SPECIAL EDUCATION DEPARTMENT PREPARES STUDENTS FOR
COLLEGE , CAREER , LIFE
One day while he was at home , fourth-grader Dennis Le walked into the kitchen and said to his dad , “ Eat pizza .”
Dennis ’ dad had never heard him speak until then .
Dennis , who has autism , attends Anna May Daulton Elementary and has been in teacher Tiffany Cobern ’ s classroom for the past three years . Cobern has worked with Dennis on verbal communication , even creating a communications binder to help him express himself by reading the word aloud or pointing to a picture . Now , he can mostly communicate without the binder .
“ Just this year he has blossomed ,” Cobern said . Dennis now can say about 25 words . He can also write his name and copy sight words .
“ Hearing those first words from him just melted my heart ,” Cobern said .
Mansfield ISD is committed to getting students of every ability college , career , and life ready . As a result , the Special Education Department
10 MANSFIELDTODAY serves children with special needs and abilities , including students like Dennis .
“ No two students are exactly alike ,” said Ebony Harris , special education transition specialist .
The Special Education Department is a team of experts and specialists who help define what type of instruction a student may need when they meet eligibility for services . The department provides a wide range of instructional and related services from speech therapy to physical therapy to direct instructional support , just to name a few .
MISD ’ s Special Education Department serves 12.6 % of the student population and provides services to students who fall under one or more of 13 categories :
• Autism
• Deaf / hard of hearing
• Deaf-blindness
• Emotional disturbance
• Intellectual disability
• Multiple disabilities
• Noncategorical early childhood
• Orthopedic impairment
• Other health impairment
• Specific learning disability
• Speech impairment
• Traumatic brain injury
• Visual impairment
What ’ s more , the special education department may even begin serving a student before they are old enough to attend school , or well after they ’ ve walked with their peers across the stage for graduation .
Prior to Pre-K
Some students may qualify to receive services through the district beginning at age three . Per a doctor ’ s recommendation , some children qualify to receive special services that fit their needs as early as birth through Early Childhood Intervention ( ECI ) of Tarrant County , an organization separate from the district .
Then at age 3 , those children who received services from ECI could then qualify to receive services from MISD . The district ’ s special education staff determines what services these young learners would be eligible to