Special Education Identification
All new and kindergarten students are screened for
possible disabilities in the areas of vision, hearing,
speech, academic performance and social/emotional development.
Screenings are conducted by appropriate school personnel.
Students who are suspected of having a disability are
referred to the Student Success Team for further assessment
and assistance.
The Student Success Team consists of the parents,
regular classroom teacher, special education teacher,
nurse, psychologist, speech-language pathologist, and
other specialists as necessary. Parents are encouraged
to be involved in this process. Parents who suspect
that their child is experiencing difficulty in the
school environment may want to discuss the problem
with the teacher or request a referral be made to the
Student Success Team.
Some problems that students experience are resolved
with assistance from the Student Success Team. Other
problems require further assessment or intervention;
those students are referred for individual student
evaluation.
Evaluation
The evaluation by school personnel may involve the
use of one or more tests to help pinpoint the strengths
or weaknesses that a child may be experiencing. The
tests will be administered by appropriately certified
school personnel, which may include teachers, school
nurses, school psychologists, speech-language pathologists,
occupational therapists and other specialists. The
tests fall into general categories.
- Intelligence tests - measure
a student's ability to perform or to succeed in school
activities
- Achievement tests - measure
actual functioning ability in the classroom in specific
subjects (i.e., reading, mathematics and spelling)
- Auditory and visual-motor development
tests - measure the ways the student will
learn best (by seeing, writing or hearing)
- Personality / projective tests
- measure or give insight into the child's
relationships with himself or others
- Behavior rating scales - measure
emotional factors that may affect the child's learning
- Language tests - measure
receptive and expressive language skills
- Speech testing - measures
the ability to articulate sounds clearly or to use
appropriate rhythm or voice quality in speaking
- Hearing tests - measure
hearing and/or response of the middle ear to sound
- Sensory motor testing -
Measures visual perception, motor ability and perceptual
feedback as it affects the educational performance
of the child
Programs and Services
Following the individual student evaluation, a variety
of recommendations are possible. The alternatives include:
- No Special Education Services
- The student would remain in the regular
class and receive regular instruction/accommodations.
- In-Class Supplementary
Instructional Services - The student would
remain in the regular class and receive supplementary
instructional services in reading and/or math,
or materials provided to the regular classroom
teacher by academic specialists.
- Resource Programs - The
student remains in his/her regular classroom for
most of the day and is scheduled to work with the
special education teacher for a period of time for
remediation in specific areas.
- Self-contained Programs
- Based on the nature and/or severity of
a student's disability(ies), he/she may benefit
from spending the majority of the day with a special
education teacher.
Related Services
Related services are provided in order to help
students benefit from special education placement.
The Paradise Valley School District provides
a variety of related services, including: homebound,
audiological services, psychological services,
occupational therapy, adaptive physical education,
physical therapy, and speech-language therapy.
NOTE: Written
permission is required for individual student
evaluations and placement in special education
programs. Student information related to this
process is considered confidential and will be
treated as such. |
Speech/Language
Pathology (SLP) in the PVUSD
The PVUSD has the privilege
of being one of four ASHA certified CEU providers
in Arizona.
For Parents:
- What is Speech/Language
Therapy?
- How can my child get
help with a speech/language problem?
 Visit
the Speech Language Pathologist Parents' page
|
Occupational Therapy
(OT) in the PVUSD
Visit
the Occupational Therapy Parents' page |
Assistive Technology (AT)
in the PVUSD
Visit
the Assistive Technology
page |
|
