SPED 310 Week 5

This week in SPED we learned a lot that can be applicable to our future as teachers. It was a huge learning experience as we were able to do case study on a young girl and do a mock MDT meeting. We were able to discuss whether she was eligible of special education services, or if we needed to find other ways to intervene. We looked at her test scores and were able to determine based on her past history, and her current life in her adoptive family, that she is smart and progressing, and we just need to find a way to get her caught up since she had received no formal education before she was adopted when she was 7. I was able to study what I would do in an MDT meeting if I were the Special Education Supervisor. This was really cool because I was able to keep the meeting on track and following the agenda. If I were a supervisor I would let them know the resources we could provide her if she were eligible for the special education services. I was able to get the feel for how I can advocate for my students and find every way possible to help them. I also got to see how an MDT may work.
Another huge eye opener for me was Friday when we there was a group that presented on Learning Disabilities. They talked about how Dyslexia is a very common learning disability and also the most misdiagnosed. There is also Dyscalculia which is a lot like dyslexia but deals with math and numbers and not being able to grasp simple math concepts. What I liked most about this presentation is we were able to try different simulations online to help us see what it would be like to have a learning disability. There was an organizational, an attention one, writing, reading, and another one that we weren't able to get to because of time restraints. It was so frustrating not being able to do what we wanted to and it was stressful not hearing all the instructions. I only got a glimpse of what it would be like to have a learning disability, but for those few minutes it was so hard! The biggest thing the presenters stressed was making sure as teachers we are able to recognize these disabilities and not let kids slide through the cracks undiagnosed and feeling like failures. I think this is so important that we are able to sympathize with or students and think about their potential if we can help them.