February 2, 2024 • 17 mins
🧐 Have you ever wondered how students with intellectual and developmental disabilities carve their path beyond the confines of high school?
Leigh Laird joins us to unravel the journey of her son Michael, who, with the help of Functional Academics, has taken significant strides towards independence and personal growth and is now continuing to develop his skills and journey at Judson University in the RISE program for students with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. . Together, we explore the powerful role of specialized educational strategies tailored to equip young adults with the essential life skills that many of us take for granted. From overcoming social withdrawal to mastering the intricacies of language with tools like Rosetta Stone, Michael's story is a testament to the adaptability and potential that lies within every individual.
Amidst the triumphs and challenges, our conversation sheds light on the meticulous process of preparing Michael for life's transitions, emphasizing the value of daily to-do lists and executive functioning skills that foster autonomy. We delve into the importance carefully navigated pathways and Functional Academics, which is a beacon of hope for those navigating similar paths, and discuss how incredible preparatory post-secondary programs like Judson University's RISE are paving the way for the future.
Leigh's candid insights provide a massive dose of inspiration not only for parents and educators but also for anyone who believes in the transformative power of education and the bright horizons it can reveal. #teaching #specialeducation #transitioncurriculum
Barbara Beck is the host of the FAST 15 Podcast. She is a highly dedicated Disability Advocate and Special Education Consultant specializing in IEP Transition Services. Barbara has an extensive background as a special education teacher spanning nearly 30 years. She has dedicated her career to empowering transition-age youth and fostering positive post-school outcomes.
Barbara's expertise lies in providing comprehensive support and guidance to students with disabilities, ensuring their successful transition from school to adult life. She possesses a deep understanding of secondary services and possesses the skills to develop tailored strategies that maximize individual potential.
For more information and resources on special education school-to-adulthood transition planning and independent living, visit www.mykeyplans.com. Join us on social media for updates, behind-the-scenes content, and discussions about special education, inclusion, and disability advocacy. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn and use #IEPLaunchpadPodcast to join the conversation. Thank you for tuning in to the IEP Launchpad Podcast! 🎧🎙️#IDD #teaching #specialed #specialneeds #InclusionMatters #DisabilityAdvocacy #EmpowerVoices #edtech, #education #edtech, #teachers
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the Fast 15 podcast offering
game-changing tips, advice andmotivational tools for special
educators, designed to transformyour special education
classroom in a quick 15-minuteformat.
Our podcast includes authenticstories from amazing educators
like you and is proudlysponsored by the publishers of
(00:21):
the Functional Academics Program, specially designed education
services.
Join us as we endeavor totransform the landscape of
special education.
I get the chance to be with LeeLaird today and it is such a
joy to get to talk with you andget to know a little bit more,
even though we've been togetherfor a long time.
(00:42):
Michael, your son was in myclassroom in high school and
spent a lot of years justconnecting and working out the
IEP together and trying to justfind what will work best for
Michael in his life, hiseducation, life after high
school.
People just love being aroundhim.
I guess I first want to talkabout the skills and abilities
(01:03):
that you really wanted to fosterwith him for a life after high
school and trying to focus in onwhat role functional academics
played for Michael early on.
And I guess if you could givejust a little bit of a history
and understanding about Michaeland your journey with him,
that'd be awesome.
Speaker 2 (01:23):
He was diagnosed on the autism spectrum when he was
six and, as we were sharingbefore we started the show, he
was a kid who had chronic earinfections that were really bad
between starting at about theage of two until about the age
of five.
Speaker 1 (01:38):
So that was definitely.
Speaker 2 (01:39):
I think it was three when we finally put the first
set of tubes in his ears.
So there were definitely somephysical things that certainly
impacted his development.
Prior to his becoming sick withear infections, his speech and
language skills seemed to beright on track.
And then things just startedgoing south.
And there were a number ofyears I want to say probably
(02:01):
starting from about the age ofthree until he was an older
elementary age student wherejust he was so withdrawn.
He was a very withdrawn child.
He just really did not likesocializing.
And then when he got intojunior high, he had a great
teacher in our junior.
He's had great teachers allalong.
