Dionne McGhee
Abstract
The interview assignment allowed me to use the knowledge I have gained from the readings and
assignments from this class. The assignment gave me a new perspective on students with
exceptionalities from the parents’ point of view.
INTERVIEW ASSIGNMENT
October 7, 2021
Professor Torey Pitchford
Dionne McGhee EDSP 521
Part 1: Demographics
Name of person you are interviewing: Jane
Name of individual with the disability: Donna
Describe the disability: Down syndrome Moderate IDD
Age of the individual with the disability: 27
Describe relationship between the family member and the individual with the disability: Mother
Part 2: Questionnaire Interview
Jane is a 55-year-old single mother. She is a Registered Nurse and works in the mental health
field. Jane is a devoted mother to Donna although she did not have the support of Donnas father.
Jane’s older daughter and other family and friends have been a constant support system
throughout Donna’s life. I interviewed jane at her home on a Saturday afternoon in her brightly
lit kitchen. Donna was a happy, well-adjusted young woman with disabilities that have not
hindered her in anyway. It became quite apparent that Donna was quite capable of how to
conduct herself appropriately and care for herself regardless of her limitations.
1. How did you learn that _when she was born________ has a disability?
(Who was present? Doctors was there When did this happen?)
If you were giving advice to professionals who need to explain to a parent that
his/her child has a special need, what would that advice be?
I knew the moment the Doctor looked in my eyes after he delivered her that there
was a problem. Once the nurse put Donna in my arms, I knew it was Down Syndrome
before the Doctor said a word. I remembered a neighbor I had as a child who had a child
with down syndrome, so I knew there was a certain look children born with this disability
had. I could tell Donna had that same look.
I was in my hospital room giving her first feeding when the doctor came in to give
me the diagnosis. Unfortunately, I did not have a relationship with her father and my
parents were elderly and unable to be with me. I was all alone. My mind went blank and I
remember the doctor slid beside me on the bed and put his arm around me as I began to
cry softly. I looked at him and said, “She has Downs Syndrome” The Doctor did not say
a word. He did not have to; his eyes said it all. I continued to cry, and I will forever be
grateful to that Doctor. Because at that moment he didn’t say a word. He just sat there
with me silently for at least 30 minutes. Then he began to explain her diagnosis to me and
gave me literature about the diagnosis and special services I may be able to receive.
If I were to give advice to professional’s, it would be two things: First sometimes its
better to be human than clinical. My doctor was human that day and I needed that more
than any of the other things to come from the many professionals I would come in contact
in the years to come. Second, I would explain to parents’ importance of early intervention
and early intervention is the key to their child’s success.
2. How did you feel when you received the diagnosis?
I felt so guilty; like I had done something wrong. I remember running the list in
my mind. Did you drink or smoke while pregnant? No. I didn’t smoke or drink during my
pregnancy. I knew down syndrome didn’t run in my family however I wasn’t sure about
her father’s family history. Maybe it came from him. Or maybe I was being punished for
a sin I had committed in the past. Maybe God was punishing me for something. I was
overwhelmed with guilt, and I felt so alone and like a failure.
3. Have your feelings changed since the initial diagnosis? Describe
Yes! First, I have learned none of those things caused Donna to be born with
Down Syndrome. It wasn’t my fault nor her fathers. Donna has become the blessing I
thought would be a burden in that hospital room so many years ago. She is bright,
loveable, and makes all my days brighter. She is great and I don’t know what my life
would be without her.
4. What have been the positive aspects of having a child in the family with a disability?
The joy that Donna has brought my family is the most positive aspect she has
brought to our family. Raising a child with a disability can be overwhelming at times
however Donna has taught us all how to be more patient and more understanding of one
another’s feelings. But most of all the most positive aspect is watching Donna show us
what she can achieve. Every achievement no matter how big or small is a major
milestone for Donna and the whole family is always there to cheer her on. My daughter
says all the time, “Mom Donna brings more to our lives than we could ever to hers”.
5. What have been the problems or challenges you have experienced having a child
with a disability?
