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A traumatic brain injury, or TBI, is an injury that affects how the brain works. TBI is a major cause of death and disability in the United States. Anyone can experience a TBI, but data suggest that some groups are at greater risk for getting a TBI or having worse health outcomes after the injury.

Cerebral

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According to the American Speech & Hearing Association, AAC is any system or strategy that augments or compensates for an individual's inability to communicate effectively.

Explore the following websites for examples of augmentative communication systems:~ prentrom.com (Accent speech generation devices)~ tobiidynavox.com (Tobii Dynavox speech generation devices and apps)~ saltillo.com (Chat Fusion, Nova Chat devices, TouchChat Express)~ ablenetinc.com (Big Mack, Step-By-Step, Super Talker)​​

According to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), assistive technology means any item, piece of equipment or product system, whether acquired commercially, modified, or customized, that is used to increase, maintain, or improve functional capabilities (not just communication) of children with disabilities. 

Positive Behavior Support (PBS) is a set of research-based strategies used to increase quality of life and decrease problem behavior by teaching new skills and making changes in a person's environment.

intervention strategies

Systems Change

An emotional and behavioral disorder is an emotional disability characterized by the following: (i) An inability to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships with peers and/or teachers. For preschool-age children, this would include other care providers. (ii) An inability to learn which cannot be adequately explained by intellectual, sensory or health factors. (iii) A consistent or chronic inappropriate type of behavior or feelings under normal conditions. (iv) A displayed pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression. (v) A displayed tendency to develop physical symptoms, pains or unreasonable fears associated with personal or school problems.

A child with EBD is a child who exhibits one or more of the above emotionally based characteristics of sufficient duration, frequency and intensity that interferes significantly with educational performance to the degree that provision of special educational service is necessary

Eligibility and Placement.

The term "hearing impaired" is often used to describe people with any degree of hearing loss, from mild to profound, including those who are deaf and those who are hard of hearing. Many individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing prefer the terms "deaf" and "hard of hearing," because they consider them to be more positive than the term "hearing impaired," which implies a deficit or that something is wrong that makes a person less than whole.

Deaf, deafened, and hard of hearing individuals may choose to use hearing aids, cochlear implants, and/or other assistive listening devices to boost available hearing. Alternatively, or in addition, they may read lips, use sign language, sign language interpreters, and/or captioning.

People who are deaf or hard of hearing may have speech that is difficult to understand due to the inability to hear their own voice.

A personal care assistant is an individual trained to help persons with basic daily routines. A PCA may be able to help you if you have a physical, emotional or mental disability, a chronic illness or an injury.

Eligibility To be eligible for the personal care assistance program, a person must meet all these criteria: Be eligible to receive Medical Assistance or MinnesotaCare Expanded (pregnant women and children) Require services that are medically necessary Be able to make decisions about your own care or have someone who can make decisions for you

Services Personal care assistance services must be medically necessary. A person must need help to complete activities of daily living, have health-related tasks or need observation and redirection of behavior to use these four categories of services: Activities of daily living (includes eating, toileting, grooming, dressing, bathing, transferring, mobility and positioning) Complex health-related functions (includes, under state law, functions that can be delegated or assigned by a licensed health care professional to be performed by a personal care assistant) Instrumental activities of daily living (includes meal planning and preparation, managing finances, shopping for essential items, performing essential household chores, communication by telephone and other media and getting around and participating in the community) Observation and redirection of behavior (includes monitoring of behavior)

There is no known cure for PDD. Medications are used to address specific behavioral problems; therapy for children with PDD should be specialized according to need.

The diagnostic category of pervasive developmental disorders (PDD) refers to a group of disorders characterized by delays in the development of socialization and communication skills. Parents may note symptoms as early as infancy, although the typical age of onset is before 3 years of age

Symptoms may include problems with using and understanding language; difficulty relating to people, objects, and events; unusual play with toys and other objects; difficulty with changes in routine or familiar surroundings, and repetitive body movements or behavior patterns.

The purpose of the project is to build partnerships between parents and educators to ensure that children receive the highest educational opportunities and achievement possible.

A team consisting of a parent of a special needs child and an educator staffs each PERC

All PERCs have certain common functions and responsibilities including: Providing information, resources, and training for parents on important issues such as parenting skills, problem solving, educational planning for their child, behavior management, home learning activities, and other topics to strengthen home-to-school partnerships; Assisting families on an individual basis to better understand their children's educational needs and to discover opportunities and options for meeting these needs; Connecting families with appropriate community services; and Offering information, resources, and training to educators to increase the skills, knowledge and attitudes needed to encourage and strengthen family involvement and positive school-to-home partnerships.

Public law 94-142 is the Individuals with disabilities education Act. This piece of legislations is a United States federal law that is responsible for governing how states and various public agencies provide early intervention, special education and other related services to children with disabilities.

What are the provisions of Public Law 94-142?

What role do parents play?

Date Approved

Bill Versions

This round of amendments changed more than just rights, it was a spotlight on the fact that people's minds were changing about children with disabilities. PL 101-476 changed the wording and terminology of the original law.

Children was changed to individuals, and handicapped became with disabilities. Also, the "Education of the Handicapped Act" name was retired, and IDEA, or Individuals With Disabilities Education Act, became the legal name of this set of laws.

PL 101-476 required that every special needs child have an Individualized Transition Plan (ITP) worked into their IEP by age 16. An ITP is a plan for the preparation of individuals with special needs to become capable and ready to leave school and get a job, attend college, and become a contributing member of society.

If your child has an Individualized Education Program (IEP), the IEP team will meet every year to bring it up to date. One of the first steps is to update your child’s present levels of academic achievement and functional performance. Some states/school districts refer to this as PLAAFP, some as PLOP and others as PLP.

What does PLOP include?

To write the PLOP, the IEP team draws information from several sources. They should include teacher observations and objective data, such as test results and scores.

In physical therapy, also known as PT, trained professionals evaluate and treat abnormal physical function related to an injury, disability, or other health condition.

Physical therapists aim to improve a person’s range of movement and quality of life and prevent further injury or disability.

Common conditions physical therapy may help with

The Progress Test in English (PTE) assessment enables you to accurately measure how your school and your students are performing – student by student, class by class and year by year. 

The tests can be used initially at the start of the year to set a baseline and from then on at the end of the year to measure and track progress

Detailed reports for teachers analyse key dimensions of learning and provide a question-by-question breakdown to help identify those students who may need extra support, and in which areas.

A reevaluation is a full-fledged look at a student’s needs. There are two types of reevaluations: Triennial reevaluation (three-year review) Parent- or teacher-requested reevaluation

The purpose of the triennial reevaluation is to see if a student’s needs have changed. It’s also to see if they still qualify for special education services.  

Just like an initial evaluation, a reevaluation is an involved process.