As the school year winds down over the next few weeks, teams
will be thinking about services for next year. Whether services will stay the
same or change, it is valuable to have a conversation with the team regarding
teacher of the deaf support for the next school year. Because key players can change
– superintendents, special education directors, principals and special
education teachers – everyone must understand the role and importance of the
TOD in order to advocate for continued service when a new team member(s) takes
over.
The first task is to explain the role of the teacher of the
deaf and how we work with SLPs, special education teachers, classroom teachers
and support staff, and other service providers on the student’s team. Teachers
of the deaf have an in depth understanding of hearing loss and its impact on academic,
social/emotional, literacy, and language development in an educational setting.
Teachers of the deaf are trained to adapt or modify curriculum to meet the specialized
needs of students with hearing loss. We target IEP goals and objectives with
the hearing loss in mind and are always thinking not only of what language
structures and skills the student needs now, but also what the student will
need in upcoming units so that we can pre-teach curriculum concepts and skills
for more independent learning. Additionally, we can anticipate what some of the
potential social/emotional and self-advocacy challenges may be for our students
and preemptively give them strategies to handle these potential difficulties with
confidence.
When thinking about service hours for the upcoming year,
consider:
The student’s skills and challenges and the reason for the teacher of
the deaf service (i.e. academic
support, transition to a mainstream program, social / emotional support and
self advocacy). Are all areas being addressed within the current time allotted?
The current level of direct service. Is it enough? If the student
is not making the progress you would have expected, would more individual time
help? Is it too much? Is the student becoming dependent or resistant? If so, a
reduction in individual time may be appropriate.
Consult time with teachers and support staff. Is this currently
part of the student’s grid? If not, it should be added. (For a more detailed
argument for adding consult time to the students IEP grid, see my earlier post,
“Making the Most of Consult Time.”)
Classroom Observation Time. Again, if this is not part of the
student’s current grid, consider adding structured weekly or monthly classroom
observations. Earlier posts including, “Considering Captioned Media”, “Tracking
Auditory and Self-Advocacy Development” and “Maximize FM Use” provide topics
which justify time spent in the classroom by a teacher of the deaf who can help
implement and monitor these aspects of the student’s education.
The upcoming IEP goals and objectives. What amount of individual
pull-out vs. push-in time is needed in order to meet those goals?
This grid from Karen Anderson can be completed by the team to determine
the level of support needed in addition to observations and other formal and
informal evaluations.