The biggest challenges raising Donna with a disability for me has been the
medical problems associated with Down Syndrome. She suffers with several medical
conditions that have given Donna many challenges and it has been the most difficult
aspect as a parent to watch your child suffer. It also sends an alarm to my system every
time she has a health battle or another especially the older, she gets.
Statistically people with Down Syndrome do not live to be very old. The doctors
informed me when she was young that most people with Downs Syndrome die rather
young because of some of the medical problems they have. Every hospital stay frightens
me a little bit more however I have been so blessed to have had Donna in my life this
long. I thank the Lord every day for her.
6. How did your other children react to learning their brother/sister had a disability?
What impact has __________ had on them? (if appropriate)
Donna has a sister that is two years older than she is and was 14 years old at the
time of Donnas birth. Her sister never questioned Donna’s disability when they were
growing up. I explained to her that Donna had a disability and what it was called, and
she never inquired again. I found out later that my daughter went to school with several
children with disabilities that were included in her general ed classes. As a result of this
and her warm nature she took to Donna Day one. She absolutely adores her.
I used to worry my older daughter would feel left out or jealous of all the extra
attention I had to devote to donna. Fortunately for me my daughter devoted as much or
more attention to Donna than myself. Most importantly she became and remains Donna’s
fiercest protector and biggest cheerleader. Although she was always protective of Donna,
she never felt like her sister was limited; consequently, she created an environment for
her sister where Donna never felt limited in what she could accomplish. She loves her
sister and is always saying “Mom Donna has brought way more to our lives than we
could have ever brought to her” I love that. It makes my heart swell that she loves and
understands her sister in this manner. That’s all a mother can ask for even if the siblings
are special needs or not.
7. What kinds of support have been most helpful to you (family members, parent
groups, neighbors, other)? How would you prioritize your family needs and the
areas in which you feel that you need more assistance?
Day services have been the most helpful to my family. At this point of my life the
only area of need I would need additional support would be more time for myself. When
you have a child with special needs it is a full-time job; even when they become adults. It
can be over whelming at times and as a primary care giver at work and at home I need a
break from time to time. The Day services have been a life saver in that respect.
Donna has been attending since she was three years of age. It helped with early
intervention, addressing her individual needs and gave her a foundation for a smoother
transition to school on through adulthood until the present. In doing so it also gave me
guidelines and goals for Donna to work on at home along with what she was doing there.
This allowed a lot of what Donna was learning to be reinforced there, at home and at
school once she began going.
8. What have been your experiences in working with school personnel? What have
they done that has been most helpful? What have they done that was least helpful or
even harmful?
My biggest problem working with the school personnel is once a student has been
labeled as mentally retarded or learning disabled, they (the school personnel) limit what
they teach these students. It’s as if they have decided since they are limited intellectually
then what they learn must be limited. In so many ways this is the same mentality from
when I went to school. I have had to go to the school on too many occasions to demand
what I felt Donna should and could achieve.
I was not one of those mothers who was in denial about her disabilities however, I
was a mother who felt she should be taught to her level of understanding. I hate to say
this, but I didn’t find much in working with the school personnel that was very helpful.
Most times I was met with disdain because I questioned what I wanted for my child. I
have problem with that. I know they are the professional’s however they should be
mindful that I am the parent and I know her better than you. We just need to listen to one
another better.
9. How could the school help your child transition to adulthood?
Better written IEPs with accommodation/modifications that make sense. Students like
Donna need to have accommodations/modifications and a curriculum that will teach them
life skills along with a core curriculum however I believe the emphasis should be on being
self-sufficient. I understand the concept of inclusion and I agree with it to some degree.
However, I feel my child and other children like her would be better served learning real life
social and survival skills.
. My biggest fear is I’ll leave this world and she will not know how, nor anyone must take
care of her. I need to know Donna can achieve as much as she can to her ability that would
provide her with the knowledge and knowhow when it comes to everyday living such as :
personal hygiene, how to cook and clean a home, maintain a job, pay a bill, go to the grocery
store, etc.
Look I’m aware math, history, science, and all other general education classes have their
place. I am also aware Donna can gain knowledge and understanding of these subjects. But
self-sufficiency is the most important subject that should be taught to students like my
Donna.
10. If I were to be __________’s teacher next year, what advice would you want to give
me so that he/she has an optimal learning experience?
