Norah is a a seventh grade student
in this mock IEP.
She is hard of hearing and uses spoken English
as her main mode of communication.
Norah is also interested in learning ASL.
She does not have any academic concerns
and is very involved in activities
at school and in the community.
Jody: Thank you for coming here today.
Let’s start with introductions.
Jody: I’m Jody Waldo,
the teacher for deaf and hard of hearing.
Sheridan: I’m Sheridan Anderson,
Norah’s mother.
Norah: I’m Norah Malloy.
Jay: I’m Jay Ferhman. I’m the principal.
Jody: As you know, we are here
for Norah’s annual IEP meeting.
I met with her classroom teacher
and she shared that she is doing well academically
and has no concerns in this area.
I also talked with you, Sheridan,
prior to this meeting
and you shared that there are
some other areas of concern.
Would you like to elaborate on that?
Sheridan: Yes, we agree Norah is doing
very well academically,
but we have noticed her struggling
knowing when she needs to advocate for herself.
And also she struggles sometimes
to pick up on social cues.
Jody: I have noticed that as well
during my observations in the classroom
as well as during our D/HH time.
For example, during our "Lunch Bunch" groups
when Norah brings a few friends with her,
sometimes she might miss a comment,
and rather than ask for repetition,
she might just nod
or laugh
or not respond at all.
What do you think Norah?
Do you notice that at all?
Norah: Yeah, I guess sometimes.
I like to know what people are talking about
and don't always like to ask people
to say it again,
but sometimes I don't realize I missed something
so it's hard to know when
to advocate for myself.
Jody: That's very true and a really good point.
Based on that
as well as the fact that your classroom teacher
has shared she has some concerns
with peer interactions,
I agree that's an area that we maybe need to address.
To help guide us
and make sure we don’t overlook anything,
I would like to use the Discussion Guide
that I passed out earlier.
Because Norah does not have any academic needs
or concerns right now,
nor does she have any other disability,
I think we can jump right to the section that’s called
“What other educationally relevant needs
resulting from the student’s hearing loss
must be addressed?”
And that is on page 15.
How does that sound?
Jay: I’m glad to hear that
Norah is doing so well.
I think it makes sense to go ahead
and look at what else her hearing may be impacting.
Sheridan: That sounds great.
I also want to be sure we address
Norah’s desire to learn ASL.
I still really feel this
could be beneficial to her in the future
and will help her to feel like
she fits in better
with her friends who are deaf.
She has always enjoyed the D/HH field trips
where she has met a few friends already
and attending Camp Sertoma this summer
was a wonderful experience for her.
Jody: I'm so glad to hear that.
We’ll absolutely include that in our discussion.
The first prompt is fairly general
and asks if Norah has other needs
related to her hearing loss.
Sheridan, in your opinion,
do you feel that her hearing loss
affects any of these areas?
Sheridan: I think the only other area that
we see her struggling is
advocacy and social skills.
What do you think Norah?
Norah: Yes, I guess.
Jody: Okay. That’s great!
It seems like that would fit
what we discussed before as well.
The next step then is to discuss
what areas are affected by those needs
and what additional supports
and services are needed.
Sheridan, what do you
currently see Norah doing
in regards to advocating for herself
and how would you like her
to improve in that area?
Sheridan: Norah asks us
to repeat things at home,
but I don’t always see her
do this when she is with her friends
or during sporting events
that she participates in.
I do think there are times
when she just doesn’t know
when she should advocate for herself
or how to get the clarification she needs.
Jay: I think it’s fairly common
for kids like Norah,
but definitely something
we want her to be more confident with.
Jody: Yes, I agree.
That is definitely something
that we can work on.
I am thinking that it might
be beneficial to work on teaching Norah
to not only ask for repetition,
but ask more clarifying questions
when she doesn’t hear or understand something.
Along with this, we can work on
picking up on social cues.
This is something that can easily be integrated
during our “Lunch Bunch” times.
Based on the Functional Listening Evaluation
that I did with Norah,
her ability to understand spoken language
is actually pretty good:
90-100% when her FM system is used
and she is seated close to the front
and she is in a quiet setting.
When background noise is added
and she’s farther away
or the FM is not used,
Norah may miss up to 20%
of the information being presented.
