The IEP is an essential part of each student’s special education program and plays a large part in the role of special education teacher responsibilities. Special education teachers must include all of the information needed to describe the student’s strengths, needs, background information, etc. All of this information is used to develop an effective program for the student.

By the age of 16, students with special education services must have an additional transition plan that addresses current functioning based on observations, student surveys, and other age appropriate transition services. Goals must be developed for further education and training as well as employment after high school. Aligned transition activities for each goal must be realistically developed to assist students in achieving their goals. Teams must also consider the need for goals associated with independent living. These goals could address community access and participation, adult living and post‐school options, as well as daily living skills to support independence in adult settings.

Review the “Alicia Case Study” to inform the assignment that follows.

Use the “Case Study: PLAAFP and Annual Goals Template” to complete this assignment. The template includes:

• Part 1: Present Level of Academic Achievement and Functional Performance (PLAAFP)
• Part 2: Post‐Secondary Transition – including student interests and transition plan with measureable goals.
• Part 3: Rationale and Reflection

Support your rational with 1‐2 scholarly resources, in addition to the CEC Code of Ethics.

While APA format is not required for the body of this assignment, solid academic writing is expected, and in‐text citations and references should be presented using APA documentation guidelines, which can be found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center.

College of Education (COE) program competencies and national standards assessed in the benchmark assignment:

COE 3.8: Consider individual abilities, interests, learning environments, and cultural and linguistic factors in the selection, development, and adaptation of learning experiences for individual with exceptionalities.

[CEC 5.1, ICSI.5.S8, ICSI.5.S15, IGC.5.K1, IGC.5.S7, IGC.5.S23, IGC.5.S24; InTASC 1(b), 2(d), 5(f), 6(v), 8(s), 9(h); Mission Critical 2, 3, 4, 5]

COE 3.10: Develop and implement a variety of education and transition plans for individuals with exceptionalities across a wide range of settings and different learning experiences in collaboration with individuals, families, and teams.

[CEC 5.5, ICSI.5.S8, ICSI.5.S8, ICSI.5.S15, ICSI.5.S17, ICSI.5.S19, IGC.5.K1, IGC.5.K3, IGC.5.K8, IGC.5.S1, IGC.5.S2, IGC.5.S11 IGC.5.S23, IGC.5.S24; InTASC 7(b), 7(e); Mission Critical 1, 2, 4, 5]

COE 5.1: Reflect on practice in light of research on teaching, professional ethics, and resources available for professional learning in order to improve student learning. [ACEI 5.0; CEC 6.1, ICSI.6.K2, ICSI.6.K4 ICSI.6.S1, ICSI.6.S2, ICSI.6.S3, ICSI.6.S4, ICSI.6.S5, ICSI.6.S7, IGC.6.K4, IGC.6.K6, IGC.6.S2; InTASC 9(l), 9(o); Mission Critical 2, 3, 4]

COE 5.4: Integrate foundational knowledge and current issues to inform professional practice.

[CEC 6.2, ICSI.6.S1, ICSI.6.S2, ICSI.6.S4, IGC.6.K1, IGC.6.K2, IGC.6.K3; InTASC 10(h); Mission Critical 1, 2, 4]

COE 5.8: Demonstrate legal, ethical, and quality requirements related to the management of confidential student information.

[CEC 6.1, ICSI.6.S1, ICSI.6.S2, ICSI.6.S4, ICSI.7.S1, IGC.6.K1, IGC.6.K6; InTASC 5(k); Mission Critical 1, 2, 4, 5]

Alicia Case Study

Name: Alicia

Grade: 10th

Age: 16

 

Alicia is a tenth grade student with a diagnosis of Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and Dyscalculia who is currently receiving resource support for math and written expression. She attends all other subjects within the general education classroom. The ADD was diagnosed in second grade when her mother noticed that Alicia couldn’t concentrate on any task. Her ADD contributes to her inability to focus for long periods of time as well as her ability to organize her thoughts, assignments, and materials. Alicia was diagnosed with Dyscalculia in the third grade when her teacher and mother noticed how she struggled with retaining basic math facts and comprehending word problems.

