Developing dividualized education program for student with intellectual disability in inclusive school

JOURNAL OF SCIENCE OF HNUE Vol. 57, No. 1, pp. 142-147 DEVELOPING DIVIDUALIZED EDUCATION PROGRAM FOR STUDENT WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY IN INCLUSIVE SCHOOL Nguyen Thi Hoa Ha Noi National University of Education E-mail: nguyenhoadhsphn@gmail.com Abstract. Inclusive education for chidren with disabilities including chil- dren with intellectual disabilitiies was conducted earlier. Each child with an intellectual disability is different from others in his ability, learning style and learning need. To provide this education there is a need to develop an individualized education program (IEP) for children with intellectual dis- abilities. Nowadays, IEPs are in place in many countries including the US, Japan and Holland. In Viet Nam, we did a study with a student with an intellectual disability who has been making progress learning in the Bach Mai-Hanoi Primary Inclusive School. We assessed the student’s current func- tional level, created an IEP, implemented the program and did a follow-up review. The results after one month show that the student progressed in many aspects. We can assert that IEP can help students with intellectual disabilities in inclusive schools. Keywords: developing, education, program, intellectual disability, in- clusive school. 1. Introduction A student who is diagnosed as a student with an intellectual disability has three characteristics: general intellectual functioning which is under the average level, deficient in at least two out of ten adaptive behaviors, and the disability occurred before the child was 18 years old. Each type of intellectual disability level needs different kinds of support for the child to study and to integrate into the community. Students with an intellectual disability can study with students who do not have such a disability if we develop an IEP for them. 142 Developing dividualized education program for student with intellectual disability in... 2. Content 2.1. Concept of IEP IEP is a specification for the education goals for a student and the orienta- tion methods to achieve educational goals and carry out educational activities and regulations. 2.2. The process of developing and implementing an IEP for students with intellectual disabilities in Primary Inclusive Schools The process of developing and implementing an IEP for students with intel- lectual disabilities in primary inclusive schools includes four steps: Step 1: Assessing a student’s current functional level Assessing a student’s current functional level is finding out what the student’s abilities and needs are. It means we collect general information about student’s overall development: cognition, skills, etc.. Step 2: Creating an IEP Based on the information collected, teachers will identify educational goals for the student. They also have to show detailed methods to be used to achieve the goals with criteria for evaluating the objectives (long and short-term objectives). Step 3: Implementing IEP With the IEP, teachers start using the methods to teach the student so that he can achieve the proposed goals. In term of implementation, IEP should be applied in different kinds of environment such as at school, at home and in the community with the assistance and co-operation of teachers, parents and students without a disability. Step 4: Review After implementing the IEP, teachers compare notes on what the student can do and use the IEP evaluation criteria to see what goals are reached and what goals are not reached so that the teachers can adjust (change evaluation criteria, adjust their teaching methods or materials...) to help the student achieve the goals. 2.3. Developing and implementing an IEP for student with in- tellectual disabilities in Primary Inclusive Schools General information about the student: T.T.H, 7-year, 5-month old girl, attending class 1 in Bach Mai-Hanoi Primary Inclusive School. H was diagnosed as having a mild intellectual disability caused by the flu which her mother had for a week when she was pregnant. H is a beautiful 143 Nguyen Thi Hoa girl. She appears to be lonely and usually gets bad marks in school. Before developing an IEP for H, we use an adaptive behavior scale, second edition (ABS:S2), and assess H’s current functional level. The following are the results: Table 1. The assess functional level Domains Contents Raw Scores Standard Scores Age equiva- lences Assessment I Independent Functioning 93 15 7-3 High II Physical Development 23 17 7-8 Very high III Economic Activity 1 7 4-3 Under everage Part IV Language Development 29 13 6-6 Above everage one V Numbers and time 4 10 5-3 Everage VI Prevocational/Vocational Activity 1 5 3-0 Everage VII Self-Direction 8 13 6-0 Above everage VIII Responsibility 5 10 4-6 Everage IX Socialization 1 3 <3-0 Very low X Social behavior 40 5 3-0 Low XI Confirmity 30 6 5-6 Under everage XII Trustworthiness 1 14 6-9 Above everage Part two XIII Steriotyped and hyperactive behavior 14 9 5-9 Everage XIV Sefl- abuse bahavior 0 12 6-3 Everage XV Social engagement 16 6 4-6 Under everage XVI Disturbing interpersonal behavior 4 11 6-0 Everage The results from interviews with teachers who tested the student in in math and Vietnamese are as follows: - Math: H can recognize numbers from 0 to 10, do addition and subtraction within five using sticks. However, H is not able to do calculations greater than five and she is also not able to do calculations to find the missing numbers as below. . . 