Mircea

Content of the Presentation

Part 1– Introduction– Family Background– Educational History– Educational Experience

Role Playing– IFSP meeting

Part 2– Our suggestions for the new educational setting

Questions & Discussion

Introduction to the “cast”

Mircea Ms. Harper – first general ed. teacher Ms. & Mr. Popescu – Mircea’s mother Ms. Ramona – interpreter, spec. ed.

student Ms. Goodheart – second general ed.

teacher And the others…

“Line up, it’s time to play outside! Everybody line up!” Ms. Harper, the pre-K teacher noticed that all children are grouping to line up, except for one. She calls Mircea again “Myrcia, come line up with everybody else”. “I don’t understand… Why doesn’t he look at me when I call him? Doesn’t he hear me? Why doesn’t he line up like everybody else? Why isn’t he

like everybody else…?”

Mircea

4 years old boy from Romania

Big brown eyes Only child of a

loving family

Educational history

No previous educational history back in Romania

Raised by his grandmother Never interacted with other children

Family background

Came from Romania with a lottery to work

First time experience with English language, free language courses

Mother works as a cook at hospital cafeteria, father works in constructions

Educational Experience

Need for a placement since both parents are working

First educational setting –Ms. Harpers pre-K classroom

First day in school Raising complaints about Mircea

– Noncompliance, lack of interaction, behavior problems: hitting, screaming, lack of eye contact

Educational exp. (cont.)

First referral with a “quick” evaluation Multidisciplinary team Low scores on social domains Passive involvement of parents Lack of interpreter Parents received limited information from the

team members Eligibility for autism class

Educational Exp. (cont.)

In the autism class:– Parents hope for the best– Mother raising concerns about Mircea’s behaviors:

hitting, screaming, loosing his language abilities– Mother pays a visit to school– Mother meets Ms. Popescu and an advocate group– Appeal to school

First referral with a “quick” evaluation Passive involvement of parents Placement in autism class

Educational exp. (cont).

A through evaluation;– Interdisciplinary team, weekly meetings– Classroom observations; lack of language ability,

imitation of peers for communication purposes, cultural differences, lack of experience in a classroom setting

– Information gathered from the parents– Assessment; scores app. 2 S.D. below average– New diagnosis; mild intellectual disabilities– Call for a new meeting

Educational exp. (cont.)

IFSP meeting;– Active participation of parents– Presence of an interpreter, Ms. Ramona– Presence of general education teacher,

Ms. Goodheart, special education teacher, school principal, district supervisor, speech pathologist, ESL teacher, occupational therapist, and a member of the advocate group

Suggestions for the new educational setting Inclusive setting

– Pre-K general education classroom with special education support services

Behavior support plan– Conducted by the special education teacher and a

paraprofessional– Both at school and at home

Special education support– Part time special education teacher

Suggestions (cont.)

Collaboration– Active collaboration of interdisciplinary team

members facilitated by a team member– Meetings every two months for IFSP progress

report Developmentally Appropriate Practice

– IFSP goals written with the consensus of team members

– Reflecting family expectations– Focusing on communication and social interaction

skills

Suggestions (cont.)

Language support– Provided by ESL teacher and speech language

pathologist– Focusing on grammar and pronunciation

Parental Support– Regular home visits for active involvement of both

parents– Informing parents on their parental rights– Providing information on behavior management