Transcript CHARGE AND CHARGING FORWARD

School to High School for a Student with
CHARGE: A Case Study of a Successful
Transition
Kathleen Sheriff, Christopher Sence, Nora GriffinShirley, Texas Tech University
(806)742-1997 ext. 233
Today’s Agenda
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A little about me
Teaching Strategies for Elementary
Teaching Strategies for Junior High
Teaching Strategies for High School
My Mom and Early Childhood – Because I
have no memory
• Nora – a little on transition
MY SPECIFIC DISABILITIES
• I HAVE ALL 6 MAJOR SYMPTOMS OF
CHARGE
– 20/400 IN LEFT EYE AND 20/30 IN
RIGHT EYE WITH GLASSES, BUT FIELD LOSS
(CAN NOT SEE MY FEET VERY GOOD)
- AORTIC VALVE REPLACEMENT (2 OPEN
HEART SURGERIES)
• A- NO SINUS CAVITY ON RIGHT SIDE OF
NOSE, ALSO I HAVE NO SENSE OF SMELL OR
TASTE. I ALSO HAVE A UNILATERAL CLEFT
PALATE AND LIP
MY SPECIFIC DISABILITIES
• R- I AM STILL GROWING AT 27 MY GROWTH
PLATES ARE THAT OF APPX. AN 18 YEAR OLD
MAN
• G- JUST BEGINNING PUBERTY
• E- PROFOUND LOW SS IN MY LEFT EAR
MODERATE LOSS IN RIGHT EAR WITH MY AID
My Developmental Progression
• FEEDING TUBE AT 5 WEEKS UNTIL 3 ½ YEARS
• HAD OPEN HEART SURGERY AT 6 MONTHS
AND BEGAN TO GAIN A LITTLE BIT OF WEIGHT
• GOT MY FIRST HEARING AIDES AT 10 MONTHS
AND GOING TO SCHOOL WITH CHILDREN
THAT HAD INTELLECTELUAL DISABILITIES TO
LEARN SIGN LANGUAGE (TWICE A WEEK)
My Developmental Progression
• NEVER CRAWLED – ROLLED AROUND THE
HOUSE LIKE A LOG AT 15 MONTHS AND THEN
PULLED UP TO MY KNEES WHILE HOLDING ON
• AT AGE 5 I WENT TO A SPECIAL SPEECH CLASS
IN WHICH I HAD NO SIGNING ONLY SPEAKING
AND BEGAN SPEAKING SIMPLE WORDS
My Developmental Progression
• STARTED KINDERGARTEN AT THE AGE OF 6 (21
YEARS AGO …….DANG!! )
• I BEGAN TO SPEAK SIMPLE SENTENCE
STRUCTURE AT THE AGE OF 7 YEARS OLD
• IN 4TH GRADE I MOVED OUT OF RESOURSE
CLASSES INTO REGULAR EDUCATION
CLASSROOMS - AT THIS TIME MY I.Q. WAS
TESTED AT 104 BECAUSE I COULD
UNDERSTAND A LITTLE BETTER.
Me in Elementary (Matzke)
Successful Strategies My Elementary
Teachers Used
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Cypress Fairbanks ISD
Itinerate VI Teacher
Itinerate D/HH Teacher
Audiologist provided me with a Loop FM
System.
• Teachers were in-serviced by the audiologist
who gave them a taped spelling test that they
all failed or gave up.
Specific Teacher Interventions for
Elementary
• Allowed everyone in the class to use the Loop
• Teacher always took me by my hand and had me in
front of the line at all times.
• All teachers kept extra batteries
• I had extra time to eat lunch and went to the nurse
once a day to eat extra calories to keep my energy up.
• Enlarged math charts, an abacus, colored paper - My
Mother taught me how to count money by selling
snacks with the family change from the Home Money
Jar.
• I always sat on the left side of the teacher.
