Miss Rae's Room Special Education Teacher Blog

10/28/2023 0 Comments

Qualifying for an IEP: The Impact of Trauma on Eligibility

When determining eligibility for an Individualized Education Program (IEP), it's crucial to consider how trauma can significantly affect a student's learning and overall well-being. Understanding the connection between trauma and a student's qualification under the learning disability category is vital. This blog explores the key points that IEP teams should consider when trauma is a potential factor in a student's educational journey.

In the process of IEP eligibility determination, a comprehensive evaluation plays a pivotal role. It's not just about recognizing the impact of trauma but assessing it comprehensively within the student's educational context. This means that IEP teams must actively consider the potential influence of trauma as they evaluate the student's unique learning profile, taking into account the cognitive, emotional, and behavioral challenges that may arise due to traumatic experiences.

By conducting interviews, reviewing documentation, and involving trauma-informed professionals, the evaluation process becomes a collaborative effort to create an individualized plan that addresses the student's specific needs, fostering an environment where they can thrive both academically and emotionally.

The following points are considerations that IEP teams should take into account:

1. Effects of Trauma on Learning: Trauma can manifest as cognitive, emotional, and behavioral challenges in students, leading to issues with attention, memory, executive functioning, social interactions, and self-regulation.

2. Comprehensive Evaluation: During the eligibility determination process for an IEP, it's essential to conduct a comprehensive evaluation that accounts for the potential impact of trauma on the student's learning profile.

3. Collecting Relevant Data: IEP teams should gather relevant information about the student's experiences and the potential effects of trauma. This includes interviews with the student, parents/guardians, and reviewing relevant documentation.

4. Collaborative Approach: A collaborative and multidisciplinary approach involving trauma-informed professionals like school psychologists, counselors, and social workers is critical when assessing the impact of trauma.

5. Input from Multiple Sources: Seek input from teachers, support staff, and other professionals closely involved with the student. Their observations and insights contribute to a holistic understanding of the student's needs.

6. Individualized Consideration: Recognize that the impact of trauma varies from student to student. Eligibility determinations for an IEP must consider the unique challenges and strengths of each student.

7. Documenting the Impact of Trauma: It's essential to document how trauma affects the student's academic, social, and emotional functioning as part of the evaluation and eligibility process.

8. Providing Appropriate Supports: Upon determining eligibility, the IEP team should create an individualized plan that addresses the student's specific needs, including those related to trauma.

This plan should outline appropriate supports, accommodations, and interventions to support the student academically and emotionally.

In wrapping up, let's remember that we're all in this together, working to ensure the best for our students. When it comes to the complex question of how trauma affects eligibility for an IEP, a compassionate and informed approach makes all the difference.

By recognizing and addressing the unique impact of trauma, our IEP teams can truly make a positive impact.

Each student's story is different, and we must consider their individual strengths and challenges.

But do all students who have an Emotional Disability qualify for Special Education services? I answer that question HERE!

Remember, we're not just creating educational plans; we're crafting a path that helps our students not only succeed academically but thrive emotionally.

The journey may have its ups and downs, but with care and consideration, we can make a world of difference in their lives.

Here's to supporting every student's unique needs, one IEP at a time!

Happy Teaching!
Miss Rae

Related Blog...

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1/30/2022 0 Comments

How Do I Choose IEP Goal Areas for IEPs?

How do I choose IEP goals for my students? l Miss Rae's Room Teaching Reading to Students with Learning Disabilities Blog

You did the assessments. You have the data. But how do you decide if the lagging skills should be a goal area, an accommodation, or a modification?

Let me tell you!

Here's how I decide if a lagging skill should be a goal area, an accommodation, or a modification!

I start by asking...

What areas of the curriculum are impacted by the student's disability?

Then, I go through each item I listed and ask...

Can we put an accommodation or modification in place to remove this hurdle to the curriculum?

OR

Is this a hurdle that requires Specially Designed Instruction?

Now, I review my list and...

1-Add accommodations to the IEP
-be specific & choose appropriate accommodations for the student's disability

2-Hurdles that need Specially Designed Instruction are your goal areas!

Example:

Hurdles: Fluency, Comprehension

Classroom Accommodation(s): Text to Speech for content area materials

This Classroom Accommodation will support the student's ability to access the grade level material in the classroom, but this lagging skill also requires Specially Designed Instruction SO it may also need to be an IEP goal area, in this student's case.

IEP GOAL:
By the end of the IEP period, STUDENT will achieve a benchmark score of 16 (or higher) of the DIBELS' subtest MAZE.

IEP OBJECTIVE:
STUDENT will a score of 96 (or higher) on 3 consecutive administrations of the DIBELS' Oral Reading Fluency - Accuracy.

Example:

Hurdles: Written Expression

Classroom Accommodation(s): Speech to Text, Exemplars of Writing Assignments, Word Banks for Content Area Vocabulary

This student's evaluations demonstrated that the student had the skills in the area of Written Expression; however, the student was not always demonstrating these skills in the classroom. Based upon assessment and observation data, the Classroom Accommodations of Speech to Text, Exemplars of Writing Assignments, Word Banks for Content Area Vocabulary will support the student in overcoming the hurdle in the area of Written Expression. This student would not require Specially Designed Instruction in Written Expression so no IEP goal needed for Written Expression!

Click HERE to grab a pdf of this chart for your own teaching!

And once you choose your goal areas, check out my blog post on how to write SMART IEP goals!

Happy & Healthy Teaching!
PEACE,
Miss Rae

How do I choose IEP goals for my students? l Miss Rae's Room Teaching Reading to Students with Learning Disabilities Blog

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1/1/2020 3 Comments

What is the difference between an ACCOMMODATION & a MODIFICATION?

What is the difference between Accommodations and Modifications? l Freebie l Miss Rae's Room l Special Education

So what really is the difference between an ACCOMMODATION and a MODIFICATION? Aren't they the same thing?

No. Accommodations and modifications are different from each other!

Accommodation

An accommodation is a way to help students learn the same material or take the same test in a different way.

For example...

Shorten the number of problems
Material is read aloud
Multiple choice test instead of essay assessment (but assessing same content)

Modification

A modification is a change to what the student is expected to learn.

For example...

Multiple choice test instead of essay assessment (but assessing content that is less complex than the grade level standard/content)
Easier text to read

By: Miss Rae

Get cognition-related accommodation lists.....

And grab these accommodation trackers...

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8/9/2018 0 Comments

How to Create an IEP at a Glance: A Step-by-Step Guide for Special Education Teachers

IEP at a Glance l Miss Rae's Room Special Education Teaching Blog

An IEP at a Glance is an abbreviated document that provides a quick reference to a student's IEP.

It allows for quick reference of ...
*goals/objectives
*strengths
*accommodations
*modifications
*instructional services
*specially designed instructions

You can create these at the beginning of the year and pass them out to all staff who work with your students!