9. Case Studies

Case Studies #1-5 Parent/Guardian Interactions

Case Study #1

You receive this email from a parent:

“Dear Teacher,

I am very worried about my son starting kindergarten and getting on the bus. When we go to the store, he doesn’t stay with me and sometimes wanders off. We think he has a behavior disability, but no one has helped him. I heard the county has resources, but we haven’t found any yet. Could you walk him to the bus in the afternoons and make sure he gets on it and stays on?

Thanks,

Parent”

Case Study #2

A parent comes to have lunch with their son, a typical practice at your elementary school. This student is on your IEP caseload and you know the parents well. At the conclusion of lunch, you walk by and say hello to the parent and conversationally ask “how are you?” The parent becomes visibly upset and begins to tell you that her son is physically acting out at home and hitting her. She begins crying. You haven’t seen this behavior from the child at school and you are shocked to hear this report from the parent.

Case Study #3

You co-teach 1st grade with a general education teacher who receives this email from a parent:

“Teacher,

I am really worried about Jimmy’s reading. He seems really far behind his sisters when they were his age. He barely knows his sight words and forgets them all the time. I think there might be a problem. Can we schedule a conference?”

The co-teacher forwards you the email, asking if you can help her with a response. From your evaluations and observations, Jimmy is reading on grade level and demonstrates age typical academic achievement. You have not seen signs that Jimmy is behind his peers.

Case Study #4

You are a 9th grade Science teacher. You are sitting in a parent/ teacher conference with the guardian of a child in your class. You are discussing the student’s distractibility during independent work. The guardian of the student says, “You see a lot of kids, do you think my son has ADHD? Should he be on medication? Would he benefit from special education?”

Case Study #5

You are a 10th grade teacher. You send an email to a parent about their child, Josie, who qualified for special education services in 1st grade. Josie’s eligibility records indicate she was identified as having an intellectual disability. Late last week, Josie began pushing other students with her body while transitioning in the hallways. The behavior appears to be escalating. Shortly after you send your email, you receive this reply: “No thank you.” You are concerned that a potential language barrier exists, but when you consult the school records, they indicate that the parent has not asked for a translator for any meeting to date. Josie’s former teachers have expressed they had no difficulty communicating with the parent, even though the parent’s first and primary language is Spanish. Your colleagues believe this is an avoidance tactic so the parent doesn’t have to address Josie’s behaviors.

Case Studies #6-10 Collaboration with Professional Colleagues

Case Study #6

You are the special education teacher assigned to provide collaborative push-in support in a general education setting. You do not have common planning time with the general education teacher. Each day when you arrive in class, you learn about the topic of instruction at the same time as the students. When you asked the general education teacher for lesson plans to help you prepare in advance you were told, “I don’t have time to write lesson plans. I just know what I am doing every day.” You are concerned about your ability to provide accommodations and needed IEP support without prior knowledge of what is going to be taught each day.

Case Study #7

You are a general education teacher and were just informed that your class has been designated as the “inclusion class.” Approximately ⅓ of your students will have IEPs. You know that at least two of the students have significant behavioral concerns. A special education teacher or paraprofessional will be present during most of the academic instruction, but you are concerned about meeting the needs of all students and handling behaviors.

Case Study #8

One of your students frequently demonstrates disruptive and unsafe behaviors (e.g., cursing and throwing things) in the classroom. You have tried every behavioral strategy you can think of and they just don’t work to stop the behavior, so you resort to sending the student to the office. One day, as you are writing the disciplinary referral to send the student to the office, he comments, “That’s fine. When I’m hanging out in the office, Mrs. Angelo (the office manager) talks with me and gives me candy.”

Case Study #9

You are a special education teacher responsible for supervising two special education paraprofessionals. Some of your students require assistance with bathroom routines and occasionally have accidents which require adult support to clean up and change clothes. One of the paraprofessionals is unwilling to support students with these needs and is quite vocal about how the bathroom duties make her “feel sick.” The other paraprofessional shares with you in confidence that she feels it is unfair that she is always the one to handle these needs.

Case Study #10

You are a special education teacher working with a collaborative team of general education teachers and paraprofessionals. Your team has a student with significant medical needs and all team members are concerned about his safety. You asked your principal to provide training for all staff related to the students needs but were told that there is not enough funding for training.

Resources

High Leverage Practices in Special Education: Collaboration: https://highleveragepractices.org/four-areas-practice-k-12/collaboration

IRIS Module on collaboration for students with cognitive disabilities: https://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/module/scd/cresource/q2/p05/

IRIS Module on Family Engagement: Collaborating with Families of Students with Disabilities: https://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/module/fam/

IRIS Module on Serving Students with Visual Impairments: The Importance of Collaboration: https://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/module/v03-focusplay/

Virginia Department of Education Inclusive Practices: https://www.doe.virginia.gov/programs-services/special-education/iep-instruction/inclusive-practices