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Case Submitted by Crystal S. Cooper
David is a bright eight-year old student enrolled in
third grade in a public school. He has received
classroom-based speech-language services for a severe
phonological disorder and mild-moderate disfluencies
since kindergarten. His phonological disorder has
improved significantly, however, his disfluencies have
increased. During the past three months,
David has refused to answer questions in class, and on
one occasion burst into tears while presenting an oral
report in front of his class. David told his
speech-language pathologist, Ms. McCoy, that he is
embarrassed by his stuttering and that some of his
classmates laugh and tease him about his speech.
David is re-evaluated to determine his continued
eligibility for services.
Ms. McCoy recommends continued speech therapy with
classroom intervention and adds a direct pull-out
component to therapy in order to address the affective
and cognitive components of his stuttering syndrome.
David, she believes, would be embarrassed by discussing
his feelings if his classmates were present.
Ms. McCoy sends her report to her supervisor, who
distributes the report to the Eligibility Team. At the
eligibility meeting, Ms. McCoy notices that her
recommendation for pull-out therapy has been omitted.
When she raises her recommendation, her supervisor
replies "in an ideal world" the recommendation
would be accepted, but the school system has determined
that pull-out therapy is not cost-effective and is not an
option given the current financial climate. Ms. McCoy is
gently reminded that she is up for tenure review this
year.
At the Individualized Education Program (IEP) meeting,
David's parents express concern about his worsening
stuttering and its effect on his academic and social
skills. The supervisor takes the lead during the meeting
and does not inform the parents that there are other
service delivery options. Ms. McCoy signs the IEP, which
includes in-class intervention only. When asked about the
case, she replies, "I did my job by informing my
supervisor of my recommendations."
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