Unit 3. The Referral Process for Special Edcuation

The Referral Process at Burntwood Elementary

For this activity, I interviewed my mother who I asked to speak the variety of special needs professionals at her school. She spoke to Amanda Devlin who is the school counselor at Burntwood Elementary in Thompson, Manitoba and Terri-Lynn Ellis who is the Primary School resource teacher also at Burntwood. Below, I addressed each question paraphrasing from the discussion I had with my mother.      

Ms. Devlin has been the counselor at Burntwood for several years and Ms. Ellis is in her first year as a resource teacher. The following is a summary of the answers they provided me.  

Amanda Devlin: School Counselor at Mystery Lake District.  Currently at Burntwood Elementary

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            1.     How is a student identified for special education referral?

At Burntwood Elementary, we have a three level system. A level 1 student would be classified as severely disabled and usually come into the system already identified. Ex: A student who has Down’s syndrome. Level 2 or level 3 students would be classified as students who display a learning disability but would have to be identified by the system. In our school, the homeroom teacher is the first person who identifies a student for special education referral. There have been instances where parents have asked for a referral but commonly it is the homeroom teacher.

2.     Who takes responsibility for the progress of the child before and after the referral?

As mentioned, the homeroom teacher starts the referral process but once the referral is made then the responsibility moves on to the resource teacher. After that, it moves to the principal to file the paperwork so funding can be received to conduct an IEP

3.  What is the school administrations directive for special education?

The directive for our school and district is full inclusion. Students who are identified for special education and then accepted for funding receive an IEP that will include them into regular classes as much as possible. They are only in “special needs” resource rooms if the nature of their disability makes it impossible for integration. The school has several designated locations for special needs to get extra attention.

4. What provisions are made for students identified for special education?

There are a variety of provisions that are made for students identified for special education. The provisions vary from student to student but all students receive an IEP once they are accepted for funding. Also, there are goals set and about 3 to 4 times a year we have an IEP meeting to assess how the student is doing. If a student is a level 2 or 3 student with a mild learning disability they may receive what is called a curriculum based IEP which is strictly for the grade level where they are at.

 Students with a level 1 disability often have a paraprofessional present with them during the day. We also have a pickup service for some children, where the paraprofessional will go in a taxi to pick the child at their homes. Other paraprofessionals can be called in as well, such as occupational therapist, speech pathologist, psychologist, and physical therapist. Social workers are also part of the system as many of the children come from tough family situations.

5. What is the level of parent involvement in referral process and special education?

The level of parent involvement can vary. Unfortunately, in our district many of the students that we have whether they are disabled or not, come from tough family situations. We have a lot of alcoholism in our district and we see many students who come in malnourished or suffering from many other types of abuse. However, there are parents that are involved in the process and they can also apply for funding to help assist them with their children. The principal and I will assist them in this process. One more thing, before the principal can apply for funding the parents must give their permission. Nothing can be done without their permission.

Terri-Lynn Ellis: Resource Teacher at Burntwood Elementary.

1.      How do you identify a student for special education?

I am the second person in the referral process but together with the homeroom teacher we talk about the student and often we will administer several small academic tests to find out the exact weaknesses of the student. With a level 1 student we have prior knowledge of the disabilities but with other students we look for obvious signs of struggle.

2.      What are the signs of a struggling student?

In the primary system, the signs we look for are struggles with reading, writing, verbal and basic motor skills. We have a student recently who was in grade 2 but was unable to do his alphabet, his cutting skills were poor and he had very poor basic math skills.  Also, this student had very poor verbal skills and we knew that a speech pathologist would have to be a part of his program. There are a variety of other signs that we look for before we apply for funding for an IEP, so more obvious than others.

3.      Are there alternate methods of instruction tried out before referring the student for special education? If yes, what are they?

There are variety of things we will try before referring a student for special education which include making modifications to their work and trying to accommodate them by providing extra assistance or more time. However, more often than not, the homeroom teacher refers the student to me. I then schedule a meeting with the counselor and principal, where we discuss the child and get the parents involved in the process of getting funding.

Reflections

As my university has no person who is in charge of indentifying students for special needs, I reached out to my mother who is a paraprofessional at Burntwood Elementary. She referred me to several individuals who are a part of the special education department at her school.  There are several counselors and resources teachers in this district. As mentioned in my interview, the Mystery Lake district is marred by a lot of social issues. There is a large Native Canadian population in the area and unfortunately this community has more than its fair share of social problems. Many students come from abusive situations and alcoholism is rampant in the Native population in Thompson. The homeroom teachers and resource teachers have to take the lead in the referral process very often. From conversations with my mother, the school support system can very often be strained with all the extra responsibilities they take on.

Here in Korea, my experiences have been very limited with working with special needs children. I was working in a public elementary school and they once brought in a child with a “level 1” disability into my English class. For me it was not an issue and I included him as much as possible in the lesson plan. The school only included him in my class for three sessions. It is very rare that special needs children are introduced into English classes in Korea. I have only had one experience where I made a referral for special education. My first year I worked at a private academy and there was a child who I felt had Asperger’s Syndrome or some other form of Autism. I spoke to the head teacher at my school and the manager but little if nothing was done. My guess would be that the issue was swept under the rug, out of fear that the parents might remove their child from the school and the owner would be angry for the lost revenue. I continued teaching the child and made accommodations for him where I could.  In the end, I found it a very rewarding experience as the student really enjoyed my class and performed quite well.