Tara Hamilton

ED 251
May 13, 2016

Answers to Textbook Questions and Website Responses (Week 7)

Textbook Questions:
1) Page 329, Question 1
a. Four sensory issues that I have personally observed students having are visual,
auditory, tactile, and gustatory.
i. When it comes to visual issues, a few of our students have difficulty with
lights and sunlight. They often will carry around a coat or blanket to cover
they head with, regardless of the temperature. The lights in the classroom
are dimmer than most other areas of the school.
ii. Auditory issues are apparent with most of the 10 students I work with. Fire
alarms are the worst, but even things as simple as another student yelling
can set off others. We supply headphones that help to deafen the sound,
but then it can be difficult for the student to hear what we are asking them
to do and this creates new issues.
iii. We have one student that really suffers with tactile sensory issues. He has
dry skin and anything rubbing against it frustrates him, so much so that he
will not focus on tasks or do work until we can alleviate the issues.
Sometimes this means giving him lotion to apply, but other times he will
rip his clothing in frustration.
iv. We also have one student with very interesting gustatory issues. He
actually only eats chicken nuggets and bread. We have tried offering other
foods, but this can result in him getting frustrated and lashing out. While
this doesnt often affect him, trying to get him to drink water during the
hot days is extremely challenging. We worry about his hydration levels
and find that as it gets later in the day he starts to wear out quickly and
has a hard time focusing.
2) Page 337, Question 2
a. Those with autism spectrum disorder can have a variety of issues related to their
disability. A separate setting allows for the educator to individually tailor lessons
to the student much easier than they could in a general education classroom. The
student may need additional communication aids, explicit instruction in social
skills, or a variety of other things. The drawback is that these settings often
include others at different need and academic levels, which can make it
challenging for the educator to provide the best possible instruction to maximize
each students learning. There may also not be many opportunities for interaction
with typically developing peers.

3) Page 346, Question 2

a. One of the most important ways is to ensure that you are being open, honest, and
available to parents. Setting up a plan on how to communicate is key. I know that
at our school, parents have both the cell phone number and email of the teacher
this way they can reach her at any time. The teacher makes sure to communicate
about how the day went if something great or important happen (like an injury).
She also provides information to parents about what is happening in the class,
allows for them to visit whenever they want to, and most importantly ensures
that parents get a chance to ask questions at IEP meetings or whenever they crop
up. She finds material for them if needed on issues.
4) Page 434, Question 1
a. I try not to presume anything about anyone, but if I was told this I guess I could
presume that there may be adaptations, accommodations, or allocations necessary.
I would not be able to determine what any of that would be though or what I
would need to do to maximize their potential. The following are the questions I
would think to be important to ask:
i. Do they have an IEP/504 plan already in place? If so, may I have access to
it?
ii. What is my role in assisting this student?
iii. What are the parents biggest concerns about school? The students?
iv. What type of class are they going to be in? Gen ed/spec ed?
v. What accommodations need to be made?
vi. Is there anything life threatening that I need to be aware of? (i.e.; diabetic,
allergies, heart issues)
5) What was your biggest ah-ha this week?
a. From the text, especially chapter 13, it really hit home that many students with
disabilities or impairments are educated within the general education classroom
for a majority of the day. This is important to remember as it means that the role
of a para educator can vary vastly. In our school alone, we have 15 paras that I
know of. 10 of these work in the isolated special education rooms, but the other 5
work either 1 on 1 or in the resource room.
Website Responses:
1) Autism Society, www.autism-society.org
a. 6 months ago I knew very little about autism. Since then, I have been
immersed in a class of students with autism and have had to learn on the fly. I
liked this site and wished I had known about it before as it provides easy to
understand information about many of my questions. I liked that it was
separated into various life stages, including transitions to adult hood and
college!
2) Autism Speaks, https://www.autismspeaks.org
a. In this day and age, the internet is often the first thing people look to for
answers and help. This site has a variety of information and is founded by a
organization focused on research and advocacy. One thing I spent time

reading was an article they had highlighted: Preventing Wandering. At our

school we have multiple children that like to wander. This was an interesting
read for me as I didnt even think about some of the important tips they had
listed!
3) March of Dimes, http://www.marchofdimes.org/index.aspx
a. This is a name that I had heard of over and over throughout the years, but not
an organization that I knew anything about. I had no idea that they were
tackling the issue of premature birth and related issues like birth defects. I was
actually a bit upset when I realized how high the incident rate is here in the
U.S. I think that this site provides a great amount of information about a
probably often overlooked issue.