Knowing this, I think it’s important
that we ensure
that Norah continues to have
the accommodations in the classroom
such as the FM system,
preferential seating,
notes written on the board,
closed captions
and as she gets older we may want to consider
whether or not a notetaker may be necessary.
Sheridan: I think those accommodations
would definitely help Norah.
I do worry about how things may change
as she get older
and as content becomes more challenging.
And this is one of the reasons
I think learning ASL
would be beneficial for Norah.
Maybe there will be a day
that she could use an interpreter
instead of worrying about missing so much.
Jody: That leads us kind of
into the next area concerning
her exposure and spending time
with other deaf and hard of hearing
peers and adults
and learning ASL.
As we mentioned before, Norah has some opportunity
to communicate and interact with
deaf and hard of hearing peers at school,
but most of them are younger than her.
So looking into other ways to help her to connect
with deaf and hard of [Cough] hearing peers her age.
is maybe the next step.
Norah attended camp, you said, this summer
for the first time.
How did that go?
Sheridan: She loved it!
It was a great experience for her
and made her want to learn ASL even more.
Norah: Yeah, it was really fun!
I can't wait to go back,
but I do really want to learn more sign.
Jay: It is so good to hear
that Norah is getting opportunities like this.
Jody: Yes, I agree. I am so glad you enjoyed it, Norah.
Sheridan, did she get contact information
for any of the new friends that she met?
If so, one the things mentioned in the Discussion Guide
mentions using visual networking through apps such as
FaceTime, Skype, Snapchat, things like that,
to allow her to connect
with some of those friends.
Would that be an option?
Sheridan: Yeah, we could absolutely
look into that.
What about ASL classes
or options for her to learn ASL at school?
Jody: Good question.
There are some ASL classes
offered for kids around the metro area.
I will get you information regarding those.
Minnesota Hands and Voices are listed
as a resource here in the Discussion Guide.
They may know of other classes as well.
They also host several events throughout the year
that would give Norah a chance
to interact with other deaf and hard of hearing peers
as well as have exposure to ASL firsthand.
Another option we could check into
is the Deaf Mentor Family Program
and the Deaf/Hard of Hearing Role Model Program.
Sheridan: Umm, we’ve done some of those things,
but that does sound like a great place to start.
Is there anything that you could do
at school to teach Norah ASL?
Jay: Can I ask for some clarification
on why we want to address the need of
for learning ASL
if Norah is currently performing at grade level
and doing well academically?
Jody: Of course.
As we know, students with a hearing loss
often have unique situations
that we don't always see
with other students
with disabilities.
I think over the past few years we have noticed
that Norah has struggled
in some of those areas.
Norah, would you like to comment on times
when you have felt it would have been helpful
if you knew ASL?
Norah: Sure. Whenever we have assemblies at school,
it can be really hard for me
to hear what they are saying.
I see the other kids who have an interpreter
and wish I knew more sign language
so I could understand what they were signing.
The lunchroom and playground
are also hard for me
and I feel
like I miss a lot.
Jody: Good examples. Thank you for sharing.
So although Norah is doing well academically,
we can see that there
are other areas affecting her
that are also important.
If we feel that Norah may need
to rely on ASL
down the road
and that it might be something
that would provide her full access to communication
that she doesn’t have right now.
And I think that’s something that
we should look into.
I could definitely include teaching Norah
some ASL during our D/HH time.
Does that make sense, Jay?
Jay: Yes, I see how it could
definitely benefit her.
Jody: Sheridan, do you think that is something
you would like us to try?
Sheridan: Yeah, I think that would be great.
I think she's really motivated
about it right now
so it would be a great time
to start and something she would use
and benefit from in a lot of ways.
Jody: So, as a recap,
we agree that Norah has needs
in the areas of self advocacy
and reading social cues,
as well as increased opportunities to interact
with deaf and hard of hearing peers and adults
and learn sign language.
Does that sound right?
Sheridan: That sounds right.
Jody: Okay. I will draft her new IEP
with the new goals and objectives,
including what we talked about
and including more ASL.
When you get it, let me know if you have
any questions or concerns.
I will also pass along additional information
on additional opportunities
to learn ASL and links to Minnesota Hands and Voices.
Sheridan: Perfect.
Jody: Thank you all for coming.