Week+3


 * Question 1 ** : It appears that Deja receives all of her instruction in the general education setting. In her case, is this the least restrictive environment? How do you know?
 * Answer 1: ** I think this is the least restrictive environment for her and it seems to be working for her and her academic success. She is making progress and getting better in the areas that she was struggling in. She likes being pushed by her teachers and sees that it is helping her in the long run. Not knowing much about her situation it seems as if part of her struggles before came from not having enough confidence in herself to get the work done and always relying on the teachers approval. So, for her to be in the general education setting where she can’t always have one on one attention seems to be helping her take initiative in her own learning.


 * Question 2 ** : In the past, speech and language pathologists have “pulled” students with exceptional learning needs out of their classes to provide services. In this video, the members of the IEP team are discussing a potentially better way to meet Sean’s needs. Does it appear that the speech and language pathologist’s suggestion for the consultation model is more appropriate for Sean than a traditional pull-out model? Why or why not?
 * Answer 2: ** It is hard to say because of the lack of information known about this student, but it appears that this new suggestion would maybe make things more realistic and help work on other goals and transition. I think it is important for him to learn skills in a variety of settings so that the skills can be applied in a variety of settings, working with him this way would help to generalize the speech he is learning. However, they talked about how important speech is for Sean and I don’t know if this new approach would get him the progress they are looking for. But, after hearing how hard one-on-one training is for them I think it is worth a shot and sounds like a more appropriate method for the time being and worth a shot.


 * Question 3 ** : The speaker discusses the academic, behavioral, developmental, and functional strengths and needs of students with exceptional learning needs. Depending upon the individual student, one or more of these areas may take on greater importance. Think about Dani, Deja, and Sean, and compare the importance of these four areas for each of them.
 * Answer 3: ** All three of these students were very different in their needs, programs, and participation in the IEP meeting. Dani was present at her IEP meeting however, in the clip we saw she did not respond to any of the questions or discussions going on except for maybe once. At this point in her life I think that her academic needs are taking on the greatest importance. She is social and does not act out from what we know so improving her academic ability is the main focus. Deja was a very vocal student in the clip we saw, she knew a lot of the things that were and were not working for her. I think developmental strengths is what they were really working on wither Deja. She needed to develop a sense of independence and confidence. The way she answered the questions she knew that the teachers were helping her and that she was progressing. Sean was also present at his IEP meeting however; his inability to communicate kept him from expressing his own thoughts. Listening to this portion of his IEP it sounds like functional and developmental strengths are the areas that they are focusing on most. They are trying to generalize skills in the everyday setting and develop language so that he can communicate. All three of these students have different areas of need and that is what makes IEPs so important because they target those areas for individual students.