The curriculum for students in general education is determined by the school district. The right for students receiving special education services to access the general education curriculum is legally mandated by IDEA. Access means students with disabilities are actively engaged in learning the content and skills of the general education curriculum. (Access is not merely sitting in the room, doing work unrelated to the standards, or listening to content that is meaningless or too difficult).
The IEP is based on the child’s current skills, functional and academic, and the skills he/she needs in order to be successful. The IEP should prioritize goals and objectives and determine the school and community environments in which each goal and objective will be a priority.
Annual goals should be developed that are objective and measurable, aligned with the grade-level standards for a student, and targeted within the general education curriculum. Goals do not restate standards nor replace curriculum. General and life skills may also be targeted
“Specially Designed Instruction” (SDI) and “Supplementary Aids and Services” (SAS) must be written into the IEP to address the unique needs of the child resulting from the child’s disability and to ensure access to the general curriculum. This includes academic, behavioral, social, etc. such as oral tests, use of a calculator, extended time, limited problems, prompting, social stories, timers, sensory accommodations, visual cues, etc.
The IEP must specify the start date, frequency, time, and place of any “Related Services”. IDEA defines Related Services as “transportation and such developmental, corrective, and other supportive services as are required to assist a child with a disability to benefit from special education and includes…” It may include but is not limited to services such as speech-language pathology, audiology, interpreting, psychological services, or physical and occupational therapy, etc.
II. Develop a Plan to Integrate the Student’s Goals and Objectives in the Regular Class Setting
Develop a daily/weekly schedule for the regular class. Gather lesson plans and identify activities and outcomes that will occur in each time block and transition. (This can be completed by one or multiple people that work with a student, teachers from general ed, special ed, or an inclusion specialist)
Match the student’s objectives with each activity and transition.
For each activity identify the level of adaptation needed:
Unadapted: same activity, same objective.
Regular-Adapted: same activity, different objectives (student participates at a different level, and/or with adaptations, as different response modes).
Regular-Embedded: same theme/concept, different objectives (objective may not be to master subject area and content, but rather to participate in group instruction and develop social, motor and communication goals).
Functional different activity, different objectives (objectives are not drawn from the regular curriculum, but have immediate use in the student’s daily experience).
Determine who will support and/or provide instruction for each match:
Regular education teacher
Peer support (peer tutoring, peer buddies, cooperative learning groups)
Support staff (speech clinicians, therapists, counselors)
Educational assistant
Classroom volunteer
III. Develop Adaptations
Determine how the existing skills of the learner can be used in the adaptation (communication, reading, writing, spelling, math, basic concepts).
Consider the learning style of the students
Some students with disabilities may learn best with use visual stimuli
Some students with disabilities may have difficulty with auditory memory and auditory processing
Some students with disabilities may have fewer short- term memory channels
Some students with disabilities may learn best by doing
Be sure that the material presented is meaningful and useful for the child – motivation is very important
Use the principles of programming:
Move from the simple to the complex
match
select
name
Allow the child to succeed
Be sure criterion for performance is reached at one level before moving to the next level
Provide feedback – and make it positive
Use special education techniques when needed:
Task analysis
Chaining
Stimulus supports/Fading
Prompting
Modeling
Physical assistance
Plan for the stages of learning:
Acquisition
Practice to proficiency (fluency)
Transfer and generalization
Plan for ways to give the child status with peers – plan adaptations to put him/her in a leadership role when possible (one teacher made her pupil with a disability the computer expert: other pupils had to consult with him in order to learn programs).
The adaptation should be planned to build the learner’s independence and competence.
IV. Implement Your Plan
Be sure that planned adaptations are in place and that the support staff implementing the program understands how to implement the program and use adaptations effectively.
Be sure that support staff responsible for each program are scheduled when and where the adaptation is to take place.
V. Evaluate
Take data:
Determine the best way to measure pupil progress toward each objective – teaching the student to keep his/her own data, using charts, is an excellent adaptation for the use of math and reading skills.
If the pupil reaches criteria for mastery (80% and above for 2 or 3 days considered mastery), MOVE ON TO THE NEXT STEP – DO NOT ALLOW THE STUDENT TO GET STUCK DOING THE SAME THING DAY AFTER DAY – CHALLENGE HIM/HER TO MOVE FORWARD AND MAKE PROGRESS.
If the pupil is not making progress (below 50% for 2 or 3 days), DO NOT ALLOW THE CHILD TO CONTINUE TO FAIL THE ADAPTATION IS TO MAKE THE LEARNER SUCCESSFUL – IF SHE/HE IS NOT SUCCEEDING, THEN THE ADAPTATION IS NOT DOING ITS JOB; IT IS HANDICAPPING THE LEARNER. Consider these options:
Slice back
Break the task down into smaller steps
Change your feedback – it may not be reinforcing to the pupil
Try new materials and novelty
Make new adaptations – perhaps the task needs to be more functional and meaningful for the student
Put it aside for now – it is possible that the student is unable to do the task – work at a level at which the student can succeed -come back to this task later, if this skill is a priority
Johnson City School District (1990). Curriculum Integration process & Continuum of curricular approaches (Meyer R Janney, 1989)
Annual goals should be developed that are objective and measurable, aligned with the grade-level standards for a student, and targeted within the general education curriculum. Goals do not restate standards nor replace curriculum. General and life skills may also be targeted