Summer 2009 Edition
Summer 2009 Edition
Name the Newsletter
Summer Activities
Dreams
IEP
Parent Mentors Take an Active Role
Transition
by Sue Beck
Welcome to In SINC, the second E-News Newsletter from the Ohio Coalition for the Education of Children with Disabilities!
The name for the e-Newsletter has been chosen! The office staff thought this was the best one submitted. The acronym -In SINC - stands for INformation about Special and Individual Needs of Children.
SUMMER
ACTIVITIES
(From our FUN Newsletter)
Garden Guests
Want a neat way to camouflage the drying foliage on daffodil
bulbs? Just make them into garden
critters. Do not trim the leaves
after the flower is done because the leaves feed the bulbs for next year’s show.
This FUN project helps hide
the browning leaves. After the
flower is done braid the leaves and fold down the top portion of the foliage and
use a rubber band to hold it in place.
This will form the head and neck.
Then glue on a hat and eyes with hot glue or waterproof household cement,
pipe cleaners around the neck hides the rubber bands and form collars, bows and
arms. For caterpillars add some
silly eyes and an antennae made from pipe cleaners.
Add a few miniature garden tools and the gardeners are ready to go to
work!
(Birds & Blooms Backyard Banter)
When you travel, play games that encourage kids to interact
and observe what they see out the windows.
Here are 5 activities that can be played either cooperatively or with a
touch of competition. Try them out,
and then create variations that suit your kids’ ages and interests.
Encourage your children to develop a “round robin” story,
where each person adds a few sentences based on something observed through the
window.
(www.highlights.com)
Research shows that too much TV watching can actually restrict your child’s
imaginative and cognitive abilities.
The answer, bring your child into the kitchen with you.
You have plenty of “ingredients for fun inside the cupboards and drawers.
One way is to pretend you are at your child’s favorite restaurant.
Outfit your child with an apron and help them set up a table and chairs
for their stuffed animals.
(www.babycenter.com)
DREAMS
by Pat Linkhorn
Parent and Advocate
A dream is not necessarily a "full-blown"
vision of what a parent wants for a child.
It may only be a tiny slice of their future life.
"A moment in time" -
For me, it was:
Krystal crossing the street in a big city
with her seeing eye dog. (alone)
Krystal listening to an audio tape
of a book I’ve read.
Kim at a school dance
with friends.
It is the professionals job to see beyond
the 9 month commitment they may have
with a particular child
and help the parent see how what
they’re doing at this point in time will
help to make that
dream a reality.
I wrote that for an overhead I used for a presentation several years ago. I happened to come across this overhead one day last week. As I read it, I realized that my dream for Kim to attend a school dance with friends had occurred not once, but many times during her "school career."
Now when she went to her first dance, I was a bit skeptical. But we had been working on building a circle of friends for her for several years. Camp Fire, Brownies, 4-H, etc. She had some pretty neat friends and a lot of kids who spoke to her whenever we were out in public. So I'd asked one of them to kind of watch her at the dance and help her with her money. Kim was a little timid about going into the dance, but when she saw her friends, she decided she'd stay. Her dad came home after dropping her off and we both acted as if it was the most natural thing in the world; neither of us voicing our concerns. We went to pick her up and all the kids and teachers told us what a good time she'd had and how well she'd behaved. It was a pretty big landmark for us.
Even though we realized we'd accomplished something, we didn’t place too much importance to it. When I read what I'd written though, it brought back all the memories of how she'd been when I'd written it. At that time I really thought it would be one of those events that would never occur, but I'd still had a vision of it happening. I'm sure many of her former teachers never thought it would happen either.
Kim is autistic. She used to run out into the road chasing butterflies, eat glass, bang her head on the wall, and hide under tables when things got too hectic. I used to have to use the mixer and vacuum when she was asleep. Fire drills would send her up the wall literally, and she never used to play with kids, just beside them. She had some pretty severe behaviors. The thought of her actually being away from me and with other kids, at a place like a dance, for any period of time was unthinkable. But I did have that vision, although it seemed pretty unrealistic when I wrote it.
Kim is twenty-three years old now and I’ve been working on what she might be able to do as an adult. We haven't found the right job for her yet, but she's not much different than a typical kid who is just now getting out of college. She has time and I know the perfect job will come along.
I want her to be independent, have a job and live a full life. To be honest though, I have these horrible visions of where she may end up living and what she may end up having to do when I’m gone. I talk about her future, but do I think she'll be able to have a good one? Well, now that I’ve seen my dream about the dance come true, I can finally move on to my next dream and be able to really believe that it will come true.