I don't mean to imply that he'shad great teachers all along.
(02:24):
But the junior high teacher.
She somehow unlocked somethingin him.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
She saw him.
Speaker 2 (02:30):
Yes, and she found a reading plan that really helped
him, and so I think being ableto develop some stronger reading
skills gave him a lot ofconfidence.
And another thing that we did Ithink that really helped in his
social skills was we took himthrough Rosetta Stone for
English.
If you can believe that At thetime that we got, this.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
What a great idea.
Speaker 2 (02:54):
Yeah, we got the suggestion to do this.
We were seeing a doctor in adifferent state who had a lot of
success treating kids withautism.
So you know, being people whoreally did not want to leave any
stone unturned, we pursued thatfor a while, okay, and there
were certainly some good thingsthat we took away from that, one
of which was he shared with usone day.
(03:14):
He says I have a mom who's aspeech and language therapist
and she got Rosetta Stone, theEnglish version, for her child
who has who's very similar toyour child in the language and
skills development.
So for probably more than ayear he would sit down every day
and he would do Rosetta Stonefor English, because it was.
He would see words, he wouldsay words, he would type words
(03:36):
out on the computer, he wouldobserve these conversations.
That would happen in the day today life, exchange with people
at the store, at a restaurant,whatever, generalizing those
skills to his context outside ofthe school, exactly.
So that, combined with what hegot in his junior high years, he
just blossomed in those yearsand then he went to high school
(03:59):
and you were his teacher for hissophomore year, that's right.
And he just, we had met youbefore through some mutual
friends and just clicked andjust hit it off right away.
And so we just we talked you upto him a lot.
So he was excited to come intoyour class.
Good, and you, just like hisjunior high teacher, you just
seem to really you gave a lot ofthought to how to help him be
(04:24):
successful and when you foundsomething that we agreed would
be good, you had implemented andI think that was a huge you
know, just huge for him.
Speaker 1 (04:33):
Well, you were doing things at home that really
supplemented and helped out whatwe were doing in the classroom,
right so?
He comes to us, comes to myclassroom with skills and
abilities and interests tocapitalize on those strengths,
right, yeah, so then you cantake those and it was easy for
us to build on those and toexplore together.
What direction do we want to gowith reading and writing and his
(04:58):
math skills?
I know he spent a lot of timewith functional academics we had
.
He was in another classroomjust next to me, has some
functional academics going inthere and some great peer tutors
, peer coaches who camealongside him as well, and the
power of all of those meaningful, functional and meaningful
(05:18):
approaches to what he's learning.
We also had to make sure thathe was going out to general eds.
How is?
he being supported in thoseareas to get the credits that he
needs.
So I'm interested from yourperspective as a mom, now that
he's a few years out of highschool and did go to an adult
transition program.
(05:39):
I'd love to hear a little bitmore about that experience that
you had.
So can you tell the listenersabout where he's at right now?
Currently?
Speaker 2 (05:45):
Yeah, right now he is attending a program at a
college in Illinois.
It's called Judson Universityand it is in Elgin, illinois.
It's about 40 minutes outsideof Chicago and Judson University
is a small Christian collegeand about five years ago there
was a mom who lived in the area.
She has four daughters and twoof her four daughters are
(06:07):
special needs and she thoughtwhat am I going to do with them
after high school?
And so she started this programand this is a two-year program.
It's called RISE.
It's a two-year program forspecial needs young adults
Incredible and it gives them theopportunity to live on a
college campus and live in adorm and attend college and have
(06:29):
that college experience.
And the curriculum is very muchtailored to the special needs
young adults.
So it's not academics drivenlike it would be for a
traditional student who's incollege.
But they just the firstsemester.
They get them accustomed toliving on their own and having
to manage a daily schedule ofclasses, and then the second
(06:52):
semester they continue with thatand then they add in a couple
days a week of on-campusinternships where they're doing
they're actually on a job site,okay, so this week Does he get
to choose what type ofinternship he does, or is it do
you know yet?
I'm not sure.
If he got to choose, he mayhave actually been able to just
(07:12):
to list some ones that he mightenjoy, right, but on campus he's
going to be working at thespirit store, which is the store
where they sell all the Judsonsweatshirts and the t-shirts and
all the swag.
