go here: www.wrightslaw.com/advoc/articles/tests_measurements.html
this is the american "Wrightslaw" which has tons of info on the law and IEP and SEN provision. Its american but still much of it is very valid for us in terms of common sense.
Here is an excerpt:
In educational situations, it is essential that parents understand
the nature of the weak areas, what skills need to be learned to
strengthen those areas, and how the strong areas can be used to help
remediate the child's weak areas."
www.wrightslaw.com/advoc/articles/tests_measurements.html
Subject: Do teachers' lesson plans reflect children's IEP goals and
objectives?
the IEP journey are listed below in question form. Answering yes to
these questions and the ones posed in a later section (reviewing the
IEP) indicates that our destination may be in sight.
Do teachers' lesson plans reflect children's IEP goals and
objectives? Is the staff person responsible for teaching an objective
(s) monitoring the child's progress as indicated on the IEP? Are the
periodic reviews taking place as scheduled or as needed? Are related
services being provided as indicated on the IEP? Has an IEP meeting
been scheduled to discuss expected changes in objectives, goals,
services, and/or placement? Does instruction focus on the child's
strengths and needs? Are team members working together to implement
IEP goals and objectives? Have friendships and natural supports been
facilitated within the school and community for full implementation
of the child's program? Has the team made appropriate instructional
modifications in order to support the child's participation in
integrated school and community settings?
www.hyperlexia.org/iep_roadmap.html
Using the PEPSI to identify Student Strengths and Growth Needs Once a
PEPSI profile is established, there is a graphic representation of a
student's strengths and weaknesses. Use the following example of a
seven year old youngster to practice looking for student strengths
and areas that might be important to focus on as part of an
individual education plan.
Area Strengths Build-ons Physical Good large muscle coordination
Dresses self Prints own name Not washing hands after toileting Needs
help tying shoes Runs out of energy before tasks are completed
Emotional Very trusting Enjoys helping when asked Tattles to solve
problems with peers Has frequent tantrums Very stubborn, willful
Philosophical Wants to be praised Usually tells the truth Very loving
Bossy with others Takes others' things and cries when confronted No
recognition of others' needs
Social Likes to please the teacher Loves to organize things Tends to
interact with adults or play alone Possessive
Intellectual Counts to ten Writes own name when asked Reads twenty
sight words Likes to copy from the board Preschool grade level work
Five minute attention span Not able to follow two consecutive
directions
Now, write two objectives for each of the PEPSI areas. Stay focused
on strengthening the student's potential. Try to address one of the
objectives toward strengths the student already has.
Physical
-
-
Emotional
-
-
Philosophical
-
-
Social
-
-
Intellectual
-
-
Building on a Child's Strengths When I'm called upon to assist a
child who is struggling in school, I find the spotlight is often
focused on a child's weaknesses. This is particularly common for the
child with poor social skills, communication skills, learning
disabilities, and/or any other disability. Children with disabilities
already feel they are different. It is up to us to teach all children
that different is not bad, and that each of us has special strengths.
We can help that process along by showcasing every child's special
interest and strengths.
Years of remedial effort have been poured into fixing what's broken,
the deficit, rather than capitalizing on the strength and what works.
In other words, if a child can't read, hours are spent teaching that
child with methods that didn't work in the first place. If there are
behavior issues, the same punitive measures are used over-and-over,
yet there's no improvement.
When the spotlight shifts onto areas where your child shines, in
his/her areas of strengths and personal interest, there are often
very dramatic changes in work effort and negative behaviors often
dramatically diminish.
Child psychologist and recognized authority on ADHD, Dr. Robert
Brooks, developed the term "islands of competence" in reference to
these areas of strength. I interpret his concept in the following
way:
Everyone has strengths, but sometimes they're not obvious. We must
find those areas of strength and build on them. Every person must
feel they are making a contribution to their environment. If we
accept both these concepts, the obvious thing to do is to build upon
them. Every child must feel important and every child must taste
success. Once academic needs are determined and appropriate services
are in place, it's extremely important to begin building self-
confidence and self-reliance. It's essential to have a concerted
effort both at home and at school, with clear communication between
the school officials and the parents.