1 + ... = 3 or 4 - ... = 2 H has difficulty distinguishing between the sign (>) and the sign (<) although H can answer what larger is and what smaller is. - Vietnamese: H can recognize 29 letters in the alphabet. H can spell a word well but she occasionally read it wrong. H can read simple words with 2 letters but she cannot read words with more than 2 letters. H can read single words (word by word) but she cannot read a sentence smoothly. H likes stickers very much. So we usually use a sticker to reward H when she 144 Developing dividualized education program for student with intellectual disability in... does something well. Based on the evaluation results of H’s current functional skills above, we would like to submit an IEP for her in 3 months as follows: Table 2. An IEP in 3 months No. Long-term goals Short-term goals Duration Asessment 1 H can do addition and subtraction within 5 without sticks H can do addition within 5 without sticks 3 months H can do subtraction within 5 with- out sticks 2 H can do addition and subtraction within 6 with sticks H can do addition and subtraction within 6 by using sticks 3 months H can read and write correct an- swers after calculation by using sticks. 3 H can spell and read words with uôi and ươi H can spell words with uôi and ươi 3 monthsH can read words which consist uôi and ươi 4 H’s teasing friends is reduced at 3 times/ 1 hour learning H can sit down properly and listen to the teachers’ lecture 3 months H can cross her arms and put them on the table during the lesson 5 H actively takes part in group activity H can raise her hand when she wants to give her ideas 3 months H can speak 1 or 2 sentences that expresses her ideas about the lesson IEP is implemented by the teachers and the student’s parents. Goals in the IEP are carried out alternately. After one month is spent implementing some of the goals in the IEP, here are the results: Table 3. After one month is spent implementing some of the goals in the IEP No. Short- term goals Adjustment for H Results P A N 1 H can do addition within 5 without sticks - Verbal supporting - Use visual exercises for H only - Use multi- level method - Individual supporting at home - If H can do 3- 5 operations ex- actly, she passes √ 2 H can do subtraction within 5 without sticks √ 145 Nguyen Thi Hoa 3 H can do addition and subtraction within 6 by using sticks - Phisical supporting - Use multi- level method - Use visual exer- cises for H only - Individual sup- porting at home - If H can do 3- 5 operations exactly, she passes - Awarding by sticker √ 4 H can spell words with “uôi” and “ươi” - H can use alphabet cards - Ver- bal supporting - Use alternative method - Individual supporting at home - Awarding by sticker √ 5 H can sit down prop- erly and listen to the teachers’ lecture - Modeling - Phisical supporting - Verbal supporting √ 6 H can cross her arms and put them on the table during the lesson √ 7 H can raise her hand when she wants to give her ideas - Modeling - Phisical supporting - Verbal Supporting √ Note: Pass: Student can complete task without assistance A: Have abilities: Student can complete task with assistance from teacher N: Not pass: Student cannot complete task even with assistance from teacher Short-term goals 3, 4 and 5 can be passed and be retested. Short-term goals 1, 2, 6 and 7 will be worked on in the next IEP. To develop and implement an IEP for students with intellectual disabilities in a primary inclusive school one needs to pay attention to: - Observation is one of the most important skills a teacher has to collect the information needed about the current functional level of a student and to assess results after a student does the goal-based task. We should make careful observa- tions when we are developing and implementing IEPs for students with intellectual disabilities. - Focusing on priority goals (they are those goals which are most necessary for a student’s development at present) when developing an IEP for students with intellectual disabilities and preparing documents, aids and human resources for im- plementation of an IEP. - The goals in the plan should be implemented regularly and in many different environments such as at home, at school and in the community at large. Goals are to be carried out not only at school but also at home because students with intellectual disabilities usually forget what they have learned. We sometimes can not teach students some goals at home or at school because a lack of time, materials or personal assistance and so we may have to teach them in the community. 146 Developing dividualized education program for student with intellectual disability in... 3. Conclusion Developing and implementing the IEP for this student with an intellectual disability in a primary inclusive school helped her achieve progress in some domains. We assert that we can successfully develop and implement IEPs in an inclusive school environment. However, we have to adjust some aspects, such as: teaching methods, contents and materials. An effective IEP can benefit a student with an intellectual disability in an inclusive school. REFERENCES [1] Adaptive behavior scale ABS- S2 used in schools, Handbook of tester. The second edition, translation, 2003. [2] Joyce S. Choate. Successful inclusive teaching. The fourth edition. [3] June L. Bigge, Sherwood J. Best, Kathryn Wolff Heller. Teaching Individuals with Physical, Health or Multiple Disabilities. [4] Ministry of Education and Tranning, 2005. Inclusive education for disable stu- dents. Training material for Primary teachers. [5] Tran Thi Le Thu, 2002. General special education for children with Intellectual disabilities. Publishing house of Ha Noi National University. 147