IEP Case Study

Kristen Garlock

Towson University

EDUC 741

April 5, 2017
PART 1:

Background Information

1.A. Student Background:

JT is a six-year-old boy attending Berkshire Elementary School in Baltimore County. In

Pre-K he received an IEP for having a cognitive delay and was receiving speech services. As of

May, 2017, JTs IEP will now state that he has a Specific Learning Disorder. He is in a general

education kindergarten classroom this year, but began attending Berkshire for speech services

when he was four-years-old. JT is pulled twice a week for thirty minute sessions with the

Speech Pathologist. He also receives daily services from the Special Educator during reading

and math. JT is now receiving reading assistance from the Reading Specialist for fifteen minutes

every Monday, Thursday and Friday. As of April, 2017, JT will also be receiving services from the

Occupational Therapist once a week.

JT is the oldest child in his family and has a sister who is four years younger. His parents

just recently divorced and JT now lives with his mother and sister. JTs IEP will be changed in

May to state that he has a Specific Learning Disorder. This change occurred because the

checklists that teachers and parents completed as well as the assessments the School

Psychologist completed indicated that JT has Attention Deficit Disorder (Inattentive). JTs

attention problems and his speech delays greatly impact his ability to communicate, focus and

participate in the classroom. Staff members and students have an extremely difficult time

understanding JT. He is working with the Speech Pathologist on sound omissions, especially the

final sound, as well as sound substitutions. The Speech Pathologist is also working with JT on

speaking in sentences with use of pronouns.

 JT is an extremely happy and cooperative student. He works well with all the adults who

are providing services. JT always does the best that he can, but really struggles to complete

tasks that require extended periods of attention. He interacts well with other students and

plays with them at recess. JT is very kind and always wants to help others, such as grabbing a

tissue for a student who is crying. He is very well behaved and always follows directions. The

only struggle JT has with following directions is staying focused on a task. With reminders and

some adult assistance, JT is typically able to complete a given task with some extra time

needed.

The IEP meeting discussed in this case student was a review of assessments, which was

held on April 5th, 2017. The reason for referral at this time was JTs struggle with attention as

well as fine motor concerns impacting his ability to write. Pre-referral strategies consisted of

the services JT has been receiving as well adaptations to writing assignments and limited

distractions. JT has shown some improvement with these strategies, but is still struggling with

writing and completing tasks. The timeline for identification was sixty days from the meeting

held in February in which time the School Psychologist and the Occupational Therapist

completed assessments.

1.B. IEP Process:

The IEP Chair at Berkshire Elementary is also the Assistant Principal. As the IEP Chair,

she leads IEP meetings and is in charge of scheduling meetings. The IEP Secretary is in charge of

calling parents to verify meeting times and attendance. She also notifies teachers and other

team members of the meetings by sending outlook invites and schedule reminders the week of
the meeting. A copy of the Teacher Report is attached with the outlook invites and teachers are

given a reminder for when the Teacher Report is to be returned to the special educator.

The IEP meeting I attended for JT was to review assessments that were conducted at

least sixty days after the meeting held in February. Reviewing these assessments determined

whether or not JT was eligible to receive additional services. Ten days prior to this meeting, a

written invitation was sent to JTs parents. Both of JTs parents communicated that they would

be attending the meeting, Five days prior to the IEP meeting, copies of the draft IEP, Special

Educators report, Teachers report, Speech Pathologists report, the School Psychologists

report and the Occupational Therapists report were sent home to JTs parents.

The team members that participated in this meeting were the IEP chair (assistant

principal), the classroom teacher (myself), the Special Educator, the Speech Pathologist, the

School Psychologist, the Occupational Therapist and JTs parents. The IEP meeting began with

the IEP Chair thanking the parents for attending the meeting and explaining the purpose of the

meeting. The IEP Chair then invited me to share my teacher report, which included JTs

progress in DIBELS as well as other Kindergarten Benchmarks and standards. The team

members did not introduce themselves as the parents were already familiar with all

members. As the teacher report was being shared, the IEP participant signature form was

passed around for everyone to sign. The parents have already received a copy of the

Procedural Safeguards Parental Rights document, which is required by IDEA 2004, however

they were offered another copy if they would like it.

