Saturday, October 24, 2020

Manitoba Education's SSP Handbook Needs An Upgrade

Manitoba Education's SSP Handbook 

Manitoba Education's SSP (Student-Specific Plan) Handbook leaves much to be desired.  The biggest issue is the lack of specific, concrete direction for school staff when implementing the goals outlined in a student's IEP or SSP.  If a school staff member has never written an SSP before, they unfortunately will not find much help in Manitoba Education's handbook.  

The biggest issue is that the Handbook outlines how to write S.M.A.R.T. goals for the student, but says very little about accountability and direction for staff in terms of supporting the student to achieve those goals.  Goals will not be effective if there are not concrete steps that the school staff will take in order to meet the student's needs, and then concrete steps that the school staff and student will take together in order to achieve the goals outlined in the SSP.  That portion is missing from the Handbook, and without inclusion of those concrete steps, the SSP is of very little use to staff or the student.  

Highlighting and emphasis in coloured text added by ADHD 2e Pro

Here is what is included in the current Handbook:

(Not-so) “SMART” SSOs (Student-Specific Objectives) 

Specific: written in clear, unambiguous language

Measurable: allow student achievement to be described, assessed, and evaluated

Achievable: realistic for the student

Relevant: meaningful for the student

Time-related: able to be accomplished within a specific time period, typically one school year


Here is what must be included in order for those "smart" goals to be of any use:

(Student-Centered) S.M.A.R.T SSOs

Specific: written in clear, unambiguous language

Specific, concrete direction for the staff regarding what works best for this individual student and what school staff roles will be in helping to meet the student’s needs.  

Oftentimes these goals are written with what the school wishes the student would/could do, rather than what would be in the student's best interest, and that is not okay. 

Measurable: allow student achievement to be described, assessed, and evaluated


Yes, we need to be able to measure whether the accommodations and supports are achieving their desired outcome, which should be to meet the student’s needs and help the student to achieve their goals.  

However, the pressure should not be on the school staff, nor on the student, to perform for standardized testing or assessments.  The focus must, first and foremost, be on meeting the student’s needs, regardless of what that looks like on an evaluation.  

If the student's needs are not being met, then their goals are useless, and cannot realistically be achieved.  

To be clear: the primary purpose of the SSP is to outline what supports a student needs in order to be on a level playing field with their peers, not what goals the student should meet in order to make life easier for school staff.  

Achievable: realistic for the student

An SSP should also have supports and accommodations that are realistic for the staff to provide as well.  If an accommodation is required and staff do not know how to meet this need, then they are obligated to seek support from their division.  Accommodations for students' disabilities are not optional, and if the school or division lacks the resources to provide them, then it is their obligation to apply for funding from the province in order to meet the student's need.  

Relevant:         meaningful for the student

This point is incredibly important.  We will not get buy-in from the student if they don’t care about their goals, and if they are not involved in the process of creating their own goals.  In whatever way is developmentally appropriate, the student should be consulted and have input into their SSP.  They should be given an opportunity to express their wishes, and describe how they feel they can be best supported at school.  

Time-related: able to be accomplished within a specific time period, typically one school year


SSP goals should be short-term as well as long-term.  If there is a goal for the end of the school year, then smaller, achievable goals, should be made for the interim in order to help the student progress toward that year-end goal.  If you have a year-end goal in September, then that goal is too broad, and it needs to be broken up into smaller steps that can be re-visited quarterly.  Ideally, the SSP team is meeting each term, but also communicating very regularly, almost daily if needed.  This daily communication can be in the form of a staff log/communication book or short emails, but they team needs to collaborate and keep everybody up to date.  

The most glaringly inadequate portion of Manitoba Education's SSP Handbook is reference to staff roles and responsibilities when it comes to supporting the student and meeting the student's needs.  In particular when supporting younger students with SSPs, there needs to be increased focus on what school staff will do in order to support the student to meet their goals.  

This is their current framework for developing SSOs: 


This is what it should look like (with an example included): 


Manitoba Education's Roles and Responsibilities for Staff focus primarily on the tasks involved in actually writing the SSP and evaluating the goals, not on how the staff will actually implement the steps outlined within, nor on how they will specifically support the student along the way: 


That is a huge oversight, and one that can make the difference between an SSP that will actually help the student succeed, and an SSP that wastes a whole lot of time and paper. 

One document that is potentially quite helpful is the Parent Handout (appendix F), yet I've never seen it actually given to a parent (I made just a couple of notes that I feel are important to include - click the image to go to our website and download your own PDF copy): 


Schools should be required to provide this to each and every parent and caregiver that will be attending their first SSP/IEP meeting.  There should also be a student and parent "bill of rights" that every family receives.  Currently there isn't adequate legislation in Manitoba regarding the rights of students with disabilities, which I discussed in my last blog post.  

