Chapter 3 - Low-Incidence Disabilities

I have only been teaching for a couple of years.  Previously, I worked as a K5 assistant.  In those seven years, I have seen several cases of low-incidence disabilities.  One of my first years in the school system, we had a student that had tramatic brain injury due to being shaken as a baby.  Due to the violent shaking, his eye sight was very bad.  To accommodate him, we sat him in close proximity to the Promethean board and provided one-on-one help when possible.  He repeated K5 and began receiving some instruction from the resource teacher.  Another year, we had a student with an orthopedic impairment.  This little boy had a form of dwarfism.  His hand and fingers were not properly developed.  He also needed a lot of one-on-one assistance.  He had special writing utensils and scissors that he used.  Then last year, I had a student with a hearing impairement.  She wore a hearing aide and received instruction from the itenerant teacher.  To accomodate her, I sat her in close proximity to me and the board.  I put her in a position where her right ear (her better ear) was turned toward me.  Since she read lips, I tried to look directly at her when speaking to her.

After reading this chapter, I realize that there are many other things that we could have done for these students.  For example, for both the student with visual impairment and the student with hearing impairment, I should have paid more attention to the lighting in the classroom.  It is obvious that someone that has trouble seeing would need optimal light, but so does a person that depends on lip reading.  I also never really considered that the student with the hearing impairment might have trouble understanding videos and lessons on the Promethean board since it was more difficult  for her to read lips.

In the future, I will be more conscious of the lighting and noise distractions in the classroom.  I will also consider using an amplification system and other technology to assist learnings with hearing impairments.  If I teach an older grade, I will use close captioning with videos and more graphic organizers for instructional content.  I will also advocate for techology assistance when appropriate.  The student mentioned earlier that has the orthopedic disability was promised a "special" computer to help him with his work.  He was in our classroom for two years and we never received it.  He is no longer at our school.  I hope he is receiving the services that he needs at his new school.

Chapter 2 High-Incidence Disabilities

Of the high-incidence disabilities, the ones I have seen the most of in my classes are speech disorders and ADHD.  Since I teach 4K, most of my students have not been tested for disabilities.  However, the speech teacher does screen 4K students, and ADHD is fairly recognizable even if it has not been diagnosed.  In order to help my students with attention issues, I try to keep them on track by using routines and consistency from one day to the next.  For two of my students this year (that I suspect may have ADHD) I put a colored "x" on their spots on the carpet.  Therefore, when they leave their spot, I don't have to argue with them as to which spot is theirs.  I can simply say, you need to go back to your spot.  I also try to give these students verbal cues and frequent warnings when their behavior is becoming too distracting. Additionally,  I try to give them (and all my students) frequent breaks and opportunities to move around. 

I am afraid that I am not adequately accommodating students with speech disorders.  I really don't know how to help them.  I only have a couple of students that receive speech therapy, but I have a hard time understanding half of the kids in my class.  I know it is frustrating for some of them when they have to repeat things over and over.  At times, I just want to agree with what they are saying so they won't become embarrassed.

I need to research ways to better assist students with speech issues.  I will speak with our speech teacher and ask her for some specific things that I can do in the classroom to help them.  I also need to do a better job of helping students with ADHD or emotion/behavior disorders make friends.  I have one student that acts more like a two-year old than a four year-old.  (I suspect that she will eventually have a diagnosis).  She does not know how to play with the other children.  She hits and pushes the other kids, and pulls at their clothes.  The other kids think she is being mean, but I think she just doesn't know how to interact with other children.  I would like to find some ways to get her involved in their play.

Chapter 4 - Collaboration

Our school participates in TAP, which is a teacher incentive program.  One of the requirements of TAP is that members of each grade level meet together weekly for training and collaboration.  Since I am the only 4K teacher in the school, I meet with the 5K teachers.  Two of the special education teachers are also in our group.  This gives me the opportunity to speak with the “Smart Start” special education teacher about students in my class.  It also allows me to keep abreast of what the kindergarten teachers are working on with their classes.  I also collaborate with parents.  However, some parents are hesitant to recognize the difficulties their children are experiencing.

One thing that I struggle with is constructive criticism.  I am not good at giving it or receiving it.  I also need to work on my listening skills.  It is so easy to think about what you are going to say next instead of really listening to the thoughts and ideas of others.

One area that I would like to improve in is collaboration with other 4K teachers.  Since I am the only 4K teacher at either of my schools, I rarely communicate with other 4K teachers.  I need to make a point to contact other 4K teachers in my district to find out how they handle students with special needs and other classroom challenges.  I also need to do a better job of treating my assistant as a co-teacher and teaching my students to treat her as a teacher as well.

Chapter 1 - Response to Intervention

As a teacher of 4K, I have not been a part of the RTI process.  At our school, it typically starts at first grade although I believe some kindergarten teachers have used it from time to time.  Even though I have not been officially involved in RTI, I have used some of the primary prevention methods listed in the textbook.  In particular, I use small-group activities and learning centers every day in 4K.  My students rotate through centers on a weekly basis.  Each day a different group of four to five students come to my center for small group phonics instruction.  The next day they rotate to another center.  My assistant also has a center, and there are three other independent learning centers.

One strategy that I have not used a lot is peer tutoring.  Since my kids can’t read (or write well) it is difficult to implement peer tutoring.  Students do work together on projects in centers from time to time.

I have a couple of children that I am concerned about.    I have one child that functions more like a two-year old than a four-year old.  I have voiced my concerns to several school personnel but nothing has been done yet.  I have started paperwork for her.  She was recently approved to receive money from Social Security so I know there are some documented issues.  For one thing, she refuses to eat.  She only drinks Pedia Sure from a “Sippy” cup.  However, mom says her daughter doesn’t have a medical diagnosis.   I have another student that has not spoken all year, although his parents say he talks at home.  I feel that I need to do a better job of advocating for these students.