Krystal, who is twenty-one now, has also fulfilled some of the things I wrote about her in my dream statement. She regularly listens to the same audio books I've listened to. She even has her own Audible membership and can download her own choices to her iPod. She doesn't have a seeing-eye dog yet, but we're still working on that one!
If I hadn’t written my dreams down, I still wouldn’t be able to fully believe in my next dream. We tend to forget how far our children have come because its such a slow process and perhaps its sometimes too painful to remember the past and all its painful memories. I don’t usually like going back there and remembering all those things. This time was different though. I was able to see how far they have come and believe me, that was a good feeling. Remember to celebrate your children’s successes and dream some impossible dreams. Write them down somewhere and read them every so often. And aim high, because it’s not impossible.Do you have a story about your child that you would like to share? If you do and would like to see it in a future edition of OCECD E-News, email it to ocecdpl@windstream.net
Parent Mentors of Ohio have taken an active role in the
state education budget for 2009 through 2011.
Fearing the loss of the parent mentor state budget
line item funding, mentors were encouraged by Margaret Burley and Parent Mentor
council members to have conversations with legislators making budget decisions.
Parents were also asked to contact their legislators with support for the Parent
Mentor Program.
Members of the Parent Mentor Council, Cheri McCullough,
Council Chair, Cathy Douglas, Council Co-Chair, and Tami Vandygriff , Past
Council Chair, were invited by Representative Steven Dyer to attend the rally
for the House’s Education Reform.
Along with Lauri Kaplan, OSSB Parent Mentor, mentors
met and spoke with Governor Strickland and U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown. The
t-shirt wearing trio were a visual reminder to all that spoke that day, which
included United States Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, Ohio State
Superintendent, Deb Delisle, and notable others.
Pictured are mentors with Governor Strickland, US Senator,
Sherrod Brown sharing his insights, and US Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan.
IEP
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In case you haven't heard, there are new IEP forms out there. The Ohio Department of Education, Office for Exceptional Children (ODE/OEC) has revised the individualized education program (IEP) form to align with the revised federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and state law. The new revised IEP is a mandatory form and must be used by all school districts in the state of Ohio beginning with the 2009-2010 school year. Schools had the option to use the new form this spring, so some of you may have already seen it. If your school district used the old form, it will still be valid for next year unless you need to revise an IEP that has been written on the old form during the coming school year. The new IEP form can be filled out by hand or electronically, using a computer. It is what is called a dynamic file when used on the computer. This simply means that it has the ability to change its format based on the information that is entered. It is NOT to be confused with, or compared to a program that automatically enters goals that have already been written. All the information entered is individual for that child. One example of this would be in the parent/guardian section. The computer form has the option to add another parent name and information, which is useful when divorced parents share custody. Another example of what this electronic file does is that as each section of the IEP is completed, the form will automatically place a check mark in the IEP form status section. This feature allows supervisors, administrators and parents the ability to easily see and identify the additional issues that need to be completed to have a finished IEP. Future planning is on the second page. This is an opportunity for the parent and the child to provide a statement about what they would like to see happen in the coming school year and (when applicable) plans for the child's life after graduation. For younger children, the emphasis will be on the education component. For older children, the emphasis will be on postsecondary education goals and outcomes.
The transition component of the IEP isn't new, but the placement and emphasis have changed. There is a place to enter a statement of transition service needs for children 14 years of age (or younger if appropriate) that focuses on the child's courses of study. If a vocational school or tech center is part of a child's future plans, then the course of study would reflect this. The section for children 16 years of age is optional for those children who are younger than 16, but is required if a child will turn 16 before the next IEP review. This whole transition section is easier to see and understand in the new form. The great part about it is that these goals will be fresh in your mind as you continue on to write measurable annual goals. The entire set-up of the measurable goals page is much easier to read and understand. Present levels, annual goals, methods for measuring progress, benchmarks and the method for reporting to parents are all clearly identified. The annual goal page can display objectives or benchmarks.
The IEP team must determine whether the annual goal will be measured with benchmarks or objectives, and this will be clearly listed. There is also a page that lists the descriptions of specially designed services such as specially designed instruction, related services, assistive technology, accommodations, modifications, support for school personnel and services to support medical needs. Once again, this dynamic form has the ability to add as many related services, accommodations, etc. as are necessary. The goal addressed, the name of the provider, the location of services, as well as the beginning and ending dates, the amount of time and the frequency are all in one place in an easy to understand format. Transportation as a related service is also a more visible section in this new form. There is a box to check that says the bus driver will be notified of the child's behavioral and/or medical concerns, as well as several other choices. Typically, bus drivers have often been left out of the loop, and many may not know that some of their passengers have special needs. Nonacademic and extra curricular activities are also addressed prominently in this new form. There is much more to be said for this new form. On the whole, it is a more understandable document. As the title of this article suggests, we haven't taught it new tricks; we've just improved on the old ones. You can download the new IEP form from a link on the following page of the ODE/OEC website: Copy and paste in your browser if it doesn't work by clicking on it.