If you need assistance advocating for your child, please do not hesitate to contact us.  


About the Author

Jillian is an ADHD 2e Coach and Child Advocate in Manitoba, Canada.

Jillian has a diploma in Child & Youth Work and a Degree in Psychology, as well as being the parent of an amazing 2e/ADHD child.

Visit ADHDPro.ca and Facebook.com/ADHD2ePro to learn more.

If you need help educating your child's school, your family, or with general ADHD coaching or advocacy, please feel free to contact us.  


Monday, October 19, 2020

We. Need. Legislation.

We Need Legislation.  

Manitoba needs formal special needs education legislation to protect our children and all vulnerable students, and to hold schools accountable for following individualized plans and for providing required accommodations.  Like, yesterday.  

I will try not to let this blog post turn into a rant, but I do hope you'll forgive me if I do have a little soap box under my feet today.  

In the U.S., they have a law called I.D.E.A. that is intended to do just that.  Attorney Andrew Lee explained it better than I could in an article on Understood.org.  

In short, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act is a law that makes available a free appropriate public education (FAPE) to eligible children with disabilities throughout the United States and ensures special education and related services to those children.

Under this law, there are certain protections for students with disabilities, and safeguards in place to compel schools to follow individualized education plans (IEPs). 

Because education is a provincial responsibility, the procedures and regulations can differ from one Canadian province to another.  For example, Ontario recognizes IEPs as legal working documents.  



Meanwhile, in Manitoba... 

Manitoba?  Does not.  

Source: https://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/specedu/iep

Here in Manitoba parents just have to cross their fingers and hope the school will follow their child's individualized plan.  If the school does not, parents and caregivers have to do all of the leg work themselves: making phone calls, requesting meetings, advocating for their child, begging and pleading.  Some families also have to pay for independent professional assessments, professional supports, or professional advocates out of their own pockets.  There is no teeth to these documents, and little recourse for families if their child's school refuses to follow the student's IEP/SSP.

And all of that leg work?  That can only happen when families actually know and understand what an IEP/SSP is intended for, only for families who have the resources to educate themselves, and only for families who have the time and resources to dedicate to advocating for their child.  If not, the child is the one who suffers.  It can be more than a full-time job just advocating and supporting a child with a disability, even if they are in school full-time, if the school isn't following their IEP.  Attending meetings, writing emails, making phone calls, attending appointments and consulting with outside professionals...  If the parent is a single-parent, or both parents work outside of the home, or other personal circumstances don't allow them the time or financial resources to do all of this, then it's left up to the school to do what they feel is best.  Unfortunately this is often what is best for the school instead of what is best for the student.  

I don't mean that school staff don't care or want to do their absolute best for their students.  Most absolutely do, and many are as frustrated as we are.  Unfortunately resources and funding to schools are so poor that if no one is really pushing them to find a way, then they will end up putting their institutional needs first.  There unfortunately remain some administrators and educators with archaic ideas about how students should behave and how behavioural challenges should be dealt with, which creates yet another layer of difficulty for the students and their families. 

Given all this, we need legislation.  We need Canada-wide legislation that holds administrators accountable equally across the country, that holds schools accountable for following independent plans, and for providing appropriate accommodations.  Too many children are falling through the cracks because their parents don't have the resources to fight for them and because our public schools are so under-funded that the schools don't have the proper resources to provide for the needs of their students.  

To learn more about how schools are funded in Manitoba, visit Manitoba's Ministry of Education website.  

Click here to learn more about the (inadequate) laws that govern Education in Manitoba.  These laws are incredibly general, and quotes from the Charter of Human Rights, which "guarantees all Canadians equality before and under the law, the right to equal protection and benefit before and under the law, and the right to equal protection and benefit of the law without discrimination, in particular, without discrimination based on race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age or mental or physical disability”.  That's it.

The only specific rights afforded to students with disabilities by law are through the Appropriate Educational Programming Regulation, which is 15 years old (2005), which states that a principal must do the following: 

  • Ensure the IEP is prepared with the assistance of the pupil's teacher and other in-school personnel, as directed by the principal;
  • The IEP must take into account a pupil's behavioural or health care needs, if any;
  • The IEP must be updated annually or sooner if required by a change in a pupil's behaviour or needs
  • Ensure that the pupil's parents, and the pupil if appropriate, are given opportunity to participate in preparing and updating the pupil's plan.

That's it.  If a principal is choosing a path that clinicians, parents, or the student disagree with, the principal can move forward with the plan so long as it meets the above requirements.  There is little protection for the student, and no significant way to hold anyone accountable if they are not following the plan.  

