Special Education

Students With Intellectual Disabilities
A Resource Guide for Teachers

Appendix 2: Case Study - Mary

Questions the School-based Team needs to explore:

  • Do we need to apply for funds to assist with work experience through the 1530 form we submit for Mary before September 30 of the school year?
  • How can her gradual progression to independent living be supported?
  • What options for residence are available in the community and how do these fit into the family's plans for Mary?
  • What options for employment or post-secondary training exists?
  • How can Mary's social interaction skills be encouraged in her total program?
  • Who can provide assistance in making plans for needs in areas such as accommodation, income support, recreation, leisure and transportation?
  • Is the student registered with the Ministry of Social Services as a person with a disability?

 

Items for the CAPP teacher and school-based team to consider:

  • What transition plans are already in place as part of the plan developed by the resource teacher?
  • Ensure that transition is addressed in Mary's Student Learning Plan.
  • Discuss transition issues with Mary and her parents.
  • Decide which of the learning outcomes prescribed in the Career and Personal Planning, Integrated Resource Package (IRP, 1995) will be used to guide Mary's program and which will be modified or adapted to meet Mary's needs.
  • Plan for in-school experience in the use of tools, equipment or technology (e.g., computer) that will be used in work experience setting.
  • Discuss ways for Mary to increase her independence in the community.
  • Involve representatives from community or support organizations in transition planning. This may include representatives from areas such as Ministry of Social
  • Services, Ministry of Skills, Training and Labour, Ministry of Health, community colleges, or the British Columbia Association for Community Living.

    In addition to the CAPP teacher, the school-based team is made up of the resource teacher, a social worker from Social Services, the work experience facilitator, and Mary's parents, who brought along a representative of the B.C. Association for Community Living. The group discusses Mary's current progress in her in-school program and the parents talk about their plans which have already been put in motion for Mary to gradually move from their home to a semi-independent living arrangement sponsored by the BCACL. There is general agreement that Mary's school program should include a work experience placement in the community with a teacher assistant as job coach, at least initially. The team decides which of the learning outcomes from the curriculum document, Career and Personal Planning: Integrated Resource Package (IRP) which will be the focus of Mary's program:

    • to further develop ability to make decisions effectively.
    • to practice healthy and safe life style choices and on the job safety habits.
    • to practice job related social skills such as eye contact, staying on task and following directions.
    • to further develop personal autonomy, especially moving about the community independently.
    • to develop an awareness of abuse prevention strategies.

     

    • The following are some of the goals and objectives the resource teacher and the CAPP teacher develop collaboratively from the broad goals of the team meeting.

    1. Long-term Goal: Mary will independently walk in the community.

    Short Term Objective;

    Mary will cross the street safely
    at an intersection controlled by
    traffic lights

    Mary will cross the street safely
    at a crosswalk.

    Mary will independently walk
    from home to school

    		Strategies and Resources;

    Break the skill down into com-
    ponent parts: walking on the
    sidewalk, stopping at each cor-
    ner, attending to the traffic light
    and waiting for the green light,
    checking in all directions for
    vehicles, waiting for a safe time
    to cross, crossing with caution.
    Modeling and practice of each
    step may be needed before suc-
    cess is met. The teacher assist-
    ant will monitor and record as
    skills are developed.

    Use a similar approach as above.
    Emphasize recognizing whether
    or not a vehicle is stopping at the
    crosswalk.

    Parent and teacher will work out
    a system to gradually increase
    the portion of the walk Mary
    does independently.

    		Assessment;

    Mary will safely follow all the
    component parts of the proc-
    edure for crossing the street at a
    light 100 per cent correctly at
    three separate sessions.

    Mary will safely follow all the
    component parts of the proce-
    dure for crossing at a
    crosswalk 100 per cent correctly
    at three separate sessions.

    Mary will walk from home to
    school independently for a
    week. The next goal will be to go to
    and from the job site.

    In order to keep accurate records of the progress on this type of goal, it may be helpful to develop a form to be used by the teacher assistant. The next page is an example of such a form from Community Training, of the Functional Skills Curriculum of Gateway Provincial Resource Program. This series, developed for use with students with autism and students with intellectual disabilities, has very practical ideas that can be useful for planning programs

    Gateway Provincial Resource Program Functional Skills Curriculum - Community Training Student Name: ________________

    Teaching Instructions:

    1. Give verbal and physical promts as required
    2. Indicate whether directive required and/or total numbers of prompts
    3. Record data on three different locations
    4. Criteria for change: 3 sessions at 100% correct response - 3 trials per session

    2. Long-term Goal: Mary will identify stores and busnisses in the community
    Short Term Objective

    Mary will identify each of the
    following in groups of stores
    and businesses:

    Food: grocery store, bakery, deli
    and corner store.

    Recreation: library, community
    centre, swimming pool and res-
    taurant.

    Other: bank, laundromat, hair-
    dresser, drugstore, doctor and
    dentist offices

    		Strategies and Resources

    Walk through community tak-
    ing pictures of each of the busi-
    nesses. Model the naming of
    each and its function.

    Have Mary make a scrapbook
    using photographs and pictures
    to reinforce each business. Use
    the scrapbook with a peer tutor
    to reinforce identification. The
    teacher assistant will walk with
    Mary through the community
    with the scrapbook, prompting
    with questions: What is this
    building? What can we do
    there? Practice and reinforce, re-
    cording Mary's rate of success.

    		Assessment

    Mary will correctly identify the
    13 buildings and say what can
    be purchased there or what ac-
    tivity can be carried out there.

    Walking through the commu-
    nity on shopping or other func-
    tional outings, Mary will choose
    the appropriate building to buy
    food, swim, etc.

    3. Long-term Goal: Mary will understand and follow the safety rules at the job site.
    Short Term Objectives

    Mary will use equipment safely.

    Mary will locate and use an exit
    in case of emergency fire alarm.

    Mary will return equipment to
    the correct storage places.

    		Strategies and Resources

    Before starting the work place-
    ment have Mary rehearse the
    use of equipment. For example:
    tools, cleaning supplies, etc.,
    with the help of the teacher as-
    sistant. Have Mary make a pic-
    ture activity card for each item
    to use as prompts to practice the
    names and safety precautions
    for each item. On the job, use
    picture activity cards to monitor
    and record the progress of com-
    pliance with safety rules.

    On the job practice.

    Label storage areas with picture
    templates. Practice matching
    equipment to the templates on
    the job site several times each
    day. Gradually remove the tem-
    plates until they are not needed.

    		Assessment

    Mary independently uses
    equipment safely for one week.
    You may want to list each piece
    of equipment separately and set
    assessment criteria for each one.

    Mary will exit the building in-
    dependently when the fire
    alarm sounds.

    Mary will correctly replace
    equipment at the end of each
    work session each day for a
    week.