So I think he will.
I think he will enjoy that.
It's just a couple days a weekfor two hours a day, but it
gives them, gets them into justthis job training mode and then
(07:35):
the second year they areactually doing jobs off campus.
They have a number ofbusinesses within the community
that they partner with for thisprogram, and so they will list
their top three sites of wherethey would like to work.
Okay, and that's what they'lldo.
Speaker 1 (07:50):
Wow, so that's part of it.
Okay To your program, and soyou mentioned that there's a
potential of furthering that.
Yes, so, after that kind ofwhat is?
What does that look like?
Speaker 2 (08:04):
third year, fourth year so they do have an optional
third and fourth year of thestudents want to the rise
program itself.
You commit to those two yearsand but the third and fourth
year have been those have beenrecent additions, it didn't
start out that way.
But in those third and fourthyears the students instead of
living in the dorm they'reliving in an on campus apartment
.
So they're sharing an apartmentwith one other roommate Okay,
(08:27):
and they are learning how to payrent.
Okay, All right, and go groceryshopping.
Functional math Very much alljust those very those functional
skills that we all need to haveto live life as an adult and to
live on our own, independently,yeah yeah.
Speaker 1 (08:42):
All right.
So, knowing where he's at rightnow and some hopeful years just
following, the two if you and Iwere to sit down and write an
IEP and we were back in the highschool, yeah, and you wanted to
really get him prepared forwhere he's where he is now.
Speaker 2 (08:58):
We didn't know at the time.
Speaker 1 (08:59):
No, we had no idea what the transition plan really
was going to look like.
But you know how would we writethat IEP?
What would you want Michael tobe prepared for?
That he's experiencing now?
Oh, that's a really goodquestion.
Speaker 2 (09:15):
Yeah, I guess I would answer that by looking at the
things that that Michael aresome weaknesses that he has that
have always been a challengefor him.
That where he's at now, we he'sthere they're proving to still
be challenges.
Okay, and so that would benumber one time management, Okay
, so a curriculum that reallyimplements okay.
(09:37):
Where do you need to be rightnow and how how much time do you
need to get yourself from hereto there?
Because it's your next classstarts at 11.
That means you have to be inyour seat at 11, not walking to
the class in your seat in yourseat with a five minute buffer
maybe three minute bufferbetween the time that you get
there and the time it starts.
(09:57):
So that would be one andexecutive functioning yeah that
executive functioning thing.
And again for Michael and I knowthis was something that you
guys worked on, but for him,learning to advocate for himself
huge.
I, mrs Beck, I need help, Idon't know where, I don't know
where to go and learning to that.
It's okay to ask questions,it's okay to do that, and what
(10:18):
is my next task?
So those would be some thingsthat I think in retrospect,
having built those things in alittle more, where it's very
intentional, we are going to beintentional about teaching you
how to manage your time and howto know what your schedule is
and how to manage that, how tobe on time and then also how to
ask for help when you're notreally sure what to do.
(10:40):
That's something for him inparticular has been hard, I know
.
Speaker 1 (10:44):
Michael struggles a lot more than average students
just with confidence.
Yes, yes, and you said from thetime he was really young two,
three, you saw that struggle ofconfidence and comparing to his
sister, or whatever, butinstilling that sense of
confidence that you can ask aquestion that you aren't.
Speaker 2 (11:07):
There isn't something wrong with you because you
don't know yet.
Speaker 1 (11:10):
You just need the support and the structure to get
there.
Speaker 2 (11:13):
Exactly.
Speaker 1 (11:13):
I love the team meeting that you mentioned, that
you had earlier today.
As far as partnering with theleadership, the directors there,
what can we do to make sure?
That he's more successful toplan out what he's doing for the
week.
What were you thinking weresome strategies that you and
your team there with the collegewould be most helpful for him?
Speaker 2 (11:35):
One of the things that we noticed and particularly
over these last few years, ashe's been at home more and just
as all the kids got older washe's good at following a to-do
list.
So if I would write down okay,michael, here's your list of
things I want you to accomplishtoday.
