Online Resources Library

• Disabilities
  • - Autism
  • - Deaf-Blindness
  • - Developmental Delay
  • - Emotional Disturbance
  • - Hearing Impairment
  • - Mental Retardation
  • - Multiple Disabilities
  • - Orthopedic Impairment
  • - Other Health Impairment
  • - Speech or Language Impairment
  • - Specific Learning Disability
  • - Traumatic Brain Injury
  • - Visual Impairment including Blindness
• Regulations
  • - Federal
  • - State
  • - Special Education
• Education
  • - Child Development Services (CDS)
  • - Department of Education (DOE)
  • - Maine Department of Education (MDOE)
  • - Maine Special Education Administrators (MADSEC)
  • - Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP)
  • - UNC Chapel Hill (National Center for Early Development and Learning)
  • - USF Florida Parental Information and Resource Center (Florida Partnership for Parent Involvement)
  • - Maine Advisory Council on the Education of Children with Disabilities
• Kindergarten
  • - Kindergarten Transition
  • - Kindergarten Curriculum
• News
  • - RSS Feeds
  • - Calendar
  • - eNewsletters
  • - Woodford’s News
• Facts & Stats
  • - Fact Sheets
  • - Glossaries
  • - Public Databases
• Blogs
  • - Special Education Blog
  • - Parent Blog
• Organizations
• FAQs
  • - For Parents
  • - For Educators
  • - Ask A Question

Special Education Blog

Mar 26, 2010

Posted in: Blog

Typically, the Transition IEP Meeting includes Parents, Case Managers, Current Service Providers, a Kindergarten Teacher, the Principal, our District Service Providers – Speech, OT, PT, Special Education Teacher ...and I complete the Team as Special Education Administrator.

At the meetings, parents and different team members share information about the students that will help us determine the level of services necessary in the public school setting. For the most part, the level of services remains very similar, but there are subtle considerations. The kindergarten is a full day for students in our district. Each day/week has a morning meeting, center time, physical education classes, music, art, library, lunch and recess. All of these activities lend their own importance to a child's development. Sometimes these activities can meet some of the therapy needs of a student, resulting in the decision to reduce some therapy time. Because the educational environment is different from a pre-school setting, a therapy such a speech services may be reduced to three 20 minute sessions per week instead of three times 45 minutes per week. The speech therapist may work with all children in the classroom, which may take the place of a specific therapy. Some students participate in a special group which is run by the occupational therapist and speech therapist together. We find that some children benefit from learning basic concepts and following directions while working with movement and play. Programs such as these may change service times. Some students with developmental delays benefit from the instruction that occurs in every kindergarten class, so skills such a learning letters, sounds, and numbers or developing fine motor skills are taught in small groups every day. Direct instruction provided to all students such as this may meet the developing needs for some students and replace a current individual therapy.

It will be important for parents to ask questions and feel comfortable with the decisions made at the transition meetings. Your child's progress will be the main focus and we want the outcome of that meeting to be the beginning of a respectful and cooperative relationship. I look forward to meeting with all of you in the next few weeks.

Nancy Hall
Director of Special Services
MSAD 72

Return