Students with Disabilities: Instructional Practices for Literacy
A Review Of The Literature
Alicia M. Genco
Charleston Southern University Abstract
Students with disabilities are at a higher at-risk for dropping out of high school at a greater rate than typically developing peers (Pyle & Wexler, 2012). Students with identified disabilities are required to a free and appropriate public education (FAPE) according to law, and these students have unique needs that general education curriculum cannot meet on its own. However, there is abundant research that discusses various literacy interventions and strategies that can be effective. These interventions can be used in a school setting by any certified teacher (regular education or special education). This literature review will discuss some of the various reading and writing strategies as well as best practices for literacy in order to ensure students with disabilities are given the best chance for success. By providing timely interventions, monitoring progress, and analyzing data, it can be possible to increase achievement for those students with identified disabilities.
Students with Disabilities: Instructional Practices for Literacy
According to Pyle and Wexler (2012), students with disabilities are disproportionally represented in high school graduation rates. Millions of students with individual education plans (IEPs) lack a high school diploma which then in turn affects their ability to secure
According to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) an Individualized Education Program (IEP), address the following 7 steps about the student. The first step begins with a statement of the student’s present level of academic achievement and functional performance (PLAAFP). This is a summary of the student's present levels of academic achievement and functional performance, including (a) how the disability affects the student's involvement and progress in the general education curriculum; and (b) for students who
In the United States today, there are over fifty-one million disabled adults and children. Throughout our nation’s history, we have not allowed the best treatment and care for these numerous citizens. But, in the recent past, the government has passed laws, made exceptions, and thoroughly tried to provide accommodations to these people with special needs. While this is true, America, as a whole, still views this group as strange or different. Even though this is exceptionally normal, it is not correct. The United States needs to be opened up to the truth about their fellow American citizens. The people of America ought to understand that these disabilities affect not only those who are disabled, but that it affects the family and friends
The importance of school completion in the transition of students with disabilities to postsecondary life has received considerable attention (Blackorby & Wagner, 1996). However, it appears that students with disabilities do not fare well in their lives beyond high school in terms of employment or postsecondary education (Blackorby & Wagner, 1996). Most students who drop out of school because of a disability often find it hard to find a job then does their peers getting a high school diploma.
Wilson, Faggella-Luby, & Wei (2013) present a cogent plan for Tier 3 Response to Intervention (RTI) for secondary students with reading disabilities, content, and pedagogy planning tools, content instruction, and instructional method implementation. Both research application lacks concerning Tier 3 RTI in high schools (Wilson et. al). RTI is curriculum that addresses the learning needs of all students that also includes screening and monitoring progress. Continuing, Wilson et. al define Tier 1 RTI, core curriculum for all students serving the needs of 80% of students, Tier 2 RTI, small group instructional intervention, serving the needs of 15% of students, and Tier 3 RTI, an intense one to one intervention for students who continue to struggle beyond Tiers 1 and 2, serving 5% of students. Wilson et al. provides information the reader needs to understand in the article without clutter, expressing their writing with economy (Zinsser, 2013). The article is unified in theme, gives enough information without giving too much, and follows a clear progression (Zinsser). “More simple, than complex” (Henson, 1999, p. 58), Wilson et. al’s article is an example of good writing.
Special education students are delayed in there learning process. To resolve the gap in learning abilities Individual with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) obliges by law that all public schools to create an Individualized Education Program (IEP) for every child that receives special educational services. IDEA inspires to create an effective relationship amongst the parents and school that boost an educational team with the goals of providing the student with proper services (Mueller, 2009). In Each IEP meeting it involves the IEP team, IEP sections that addresses the student with disabilities educational progress.
When a child doesn’t seem to be learning, some teachers and parents in his/her life might criticize the child and think of them as stupid, or maybe just too lazy to want to learn. What they don’t realize is that the child might have a learning disability. But how are these children being helped? There are many programs, special schools and facilities, home teaching methods and many other ways in which children with Learning Disabilities are being helped.
