¶ … level of communication it takes to handle a case where a child has multiple disabilities. A transdisciplinary approach is useful in allowing professionals to collaborate and ask for help should the client or the client's parent require it. Handling a child with multiple disabilities is an arduous process. It involves use of equipment, proper handling, and consistent therapy that cannot be done in a multidisciplinary setting. Well, it can be done, but not as successfully as in a transdisciplinary setting. Connecting the material back to earlier information read, open-ended interview questions help collect information from a parent more than simple questions. It is so important during the initial stage of a case to understand what the child goes through each day and how the parent handles the child. While this part may seem difficult by asking open-ended questions, it provides the kind of information that will be needed by everyone in the transdisciplinary team. The more information, the more informed everyone is and will be able to better understand what to do for the child. By reading this module, it reinforced my already clear beliefs that an interview is an important aspect of quality healthcare delivery and communication is the most important aspect of any task, especially when working in a team and with multiple individuals.

The future will see more integration of children with special needs with children in schools. Teachers will have to learn to deal with the needs of special needs children. One thing I observed from the reading was the incorporation of the use of touch by occupational therapists. By using key word signs, object cues, as well as exaggerated intonation, this can help children with special needs learn and understands things in an easier way (Chen, 2008). Collecting information is important, but so is approaching teaching and therapy in different ways.

Mai Ling and Her Family

Mail Ling lives with her paternal grandmother and parents. The mother and grandmother do not speak English, only Mandarin while Mai Ling's father speak English and Mandarin. With Mai Ling being hospitalized shortly after her birth in Taiwan, Mail Ling proved to be a baby with fragile health. The Lee family quickly immigrated to America thanks to Mr. Lee's proficiency in computers and upon arriving in southern California, Mai Ling was hospitalized again for pneumonia.

Due to her feeding difficulties, she received a G tube and was later diagnosed with Goldenhar syndrome. Mai Ling also suffers from eye abnormalities and was diagnosed with a bilateral moderate conductive hearing loss, considered legally blind and partially deaf. Mai Ling also demonstrates delays in motor and cognitive development. The case appears to be handled via a multidisciplinary approach. There are multiple medical professionals but no one is working together or communicating with each other. The only connecting factor is the Mandarin-speaking translator. This translator should work with a supervisory nurse that will coordinate treatment goals with all the other medical professionals to ensure Mai Ling gets the care she needs. Since early intervention is crucial due to all her medical problems, the Lee family has to understand the necessity for the multiple visitors. That is where the supervisory nurse comes in with the translator to inform the parents of a cooperative plan to improve Mai Ling's condition.

Jennifer and Brittany

Jennifer is a foster care teen that likes to drink and party. She got pregnant and the child was born with Down syndrome and developed cataracts. While Jennifer thought it was fun to have a baby, now she does not want to take care of Brittany. The strength of the family lies in the foster mother providing a good home for Jennifer and Brittany but that challenges lie in Jennifer not being a suitable parent. Brittany needs to be reassessed for cognitive and motor development delays because she cannot crawl or pay attention. Jennifer needs the child removed and the child placed in a program that treats children with special needs.

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Achievement discrepancies or discrepancies in achievement help school staff identify children with learning disabilities. However, another thing to note is sometimes children that are just having a difficult time learning can be misdiagnosed with a learning disability when in reality, that child may just need a different approach. I remember I was talking to a parent with a 4-year-old son. She said her son is autistic and that he attends a special education program. The school noticed he did not socialize in the way normal kids do....

I noticed he was able to socialize and could read and understand complex social cues.
Now that he is enrolled in a special education program, he will learn at a slower rate than normal children all because his mother was told he is autistic. I just think achievement discrepancies are not the definitive mark in telling if a child is disabled or not. For example, a child that stutter may not sound like he or she can read well out loud, but when tested about the material does well. In that case, the appearance gives off of someone that cannot read, however, everyone knows stuttering is not necessarily associated with learning difficulties. Charlotte Danielson's Framework for Teaching helps in recognizing an individual student's learning needs while also helping to develop strategies to address such needs.

Individualized education program or IEP is another concept covered in the chapter and consists of a written document developed per public school student eligible for special education. It is reviewed at least annually and is done through collaboration between professionals and parents. By a child having an IEP, that child may get the help he or she needs in terms of learning and services the school may offer as well as measuring any progress made. Since an IEP is a legally binding document, it must be done and is something parents need to plan well in order to get the best for his or her child.

Another interesting thing to note is Second language acquisition-associated phenomena or SLAAP. A definition proposed by Brown, what causes SLAAP involves a variety of external factors. These can include one's homeland to traveling to a different country. Such transitions are happening in the United States with Hispanic/Latin children learning English when their first language was Spanish. Children that try to acquire a second language experience cultural shock, feelings of isolation, just to name a few.

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Serge was not assessed properly. First and foremost, he is a shy child. Therefore, when prompted to continue the test in English or Serbian, he may have not indicated when he should have, which parts should be done in Serbian. The whole test should have been done in Serbian because as his progress indicates in the 5th grade, he appears to learn quickly and has no problem learning new words. Language learners often share what appear to be the same difficulties as those with actual learning disabilities.

As seen in my personal experience, many children coming to America do not speak English. They try to learn it in ESL programs. These children demonstrate the same difficulties with attention, social skills, learning and emotional and behavioral balance as a student with learning disabilities would. Therefore, it is important to perform any assessment in that child's native language to truly see how well they can perform academically.

The IRIS Podcast included an interview with Ryan Kettler. In it, he discussed the dynamic assessment of testing accommodations, designed by Lynn and Doug Fuchs. When the student takes the test, they take two versions, one with accommodation, one without. The difference in scores will help in assessing a potential disability especially when compared to the scores of a known non-disabled student.

Games are an excellent way to help children learn because it offers them a chance to teach themselves and their peers. Post-assessment often involves re-teaching in a way that allows the student to learn differently making it a formative assessment because it is continual feedback that allows for improve teaching and learning. For example, a student may not understand the meaning of the previous week's lesson plan because he has a hard time learning from reading. So the lesson plan is adapted to include a hands-on approach and is taught by one of his peers so he can feel comfortable to ask questions and feels more engaged and interested to learn.

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1.) Interview of a Family Member of the Child with a Disability

At what point in your child's development did you realize your child might have some delays or disabilities?

My son is now 4 years old. When he was a baby, he began exhibiting signs of ADHD. First he would be really fussy. Then he would cry for very long periods of time. Nothing soothed him. When he got older he began fidgeting a lot. I tried to hold him and he would squirm out of the hold and smack me across the face.

Can you describe the process you went through to get a diagnosis?

I did not do anything when he was a baby. When he was a toddler however, I took…