Understanding Manuel's Learning Needs

Manuel, a student with a bilingual background, is struggling academically, particularly in reading and writing. The Child Study Team discovers that Manuel feels embarrassed by his slow reading compared to his classmates and does not see the relevance of classes not related to his intended career goal, engineering. The team also finds that he has dyslexia, a type of learning disability affecting reading and writing skills. As a member of the Child Study Team, it is recommended that further RTI Tier Two interventions be implemented that take Manuel's social and cultural background and experiences into account.

Scenario: Manuel’s records have finally arrived at the school. Included are his past
attendance records, prior teacher reports and referrals, medical history from the nurse’s office, prior
academic achievement, and standardized state and district test scores. It seems that Manuel was
also struggling academically at his past school, especially in classes that require heavy reading and
writing, such as English and Social Studies, and you learn that he had a reading tutor from first
through fourth grade. You also notice that he seems to have done consistently better in his Math
classes there as well. You and Mr. Franklin have already spoken to his other teachers and his
parents regarding your concerns and everyone, including Manuel's parents, agrees that something
needs to be done. His mother is concerned that being labeled as “Learning Disabled” will cause him
embarrassment while, his father, who is an engineer, feels that his son’s talents are not being fully
expressed.
They go on to explain that although Manuel is fluent in English, prior to moving to his new school,
their community was predominately Hispanic and Spanish-speaking and he is bilingual in both
English and Spanish. They have heard that the assessments you will use to evaluate his ability will
not take this potential language and culture barrier into account.
You decide to create a document for Manuel's parents to help them understand the difference
between informal and formal assessments, how using both types of assessment is known to mitigate
bias, the purposes, merits and limitations of standardized assessments, and the how the statistical
results from assessments are used in the planning and development of an IEP.
Scenario: Manuel is becoming more and more listless in class and is still not doing well with his
assignments. You have noticed though, that he seems to be making friends, as outside of class
each morning you notice him joking and talking with a group of boys. They talk about BMX bikes
and an online computer game that they all play. You are aware that some of the boys in that group
are involved in the school robotics team and you begin to wonder how you could use his newly
formed friendships and your insights into his interests to support his language arts skills.
You and Mr. Franklin are also excited about a workshop you just attended with Dr. Janette Klingner
who talked about how to realize the potential of RTI(Klingner, J, 2011) with culturally and
linguistically diverse learners. The Child Study Team has been doing diagnostic work to see if there
are other variables within the classroom and/or school environment that may be affecting Manuel's
performance. What the Child Study Team discovers is that Manuel feels embarrassed by his slow
reading compared to his classmates and does not see the relevance of classes that are not related
to his intended career goal, engineering. The team also notes that Manuel is able to write well, but
he often does not finish in-class assignments and tests, and his homework written assignments are
very short. The lack of length in his assignments consistently costs him points.
When you talk to Manuel he shows pride when you compliment him on his bilingual ability and ask
for his help in translating for a new student from Guatemala. Finally, the team becomes aware that
Manuel does not want to be labeled "dumb" and is worried that he will be made fun of if he is pulled
out of his regular classes for more intensive support. Manuel’s vision and hearing test were both are
normal and his medical exam does not reveal any medical issues.
As a member of the Child Study Team (CST) and taking into account Manuel's interests and the
social and cultural influences that may be affecting Manuel's school performance, you and the CST
are planning your next steps. You and Mr. Franklin discuss what interventions would take into
account Manuel’s cultural and linguistic background. You also discuss how to involve Manuel in this
process. You wonder what kinds of ethical and legal issues you may need to account for as you
make your recommendations and the two of you decide to create a document that explains your

recommendations for further RTI Tier Two interventions that will take Manuel’s social and cultural
background and experiences into account.
Scenario: You have come to the point in the process where Manuel's Individualized Education
Program (IEP) is about to be created assuming he meets the federal eligibility criteria. As a result
Manuel may have the opportunity to receive individualized help. The Multidisciplinary Team is going
to become involved and each member will contribute his or her unique perspectives and
observations. Although Manuel’s mother and father support the recommendations for additional
services, they have also expressed feeling mixed emotions about the process and the contributions
of the multidisciplinary team in the development of the IEP. As the special educator working closely
with Manuel in the classroom and with Mr. Franklin, and as a reflective practitioner, you are writing in
your journal about this next step in the process. You have found that the writing helps to clarify
possible issues and that you often feel confident about your next steps after writing in your reflective
journal.
Scenario: The Evaluation Committee (EC) is preparing to meet for the purpose of reviewing all
assessment results that have been conducted for Manuel. They will also be reading your Evaluation
Summary. You are confident the team is going to find that Manuel has an educational disability and
that it is adversely affecting his educational performance. You and Mr. Franklin note that the
assessment prepared by the school psychologists suggests that Manuel has dyslexia, a type of
learning disability affecting reading and writing skills.
Neither you nor Mr. Franklin know very much about this common language-based learning disorder
and you both decide to do a little research on the topic in preparation for the upcoming Individualized
Education Program team meeting. You and Mr. Franklin are looking both for specific strategies that
can be implemented unobtrusively in the classroom, and for more focused strategies that will take
place outside of the classroom setting. You also want to have some resources for Manuel and his
parents so there can consistency between the home and school settings.
As you learn more, you and Mr. Franklin begin to suspect that Manuel is not the only one of your
students who may be dyslexic and you plan to talk to the Chair of the Special Education department
about finding and using a screening instrument for all students in school so that children may receive
the appropriate intervention earlier.