I’ve been heard to tease the special education teacher, that
this year my caseload is higher than hers. I have two students in my class, A & B,
who’ve been identified as cognitively impaired, another little guy (C) I’d be
shocked if the recent testing did not identify as even more profoundly
cognitively impaired, and a little cutie (D) that is selectively mute with a
motor planning delay and sensory issues.
This isn’t even addressing the other little fellow (E) who runs around
the room and talks (yells) a mile a minute, yet can count well over 100, knows
all his letters and sounds and can’t hold a thought long enough to draw or
write it. I have another student with
severe speech and language problems (F), so challenging I’ve just now been able
to understand what he’s talking about without 6 or 7 repeats questions. Oh, and (G), another little one with BIG speech
challenges, but fortunately I’ve had her older sister and brother and they had
the same issues, so I quickly relearned to understand her dialect.
Today was the perfect storm of paperwork. A 135 question survey and another 60 question
survey for “E”, a survey for my nonspeaking child (D) and a classroom
involvement questionnaire for our school psychologist for “C”. Each one asked
for written narratives and examples of learning, learning concerns and any
other situations I felt needed to be known.
Three hours after dismissal I completed all the forms and letters. Were it not a violation of confidentiality
any one of those narratives would have made a wonderful Slice!
Wow. A college friend of mine has a son who was diagnosed early on as developmentally delayed. His diagnosis has changed over the years but I see him in your words here. I love my D. He's the same chronological age as my son, but not the same age cognitively. He is joy personified. He is light and sunshine--sometimes he is storm. I don't see these students when they are young because many of them are not mainstreamed. The ones that are teach me every day about patience, love and being happy.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like you have a group with a lot of unique challenges, and a lot of paperwork to go with it. It makes me exhausted just thinking about the writing you had to do for those surveys. Good luck with the rest of the year and the extra challenges you have in differentiating for all those students.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like you have a group with a lot of unique challenges, and a lot of paperwork to go with it. It makes me exhausted just thinking about the writing you had to do for those surveys. Good luck with the rest of the year and the extra challenges you have in differentiating for all those students.
ReplyDeleteSome years just get loaded like this, don't they? I am so appalled at the paperwork to get help for one child...I was embroiled in it for a couple hours this week myself. I guess this is what special education bureaucracy has resulted in! You definitely need some more adult hands in that classroom! No teaching assistant even? Wow! Be sure to take good care of yourself when you get home from school...
ReplyDeleteI know how you feel! Over a quarter of my ELLs are also identified as special ed, and a number of others are on other kinds of success plans. People do not imagine how much extra effort it takes, not only to help those students, but to do the meetings & paperwork for them!
ReplyDelete