Individualized Education Program - Shawn

Individualized Education Program - Shawn

IEP

Individualized Education Program -- Shawn

Individualized Education Plan -- Shawn

CONFIDENTIAL

Educational Assessment

Shawn Date of Birth: 5/22/2000 Age

Ellicott Mills Middle Assessment Date: 11/23/12 Evaluator: R

Grade/Program: Remedial & Special Education w/Resource Room Report Date: 4/11/13

Reason for Referral: Shawn receives a referral for an evaluation for multiple reasons. He experiences orthopedic impairments that limit the use of his hands and arms. Subsequently, Shawn additionally shows signs of persistent emotional frustration, social inadequacies relative to his peers, as well as issues of fine and gross motor control. His participation in physical, social, and intellectual activities is limited. Shawn is intellectually competent with cognitive skills comparable to his peers, yet his frustration with his physical impairment often hampers his coursework.

Background Information:

Shawn was born in Ontario, Canada. His mother is Renee, a freelance graphic designer in print. His father is Philip, who works from home in a studio, serving as a carpenter and an automotive repairman. Shawn has an older sister, Kara, who attends a music conservatory as a cellist on a full scholarship. The family resides together in a house in close proximity to the school, in case his father needs to come to school for Shawn's sake. (emergencies, etc.)

Shawn was a healthy baby overall and appeared to meet physical and developmental milestones at a pace average to his peers. At age 4, Shawn's parents noted the following concerns after consultation with specialists:

Excessive struggle in lifting and manipulating objects in his environment

Intense bursts of anger that were verbally and physically violent

Signs of depression

By age 7, the following tendencies were observed in the home environment:

Increased need for assistance to perform activities of self-care

Increased withdrawal from social activities and social events

More focus into intellectual endeavors rather than physical ones

Reluctance to make friends outside of his family

At age 7, at the recommendation of the family pediatrician, Shawn's parents decided to have Shawn clinically evaluated by a local child psychologist and related multidisciplinary team (OT, PT, MSW, etc.) at their local hospital facility. As a result of the evaluation, Shawn was classified with a primary diagnosis of mild Oppositional Defiant Disorder and mild social anxiety.

Functional Assessment:

Educational History:

As a toddler, Shawn attended a bilingual preschool, where he learned in English and in French. This preschool/daycare program focused on a variety of learning styles for the children. Shawn enjoyed making art and participating in basic cooking that the students did in class. Shawn did not yet show more obvious signs of physical impairments. At this stage in his development, his physical strength was comparable to those of his peers. His was able to make some friends; his parents encouraged playdates and other outings including friends of Shawn's from school.

When Shawn entered Long Reach Elementary School, the deficits in his development became more apparent. He could not hold onto the relationships he formed earlier in life because his social skills were not on par. Before Shawn became excessively angry, he first became quite shy. He realized that his hands and arms got tired earlier in the day than his peers'. It became difficult for Shawn to keep up with the work load both inside and outside the classroom. He was not as skilled at the physical games and video/computer games that were so popular with his peers. When he realized he was drifting away from friends and the social world, his outburst of anger, rage, and frustration began to appear. Because Shawn socially withdrew, in addition to losing his social skills, at this point, he did suffer more because of his inability and resistance to articulate his feelings to relevant staff. He became more withdrawn in his home environment as well.

In the second grade is when Shawn was formally evaluated at his family's health facility as well as at school. The staff in this evaluation at school included an Occupational Therapist, Child Psychiatrist, Physical Therapist, Social Worker, Speech Pathologist, and a Behavior Analyst, all certified, qualified, accredited, and provided by his school. It was at this point, after the evaluation, that Shawn was redirected to the Special Education track and began receiving a variety of related services.