I need you guys to do this, andthis is your sister's chores,
(11:55):
is your brother's, these areyours and he was really good at
going through and just markingoff, crossing off everything he
needed to do.
So, instead of having his, theteam provides a weekly schedule.
They have the schedule allmapped out for the students so
you can see the week at a glance, but for Michael, that's a
little overwhelming and he doesbetter if he has.
(12:17):
What do I have to do today?
Okay, and so, as we shared withhim, yeah, this was what.
So, with his job that he hadlast summer, these were the
tasks that.
So we did a list.
Okay, these are your Mondaytasks and these are the tasks
when you go back to work onThursday.
These are the tasks they needyou to do on Thursday.
Once you are finished withthese, ask them what else they
need you to do that day.
(12:37):
Report completion to yoursupervisor or to whoever's
watching over things that you'rein your dorm situation.
Speaker 1 (12:46):
Let them know that you're done in what's next Great
skill.
Speaker 2 (12:49):
And then we also shared with them just some
particulars about Michael thatmaybe they weren't aware of, but
I think it's something that alot of special needs kids
struggle with.
But change, transition, is hard.
He has always had a very hardtime with that and for Michael
in particular, he the two thingsthat are probably the have been
the hardest for him to learnover the years money and time.
(13:11):
Okay, money and time and timemanagement.
It requires understanding.
What does it mean when I lookat my watch and it says 10
o'clock?
What does that mean?
Yeah, that tells me the time ofday it is, but that also tells
you where you need to be rightnow.
Speaker 1 (13:25):
What is happening at 10 o'clock on your schedule,
where you need to be Right, andwhat does in 30 minutes mean
yeah, and what does that feellike?
What can I do in that amount oftime?
Speaker 2 (13:35):
Exactly.
Speaker 1 (13:35):
Making those decisions for what's?
Speaker 2 (13:36):
reasonable, and those are things that, those are
concepts that are very stillvery hard for him to grasp and
to work with.
Speaker 1 (13:42):
Yeah, and I know Suzanne Fitzgerald with her
functional academics programreally focuses in a lot with
that time management,understanding a calendar, the
time management, moneymanagement, reading, writing.
There's so many differentcontent areas that the
curriculum is so good, oh yeah,so to build in but to generalize
(14:05):
those skills outside of theclassroom setting.
Speaker 2 (14:09):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (14:09):
You never know fully what the young adults gonna be
walking into, what they need tobe prepared for it's.
We're all working on all thosethings.
Speaker 2 (14:16):
I'm still working on my own time management.
Speaker 1 (14:18):
I'm sitting here looking at my desk and I've got
my calendar blank right now.
Right now Shouldn't be blank,but I need to work on those, so
anyway, thank you so much.
This is so much fun to get achance to talk to you and I hope
this is an encouragement toother families too, other
parents who may be listening andknow that there is hope and
(14:40):
there's opportunities andactivities to participate and
there really is hope for thefuture, and even if you don't
see it in high school, right.
Speaker 2 (14:48):
Or early on.
Speaker 1 (14:49):
It can be confusing, but when you hear from other
voices like yours, Lee, thankyou for sharing your story and
your love for Michael andcentering in on that and just
the support all the way throughthat you've provided such an
amazing advocate for him.
Oh, thank you.
You and your husband areincredible that way and he's
becoming a really strongadvocate for himself and I'm
(15:11):
excited to hopefully get to workwith him a little bit maybe
this summer.
Speaker 2 (15:14):
Oh yeah, I hope so, I hope so.
That'd be awesome.
Yeah, that would be awesome.
Speaker 1 (15:18):
Yes, thank you for being part of our Fast 15 and I
hope to talk to you again soon.
I would love it.
Thank you for having me.
Thank you Well, friends.
That's it for this episode ofthe Fast 15, but real quick,
let's focus on three maintakeaways from what Lee shared
with us.
Number one remember the pivotalrole that special education
teachers can have in a student'slife.
(15:39):
By taking the time to trulyunderstand our student's present
levels of performance, but alsokeeping in mind the hopes that
they have for the future, justlike Michael's middle school
teacher, we can really have sucha powerful impact.
