2009 December » Special Education and Learning Differences

by Denise Jacks

At PCI, we take our commitment to the students we serve seriously. You may have seen our management dunking booth to benefit the Down Syndrome Association of San Antonio. (There is no photographic evidence of past shenanigans in support of the special needs community – but yours truly will do everything to change that from now on.)

So, every year around the Holidays we work with a local organization to provide gifts to kids and adults with special needs. It just seems like a natural extension to what we do everyday.

Participation in this annual campaign is always swift and certain. Every individual wish was spoken for – within the first 8 hours. Then, the wish list items started to come back – a dremel tool, a DVD, a Tinkerbell t-shirt, etc. and so on. Tons of great gifts poured in, many I wouldn’t mind receiving myself – I have been known to enjoy a good bathrobe or complete Disney bedding ensemble in my day.

Robert and Co-Counder Janie McLane - and The Bears

Robert and Co-Founder Janie McLane - and The Bears

This year, we all received a special gift from one of our long-time employees. Robert, who works in our warehouse, was shopping for teddy bears for a local hospital where his daughter spent a good deal of time – and thought about the campaign for adults with special needs here at work.

The result was nothing less than pure joy for all involved – along with 30 bears for a local children’s hospital, Robert brought in a HUGE box of 30 bears for our adults with special needs.

The entire office was abuzz – anyone who walked by asked, “Where did all these bears come from?” Many bears were scooped up and hugged as we told them the story of Robert’s generosity. You see, working in the warehouse, Robert doesn’t make a ton of money – but he always manages to think of others before himself. A very admirable quality that, I am happy to say, I find in many of my colleagues here at PCI.

Warmest Wishes for the Holiday Season from PCI Education!

by Kristi Lindsay

My four year old, Jadon, struggled with writing lower case “b” and “d”. “Which way does ‘b’ go and which was does ‘d’ go?” he asked. He can say their names, knows their sounds, and can match them up with their uppercase letters. But, sometimes, he gets the two confused. bread

Have you ever noticed how similar some of the lowercase letters are? Look at “b” and “d” or “p” and “q”. Or how about lower case “h”, “n”, and “m”? As a teacher, I remember how my struggling readers had a hard time identifying these letters. They could say the letters’ names, sounds, and even write them in isolation, but often got them confused when reading or used the wrong one by accident as a letter reversal when writing.

I figured there had to be a way to help him remember which letter is “b” and which is the “d”. Then it hit me: bread and drink! I remembered an afternoon talk show episode that discussed a simple way to identify which “bread” and which “drink” were ours at a formal table setting. “Bread on the left and drink on the right,” said the host as she held up her left hand with pointer and thumb in the shape of a circle and three other fingers together pointing up like the shape of a “b” for “bread.” Her right hand was the opposite in the shape of a “d” for “drink.” While the simple hand gestures helped me identify my bread and drink, I also realized the “b” and “d” could help my son.

Try it: make a “b” with your left hand and “d” with your right hand. They are in alphabetical order when held up in front of you! Silly and simple? Yes, but since sharing the “b” and “d” hand trick with Jadon, I often see him holding up his hands and saying “a, b, c, d,” accenting the “b” and “d” with his hands.

Struggling readers can’t sound out words if they can’t recognize the letters in the words. Providing these little reminders gives them tools to be better readers. If your child struggles to identify letters, come up with silly visuals to help him or her remember them. It can be as easy or as silly as “b for bread and d for drink!”

Last night, my son avoided reading the book his teacher sent home for us to practice reading together. Ethan is in Kindergarten, and he has great beginning reading skills. But despite his reading ability, he had no interest in reading this book. After several pages, I understood why: the book was a phonics book, focusing on a short vowel sound. The monotony of the “cat and the rat” and “man in the hat” was difficult to endure. Ethan successfully sounded out and read all of the words, but had no desire to reread the book. unmotivated-readers

As a former teacher, I understand the necessity of teaching phonics, phonemes, and word families, but I also understand why older struggling readers don’t enjoy reading phonics books. Ethan proved that even if a reader struggles to sound out words and recognize sight words, he still wants to read something interesting. And he’s only in Kindergarten!

I got out one of the products I wrote for PCI: Word Families in the Real World. This product addresses the phonics skills of short vowel word families through high interest topics, real pictures, and simple words at low reading levels. I had my son read the short “a” word family books, which covered the same words in his school reader. Ethan was excited to read sentences describing real pictures. The comments Ethan made about the Word Families books validated what we tried to accomplish through their writing and design. Students, especially struggling readers in intermediate, middle, and high schools, don’t want to read “baby books”.

If you have a struggling reader, and want to encourage him or her to read, you have to be creative and resourceful. Find magazines, cartoons, short chapter books, or even ebooks that address interesting topics. Look for literature that has simple, one or two syllable words, short sentences, and photos or pictures that provide clues about challenging words in text. Many classic novels and plays have been revised at low reading levels. The goal is to motivate your child to read.

Ethan did read his school book again, and I signed off on it. I’m sure he’ll have more phonics readers in his future, but I plan on including a lot of high interest, low reading leveled books, too. I want him to love reading as much as I do, and I want to do everything I can to motivate him to read.

Teachers are great innovators. We have to be. We walk into a classroom filled with unique students, each with his or her own strengths, weaknesses, learning styles, abilities, and challenges. We get materials that we’re supposed to use with everyone . . . and then we find out that those materials don’t work. PCI-air-balloon

What do we do when the materials we’ve been provided don’t work for everyone? We make modifications and adaptations. What do we do when even that doesn’t work? We make our own materials. Some of the best PCI Education products have come directly out of this scenario. Teachers created something new and unique to meet student needs because what they had wasn’t working. They sent it to PCI to review and consider for publication, and now those products are commercially available in the marketplace.

You can get your product ideas published by PCI, too! Check out the Product Submissions section of our website at: http://www.pcieducation.com/service/productsubmissions.aspx

At the National Association of State Directors of Special Education (NASDSE) annual conference in Salt Lake City in October 2009, the theme was “We’re Better Together: Leadership through the Practice of Community.” In addition to the state directors of special education, leaders from a wide variety of national and regional organizations attended. At any given table you could find a superintendent, principal, teacher, parent, advocate, therapist, and/or educational consultant. The message was clear. If we are going to provide continuity and excellence in services for students with special needs, all of the stakeholders need to be at the table.

As the parent of a child with autism and the author of curriculum for students with special needs, I applaud NASDSE’s commitment to partnerships. Each student with special needs is unique. Developing a plan of action that will work requires all of the key people who interact with that student. Consistency in communication and goals is the foundation for success.

Lew Feldstein, keynote speaker for the NASDSE conference, shared the following African proverb: “Hope resides in togetherness.” When it comes to providing effective solutions for students with special needs, hope truly resides in partnerships between educators, service providers, parents, and community organizations.

Special Education and Learning Differences

Robert and The 30 Bears

Struggling Reader Series: Identifying Letters

Motivate the Unmotivated Reader through High Interest Reading

Are you an innovator in the Special Education field? We want you!

Partnering for More Effective Solutions for Students with Special Needs