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Special Ed 101
At a loss... What to do next...ED kid
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<blockquote data-quote="soapbox" data-source="post: 596857" data-attributes="member: 13003"><p>Things that help with APDs... </p><p> </p><p>You won't get technological interventions without a diagnosis - costs too much money for the school. We got NO interventions until we had the diagnosis, even though many of them cost almost nothing.</p><p> </p><p>Keep your home environment as quiet as possible. Don't keep the TV/Radio/games/whatever else on continuously. Make space in your home for true quietness. No point adding to the overload.</p><p> </p><p>He's 9, right? That's also a typical age for things to "magically" get worse... because that's when they switch from learning basic skills (reading, math, how to be a "student"), to using those skills to learn other things. If you haven't mastered the basics, things get worse really fast. Has school specifically tested him for reading, writing, math... the "basic" skills? Is he at grade level on all of them? If not... sometimes one-on-one instruction in a very quiet environment can produce fairly quick results.</p><p> </p><p>If the school has a soundfield system, ask that they use it in every classroom he participates in. Soundfield is a mic system where the teacher uses the mic, and the "system" figures out how loud to make the teacher's voice... usually, about 20 db louder than the background noise. This makes it easier to "pick out" the teacher's voice. If it's already in the classroom, it costs nothing to use it (the teacher just has to be consistent in using it). The same effect can be had with a personal FM system, but those are one-per-student, and the student hands the teacher the mic to use, which transmits direct to the student's ear, using the same DB-difference logic. Either one can help... if the teacher and student are willing to use it and you can get it funded or it is available.</p><p> </p><p>Other things that help:</p><p>A written outline at the start of the class of what the teacher will be covering, and then teaching to the outline. This helps the student to not get lost in the process.</p><p></p><p>A note-taker - either photo-copies of notes from an "exceptional" student (i.e. the one who takes really good notes), or notes taken by an in-class aide. This means the student doesn't have to focus on both listening and writing... they can just listen, then use the notes to fill in the "gaps".</p><p></p><p>When the whole class has been given "instructions", it helps if the teacher circles back with the Auditory Processing Disorders (APD) kid(s), and makes sure on an individual level that they "got" the instructions.</p><p></p><p>Have a student take notes on the board while the teacher is speaking. This is especially useful for "notices"... field trip tomorrow, guest speaker on Friday, remember that next Monday is the bake sale... the Auditory Processing Disorders (APD) kid can read the announcements instead of wasting brain-power trying to listen.</p><p></p><p>Have a student or an aide write the examples etc. that the teacher is using... rather than the teacher. The teacher needs to ALWAYS face the students... (yes ALWAYS) when speaking to them. This means... if you drop your pen, you stop talking until you pick it up... otherwise, the words you (teacher) speak to the floor, won't reach the ears and brains of the Auditory Processing Disorders (APD) kid(s). Some teachers switch to using the overhead projector and dry-erase pens instead of the white-board. This way, they can write on the "board" and it's projected behind them... so the teacher doesn't end up talking to the board.</p><p></p><p>All verbal instructions can be followed up with written copy - especially for projects and assignments.</p><p></p><p>All classroom "rules" need to be posted so the Auditory Processing Disorders (APD) kid doesn't have to "remember" the details.</p><p></p><p>If there is a noisier or quieter part of the room, use that to advantage. Away from the window might mean closer to the heat register... which is noisier? Front of the room usually provides less distraction, all other things being equal. Therefore, if the current "front" of the room is a noise-problem area... can the "front" of the room be moved?</p><p></p><p>Some students do well with white-noise headphones for "heads-down" work, to block out all the sounds that the rest of us naturally ignore.</p><p> </p><p>There's probably more... those are the ones I know off the top of my head. One of the biggest helps was just getting the diagnosis. It gave difficult child the power to stand up to the teachers and say... "sorry, you were speaking to the board and I missed that... " or "can I get that in writing please"... Being able to advocate for himself and be heard and respected for it did a lot for his self-esteem. Just knowing that he wasn't "bad" but actually had a disability was also a big psychological boost. The other kids DID hear the teacher... and he DID NOT. Not because of "not paying attention"... but because of running out of brain-power trying.