to decide who gets an IEP.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p1\">In addition, Youman said that whether or not IEPs actually help depends upon the individual school’s resources, because teachers and paraprofessionals need to be trained on what exercises to do to help students diagnosed with dyslexia, and the best results come from individual instruction. She admitted that in many cases, IEPs don’t really work and many families must rely on private tutors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p2\">Youman wishes that dyslexia intervention had the outcomes of speech and language therapy, a school-rendered intervention she said actually works. “For speech and language therapy, the student sees a trained person. What they do is targeted, one-on-one or two-on-one, and they do a really good job targeting the specific areas of weakness.” But with dyslexia (or SLD), at her school, students are pulled out in groups of 10 to get help with their homework, and that’s the whole of the intervention. And Youman, now an expert in dyslexia, said it’s not enough.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p2\">\u003cstrong>Where is the Training?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p2\">In a recent New York Times op-ed titled “\u003ca href=\"http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/08/opinion/teachers-arent-dumb.html?_r=0\">Teachers Aren’t Dumb,”\u003c/a> cognitive psychologist Daniel T. Willingham at the University of Virginia wrote that many teachers don’t know the basic concepts of reading -- ones agreed upon by the \u003ca href=\"https://www.nichd.nih.gov/research/supported/Pages/nrp.aspx\">National Reading Panel\u003c/a>. He cited one study of undergraduates preparing to be teachers, “fresh from their coursework in reading instruction,” in which 42 percent couldn’t correctly define the term “phonological awareness,” the first of the \u003ca href=\"http://www.readinghorizons.com/reading-strategies/teaching/\">five pillars of reading\u003c/a>. In Willingham's estimation, American schools of education are dropping the ball when it comes to preparing teachers how to teach.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p2\">Laurie Cutting, professor of special education and faculty director of the \u003ca href=\"http://vkc.mc.vanderbilt.edu/vkc/services/disabilityservices/reading_clinic/\">Vanderbilt Kennedy Center Reading Clinic\u003c/a>, called the lack of American teacher training in reading “a disgrace,” considering she has yet to meet a teacher who doesn’t want to do right by her students. Yet misinformation abounds. She said teachers who don't know how to teach reading make a logical, if flawed, observation about it, based on classroom experience: 50 percent of any group of kids are going to “magically” learn how to read. Teachers then may assume that the second half will also magically learn how to read, given enough time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p2\">Cutting said that’s not the case. That second half will struggle and need some direct instruction; within that group, a portion will need a whole lot of direct instruction (perhaps even intervention). The half (maybe a little more in affluent schools) that learns to read as if it were natural can subtly influence how teachers think of reading -- which may lead teachers to lean on more holistic views of language, focusing more on enriching vocabularies and exposure to literature instead of phonics.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p2\">But the 50 percent who need direct instruction need first to learn how to \u003ca href=\"http://www.readinghorizons.com/reading-strategies/decoding/what-is\">decode\u003c/a>, or be able to match the sounds of letters to print letters in order to form words. Teaching the whole class the basics of decoding will not damage the students who are already reading (Cutting said some research suggests that it might actually make their reading stronger). But direct instruction on exactly how to teach phonemic awareness and decoding to that other 50 percent may be getting short shrift in education schools (think of Martha Youman, with her master's in teaching, but no idea how to help struggling readers). Dr. Louisa Moats, vice president of the International Dyslexia Association, has called this gap between what the scientific community knows about reading and what teachers learn the \u003ca href=\"http://www.childrenofthecode.org/interviews/moats.htm\">“Knowledge Gulf.”\u003c/a> She travels widely, offering whole-school interventions in reading training.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p2\">“It really is a disgrace,” Cutting said, “because we know how to do it [teach decoding]. We have these tools, and we know how to teach this part of reading. The other parts are not as easily addressed, like fluency, but we know how to teach kids how to decode.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p2\">Cutting said approximately 1-2 percent of kids will always struggle, but that leaves 48 percent -- nearly all of that second half of the classroom -- who would be greatly helped with direct instruction correctly administered.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p2\">Enriching students and exposing them to literature is a necessary part of learning to read, but only one leg of the \u003ca href=\"http://psychology.uiowa.edu/maclab/research/reading\">triangle model\u003c/a> of reading. Cutting explained that in order for reading fluency to happen, students must have strong connections in all three pieces: a semantic representation, or knowing what the word means; an orthographic representation, knowing what the word looks like; and a phonological representation, knowing what the word sounds like.