SPECIAL EDUCATION SUPPORT SERVICES

Struggling Student

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Is your child struggling in school?… Are you are unsure how to navigate the school system to find support and help?

It is strongly advised that parents make every effort to work collaboratively with the school. The most effective progression occurs when all parties are working together for the benefit of the child. Children are typically aware when educators and parents are working together or when there is dissent. By echoing the same messages across settings and using similar strategies toward the goal, the increased probability for progress. If your child is struggling, I would suggest the following steps….

Step 1:

Contact the teacher and request a conference to discuss your concerns. Together, review relevant work samples and standardized test scores to try to identify the specific skills that are underdeveloped. Discuss possible general education strategies that can be implemented within the general education setting and within the home. Check in periodically with one another to assess progress.

Step 2:

If Step 1 did not help to resolve the issue and your child is continuing to struggle, ask the teacher if it is time to elevate the issue to the Response to Intervention (RTI) Committee. It is called by different names in different states (Intervention and Referral Services Committee, Problem Solving Team, etc).

*Purpose- The RTI process is utilized to identify at-risk students and establish interventions to support their needs. At-risk students may be students who are struggling academically, socially, behaviorally, or emotionally.

*Committee- The RTI Committee meets on struggling students. The Committee is typically made up of an administrator, a specialist, special education teacher, a general education teacher, and other appropriate personnel.

*SMART goals should be set for the struggling student with specific timelines for each intervention

  • SMART Goals should be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Timely. Below are some examples:

-Student A is in the 6th grade. He is struggling with math facts fluency with multiplication. Data shows that he scored a 2/50 for a timed task of 3 minutes. SMART Goal- Student A will improve math fact fluency in multiplication from 2/50 for a timed task of 3 minutes to 30/50 by the end of February as evidenced by pre-data and post- data from Fast Facts sheets.

-Student B is in the 4th grade. He is struggling with reading comprehension. Data shows that he scored below the 10th percentile on the MAZE in January. SMART Goal- Student B will improve reading comprehension from below the 10th percentile to above the 10th percentile by May as evidenced by pre-data and post- data from MAZE scores.

– Student C is in the 1st grade and is noncompliant with task demands. Data was collected to show that she is noncompliant approximately 40% of the day. SMART Goal- Student C will be compliant approximately 80% of the school day by November as evidenced by behavior data.

Interventions Versus Accommodations/Modifications:
–Interventions- Teaches a skill or builds fluency in a skill. Examples: mini-lessons on skill-deficits, targeted instruction, additional instruction
–Accommodations/Modifications- Changes in the environment of services provided and/or changes in what is expected from the student. Examples: Preferential Seating, Modified Homework, Breaking Tasks down into Smaller Units, Checking for Understanding, Copy of Notes.

Step 3:

If you have been involved with the Response to Intervention Committee and your child has not met their SMART goals, it may be time to discuss the possibility of a disability and the need for Tier 4 Special Education consideration.

Understanding the Special Education Referral Process

  • A Parent is invited to a referral meeting to discuss concerns along with the teacher, the School Psychologist, and other key personnel involved with the student (i.e. Reading Specialist, Math Interventionist, School Counselor, Nurse, Diagnostician/Learning Consultant, Social Worker, Speech and Language Therapist, Occupational Therapist, and Physical Therapist). It varies state to state and case by case
  • The team discusses different domains and identifies if there is a need for testing:
    • Academic Skills and Deficits in Reading, Written Expression, Math, and Oral Expression
    • Functional Performance- self-care skills, self-help skills, life skills, and performance in the classroom, etc
    • Cognitive Functioning- ability level
    • Communication Status-
      • Expressive Language- can they express their thoughts, wants, and needs
      • Receptive Language- can they follow stories and understand language?
    • Health- developmental history or any current or past health issues
    • Hearing or Vision issues that may affect classroom performance
    • Motor Skills-
      • Fine Motor- i.e. writing, zippering, buttoning, coloring, cutting.
      • Gross Motor- i.e. running, jumping, skipping
    • Social/ Emotional/ Behavioral-
      • Social- how does the child relate to other children and adults?
      • Emotional- can the child handle frustration? can the child regulate emotions?
      • Behavioral- are they displaying maladaptive behaviors to express their frustration or lack of skills?

Questions that are considered when discussing special education eligibility:

  • Does the child meet state eligibility as having a disability? You can google your state and special education disabilities. It will typically give you an outline of the various eligibility categories.
  • Is the child’s performance discrepant from peers?
    • i.e. if your child’s cognitive abilities are within the Superior Range but they are performing within the Average Range (90-110) academically, they are performing on level with their peers
  • Does the child require specialized instruction beyond what can be provided in general education with tiered interventions?
    • i.e. the goal is to keep children in general education so that they are exposed to higher level discussions of the content with their peers. If interventions can be implemented within that setting, that should be the proposed action.
  • Other considerations:
    • Is the lack of progress due to lack of instruction or exposure?
      • i.e. students who have a lot of absences, missed school in the past, bouncing from one school to another
    • Is the lack of progress due to limited English proficiency?
    • Is the child performing commensurate with their cognitive abilities?
      • i.e. if your child’s cognitive abilities are within the Very Low Range (70s) and their academic skills are within the Very Low Range (70s), he/she would not be identified as having a Specific Learning Disability as the child is performing commensurate with his/her cognitive abilities. 

What is a Specific Learning Disability?

A child may have one or more Specific Learning Disabilities in one or more of the following areas:

  • Basic Reading Skills
  • Reading Comprehension
  • Reading Fluency
  • Math Calculation Skills
  • Math Reasoning/Math Problem Solving
  • Written Expression
  • Oral Expression
  • Listening Comprehension

If your child does not qualify as having a DISABILITY, the school will be able to use the information from the recently completed evaluations to strengthen the interventions at the Tier 3 level.

If your child does qualify as having a DISABILITY, the school will discuss an Individualized Education Plan (public schools) or an Individualized Service Plan (nonpublic schools). The team will identify modifications and accommodations, goals and objectives, and specialized instruction supports based on the individual student’s needs. That plan is a guideline for the educators to use in the school setting. Every year, the team then reconvenes to discuss progress and supports to assess if changes need to be made. Every three years, the child is reevaluated to determine if he or she continues to qualify as having a disability and to revise the supports needed for progression.

There is a misconception that a struggling student needs an IEP. Not only is this stated by parents but it is echoed by teachers as well. Therefore, clarity is needed to explain that just because a student is having difficulty does not mean they are disabled. Special education refers to disabled students.

SPECIAL EDUCATION IS NOT THE SAME AS EXTRA HELP!

The appropriate steps need to occur to provide different levels of support for struggling students. Just like with anything medical, you would not bypass the recommended steps to go to the more extreme. As a parallel example, if you had a splinter in your hand, you would not amputate your hand without first trying other methods to remove it first. Obviously this is a hyperbolic example but it helps to explain that you would follow a natural, methodical progress in problem solving. The same should be applied to struggling students. With a true RTI process, most children receive the supports needed within general education.

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