Number two don't underestimatethe power of early learning of
functional skills.
They play a critical role inthe success of our students as
(16:01):
young adults in their futurepost-secondary transition
opportunities.
And number three keep theimportance of teaching executive
functioning skills anddeveloping the concept of time
with all of our students' dailyliving tasks and schedules in
mind.
You can find great resources tohelp you and your students with
the Functional Academics Program.
Together, let's keep focusingon the importance of considering
(16:24):
individual preferences andtailoring strategies to our
students' needs.
Thank you so much, lee, forthese reminders and the
encouragement to keep going.
That's it for now and we'llcatch you in the next one.
A heartfelt thank you to ourgenerous sponsors.
Specially designed EducationServices.
Publishers of the FunctionalAcademics Program, please take a
(16:45):
moment to learn more about theonly true, comprehensive
Functional Academics Programthat enables students with
moderate to severe disabilitiesto improve their ability to live
independently and showmeaningful growth both
academically and personally,while creating accountability
with data-driven, evidence-basedresults.
(17:06):
Visit sdesworkscom to learnmore.
Welcome to the Fast 15 podcast offering
game-changing tips, advice andmotivational tools for special
educators, designed to transformyour special education
classroom in a quick 15-minuteformat.
Our podcast includes authenticstories from amazing educators
like you and is proudlysponsored by the publishers of
(00:21):
the Functional Academics Program, specially designed education
services.
Join us as we endeavor totransform the landscape of
special education.
I get the chance to be with LeeLaird today and it is such a
joy to get to talk with you andget to know a little bit more,
even though we've been togetherfor a long time.
(00:42):
Michael, your son was in myclassroom in high school and
spent a lot of years justconnecting and working out the
IEP together and trying to justfind what will work best for
Michael in his life, hiseducation, life after high
school.
People just love being aroundhim.
I guess I first want to talkabout the skills and abilities
(01:03):
that you really wanted to fosterwith him for a life after high
school and trying to focus in onwhat role functional academics
played for Michael early on.
And I guess if you could givejust a little bit of a history
and understanding about Michaeland your journey with him,
that'd be awesome.
Speaker 2 (01:23):
He was diagnosed on the autism spectrum when he was
six and, as we were sharingbefore we started the show, he
was a kid who had chronic earinfections that were really bad
between starting at about theage of two until about the age
of five.
Speaker 1 (01:38):
So that was definitely.
Speaker 2 (01:39):
I think it was three when we finally put the first
set of tubes in his ears.
So there were definitely somephysical things that certainly
impacted his development.
Prior to his becoming sick withear infections, his speech and
language skills seemed to beright on track.
And then things just startedgoing south.
And there were a number ofyears I want to say probably
(02:01):
starting from about the age ofthree until he was an older
elementary age student wherejust he was so withdrawn.
He was a very withdrawn child.
He just really did not likesocializing.
And then when he got intojunior high, he had a great
teacher in our junior.
He's had great teachers allalong.
I don't mean to imply that he'shad great teachers all along.
(02:24):
But the junior high teacher.
She somehow unlocked somethingin him.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
She saw him.
Speaker 2 (02:30):
Yes, and she found a reading plan that really helped
him, and so I think being ableto develop some stronger reading
skills gave him a lot ofconfidence.
And another thing that we did Ithink that really helped in his
social skills was we took himthrough Rosetta Stone for
English.
If you can believe that At thetime that we got, this.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
What a great idea.
Speaker 2 (02:54):
Yeah, we got the suggestion to do this.
We were seeing a doctor in adifferent state who had a lot of
success treating kids withautism.
So you know, being people whoreally did not want to leave any
stone unturned, we pursued thatfor a while, okay, and there
were certainly some good thingsthat we took away from that, one
of which was he shared with usone day.
(03:14):
He says I have a mom who's aspeech and language therapist
and she got Rosetta Stone, theEnglish version, for her child
who has who's very similar toyour child in the language and
skills development.
So for probably more than ayear he would sit down every day
and he would do Rosetta Stonefor English, because it was.
He would see words, he wouldsay words, he would type words
(03:36):
out on the computer, he wouldobserve these conversations.