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p2\">For many dyslexics, at least one piece of this triangle isn’t represented, sometimes two. But, as Maryanne Wolf wrote in \"Proust in the Squid,\" the most common deficit among children who can't read is phoneme awareness: the ability to see letters and sound them out efficiently to form words.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p2\">\u003cstrong>What Individualized Instruction Looks Like\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p2\">Since each human brain must learn to \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2015/10/01/understanding-dyslexia-and-the-reading-brain-in-kids/\">read on its own\u003c/a>, Cutting, along with Brooke Soden, associate director at the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center Reading Clinic, understand that deficiencies and weaknesses are individual, and often must be addressed on a case-by-case basis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p2\">That’s how the clinic tackles reading disabilities: one child at a time. Soden coordinates and manages the clinic, overseeing one-on-one tutoring as well as providing community training to teachers on how to teach reading. Often children arriving at the clinic are the hardest ones to work with, after their parents and teachers have tried everything else, so Soden assesses students to tease out what’s really going on and where their weaknesses are, then works with tutors on individual plans of action for each child. In most cases, the tutoring involves systematic, direct instruction, much of which is a version of the Orton-Gillingham method created to teach dyslexics to read nearly 100 years ago.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p2\">Developmental pediatrician Sheryl Rimrodt, who works with Cutting and Soden in helping to diagnose children with both behavioral and reading disabilities, said that since dyslexia doesn’t have any biomarkers to distinguish it, diagnoses are made up of descriptions of what they see happening, blended with the child’s history.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p2\">Often, reading problems go hand-in-hand with attention and impulsivity issues like ADHD (Cutting suggested that current research may find a link between the two, having to do with executive function), which creates yet another challenge: Is the child acting out because they can’t read? Or, is it the other way around?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p2\">If sorting out the diagnosis and treatment of dyslexia weren’t complicated enough, the Vanderbilt researchers mention the most crucial piece for schools and clinics alike: deciding who is going to get special intervention services. The Reading Clinic costs money, even though scholarships are available to the financially needy. And IEPs in schools also cost money; it costs money to train teachers and bring on extra staff to do the crucial one-on-one work necessary to improve dyslexia.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p2\">“You have a finite amount of money, and a bunch of kids. The kids who are going to get the services are most likely the ones who are the most severe, or have the most advocates,” Cutting said. “It’s sort of a fundamental fact of life. It’s too bad that we are not able to capture kids early enough to do some remediation so that they don’t have as many word-level problems. It’s too bad that teachers many times aren’t trained in a way that allows those kids to work through their weaknesses, to sound out their words. Because that would benefit all of the kids.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"floatright"},"numeric":["floatright"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p2\">\u003cem>*Note: An earlier version of this post misidentified \"Individualized Education Program\" as \"Individualized Education Plan.\" It also misidentified Youman's school district as the San Francisco Unified School District. We regret these errors. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}}],"link":"/mindshift/41997/who-helps-kids-with-dyslexia-gain-reading-fluency","authors":["4445"],"categories":["mindshift_192"],"tags":["mindshift_160","mindshift_20784","mindshift_1040","mindshift_20935","mindshift_163"],"featImg":"mindshift_42617","label":"mindshift"}},"programsReducer":{"possible":{"id":"possible","title":"Possible","info":"Possible is hosted by entrepreneur Reid Hoffman and writer Aria Finger. Together in Possible, Hoffman and Finger lead enlightening discussions about building a brighter collective future. The show features interviews with visionary guests like Trevor Noah, Sam Altman and Janette Sadik-Khan. Possible paints an optimistic portrait of the world we can create through science, policy, business, art and our shared humanity. It asks: What if everything goes right for once? How can we get there? Each episode also includes a short fiction story generated by advanced AI GPT-4, serving as a thought-provoking springboard to speculate how humanity could leverage technology for good.","airtime":"SUN 2pm","imageSrc":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Possible-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg","officialWebsiteLink":"https://www.possible.fm/","meta":{"site":"news","source":"Possible"},"link":"/radio/program/possible","subscribe":{"apple":"https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/possible/id1677184070","spotify":"https://open.spotify.com/show/730YpdUSNlMyPQwNnyjp4k"}},"1a":{"id":"1a","title":"1A","info":"1A is home to the national conversation. 