Supporting Students with

Disabilities
Quick Special Education Info

•  Not all students with disabilities have IEPs

Ø Disability doesn’t impact education à 504
Ø Disability does impact education à IEP
•  RtII Process allows us to give support before
going right to an IEP
•  At EEACS, case managers & learning support
teachers are the same
Ø Ask these case managers to review IEPs
General Education Support

•  Supporting students in the regular education

classroom (reading, math, science, etc.)
•  One-to-One support (for one or a few students)
•  Classroom teacher should always give the 1st
prompt
Ø Example: Boys and girls, get out your reading
book.
•  Support person is secondary in the prompting
Prompting & Redirection

•  Before redirecting, allow time for behavior

change
Ø At least 5 seconds wait time after direction and/
or additional prompt is given
•  Use prompts that are least intrusive first
Ø Non-verbal gesture is less intrusive than verbally
giving a prompt
Ø This gives student the opportunity for
independence
 Prompting & Redirection
Least intrusive

Seeing a peer, self

redirection
 Examples of Prompts
Natural Gesture Indirect Direct Model
Verbal Verbal
•  Seeing a •  Pointing to •  “Look at •  “Get out •  Show
peer take teacher Bill’s desk. your science students
out his during Is his book book.” how to count
pencil science out?” •  “Mrs. Smith three
•  Realizing lesson •  “What’s your said to line quarters and
her •  Using eye job?” up.” then asking
tablemates contact and •  “What was •  “Where is them to do
are lining up hand motion the your pencil?” the same.
•  Hearing the to look at the direction?”
second text book
announcem •  Shaking
ent to clean head “no”
up
Intellectual Disabilities
•  Formally called MR (mentally retarded)
•  Has a low full scale IQ (below 70)
•  Impairment impacts: conceptual, social,
and practical life skills (now a requirement
from DSM-V)
•  Degrees: mild, moderate, severe, profound
Ø 85% of students fall within the mild category

•  Causes vary: traumatic brain injury, lack of

oxygen at birth, genetic (ie Down
Syndrome), prenatal difficulties
How to Support Students with I.D.
•  Explicitly teach organizational skills
•  Give short, specific directions
•  Avoid long winded explanations
•  Ask one question at a time and give wait time
Ø Which feels like FOREVER at times
•  Keep conversations as normal as possible for
socialization with peers
•  Increase difficulty of tasks slowly over time
•  Will need to be taught coping strategies
•  Visual supports (schedules, directions, routines)
www.do2learn.com
Autism

•  2014 Statistics
Ø 1 in 68 children
Ø 1 in 42 boys; 1 in 189 girls
Ø No defined cause, but genetics and
environment may take part

•  Most students are within average or above

average cognitive abilities
•  Impacts social, sensory, and
communication deficits
How to Support Students with
Autism
Struggle in School Strategies to Support

Understanding & following •  Get child’s attention before giving

directions directions
•  Simple language (“Pick up your
pencil.”)
•  Avoid wordiness in your directions
•  Reword directions
•  Wait to give time to process
Difficulty explaining needs, •  Use of pictures to help recall
retelling stories •  Ask closed questions (Who, What,
(comprehension), When, Where) instead of open
answering a question ended
•  Avoid “yes/no” questions
Following classroom rules •  Clear and consistent rules in your
group
•  Use social story to help visualize
rules (ask Mandy for help with this)
Supporting Students with
Autism (continued)
Struggle in School Strategies to Support
Dealing with changes and •  Giving warnings before changes/
transitions transitions (“Five minutes until we must
clean up.”)
•  Give notice if you know of a change in
schedule
Sensory needs •  Allow time for breaks if over stimulated
(ie cafeteria)
•  Reduce social demands during learning
times to allow focus
•  Do not force eye contact

Flexible and relatable thinking •  Tie in to students’ personal experiences

and interests
•  Use buddy system to ensure friendship
in group
•  Simplify rules of a game
•  Social situations tend to be a struggle
Students with Autism- Using
Social Stories
•  Social stories are scripts that explicitly teach
students the “unwritten rules” of expected
behaviors and social skills
Ø Students on the spectrum do not notice or see
visual cues or understand tones likes “neuro-
typical” students
•  Social stories state the skills and the steps
needed to achieve the skills
•  Social stories are used as instructional tools
and them revisited when a situation arises as
part of a debrief
A Quick Look at Social Stories

•  Interrupting Social Story

•  https://youtu.be/HXACBYTaz3A
•  Space Invader
•  https://youtu.be/0CfxqdwZS9A
 Oppositional Defiant Disorder and
Other Behavioral Concerns
•  Oppositional Defiant Disorder: continuous
pattern of being uncooperative, defiant, or
hostile towards those of authority
Ø It’s about POWER
Ø “Old school” approaches will not work
•  Pushing that you are the boss will only cause backlash

