Ask the Doctor: Transitioning Out of the Special Education Classroom

answered by Mary Morse, Ph.D. (November/December 1993)

Q. My daughter is having a difficult transition from a special ed program in one school to a different school where she has been placed in a regular K-1 (blended) classroom. She has an aide (my daughter uses signs to communicate) and a teacher who are anxious to make this a successful experience. But, her day has changed from one half to a whole day and her physical education class (her favorite class) has gone from a daily session to one per week. I'm seeing new and difficult behavior issues at home, which I attribute to this change.

Unlike decades ago, it is now widely agreed that new and difficult behaviors are not signs of a bad child but, rather, a child who is trying to say something and may have exhausted other ways to do it. In the situation you describe, there may be several reasons for the changes in behavior.

The first one is that a sudden transition from a half to a whole day may be physically and emotionally tiring and stressful. It will be helpful for you and the school staff to check out the physical environment of the new classroom (noise level and visual stimulation), the curriculum and her relationships with other students and discuss changes that could be looked at in light of your daughter's needs. Give consideration to the following:

1. The Physical Environment

• Does it stress your daughter's senses? Is there frequent, unexpected noise? Is the room visually organized or is it a virtual kaleidoscope making it difficult for her to know what to pay attention to?
• Are materials and work stations in consistent locations, clearly organized and accessible to your daughter, providing stability and security for her?
• Are there quieter areas where she can go for a break? Many children with disabilities need to gradually build up their tolerance to all the demands of a regular classroom.

2. The Curriculum

Commonly, children with multiple disabilities are expected to participate in all classroom activities. However, the number and pace of activities are often too many and too fast and result in stress. These children, who thrive on routine, may be unable to identify or anticipate any routine in the blur of activities. Also, some children with CdLS find it difficult to deal with the multitude of sounds and sights bombarding them in a typical classroom. When you add the fact that they may also have motor difficulties, the challenge of looking-listening-doing all at once may be overwhelming. The situation can be very scary for some children and not conducive to learning.

The following suggestions may be helpful:

• Begin with familiar, well-liked activities and build up slowly to include more activities, using familiar materials first and adding the unfamiliar along with more challenging activities gradually. This will add to her feelings of success and eliminate a great deal of stress.
• Determine if the presentation of activities is appropriate for her strengths or does it need to be adapted. For example, how clearly are activities presented from her perspective? Are the materials organized in the order in which she will use them? Are the activities made clear visually as well as orally and with sign language? Are the directions understandable to her? Are the materials used in the activity meaningful to her and within her motor abilities? Another consideration is whether the materials are relatively fail-proof (i.e., is the paint jar stabilized so it is less apt to tip over or is it put into a wobbly paper cup?).
• Keep in mind that directions need not be given only with words but through demonstrations, pictures and co-actively (when the instructor as a companion to the student moves together step by step through an activity).

3. Social interaction

Frequently, children with disabilities do not find interactions with their classmates easy due to difficulties in communicating and differences in their skills and interest levels. This requires that adults actively help children without disabilities learn how to play with those who do. The activities, however, need to be meaningful for both the child with and the child without disabilities if true bonds of friendship are to take place.

There are many techniques your daughter's teachers can use to help her adjust to this new setting including using salient ceremonies, object communication, tri-wall set-ups, transport activities and tangible diaries. These useful methods may be unfamiliar to both parents and teachers. Because of space limitations they cannot be explained in full.