Student With Intellectual Disability

IEP

Student With Intellectual Disability

Goals and IEPs: Aiden

One of the critical components of any IEP is 'goal setting.' Goals are determined for each individual student and a specific instructional plan is designed to meet those goals. Goals are usually set annually but each annual goal has a series of short-term goals designed to facilitate reaching that objective. In the case of 'Aiden,' for example, a student identified as having ADHD, the first major goal was for the student to pass all of his classes. Despite testing with a near-normal IQ, Aiden struggled with paying attention in class and often acted as a distraction to other students. His grades did not reflect his abilities because of his difficulty in focusing. Short-term goals designed to achieve this long-term objective including turning homework assignments in on time, getting a C. Or above on all in-class tests and quizzes, and making a positive contribution to class discussions with information that was relevant to the topic.

Another goal included improving his attentive capacity. To achieve this goal, Aiden was supposed to meet weekly with a tutor for special assistance in improving his study skills. The tutor would break down Aiden's mainstream class assignments into more manageable chunks. Aiden would also be required to record all of his assignments in a book, which will be reviewed by his parents every night. This IEP encompassed social goals as well, including not talking in class unless he was specifically called upon to do speak, not interrupting other students during quiet time, and being able to engage with the class when called upon, rather than making irrelevant comments.

One of the difficulties for many mainstream teachers is to understand is the extent to which ADHD is a learning disability. Because all students, regardless of their classification, exhibit distractibility at some point in their academic careers, it can be easy to see a student with the condition merely as defiant, rather than in possession of a full-blown disorder. However, students with ADHD have specific cognitive deficits that make it difficult for them to filter out extraneous stimuli competing for their attention. The perception that ADHD is over-diagnosed can lead some teachers to not take the condition seriously.

However, Aiden's teacher seemed philosophically 'on board' in terms of implementing the behavioral strategies suggested in the IEP. She did express frustration that sometimes Aiden could be such a distraction in class because he diverted her attention away from other students. She also sometimes found it difficult to balance the needs of the student in the class with Aiden's attention span. It was difficult to assign group work, given that Aiden would get extremely distracted working in groups and it was also difficult to assign long assignments, reading passages, or word problems, since Aiden could not handle this without assistance. (In a one-on-one situation, when being tutored, Aiden reported more success in meeting these challenges). It has been noted that when dealing with children with ADHD "to accommodate to the student's short attention span, academic assignments should be brief and feedback regarding accuracy immediate. Longer projects should be broken up into manageable parts. Short time limits for task completion should be specified and can be enforced with timers" (Helping the student with ADHD in the classroom: Strategies for teachers, 1998, LD Online). However, this is not always feasible in a large classroom setting.

When observing Aiden in class, I did note that he tried to distract his fellow students by tapping them on their shoulder, looking at their work rather than his own, or whispering to them. The teacher reprimanded him for these actions and reminded him of the rules of the classroom, which was to work silently unless instructed to do so. He also shifted uncomfortably in his seat throughout the duration of the class. During times when the students were supposed to work quietly at their desks, Aiden tried to get the teacher's attention when she circulated the room and was providing assistance to students.

Overall, it was difficult to see evidence of individualized instruction in the classroom setting. When the teacher did go over to Aiden to discuss his work with him, she did try to take extra care to 'break down' the assignment and encourage him to approach the problems step-by-step. However, the assignment as a whole was not altered to suit Aiden's needs. In my post-observational interview with the teacher, I was informed that Aiden received more individualized assignments with his resource room tutor. This was supposed to reflect a balance between mainstreaming combined with individualized support.