Bromwell Elementary School
A 2008 No Child Left Behind - Blue Ribbon School
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Bromwell Elementary SchoolA 2008 No Child Left Behind - Blue Ribbon School | |
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BROMWELL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL (214) Telephone: Mr. Jonathan Wolfer, Principal |
Learning Together BY ANN BERSANI
Introduction:
This series of essays hopes to explore the world of students at Bromwell who have various challenges to learning. Approximately 15% of our children at Bromwell are receiving some type of extra support for their learning. In addition, there may be children who have medical diagnoses such as seizure or attention deficit disorders who are doing well academically so they would not be included in the numbers of children who are staffed into the special education program. However, they may have their own challenges to learning.
Let's start by answering a few questions: who are the teachers working with special-needs students at our school? What programs are at the school, anyway?
Physical Disabilities Center Program (PD)
Mild/Moderate Program (M/M)
Other Services
At Bromwell, we value an environment which provides opportunities for all students to be successful. We have programs in place for the (at times) 15% of our kids who need some supports to learning. Let's look at the benefits of an inclusive learning environment for the typical kid and the student with learning challenges.
By being around children with significant disabilities, typical children learn to overcome their fears of those who may seem different to the. They may have the opportunity to sit in a wheelchair, activate a communication device, or help a classmate with a task. The skills of assistance, empathy and advocacy for a classmate are very different from math and reading skills, yet are integral to one's success as a human being.
Typical children may benefit due to curriculum modifications. In a first grade class, the occupational therapist led a 20-week program on handwriting for all the students. Paraprofessionals in the classroom to support children in the PD program are able to help other students as well. Techniques teachers acquire to educate children with learning challenges benefit the whole class. In addition, therapists working in the classroom are able to pick up on potential problems typical kids may be having. The therapist can advise the classroom teacher on tips for helping these kids.
The opportunity for some wonderful friendships exists in an inclusive environment. A Bromwell mom reflects on her family's experience: "Throughout elementary school, our son was close friends with a classmate who was wheelchair bound with cerebral palsy. Considering that he is a very active boy and that their play opportunities were limited, we at times wondered at the relationship. It was only much later that we realized he was as much the receiver as the giver in the friendship. ...Our child sometimes felt as though he never quite 'fit in.' And here was a girl whose face lit up whenever she saw him--she accepted him for who he was--and he was comfortable just being himself when he was with her and that was good enough. Their friendship has been an incredible boost to his self esteem."
In closing, I'd like to share a story with you from a Kindergarten classroom. There was a little girl in a wheelchair who was so popular that the other kids competed to sit next to her each morning at circle time. Day after day the teacher had to arbitrate whose turn it was to sit next to her. Then, a solution came to him! He decreed that whoever's turn it was to bring snack for the class that day earned the privilege of sitting next to this little girl! And that, you see, is inclusion in action.
Every new parent eagerly and anxiously watches his or her baby grow and develop. When will she take her first step? What will his first word be? Will she cut and color and share and listen appropriately in preschool?
As parents, we all want our children to be healthy, happy, do well in school, have friends and good values. So if parents observe that their child is not meeting certain developmental milestones or is behaving inappropriately, they may seek reassurance from their child's pediatrician or teacher. What parents may hear is that because kids develop at different rates, what seems to be a problem may actually be solved by maturation. However, there could be a learning disability, a cognitive processing problem or and emotional or behavioral problem, which needs to be identified and addressed. And because children's brains grow so much in the early years, the sooner issues are caught and dealt with, the better. Children who are born with an easily identifiable challenge, such as Down Sydrome, can begin early intervention as young as four weeks of age!
So, what kinds of symptoms do parents and teachers look for? Some indications of potential problems are:
* Language and speech delays
It is very important to remember that a variation in functioning from one child to the next does not necessarily indicate a dysfunction or a disability. As a child matures, learns techniques to compensate for challenges, and relies on other strengths, that potential disability can become quite insignificant in the child's life, especially when, as an adult, he/she can choose work to suit his/her skills and interests.
When a teacher or a parent suspects a problem of any kind, that problem is brought to the Community/School Assistance Team for Students (C/SATS) Committee. This program is funded by the DPS Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools and Communities. The team meets monthly and is staffed by the principal, teachers, the school psychologist, nurse, speech/language teacher and special educators. This team is charged with identifying, referring and intervening with students showing patterns of risk behavior. In other DPS schools, that might mean working with students who are homeless, truant or in abusive situations. At Bromwell, the "risk behavior" generally refers to students who need educational supports to avoid academic failures.
Initially, the C/SATS team brainstorms to develop intervention strategies for students about whom there are teacher/parent concerns. After these strategies have been tried, the team might review the progress and suggest this child be tested for learning disabilities. If the results indicate a learning disability, the next step would be to get the child staffed for services in the mild/moderate program to help him/her learn techniques to deal with the learning disability. In addition, the child might also need speech or occupational therapy.
