Group+2


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Part 1 ** It is early one Monday morning in October and I woke up eager to go to work at East Meadows Elementary School. I really don't know why I was eager, other than the fact the principal had quickly told me last Friday, as he rushed past me in the hallway, that a new child would be in my classroom on Monday. I knew the students would be really hyper since they hadn’t seen each other in two days and I hoped they would welcome the new student. I pulled into the faculty parking lot, gathered my belongings, and got out of the car praying this would be a great day. I passed by a number of students on the playground, who refused to enter the building until a millisecond before the tardy bell rang; they couldn’t miss one second of freedom. I signed in as I entered the building and grabbed a cup of coffee from the lounge. I passed by the cafeteria where the students who arrived early were eating breakfast and chatting with their friends. I walked into my classroom to put my bags down, but the intercom came on just as I entered the classroom. The principal said, "Mr. Jones could you please report to the principal's office immediately?" All types of thoughts crossed my mind. Did I park in the wrong spot again, was I driving too fast on the parking lot, was I talking on my cell phone and not paying attention to the students in the parking lot? Who knows what he wanted and then I remembered the new student. As I walked in I noticed a neatly dressed young child with her parents, she wasn’t saying anything, but I noticed that she was very busy playing with a toy figure and swinging her legs back and forth while she sat in the chair. At one point the toy “walked up the walls”. How long had they been there? Brooked seemed as if she had been in the chair for decades and was thoroughly bored. Brooke’s attention was completely focused on her toy. The principal Mr. Holmes said, “Hello Ms. Jones this is your new student Brooke and her parents Mr. and Mrs. Smith.” Her parents spoke, but Brooke kept right along playing. I said, “Hi Brooke,” but she didn’t pay any attention to what I was saying. Her parents said she was very shy, but her actions didn’t show me she was shy. Her records from her previous school had not made it yet, but I was assured they would be there by the end of the week. By this time the bell was ringing so Mr. Holmes ushered me into the hallway with Brooke and told me to hurry to my classroom. I took Brooke by the hand and walked in the direction of my classroom.  As I walked with Brooke down the hallway she reminded me of a student that I had five years ago at East Meadows. Currently, East Meadows was on the verge of becoming a Title I school and accepting a new student into the classroom made it stressful. I wanted my children to perform well on state exams and I didn’t want them to be labeled anymore than they already were. Although our school is in a poverty stricken district our students perform comparatively well and I only have 1 LD student in my classroom, total there are twenty kids in the class.  Record your thoughts and feelings so far? What seems to be the issues/problems in this story? How do you believe these issues/ problems should be addressed?
 * Questions: **

Behavior Support, Strategies, and Interventions: [|http://specialed.about.com/od/behavioremotional/a/behav101.htm] www.kidsource.com Positive Behavior Support Initiative: [|https://umdrive.memphis.edu/g-coe-rise/] 

This is a typical situation that occurs in schools when a new student enters in the middle of a school year. Candidates must address the issue that there was access to a limited amount of information on this student.
 * Facilitator notes: **

When I entered the classroom with Brooke, she was noticeably shy but no more than any new student would be. To help ease her anxiety, I introduced Brooke quickly to the class and allowed her to sit down before I explained that she had moved from Mississippi. While Brooke was unpacking her belongings and putting them into her new desk, I began the morning math, multiplication lesson. I provided the class with a worksheet and asked them to complete the first row of problems. Immediately, Brooke began writing all over the page quietly at first, but as she drew the attention of nearby students, she began to scribble vigorously. The students immediately began to laugh at the scene. To eliminate any further distraction, I quickly asked Brooke to put her pencil down. She grunted, flipped the page over, and then began to write on the other side. I informed Brooke that I would take away her pencil if she continued her behavior. Brooke then stuck out her tongue at me which caused the children to laugh. Immediately I knew something was wrong and I had not been informed about any behavioral issues associated with Brooke. I decided I needed to get back to the office and get that additional information. It could not wait until my 9:00am planning period. I told the class to continue doing the first row of problems and that Brooke and I would be going to the office. Brooke immediately began crying and pounding her fists on the desk. When she began to shake the children became noticeably concerned. I told the students to go to the reading carpet and pick out a book from the shelves. I then called the office on the intercom to see if the Mr. Holmes was available. He was not. I then went over to Brooke in an attempt to calm her down. I attempted to explain appropriate behavior and classroom rules; I tried bribery, I tried pleading, but Brooke would not quit shaking and pounding her fists on the desk. Finally, I said that she could keep writing on her paper, which did receive a reaction from her. Brooke quit pounding her fists and looked at me, still shaking. “Would you like to keep writing”? Brooke grunted. I thought that was unusual. “Brooke is that a yes or a no?” Again a grunt. Finally I realized that I had not heard Brooke talk since I was introduced to her. In a span of 30 minutes I realized that she was nonverbal and had severe behavioral issues, none of which I was informed of by the Mr. Holmes or Mr. and Mrs. Smith. Aparently the good day that I prayed for would not be coming and the rest of the day remained relatively bad… <span style="background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; font-size: 10pt; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial; color: black; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Do you agree with rewarding Brooke with candy, if not what would be appropriate incentives? Do you explain Brooke’s behavior to the other students, why or why not? What resources are put in place for teacher, such as Mr. Jones, to effectively handle a classroom situation such as this?
 * Part 2**
 * <span style="background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; font-size: 10pt; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial; color: black; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Questions: **

Child-Friendly Online Learning Games: pbskids.com <span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">[] <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Videos about teaching children with disorders: []: Handling special needs children in the classroom.


