CE240 Unit 9 Assignment – Letter to Parents

Unit 9 Assignment- Letter to Parents

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Jones,

I am George’s lead teacher and wanted to reach out to you to discuss George’s performance and the importance of early intervention. First, I want you and your family to know that I am here to guide you in any way necessary, and if at any point you are overwhelmed or unsure how to proceed, please reach out to me. I am here to assist and support you and if there are concerns that you are having for you son within the classroom, I will do whatever I can to assure we correct the issues to assure a positive classroom experience.

Have you been informed that your son George is in the process of his evaluation for his early intervention? While this intervention is taking place, there has been many times where I have seen parents feel worried, lost, and even uncertain about what options are best for their child, I am here to assure you that we have started the process of identifying the areas at which your son struggles most in. This helps us assure he will receive the best plan for his early intervention. The point of the early intervention is to assist your son with how he learns and how he will develop. (Early Intervention)

Early intervention is important because it allows me and other educators to understand your child’s developmental milestones. We are aware that each child develops at a different pace so it continues to be our goal to assure families that we will care your child and his specific needs.

When we talk about early intervention the words itself can sound intimidating but I can assure you this only increases your child’s chances that will help make sure he receives and continues to receive the treatments that will help ease the chances of another problems that could develop. When identifications and diagnosis are in order, this allows for a better chance of assuring that your child receives the correct treatment plans for his early intervention. Let me take a second to explain to you what getting early intervention may look like for your son. He may tend to progress, and this progression will decrease the long-term effects of his disability allowing your son to develop with his current age bracket. By taking Georges early intervention plan and allowing us at school to work with him while incorporating these strategies at home it will allow George to make huge developmental improvement,

We are aware that George has receptive and expressive language barriers which keeps him from understanding words and languages. With this George may also struggle with being able to express himself through language, using writing or hand gesture. We have observed how George has difficulties when attempting pre-language skills, social skills and also play skills. Here at our school, we are incorporating visuals in hopes to help George with his communication. These visuals will also be used to help him with his communication and adapting to a classroom routine. Having visuals will assist me in supporting your son’s participation and understanding within our classroom. Other tools that I will be using her at school are cue cards that will be placed on his desk, area that he using frequently like the bathroom, and different work stations, this will allow George the freedom to look at the cue cards if he needs assistance and they will also help him with expression. With picture cards and a routine set for George I truly believe this will help him fell less anxious and more stable when it comes to learning and participation.

Another strategy I would suggest is modeling. Our staff with work with George through modeling this allows us to demonstrate or show the students what we are working on in class. Different modeling techniques that we may use are how to use the appropriate communication. I would model the appropriate communication and then show the children in the classroom what to do when communicating by giving instructions. (Hanifan, 2019) I also want to share with you how modeling within the classroom will also help students like George with is behavioral issues. This strategy will help George by encouraging him to self-reflect on his behaviors.

For home intervention I would strongly suggest communicating as much as possible with George. When you are working alongside George put a name to every object you are using, if you would like I can also send home our picture routine so that you at home can following it the best you can allowing him the same structured routine. This could help George tremendously because it will allow for less confusion for him. Other ways you can help George is allowing him to participate in home chores and activities that he normally would not because it can broaden is learning and communication skills. For example, when you are doing the dishes, have George take turns with you washing then and drying then as well as putting then away and explain each step-in order as you’re doing it.

You may also like to try increasing the amount of time George helps you. Much like the example I gave for doing the dishes, slowing get George into doing chores around the house. Of course, you do not want to overwhelm him, but it may be in his benefit to learn how to common things like picking up his toys or putting all dirty laundry into the dirty clothes bins. I was also conversing with my teaching assists and other strategies that you could incorporate into Georges home routine would be electronic learning tools. This will allow George to have time each day to learn independently.

I assure you that with these plans in motion, George is going to excel. As we continue to work on his developmental learning plans his improvement will continue to excel and he will be able to communicate effectively. As a team between the staff here at school, and your family at home we will work together to create an effective learning plan for George that will allow him to have conversations and work with his peers with less and less help from us. Early intervention is a great way to improve his functioning within school and out in public. With your help, I can promise that moving forward this will have the greatest impact on your son,

Sincerely,

Brittany Farringotn

References

Hanifan, O. (2019). 5 ways to establish effective communication in the classroom. Retrieved August 12, 2020, from https://www.mentimeter.com/blog/interactive-classrooms/5-ways-to-establish-effective-communication-in-the-classroom

Early Intervention. (n.d.). Retrieved August 12, 2020, from https://www.asha.org/public/speech/early-intervention/