As a middle school student, Shawn has seen several years of related services. His physical impairment is still apparent to his peers, yet his participation in activities is less impeded as a result of progress attained in Physical Therapy sessions. Shawn sees a counselor, analyst, and Occupational Therapist. He enjoys his PT and OT sessions the most. Shawn struggles the most in therapy/counseling sessions. He demonstrated some progress in identifying his feelings and identifying triggers in his environment that set off his anger. As he enters puberty, his specialists have had to make some adjustments to their approaches with him and their services to accommodate the emotional, physical, and psychological transformations Shawn is going through. Shawn resisted his related services at first -- taking over a year to show signs of trust with his therapists. Now he has a firmer understanding of how the related services help him, even if he is "not always in the mood."

Teacher Interview and Present Level of Educational Performance:

So far in the 7th grade, Shawn shows the most proficiency in reading. Shawn reads at an above average speed. Shawn enjoys periods spent in the library, and often spends his free time in class reading. He enjoys books related to space, sports, engineering, and super heroes. He has begun developing an interest in world history as well.

Shawn's writing is still unclear. Shawn can write fairly well in print, but has more difficulty writing in cursive/script. To avoid handwriting, Shawn will often type us his work in class or at home. Shawn is occasionally permitted to use his iPad in class as a tool to assist him. Shawn has recently made one or two friends in his classes. He is friends with a student named Melissa -- they will read together and discuss what they have read. On a regular basis, Shawn & Melissa are assigned to work together in groups. This improves the performance of both students usually.

Shawn is also friends with a student named Charlie. Charlie wears leg braces to strengthened his bones and muscles as he recovers from a severe car accident that happened 2 years prior. Charlie and Shawn sometimes have shared sessions together in related service areas such as PT, OT, and counseling, although they also have individual sessions in these services as well. These are the first and only students that Shawn has made a noticeable effort to befriend.

Shawn shows skills in logical reasoning & analytical thinking, as demonstrated in his math skills. Shawn's weakest areas in subjects such as Physical Education. He struggles with his hand-eye coordination. He sees the students enjoying their bodies through physical activity and the bonds they build as a result of teamwork and he longs to have those feelings & experiences, too. The students with normative physical ability do not acknowledge him as a teammate or choose him for their teams, which frustrates and angers Shawn a great deal. He sometimes shows his frustration by intentionally disrupting the game, or whatever the activity may be. Shawn sometimes must be removed from the situation in order for the other students to participate without interruption.

Shawn additionally resists suggestions and assistance from staff in modified forms of participation in the game, etc. Shawn's moods fluctuate depending on the day's schedule of activities. Since the entrance into puberty, some of his emotional issues have been exacerbated.

Interventions Used:

Physical Therapy Sessions, group and individual, 3 -- 5 days a week, for 30 -- 45 minutes

Counseling sessions, group and individual, 3 days a week, for 30 -- 45 minutes

Occupational Therapy sessions, group and individual, 3 -- 5 days a week for 30 -- 45 minutes

1:1 paraprofessional support in the classroom to help Shawn control his rage and prioritize what is important enough to expend his energy on; maintain emotional stability & focus after school participation in a club that plans and puts on social events for students (Melissa & Charlie are a part of this group as well)

Strategies to stay emotionally calm

Construction of a "meditation/chill corner" in the resource room and at home for Shawn to go to when he feels overwhelmed to the point where he must productively remove himself from a situation where he feels out of control

Individual and group social skill training with one non-disabled/special education peer and one disabled/special education peer twice a week as administered by the Counselor and & Adolescent Psychologist

The ability to earn trips to the computer lab, library, and media library for appropriate behavior and measurable effort to participate in each activity as part of a token system to reinforce desired behavior with a concrete reward/token

Participating in the class roles such as teacher's assistant, in the efforts to get Shawn to interact with his classmates more

Student Interview and Test Observation:

Shawn is somewhat interested in his evaluation. He seems to be curious about what kind of options he has in life. He sees his sister enjoying herself very much in her studies and relationships developed at the conservatory and he wants some of those same things for himself. Shawn has shown somewhat of an increased interest in learning to socialize because of his growing interest in girls and romantic relationships. He wants to be evaluated in so far as he has interest in how his social skills and social intelligence stand up to his peers.

