Cofiell, Darlene

The Bill Porter Plan

Disability Awareness

Ive just been informed that I have a new student on my caseload, his name is Bill Porter. Bill
Porter will be starting as a freshman in the Fall of 2017. At the moment the only thing I know
about Bill is hes a freshman with CP (Cerebral Palsy). I will be spending a great deal of time
and energy learning about CP and preparing for Bills arrival.
Before I can address Bills academic, behavioral, functional and social needs I must learn as
much as I can about his disorder. I search the internet for reliable sources to provide me with a
better understanding of Bills disorder. Karen Kriggers research, University of Louisville School
of Medicine Department of Family and Community Medicine, indicates that for every 1,000
babies born in the U.S. about 2 to 2.5 babies are affected with cerebral palsy, more common
than I thought. I stop and think, do I know 1,000 people? Have I ever encountered anyone with
CP? It took me a couple of minutes to answer myself. No I dont think I know 1,000 people,
probably because I dont spend all of my time on social media. Yes I have encountered
someone with a form of CP outside of my profession. I plan to request an interview with the
family to learn more about what having CP is really like. In the meantime I continue my
research and find limited references about CP on the DPI website. The United Cerebral Palsy
website and the CDC provided much more data. Worth mentioning the CDC reports CP occurs
at a much higher rate, 1 out of 345 births.
I learn there are four types of cerebral palsy: Spastic, Athetoid/Dyskinetic, Ataxic and Mixed.
It is often associated with other health issues which include but are not limited to hearing, vision
and seizures. It can range in severity. The disorder occurs in males more often than females
and there is a higher occurrence among African Americans. It is not contagious or
communicable and it is a non- progressive disorder.
Interesting it has a higher incident rate in males versus females. Could it be sex linked on the
X chromosome. What I find is inconclusive. Cerebral Palsy is caused by brain damage that
occurred before, during or after birth. It is not considered a genetic disorder but research
indicated the risk of acquiring the disorder may have a link to genetics.
I am by no means the CP guru but at least I have an overview thanks to Karen Krigger,
United Cerebral Palsy, the Center for Disease Control and TED talks. Now I want to learn about
Bill. I begin by contacting Mrs. Porter via the telephone at home and introduce myself as Bills
new case manager. I tell her what I know about CP is superficial and I want a deep
understanding of Bills disorder. I asked her to disclose what she is comfortable sharing about
Bills academic, behavioral, functional and social skills. I ask her what she views are Bills
strengths and weaknesses and if she has any concerns or reservations about bringing Bill to our
school in the fall. We end our conversation with a date, time and place to review Bills IEP,
ideally this meeting will occur before school starts. Additionally I make arrangements to meet
with Bill to get his perspective about his disability, his capabilities, interests and limitations.
Mrs. Porter supports the inclusion model for Bill. She stated the Bill has been taught about
patience and perseverance. Oddly enough Bill used the terms patience and perseverance when
I spoke with him. He tells me his condition affects his walk, his use of his hand and his speech.
He says, there are no obstacles you cant overcome, yet admits hell never be able to drive
and he needs help sometimes. Bill likes structure and consistency.
Before the IEP/Transition meeting I review the assessments Bill took. I determine what his
Lexile level is and where that places him on the continuum. If Bill has taken the STAR Reading
and Math Assessments I review that data to include in Bills IEP. In the PLOP (Present Level of
Performance) I add information that has been shared with me from his former teachers. From
there I develop a draft of what accommodations and modification Bill should receive.
A couple of days before the meeting I insure the following will be present from Bills old
placement: case manager, speech and language pathologist, physical therapist, occupational
therapist and nurse. Those that will be present from my building would include: LEA, myself as
the case manager, one of his new regular education teachers, the schools social worker, the
speech and pathologist, occupational and physical therapists and the guidance counselor.
Additionally Bill and his parents will be present.
Note as Im working to pull together this IEP meeting I am simultaneously working on a plan
to provide disability awareness education to the staff, especially Bills teachers, the students
who Bill will encounter in his classrooms, and the parents. Ive decided to use KAHOOT to quiz
the staff and educate them about Bill and his disorder in a breakout session during staff
development days. I will meet individually with the teachers that will be working directly with Bill.
At that time I will go over his accommodations and modifications to insure they get their
questions answered. I will provide each teacher with the Learning Assistance Form (LAF) and
remind them that the form can be found on the staff hard drive. I will write a letter to be
approved by the administration welcoming Bill to our school.
During the first week Im going to gather Bills classmates together into the library to show the
video Door to Door. Below is the link to the video questions. After the video the students will be
given time to answer the video questions and process their thoughts and feelings. Bills self
efficacy will play a major role in his success here in high school.

Barriers, Accommodations, Modifications and Interventions

It is obvious that Bill faces some barriers which include but are not limited to: mobility, writing,
speaking, and possibly overcoming the stigma of being a student with disabilities.
To make moving about in the busy halls easier, Bill will be given a permanent pass to leave
his classes five minutes early. Additionally every effort will be made to keep the classes in close
proximity avoiding the need for Bill to travel up the stairs; however, should Bill need to travel
upstairs he will have access to the elevator. Bill will be personally guided through the evacuation
process for fire drills, tornado drills and A.L.I.C.E. drills. Bill will be provided with preferential
seating when requested to make moving about the classroom more manageable. Additionally
Bill will participate in Adaptive Physical Education. Adaptive Phy Ed will meet everyday for 50
minutes per day for a total of 300 minutes per week.
Since Bill does not have an intellectual disability, he will be placed in UDL classes for writing
support in English Language Arts, Social Studies, Math and Science. It is suggested that Bill be
provided with a service coordinator for the first 6 weeks to help him transition. To further help Bill
with his writing the district will provide Bill with assistive technology in the form of a laptop with
an oversized keyboard and an alternative input device such as a joystick, slow keys, sticky
keys or a trackball to make navigating through programs doable. All content teachers will be
asked to create a moodle account and place all notes and assignments onto the program for Bill
to view as they are being presented.
Bills speech is often difficult to understand. To help Bill with articulation Bill needs direct
instruction with the speech and language pathologist. He will receive direct instruction for thirty
minutes per session three times a week for a total of 90 minutes per week.

Movie
Door 2 Door William H Macy. (2105, May 9). Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1rFwjLqkTo

Door to Door Movie Questions

http://becker.dearbornschools.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/1026/2014/10/Chapter-3-Door-to-do
or-film-guide.pdf

References

ADA standards for Accessibility. (2010).

https://www.ada.gov/regs2010/2010ADAStandards/2010ADAstandards.htm

Centers for disease Control and Prevention. 11 Things to know about Cerebral Palsy.
https://www.cdc.gov/features/cerebral-palsy-11-things/index.html

Cerebral Palsy Guide. Retrieved from https://www.cerebralpalsyguide.com/cerebral-palsy/

Krigger, Karen W. M,D,, M.ED., University of Louisville School of Medicine, Louisville, Kentucky
. Cerebral Palsy: An Overview. (2006, Jan. 1). Retrieved from
http://media.kenanaonline.com/files/0017/17278/cerebral%20palsy.pdf

United Cerebral Palsy (UCP) www.ucpa.org

Villa & Thousand (2005). Creating an inclusive school. Association for Supervision and
Curriculum Development- 2nd edition. ISBN-10: 1416600493. ISBN-13: 978-1416600497

Youth with Special Needs - Chapter 6: Mobility and orthopedic disabilities

https://dpi.wi.gov/sites/default/files/imce/pld/pdf/ysn-06.pdf