Terrance has spent the last few years with his grandmother, and things have not gone well for him during that time. Now a 7 year-old, Terrance is quickly getting bigger and stronger - making his tantrums even more difficult to handle. Terrance attends public school, and his teachers work with him daily to help him to manage his social and emotional responses. Terrance is a child identified with multiple disabilities. His
FSIQ is 65 with performance and verbal areas being roughly equal. His speech continues to become somewhat more discernible with time, but those working with him in that area have indicated that he will require surgery to attempt to correct the physiological obstacles to clearer speech. Still, the biggest concern is Terrance's explosive temper that seems to come out of nowhere. Given his differing physical appearance, it is hard for him to make friends, and this fact seems to have created a situation where he will attempt to push other kids away before they can reject him. This sometimes leads to physical altercations, and several parents have contacted the school out of concern for the safety of their own children. School administrators wonder if this school is the best placement option for Terrance, but recent budget cuts have left precious little for sending children like Terrance to specialized schools. Still, the school may be one more incident away from having to explore the issue in greater depth.
Vasha went into treatment during this time, and she has moved back to the area. She gets to see Terrance several times a week, and she is in contact with the Department of Social Services to determine how she can regain custody of Terrance so the two can live together. Vasha has managed to hold down a job at a local convenience store and has saved up a small amount of money. She seems to have dealt with her addiction and has been clean for over two years.
* What alternatives are there that might meet Terrance's educational needs? What considerations might a school make before recommending that a change of placement be made? What document needs to be amended in order to change his placement to something more restrictive?
* How is it that Vasha still has contact with Terrance even though she was responsible for his FASD? Why was he not removed at birth given the severity of his condition? Should DSS require some kind of "parental fitness" evaluation of Vasha if she is to regain custody? How is this done?
* What does it mean that Terrance has a full-scale IQ of 65? What implications does this have for his treatment in general?
* Write 2-3 goals one might find in Terrance's current IEP. Under each goal, include at least 3 objectives.
1. There are numerous alternatives that might meet Terrance’s educational needs. Upon deciding on an appropriate placement for Terrance the main thing to take into consideration is that in accordance with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Terrance would need to be placed in the least restrictive environment (LRE) that would meet his needs. Placement could vary across a broad spectrum from an entirely inclusive setting all the way to a special school with a residential program. If placement outside the school system is determined to be appropriate the school system would be required to pay the cost which can be extremely detrimental to the school’s budget. Due to the budget issue in the school which Terrance is currently attending, a specialized school would probably only be considered after all other options have failed. Before the school makes any considerations in recommending a change of placement they should ensure that the every possible avenue has been explored. They should start by looking at his current placement and what has been done.
ReplyDeleteWe know that Terrance attends public school and is 7 years-old which puts him roughly in the 1st or 2nd grade. He has been identified with multiple disabilities (Primary disability is probably identified as Intellectual Disability (ID) due to a full-scale IQ of 65 and the secondary disability would be the Speech-Language Impairment (SLI)). His speech has been improving despite the physiological obstacles so he is responding to speech therapy. His teachers have been helping him daily to manage his social and emotion responses but he continues to have an explosive temper. What exactly have his teachers been doing? Has a functional behavior assessment (FBA) been done to identify the cause, function, and triggers of the behavior? If so are alternative skills being taught to replace the challenging behavior? Since traditional behavior modification methods don’t work well for children with FASD, how is Terrance responding to the intervention? If Terrance is in an inclusive setting he might need to be moved to a setting that will help counteract the environmental affects that may increase the likelihood that challenging behavior may occur. A self-contained special education classroom might be the next step which may provide an environment with fewer distractions. According to The Academic Edge, Inc., 2012, “Children with FASD do better with dimmed lights, few pictures on the walls, soft music, etc.” The self-contained classroom may offer the structure and routine that Terrance may need. Another option for Terrance may be in a behavior modified classroom but do to the very nature of the classroom it may provide too much chaos for Terrance to be productive. While the previous placements might require Terrance to go to a different school then he is currently attending it is still within the same school district. The next level would be an out-of-district placement that would place Terrance in a school that has a program that is specifically designed to address his behavioral and learning needs. This type of process should continue a step at a time with each step being more restrictive until an appropriate setting is found to meet Terrance’s behavior and educational needs. The more restrictive the environment that Terrance is placed into the more the cost the schools system usually incurs. Regardless of the final placement option for Terrance, if his placement is to be changed in any way to a more restrictive environment it will have to be agreed upon and amended on his Individualized Education Program (IEP).
