Kindergarten/special needs teachers

mommyof4boys

Jon's IEP's meetings are tomorrow. I am concerned with Jon's lack of phonemic awareness. I did the Yopp-Singer Test for Phonemic Awareness on him and he scored a 1 out of 22.  He doesn't have the ability to manipulate sounds. I'm assuming it's part of his PDD_NOS diagnosis. 

His literacy goals are ***, IMO. 
His goals are following multi-stop directions which he can do, listen fully to understand instructions or hear daily messages, 
remain attentive during circle time at least 15 minutes, 
demonstrate correct directional approach in forming manuscript letters *this one is needed*
use letter/sound knowledge in attempting to write some words for sounds taught *he needs to establish the knowledge before this can be used, IMO*, 
acquire a sight word bank of 10 words,
tell basic ideas of a story read aloud,
point to the upper case of the alphabet *WTF? He can do this*.

Any suggestions?

Makinroom4baby

I'm neither a K teacher nor special needs teacher, but Jayden has an IEP and there were times that some of his goals were things we KNEW he could do already. The problem may be that he does it easily for you but won't do it for the teacher/therapist. Also, keep in mind that they need to see it done consistently so he may need to do something 5 times before they call it a completed goal.

Brewster

Keep in mind this is what they want him to accomplish in a years time.  IMO, the goals should be both attainable, but also challenging.  When writing goals, I always tried to make them beyond just the rote memorization level.  If the phonemic awareness goal was just "identify letter sounds" they would have been leaving it at a base level.  They want him to be able to apply the knowledge. 

 If you have concerns about goals that he knows then this is yur opportunity to say something about them.  For example, I think the sight word goal would be appropriate for most K students, but maybe with a higher criteria, like 30 words.  If he knows all hisupper case ABC's, suggest that the goal be to distinguish between upper and lower.  Or even match them. 

I am a firm, firm believer in adovcatng for your child.  If you know that he knows some of these goals, then speak up.  Maybe you could suggest ways in which his teachers could assess him to get maximum results. 

angelproberts

Brewster:

Keep in mind this is what they want him to accomplish in a years time.  IMO, the goals should be both attainable, but also challenging.  When writing goals, I always tried to make them beyond just the rote memorization level.  If the phonemic awareness goal was just "identify letter sounds" they would have been leaving it at a base level.  They want him to be able to apply the knowledge. 

 If you have concerns about goals that he knows then this is yur opportunity to say something about them.  For example, I think the sight word goal would be appropriate for most K students, but maybe with a higher criteria, like 30 words.  If he knows all hisupper case ABC's, suggest that the goal be to distinguish between upper and lower.  Or even match them. 

I am a firm, firm believer in adovcatng for your child.  If you know that he knows some of these goals, then speak up.  Maybe you could suggest ways in which his teachers could assess him to get maximum results. 

I agree with all of this. If you know for certain that your LO can do the goals then tell them. I never had parents that were proactive in the IEP process. In the two states I taught in there were objectives (short term goals) to reach the overall year goal so maybe there will be some explaination on the one you had a question about. So develop a goal with the teacher/therapist that is attainable within a years time but that you feel comfortable with. There are times though that kids do things at home that are not generalized over different settings so he may not be doing it at school. Good Luck!

mommyof4boys

They said they don't usually get parents this proactive.  I am a certified special education teacher/reading specialist.  I am not advocating out of our district as well.  I want to have a good relationship with our district so I'll give help to parents in district but won't attend meetings, etc.

Brewster

mommyof4boys:

They said they don't usually get parents this proactive.  I am a certified special education teacher/reading specialist.  I am not advocating out of our district as well.  I want to have a good relationship with our district so I'll give help to parents in district but won't attend meetings, etc.

 So it sounds like you definitely have the background and knowledge here. I think it is great you are trying to both keep the peace and get what your child truly needs as far as curriculum goes.  I personally would have loved to have a knowledgable parent, such as yourself being part of the IEP committee.  I always tried to convey to my parent that their input is as crucial as anyone else's in the meeting.  Hopefully you guys can all come to agreement about what is most appropriate for your child.  Good luck!