Prior to 1975, no federal requirements existed for students with disabilities to attend school, or requirements for schools to attempt to teach students with disabilities (Salvia, Yesseldyke, & Bolt, 2013, p. 25). However, upon the enactment of several federal laws, such as Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and No Child Left Behind (NCLB), student with disabilities received access to free, appropriate public education which in turned required students with disabilities to participate in statewide assessments. According to Public Law 94-142 (now included in IDEA), it requires an individual education program (IEP) for students with disabilities. As part of the IEP, it contains items such as present levels of academic achievement and functional performance, measurable annual goals, criteria of progress, special education and related services as well as documenting any necessary accommodations needed for statewide assessments. The author provides a comparison of statewide assessments including items such as participation, accommodations and types of assessments between the states of Texas and Massachusetts.
Students with disabilities are increasingly being included in large scale, high-stakes testing programs despite inadequate accommodations. In recent years, the school system has increased pressure on students in regards to testing. In the past, Kentucky has done a poor job of including impaired students in its statewide assessments; mainly in failing to provide the mandated accommodations for disabled students. In order to help these students with their learning skills, test scores, appropriate testing accommodations and the performance of students with disabilities. Results indicate that most Kentucky students have been included in the CATS assessment, but many the scores obtained from disabled students may not be reliable due to
According to the Georgia Department of Education, the Georgia State School Board of Education adopted a new set of standards known as the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts. Since the Common Core Standards State Standards assess the same English Language Arts standards as the Georgia Performance Standards, Georgia’s curriculum is called Common Core Georgia Performance Standards. Of the ELA standards for first grade, one requires that students be able to ask and answer questions based on the details in a text. This standard also requires that the student be able to retell stories, including details, and demonstrate comprehension. This could be an issue for special needs students. Students with a learning disability in reading often have difficulty comprehending texts in books and other reading material that is written at their grade level. However, there are many strategies to use to improve reading comprehension in struggling readers. With the increase use of technology, my review is written to determine if pre-recordings readings are more effective than teacher-led read aloud in improving comprehension skills of students with disabilities.
Creating and implementing effective lessons for a literacy learner who is struggling with reading and writing takes much effort and appropriate resources. Throughout the Literacy Development course, I have gained much insight and resources that have become valuable tools in addressing students’ literacy needs. Each week, I conducted lessons and activities that targeted the needs of many students, but my initial focus on was on one particular student. His individual reading level, spelling development, and writing abilities were analyzed and the recorded data was used
“The IEP, Individualized Education Program, is a document that is developed for each public school child who is eligible for special education” The IEP describes how the student learns, how the student best demonstrates that learning and what teachers and service providers will do to help the student learn more effectively. When developing an IEP the team will consider how their students specific disability affects their learning and come up with goals and objectives that will accommodate those needs and place the student in the least restrictive environment to achieve the goals and
A majority of people do not think about the transitioning from high school to real world for students with a disability. This article was a great read for people who need a better understanding of the transitioning especially students with high standards that are included in the general education setting for the entire day. The article explained the Triangulated Gap Analysis Tool (TGAP), which is designed to assist educators, students, and IEP teams to identify and create annual goals that address the gap in skills, including nonacademic skills, needed to prepare students for postsecondary education, training, employment, and independent living.
Do you know anyone who suffers from a learning disability? There are several disabilities out there, so chances are you must know someone who battles with the day-to-day hassles. But, are learning disabilities really a hassle? More often than not, this can be considered a misconception. Learning disabilities (LD) affect the way a person “of at least average intelligence receives, stores, and processes information” (NCLD 2001). This neurological disorder prevents children especially from being able to perform well academically. Therefore more time and special programs are fostered to them. Once one is educated about what the disability means, the causes of LD, what programs are available to
According to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, students with disabilities should be placed in a “least restrictive environment.” One of the main ideas of this act was to improve the learning experiences of students with disabilities by giving them learning opportunities outside of a special education classroom. The number of students with disabilities being placed in their general education classrooms is increasing more and more each year. The U.S Department of Education’s 27th annual report to Congress on the implementation of The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (2005) indicates that the number of students with disabilities in general education classrooms has risen to almost 50 percent. This is about a 17 percent increase from the 1997 U.S
Many students around the United States have reading difficulties, which can be due to a variety of reason such as: low socioeconomic status, family history of learning disabilities, a neurological disorder, limited exposure, etc. Reading difficulties can lead to further problems with education and learning, therefore the struggles should be addressed and intervention techniques should be implemented promptly. The interventions need to be individualized for the student based on their needs in order to improve the student’s reading to the best of their abilities.