Special Education Law

Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to attend a Related-Services Academy offered by my employer (Shelby County Schools) that was led by Dr. Wendy Ashcroft, at Christian Brothers University here in Memphis. Our group of therapists was given a thorough review of the Individuals with Disabilities Act, as well as some great information on Applied Behavior Analysis and evidence-based practice for serving children with Autism. It was such a great experience, I've decided to share some of the information with you!

Review of Sped Law:
-In 1975, Congress passed the Education for All Handicapped Children Act 
-In 1990, this act was amended to become the Individuals with Disabilities Act (I.D.E.A.)
-The most recent amendments to I.D.E.A. were signed into law by President Clinton in 1997 and President Bush in 2004. 
-Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvements Act provisions took effect on July 1, 2005.

There are Six Major Principles to the Special Education Law in the United States:
1) Zero Reject - the right of every child to be included in a free appropriate publicly-supported education system.
2) Non-Discriminatory Evaluation- the child's right to be fairly evaluated so correct educational programs and placement can be achieved.
3) Individualized Educational Program- the child's right to have a meaningful education
4) Least Restrictive Environment- the child's right to associate with nondisabled students to the maximum extent appropriate to his or her needs.
5) Due Process- the child's right to challenge any aspect of the educational program.
6) Parent Participation- the child's right to have the family involved in decisions about his or her educational program.

Photo credit: Stuart Miles @ freedigitalphotos.net


Notes from Related Service Academy, Christian Brothers University, Facilitator: Dr. Wendy Ashcroft, June 2011.

Great Resource on Visual Deficits

Dr. Mitchell Sheiman has written a wonderful book titled Understanding and Managing Vision Deficits: A Guide for Occupational Therapists. In this book, he explains how problems with vision play a role in the practice of occupational therapy and how OT’s and optometrists can collaborate to understand and manage visual disorders. This is a wonderful resource for occupational therapists that includes intervention recommendations for specific vision problems such as visual field deficits and visual neglect. There is also a section that explains vision therapy, which Sheiman defines as “an organized therapeutic regimen utilized to treat a number of neuromuscular, neurophysiological, and neurosensory conditions that interfere with visual function.” (p. 171). For more information on vision therapy, contact the American Optometric Association @ http://www.aoa.org/x5411.xml.

 Scheiman, M. (2011). Understanding and Managing Vision Deficits: A Guide for Occupational Therapists. Slack, NJ.

Practical Suggestions to Address Visual Challenges

•   Use a colored highlighter to highlight writing lines, or every other line to be read.
•   Use commercially available raised-lined paper that bumps when the pencil crosses over it. 
•    Teach letters by having the child write in sand, shaving cream, or on paper laid over sand paper or other bumpy surfaces.
•    Use graph paper for spacing issues. Instruct the child to place letters or numbers in each box and the child can leave empty boxes for spaces.
•    Use a ruler or folded piece of paper as a guide to expose the line being read or written on to help focus on one line at a time.
•    Place work on a slanted surface such as a 3-inch binder turned sideways, or purchase a slant board. These can be visually helpful.

Visual Closure

Visual Closure is the ability to visually complete a picture or form that is not in full view. This skill is important for reading and recognizing words, forms, etc. in a speedy manner.

 

Visual-Closure Activities

-Complete pictures in which only parts of objects/shapes are revealed.

-“What is missing” worksheets

-Dot-to-dot activities

-Jigsaw puzzles

-Building three-dimensional models from cubes, cylinders, and blocks

-Connect broken lines to complete a shape or form.

-Partially cover an object or shapes and have the child identify it.

-Figure-ground activities also help with visual closure.

Reference: Test of Visual Perceptual Skills

Figure-Ground Discrimination

Figure-Ground discrimination is the ability to distinguish an object, shape, word, or letter from the background in which it is embedded. Problems with figure-ground perception may impact the ability to attend to individual letters and words presented on a page full of sentences and paragraphs.

Visual Figure Ground Activities

-Hidden picture, word and shape worksheets (Highlights magazine, Where's Waldo Books, Hidden Picture Books)

-Locating various shapes in a room (refrigerator is a rectangle)

-Tracing through mazes

-Locating specific letters/shapes on a page. (Circle all of the E’s)

-Draw shapes superimposed on top of each other and instruct the student to “trace the triangle”

-Tracing or coloring named objects or shapes in a picture or diagram.

-Jigsaw puzzles with detailed backgrounds.

-Write the alphabet or words inside the squares of graph paper.

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Reference: Test of Visual Perceptual Skills

Visual-Sequential Memory

Visual Sequential-Memory is the ability to remember and reproduce a sequence of words, symbols or sentences in the correct order. This skill is critical when learning to read and spell, and it also affects copying from the blackboard.

 

Visual Sequential-Memory Activities

-Make several worksheets with visual forms/numbers, words, or letters in a particular sequence (O S T C X) and let the child study the sheet. Have the child recreate the sequence. Gradually increase the number of items/forms

-Take blocks of various colors/sizes and put them in a specific order. Let the child study the pattern and then mix them up and have the child recreate the sequence.

-Do the same as above, but use various objects (pen, pencil, paperclip, etc.)

-Flash card sequencing games (found at school supply stores)

-Stringing sequences of beads of different colors and shapes after looking at an example then having the example removed.

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Reference: Test of Visual Perceptual Skills

Visual Form-Constancy

Visual Form-Constancy is the ability to recognize, name, match, and remember objects or symbols by their details and characteristics. This is also the ability to recognize that a basic shape or form is the same no matter what size, configuration, color, or dimension that it is. Children with problems differentiating form-constancy typically have difficulty with academic learning because words, numbers, or symbols presented in one context may not be recognized when presented in a different manner.

Visual Form Constancy Activities

-Cut out various sizes and colors of shapes. Hold up one and have the child point to the ones that are the same

-Have the child locate a variety of geometrical shapes in a room (clock is a circle)

-Practice sorting, naming, and classifying various shapes and objects

-Moving into and out of named shapes drawn on the ground with sidewalk chalk

-Recognizing, matching, naming various shapes, objects with the vision occluded

-Identifying shapes, letters, or pictures, drawn on the back with a finger

-Recognizing shapes and forms in pictures (magazines, books)

-Filling in or coloring shapes/forms

-Copying shapes or forms using pegboard, parquetry, or block designs.

-Making shapes with toothpicks, straws, pipe cleaners

Reference: Test of Visual Perceptual Skills