INTASC Assignment 1

Eddie

Shannon M. Hagerman

Drake University
INTASC Assignment 2

Eddie

Eddie is a 7 year old 1st grade who has been identified with an intellectual disability. This

disability effects Eddie and many aspects of his life. There are deficiencies in motor skills,

communication skills, cognitive processing, social skills, and memory. In order for Eddie to

function within a general education classroom, scaffolds and supports must be in place to ensure

a high level of achievement.

Qualification

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act is what allows and supplies the standards

for how educators identify whether a student qualifies for special education services. First a state

is to use child find in order to find and identify children with disabilities. States identify and

evaluate all children who may have a disability. School personnel or a parent may make a

referral or request an evaluation. The parents must give consent before a child can be evaluated.

The next step must be taken within 60 days of parental consent. The school district must do a full

evaluation the child. The evaluation helps to provide information on whether or not a child is

eligible for special education services. (Hallahan, Kauffman, & Pullen, 2015)

To determine whether a child is eligible a multidisciplinary team meets to discuss if a

student has a disability and if so whether they need special education services. The team is put

together to prevent inaccurate placement and to ensure the students receive evidence-based

instruction before evaluation. This most commonly takes place as a response to intervention. RTI

determines if a students change or lack of change in academic performance or behavior is a

result of instruction. A student must be receiving quality instruction in a general education

classroom. The teacher gathers data to determine if a student is effected by the instruction. Once
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it is determined a student is not benefitting from this instruction, a formal evaluation to special

education occurs. (Hallahan, Kauffman, & Pullen, 2015)

Date is collect fist by the general education teacher. After entering into special education,

a students data is collected by their special education instructor and any therapist who might be

working with the student. This data is the used for the development of IEPs, transition, and

intervention strategies. (Hallahan, Kauffman, & Pullen, 2015)

Prevalence

Intellectual Disability is categorized as a high-incidence disability. High-incidence disabilities

occur at a relatively high rate, and are the most common. About 1% of the population is

identified as having an intellectual disability. There is an overrepresentation of Black, Hispanic,

and Native Americans with the diagnosis of intellectual disabilities. There is also a higher rate of

males being identified with intellectual disabilities than females. (Hallahan, Kauffman, & Pullen,

2015)

Characteristics. Eddie displays many characteristics typical of students with intellectual

disabilities. He displays a difficulty with communication which can affect his ability to verbalize

his wants and needs. This student also has troubles with reading the facial expressions and other

nonverbal cues of others. Being unable to read others makes it difficult for Eddie to relate and

have conversations with his peers. Typical students at this age are able to communicate their

wants and needs and can successfully decode a persons not verbal cues.

He also displays problems with memory and retaining new information. For example he

has trouble remembering which bus to take home or whether he has placed his jacket. This

makes it difficult for him to complete tasks independently. While it is normal for students this

age to sometimes forget things like their jacket, they can generally remember instruction given.
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Typical students can retain information and remember it over long periods of time. Eddie also

has issues with his fine motor skills. He has trouble using scissors, griping a pencil without grip

support, and buttons if they are too small. Eddie requires help in order to complete tasks that are

seen by most as relatively simple. A student can at this age is able cut with scissors effectively

and does not need assistance when holding a pencil to write. They are also able to button small

buttons.

His next area of difficulty is with large motor skills. He has issues with balance and must

alternate legs will holding a hand railing while climbing stairs. This makes physical education in

a general education setting difficult. Other students is age are able to climb stairs without

incidence and no problem with balance. They can easily take part in physical education class.

Finally, he shows deficits in processing speed. Eddie has problems completing complex tasks

and multiple step directions. He must have instruction repeated to him more than once and

causes him to take longer when completing assignments. While other students can remember

multiple steps given when asked to complete a task in a timely manner

Accommodations, Modifications, and Scaffolds. Social interactions with friends is an

obstacle that Eddie will need help to improve. This includes his communication and ability to

relate to them, along with learning to not be as gullible and believe whatever a peer might tell

him. This can be supported by placing him near or with students are known for not trying to trick

him. He can be taught and practice different facial expressions and what it means when he sees

them. As a good there can be a discussion as a class about the appropriate way to interact with

classmates. An instructor can also provide group work to help practice and participate in social

experiences.
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Eddie who struggles with small motor skills will have difficultly during arts and crafts

time in class. He has trouble using scissors, coloring, and gluing together projects. A teacher can

help with the movement of his hand while cutting by supplying double handed scissors. This

enables a teacher to put their hands around his and help to manipulate the scissors while cutting.

He can also be supplied with precut pieces while doing project, but this might make him feel left

out or different from his classmates. When coloring Eddie can be given larger crayons to work

with and grip supports if asked to use a pencil.

A relatively important part of class that Eddie will have problems with is large group

instruction. During this portion of the class he will have a hard time remembering instructions

that are given and complex tasks he is asked to perform. It will be difficult to hold his attention

do to his slower information processing speed. His issues with working memory will make it

hard for him to do a task while being told what to do next, before he get to that point.

Multitasking will be difficult. By repeating instruction and breaking down the information give

into smaller pieces, it will be easier for him to stay on task. He will also need a longer time to

complete tasks asked of him in comparison to his peers. Finally by providing visuals of what

steps to take, it will help him to remember and perform the next step.

Research-based Instructional Strategies. There are many research-based instructional

strategies that can be used to help support Eddie in a general education classroom. Universal

Design for Learning can be used to modify instruction to include him in the general class

instruction. This will allow him to spend more time with the whole class. By modifying

materials, communication styles, and maximizing his engagement instruction, Eddie can be a

contributing member of the class during large group instruction. (Hallahan, Kauffman, & Pullen,

2015)
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By utilizing Direct Instruction through task analysis a teacher can make it easier for

Eddie to keep up with instruction. During task analysis, academic problems are broken down into

smaller pieces. He can be taught pieces of an assignment separately from each other to have a

better understand of a whole concept. His teacher must then teach him how to put the pieces

together in order to demonstrate the larger skill. (Hallahan, Kauffman, & Pullen, 2015)

Finally, through Systematic Instruction his teacher can develop a well-defined target goal.

Through sequencing information and prompting Eddie, they can help him to reach the desired

goal. An instructor must give assistance and slowly eliminate the support so he can

independently accomplish the skill. His teacher must also monitor Eddies performance to help

change their instruction as needed. (Hallahan, Kauffman, & Pullen, 2015)

INTASC Assignment 7

References

Hallahan, D. P., Kauffman, J. M., & Pullen, P. C. (2015). Exceptional Learners: An Introduction

to Special Education. Boston: Pearson Education, Inc.