Supporting Students with FASD

Case Study/ResourcesDate:

Location:

1

Agenda• Welcome back• Reflections on learning • Using the LEIC planning tool• Final Project• Break• Resources• Final Reflection

2

Case Study/Resources (Session 4)

• To demonstrate how to develop appropriate accommodations for specific learners

• To identify resources available that will assist in working with learners with FASD

3

Making Connections!

Do all strategies work with all students?

4

Paradigm Shift

Understanding FASD as a brain based disability requires that we shift our thinking about students’ behavior from “won’t” to “can’t”

5

Primary Disabilities

• Impulsivity• Linking actions to

outcomes• Predicting outcomes• Generalizing

information• Abstracting • Staying still• Paying attention

• Memory• Processing pace• Sequencing• Over stimulation• Sensory issues• Perseveration• Language• Dysmaturity or

“uneven maturation”

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Secondary Disabilities / Behaviours

• Frustration• Anxiety• Shutdown• Anger• Fatigue• Isolation• Poor self esteem• Depression

• School problems• Trouble with law• Drug and alcohol issues• Independent living

challenges• Mental health issues• Parenting difficulties

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Other …

• Attachment• Early stressors• Cultural• Nutrition• Living situation• Transitions• Religious/Spiritual• Medications• Dislocation

• Peer supports/Mentors

• Family relations• Wellness/Mental

Health• Complex trauma• Financial situation• H1N1 Virus• Epigenetics

8

Talents and Strengths

• Each student is unique with talents and strengths

• If talents and strengths are not recognized and encouraged, they may erode

• Include positive activities in the daily routine• Encourage athletes• Support participation in music or art• Find opportunities for them to help others• Focus on success to build self-worth

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Video clip

• “Finding Hope” (Chapter 8)

– Knowledge Network - 2009– http://findinghope.knowledge.ca/

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Planning for a Learner with FASD

• Identify perceived developmental ages in various domains

• Identify the learner’s strengths, interests, and learning style

• Identify “poor fit” between expectations and the suspected primary disabilities

• Develop accommodations to utilize strengths and support the primary disabilities

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LEIC (adapted from Dr. Carl Anserello’s “ICEL”)

• Learner (strengths, needs, primary disabilities, secondary behaviours, expectations of setting/brain)

*Poor fit?• Environment (set up of classroom, sensory issues)

• Instruction (teaching accommodations)

• Curriculum (adaptations / modifications)

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Case Study - Final Project• You may choose to work alone or with a partner; however,

all participants must hand in their own LEIC Planning Tool for evaluation

• Choose a case study (primary, intermediate or secondary)• Use the LEIC Planning Tool to:

– Find out information about learner– Identify the “poor fit”– Create accommodations to support 1 or 2 of the primary disabilities

• Consider the gaps in developmental ages for various domains

• Consider the learner’s strengths, interests and learning style

• Develop accommodations which utilize strengths and support the primary disabilities

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Accommodations Guide

• Does your list include general accommodations and SPECIFIC ones for your learner?

• Do some of your accommodations utilize the strengths, interests, learning style of the learners?

• Are the needs of this learner addressed sufficiently and specifically?

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What Next?

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Great FASD sites

• www.fasdoutreach.ca• www.fascets.org• www.faseout.ca• www.canfasd.ca• education.alberta.ca/

teachers/resources/fasd.aspx

• www.fasdconnections.ca• www.mcf.gov.bc.ca/fasd• www.fasiceberg.org• www.mefasd.com• www.whitecrowvillage.org

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Jigsaw Activity

•Your group will be presenting your resource to the larger group•In your group, go through, study and discuss the resource •Record items of interest, questions that you may have, helpful information•Choose a presenter to “teach” the rest of the group about this resource

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Essential Strategies: Summary

• “Shift” thinking and change approach• Know your learner: build a relationship through respect and understanding• Use a strengths-based approach• Use strategies for accommodations: - environment….

- instruction/communication…. - curriculum/resources

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Making Connections!

Why is it important for educators to understand FASD?Describe the primary disabilities and possible resulting secondary disabilities. (include specific examples)Show that all learners have unique needs and strengths. (include specific examples)

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Final Thoughts

• Every brain is different so… “Try differently rather than harder” (Malbin)

• “Every day is a new day” (Anon)

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