•  If a student’s behavior is impeding his or

others’ learning experience, let the
teacher, case manager, or specialist
know!
Oppositional Defiant Disorder and
Other Behavioral Concerns
 Supporting Students with Behavioral
Concerns
•  Remain CALM
•  Praise when appropriate behaviors are displayed
Ø “Thanks for raising your hand.”
•  Avoid confrontation if you can
•  Do not rehash past issues
Ø This will not help build trust, and it’s no longer relevant
to the student
•  Be clear in what you expect
•  Address issues privately, not in front of the group
•  Try giving the student a sense of purpose, redirect
his/her energy
Ø  Pencil collector during groups, messenger, etc
 Learning Disabilities
•  We most often see students with
learning disabilities
•  Students have a discrepancy between
performance and IQ scores
•  Impacts reading, math, writing,
organization, and processing information
Ø Dyslexia, dyscalculia, dysgraphia, and APD
 Learning Disabilities- Strategies
•  May need additional time to complete work
•  Break directions into smaller tasks
•  Break up assignments into smaller tasks
Ø “Do numbers 1 & 2 first. I’ll check on you in a
moment.”

•  Repeat directions
•  Don’t be afraid to use manipulatives
•  Some may work best at the back of the
room or in the hallway to reduce anxiety or
not to disturb others
 Attention Deficit Disorder OR
Attention Deficit Hyperactive
Disorder- Strategies
•  Clear directions
•  Praise for positive or desired behaviors
•  If it’s not a disruption, allow student to stand at seat
•  Give breaks or a job to break up sitting for longer
periods
Ø Send down the hall to drop off a note
•  Help with organization, but DO NOT do it for them!
•  Ask student to repeat directions or ask a peer to
reiterate the expectations
 Executive Functioning Disorder
•  Looks like ADHD, but is often seen with
learning disabled students
•  Impacts part of the brain that organizes,
plans, pays attention, remembers detail,
and time management
•  Struggle with recalling events,
directions, completing things in a timely
fashion
 Executive Functioning- Strategies

•  Give visuals to get through tasks

Ø Lists or check lists
Ø Personal task list

•  Give time warnings before transitions

•  Give a rationale to what is being taught
•  Help with organization
Ø Color coded folders
Ø Printed calendar with test dates and
deadlines
Partner Up!

In groups of 2 to 3. We will be reading

scenarios in which you will discuss
with your group how to handle the
situation. Be ready to share ideas!
Scenario 1
Justin is a new student in the 5th grade and has
an IEP for an intellectual disability, and has a
medical diagnosis of Down Syndrome. You are
filling in for the classroom teacher who has a
coaching meeting. The class was given a “To Do”
list while the teacher is out. Even though the class
has been actively working for the last ten minutes,
Justin still has not started the first task on the list.
How do you handle this situation?
Scenario 2
Eli is a frequent flyer with his 9th grade
Community Coach and Team Leader. According
to Eli’s IEP, he is considered to be emotionally
disturbed due to a diagnosis of Oppositional
Defiant Disorder and PTSD after years of abuse
in several foster homes. Eli has been a part of the
9th grade community for three weeks and
continues to give significant push back to one of
his teachers. He often times needs to be removed
from that class and his responses to his teacher
continues to escalate. How can this situation be
addressed?
Scenario 3
Mel is a third grade student with a diagnosis of
Autism as well as a speech/language disorder
and receives services with an IEP. Mel follows the
norms independently and is a role model in her
class. Mel arrives to school one morning and
starts to exhibit not normal behaviors for her-
giving feedback, not following her process, and
scribbles on the art teacher’s table. You see Mel’s
teacher privately redirecting her in the hallway
while the class transitions from art. How do you
support in this situation?
Scenario 4
Lucy has a specific learning disability, primarily in
reading. While supporting in her writing class, you
notice that has not made a lot of progress on her
graphic organizer for the big writing assignment
that she is to work on. How can you best support
her?
Scenario 5
Jay has ADHD and has a 504 with
accommodations. Often times, Jay becomes loud
and boisterous after he completes his work, which
he is usually the first to be finished. Jay requires
multiple redirections to get stop playing around in
class and it’s often times a huge disruption to his
classmates and teachers. How can he be best
supported?
 Final Thoughts
•  Classroom teacher is the first line of
defense
Ø  Allow the teacher to give direction and then support

•  We are working for independence

Ø  Give the students SPACE!
Ø  Allow opportunities for natural prompts

•  Every child is different!

Ø Not one single strategy will be the fix for everything
Ø Don’t assume the student who you are support will fit
a perfect mold or expectation

•  If the student has an IEP

Ø Talk to the case manager for tips and advice!
 Websites and Resources
•  http://dsagsl.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Supporting-the-Student-With-DS-Information-for-
Teachers.pdf
•  http://www.asha.org/public/speech/disorders/autism/
•  http://www.autism.org.uk/working-with/education/educational-professionals-in-schools/lessons-and-
breaktimes/education-classroom-and-playground-support-for-children-with-autism-spectrum-
disorders.aspx