 * <span style="background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; font-size: 10pt; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial; color: black; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Facilitator Notes: **<span style="background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; font-size: 10pt; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial; color: black; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">As teachers you will commonly face behavioral problems, think of ways in which you could address the issues without providing positive reinforcement for negative behavior. For instance determine why Brooke is acting out, then provide some intervention that directly facilitates appropriate behavior. If Brooke is misbehaving because she does not want to complete a homework assigment then giving her time out is inneffective because it still allows Brooke to not complete the assigment, which is what she wanted. In this particular case time out is positive reinforcement.

<span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Thank goodness it is almost Thanksgiving break! I am not sure how I have survived. I love my students but there have been so many challenges this year. It takes all of my energy just to make it through each and every day. I was praying Brooke would miraculously begin speaking and shout out a multiplication answer one day. This has not happened nor has she spoken to any of the other students. However, she has certainly made her presence known. She tears up worksheets, stomps her feet and pounds her hands on her desk, and her sporadic wailing can be heard all the way down the hall. Brooke often behaves worse if someone is watching her. “Good behavior” is characterized by inappropriate hugs and kisses to male students. Further, I have received little support from Mr. and Mrs. Smith since Brooke first arrived. I politely disagreed with the behavioral interventions they suggested I use in the classroom. Specifically, they suggested I give Brooke candy each and every time she misbehaves or disrupts the class to calm her down, which is impossible with other 8 year old students in my 3rd grade class. Mr. and Mrs. Smith explained this would make Brooke happy and she would be easier to work with. Because I did not adhere to their suggestions they refuse to cooperate any further, and have stated that Brooke’s misbehavior is “my problem”. Mr. Holmes has not been alot of help either. In early October I suggested that I begin the referral process for Brooke. However, Mr. Holmes does not believe any actions need to be taken. Mr. Holmes is adament that Mr. and Mrs. Smith are dissatisfied with Memphis and plan on relocating back to Mississippi at the end of Christmas Break. Since Brooke has been in my classroom, I have added 2-3 beahvioral slips to Brooke's file per day. I finally quit recording the information after a month. However, last week Brooke's behavior began to worsen and I again approached Mr. Holmes to complete a referral for Brooke. Mr. Holmes then explained that the school psychologist was extremely busy with the Kindergarten classrooms' ADHD diagnoses, 2nd grade LD cases, and should not waste her time on a student who is about to leave. But what if Brooke doesn’t leave? <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">
 * <span style="background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; font-size: 10pt; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial; color: black; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Part 3 **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">

<span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">What happens if Brooke comes back after Thanksgiving? What behavioral interventions does the teacher need to put in place? When, if at all, should Mr. Jones have begun the referral process for Brooke?
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Questions: **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">

Teacher Tutorial for learning disabilities: [] [] Memphis City Schools - Code of Student Conduct: <span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">[|http://www.mcsk12.net/forms/Student-Conduct-Hndbook.pdf] <span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> <span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">[|http://www.mcsk12.net/forms/Handbook-Spanish.pdf] <span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">- spanish Childrens books about disorders:
 * <span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Facilitator Notes: **<span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">As educators you should be familar with various characteristic of psychological and behavioral disorders in order to identify students and develop classroom interventions accordingly. Also, by recognizing typical characteristics associated with psychological and behavioral disorders, a teacher will better able to refer them to the school counselor and school psychologist and get the child the appropriate services.

__Hard to Handle Kid__ by: C. Drew Edwards, Ph.D

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">__Russell is Extra Special__ by C A Amenta, MD (1992, Magination Press) This book is illustrated with black and white photos, showing a family with an autistic child. It describes a boy affected by autism and uses this as a jumping off point to describe some other aspects of autism. The family clearly cares for their autistic son and his siblings. __Andy and his Yellow Frisbee__ by Thompson (Woodbine Press, 1996) This illustrated book is aimed at elementary school aged children. It describes a playground situation in which Andy, an autistic boy, his sister and a new student interact. The author draws some parallels between Andy's autistic self absorption and the new girl's anxiety about a new school. Andy's older sister observes the new girl trying to interact with Andy. (When a child reads this book, an adult should be available to discuss the points it illustrates.