Least Restrictive Environment

The LRE has always been a bit confusing for me, so I went in search for something that would help clarify what this term means exactly. I found this website to be quite helpful and it's without all the jargon I usually come up against when needing an explanation for something like this. It reviews least restrictive environment mainstreaming, and inclusion.

IEP Transition Goals & Ideas

The Colorado Department of Education has a website set up that is full of things that will help a person set up transition goals. They call it the Transition Toolkit...and it really does seem to have it all! I haven't had time to read everything, but when I get a chance, I will be looking through it thoroughly. It provides all kind of information, including assessment, legal issues, transition planning at the meeting, and tools, templates and worksheets everybody can use to help with the planning.

Transition Planning

Career Guidance and Exploration

This is something that had interested me since I began looking through and working with IEPs this year. One thing about it that I find interesting is that there are so many options out there for possible career interests and college choices. I found the links, below, to be beneficial to those looking for career guidance:

• NCSET has a great FAQ on their site about the various aspects of career guidance, found here: NCSET on Career Guidance.
• I've attached a great checklist I found from the Wisconsin Statewide Transition Initiative, sectioned off by grade, to help teachers make sure they are on the right track to helping their students transition to adulthood successfully. You can download it by going to the Attachments tab at the top of this wiki.
  
• Cornell has a web page with several links that have information about transition sources and services. Many of them are based in New York, but there are also several links to national websites: Transition Source.
  
• I also found a page from Texas A&M that has some easy to understand information about career assessments, manager expectations, and employment skills. Interesting stuff!
• The Oregon Transition Systems Change Project has a great IEP and Transitions checklist available to download (I've uploaded it for you to take if you want - it's also under the Attachments tab at the top of this wiki). It includes a checklist of things that show that a quality IEP and Transition plan has been put into place.

Accommodations for Students with Special Needs

I don't normally read much on the About.com websites, but I did find this interesting list of accommodations that could be used for students with special needs. Of course, no one child is going to need all of the accommodations, but it's a good place to look if you're stuck about what you might be able to do to help the child succeed in school.

I also found this great accommodation checklist from spannj.org. It organizes the student's needs with the specific setting in mind.

Building Cultural Awareness

I have recently become interested in finding out information about people from Africa (NOT African-Americans) living in America. People from Africa seem to have a much different outlook on American life and education than black Americans. I found this site that has a lot of essays written by Nigerians and some of the essays are quite interesting. There is a lot of information that can be gathered by reading the work on this site. I especially like the opinions expressed about the American culture.

Surprisingly, I also found a lot of information from the CIA's website: The World Factbook. Whereas this site doesn't give you specifics about individuals in the culture, it does give a good idea of what could be happening in any given part of the world that could be affecting people who are new to America.

Also, GoldSea Asian American Daily is a great news source for the Asian-American community.

Writing Goals and Objectives

I found a document on fape.org that plainly explains what long-term goals and short-terms objectives are and how a parent would know if they are being met. The document can be found here. It is geared toward parents and is very short and to the point.

Assistive Technology Resources

Amy's Assistive Technology Blog - Thanks, Amy, for providing us some great information!

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Low tech kit...in my undergrad we had to make a low tech kit of things that my not be 'legally' included in the IEP but could help the child. For example, one item was this pen holder that sticks to their desk and snaps the pencil/pen in place so it never gets lost. Another item were triangle shaped crayons, so they don't roll off of the desk. Putting a small amount of play doh around a writing utencil also helped increase fine motor skills and alleviate some sensory issues. Small golf pencils have been used to help children learn the proper pencil grip. Sometimes these things are easier to think of and more practical to use in the classroom for all children.

Web toolboxes for Educators- is a website that is directed towards students with disabilities with technology based applications.

The Alliance for Technology Access www.ataccess.org this is a community based resource site dedicated to providing information and services and increase their use of standard and assistive technology. It is also separated by each states center.

National Information Center for Children and Youth with Disabilities www.nichcy.com Their special focus is children and youth with disabilities. Some publications include Assistive Technology: becoming and informed consumer and Technical Assistance Guide.

*Thank you, Carla Reavis, for these great tips!*

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For those students who have difficulty with fine motor skills, I've been successful with having these students use fat pencils - it helps with the grip. (a thought from myself)