1A brings on great guests and frames the best debate in ways that make you think, share and engage.","airtime":"MON-THU 11pm-12am","imageSrc":"https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/1a.jpg","officialWebsiteLink":"https://the1a.org/","meta":{"site":"news","source":"npr"},"link":"/radio/program/1a","subscribe":{"npr":"https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/RBrW","apple":"https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=1188724250&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory","tuneIn":"https://tunein.com/radio/1A-p947376/","rss":"https://feeds.npr.org/510316/podcast.xml"}},"all-things-considered":{"id":"all-things-considered","title":"All Things Considered","info":"Every weekday, \u003cem>All Things Considered\u003c/em> hosts Robert Siegel, Audie Cornish, Ari Shapiro, and Kelly McEvers present the program's trademark mix of news, interviews, commentaries, reviews, and offbeat features. 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But is this once sleepy suburb ready for them?","imageSrc":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/American-Suburb-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg","officialWebsiteLink":"/news/series/american-suburb-podcast","meta":{"site":"news","source":"kqed","order":"13"},"link":"/news/series/american-suburb-podcast/","subscribe":{"npr":"https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/RBrW","apple":"https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?mt=2&id=1287748328","tuneIn":"https://tunein.com/radio/American-Suburb-p1086805/","rss":"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/series/american-suburb-podcast/feed/podcast","google":"https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkMzMDExODgxNjA5"}},"baycurious":{"id":"baycurious","title":"Bay Curious","tagline":"Exploring the Bay Area, one question at a time","info":"KQED’s new podcast, Bay Curious, gets to the bottom of the mysteries — both profound and peculiar — that give the Bay Area its unique identity. And we’ll do it with your help! You ask the questions. You decide what Bay Curious investigates. And you join us on the journey to find the answers.","imageSrc":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Bay-Curious-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg","imageAlt":"\"KQED Bay Curious","officialWebsiteLink":"/news/series/baycurious","meta":{"site":"news","source":"kqed","order":"4"},"link":"/podcasts/baycurious","subscribe":{"apple":"https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bay-curious/id1172473406","npr":"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/500557090/bay-curious","rss":"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/category/bay-curious-podcast/feed/podcast","google":"https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93dzIua3FlZC5vcmcvbmV3cy9jYXRlZ29yeS9iYXktY3VyaW91cy1wb2RjYXN0L2ZlZWQvcG9kY2FzdA","stitcher":"https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/bay-curious","spotify":"https://open.spotify.com/show/6O76IdmhixfijmhTZLIJ8k"}},"bbc-world-service":{"id":"bbc-world-service","title":"BBC World Service","info":"The day's top stories from BBC News compiled twice daily in the week, once at weekends.","airtime":"MON-FRI 9pm-10pm, TUE-FRI 1am-2am","imageSrc":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/BBC-World-Service-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg","officialWebsiteLink":"https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/live:bbc_world_service","meta":{"site":"news","source":"BBC World Service"},"link":"/radio/program/bbc-world-service","subscribe":{"apple":"https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/global-news-podcast/id135067274?mt=2","tuneIn":"https://tunein.com/radio/BBC-World-Service-p455581/","rss":"https://podcasts.files.bbci.co.uk/p02nq0gn.rss"}},"code-switch-life-kit":{"id":"code-switch-life-kit","title":"Code Switch / Life Kit","info":"\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em>, which listeners will hear in the first part of the hour, has fearless and much-needed conversations about race. Hosted by journalists of color, the show tackles the subject of race head-on, exploring how it impacts every part of society — from politics and pop culture to history, sports and more.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em>, which will be in the second part of the hour, guides you through spaces and feelings no one prepares you for — from finances to mental health, from workplace microaggressions to imposter syndrome, from relationships to parenting. The show features experts with real world experience and shares their knowledge. Because everyone needs a little help being human.