Chantel Case Analysis
At school, Chantel shows evidence of hyperactivity and finds it difficult to attend the lessons or even meet set deadlines. She does not finish the given projects within the stipulated deadlines and often tends to forget instructions, and usually delivers works that are below expectations. Despite being a loving and friendly child, Chantel is occasionally aggressive towards other children. Just like others who suffer from ADHD, Chantel does not know the depth of her strengths or weaknesses. It may cause her to yield to elementary methods of problem-solving. People who suffer from ADHD may find it difficult to communicate with peers despite putting a lot of effort to make friends.
It could be the reason why many children are avoiding Chantel at school and refusing to invite her for playdates. Despite associating and playing with her peers, Chantel is shunned by other children. It could be attributed to her pushy nature making her peers afraid of her. Chantel’s behavior can be the underlying factor contributing to her seclusion from play dates and difficulty in making friends. However, her energy and a special interest in sports can be a useful way of bridging this gap and helping her to make social ties, especially with the children who love sports.
Chantel lives in a normal home setting where both parents are present, therefore, enabling her to forge a secure attachment from this child-to-parent relationship. However, her parents do not realize that a high level of activity, among other ADHD-related symptoms, can be very frustrating. To acknowledge the full weight of their child’s condition and thereby offer adequate supports will require the gathering of information about the disability. At home, Chantel has considerable problems when it comes to her homework. Her erratic nature and memory lapse is an explanation of why she does not complete her homework, and also why she does not put her books back into her school bag.
There are multiple instances where Chantel’s condition lands her in trouble. For instance, her hamster has been lost and roamed in the house for two days as a result of forgetting to close the hamster’s cage. Although Chantel’s parents have not yet accepted fully the implications of their daughter’s condition, they are worried about her poor academic performance and are also concerned that she is wrongly blamed in many cases when things go wrong in school even when she is not the culprit.
Chantel’s condition can result in a sluggish growth in social skills to the detriment of her parents. However, her parents are a little happy because of the acknowledgment of the condition afflicting their child. The diagnosis of ADHD explains the reason for the erratic behavior associated with her. This knowledge is crucial as it is the platform on which her parents and other stakeholders will start an effective intervention plan for Chantel, including but not limited to IEP (Hunt & Marshall, 2005).
Intervention: Individualized Education Plan for Chantel
Because Chantel is a schoolgirl (3-21 years), an effective Individualized Education Plan (IEP) is important to assist her in coping with the challenges at school. Consequently, an effective IEP for her, as stipulated by Hunt and Marshall (2005), will comprise of the following components:
- A statement of Chantel’s present level of educational performance. This information will be sourced from evaluation results like assignments. The statement will also comprise of ways in which the disability is impacting her ability to get involved and to advance in the general curriculum.
- Short-term objectives and benchmarks. These annual goals must be all-inclusive targeting not only academic needs but also social and physical needs, among other educational ones.
- A description of the special education and related services that will be provided for her in any given government school. This will incorporate any additional assistance and services needed by Chantel.
- A statement describing the program modifications and supports that Chantel will require, to reap maximum benefits from the general education curriculum.
- A statement of Chantel’s participation level regarding general education programs. Her IEP must give details of the participation level in academic and non-academic activities along with other children who have no disability.
- A schedule of activities indicating the date for commencement of support services and the expected duration of the intervention plan and related services. The IEP must also explain the modalities of service provision and specify the venue or place of providing these services.
- A suitable criterion for evaluation of the IEP objectives and strong evaluation methodologies and schedules for measuring, at least once a year, whether the short-term objectives are being realized. Consequently, Chantel’s IEP must include provisions for participating in the State and District tests. Her plan will also take care of any adaptations required to facilitate the taking of tests. Alternatives to the test must be provided where normal testing is not possible.
- A statement of transition services (ITP) needed by Chantel in case she is 14 years or older. It will consist of all the courses needed to realize her post-school objectives.
Hunt and Marshall (2005) argue that for an IEP to be termed as effective and individualized, it has to unique to the needs of each person. Chantel’s plan will be based on this idea because the IEP will be the foundation of quality education. To come up with a good, and effective IEP, the authors suggest the formation of an IEP team composed of Chantel’s parents, her teachers, other school members, and Chantel.
Benefits that accrue from the pooling of resources will emanate through IEP team formation. For example, individual knowledge and experience will be combined to help designing an effective IEP that will not only support Chantel in getting involved but also advance in her academics. An effective IEP will ensure that special education supports and related services are channeled to Chantel as befits her disability status.
Consideration for her language needs is an important way of dealing with Chantel’s cognition ability, especially if she has a limitation in the proficiency of English. Chantel’s condition may also result in physical disability, such as visual impairment. When this is the case, the IEP team must make sure that teaching instructions are delivered using assistive technologies such as Braille. Unless it is determined that Chantel doesn’t have it, the IEP team will take care of communication needs associated with this disability and also evaluate whether there is a need to use assistive technology devices or services.
The social intervention will include the incorporation of Chantel in social events together with other normal nondisabled children. For example, encouraging her peers to pray with her during recess is a positive intervention. Also, incorporating her in social events at home will boost her confidence and offer her an opportunity to make friends despite her challenges (No Child Left Behind: Is Your Child Being Left Behind, 2012).
Individualized Education Plan
The field of exceptional service is dynamic because of the changing need to serve an ever-increasing number of students in a better way. The government definitions and legislation regarding such exceptional cases keep on changing over time. The change is not about to come to an end and requires one to continuously update on the current information through perusing government websites that are dedicated to these services.
Knowledge of the theory and IDEA requirements such as the need to develop an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) for exceptional children is crucial information that may be used in assisting students with disabilities to get involved in, and progress in social and academic circles (No Child Left Behind: Is Your Child Being Left Behind, 2012). For example, the theory of an effective IEP offers clears steps of how to develop a plan and also includes advice on the content that must be considered for each step. Knowing the IDEA requirements and the theory on various rights of people with disabilities is important as it will assist in safeguard these rights to avoid abuse.
Staying current with information regarding exceptionality is important as it will expose one to the current government definitions and legislation to enable compliance. Also, one is likely to benefit from advanced and up-to-date intervention strategies, including treatment, management, and related services that deal with exceptional children (Hunt & Marshall, 2005).
References
Hunt, N. & Marshall, K. (2005). Exceptional Children and Youth (4th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.
No Child Left Behind: Is Your Child Being Left Behind. (2012). Web.