For my observation, I chose a student with autism that I have become familiar with at my field placement. For privacy reasons I will name my student James; I do not know what category of autism James has, but I know that he has been diagnosed for autism, has an IEP, and is currently below grade average in most of his classes. James is an only child, approximate age 15-16, in between his freshman and sophomore year at Strive Smart Preparatory High School.
Disability and the implications on the students’ classroom experience
Autism according to Brooke, C., & Buckley, P.C. (n.d.) is a developmental disability significantly affecting verbal and non-verbal social communication and social interaction, generally evidenced by the age of three. Other …show more content…
James has mentioned more than a few times that he knows the loopholes in the system and how he uses them to his advantage. The loopholes James is referring to is the accommodations that are in his IEP which gives him additional breaks in class and alternate assignments. The teacher has partially accommodated James by letting him take breaks from class, but James often wander the halls, visiting other teacher’s classrooms during their instruction or he ends up back at his desk watching movies and says that he is just listening to music.
There does not seem to be a concise plan of instruction for James; he participates in the projects that interest him and tunes out when he feels like he is familiar with the project or materials. Based on what my mentor has explained to me is; she needs more support on how to give James alternate assignments or strategies to enable him to pass her class. At present James is failing Art because he will not complete any assignment no matter how much the teacher may scale down the requirements in order for help him …show more content…
The support James needs is not accessible nor does his teacher know how to accommodate him in her classroom. I speculate this is due in part to the high turnover rate with the teachers at this school and an inconsistent plan of action from the administration on implementing IEP’s. As to what will become of James, that is hard to tell. I understand educational institutions give you up to age 21 to graduate if you have a disability; I would hope that James would transition out of high school before then. The push for James’ education will have to come from his parents demanding to see, materials used to supplement his learning, test results, and how his IEP is being executed. If the parents continue to trust and leave it in the hands of a school with an ineffective administration, James will move through the system at a snails’ pace and not get the adequate support he
Disability and the implications on the students’ classroom experience
Autism according to Brooke, C., & Buckley, P.C. (n.d.) is a developmental disability significantly affecting verbal and non-verbal social communication and social interaction, generally evidenced by the age of three. Other …show more content…
James has mentioned more than a few times that he knows the loopholes in the system and how he uses them to his advantage. The loopholes James is referring to is the accommodations that are in his IEP which gives him additional breaks in class and alternate assignments. The teacher has partially accommodated James by letting him take breaks from class, but James often wander the halls, visiting other teacher’s classrooms during their instruction or he ends up back at his desk watching movies and says that he is just listening to music.
There does not seem to be a concise plan of instruction for James; he participates in the projects that interest him and tunes out when he feels like he is familiar with the project or materials. Based on what my mentor has explained to me is; she needs more support on how to give James alternate assignments or strategies to enable him to pass her class. At present James is failing Art because he will not complete any assignment no matter how much the teacher may scale down the requirements in order for help him …show more content…
The support James needs is not accessible nor does his teacher know how to accommodate him in her classroom. I speculate this is due in part to the high turnover rate with the teachers at this school and an inconsistent plan of action from the administration on implementing IEP’s. As to what will become of James, that is hard to tell. I understand educational institutions give you up to age 21 to graduate if you have a disability; I would hope that James would transition out of high school before then. The push for James’ education will have to come from his parents demanding to see, materials used to supplement his learning, test results, and how his IEP is being executed. If the parents continue to trust and leave it in the hands of a school with an ineffective administration, James will move through the system at a snails’ pace and not get the adequate support he