That said, there are steps that parents can take.  Please click here to read our blog post with recommendations and suggestions for effectively advocating for children in school.  

There are Student Services Information for Parents posted on the Manitoba Education website as well, which again makes very broad and general statements such as "all students want to feel they belong and are value", but nothing specific and concrete for parents to turn to when needed.  

Another way you can advocate for your child, and all students with disabilities, is to make your --and their-- voices heard.  Share your experiences with those who have the ability to change policy and provide training, connect with other families so that you can join together and know you are not alone.  

Currently the Family Advocacy Network of Manitoba is asking for families with school-aged children in Manitoba to fill in a very short survey describing their back-to-school experiences during the Coronavirus pandemic.  Please share your experiences, the more we speak up, the better we can effect change. 

Teachers are doing the best they can

I want to make clear that I do not fault the teachers for large, systemic issues with our education system.  Most teachers just want to go to school and teach children.  They want to help their students grow and achieve.  Most teachers are doing the absolute best they can with incredibly inadequate resources.

It often takes many families pushing for change over many years to get administrators  ministers, and other politicians to take notice.  We have to keep bringing these issues to their attention and show them how important these issues are to Manitoba families.  The greater the number of parents that are speaking up, the louder our voices will become.  

If you need help advocating for your child at school, please feel free to contact us.  We can help you understand yours and your child's rights and help you collaborate with your school team to develop a child-centred plan that is supportive, positive, practical, and realistic.  


You can also find us on Facebook 



About the Author

Jillian is an ADHD 2e Coach and Child Advocate in Manitoba, Canada.

Jillian has a diploma in Child & Youth Work and a Degree in Psychology, as well as being the parent of an amazing 2e/ADHD child.

Visit ADHDPro.ca and Facebook.com/ADHD2ePro to learn more.


If you need help educating your child's school, your family, or with general ADHD coaching or advocacy, please feel free to contact us.  



Saturday, October 10, 2020

ADHD Awareness & Education


3 Facts Everyone Should Know About ADHD 


It's #ADHDAwarenessMonth, so we thought we should share the top 3 basic facts we wished people understood about #ADHD, with help from an expert, Dr. Russell Barkley.  

1.  Yes, ADHD IS a legitimate Disability.  

Don't ever let anyone tell you otherwise.  

ADHD has nothing to do with having too much sugar, too much screen time, or not enough discipline.  Some ill-informed (or uneducated) people try to brush it off as "he just needs more exercise".  No.  An ADHD brain is wired differently from other brains, and a sugar-free, gluten-free, screen-free diet is never going to change that.  

    ADHD is a chronic (meaning life-long), developmental disability. 

Dr. Russell Barkley explains it better than we can 

(YouTube video below, or tap here on mobile): 


Note:  Dr. Russell Barkley has some very strong opinions on ADHD.  Being a psychiatrist, he focuses on the medical model, which can sometimes come across as quite pessimistic.  Please take what you need from the information he presents and leave the rest.  Dr. Barkley has such a wealth of information about ADHD, it's worth sitting through a few statements that you may find disagreeable.  

An ADHD brain is wired differently from other brains.
No sugar-free, gluten-free, screen-free diet is ever going to change that.  

2.  "Attention Deficit" is a misnomer 

    (in other words, it's a stupid name, and Dr. Russell Barkley agrees with me)

(YouTube video below, or tap here on mobile)

 


3.  ADHD is a disorder of regulation, and it is NOT a deficit in knowledge.  

ADHD is difficulty with emotional regulation, physical regulation, and attentional regulation.

(YouTube video below, or tap here on mobile): 


ADHD is an incredibly complex disorder that is too often oversimplified as "trouble sitting still" or "difficulty paying attention".  To learn more click here for a more in-depth blog post called 7 Ways ADHD is Misunderstood.  

ADHD impacts so many aspects of peoples' lives and the fact that ADHD is stigmatized and misunderstood makes life that much more difficult for those who have it.  


About the Author

Jillian is an ADHD 2e Coach and Child Advocate in Manitoba, Canada.

Jillian has a diploma in Child & Youth Work and a Degree in Psychology, as well as being the parent of an amazing 2e/ADHD child.

Visit ADHDPro.ca and Facebook.com/ADHD2ePro to learn more.


If you need help educating your child's school, your family, or with general ADHD coaching or advocacy, please feel free to contact us.  










Dr. Alan Lagimodiere, the PC's new Indigenous Reconciliation and Northern Relations Minister

This was a rough draft in preparation for a full blog post.  Please read the full article here .   Manitoba’s New Indigenous Reconciliation...