CASE STUDY: You have just moved across the United States due to your spouse’s
transfer. As you look for a new job within the public school system, you are surprised at
the overwhelming diversity within your new community. Feeling very confident as you
go to your first interview in this new community, you notice that many of the messages
and writings on the school walls are written in various languages. As you introduce
yourself to the secretary, she hands you a list of questions to preview before the
interview begins. As you scan the list of questions, you begin to feel very nervous about
this interview. The questions are as follows:
How does culture affect learning?
How does deafness or hearing loss adversely affect a student’s reading ability?
One of the biggest challenges for special education teachers is the amount of paperwork
required.
What are two ways that professionals can assist parents in enhancing parent awareness
and understanding of speech and language disorders?
CASE STUDY: You have been a special education teacher for fifteen years. You are
close friends with an instructor at the local university. You have been asked to come and
speak to a group of aspiring special education teachers at the local university to give
them a “realistic” perspective on teaching. The instructor of the class gives you a list of
the following questions that were generated by the students:
What are the differences among IDEA, Section 504, and the Americans with
Disabilities Act of 1990? What is the impact of each of these laws on the students and
teachers in public schools?
How does the title Blamed and Ashamed summarize the feelings of families of children
with emotional and behavior disabilities?
CASE STUDY: Milo is a kindergarten student at Highland Elementary School. Milo
was identified as having an intellectual disability due to fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS)
as an infant. He has been in a inclusive preschool setting from the age of 2. Ms. Young
is a new (first year) teacher who has recently been told that Milo will be a student in her
classroom. Ms. Young has many concerns about having Milo in her class because she
was only required to take one class in her undergraduate program in meeting the needs
of children with disabilities. Below is a list of questions that Ms. Young wants to
discuss with her assigned mentor, Ms. Farlow, in order to develop a better
understanding of how to assist Milo in succeeding within the general education
classroom.
What specific characteristics do children born with FAS often exhibit that could
adversely affect their academic success?
CASE STUDY: Blake is a fifth-grade student who has been identified as gifted in the
areas of reading and math. Test scores indicate that he is three grade levels ahead of his
peers in both reading and math. Socially, he enjoys his peers, and he is very popular
among his classmates. His teachers have approached Blake’s parents about changing his
placement in terms of receiving instruction because they cannot “keep his attention” and
have noted that Blake’s behavior is becoming “increasingly challenging” because they
feel his unique needs are not being met.
What issues should professionals discuss with Blake’s parents in regard to adolescence
and transitioning into post-school options?
What is the Marland Report and how did it change the definition of giftedness?
What implications does this report have on the field today?
What are three examples of assistive technology, and why is it mandated by IDEA?
What are some of the challenges parents of children with ADHD experience? How
might school personnel assist the parents and families of students with ADHD?
Why is developing collaborative relationships with diverse families challenging? What
factors contribute to this situation?
What are two examples of effective communication skills? What are two examples of
ineffective communication skills?
What is central auditory processing and why is it such a controversial topic among
professionals?
What are some of the potential stressors siblings of individuals with physical and/or
health disabilities may experience?
Teachers specially trained to work with students with visual impairments are called
Braille specialists.
How can school professionals positively influence interactions with family members
who may find school an intimidating place?
CASE STUDY: Alex has just begun attending a new elementary school. She is nervous
about meeting new friends and having new teachers. She finds that schoolwork at her
new school seems much harder than at her previous school. The difficulties she was
having at her old school seem even worse here. She is a very fluent reader but she
cannot seem to answer questions about what she has just read. She is very accurate in
math (computation,) but the word problems cause her a great deal of frustration. Alex is
very popular with her peers and makes friends easily. However, her teachers are always
telling her to “be still, stop talking out of turn, and stay in your seat.” Alex loves to tell
stories and is very creative. If her teachers would let her tell stories instead of write
them, she would get better grades. She has difficulty getting her thoughts down on
paper and her handwriting is very messy. Alex loves school and wants to do well, but
she sometimes feels that she does everything wrong.
In regard to Alex’s difficulty with reading comprehension and math word problems,
which of the instructional methods discussed in this chapter would be the most
effective? Support your answer with information from the text and provide examples of
how your selected instructional method could be used.
African American students tend to appear in gifted education in larger numbers than
you might expect based on their percentage in the population.