That would happen in the day today life, exchange with people
at the store, at a restaurant,whatever, generalizing those
skills to his context outside ofthe school, exactly.
So that, combined with what hegot in his junior high years, he
just blossomed in those yearsand then he went to high school
(03:59):
and you were his teacher for hissophomore year, that's right.
And he just, we had met youbefore through some mutual
friends and just clicked andjust hit it off right away.
And so we just we talked you upto him a lot.
So he was excited to come intoyour class.
Good, and you, just like hisjunior high teacher, you just
seem to really you gave a lot ofthought to how to help him be
(04:24):
successful and when you foundsomething that we agreed would
be good, you had implemented andI think that was a huge you
know, just huge for him.
Speaker 1 (04:33):
Well, you were doing things at home that really
supplemented and helped out whatwe were doing in the classroom,
right so?
He comes to us, comes to myclassroom with skills and
abilities and interests tocapitalize on those strengths,
right, yeah, so then you cantake those and it was easy for
us to build on those and toexplore together.
What direction do we want to gowith reading and writing and his
(04:58):
math skills?
I know he spent a lot of timewith functional academics we had
.
He was in another classroomjust next to me, has some
functional academics going inthere and some great peer tutors
, peer coaches who camealongside him as well, and the
power of all of those meaningful, functional and meaningful
(05:18):
approaches to what he's learning.
We also had to make sure thathe was going out to general eds.
How is?
he being supported in thoseareas to get the credits that he
needs.
So I'm interested from yourperspective as a mom, now that
he's a few years out of highschool and did go to an adult
transition program.
(05:39):
I'd love to hear a little bitmore about that experience that
you had.
So can you tell the listenersabout where he's at right now?
Currently?
Speaker 2 (05:45):
Yeah, right now he is attending a program at a
college in Illinois.
It's called Judson Universityand it is in Elgin, illinois.
It's about 40 minutes outsideof Chicago and Judson University
is a small Christian collegeand about five years ago there
was a mom who lived in the area.
She has four daughters and twoof her four daughters are
(06:07):
special needs and she thoughtwhat am I going to do with them
after high school?
And so she started this programand this is a two-year program.
It's called RISE.
It's a two-year program forspecial needs young adults
Incredible and it gives them theopportunity to live on a
college campus and live in adorm and attend college and have
(06:29):
that college experience.
And the curriculum is very muchtailored to the special needs
young adults.
So it's not academics drivenlike it would be for a
traditional student who's incollege.
But they just the firstsemester.
They get them accustomed toliving on their own and having
to manage a daily schedule ofclasses, and then the second
(06:52):
semester they continue with thatand then they add in a couple
days a week of on-campusinternships where they're doing
they're actually on a job site,okay, so this week Does he get
to choose what type ofinternship he does, or is it do
you know yet?
I'm not sure.
If he got to choose, he mayhave actually been able to just
(07:12):
to list some ones that he mightenjoy, right, but on campus he's
going to be working at thespirit store, which is the store
where they sell all the Judsonsweatshirts and the t-shirts and
all the swag.
So I think he will.
I think he will enjoy that.
It's just a couple days a weekfor two hours a day, but it
gives them, gets them into justthis job training mode and then
(07:35):
the second year they areactually doing jobs off campus.
They have a number ofbusinesses within the community
that they partner with for thisprogram, and so they will list
their top three sites of wherethey would like to work.
Okay, and that's what they'lldo.
Speaker 1 (07:50):
Wow, so that's part of it.
Okay To your program, and soyou mentioned that there's a
potential of furthering that.
Yes, so, after that kind ofwhat is?
What does that look like?
Speaker 2 (08:04):
third year, fourth year so they do have an optional
third and fourth year of thestudents want to the rise
program itself.
You commit to those two yearsand but the third and fourth
year have been those have beenrecent additions, it didn't
start out that way.
But in those third and fourthyears the students instead of
living in the dorm they'reliving in an on campus apartment
.
So they're sharing an apartmentwith one other roommate Okay,
(08:27):
and they are learning how to payrent.
Okay, All right, and go groceryshopping.
