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Characteristics assessment Academic Interventions Behavioral Interventions Communication Interventions Environmental Interventions Sensory Interventions Social Interventions

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What areas of a student’s program require ‘Partnering’?

Forum References FAQ's Quiz Lecture Introduction Autism spectrum disorders are complicated in nature, and differ from one student to the next. Therefore, it makes it imperative that ALL areas of an educational program be discussed among the entire team. This is especially true because many goals the child is striving toward are being addressed by several people; especially communication, social and behavioral goals that require a variety of settings for generalization. If everyone is working toward a common goal, they must have a common understanding of what to do and how to do it.

IDEA requires that decisions for children with disabilities be reached in the following order:

  1. The child’s strengths and needs (what he needs) be considered first
  2. Goals and instruction/services/modifications (what to do) are developed based upon those strengths and needs
  3. Placement be decided (where to do it) based upon the goals/services/supports that have been agreed upon
  4. And then to monitor for progress (how well did he learn those goals given the instruction/ services/supports)

In other words…

With this formula in mind, the following table gives us an idea of what types of decisions need to be discussed and decided upon by the cooperative team.

Assessment areas

  • Communication/language/speech
  • Social skills
  • Sensory issues
  • Physical/motor skills
  • Self-help/independence skills
  • Environmental factors
  • Cognitive ability
  • Behavioral concerns, need for support plans
  • Parent involvement options
  • Leisure/recreation/play
  • Assistive technology (if needed)
  • Training needs of each team member

Design goals /supports/ services

  • Meaningful annual goals and benchmarks for progress are identified
  • Appropriate teaching strategies are identified that will lead toward progress in the annual goals
  • Environmental factors - Structure, organization and predictability strategies are described in a plan
  • Parent involvement is determined based upon family needs, abilities, and resources (i.e. time, knowledge)
  • Identified needs for training is provided to team members
  • All are determined by assessment results and other shared team information and included in the student’s IEP

Choose a placement

  • The continuum of placement options are discussed and
  • The location(s) that can most effectively allow for progress toward goals is agreed upon (this could be more than one location)

Continually monitor progress

  • Using on-going methods of measuring progress, instruction, strategies, etc. are reevaluated and adapted as needed

It becomes clear when looking at this list, that one year-end meeting is not adequate to address all areas of needed discussion. Discussion needs to remain consistent throughout the year as problems occur, changes in approach are needed, or decisions about short-term events (like field trips, assemblies, substitute teachers, etc.) crop up.

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