Wheelchair Etiquette
- Touching a person’s wheelchair is almost always acceptable-false.
- Make sure not to reach out your hand to shake the person’s hand; they may have physical limitations-false.
- Rarely speak to the person in the wheelchair; focus on the person assisting him or her-false.
- Never use expression such as “Let’s go for a walk”- true.
- Pat the person on his or her head; it is a sign of affection- false.
- Do not sit down when talking to a person in a wheelchair-false.
Strategies for Teaching Students with Multiple Disabilities
The strategy for teaching disabled students is more involving and calls for careful planning and offering adequate support. Tobin (2005) indicates that teaching strategies for students with multiple disabilities are unique since a teacher may be required to handle students who may be having limited problem solving skills, poor impulse control, low attention span and minimal social interaction skills.
As such, teaching them entails independent presentation of materials, provision of positive reinforcement, following every detail and repeating directions frequently as opposed to normal classroom teaching. Besides, as noted in the videos, it involves provision of short manageable tasks and use of peer tutoring and study skills support.
What strategies and supports do you see being used in these videos?
The videos present ideas on how to employ effective teaching strategies and support when teaching students with disabilities. It is critical for a teacher to use correct teaching programs designed for special students. One such program as indicated in the video directed by Heward (2009) is the fast forward system which consists of a computer based educational software resource that is meant to enhance better cognitive ability of students.
The program has been designed in a way that it employs computer generated voices and sounds intended to strengthen memory skills, enhance sequencing and rate of processing as well as the needed attention. In the video Small Group instructions, the tutor is using a computer based educational program as a teaching tool to create understanding of various environmental factors among the students. Carter et al (2009) point out that most of strategies and support given to disabled students have taken a highly computerized.
In his publication, Neal (2007) indicates that another mostly employed program is the teaching enrichment method for students with multiple disabilities. Under this method, teachers employ supportive considerations such as objects of different shapes and sizes as well as pictures that are much easier for students to interpret and grasp. To ensure that children are able to develop necessary reading skills, the tutor in the video applies the use of the teaching enrichment aspects like objects and Braille which result i to great learning efficacy. Besides, the individuals involved in teaching the disabled are using locally understood components like a beach ball, toothbrush and so on for the different learning practices..
Another strategy used by the teachers in the video is direct contact with the students. The ability of the students with hearing and sight disabilities to effectively learn is mostly realized when teachers have direct contact with them. Through direct contact, their teachers are able to slip objects of learning in their hands, guide and help them communicate with the help of teaching aids.
How do you think these strategies help students?
Direct contact, use of computer software and teaching aids are some of the valuable strategies and ways of offering support to disabled learners employed. Through the aforementioned methods, students are able to feel, observe or repeat what they see or hear. It is believed that with time, learners with disability are able to relate to the various objects, sounds and processes, imitate actions and use them to communicate. Direct contact plays an important role of ensuring that a closely coordinated learning is carried out to increase conceptual input. The latter aids learners to continuously improve their language development.
As Tobin (2005) explains, development of concepts via direct communication and contact is critical for the learning of disabled students as it enables them to make sense of the surrounding world. In directly communicating with students and guiding them, provision of tactile, audio, large print and brail are important for building up learning concepts. Support is therefore critical for evaluation and redirecting the child to ensure effectiveness and consistency. Besides, it entails providing the necessary examples that the child is expected to follow.
Planning for transition and role of Paraprofessionals
One of the roles of paraprofessionals is supervision (Carter et al., 2009). This is one of the key roles performed on both special and general students in an inclusive classroom. It is worth mentioning that paraprofessionals are important in a classroom to provide teachers with required support. This is normally given during a lesson. A teacher would continue with the process of teaching while the paraprofessional provides supervision and additional resources. Carter et al (2009) point out that this role can also be extended beyond assisting teachers in classrooms to aiding students in transitions between classrooms, controlling assemblies and being with students during a lunch break.
Besides, paraprofessionals also play the role of providing instructions to students and student groups. This depends on the various needs that students have. It is imperative to note that unlike teachers whose roles focus on teaching on a daily basis, paraprofessionals have the responsibility of monitoring and designing instructions. Besides, paraprofessionals check what each student is endowed with in terms of an individual education plan (IEP) and provide assistance in meeting their (students) goals.
In addition, paraprofessionals have the duty of collecting data which along with instructions and support, aid students in accomplishing their learning goals. This role accompanies that of a teacher who first organizes the system of data collection and the classroom setting. Depending on the work given to a student, a paraprofessional will collect data through various techniques like asking questions and observations.
Arguably, majority of the mental disorders that students suffer from have direct connection with the background of a family or a community. By involving all the stakeholders, it becomes easier to address the problem holistically. Neal (2007) observes that by involving the parents, it becomes possible to address the problem from the main cause, offer extensive encouragements, and infer greater supervision on the progress. This reduces the overall burden for the teacher and therefore makes it easier to further offer specific students with more support.
According to Tobin (2005), planning with the disabled in communities is essential since it brings out the necessary balance and derives a sense of democracy. The stereotypic consideration that people with disabilities cannot effectively contribute to development is indeed an understatement. Through planning with the disabled in community, it becomes possible to identify their actual needs that facilitate effective operations and therefore greater productivity. In their view, Browder et al (2008) explain that by involving the disabled community in planning, addressing the priorities and empowering them in the best mode possible is critical in promoting their independence.
References
Browder, D. M., Spooner, F., Ahlgrim-Delzell, L., Harris, A. A., & Wakeman, S. (2008). A meta-analysis on teaching mathematics to students with significant cognitive disabilities. Exceptional Children, 74(4), 407-432.
Carter, E., ORourke, L., Sisco, L. G., & Pelsue, D. (2009). Knowledge, responsibilities, and training needs of paraprofessionals in elementary and secondary schools. Remedial and Special Education, 30(6), 344-359.
Heward, W. (2009). Small Group instructions: students with deaf blindness. Web.
Neal, J. D. (2007). Teaching word recognition: Effective strategies for students with learning disabilities. Choice, 44(11), 1959-1959.
Tobin, R. (2005). Co-teaching in language arts: Supporting students with learning disabilities. Canadian Journal of Education, 28(4), 784-801.