After the teacher report was shared, the Special Educator began discussing her report

on the results of the assessments she completed with JT. These assessments included Young
Childrens Achievement Test (YCAT) and other informal phonological awareness and reading

assessments. After these results were discussed the Special Educator addressed JTs progress

toward the goals that are currently set on his IEP. Next the Speech Pathologist shared results

from her testing, which included the sounds that JT was substituting as well as the sounds

that JT was omitting. The Speech Pathologist also addressed JTs progress towards his current

goals in speech and language. Next, the Occupational Therapist shared the results of his

assessment, which determined that JT had some struggles with fine motor skills and would

qualify for services. The Occupational Therapist suggested the use of a pencil grip and stated

that he would be working with JT once a week. Finally, the School Psychologist shared the

results of her assessments as well as the checklists completed by teachers and parents. The

results shared indicated that JT has Attention Deficient Disorder, which would change the code

on his IEP. The School Psychologist also shared that the parents should take these assessments

to JTs Pediatrician.

After all the reports had been shared, the IEP Chair asked the parents if they had any

questions. A documentation stating that JTs code would be changing to Specific learning

Disability was given to the parents and the final page of the IEP was passed around for all

members to sign. The IEP Chair then informed the parents that another meeting would be

scheduled in order to review JTs new IEP. She offered the parents a date, which did not work

with JTs mother and was therefore changed to April 25th, 2017. The parents agreed to this date

and completed signing all the documents that were passed around the table. At this time, the

IEP Chair thanked the parents for attending once more and the meeting was ended. At the next

meeting, the parents will receive a copy of JTs updated IEP.

Part 2:

Content of the IEP

2.A. Present Levels of Academic Achievement and Performance (PLAFFP)

Academic: Specific Learning Disability

Sources: Informal assessment, data collection, parent/teacher input

Instructional Grade Level Performance: JTs performance with respect to chronological age is

below grade level expectations.

Summary of Assessment Findings

Assessment: Teacher Report Date: 4/5/17

Results: JT is struggling to identify sounds in words, but had shown progress with the

identifying the first sound. His biggest struggle is putting all the sounds together. Currently JT is

able to copy words, but his letters are written very large and not always legible. He is beginning

to use classroom tools to write sight words and is starting to write the first sound for unfamiliar

words. JT is still struggling to count to 100. He currently is counting to 29 and is able to count

groups of objects that are ten or less. He struggles with larger groups as he has a difficult time

keeping track of what he counted. JT is still working on participating more often in class. When

he does participate, he struggles to share his ideas so that others understand. Many times he

gets frustrated and doesnt want to repeat his idea. JT does a great job following directions and

always tries his best. Once in a while, JT struggles to complete his work and gets frustrated, but

he will continue to try if given extra time. One of the biggest struggles JT has is his attention. He

has a very difficult time remaining focused on a task, especially if there are other things going

on in the classroom. He needs frequent reminders to stay on task and complete his work.
 Strengths Needs

Letter sounds Identifying Sounds in words

Identifying letters Counting to 100

Counting Small Groups of Objects Counting groups of 10 or more

Copying words Forming letters correctly

Staying on task

Academic: Mathematics

Sources: Informal assessment

Instructional Grade Level Performance: JT is at a 5.3 age equivalency for mathematics.

Assessment: Young Childrens Achievement Test (YCAT) Date: 3/21/2017

Results: JTs standard score was 88, which is in the average range compared to others his age.

JT was able to count to 10, but could not count all the way to 20. He counted correctly to 15. JT

demonstrated addition and subtraction using picture models, and counting pennies. He had

difficulty identifying smaller and larger numbers, matching objects to numbers, and adding and

subtracting without pictures or models.

Strengths Needs

Adding and subtracting using pictures Adding and subtracting without pictures

Counting to 10 Matching objects to numbers

Identifying smaller and larger numbers

Academic- Writing

Sources: Informal Assessments

Instructional Grade Level Performance: JT is at a 5.6 age equivalency for writing.

Assessment: Young Childrens Achievement Test (YCAT) Date: 3/21/2017

Results: JTs standard score was 92, which is in the average range when compared to others his

age. JT was able to draw a line, draw a cross, copy letters and shapes and he was able to write

his name. JT had difficulty writing the letters of the alphabet as well as writing a sentence and

spelling the word red.

Strengths Needs

Drawing lines and a cross Writing letters of the alphabet

Copying letters and shapes Writing a sentence

Writing his name Spelling words

Academic- Reading

Sources: Informal Assessments

Instructional Grade Level Performance: JT is at a 4.11 age equivalency for reading.

