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bette/tx - i don;t tech special ed i have a special needs daughter
garf/sped/ga - What are her needs, if you don't mind me asking?
bette/tx - she has developmental delays and right now medical doctors aretesting and so is the school she is going into 5 grade next yr..
bette/tx - she has speech delays ..they were thinking PDD but she does not have all the systems...
bette/tx - we had genetic testing and they said genetic about 5 yrs ago
garf/sped/ga - Oh. I teach kids who have physical disabilities, i.e. cerebral palsy and visual impairments
bette/tx - garf she has no real pysical except some motor skill delays
garf/sped/ga - I had a couple of students a few years back who were blind and autistic
garf/sped/ga - motor skill delays seem to follow a lot of kids
bette/tx - garf how many students do you have?
garf/sped/ga - I have 8 students in grades K-6
bette/tx - garf all 8 at the same time?
garf/sped/ga - I am what you call an itinerant, I go from school to school
bette/tx - garf yes she did some pyhsical therepy at school and that helped
garf/sped/ga - no not all at the same time.
bette/tx - garf oh...and see the students in their home school
garf/sped/ga - I did have that many when I did resource, though
bette/tx - garf yes that is about the same in her resource class
garf/sped/ga - yes, at their home school
ldbdblues - having trouble handling 18 ld/bd students in cabrini green, chicago
rainbow - I know the feeling ldbdblues....I have 23 ld students
rainbow - anyone teach middle school???
Garf/sped/GA - I have one in middle school
rainbow - I have 45 in middle school....with the help of another LD teacher
ldbdblues - does anyone have access to iowa basics sample tests???
rainbow - sorry, ldbdblues.....don't have it
Garf/sped/GA - 45 LD kids are you inclusion
Garf/sped/GA - sure dont
Garf/sped/GA - just finished with Iowas and stanford 9, will do criterion tests in couple of weeks
rainbow - we have 8 inclusion students, the rest we see at least 90 minutes daily, some 180 minutes daily, the inclusion ones 45 minutes daily
Garf/sped/GA - wow, I have 8 students at 4 different schools and people think I have it rough-- I disagree
rainbow - can you believe that I actually have reg ed teachers tell me how easy I have it???
Garf/sped/GA - yes. because often they think we have it so easy
ldbdblues - F-c- the teachers that say that, they don't realize that ten of thier students equals one of ours!!!
rainbow - so true, ldbd.....
ldbdblues - what really upsets me is that my aid is constantly being pulled out to cover other classesand I need her, even though she plays around with the students too much!!!!
Garf/sped/GA - I have some totally awful reg ed teachers this year
rainbow - Be thankful for the aide, I have never had one....
Garf/sped/GA - I dont mean bad teachers, I mean teachers who have no idea how hard we work and tell ME what to do
rainbow - Yes, I think we can all relate to that scenario Garf....gets a little old, doesn't it?
Garf/sped/GA - very much so.
Garf/sped/GA - This year, I have spent so much time and money on my students and my kids are mild
rainbow - How long has everyone been teaching sp ed? I have 22 years in LD class...I am a dinosaur!
Garf/sped/GA - I am so used to more involved kids, and I would get more appreciation
Garf/sped/GA - This is my 3rd year in K-12, I taught early childhood for awhile
rainbow - I hope you like the sp ed, we desperately need good people in our field. I feel like sp ed teachers have to fight the same stigma that our students do....and that is HORRIBLE
Garf/sped/GA - I love sped
Garf/sped/GA - I did sped in early childhood too, I also did severely handicapped for a year too
rainbow - Well, obviously , so do I ! ha...after 22 years I better love it...
Garf/sped/GA - I have some horrible parents this year though
rainbow - I have had some experience with developmentally handicapped, but not too much. I had 4 dh students last year
rainbow - What is the deal with the parents??
Garf/sped/GA - All of my students have physical disabilities
Garf/sped/GA - one wants me out, and that parent is trying to rile others with her
rainbow - that is terrible....did she disagree with something you said or did
Garf/sped/GA - putting it mildly
Garf/sped/GA - actually she is driving me to quit
rainbow - what happened
Garf/sped/GA - well she wanted me to do somethign that a previous teacher did, but I wont do because it is against my certification, she just does not like it that I try to make her daughter independent
rainbow - oh, how sad. I have one parent that is the same way...she actually enables her child to remain needy and dependent....
rainbow - I think she wants to be able to go around telling everyone about her ld son....she seems to thrive on it....won't listen when I tell her he is ready to leave the unit for more classes...insist I keep him in my classes
Garf/sped/GA - it is not my problem. Frankly I would like to move on, but my boss keeps telling how it will be better next year
rainbow - Will this student be at another school next year or will you have them again
Garf/sped/GA - I will have this student through graduation
rainbow - Yikes!