Dr. Brooks likes for each of his young patients to have a special job
at school in an area related to the child's interests and needs. It
can be something like feeding pets or taking attendance to the office
monitor. This can take creativity and ingenuity, but it's essential.
The schools I visit are sometimes resistant to this effort. After
all, only recently has there been such emphasis on this positive
approach to resolve behavior issues or low self-esteem problems.
Sometimes school personnel look at us like we've lost a few screws.
But it works! Inappropriate behaviors diminish, the child walks
taller, often begins to show improved self-confidence, and
demonstrates reliability. He feels needed and recognized for his
efforts.
Sadly, the child with a disability that impacts behavior and social
skills is often the last picked to help out with different tasks. In
reality, it's one of the single most effective tools to help your
child gain self-confidence.
The focus of scholastic effort must also be on the child's strengths.
Following, are just few examples and suggestions for compensating
effectively for weaknesses and building on strengths.
If your child has excellent verbal skills and creativity, but writing
is a struggle, you might ask for daily use of a computer. If a child
demonstrates such a need, (and I see this often in ADHD and learning
disabilities), than the school is responsible for providing that
assistive technology. Remember your child doesn't have to settle for
the broken computer in the corner of the room (which happens all too
frequently). Any needed equipment must be in working order and be
made available in the regular learning environment. If you're
concerned about the condition of equipment, you can stipulate in any
504 plan or IEP that the equipment be in working order and located in
an area immediately accessible to the student. Perhaps your child
grasps math concepts, but has difficulty performing the actual
calculations on paper. A calculator is a great assistive device for
such children. There might be complaints that the child has to first
learn math the "old fashioned way." Practical experience has taught
me that if a child can't perform very basic math calculations by,
say, the fifth grade, it will probably always be somewhat difficult.
Is he/she going to suddenly become proficient in this area when an
adult or count fingers? Most likely not. This person will buy a
calculator for as little as $5.00 and finally become successful in
performing practical arithmetic calculations. Why not start early to
help the person with a math disability progress rapidly with the
concepts by using a calculator to bypass the disability? This is not
to say a child should not continue to work on mastery of calculations
as well. Or take the fifth-grader who's struggling with second-grade
spelling, perhaps spending as much as two hours a night trying to
learn a list of twenty words. The most common modification, if any is
made at all, is to cut the list in half. What if we let that child
spend spelling time becoming computer literate? With the use of a
spell checker and word processor program to offset organizational
difficulties and spelling difficulties, children suddenly blossom
into creative authors. A child who is very distractible in the
classroom can show dramatic improvement when work is produced on a
computer. Headphones can also enhance learning. Many children with
ADHD tend to lose the thought somewhere between brain and pencil, but
are excellent writers when using a computer. There seems to be an
instant direct connection between brain and screen. Organizational
skills show improvement. Problem solving skills are also honed on the
computer, bypassing faulty circuitry that gets in the way of real
learning. In each of these instances weaknesses are diminished by
technology that levels the playing field for people with
disabilities. The spotlight then shifts from the writing weakness to
the content strengths.
www.geocities.com/Athens/Oracle/1580/strengths.html
An excellent way to actively involve all those invested in the
inclusion process is to implement the MAPS process when developing
the child's IFSP/IEP. MAPS stands for Making Action Plans or the
McGill Action Planning System. The Kansas State Board of Education
has available a manual and videotape which describes the actual MAPS
process in detail entitled MAPS: A Plan for Including All Children in
Schools (1990). The MAPS manual and videotape might prove to be
helpful in developing strategies for creating a user friendly and
functional IFSP/IEP for children attending inclusive early childhood
programs. Information presented in the MAPS manual is geared toward
older students, however we have found that by using a modified MAPS
system we have been able to create IFSP's/IEP's which are built upon
the child¹s strengths and prove to be functional within the inclusive
setting. www.circleofinclusion.org/pim/seven/maps.html
- What happens next?