Assessment: Young Childrens Achievement Test (YCAT) Date: 3/21/2017

Results: JTs standard score was 82, which is in the below average range compared to others his

age. JT was able to match letters and words, identify letters, identify sounds and identify

characters. JT had difficulty with identifying events in a story and recognizing sight words.

Strengths Needs
 Matching letters and words Identifying events

Identifying letters and sounds Recognizing sight words

Identifying characters

What is the parental input regarding JTs educational program?

JTs parents stated that they have seen the same attention issues with JT at home. They are

concerned that he is not reading much and that he gets frustrated with work. JTs parents are

pleased with the progress he has made, but are interested in seeing him receive more services

if he should qualify.

What are JTs strengths, interest areas, significant personal attributes and personal

accomplishments?

JTs favorite TV show is Paw Patrol. He loves spending time with his sister and his family. JT also

enjoys going on the boat with his grandfather. In the classroom, JT wants to do his best to make

other people feel better.

How does JTs disability affect his involvement in the general education curriculum?

JT struggles to remain focused on tasks, especially those that involve reading and writing. He is

very concerned about others and always wants to help, which is a distraction to JT in the

classroom. JT doesnt participate much during instruction, but he does share during morning

meeting. JT often needs extra time to complete activities, but is typically very cooperative. He

tries very hard. However, sometimes tasks become too difficult and JT can get frustrated.

Part II. B. Instructional and Testing Accommodations

Timing and Scheduling Accommodations

Extra Time

Multiple or Frequent Breaks

Document basis for decision: Results of the checklists completed by parents and teachers, as

well as assessments completed by the School Psychologist suggested that JT struggles with

Attention Deficit Disorder. JT has a difficult time completing tasks that require an extended

period of attention. Providing JT with breaks and extra time, will help him complete given tasks.

How accommodations will be implemented: JT will be allowed to spend extra time on a task if

other students complete before him. At times, this may mean JT will finish the task at a

different time of the day. JT will be instructed to ask for a break when it is needed. In this case

he may leave his seat for a moment before returning to the task.

Setting Accommodations

Reduced distractions to the student

Document basis for decision: Results of the checklists completed by parents and teachers, as

well as assessments completed by the School Psychologist suggested that JT struggles with

Attention Deficit Disorder. Due to this, JT would benefit from having reduced distractions when

completing tasks.

How accommodations will be implemented: JT will sit a table with small number of students.

He will be allowed to move to a quieter area if needed. When using the computer, JT will be

allowed to use headphones. When possible, the special educator will take JT to the resource

room to complete assessments and the teacher will complete progress monitoring in the

hallway or other quiet space.

Part II.C. IEP Goals and Objectives:

Reading GOALS
Goal: By May 2018, when given a list of (50) priority, high-frequency words, JT will correctly
read (40 out of 50) target words aloud with fluency, during (4 out of 5) sight-word activities, as
measured by (teacher-charted records).
Evaluation Method: Informal Procedures Classroom-Based Assessment
With: 80% Accuracy
ESY Goal? No
MCCRS: Phonics and Word Recognition K.RF3.c

Objective 1: Given opportunities practice with 10 high frequency words, JT will be able to
read 10 high frequency words with 80% accuracy by September 2017
Evaluation Method: Informal Procedures Classroom-Based Assessment
With: 80% Accuracy

Objective 2: Given opportunities practice with 10 high frequency words, JT will be able to
read 10 more high frequency words with 80% accuracy by January 2017
Evaluation Method: Informal Procedures Classroom-Based Assessment
With: 80% Accuracy

Objective 1: Given opportunities practice with 10 high frequency words, JT will be able to
read 10 more high frequency words with 80% accuracy by March 2018.
Evaluation Method: Informal Procedures Classroom-Based Assessment
With: 80% Accuracy

Objective 1: Given opportunities practice with 10 high frequency words, JT will be able to
read 10 more high frequency words with 80% accuracy by May 2018.
Evaluation Method: Informal Procedures Classroom-Based Assessment
With: 80% Accuracy

Goal: By May 2018, when given (10) words with pictorial representations, JT will identify and
segment beginning, middle, and ending sounds and verbally blend the sounds together to make a
recognizable word with (8 out or 10) sound activities, as measured by teacher made tests/charted
records, with 80% accuracy.
Evaluation Method: Informal Procedures Classroom-Based Assessment
With: 80% Accuracy
ESY Goal? Yes
MCCRS: Phonological Awareness K.RF.2