Shawn has accepted that he will be evaluated periodically. He does not show overt resistance to his evaluation, and he does not show overt excitement about it, either. He was mostly cooperative with the evaluation team. He expressed that he did not think many of his classmates liked him or even knew who he was. He mentioned that he recently became interested in sports, but brushed off his interest as "stupid." Shawn also tried to dismiss the necessity of handwriting because the world is in the digital age, although, he did not disparage OT completely. The testing took place within one school week, so as not disrupt Shawn's schedule a great deal, as well as to not overwhelm him and risk triggering an outburst or an emotional shutdown.

Basis for Evaluation:

Record Review

Teacher Interview

Student Interview

Classroom Observation

Psychological Evaluation

Tests of Achievement

The Woodcock-Johnson III

Test Results:

Academic Assessment

The Woodcock-Johnson III Tests of Achievement (WJIII)

Standard Score

Percentile

Overall

85

40

Basic Reading

50

Reading Comprehension

92

3

Reading Fluency

96

5

Oral Expression

75

10

Listening Comprehension

25

Math Computation

97

10

Math Reasoning

99

55

Written Expression

68

60

Interpretation of Testing Results:

The results show that Shawn has above average skills in reading, but lacks skills in oral communication, and written expression.

CONFIDENTIAL

Ellicott Mills Public Middle School

Psychological Assessment

Student: Shawn Date of Birth: 5/22/2000 Age: 12.9

School: Ellicott Mills Middle Assessment Date: 11/23/12 Evaluator: R

Grade/Program: Remedial & Special Education w/Resource Room Report Date: 4/11/13

Background Information:

Shawn is referred because of the connections between his physical impairment and his lack of social skills. Shawn showed signs of depression when he was in elementary school. Shawn furthermore shows deficiencies in oral communication/expression. Shawn's ODD, physical impairment, and emotional issues hinder his ability to develop normatively on the social and physical levels.

Psychological Assessment

The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Fourth Edition (WISC-IV)

Standard Score

Percentile

Qualitative Score

Verbal Comprehension Index

34

Average

Perceptual Reasoning Index

82

High Average

Working Memory Index

83

High Average

Processing Speed Index

45

Average

Full-Scale IQ

50

Average

Interpretation of Testing Results:

Shawn, when outside of the classroom setting, demonstrates average to above average intelligence. The change in environment and context truly affected Shawn's performance. Shawn does not produce consistent scores based on the type of work presented in class, especially if there is a great deal of listening and taking notes, or when a lot of hand writing is involved in the assignment/task overall. Shawn has a very active imagination, which is a result of all the reading he does. The reading Shawn does in his free time, such as in school or at home, contributed to his scores, particularly in those areas where his scores were above average.

Shawn was administered the WISC-IV, which has a variety of functions, including the identification of cognitive strengths and areas in need of improvement. This tests also tests for intellectual disabilities, attention disorders, giftedness, executive functions, and learning disabilities. The results are based on the composite scores of four areas, such as Processing Speed Index, and Perceptual Reasoning Index. The scores from these areas and others are represented in combination as the full scale score.

The Verbal Comprehension score represents Shawn's ability to listen to questions and then to provide answers orally on a particular set of tasks. The set of tasks in this area test and evaluate skill in thinking and reasoning with words, articulating thoughts with words, and understanding verbal information. With Shawn's score, he performed better than 34 students out of 100 of his same age on tasks that required listening and responding to verbal cues.

In Perceptual Reasoning, the score shows how well Shawn performed tasks that required solving problems without words, as well as tasks that required examination and thought. The tasks in this section require that students use visual information swiftly and effectively while they solve nonverbal problems. Shawn's score shows that he performed better than 82 out of 100 students of the same age in tasks that require assessment and application of visual cues to solve problems without words.