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510312/codeswitch\">\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/lifekit\">\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />","airtime":"SUN 9pm-10pm","imageSrc":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Code-Switch-Life-Kit-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg","meta":{"site":"radio","source":"npr"},"link":"/radio/program/code-switch-life-kit","subscribe":{"apple":"https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/1112190608?mt=2&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory","google":"https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubnByLm9yZy9yc3MvcG9kY2FzdC5waHA_aWQ9NTEwMzEy","spotify":"https://open.spotify.com/show/3bExJ9JQpkwNhoHvaIIuyV","rss":"https://feeds.npr.org/510312/podcast.xml"}},"commonwealth-club":{"id":"commonwealth-club","title":"Commonwealth Club of California Podcast","info":"The Commonwealth Club of California is the nation's oldest and largest public affairs forum. As a non-partisan forum, The Club brings to the public airwaves diverse viewpoints on important topics. The Club's weekly radio broadcast - the oldest in the U.S., dating back to 1924 - is carried across the nation on public radio stations and is now podcasting. Our website archive features audio of our recent programs, as well as selected speeches from our long and distinguished history. This podcast feed is usually updated twice a week and is always un-edited.","airtime":"THU 10pm, FRI 1am","imageSrc":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Commonwealth-Club-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg","officialWebsiteLink":"https://www.commonwealthclub.org/podcasts","meta":{"site":"news","source":"Commonwealth Club of California"},"link":"/radio/program/commonwealth-club","subscribe":{"apple":"https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/commonwealth-club-of-california-podcast/id976334034?mt=2","google":"https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5jb21tb253ZWFsdGhjbHViLm9yZy9hdWRpby9wb2RjYXN0L3dlZWtseS54bWw","tuneIn":"https://tunein.com/radio/Commonwealth-Club-of-California-p1060/"}},"considerthis":{"id":"considerthis","title":"Consider This","tagline":"Make sense of the day","info":"Make sense of the day. Every weekday afternoon, Consider This helps you consider the major stories of the day in less than 15 minutes, featuring the reporting and storytelling resources of NPR. Plus, KQED’s Bianca Taylor brings you the local KQED news you need to know.","imageSrc":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Consider-This-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg","imageAlt":"Consider This from NPR and KQED","officialWebsiteLink":"/podcasts/considerthis","meta":{"site":"news","source":"kqed","order":"7"},"link":"/podcasts/considerthis","subscribe":{"apple":"https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1503226625?mt=2&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory","npr":"https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/coronavirusdaily","google":"https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5ucHIub3JnLzUxMDM1NS9wb2RjYXN0LnhtbA","spotify":"https://open.spotify.com/show/3Z6JdCS2d0eFEpXHKI6WqH"}},"forum":{"id":"forum","title":"Forum","tagline":"The conversation starts here","info":"KQED’s live call-in program discussing local, state, national and international issues, as well as in-depth interviews.","airtime":"MON-FRI 9am-11am, 10pm-11pm","imageSrc":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Forum-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg","imageAlt":"KQED Forum with Mina Kim and Alexis Madrigal","officialWebsiteLink":"/forum","meta":{"site":"news","source":"kqed","order":"8"},"link":"/forum","subscribe":{"apple":"https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/kqeds-forum/id73329719","google":"https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM5NTU3MzgxNjMz","npr":"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/432307980/forum","stitcher":"https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqedfm-kqeds-forum-podcast","rss":"https://feeds.megaphone.fm/KQINC9557381633"}},"freakonomics-radio":{"id":"freakonomics-radio","title":"Freakonomics Radio","info":"Freakonomics Radio is a one-hour award-winning podcast and public-radio project hosted by Stephen Dubner, with co-author Steve Levitt as a regular guest. It is produced in partnership with WNYC.","imageSrc":"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/05/freakonomicsRadio.png","officialWebsiteLink":"http://freakonomics.com/","airtime":"SUN 1am-2am, SAT 3pm-4pm","meta":{"site":"radio","source":"WNYC"},"link":"/radio/program/freakonomics-radio","subscribe":{"npr":"https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/4s8b","apple":"https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/freakonomics-radio/id354668519","tuneIn":"https://tunein.com/podcasts/WNYC-Podcasts/Freakonomics-Radio-p272293/","rss":"https://feeds.feedburner.com/freakonomicsradio"}},"fresh-air":{"id":"fresh-air","title":"Fresh Air","info":"Hosted by Terry Gross, \u003cem>Fresh Air from WHYY\u003c/em> is the Peabody Award-winning weekday magazine of contemporary arts and issues. One of public radio's most popular programs, Fresh Air features intimate conversations with today's biggest luminaries.","airtime":"MON-FRI 7pm-8pm","imageSrc":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Fresh-Air-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg","officialWebsiteLink":"https://www.npr.org/programs/fresh-air/","meta":{"site":"radio","source":"npr"},"link":"/radio/program/fresh-air","subscribe":{"npr":"https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/4s8b","apple":"https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=214089682&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory","tuneIn":"https://tunein.com/radio/Fresh-Air-p17/","rss":"https://feeds.npr.org/381444908/podcast.xml"}},"here-and-now":{"id":"here-and-now","title":"Here & Now","info":"A live production of NPR and WBUR Boston, in collaboration with stations across the country, Here & Now reflects the fluid world of news as it's happening in the middle of the day, with timely, in-depth news, interviews and conversation. 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