Functional math Very much alljust those very those functional
skills that we all need to haveto live life as an adult and to
live on our own, independently,yeah yeah.
Speaker 1 (08:42):
All right.
So, knowing where he's at rightnow and some hopeful years just
following, the two if you and Iwere to sit down and write an
IEP and we were back in the highschool, yeah, and you wanted to
really get him prepared forwhere he's where he is now.
Speaker 2 (08:58):
We didn't know at the time.
Speaker 1 (08:59):
No, we had no idea what the transition plan really
was going to look like.
But you know how would we writethat IEP?
What would you want Michael tobe prepared for?
That he's experiencing now?
Oh, that's a really goodquestion.
Speaker 2 (09:15):
Yeah, I guess I would answer that by looking at the
things that that Michael aresome weaknesses that he has that
have always been a challengefor him.
That where he's at now, we he'sthere they're proving to still
be challenges.
Okay, and so that would benumber one time management, Okay
, so a curriculum that reallyimplements okay.
(09:37):
Where do you need to be rightnow and how how much time do you
need to get yourself from hereto there?
Because it's your next classstarts at 11.
That means you have to be inyour seat at 11, not walking to
the class in your seat in yourseat with a five minute buffer
maybe three minute bufferbetween the time that you get
there and the time it starts.
(09:57):
So that would be one andexecutive functioning yeah that
executive functioning thing.
And again for Michael and I knowthis was something that you
guys worked on, but for him,learning to advocate for himself
huge.
I, mrs Beck, I need help, Idon't know where, I don't know
where to go and learning to that.
It's okay to ask questions,it's okay to do that, and what
(10:18):
is my next task?
So those would be some thingsthat I think in retrospect,
having built those things in alittle more, where it's very
intentional, we are going to beintentional about teaching you
how to manage your time and howto know what your schedule is
and how to manage that, how tobe on time and then also how to
ask for help when you're notreally sure what to do.
(10:40):
That's something for him inparticular has been hard, I know
.
Speaker 1 (10:44):
Michael struggles a lot more than average students
just with confidence.
Yes, yes, and you said from thetime he was really young two,
three, you saw that struggle ofconfidence and comparing to his
sister, or whatever, butinstilling that sense of
confidence that you can ask aquestion that you aren't.
Speaker 2 (11:07):
There isn't something wrong with you because you
don't know yet.
Speaker 1 (11:10):
You just need the support and the structure to get
there.
Speaker 2 (11:13):
Exactly.
Speaker 1 (11:13):
I love the team meeting that you mentioned, that
you had earlier today.
As far as partnering with theleadership, the directors there,
what can we do to make sure?
That he's more successful toplan out what he's doing for the
week.
What were you thinking weresome strategies that you and
your team there with the collegewould be most helpful for him?
Speaker 2 (11:35):
One of the things that we noticed and particularly
over these last few years, ashe's been at home more and just
as all the kids got older washe's good at following a to-do
list.
So if I would write down okay,michael, here's your list of
things I want you to accomplishtoday.
I need you guys to do this, andthis is your sister's chores,
(11:55):
is your brother's, these areyours and he was really good at
going through and just markingoff, crossing off everything he
needed to do.
So, instead of having his, theteam provides a weekly schedule.
They have the schedule allmapped out for the students so
you can see the week at a glance, but for Michael, that's a
little overwhelming and he doesbetter if he has.
(12:17):
What do I have to do today?
Okay, and so, as we shared withhim, yeah, this was what.
So, with his job that he hadlast summer, these were the
tasks that.
So we did a list.
Okay, these are your Mondaytasks and these are the tasks
when you go back to work onThursday.
These are the tasks they needyou to do on Thursday.
Once you are finished withthese, ask them what else they
need you to do that day.
(12:37):
Report completion to yoursupervisor or to whoever's
watching over things that you'rein your dorm situation.
Speaker 1 (12:46):
Let them know that you're done in what's next Great
skill.
Speaker 2 (12:49):
And then we also shared with them just some
particulars about Michael thatmaybe they weren't aware of, but
I think it's something that alot of special needs kids
struggle with.
But change, transition, is hard.