Me In Junior High (Thornton/Memorial
Parkway JR High)
Specific Teacher Interventions For
Junior High
• Enlarged copies of notes
• Cut my day in half and only took Language
Arts and Math
• Started having one hour study hall instead of
one elective during 7th Grade
• In 8th Grade I was on student council and
helped in the office when needed which
helped me become more social.
Me in High School (Klein Forest High
School)
My Developmental Progression
• AT AGE 16, I ADVOCATED FOR MY RIGHT AND
MADE MY MOM PULL INTO KLEIN FOREST
HIGH SCHOOL (PUBLIC SCHOOL) WHERE I
CONTINUED MY EDUCATION. I WAS
SUPPORTED BY THE SPECIAL EDUCATION
DEPARTMENT AND FOUND MY ALL TIME
FAVORITE TEACHER, COACH LARRY DROWN,
WHO LATER NAMED ME “LITTLE DROWN”
My Developmental Progression
• GOT MY FIRST JOB AT CHICK FIL A IN THE FALL
OF 1999
• LETTERED AS THE BASEBALL MANAGER ALL 4
YEARS IN HIGH SCHOOL (HELPED OUT WITH
THE FOOTBALL AND WRESTLING TEAMS AS
WELL)
• GRADUATED HIGH SCHOOL IN MAY 2002
WITH A GPA OF 3.33
Specific Teacher Interventions for High
School
• Mom felt like I needed an extra year (19971998) to work on vocabulary and math skills
so I attended private school for half a day
attempting to close the gaps in math and
vocabulary. At home I used Switched on
School House curriculum for Science and
Social Studies.
MY DEVELOPMENTAL PROGRESSION
• I BEGAN TO UNDERSTAND AND ENJOY MUSIC IN
THE 6TH GRADE BY JOINING THE CHURCH CHIOR
• STARTED BEING OCD
• BEGAN MAKING A SOCIAL LIFE IN THE SUMMER
BETWEEN MY 7TH AND 8TH GRADE YEARS
• HOME SCHOOLED BETWEEN 8TH AND 9TH USING
COMPUTER SOFTWARE AND WORKED ON
VOCABULARY AND MATH
Specific Interventions for High School
• Advocated for Myself and everyone Listened
and allowed me to go to Klein Forest High
School
• Able to leave class 5 minutes early to beat the
rush
• I had 2 sets of textbooks.
• Allowed to rest in the nurses office
• Took special TAAS tutorial classes
Specific Interventions for
High School
• Was given the High School Manager Job for
the Varsity Baseball and Football Teams as a
Freshman and lettered 4 years
• That socialization gave me the confidence that
I can do this High School Thing
• Allowed extra credit projects rather than
testing for some classes
• Took 2 years of High School Algebra for only
one year of credit and kept some of the same
teachers for Regular Ed
Specific Interventions for High School
• Computer Teacher allowed me to use the
computer technology to organize my school work
and the baseball team as a real life learning
opportunity. This is when my OCD really started
to kick in and became a good strategy. An
example would be my first job and only at Chick
Fil A.
• ASL became available for my Foreign Language
Credit in 11th grade rather than me taking
Spanish.
Specific Interventions for High
School
• By high school we had dropped a lot of the
itinerant services because I would miss too
much lecture time.
• Was able to help out in the main office doing
mail and taking deliveries to classrooms.
• I was able to put a few things on note cards to
use during tests in certain classes.
• I had to be in classes with good behavior
management.
Parent Concerns for Transition to
High School
• Chris’ health and medicinal issues
• Physical building transitioning due to DB and
multiple other disabilities
• Size of high school bldg. (3500 students)
• Math, Vocabulary, Reading, Writing concerns
• Social Concerns and desire for Chris to stay in
middle school one more year
• “Research shows self-esteem issues are
related to holding students back” but…….