With respect to the Working Memory score, this figure represents Shawn's performance in tasks where he had to learn and retain information within his memory, then used that learned information as part of the task completion. This is a section that measures students' skill in areas like attention, concentration, and mental reasoning. Retention and attention are key factors in student learning and student achievement. Shawn's performance in this area was better than 82 out of 100 students of the same age with respect to tasks that require the acquisition & application of information.

The Processing Speed score reflects Shawn's ability to complete tasks where he had to make judgment calls on symbols after only having scanned them for a short time. The tasks in this section measure the speed with which the child's mind operates with specific attention to mental problem solving, eye-hand coordination, and attention. These are skills that are key in reading, an area in which Shawn excels. His skills in this section reflect his ability to think quickly overall. Shawn performed better than 45 students out of 100 of the same age in tasks measuring mental processing speed. His score likely suffered somewhat because of the impairments in his limbs, limiting his hand-eye coordination, and perhaps hand-eye speed.

Shawn's scores show that his cognitive ability is somewhere between average and above average, based on the performed in various areas and the IQ score.

CONFIDENTIAL

Ellicott Mills Public Middle School

Psychological Assessment

Student: Shawn Date of Birth: 5/22/2000 Age: 12.9

School: Ellicott Mills Middle Sex: 11/23/12

Grade/Program: Remedial & Special Education Parents/Guardians: Renee & Philip

Classification: ODD, ADD Recommended Program: Special Education, Blended

Services: OT, PT, Counseling, 1:1 Paraprofessional, Therapist (Privately), Social Skill training, Participation in School and After-School activities (Recommended)

IEP Meeting Date: December 12, 2012

Role

Student

Shawn

Parent

Renee

Parent

Philip

General Education Teacher

Michael

Special Education Teacher

Alison

Evaluator

Dr. Pete

Speech Language Therapist

Katerina

Medical Professional

Dr. Sam

1:1 Paraprofessional

Arthur

School Social Psychologist

Dr. Wei

Student Academic Performance Profile:

About half a page single spaced max.

Shawn is a male student that is nearly 13 years old. He attends Ellicott Mills Middle School as an 8th grade. When Shawn was 7 years old, he was professionally evaluated and received a primary diagnosis of Oppositional Defiance Disorder and mild society anxiety. Shawn underwent an educational assessment at the start of his 6th grade year and during his 7th grade year. He receives Special Education because he began falling behind in his school work due to a physical impairment that limits the use of his arms, hands, and fingers. This special education and his related services are provided as stipulated by IDEA. Upon annual review of Shawn's IEP, it was noted that Shawn still shows signs of ODD while his social anxiety fluctuates. It was also noted that Shawn may have a diagnosis of mild ADD. Shawn shows social deficits overall while in the classroom and in physical education. Shawn prefers to work alone, or with his paraprofessional, and recently he will work cooperatively with one or two other students who are his friends. Shawn has emotional outbursts and occasional extended tantrums. Shawn does not often seek others out for social interaction. Shawn reads a lot more relative to the students (his peers) in the classroom, so even though he has a lot of topics he could discuss with others, he often cannot initiate or sustain basic conversations and other forms of basic social activities. Jason has learned to retreat to the meditation corner when he becomes emotionally overwhelmed throughout the day, which is at least a few times everyday. Shawn's scores show that he has average to above average cognitive abilities, yet his behavior in class suggests that he has problems socially and physically; some of those problems hinder his cognitive skills. Shawn shows anxiety and defiance in subjects such as Physical Education, Lunch, Recess/Free Time, and during transitions from subject to subject.

Academic Assessment

The Woodcock-Johnson III Tests of Achievement (WJ III)-

Shawn scored below average in Reading Fluency (96), Reading Comprehension (92), Oral Expression (75), and Math Computation (97).

Psychological Assessment

The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Fourth Edition (WISC-IV)

VCI -- 100, PRI -- 121, WMI -- 115, PSI -- 110, and FSIQ -- 125.