Objective 1: Given opportunities to practice with 10 CVC words, JT will be able to

segment the sounds (example: c/a/t) correctly with 80% accuracy by May 2018.
Evaluation Method: Informal Procedures Classroom-Based Assessment
With: 80% Accuracy
 Objective 1: Given opportunities to practice with 10 CVC words, JT will be able to decode
and blend 8/10 words correctly with 80% accuracy by May 2018.
Evaluation Method: Informal Procedures Classroom-Based Assessment
With: 80% Accuracy

Description of how childs progress will be measured:

As indicated in the goals and objectives, JTs performance will be evaluated by using Informal
Procedures Classroom-Based Assessment. The criterion for measuring JTs performance
accuracy is 80%.

When Periodic reports will be provided to parents:

Quarterly progress reports will be written and provided to JTs parents. The progress reports will
share information regarding JTs progress towards his IEP goals and objectives.

Projected date of services:

See next section.

II. D. Supplementary Aids and Services, Program Modifications, and Supports

Social/Behavior Supports: Strategies to initiate and sustain attention

Service Location # Length Time Frequency Start/End Duration Provider

Nature Sessions Date
Classroom In General 1 15minutes Weekly 4/25/2017- 36 Weeks P 14 General
Instruction Education 4/25/2018 Educator
O 01 Special
Educator
O 21 Instructional
Assistant
Clarify the location and manner in which Supplementary Aids, Services, Program Modifications and Supports to or, on
behalf of, the student will be provided: JT struggles to remain focused when completing tasks. Providing strategies to initiate and
sustain attention will aid him in completing these tasks. The Special Educator and General Educator will collaborate in order to
develop appropriate strategies such as brain breaks, sound boxes and non-verbal cues.

III. Reflection

I gained a lot of valuable knowledge from my experience during the IEP process at

Berkshire Elementary. I look forward to using this knowledge where ever my future takes me as

a special educator. The review of assessment meeting I attended for JT, and the procedures

leading up to the meeting, were organized and professional. This process followed the

requirements stated in IDEA 2004. JTs parents were sent an invitation ten days prior to the
meeting and his parents replied that both mom and dad would be attending the meeting. Copies

of the teacher report and assessments completed were sent to JTs family prior to the meeting.

Providing JTs parents time to review the documents would help them ask questions so that the

team can address their concerns properly. All team members were present at the meeting and

signed the participant signature form. The meeting took place in the team room, which is

located on the second floor of the school building. There is a long rectangle table in the room

that can accommodate the large team and there is also a telephone and a printer.

The meeting started on time with the IEP Chair introducing all new members of the team.

She offered JTs parents another copy of the Procedural Safeguards Parental Rights document

if they wished for it, but reminded his parents that this document was given at JTs annual

meeting. A written agenda was not created for this meeting, rather the IEP chair asked each

team member to share their reports in a logical order. At the end of the meeting another meeting

was scheduled in order to review JTs new IEP within thirty days of this meeting. Throughout

the process, all appropriate timelines were followed in regards to notification, appropriate

documents and the development of the IEP.

A high level of collaboration between team members was demonstrated throughout the

entire meeting. Each team member respectfully shared his or her report and other team members

would add information when appropriate, without interrupting. After each team member finished

sharing a report, the parents were asked if they had any questions before the next member began

sharing. Decisions were made with the agreement of all team members. Once all reports had

been shared every team member, including JTs parents, had a good understanding of JTs

progress and the struggles he is having. This allowed a decision to be made easily and everyone

agreed that JTs IEP would be adjusted to now state that JT has a Specific Learning Disability.
The goals would be changed to reflect the areas that JT struggled with as a result of the

assessments completed by team members.

As for my role in the process, I feel that I have a much better understanding of what is

expected of a case manager as I worked very closely with the special educator. I was very

professional during the meeting and shared a lot of information, but made sure that it was

meaningful and that the parents understood what I was sharing. For instance, when sharing test

results, I explained how the test was given and how the results were used to understand student

progress. When the parents had questions about information I was sharing, I answered the

questions to the best of my ability or told them I would find the answer for them. JTs parents

were very appreciative of the information I shared and I was happy to be a part of the team

meeting. I had a lot of positive information to share the demonstrated JTs growth over the

school year.