Page 4 - Feb2018BPSNews

Support system bene ts au sm, dyslexia teachers
By Jennifer Wol nger, media and publica ons coordinator
Educators tailor their lessons, methods and classroom management to meet the individual needs of each student. When a child has a disability, mee ng those needs becomes even more complex.
The Student Services team has been implemen ng strategies to address the challenges facing teachers of excep onal educa on students. Two areas of focus are au sm and dyslexia.
Dr. Dawna Bobersky, director of excep onal student educa on program support, said: “We have two goals in BPS. First, to meet the needs of our students with disabili es by balancing academic and social needs, mee ng individualized goals and preparing them for post-
secondary opportuni es. Our second
is to support our teachers in mee ng
those needs. Teachers of students with
disabili es take on and overcome many
challenges every day and our sta is
dedicated to reducing their stress.”
According to Resource Teacher Rose Ann Roth, what is e ec ve in mee ng social and academic goals for students with au sm varies from child to child.
“Students with au sm are too o en
misunderstood. Au sm program support seeks to educate professionals and support sta on the nature of au sm and e ec ve prac ces for working with our kids,” Roth said. “It is our goal to have all students with au sm embraced, encouraged and educated in all classrooms with peers and professionals that understand them.”
Some of the assistance provided to these educators include:
• training on the 27 evidence-based prac ces for working with students with au sm
• visual supports and technique ps to address sensory needs
• monthly visits by UCF Center for Au sm and Related Disabili es (CARD) specialists to observe, independently assess strengths and weaknesses and recommend resources and training
• school visits by ESE experts to assist with implemen ng evidence-based prac ces
• help with designing classroom layouts to best meet the needs of students
• assist with individual educa on plan (IEP) accommoda ons and program needs
• social-emo onal learning curriculum support
In addi on, the team is reaching out to parents. Throughout April, families have the opportunity to a end workshops once a week. They will be provided with the book “No More Meltdowns” by Dr. Jed Baker, guidance on building their child’s social-emo onal skills and strategies to support their child’s academic goals.
To assist teachers of students with dyslexia, the Student Services sta designed a support system to help educators expand their dyslexia knowledge base, and iden fy and overcome learning barriers so students can grasp grade-level material.
The “Embracing Neurodiversity” toolkit is the founda on of this e ort. The resource was
developed with input from parents, educators, administrators and community members. It provides resources that support early literacy, college/career readiness and social emo onal support for students with dyslexia and other learning di erences.
Resource Teacher Lisa Rogers said, “If you visit a foreign country and can’t speak the language, it doesn’t stop you from having a
good me. For students with dyslexia, the classroom can feel like another country. These students can s ll have posi ve classroom experiences, think on grade level and par cipate in rich classroom discussions.”
Examples of the supports for teachers of students with dyslexia include:
• training for literacy coaches, resource and varying excep onali es teachers, elementary assistant principals and speech language pathologists
• a focus group made up of parents, administrators,
and general and excep onal educa on teachers
• classroom visits to help teachers u lize assis ve technology
• school-based collabora on
• monthly labs for families to explore
technology resources
• digital component for all BPS textbooks
accessible via LaunchPad
To view the “Embracing Neurodiversity” toolkit, click here.