Special Education Teacher Observations:

Her special education teacher, Ms. Kauffmann, reports that Alicia has average reading decoding skills and average to above average reading comprehension skills. Sometimes, Alicia will stop an activity she is required to complete and pick up a book to read. She then has to be redirected by the teacher to get back on task. She does particularly well analyzing multiple choice and short answer questions related to reading content. Alicia does have difficulty summarizing what she has read using her own thoughts and ideas.

Alicia does write complete sentences, but struggles in organizing her ideas for writing and needs extensive support for pre-writing, development of topic sentences, and organization of essays. In writing short answer questions, she does so with few grammatical errors. When writing paragraphs and short essays, Alicia needs help editing her own work and making corrections. Punctuation errors are frequently evident. She has excellent spelling skills, but struggles with subject-verb agreement, correct use of point of view appropriate to the task, and in the development of thesis statements and topic sentences.

Regarding her math skills, Alicia struggles specifically with computation and reasoning/problem solving. In class, Alicia shows difficulty in writing number sentences to solve a story problem, and in determining the operations to use. She relies on a calculator for all math computation and benefits from extensive one-on-one support in math problem solving. She also struggles with converting fractions to decimal notation and applying math concepts to real-world situations. When math problems can be related to music or dance, Alicia’s motivation increases to work on the problem.

Teachers report that Alicia relies on staff to cue her to take her ADD medicine at the health office after lunch. Her parents and teachers have expressed concern that she is not independent in this area. It is an appropriate expectation for 16-year-olds to go to the health office without reminders. Alicia’s parents would also like her to be more independent in remembering her medication at home.

 

Evaluation:

The most recent psycho-educational evaluation report for Alicia is in her Woodcock-Johnson III Tests of Achievement scores. The Woodcock Johnson IV Tests of Achievement is a norm-referenced assessment that evaluates academic skills in the areas of reading, math, and written expression. The standard score is 100, with a standard deviation of 15.

 

Alicia’s most recent scores:

Cluster	Student’s Age Equivalent (Year + Month)	Student’s Test Percentile	Student’s Standard Test Score (on a 100 point scale)
Broad Reading	15 years, 8 months	22	88
Broad Math	9 years, 3 months	1	20
Broad Written Language	14 years, 3 months	7	78

 

Parent (s)/Guardian(s) Observations:

Over the last two months, Alicia’s mother has reported that she is reluctant to get up and get ready for school. She has missed 12 days so far this semester, and frequently complains of a stomachache and headache. Her mother has taken her to the doctor and there are no significant medical issues. Her mother also reports that the struggle to get her out of bed and to school is too great at times and will sometimes just call her in absent. She gets up fine on the weekends.

Alicia’s mother is also concerned because Alicia is not exhibiting any independence and is worried about her transition after high school. Her mother knows that Alicia has some goals for herself, but lacks the motivation to do daily tasks such as waking to an alarm clock, initiating independent work such as homework or chores, taking her medicine without prompting, and organizing her materials, assignments, and her bedroom.

Alicia would like to study dance after high school. She has always benefited from kinesthetic movement and feels it helps her release some anxiety about school and she also states that she feels in control when she dances. Her mother would like her to get a part time job that would assist her in learning independence and responsibility. Alicia’s mother would like Alicia to learn some responsibility and life skills like budgeting by having her pay small portions of bills at home such as her phone bill. Ideally, her mother is trying to create opportunities for her daughter so that she may eventually live independently as an adult.

In school, Alicia has been quiet and withdrawn, not wanting to participate in classroom or campus activities. She is reluctant to answer questions in class and will put her head down on the desk when called upon. Her mother and Ms. Kauffmann speculate possible school anxiety. When asked about this behavior, Alicia mentions that she feels overwhelmed by the class size and likes small group activities.

 

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