The process can have many variations. The teacher may have already tried many classroom intervention. Parents may get private diagnostic testing done. The child may be referred to an outside agency for speech therapy. The process is designed to be responsive and interactive to get a child the help he/she needs. Because, we want all our children to be healthy, happy, do well in school, have friends, and have good values.
The last section discussed how parents and teachers identify a child who needs extra help and how to get it. What is the child's experience, when diagnosed with a learning disability (LD) or processing problem?
To be diagnosed with LD, a child must have a significant discrepancy between his achievement and his aptitude and an identified processing problem. Thus, a gifted child who is not performing according to what his diagnostic tests predict, could have LD or a processing problem. However, a child who learns more slowly, but is performing to the best of her ability, is not considered LD. Parents should still work with the teacher to ensure that child has as enriched an experience as possible, despite the fact the child may not qualify for special education services.
How a child deals with the information that he has LD is very individual. That a child has LD is highly confidential information, which families can choose to share or keep private. During the time when families begin to wonder if there is a problem to the time when they get a diagnosis and help for the problem can be a difficult time for the child. Former students of the mild/moderate program at Bromwell offer the following comments:
"I felt bad in reading group when I couldn't read like the other kids. I felt embarrassed when kids asked me where I was going when I went to the M/M class. I didn't like going, but my parents said I had to get extra help. Since I learned how to deal with my LD, I think anyone who does not get help is crazy. I learned it is ok to be a little different, even if you need more help than other kids."
In the mild/moderate class, students read a book of vignettes about a group of children who have various challenges to learning. The first character is a happy, imaginative boy who loves to think up new inventions. He can never remember where his backpack is, however, nor get to the bus on time, nor pay attention in class. The introduction of story characters gives the children an opportunity to tell their own stories in the M/M class and thus work through some of their feelings of being "different."
LD is a hidden disability. When you see my little boy, who has down syndrome, you automatically adjust your expectations for what he is able to do. When you learn that he tells jokes, ice skates, plays on a soccer team and is learning how to read, you are pleasantly impressed. Conversely, when you see a "typical" child who can't read or is disorganized, you may be disturbed because you expect that all typical children can read, do math, write and have mastered basic social skills. It may worry typical kids as well, and lead them to tease kids with LD, who may already feel self-conscious.
It is extremely important for children with LD to feel successful in school and feel good about themselves. Teachers and parents can structure tasks and the learning environment to help children succeed. Parents must give their kids the opportunity to talk about their feelings of inadequacy, their fears, and let the kids know that they believe in them. Teachers and counselors can help kids to avoid the downward cycle of failure, frustration, withdrawal or acting out, which can happen if kids do not get the help they need.
Some of the literature about how parents cope with a child's learning disability discusses the range of emotions families may experience, from denial to guilt to blame to anger to despair. What I realized from interviewing several parents was that reactions are intensely individual and thus, of course, vary tremendously. The most consistent and insistent need on the parents' part was to name the problem. Once parents had a diagnosis, relief was the dominant feeling. Parents who previously just knew something was wrong, but could not name it, could then begin to get their arms around the problem and develop an action plan along with teachers and staff. One parent reports:
I knew something was wrong with my son, but doctors implied I was an over- anxious mother and that the problem was mine. I persisted and eventually the doctors discovered my son had suffered significant hearing loss due to ear infections. Once I had a diagnosis, not only did I feel vindicated, but now I could begin to help my son deal with this challenge.
Parents whose children have somewhat familiar disabilities, such as dyslexia or hearing loss, seem to have the advantage of an existing system for dealing with these issues. These parents tended to be very matter-of-fact about getting their children identified and obtaining services. When the issues are multi-layered and the diagnosis is elusive, it is much more difficult to know what to do. These parents must continue to search for a name so they can identify a treatment and have an expectation of the child's future potential. Parents realize that they must become educated quickly about disabilities and how the system works because they have to be case managers and advocates for their own children. Parents also face the issues of "Am I doing enough to help my child?" This is a balance we all have to figure out for ourselves.
The literature also suggests siblings may have a difficult time with the extra attention a child with a disability may require. In all the families I talked to, siblings were not only supportive, but protective and nurturing and accepting. Perhaps this speaks to good parenting, for parents reported that dealing with these challenges often brought the family together.
The two areas where parents expressed the most concern were "How will other children treat our child because he/she learns differently or more slowly?" and "How can we help our child maintain healthy self-esteem as she/he learns to deal with this difference?" While parents were generally comfortable that this is reality and we just deal with it, they worried about their child's frustration and were saddened that their child might experience some teasing at some point in the future.
What is liberating is for a family to feel good about what they are dealing with, how they are dealing with it, and to send the message to the child that he/she has unique gifts and challenges as do all people. Children need parents to set high expectations and to provide strong direction and encouragement for them as they cope with their challenges to learning. |
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