IEPs can help students succeed
This module explained the importance of following an IEP or 504 plan and the legal oblications for educators to accommodate students to best meet their individual needs. The part that resonated most with me was the idea that veterans may be new to disability and that a mentor can be a strong advocate to help them transition into post-secondary education. My experience is in K-12, so I have taught many students who receive special education services but I have not taught students who are new to disability, the way that a veteran might be. This was illuminating to me and made me think about all of the 504s that I have seen to address developing conditions. It's important for teachers to consider the impact of a new diagnosis in addition to the barriers that this condition may create for students.
Accomodating student learning with disorders like PTSD or TBI is essential in their success and our success as instructors.
It is important to be aware of the PTSD symptoms.
Apply effective communication, open up opportunities to support a team based environment
When someone registers for courses, they are asked if they have any disabilities. Students with any disabilities have an IEP created in order to help the instructor know the type of DX and best learning techniques that could help them.
I learned more information about people with disabilities and how to help them. IEPs are fairly new to me, but it was great information to have just in case. This will truly benefit the students and their success.
There is a difference between a 504 Plan and an IEP. The IEP only follows the student until they graduate 12th grade or reach the age of 21. The 504 Plan can help them with college accomodations
I learned the importance of accommodations and the impact they will make on the students.
Personally, I was not aware of the IEP developmental plan students had available for them in their younger educational years. What a wonderful tool for the educational program to have developed. It's was emotional overwhelming to know the statistics of these younger children to have developed PTSD. As an educator for adults, I appreciated knowing this information and how it can impact how I approach my students and teaching skills.
IEP can be a useful tool for a student with disability.
While I do have a good understanding of most of this information, I found some good take-aways to remember. Regarding self disclosure, which can be very uncomfortable and difficult for some students due to a variety of reasons including that they will be seen as less than or dumb, that peers will be critical, and a desire to be like all the rest of the students and not stand out. Many try to be independent and not seek assistance which often leads academic trouble because they needed accommodations, the most common of which is needing more time to complete assignments and tests.
For students with PTSD, when they disclose this information to their instructors, the new awareness could be used to devise a strategy for greeting the student and gauging how the student is doing that day, and a plan can be devised to help the student through the upcoming class session. If the student with PTSD feels comfortable in the class right from the beginning, the chances increase that they will successfully complete the course.
I found it interesting that a little over 11% of the students enrolled in post-secondary settings have a disability as I thought it would be higher. This number has grown over the past five years as the students completing high school with disabilities are better prepared to make the transition to further education (National Center for Education Statistics, 2016). The disabilities represented by these enrollees include learning disabilities, autism, TBI and PTSD, as well as vision, hearing, and orthopedic challenges to name a few. Thus, instructors are going to have approximately one tenth of their students coming into their classes with a disability. This is why they need a general working knowledge, like that of this module, of the different disabilities and how to work with students who have them.
I did not realize that if we have access to a student's IEP, we can still use the development of that to apply appropriate accommodations for post-secondary students.
Supporting students with PTSD in the classroom requires establishing a safe and predictable environment and it can be helpful to assign a student a mentor
Understanding the role of an IEP in career education is very important. I can see how it can be helpful to use an IEP as more information to understand what students have had and needed in the past can. Knowing what is available to help students with PTSD is reassuring to me.
Learning that TBI's are the leading cause of death and disability in the U.S. was surprising. I would have thought cancer, heart isssues, etc. Depression being the leading symptom of TBI's is something I have already noticed in some of my students. The course is helping identify ways to support these folks the best I can so they can have a successful experience at my school.