Development of Goals and Objectives
Goals and objectives should be based on assessment, and should focus
on using a student's strengths and interest to address areas of
identified need. The best objectives contain specific information
about what we want a student to achieve, how instruction will support
the mastery of the goal, and are measurable.
www.parentsinc.org/newsletter/S98/SEQUENC.html
IDEA 1997 brings several changes to the IEP and the IEP team. Not
only will the role of the IEP team dramatically increase, the IEP
will move from a deficit-based educational plan to one that is
strength-based. IDEA 1997 is based on the belief that the majority of
students with disabilities can participate in the general education
curriculum to varying degrees.
www.cec.sped.org/pd/sbsre
The student's areas of strength and need. Whereas a statement of
needs identifies the student's weaknesses, a statement of strengths
identifies the student's own "tools" which can be used to address the
weaknesses. The basis for these statements should be the description
contained in the IPRC's statement. These statements might take the
form "Student demonstrates significant strength in..." and "Student
requires significant instruction/ support to ...."For
example, "Student demonstrates significant strength in auditory
learning"; "Student requires significant instruction/support to
develop reading skills."
Goals for the student. Goals should be based on the strengths and
needs of the student and represent the best prediction of what the
student should be able to accomplish by the end of the school year
www.ldao.on.ca/articles/newiprc.html
The IEP is a written document outlining the who, what, when, why,
where and how of instruction and related services that are to be
provided to a student with disabilities. IEPs are built upon the
strengths of individual students and are designed to help each
student achieve success in school, at home, at work, and in the
community.
The IEP Implementation Checklist p The IEP has been shared and
discussed with appropriate staff members and service providers. p
Instruction focuses on the student's strengths and needs. p
Instruction reflects stated IEP goals and objectives. p Identified
modifications and accommodations are being provided. p A designated
IEP team member is monitoring the student's progress.
www.msde.state.md.us/specialeducation/IEP%20Handbook2001.pdf
Strength Based Planning
Identify the strengths and resources of the student and student's
family and use these strengths and resources to develop an effective
IEP and / or other service plan. One full day offered once in the
fall and once in the spring.
Target Group: Administrators, SPED teachers, social workers, FSWs,
Counselors, CSSS, 504 Site: District Trainer: Felix Training
Institute rrsc.k12.hi.us/sped/kauai/kwsp2.htm
D. Exceptionally Appropriate Practices 1) Writes IEPs using a
strength-based approach www.bgsu.edu/org/focus/preschool.pdf
Strength-based assessments
Create Strength-based Functional Behavior Assessments/Interventions
Train on the development of Strength-based IEP's
www.air.org/TAPartnership/consultant_pool/bios/w_hussey.htm
A good IEP has objectives that focus on a student's strengths and aim
for positive outcomes
www.acl.on.ca/Daily_News/2001/oct01/oct17.htm
The result of the teamwork is and IEP that embraces John's strengths
and the team's goals www.region3.net/Region%
20III/AnnRpt/99annualreport/annual_report11.html
Based on the child's needs while building upon the child's strengths,
the team drafts both annual goals and short term learning outcomes.
star.nm.org/deafblind/forms/facts/IEPDevelopment.pdf
The focus of the IEP should be the development of strategies to build
on the child's strengths in order to remediate weaknesses and build
self-esteem. Educators agree that the best strategy for helping the
child with learning disabilities is to concentrate on strengthening
the child's existing abilities, while working steadily to improve
weaker skills. For example, if the child has excellent verbal skills
but is totally frustrated putting thoughts on paper, the IEP might
specify that his reports be given orally. If the child is strong in
math and poor in reading, the IEP might specify having him coach a
classmate who is struggling with math; reading support might include
reading two key paragraphs in the sports section of the newspaper
each night to a parent. www.ldac-taac.ca/ldindepth/six.htm
- What are the individual's strengths, gifts and abilities? So often
when educational teams get together, they dwell upon the things that
the individual cannot do as opposed to identifying and building upon
the strengths and abilities of the individual. The facilitator asks
the participants to review the list which described the individual as
a way to identify some of his or her strengths and unique gifts. In
addition, they are instructed to think about what the individual can
do, what he or she likes to do and what he or she does
ssd.k12.mo.us/Inclusion/maps.htm
This full-day workshop is designed develop participants' skills in
the implementation of research-validated educational programming for
students with Autism and other significant disabilities according to
IDEA `97. It is intended for all staff working with this population
in an elementary through secondary environment. First, participants
will learn to develop and monitor IEP's using a strength-based
approach, implement proactive behavior and integration plans, and
identify the major research-validated strategies used with this
unique population.