He has always had a very hardtime with that and for Michael
in particular, he the two thingsthat are probably the have been
the hardest for him to learnover the years money and time.
(13:11):
Okay, money and time and timemanagement.
It requires understanding.
What does it mean when I lookat my watch and it says 10
o'clock?
What does that mean?
Yeah, that tells me the time ofday it is, but that also tells
you where you need to be rightnow.
Speaker 1 (13:25):
What is happening at 10 o'clock on your schedule,
where you need to be Right, andwhat does in 30 minutes mean
yeah, and what does that feellike?
What can I do in that amount oftime?
Speaker 2 (13:35):
Exactly.
Speaker 1 (13:35):
Making those decisions for what's?
Speaker 2 (13:36):
reasonable, and those are things that, those are
concepts that are very stillvery hard for him to grasp and
to work with.
Speaker 1 (13:42):
Yeah, and I know Suzanne Fitzgerald with her
functional academics programreally focuses in a lot with
that time management,understanding a calendar, the
time management, moneymanagement, reading, writing.
There's so many differentcontent areas that the
curriculum is so good, oh yeah,so to build in but to generalize
(14:05):
those skills outside of theclassroom setting.
Speaker 2 (14:09):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (14:09):
You never know fully what the young adults gonna be
walking into, what they need tobe prepared for it's.
We're all working on all thosethings.
Speaker 2 (14:16):
I'm still working on my own time management.
Speaker 1 (14:18):
I'm sitting here looking at my desk and I've got
my calendar blank right now.
Right now Shouldn't be blank,but I need to work on those, so
anyway, thank you so much.
This is so much fun to get achance to talk to you and I hope
this is an encouragement toother families too, other
parents who may be listening andknow that there is hope and
(14:40):
there's opportunities andactivities to participate and
there really is hope for thefuture, and even if you don't
see it in high school, right.
Speaker 2 (14:48):
Or early on.
Speaker 1 (14:49):
It can be confusing, but when you hear from other
voices like yours, Lee, thankyou for sharing your story and
your love for Michael andcentering in on that and just
the support all the way throughthat you've provided such an
amazing advocate for him.
Oh, thank you.
You and your husband areincredible that way and he's
becoming a really strongadvocate for himself and I'm
(15:11):
excited to hopefully get to workwith him a little bit maybe
this summer.
Speaker 2 (15:14):
Oh yeah, I hope so, I hope so.
That'd be awesome.
Yeah, that would be awesome.
Speaker 1 (15:18):
Yes, thank you for being part of our Fast 15 and I
hope to talk to you again soon.
I would love it.
Thank you for having me.
Thank you Well, friends.
That's it for this episode ofthe Fast 15, but real quick,
let's focus on three maintakeaways from what Lee shared
with us.
Number one remember the pivotalrole that special education
teachers can have in a student'slife.
(15:39):
By taking the time to trulyunderstand our student's present
levels of performance, but alsokeeping in mind the hopes that
they have for the future, justlike Michael's middle school
teacher, we can really have sucha powerful impact.
Number two don't underestimatethe power of early learning of
functional skills.
They play a critical role inthe success of our students as
(16:01):
young adults in their futurepost-secondary transition
opportunities.
And number three keep theimportance of teaching executive
functioning skills anddeveloping the concept of time
with all of our students' dailyliving tasks and schedules in
mind.
You can find great resources tohelp you and your students with
the Functional Academics Program.
Together, let's keep focusingon the importance of considering
(16:24):
individual preferences andtailoring strategies to our
students' needs.
Thank you so much, lee, forthese reminders and the
encouragement to keep going.
That's it for now and we'llcatch you in the next one.
A heartfelt thank you to ourgenerous sponsors.
Specially designed EducationServices.
Publishers of the FunctionalAcademics Program, please take a
(16:45):
moment to learn more about theonly true, comprehensive
Functional Academics Programthat enables students with
moderate to severe disabilitiesto improve their ability to live
independently and showmeaningful growth both
academically and personally,while creating accountability
with data-driven, evidence-basedresults.
(17:06):
Visit sdesworkscom to learnmore.
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
The Breakfast Club
The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy And Charlamagne Tha God!
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.