I haven’t posted anything for a while because I have been getting things finalized at school and start my retirement on 12/21/18. I have also been working on a house that is almost ready to be put on the market for sale. While I was doing both of these things, I was developing a plan to organize this blog so that it is not as random as it has been.
It is possible that I will post before I retire, but I would like to have a more organized approach that lends itself to a thoughtful flow of information and a more specific long term plan for the blog. Looking back on e-mails, reports and things that I have written, I realize that writing about disabilities and focusing on how to to able, not disable a person is not a straight line activity. Even the best of plans that were developed by a group of professionals does not always have the intended effect. When some are focused on how the person will feel and some are focused on specific directed activities, confusion about our approach may make it difficult to implement plans.
As an example, a student that has experienced a lot of failures in their home and school lives may have an IEP (individual education plan) that tries to build up their self esteem, skills and level of performance. The accommodations and modifications may be very successful in making them feel better about themselves (based on grades that are posted), and parents may be very happy that their child is now on the honor roll, but what is the actual effect on skill development? What is the actual value of that A or B when it is evaluated by a “high stakes” state test or compared to the scope and complexity in a regular classroom? At the end of their high school education, how competitive are they when they apply for a program or a job?
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Abilities Not Disabilities 