Early Childhood
As Service Coordinator, my role is to explain the IFSP and the IEP and serve as liaison with other people and agencies who are part of the child's plan. The screening process looks at cognitive, physical, emotional, social, and communication development to identify strengths and weaknesses upon which the plans can be put together. Parents' questions could include time frame for the program, expected results, prognosis for success in school, and alternatives if the program does not seem to be producing desired results.
In Massachusetts, two agencies that assist children with developmental delays and their families are the Department of Education and the Head Start Program. The Head Start Program assists with early detection and diagnosis; the Department of Education has a tiered support system once children reach school age. Diagnostic testing includes observation, interviewing, and drawn responses. In speaking with parents, it is wise to show results...
Observation, for example, could be conducted by the Service Coordinator, a social worker, and a child psychologist, all of whom have training in the detection of developmental delays.
Diagnostic testing helps in the planning of education programs because it looks at what the child can already do, and what gaps remain. The goals for the education plans must be realistic in terms of time frame and achievability by the student.
CE 320 Unit 8
By understanding working memory, the teacher can address a child's strengths. If a child has poor auditory skills, for example, visual cues would be helpful. This same child would benefit from getting just small chunks of information at a time, rather than a string of instructions, to allow time for processing.
Students with autism spectrum disorders have difficulty with abstract concepts. They…