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="soapbox, post: 596857, member: 13003"] Things that help with APDs... You won't get technological interventions without a diagnosis - costs too much money for the school. We got NO interventions until we had the diagnosis, even though many of them cost almost nothing. Keep your home environment as quiet as possible. Don't keep the TV/Radio/games/whatever else on continuously. Make space in your home for true quietness. No point adding to the overload. He's 9, right? That's also a typical age for things to "magically" get worse... because that's when they switch from learning basic skills (reading, math, how to be a "student"), to using those skills to learn other things. If you haven't mastered the basics, things get worse really fast. Has school specifically tested him for reading, writing, math... the "basic" skills? Is he at grade level on all of them? If not... sometimes one-on-one instruction in a very quiet environment can produce fairly quick results. If the school has a soundfield system, ask that they use it in every classroom he participates in. Soundfield is a mic system where the teacher uses the mic, and the "system" figures out how loud to make the teacher's voice... usually, about 20 db louder than the background noise. This makes it easier to "pick out" the teacher's voice. If it's already in the classroom, it costs nothing to use it (the teacher just has to be consistent in using it). The same effect can be had with a personal FM system, but those are one-per-student, and the student hands the teacher the mic to use, which transmits direct to the student's ear, using the same DB-difference logic. Either one can help... if the teacher and student are willing to use it and you can get it funded or it is available. Other things that help: A written outline at the start of the class of what the teacher will be covering, and then teaching to the outline. This helps the student to not get lost in the process. A note-taker - either photo-copies of notes from an "exceptional" student (i.e. the one who takes really good notes), or notes taken by an in-class aide. This means the student doesn't have to focus on both listening and writing... they can just listen, then use the notes to fill in the "gaps". When the whole class has been given "instructions", it helps if the teacher circles back with the Auditory Processing Disorders (APD) kid(s), and makes sure on an individual level that they "got" the instructions. Have a student take notes on the board while the teacher is speaking. This is especially useful for "notices"... field trip tomorrow, guest speaker on Friday, remember that next Monday is the bake sale... the Auditory Processing Disorders (APD) kid can read the announcements instead of wasting brain-power trying to listen. Have a student or an aide write the examples etc. that the teacher is using... rather than the teacher. The teacher needs to ALWAYS face the students... (yes ALWAYS) when speaking to them. This means... if you drop your pen, you stop talking until you pick it up... otherwise, the words you (teacher) speak to the floor, won't reach the ears and brains of the Auditory Processing Disorders (APD) kid(s). Some teachers switch to using the overhead projector and dry-erase pens instead of the white-board. This way, they can write on the "board" and it's projected behind them... so the teacher doesn't end up talking to the board. All verbal instructions can be followed up with written copy - especially for projects and assignments. All classroom "rules" need to be posted so the Auditory Processing Disorders (APD) kid doesn't have to "remember" the details. If there is a noisier or quieter part of the room, use that to advantage. Away from the window might mean closer to the heat register... which is noisier? Front of the room usually provides less distraction, all other things being equal. Therefore, if the current "front" of the room is a noise-problem area... can the "front" of the room be moved? Some students do well with white-noise headphones for "heads-down" work, to block out all the sounds that the rest of us naturally ignore. There's probably more... those are the ones I know off the top of my head. One of the biggest helps was just getting the diagnosis. It gave difficult child the power to stand up to the teachers and say... "sorry, you were speaking to the board and I missed that... " or "can I get that in writing please"... Being able to advocate for himself and be heard and respected for it did a lot for his self-esteem. Just knowing that he wasn't "bad" but actually had a disability was also a big psychological boost. The other kids DID hear the teacher... and he DID NOT. Not because of "not paying attention"... but because of running out of brain-power trying. [/QUOTE]
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