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Problem Solving Team Meeting-June 11, 2014

This problem solving meeting was requested by the homeroom teacher and myself (EST-
L) concerning Nathan, a kindergarten student who has been receiving literacy support in a small
group four times a week. Nathan has been experiencing academic and behavioral difficulties. He
was recently assessed by the Speech Language Pathologist, indicating a two year delay in
articulation and oral expression. Parents did not attend the 3.5 year screening or the EYE-DA
appointment. The Mother recently cancelled a meeting with the homeroom teacher and the SLP,
stating that she can understand her child just fine and does not believe there is a problem.
The primary issue is that Nathan becomes very frustrated when he is not able to do the
work at the same level as the other children. He will flee the situation or lash out at others. He is
difficult to understand and becomes upset when he is asked to repeat a phrase, letter or sound. He
is aware that he is not able to speak like the other children and will mumble to compensate.
The team decided to focus on his behavior since fleeing, hiding and hurting others is a
safety concern for both Nathan and the other children. Each team member offered one or two
suggestions during the brainstorming component of the meeting. I suggested frontloading
questions, a strategy I picked up from a recent article I read on K- 3 children with E/BD. The
teacher provides the correct response prior to the question to increase the childs chance of
answering correctly. The homeroom teacher chose three strategies to begin immediately. The
EST-G will begin social stories right away that offer alternatives to fleeing. I suggested a social
story on frustration from the website, Watson Institute that can be projected on a Smartboard for
the entire class. Nathans day will be chunked up into 3 parts, early morning to recess, recess to
lunch and lunch to dismissal with a sticker chart. Principal will acknowledge his strength in math
and record him in the Principals Good Book. The strategies already in place will continue and
everyone involved with Nathan will make a conscious effort to encourage him as he responds
very well to praise.
EST-G will begin a behavior plan in September. EST-R and the EST-L will monitor his
progress in literacy. Team members will attend the meeting with the SLP on June 17
th
to review
recommendations on how to help Nathan develop speech and literacy skills.
This meeting went very well with everyone making a contribution and each person was
assigned to follow through with one or more of the strategies. However the expectations for the
student were not as clearly defined as in the previous meeting. Consequences were not discussed
nor was an action plan devised for when Nathan does flee the classroom. I am assuming that
these concerns will be addressed in the behavior plan that will be ready in September. An ABC
chart should be included in the plan and the grade 1 teacher should be made aware of this
meeting so that he/she can continue with the identified strategies that work well for Nathan.

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