Patience. Please have a lot of patience and always be mindful that each child is an
individual and each disability is individual so each should be treated accordingly. But
most importantly please listen to the concerns of the parents. Some questions may sound
trivial to you but please understand you are knowledgeable of students with
exceptionalities however its different when it is your child.
Most parents would have not dealt with anyone with exceptionalities. It is all
foreign to them. You have so many fears and concerns and some like me harbor guilt. So
please keep these things in mind and always try to keep an open dialogue with parents so
you may get a better understanding of their child, their disabilities, and the goals they
wish for their children to achieve.
11. What would you want me to do/not do in terms of my interactions with you if I were
__________’s teacher?
Once again, I stress the importance of an open dialogue with the parents of your
students. I don’t mean progress reports and IEP meetings. I mean beyond that. What I
would have appreciated when Donna was in school would have been a weekly update on
her progress and what can I do at home to help her reach her goals. That way everything
is being reinforced. That’s the way it was at her day school however I didn’t get that type
of interactions once she began attending public school.
12. I am just learning about students with disabilities and how to work effectively with
them in my classroom. What other information would you like me—and my
classmates—to know about working with children with special needs?
Always remember each child is an individual and each one will learn differently. Also, when
you are dealing with students with exceptionalities each day must be dealt with individually.
Some of these students do not have the mental capacity to maintain what they have learned
previously. You may have to reintroduce the same rules and consequences several times before
there is a clear understanding of appropriate behavior.
Most importantly if they are having a bad day never ask what’s wrong. Why do you ask?
Because they may be reliving something in their minds from the past. So, you ask “What’s
happened”. Just remember you must go into their world not yours to understand them.
Part 3: Summary/ Teaching Strategies
Donna was diagnosed with Down syndrome at birth and intellectually she is moderately
IDD. Down syndrome is responsible for a genotype that may often be the responsible for mild or
moderate IDD along with several medical complications. As a result of this Special education
teachers will need to work in collaboration with the general education teachers to ensure Donna
is receiving the support, she will need to be successful in an inclusive learning environment.
In order to do this Donna will need the development of an IEP that will meet her needs
however the facilitation of a great IEP is the implementation of it. One of the main caveats of
implementation is successful teaching strategies. The best teaching strategies to achieve this is
through direct and explicit teaching. The RTI model and UDL are the best ways to achieve this.
Three of those teaching strategies could be cooperative learning, scaffolding, and differentiated
instruction.
Cooperative learning is extremely crucial for students like Donna because it can be
embedded into their daily activities with a concentration on socialization skills in a group
learning environment. “Group instruction may actually be more advantageous than one-on-one
instruction because of the economy of teacher effort, student learning how to interact with their
peers, and students learning from peers” In order to meet the individual needs of special needs
students small group instruction must be utilized (RTI Tier II). Another teacher strategy that will
ensure the success of Donna would be differentiated instruction.
Differential lessons will allow the Special education teacher in collaboration with the
general education teacher to create a plan that will vary the difficulty of the assignments to her
Donna’s level of learning that will allow her to participate in group activities along with her
peers within the general education classroom in a meaningful way that will benefit her as well.
“The one-size-fits-all teaching approach builds on the assumption that all students can be treated
in an equal way. This neglects the diverse needs of students (Fox & Hoffman, 2011;
Subban,2006) In contrast, the differentiated instruction (DI) teaching approach is expected to
consider differences between students, acknowledge their strengths and accommodate their
limitations” ( George,2005; Heacox, 2012; Subban, 2006; Tomilnson et al. 2003). To It is vital
that the Special and general education teacher work as a team for differentiated instruction to be
successful. Scaffolding is another teaching strategy that will aid in Donna being successful.
Scaffolding would be a teaching strategy for Donna and may be used in all teaching
strategies. Scaffolding is a strategy that allows the teacher to model the behavior that is expected.
This is a very important teaching strategy for students with disabilities like Donna. Moderate
IDD leads to a lack of executive function for students with disabilities like Donna leading to
being quite gullible. Their disabilities give them a lack of understanding for what appropriate or
inappropriate behavior by them is or done to them.