2. Even though Vasha was responsible for Terrance’s FASD, she has actively participated in therapeutic recovery programs to better herself. Unlike some FASD-producing mothers, Vasha immediately stopped abusing drugs and alcohol when she found out she was pregnant. After finding out she was pregnant, Vasha also showed regret for her actions and concern for her baby’s health. Her willingness to seek help and counseling to better her and Terrance’s life has demonstrated enough self-progression for her to still have contact with Terrance. Addiction is a hard obstacle to overcome, but through her hard work Vasha has earned the privilege of keeping a relationship with her child. Even though Terrance suffers from FASD, maintaining a viable relationship with his mother is still important for his developmental growth.
ReplyDeleteAlthough it is not typical for mothers of FASD children to remain primary caregivers, Vasha demonstrated tremendous strides to prove her qualifications as a suitable mother for Terrance (Kids To Adopt, 2012). Some of Vasha’s maternal-induced qualifications included her ability to stop abusing alcohol, her willingness to attend recovery programs, and her dedication to advocate for her child’s needs. These reasons demonstrate why Terrance was probably not removed at birth even while given the severity of his condition. Another reason Terrance remained in his mother’s care was probably also due to the fact that FASD is hard to distinguish in newly born babies (Kids To Adopt, 2012). A child with FASD has very characteristic facial features of their condition, however when a baby with FASD is born their facial structure is similar to normal newborn babies (Kids To Adopt, 2012). Another probable reason of why Terrance remained with his mother is due to the doctors not being able to find enough substantial evidence to report Terrance to social services.
If Vasha regains custody of Terrance, I believe DSS should require some kind of “parental fitness” evaluation. Throughout this whole situation, Terrance’s best interest and well being are the main priorities. In terms of putting Terrance back in his mother’s custody, it would be unethical to not first evaluate Vasha’s parental capabilities. If Vasha is truly ready to regain Terrance’s custody she will not have a problem participating in the evaluation process. Typical custody evaluation components include: “interviewing key litigation participants, administering psychological tests, conducting observations of the parents and offspring, conceptualizing the results, making recommendations to the courts”(Turkat, n.d.). After all that Vasha and Terrance have been through, she should want to do everything she can to regain custody and redeem herself.
3. The IQ scale is set on a Bell Curve, with average IQ being between -1 and +1 Standard Deviations (of 15 points) from the mean which is 100. This meaning that if a child scores between 85-115 they are seen as having normal intelligence.
ReplyDeleteWith that being said, it is clear that Terrance’s Full-Scale IQ (which means all of the different subtests, verbal, performance, etc. averaged together) is significantly below the requirements for normal intelligence at a score of 65.
When an individuals IQ is 70 or lower, they are referred to as “mentally retarded” or “intellectually disabled.” This diagnosis is also put into further levels of severity based on the IQ score of the individual:
· “50-70 à Mild Mental Retardation; Children require mild support; formally called ‘Educable Mentally Retarded’
· 35-50 à Moderate Retardation; children require moderate supervision and assistance; formally called “Trainable Mentally Retarded”
· 25-35 à Severe Mental Retardation; can be taught basic life skills and simple tasks with supervision
· 25 and Belowà Profound Mental Retardation; usually caused by a neurological condition; require constant care (Artmann, 2006).”
However, low IQ is not the only criteria needed to be diagnosed with Mental Retardation. The individual must also demonstrate a deficit in Adaptive Behavior, or their ability in life skills and every day functioning. Based on what we have seen in Terrance’s behavior management skills and significant issues in school, it is easy to assume that he does indeed have a deficit in adaptive behavior.