Garf/sped/GA - I am the only teacher for physical disabilities in my system
rainbow - I only have my students for 3 years, then they move on to the high school
Garf/sped/GA - My mom had one student for 18 years
rainbow - What types of physical disabilities do you deal with
rainbow - I can't imagine that
Garf/sped/GA - Cerebral Palsy and I have two students with visual impairments
Garf/sped/GA - She had this one little girl who she had as an infant all the way til high school graduation
rainbow - Our CP kids go to a "multihandicapped" unit at another school..
Garf/sped/GA - she was blind and at that time kids were not fully included, my mom used to be the only teacher of the visually impaired for 60 miles
rainbow - gee, I bet your mom felt like she had raised her!
rainbow - hello special K
Garf/sped/GA - NO WAY!! I could not imagine kids with CP being in a separate unit.
Special K/sped/PA - Hi, I just got here
Garf/sped/GA - she did in many ways. She is 22 now.
rainbow - yeah, I know....I have one with mild CP in my room...the rest go to another school
Garf/sped/GA - special K where in PA are you from?
rainbow - jump right in special K....what do you teach?
Garf/sped/GA - is that the severely involved?
Special K/sped/PA - I 'm from rural NW PA
Garf/sped/GA - define mild CP?
Garf/sped/GA - cool, I grew up in Pittsburgh
Special K/sped/PA - I have Learning Support 7-12
rainbow - has no real noticable signs of CP....
Garf/sped/GA - oh very mild, I have one of those.
Garf/sped/GA - my students range in no noticeable signs to most involved student who can only vocalize a few sounds and uses a walker( the one with a difficult parent)
Special K/sped/PA - I use to have a multi-handicapped class like that
rainbow - Do you have them included in general curriculum classes when possible garf and special K
Special K/sped/PA - I like being able to "teach" better, I was always so frustrated just doing PT
Garf/sped/GA - all of my students are fully included. I am what you call an itinerant.
rainbow - describe your duties garf
Garf/sped/GA - PT???Are you saying you did physical therapy?
Special K/sped/PA - My higher level students are in some reg. ed. classes. I do the replacement classes for the lower students.
rainbow - sounds like my program special K
Special K/sped/PA - Yeah, Physical Therapy. We were given prescriptions from a doctor and instructed on how to do it.
Garf/sped/GA - Well, I work with my students on their IEP goals and objectives, assistive technology, adaptations, modifications, collaborations( the ones who want to do that-- I have some who want me to do my stuff and they do their stuff and that is collobaration), I have some students I work on positioning goals along with the OT and PT supervising it
Garf/sped/GA - Special K-- did you go to Penn State?
Garf/sped/GA - In my state that is illegal, unless the PT oversees it all times
Special K/sped/PA - I went to Edinboro.
Garf/sped/GA - we are NOT allowed to do PT, I have a parent on my caseload that wants that and I refuse to do it without a PT on staff.
rainbow - I do have some teachers willing to do some modifications and collaboration...but darn few
Garf/sped/GA - I had one tell me that she wanted to collobarate but she told me I do my reg ed stuff and you do your IEP stuff, that is not collaboration
Special K/sped/PA - We are small and rural, there is only 1 physical therapist for several different counties!
Garf/sped/GA - I understand that. That is still illegal. CEC is trying to deal with that.
Garf/sped/GA - We have problems like that down here.
Garf/sped/GA - We have a PT that comes by once each week.
Garf/sped/GA - Frankly I do not have the liability insurance that goes along with that, if something were to happen.
rainbow - Shaky ground, Garf....don't blame you for being careful...not worth a lawsuit
Garf/sped/GA - I have no problem putting a kid in a stander or anything like that, but I will NOT do specific stretches without a PT there.
Special K/sped/PA - The kids I work with now, don't need any PT, but a few of them could use OT but we don't have one.
Garf/sped/GA - you do not have an OT??
