Q: How old was Garth when he was diagnosed?
A: Garth was pretty young when we
started noticing some differences between him and some of our older kids, but
when he was in about 1st grade he was diagnosed.
Q: How would you describe his disability?
A: Originally Garth’s disability
was called mental retardation but now it is considered a mental disability,
which just sounds so much better! But the biggest part of his disability is
that while he is 25 he is mentally about 6 years old. This affects him in many
ways such as his social skills, and his skills in schooling, he had a hard time
sitting still for so long in middle and high school.
Q: Did Garth have an IEP in school?
A: Yes, once Garth was diagnosed an
IEP plan was developed to help him to be more successful, and it did help him
to be more successful. With the IEP he was also given a BIP.
Q: Did Garth receive any services?
A: Garth received some services
mostly in elementary school and then they became less necessary as he moved
through school. When he was first diagnosed he was receiving some speech
therapy and behavioral therapy, the speech therapy wasn’t necessary but it did
help. The behavioral therapy made a huge impact on him in school and at home.
Q: If so, do you remember what some of the accommodations
were?
A: Garth had many accommodations
including and aid with him when he was in a general education classroom, but
mostly he spent most of him time in the special education class room. When he
was doing work he generally had different standards to meet then the other kids
in the school.
Q: Did he have any modifications? If so, what were they?
A: Garth’s main modifications were
when it came to testing, like standardized tests, he hated the tests so much
and became so stressed that we had to talk to the school district so he could
stop taking them. His teachers were very helpful and helped us to come up with
other ways to track his progress.
Q: Did Garth graduate from high school with a degree?
A: Garth graduated from high school
with a modified degree, he was able to stay in high school until he was 21 and
then was able to walk with his peers. That was very exciting for him, he felt
like he was just another high schooler!
Q: How did he get his job after he graduated?
A: Garth got his job through the
school; we worked on transition plans for a long time trying to find the right
job for him to do, luckily we found the right job for him right before he was
going to graduate and then he started the job a couple weeks after graduation. He
also got this job through a work program that the school helped us set up.
Q: Does he have a 504 or accommodation plan?
A: Garth does have 504 Plan, the
school helped us set it up with the work plan thing.
Q: What are some of the accommodations that he receives?
A: Garth received a few
accommodations at work though his plan, he has things like extra time to get
certain jobs done, he has a buddy that can help him if he needs it and he sometimes
gets a longer break. The place he works is so great and even has a reward
system set up for him because they heard that it helped him in school.
Q: Would Garth be considered successful in his job?
A: Originally Garth had a really
hard time doing his job and going to work to begin with but it has gotten a lot
easier for him, he doesn’t need as much help doing his tasks anymore and he is
getting faster. So yes, I would consider
him successful now.
Q: Does Garth enjoy his job?
A: Garth really doesn’t like to
actually go to work but he has gotten better about going, I also think he likes
it because it helps to fill his day and he gets to interact with so many people
when he works.
Q: Anything else that we should know about Garth?
A: Garth is so great and loving to
everyone, he simply wants everyone to be his friend. While he has these
disabilities he still loves life and the people that come along with it!
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