Terrance falls into the category of “Mild Mental Retardation.” According to the Endowment for Human Development, “many FASD patients are mentally retarded (have an IQ below 70). . . . Children with FASD have poorer socioemotional development (emotional, personality, social, and moral development) than would be expected based on their IQ scores (Thomas et al. 1998; Carmichael Olson et al. 1998).”
4. An example of some goals that might be seen under Terrance’s IEP are:
ReplyDelete1.) Goal- Terrence will improve social interactions in the classroom, showing positive relationships with his peers with few to none temper tantrums.
Objectives:
-Terrence will follow the instructions with little prompting in a group setting.
-Terrence will share his materials, toys, etc with no argument.
-Terrence will speak politely to his peers and teachers
- Terrence will make appropriate remarks in the classroom that do not offend/distract others while they are doing work.
-Terrence will willingly make conversation with others with no guidance.
2.) Goal- Immediately after Terrence receives oral surgery to correct the physiological obstacles that alter his speech Terrence will receive intense speech therapy and within a year have more understandable speech.
Objectives:
-Terrence will receive oral surgery over the summer when he is not in school to correct his formation of speech.
-Terrence will see a Speech Pathologist 5 times a week to get used to his changes and learn how to speak correctly with them.
-Terrence will gradually decrease the number of times he receives therapy depending on his improvements and self-practice
-Terrence will have a strong support system at this time to encourage him
-Terrence will speak clearer and easier to understand in the classroom when school is back in session. (Bateman & Herr, 2006)
We think the best decision for Terrance would be to stay put in his current school for now. There are several reasons to support this.
ReplyDeleteTerrance is only 7 years old, therefore he is either at the end of his 1st grade year or at the beginning of his 2nd grade year. The point being that he is still extremely young and the IEP team will no doubt have issues that need to be tweaked within his plan to better suit his individual needs. It will take monitoring, and meeting with the team often, and changes in his day to day routine to get the plan to a point where it is helping Terrance not only deal with his emotion and anger control, but also to get to a point where he can contribute in a classroom, and learn self-sustaining life skills to help him reach a goal of individual living as an adult.
Another reason behind our decision is based on his severity of mental retardation being only Mild. With this diagnosis, his prognosis is fairly bright in the ability to learn life skills appropriately as well as social and academic skills that can be used in every day life, such as counting change.
He may be medically considered “mentally retarded” but that does not mean that he has no intelligence what so ever. He is capable of learning to control his emotions and life skills given the appropriate opportunities provided to his through the changes made in the IEP team’s plan of action and patience.
IDEA states that every child is entitled to a free and appropriate education in their least restrictive environment. By putting Terrance into a residential school for example, will not be the “least restrictive environment” that is available to him, especially at 7 years old.
He should remain in the public school system for a while longer and see if the changes in his IEP plan show any improvement in his deficit areas. He should not be restricted to just special education curriculum, and in turn be provided access to the general education curriculum under close supervision (in order to take control if a temper tantrum occurs). Terrance’s main issue seems to be his social interactions with others, and therefore could benefit greatly from the interaction in a controlled classroom environment with typically developing peers.
Because his mental retardation is mild, he is capable of learning some academic material that would be useful in life, and therefore would benefit from the public school curriculum if it was custom to his needs. If he was put in a residential school, they may focus more on life skills and he would wind up missing essential information that he does have the possibility to retain given the correct instruction. If he missed out of this information, it could actually hinder his adult life by not letting him reach his full knowledge potential.
Speaking of his full potential, realistically Terrance will be interacting with people of typical development and intelligence throughout his life. Although it seems like the interaction between him and his typical developing peers is strained right now, it could very well be beneficial for him to absorb this information which in turn will allow him to better understand how to interact and communicate later in life, potentially while working at his job? Or grocery shopping? Living an independent life? The sky is the limit for Terrance, and no one should limit his potentials by putting him in a residential school too soon.