Brady- Activity 1.4

Chapter 4, Educational Settings and the Role of the Family, stresses the importance of the educational setting in the assessment-teaching process. Specifically, it focuses on the important concepts and types of educational settings, as well as explains the significance and need of a partnership, between general and special education teachers, as well as parents and families of students with disabilities.

This chapter addresses two key concepts. This first concept calls for students to be placed in the least restrictive environment (lre). “The Individuals With Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA-2004) calls for instructing students with disabilities in the least restrictive environment-that is, with peers who do not have disabilities—to the greatest extent appropriate” (p. 110). Due to this law, all students should have access to general educational environments and curriculum if possible. In addition to this lre, supports need to be in place to assist students with disabilities.

The second concept mentions the continuum of alternative placements. According to the law, students with disabilities must have access to a variety of educational services.  Lerner and Johns (2012) list these resources:  “(1) General education class, (2) resource rooms, (3) separate classes, (4) separate schools, and other types of placements as needed, such as (5) residential facility, or (6) a homebound or hospital setting” (p. 112). Teachers need to be aware of this continuum of resources keeping the lre in mind; however, educators must also recognize that some of these resources may not be readily attainable in all inclusive environments.

In addition to these two concepts explained, chapter 4 also goes into great detail of the need for a strong partnership between special education and general education teachers. “As a greater number of students with learning disabilities and related mild disabilities receive their instruction in general education classrooms, procedures that promote partnerships between general education and special education teachers become especially important” (p. 121). All teachers must work together as a team to best support students.

Collaboration, aka interaction and communication between individuals, ensures student needs are addressed consistently and collectively. Likewise, this collaboration and partnership needs to include parents and families. This is a crucial part of a student with disability’s life and must not be ignored, but rather encouraged. This collaboration can take route in several methods. These methods include informal communication, face-to-face conferences, telephone calls, emails, and so on. Getting everyone on board ensures students with disabilities are successful in all environments.

After listening to the audio podcast, entitled “The Parent Role in the LD Evaluation Process” I learned the importance of this partnership with parents. Judith, a mother of a preschool student, describes how she dealt with the process of her daughter Mariel’s speech and language delay — and the course that accompanied it. After seeking advice from private professionals and public school psychologists and teachers, Judith came to value her own opinion and observations.

This podcast stresses the importance of the parents’ role. It reminds educators to be more empathetic and patient with parents. Hearing this woman’s experience, I learned how hard it must be to go through the process of having a child with a disability. Parents are not in the educational profession and typically do not have the background knowledge we do as educators. Thus, they feel threatened, confused, sad, in denial, and so on when they hear their child is different for the first time. It is our job to understand this and be there as a supportive team member. We must explain the process of assessment and the resources readily available to their child so they feel more comfortable and knowledgeable. This communication must be positive, open-minded, and supportive. Likewise, parents are with these children more than we are as educators; thus, we must listen to and value their assessments as well.