The child I’m going to ask about has EMD, but since there’s no board for teachers of children with that particular disability, I’m posting here in hopes that someone can give me advice.
This child, Jack, is in the 4th grade and functioning at an early first grade level at best. He has a weak attention span, I mean less than one minute. He hasn’t completed an assignment (pencil and paper) all year and also has a lot of adaptive skills problems, like soiling, drooling, etc. He also touches himself all day long, which is another problem altogether. He has major behavior problems, tantrums, yelling, balling up on the floor when I speak to him, etc. I have tried for the past two years to get the administration to listen to me when I say that my cross-categorical class isn’t appropriate for him. My students are doing things that he simply doesn’t have the attention span or mental ability to comprehend. I have tried to give him work on his level, he will sit and do nothing or play with his pencil, his desk, or himself instead of working. I have exhausted all the behavior modification techniques that I know and that have been suggested to me. His mother is in denial about his problems, saying “oh, Jack” when I inform her of his behavior. She insists that he’s functioning on a higher level because when he’s home playing on the internet he can do first grade math. When my aide works with him one on one there is no progress. I think his mom is going to suggest that Jack sit in front of a computer and play games all day, and I don’t think this is good because he won’t be able to learn new things that way, only practice what he already knows. Jack is also way overdue on his triennial evaluation. That was due Sept. 2001. After my complaining for two years he’s finally having eligibility tomorrow. I’m not sure what they’re going to recommend at that time. My suggestion is perhaps a TMD placement, but the school psych. seems to think his mom won’t go for that.