Parent Decision for Transition to
High School
• Private school for Math and Language Arts
• Part-time work at private school 3 afternoons
a week for Chris
• Home school Science, Social Studies,
Keyboarding with Technology/Interactive
Curriculum
• Monitor Rest and Health Concerns at home
• Private school to take grades for home school
coursework
Outcomes of Parent Decision
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Extra year for growth and development
Vocabulary and Math skills increased
Technology skills increased
Cognition increased and Chris became aware
of advocating and expressing wants for
himself related to school, sports, and work
• High school staff included him in problemsolving decisions and “freed me” from worry
and guilt over making all of Chris’ decisions
Transition of Students with
Deafblindness
• Use of Person-centered Planning (PCP)
• Use of wraparound process
• Helen Keller National Technical Assistance Center
developed FUTURES, Personal Futures Planning:
Building a Foundation for Individualized Transition
Services (1990)
• Adopted by some state deafblind projects
Wraparound
• Way to improve lives of youth with complex needs &
their families
• Individualized plans of care
• Needs driven plan rather than services driven
• Includes areas of independence, family, living
situation, financial, education, recreation, social,
behavioral-emotional, health, legal, cultural, safety,
psychological….
• Research based but not with students with
deafblindness (Lechtenberger, 2008)
Wraparound Principles from Bruns, Walker, Adams,
Miles, Osher, Rast, VanDenBerg, & National Wraparound Intiative Advisory Group
(2004).
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Family voice and choice
Team based
Natural supports
Collaboration
Community-based
Culturally competent
Individualized
Strengths-based
Persistence
Outcome based
Some Aspects of PCP
• Craft a desirable lifestyle
• Design a variety of experiences
• Respect, see strengths, and find new
possibilities for each student
• Focus on quality of life & personal preferences
Some Aspects of PCP
• Emphasize dreams, desires, & meaningful
experiences
• Student-centered team
• Community effort
• Build relationships
• Involvement by finding & building open
spaces and invest in long-term commitment
Different Models of PCP
• Making Actions Plans (MAPS) - Forest &
Lusthaus, (1989)
• Group Action Planning-Turnbill, Turnbull,
Shank & Smith
• Personal Futures Planning-Mount & Zwernik
(1988)
• PATH (Planning Alternative Tomorrow with
Hope)-Perpoint, O’Brien & Foest (1993)
Problems
• Youth with deafblindness (DB) lack successful outcomes in
community living, employment & independent living (GriffinShirley, Davidson, Shaughnessy, Laman, & Lechtenberger,
2008).
• Students with DB usually do not achieve their formal system
goals (Petroff, 2001).
• “The literature, however, is lacking studies differentiating
between various models in their strengths and weaknesses in
contrast to each other” (Laman & Davidson, 2008, p. 113).
Gaps in Research & Practice
• Frequent use of PCP models
• Lack of research looking at “systematic
assessment of any PCP transition practices
with individuals who are deafblind” (Laman &
Davidson, 2008, p. 116)
• Need for research exploring the efficacy of
these models
Research Questions
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“How evidence-based is PTCP for students with
sensory impairments?
If PCP values person-centered choices of outcomes,
how can we promote and measure if the outcomes
are truly person-centered as opposed to being
system centered?
What are the long-term outcomes 5-15 years after
PCTP has been implemented for a student with
sensory impairment?” (Lechtenberger, GriffinShirley & Grimmett, 2009, p. 123)
Research Questions
• How do we measure the efficacy of wraparound
planning process for transition of students with
deafblindness?
• Can we translate this promising practice to obtain
better outcomes for individuals with deafblindess?
• Can we translate this practice to support better
transition plans for students with deafblindness as
they transition from one stage to another (preschool
to school)?
• How do we engage other fields to use this process to
support the transtion of students with
• If you have questions or would like a copy of this
presentation please feel free to contact me
• Cell phone – 936 662 8702
• Email – [email protected]
• FACEBOOK - CHRISTOPHER SENCE or TTU Email
CHARGE Syndrome Supports
• Texas Chargers Parent Support Group
– http://texaschargers.org/
• The CHARGE Syndrome Foundation
– http://www.chargesyndrome.org/
• The Virginia Murray Sowell Center for
Education and Research in Visual Impairment
at Texas Tech University
– http://www.educ.ttu.edu/sowell/