IST meetings at Sumner are held on Monday’s after school. During this time, I would observe Ms. Westcott and the IST team as they discussed the students on a case by case basis. The IST team consisted of the Speech Teacher, School Psychologist, one of the Special Education teachers, and the case managers of each grade level. Also, the teachers who referred their students to IST were present. I found these meetings to be very informative and intriguing. There was an ample amount of information given out within a short period of time. Depending on the caseloads, these meeting could last anywhere from fifteen minutes to three hours. The teachers who referred their students discussed the behaviors and academic …show more content…
The majority of the cases discussed were related to the child’s behavior in the classroom, their academic performance was exceptional. The majority of them are classified as AG (Academically Gifted) students. While listening to these cases, I was reflecting on a workshop that I previously attended on AG students and differentiation for those students in your classroom. The workshop discussed different activities that you can utilize with your AG so they would not become a distraction or become bored in the classroom. It also discussed ways that you can utilize your students as your helpers in the classroom, so they can feel like they are being challenged to do …show more content…
Zollicoffer was teaching him social and writing skills. She practiced with him how to write his first and last name and how to verbalize it. (Example: “Good Morning, My name is Miranda Newby! How are you today?) Ms. Zollicoffer wanted the student to verbalize his words to express his wants and needs. The child has a habit of echolalia, where he repeats everything he hears, which causes disruption when he in his regular classroom environment. The number of students with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) has risen significantly in recent years (CDC, 2012), and students with ASD present unique challenges to schools and school counselors. This was my first encounter with a child who has Autism. It was a very different experience, initially, I felt a little uncomfortable because I was unsure of how he would respond to me. But, he responded suitably and interacted with me during the