Therefore, Scaffolding allows the teachers to model the appropriate behavior for different
situations. “Practice at decisions making can strengthen the executive function in the
information processing model.” Strengthening the executive functioning for Donna will allow
her to gain the tools she will need to be as independent as possible. Of course, successful
teaching strategies will benefit Donna however the biggest benefit to develop these strategies
will be for the special education teacher and Donna’s Mother to have an open line of
communication and a collective understanding of reasonable goals for Donna to achieve within
her education and transition to adulthood.
Part 4 Conclusion
I have been working as a paraprofessional in special education for the last 12 years.
Unfortunately, this position does not allow me to have the same relationship with the student’s
parents as their Special and General Education teachers have. Luckily this assignment allowed
me to see the students with a new perspective through the eyes of the parent. It also revealed how
much knowledge may be gained about the student through their parents that may not be
ascertained in the classroom setting.
The knowledge you gain from the students’ parents will give me more information about
the student I may not have learned. As a result of this it will give me more insight to use in the
development of their IEP. The more information I have about the student the more knowledge I
will have to create successful teaching strategies that meet the individual needs of this student.
Most importantly parents are the foundation of the student’s success. I will always listen to the
parents because the more I listen the more I will learn about the student. Parental involvement is
vital to the success of a child with exceptionalities.
I think the most important thing we must understand as educators of children with
exceptionalities is how it has affected the parents. If we are fortunate enough, we may have
parents who have educated themselves on their children’s disabilities. They have come to terms
with the limits that may face their child and are willing to work with the teacher at whatever
capacity is needed. However, that will not always be the case for several reasons.
Some parents are full of guilt and feel as if they did something to warrant their child have
a disability. There may be parents who have unattainable goals for their child because they are in
denial. Whatever the reason what I learned the most through this assignment is the importance of
parental involvement. The teacher needs to listen to the parents on the same note parents also
need to listen teachers. Both will know the student in different ways so they both bring
something useful to the table.
Listening to one another will give the team more information to use in the development
of successful teaching strategies that will allow the general education teacher and special
education teacher to match the students’ accommodations/modifications and goals to what is
being learned in the general education classroom that will be beneficial to Donna. Of course,
differentiated instruction, scaffolding, and cooperative learning are all teaching strategies that I
would use because it would allow me to utilize the RTI model Tiers I, II, and III. Along with
being able to use the teaching strategies in each setting and incorporate it into everyday skills.
I am aware that some strategies may be successful, and some may not. There may be
strategies that work for a while but may not continue working or may no longer be needed in
some instances. The most important benefit I gained from this assignment is the importance of an
open dialogue with the students’ parents with a general respect and understanding of what they
want for their child to be successful and have a smooth transition to adulthood.
The one thing Donna’s mother said that stuck out to me the most was how frustrating IEP
meetings could be for her daughter when she wanted her to be taught certain life and social
skills. She understands that it is great for Donna to be included in the general education setting
and she wants her to be taught and learn as much as she can at her level of learning. However,
sometimes she feels the school’s system curriculum did not match what she thought would be
beneficial to Donna.
Furthermore, the curriculum should match not only her individual needs as a student
with exceptionalities but should match her needs to be self-sufficient. There were too many times
Donna’s mother did not feel heard therefore she did not feel understood. As a Special educator
and teacher to students of exceptionalities I will always bend an understanding ear to listen to my
student’s parents fears and concerns. No matter how big or small to me; if it concerns the parents
of my students then it concerns me also. I want to give my students every opportunity I can. I
believe to do this I must facilitate an environment that is conducive for the parents of my
students that will allow them to speak candidly with me about their child because at the end of
the day that is what we are all here for; To ensure their child; my student is benefitting from their
education.
References
Suprayogi, M. N., & Godwin, R. (2017). Teachers and their implemntation of differentiated
instruction in the classroom. Teaching and Teacher Education, 291-301.
Kirk, S., Gallagher, J., Coleman, M., Hardman, M., Egan, M. W., Drew, C., Gargiulo, R.,
Metcalf, D., Boyle, J., Scanlon, D., &
Landrum, J. (2020). Foundations of Exceptionality. Cengage.
