Behavior Adaptive Reflection
Why is it so important to learn about how and what to know about students with exceptionalities? The answer is simpler than I had imagined. Students with exceptionalities will be a part of every classroom and as a future teacher; I will have to know how to handle any situation that may arise during a class. I will also have to know how to interpret laws and understand definitions of disabilities along with knowing how to write up an Individual Education Plan (IEP) and I will be required to know how to adapt to certain situations in class. Students with exceptionalities are and forever will be a part of the classroom environment. Laws have been created for the very reason I stated in the last paragraph; I will have to know how to teach a student with a disability of any sort. According to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and along with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) I am, under the law, required to not discriminate in any sector of my job and to teach to the best of my ability for all students. Under these acts, I will not put any student, exceptional or not, ahead of another student while doing my job and all students will be treated as equals. Without a doubt, my teaching will have to be redirected to accommodate these students. I will have to learn different teaching styles to teach a student with a disability the subject matter. Time will have to be used wisely in order to not slow down any other students in class. I will also have to find new ways of conveying information to the whole class at once so everyone can understand. The IDEA has a lot of different definitions as to how to classify a student with a disability. Under these definitions, I will be more able to understand what may be wrong
with a student and learn how to address the situation more accurately. Upon knowing of what disability the student may have, I will be better at formulating an appropriate classroom environment to help all students along. These definitions will change how I, team members and other students, may look at the situation. I feel that if a classroom can know what my be wrong with a certain student and the classroom environment is set correctly, the class as a whole will be able to function better and the class can help me along with my teaching. Along with knowing the IDEA, I will also be in understanding of how the correct IEP may be set up. An IEP is extremely essential to help a student learn in class. With a well formulated IEP in place, a student can move throughout the day much more easily and along with that I will be able to help them learn better. Any student with exceptionalities student needs to have a well scheduled day to allow them learn the most. As a team member for the student, I am required make to sure the student is staying on task and completing their required IEP expectations. During and IEP meeting, I will be required to note any information about academic and social development of my student. As the teacher, I will meet with the student services team to set up a list of goals for the student to reach in class. I will show the student the evaluation and log the students behavior for the next few weeks to see if we have an improvement or not. If the student is not living up to what was expected and IEP meeting will be set up and the team will decide to continue on with the writing of the IEP. Along with this, parents, or guardians, will be informed and I, along with the Student Services Team (SST), will meet the parents and inform them about their child. The student will also be given a behavior rating profile to help the SST understand what
may be wrong. If problems continue, the parents will be informed about their child and how they may be missing crucial parts of their education. If the team and I agree on a disability, along with the parents, the student will have an IEP written up. Services will begin as soon as possible with the parents permission and I will start using the IEP during class. During class time, I will have to make adaptations, including accommodations and modifications, in my class to allow for the best teaching environment. An accommodation will have the student participate in the entire original lesson plan while a modification will have a change in the lesson plan to help the student. Both are important to successful inclusion because the student will have increased chances for learning and will also be closer to f...