Practical Access Podcast

S:1 E:9: Practical Access Role of Professionals beyond Teachers in online world

April 08, 2020 Photo by Julie Molliver on Unsplash Season 1 Episode 9
Practical Access Podcast
S:1 E:9: Practical Access Role of Professionals beyond Teachers in online world
Show Notes Transcript

Drs. Rebecca Hines and Lisa Dieker, UCF Faculty members, share practical ideas for the role of support personnel (SLP, OT, PT) as well as administrators and instructional assistants to support students with disabilities and their families and their teachers. They discuss how that role should be clear with synergy and organized in a way logical to parents, teachers and students with disabilities. They also provide examples from the field. 

spk_0:   0:04
welcome to practical access. I'm Lisa Dieker

spk_1:   0:07
and I'm Becky Hines, and today we're going to continue on with the topic Lee, so that I know that you introduced in our last segment. So one of the questions I keep getting and I think you do, too, is what is what is everybody doing? What is everybody else doing during this time of online instruction? You know, teachers air delivering the content whatever way they can. But what's everybody else doing and what can they be doing?

spk_0:   0:32
Yeah, and I know when one of our early episodes, we already figured out, or at least started some discussion about what's the special Ed teacher? But, you know, I've been being asked, What's an administrator? What's the speech language teacher doing? How they deliver that? I think what we fall back to is the default. We always say, What were you doing in the general Ed setting? How could you parallel that me online environment that's comfortable to the kid as comfortable with the families? So, for example, though I'm hearing a lot of bonus moments like I've had, several teachers say they are collaborating across between grade levels like they never have before because they're free. They don't have kids that they have to worry about. Okay, Liam. 20 minutes during special. So, for example, one speech teacher speech teacher said, You know, I have the instructional aid in my speech time so that she can follow up for the next hour with the family, the kids with additional activities. So again, kids still getting 30 minutes. But now the aye aye is doing different walls. And I'm kind of hearing kind of a plethora. I find administrators are popping in online from room to room and listening to kids and reading books but also asking questions of kids and really kind of doing some assessment in ways of the teachers that I don't think they can do when they have to walk through the building and cut a disrupt instruction. So is there a few things I've heard? What what else are you hearing?

spk_1:   1:42
Well, some of the things that I've been recommending to the group's I'm working with are again you mentioned last time this idea of structure and routines, but getting into routines of things like conferencing. So for those people, we have people who even who are one on one Paris in different school system, one on one AIDS. Some school systems have him some school systems down, but are we sure that we're giving those people a tool and a specific way to connect with the student that they've been supporting? That's my first thought, a  family member of someone with more significant needs. So get it building in a structure for that so that it's easier not only for the family but also for that instructional support person to have a direct connection. Sometimes just contacting families can be hard. So when you mentioned these people, the administrators, we've got social workers, we have all of these people. And if I think if everyone can start thinking about their own distribution channels, if you will, how do we make that part easier? I'm seeing a lot of people struggle with getting and receiving so many emails and so many links to meetings that I think that we all have to start owning our own little area and setting up a very good clear distribution channel. In one of the pages that I've been working on for a local school, we put people's pictures so kids could click on the picture of the person that they normally work with. And it takes them right to a Google hangout link. I mean, right to the meeting with that person. And I think we need to be that specific in a lot of cases and hope the right people up with the right kids and or teachers.

spk_0:   3:23
Yeah, I've heard a lot to you of counselors talking about those are the kids that they worry the most. The kids were already kind of ostracized or bullied or, you know, had some depression or had some mental health issues. And so I'm hearing a lot of mindfulness lunches, phone calls, Google voice calls, checking and checking out. But I really do think that what I love is a lot of them were saying where it's kind of letting kids get on and organically talk to each other and interjecting. And I have once a social worker that said, I'm doing a life goal moment every day of the week, man, it's one that I'm working on, that I just let the kids work on with me and say, Hey, today, my life goal is getting back into a routine or eating healthy or not watching as much TV or using one of my talents. He happens to be an artist. So he said he got a white board out in the background was drawing. Is anyone want to join the drawing today? What do you like to draw? You know I don't draw. Okay, let's have it. Do you like to play with characters that are drawn already like gaming? So I think that whole conversation piece is really, really important right now for kids that might be more isolated if there's technology. I think if there's not technology, I know folks are dropping off packets. I heard a teacher said, You know it's Halloween and I'm ringing and ditching and running because I'm not allowed to be there but dropping something off so that kids get could making sure there's mental health pieces in there or speech goals in there. So it isn't just a packet of material, but it really aligns with all those service is we know kids. The discipline's not only need for their families also expect them to be getting so do you think mindfully about all those service is,

spk_1:   4:58
The one layer with even the packets in the home delivery, which I love. The idea that we do know that most households have a phone. So anyone who's working with kids who are working in a pretty isolated setting, I really recommend teachers specialist Perez administrators. Everyone signed up for a Google phone number because what that does is redirect your own personal phone to this Google phone number so kids don't have your home number. But they could reach you at scheduled meeting times. The one thing you have to be good at if you know that you're directing to your Google phone, don't answer it. If it's not the time you have planned with a particular kid, necessarily because it might throw you off schedule if you have all day plan. So there's just hyper that the great ships.

spk_0:   5:45
Yeah, I think that's funny, too, because, you know, again, kids, they're like, Well, I got access to the teacher and some don't want it and some want it all the time. So it's so different than in the classroom, you know, setting those parameters for the kid who raises their hand for every question versus the kid who never raises their hand. Think about that and remember, really simple. What's interesting class? Dodo allows him to send a message to everybody. Or you can do that through Zoom Google, hang up and then remind is a great one, with lots of people are falling back on that that app of remind that I consent. And hey, don't forget your speech times in 10 minutes. Great weight again to turn that into the student, taking responsibility than assuming the parent has to. So the kid can even get a Google voice that makes a difference to

spk_1:   6:27
you. You started this segment and we started talking about this idea of the roles of those ancillary, other non student contact persons and also those instructional assistance it is. Organizing all of these pieces is so difficult. If I was working with an instructional assistant who even could be in charge of my reminds and sending them out to everyone and and fielding some of those Google calls that would make my job as the deliverer of content so much less stressful. So I think being really purposeful and clear in what we're doing matters most right now.

spk_0:   7:06
Yeah, and I think that they're together just really basic into. We've got Google docs those air great again. Let's make sure families can access them and then if your district just have access, there's a feed for this. But gold book is one where all these service providers could come together. So do you remember that if you're the speech teacher or you're the counselor and the kid's got speech, counseling, PT, OT. General, it's special Ed and those families air at home trying to work on line two. You've got to think about a way of putting those six. Service is in a way that's so easy and seamless for those families. Like the pictures you mentioned Becky Ah, structure of time a day. Otherwise, we're just gonna add to the frustration of everybody. And and again, I think we're at a time where we can all call each other from 7 to 7 15 and check in and check out with each other before we disperse. Our service is across our caseload, something we couldn't do before because kids were sitting in front of us at every moment of the day. So make sure you schedule in that time to use those folks. And I would just end with my last hit being a checklist. Explosive free instructional aids of what you do want them to do if they're gonna have one on one time with kids, I'd like for you work on these skills or I'd like you to send up these reminds. I think often times we know what we want and circulates to do. But sometimes we tell them in the moment creating a structure and checklists for them also could make their job more meaningful and make it easier on you

spk_1:   8:30
structures and patterns. Key tip from last time and I agreed. We say it's a great way to end today.

spk_0:   8:37
Thank you for joining us again for practical access. And please twitter us @accesspractical, if you've got a question for us next