TRAINING OVERVIEW
What can you expect to learn at an OCECD training? Let’s take a look
at one of the trainings we offer. Is Your Child a Target of Bullying
Participants will gain an understanding of the different types of
bullying, symptoms that children display when they are being bullied
and the characteristics of a bully.
Anti-bullying programs that are available to
assist parents and schools will be presented, as well as, how
parents can work with schools to create a safer environment and work
with their children to teach them what to do if they are bullied.
POSTSECONDARY TRANSITION
by Sue Beck, Coordinator, Southwest Quadrant Ohio Secondary Transition Improvement Grant, Miami Valley Regional Center The Operating Standards for Ohio Educational Agencies Serving Children with Disabilities defines Transition as: “…a coordinated set of activities for a child
with a disability designed with a results-oriented process, that is
focused on improving the academic and functional achievement of the
child with a disability to facilitate the child’s movement from
school to post-school activities………based on the child’s needs,
taking into account the child’s strengths, preferences, and
interests; In Begin by thinking about what your child’s future life might be like: What will he do to support himself? What education/training beyond high school might she need? Where will she live? What will he need to know and be able to do to achieve these things? At first, this plan will likely be broad based and general, but as your child nears age 14 it should become more career focused and specific. By age 14 your son or daughter must be invited to meetings (IEP or a separate meeting) where transition will be discussed. At this time, transition plans will first be formally documented. These plans will be more meaningful when planning for the future has been discussed and documented each year in the Future Planning step. Basically, transition planning for age 14 is
planning for your son or daughter’s high school experience.
Depending on what he or she intends to do immediately after
high school, certain courses might be required.
Or he or she may be interested in attending a Career
Technical Education school (JVS or Postsecondary goals are to be based on age-appropriate transition assessment. Transition assessment is an ongoing process that makes use of formal and informal assessment and information, from a variety of sources as the basis for determining a good fit for the student with his or her future plans and the kinds of transition services and supports necessary. For example, if a student intends to go to college after high school, he or she will need the academic skills (e.g. reading and math levels) to mange grade level and higher material. In this case, age appropriate transition assessment will include the information the IEP team already has (present levels of performance). Or a student may be interested in attending a welding program as a junior at the career center. Then age appropriate transition assessment will likely include a formal Career Assessment. By age 16, the transition component of the IEP must include measurable post-secondary goals for employment, education/training and, when appropriate, independent living. “Measurable” as applied to post-secondary goals is in a different sense than when applied to annual IEP goals. “Measurable” in the context of annual IEP goals means the amount of progress made over the course of a year. For post-secondary goals, “measurable” means that the goal is stated in a way that can be counted as occurring or not occurring. Postsecondary goals differ in another important way – they describe outcomes that will take place after the student has completed K – 12 education. For example: Possible
postsecondary education/training goals:
Possible
postsecondary employment goals:
Possible
Independent Living* goals:
*special note about Independent Living – Independent Living is an area that can include skills across a wide spectrum of needs and abilities. Students with less complex disabilities may be independent in self care and daily living skills but need support for skills such as budgeting and money management, decision making, social skills, self-advocacy, etc. For more information about secondary transition, contact John Magee at the Ohio Department of Education, Office for Exceptional Children, (614) 728-1115 or contact the Secondary Transition Specialist at your regional State Support Team.
Q & A
QUESTION: I heard from a special education teacher that the
State of Ohio has created a new IEP form that special ed teachers
need to use now. Is this true and what is different about it? Thank
you.
The Ohio Department of Education, Office for Exceptional Children (ODE/OEC) has revised the individualized education program (IEP) form to align with with the revised federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and state law. The new revised IEP is a mandatory form and must be used by all school districts in the state of Ohio beginning with the 2009-2010 school year. Schools had the option to use the new form this spring, so some of you may have already seen it. If your school district used the old form, it will still be valid for next year unless you need to revise an IEP that has been written on the old form during the coming school year. The article on the new IEP form in this issue should answer your question about the differences.
Submit a question for our next issue of In SINC E-News.
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