Garf/sped/GA - that is horrible. What kind of OT needs do they have?
Garf/sped/GA - I do a lot of OT things with my students.
Garf/sped/GA - But I always consult with the OT. But one of our OTs is pretty weak, so I do a lot on my own.
Special K/sped/PA - I have been at my current school 15 years, and I have requested an OT evulation on several students, but I have NEVER had one done.
rainbow - these rural areas really get the shaft....in reg ed, too, but especially in special needs areas
Garf/sped/GA - that is horrible.
rainbow - it is garf
Garf/sped/GA - my mom was the only vision teacher in the 70's and 80's between Pittsburgh and Wheeling West Virginia so I understand that problem.
Garf/sped/GA - she had totally blind students who were left in classrooms without any help at all, except when she came weekly.
rainbow - Pitiful.....why is our education system this way? Where does all the money go...sports??
Garf/sped/GA - I do not think I could work in a rural area. Your caseload must be heavy.
Special K/sped/PA - I have one brain-damaged student who is unable to write legibly, I had to dig around to find him a lap-top word processor so we could read his writing.
Garf/sped/GA - it is sad. I know CEC is working on it for kids with physical impairments, especially in my state to get the help they need.
Garf/sped/GA - do you NOT have asssistive technology?
Garf/sped/GA - that is sad if yuou dont have access to AT, that is also not in compliance with IDEA
Special K/sped/PA - Again, if I can find it, or buy/borrow assistive technology, this is the only way we get it.
Garf/sped/GA - that is horrible. You dont have Co: Writer and Write:Out Loud.
Garf/sped/GA - I am with a very small system, but I make sure that we
Garf/sped/GA - all the necessary technology.
Garf/sped/GA - I am always trying stuff out.
rainbow - garf, hate to sound totally ignorant, but what is Writer and Write Out Loud...we have nothing at my school either
Special K/sped/PA - To be honest, most of my students are poor, parents are former sped students. They don't know enough to complain. Don't have the money to get a lawyer. and I'm "just a teacher", the school won't listen to me!
rainbow - special K.......that is the way it is in my area, also
Garf/sped/GA - Co:Writer is a word prediction program that helps with the speed of writing, the student types in a letter or groups of letters to write a word/sentence
Garf/sped/GA - Write Out Loud is a talking word processor.
Garf/sped/GA - state of PA has assistive tech grant, should be able to help you out.
Special K/sped/PA - I'll have to look in to it.
Garf/sped/GA - There is a organization through Temple I believe, if not check with Pitt
rainbow - I would like to have access to one. We are just expected to do the best we can. I do well to get a few dollars each year...
Garf/sped/GA - What state are you in Rainbow?
Special K/sped/PA - To change the subject, have you ever had a special ed student kicked out of a Vo-Tech program because they refused to adapt/modify their shops?
Garf/sped/GA - You may be able to borrow stuff from your state Assistive tech agency
rainbow - I teach in Ohio, but in southeast Ohio....very Appalachian and dirt poor
Special K/sped/PA - We keep have out kids kicked out because they can't keep up, but they refuse to help them.
rainbow - thanks for the input Garf, I will check the website to see if I can find some resources
Garf/sped/GA - sure.
rainbow - Special, were the modifications listed on the IEP??? If so, how could they kick them out??
Special K/sped/PA - The Vo-Tech says that they don't have to follow the IEP, that their school is like the "real world". If you can't do it-----you get fired!
rainbow - I say that knowing full well that reg ed teachers sign my IEP's agreeing to modifications that they never put into place...they just do with my students the same that they do with their reg ed students...I fuss and fume at them
rainbow - That is awful, special. They need a parent advocate...I LOVE it when I have a strong parent that will voice complaints
Garf/sped/GA - I observe to make sure the modifications are in place
rainbow - I observe too, garf. They tell me "well, I didn't have time to modify this test....then they "modify" the grade
Special K/sped/PA - We have had one of our Special Ed. teachers "banned" from entering the Vo-Tech anymore because she stood up to them.
rainbow - I hate to say it, but some reg ed teachers just do what they have to ....they would rather just change a grade than make the effort
rainbow - Special, that is funny....how in the world do they get away with it?
Special K/sped/PA - I don't know, seems things around here are run by "the good ol' boys".
Special K/sped/PA - Got to go, dog needs to go out, nice chatting with you!!!