www.nasponline.org/pdf/prel_prog02_thurws.pdf
The student's areas of strength and need. Whereas a statement of
needs identifies the student's weaknesses, a statement of strengths
identifies the student's own "tools" which can be used to address the
weaknesses. The basis for these statements should be the description
contained in the IPRC's statement. The statements might take the
form "Student demonstrates significant strength in?" and "Student
requires significant instruction/support to ?" For example, "Student
demonstrates significant strength in auditory learning"; "Student
requires significant instruction/support to develop reading skills."
Goals for the student. Goals should be based on the strengths and
needs of the student and represent the best prediction of what the
student should be able to accomplish by the end of the school year.
www.ldany.on.ca/Special%20Ed/individual_education_plan.htm
Based on the child's needs while building upon the child's strengths,
the team drafts both annual goals and short term learning outcomes.
www.usdb.k12.ut.us/fss/hand7.htm
A child's strengths should be a part of any IEP and these strengths
should be drawn upon when developing goals and objectives.
Strengths should be identified in all five areas described on page 1.
In addition, strengths should not be limited to only academics and/or
physical abilities. They can, and should, include interests skills,
hobbies, peronal traits, etc.
Examples:
Matt is great at basketball. Dylan is trying really hard to talk.
Benjamin knows how to use the computer. Emily likes to play board
games with other girls. * Nicole can read 4th grade textbooks.
www.geocities.com/Heartland/Village/9021/articles/iepplanning.h
tml
We must develop individualized educational plans (IEPS) that give
more than lip service to a child's strengths and that solidly
reflect, in their goals and objectives, a desire to help children
achieve success (rather than to "overcome their problems").
www.thomasarmstrong.com/articles/empower.htm
What are the parents and other school-based resource people trained
to do? The content of the training is flexible and can be altered to
respond to the goals of each participating school. However, resource
people are expected to know how to: · develop student-specific
interventions · conduct functional behavioral assessments (strength
assessments) · work with families as allies · offer consultation for
preparing strength-based IEPs · describe proactive behavior
management strategies · work with community teams to create strength-
based plans.
www.wbgh.com/nrn/Integrating_Systems_of_Care_Through_Public_Sch
ools.PDF
an Individualized Educational Plan is designed to assist the student
to make reasonable academic gains utilizing his/her strengths and
remediate weaknesses
www.iusd.k12.ca.us/mp/general_info/support.htm
By assessing all intelligences, students' strengths can be recognized
and utilized to address those weaknesses that are identified in the
classroom context
www.york.cuny.edu/~seitz/AERA2001.htm
Introduction On the following pages you will find a collection of
educational strategies for students with learning differences . These
strategies were collected over a four year period and are rooted in
practice. Some of them arose out of conferences involving advisors
and parents, and some from the creative teaching of the faculty.
Still others came from the students themselves; bits of wisdom
prefaced by, "Hey, I know something that works for me; why don't you
try it!".
Rather than focusing solely on a student's difficulties, this
collection of strategies addresses how to use a student's strengths
to compensate for difficulties; how to celebrate and use those
strengths in the classroom and at home. Rather than comparing the
student to a normed group, we look for the peaks and valleys within
that student's profile, i.e. "relative" strengths and difficulties.
This "intra-student" rather than "inter-student" perspective is more
meaningful for purposes of intervention.
This booklet is to be used by staff in conjunction with the student's
Individualized Education Plan (IEP) and multi-sensory planning
handout, and will be a vital resource for lesson planning and for
discussion of a student's learning style. The booklet is divided into
two sections, LONG TERM GOALS IN AREAS OF RELATIVE STRENGTH and LONG
TERM GOALS IN AREAS OF RELATIVE DIFFICULTY. Long term goals are those
areas of strengths and difficulties commonly referred to in a
psychological - educational evaluation. Goals are alphabetized and
there is a glossary of technical terms on the last page.