Misunderstandings of and negative attitudes towards individuals with disabilities is common in school and society. Types of interventions are common to improve children’s knowledge of others with disbilities. Some of them are, awareness and knowledge transmission programs, empathy-related experiences, and puppet plays. One intervention, the Kids on the Block (KOB) puppets is a common intervention for students. KOB is used to promote positive knowledge and rule out common misconceptions of individuals with disabilities. They use life size puppets of children with and without disabilities. The results following the KOB presentations has had mixed results. This article covered two studies done to see the differences and changes in knowledge and
The Block Institute of New York supplies services for individuals with developmental disabilities as well as services for their families. The team working for The Block Institute consists of; Special Education teachers, Psychologists, Physical Therapists and Speech Therapists. This institute provides children’s services with special needs ranging from three to eleven years old. Extensive evaluations and services are provided through The Block Institute, which include; Physicals, Psychiatry/ Medication Management, Psychotherapy, Psychosexuality Counseling, Cogitative Behavioral Therapy, Occupational and Physical Therapy, Speech and Language Pathology, twelve and twenty four Week Intensive Nutritional Counseling, Comprehensive Evaluations
There comes a time in every child’s life when they become aware of who they are and question their place in the world, this is no different for a child with a disability. Most important is that every child has a safe environment to be able to express themselves without receiving judgement from adults.
Demonstrating DAP, the teacher has established a warm and friendly environment often referring to the students as “friends,” and encouraging students to high-five their neighbor (Copple & Bredekamp, 2009). The educator in this classroom was intentional about including in the learning experience a child with special needs. She asked the student if he wanted to stand or have her
In ninth grade, my mother suggested that I volunteer with peers at my high school who are special needs. She thought it would be good for me to meet other people my age who have their unique struggles in school, much like myself. I protested originally, but little did I know I would love volunteering with my peers, regardless of their disability. During this time, I signed up to volunteer with a local organization called Buddy Ball. At Buddy Ball, I had the opportunity to teach children with disabilities ages five through twenty-one baseball. When I volunteered with my peers, I mainly saw high schoolers with severe autism, intellectual disabilities, and emotional disturbances, whereas with Buddy Ball most of the participants had severe autism, intellectual disability, muscular dystrophy, cerebral palsy, spina bifida, epilepsy, or a multiple of disabilities. Both of these experiences allowed me to gain knowledge of a variety of special
The education of students with disabilities in school’s today is being shaped by two laws: the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA) and the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) which is also known as the No Child Left Behind Act (McLaughlin, 2010). These laws were enacted to protect students with disabilities against inequity due to their disabilities, and allows for accommodations to their daily class curriculum. In the video Equity Focused School Counseling, Stuart Chen-Hayes discusses with administration his concerns that students with disabilities have come in discussing the same issues and wondered if he could teach these students as a group. Group therapy allows for a safe and confidential environment where members can work on problems they are facing as well as hearing different perspectives. Group members can enhance their self-awareness that can lead to relationship building. Social competence is a critical ingredient to emotional and physical well being in high school (Gysbers, 2009). Although, individual
It is extremely important for teachers as well as other adults to use strength-based language when talking to or referring to children with disabilities. Strength-based language or people first language is a positive approach that emphasizes a person before their disability. This is important to use because the way we refer or talk about someone significantly influences the images and attitude we for create about them. Which can leave either a positive or negative impression for others. Sadly, sometimes an individual’s diagnosis or disability is used to define them. For example, some people might say “oh, that’s the boy whose autistic”. Instead, you should say “that boy has autism or has been diagnosed with autism”. When identifying a person
Over the course of this semester, I have come to the realization that above all, students with disabilities need to be treated with the respect and dignity that one would give any other child. This is why it is important to talk to and about people that have disabilities with “people first” language (Evans, Civil Rights Final Day, 9.17.16). This stems from the idea that a perceived disability is just one of a person’s many attributes. Students with disabilities are people that have individual abilities, interests, and needs. By using “people first” language, one emphasizes the importance of the individual over their diagnosed disability. According to The Arc, an organization that advocates for people with disabilities, “the language in a society used to refer to persons with disabilities shapes its beliefs and ideas about them” (The Arc, 2016). Using “people first” language not only ensures the person in question knows that they are valued, but it also helps set a precedent for the perception of people with disabilities in one’s environment. It also gives the student the opportunity to define his/herself, instead of being identified solely with their disability (The Arc, 2016).
Literature ranged in publication date from 1997 to 2010. This extends beyond the recommended timeframe of five years. Articles that were older than five years were noted to be qualitative and according to Burns & Grove (2011) this is an appropriate exception to the recommended timeframe. The literature effectively identified the gaps in knowledge that provided a basis for the study.
Two researched based journal articles offer therapy techniques which benefit students with intellectual disabilities. The first article, describes a functional curriculum which aims in strengthening practical skills students with ID need to become independent in society such as shopping, cooking, directions, and ordering food (TEXTBOOK). During the therapy session with the two young girls, the SLP went over map reading and how to understand directions. According to the SLP, the exercise was aimed to assist the two students in case they were ever lost and needed to follow directions on a map. Unfortunately, those who have intellectual disabilities have difficulty with obtaining employment, adjusting to their life post schooling, and living independently. Thus, including these functional techniques in middle school can help them effectively transition into adult life. The second technique known as instructive feedback can teach students with intellectual disabilities more information about a target topic (TEXTBOOK). An example of instructive feedback begins with a student reading the word “directions,” the teacher gives positive verbal reinforcement and then adds information to the word stating, “if you get lost you can ask for directions from a map to find your way home.” According to ------, studies have shown that instructive feedback helps students with ID learn additional information without overlooking target information (Olivia Loughery, T., Betz, A. M., Majdalany, L. M., & Nicholson, K. (2014). Using instructive feedback to teach category names to children with autism. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 45, 425–430.) As teachers, displaying positive reinforcement and instructive feedback helps all students with embedding categories and relationships in their stored
Everyone has their own set of strengths and weaknesses. Those with disabilities are no different they just have a different set then everyone else. I chose this project topic because in 5th and 6th grade I was part of a program called Peer Pals. Once a week during recess I volunteered in a special needs classroom. This work opened my eyes to the world of special needs and Peer Pals is one of the things I miss about elementary school. I realized that I needed to continue helping the special needs community. No solutions presented themselves and then one day the solution stared me in the face from it’s home in the Reston Community Center Program Guide. “Volunteer at the Adapted Aquatics Class,” I had found a solution to my problem.
The modern classroom has many challenges that face it. Shrinking budgets, less parental involvement, higher expectations, and growing class sizes, just to name a few. If this list was not daunting enough you also have the special needs students that have an array problems in your classroom that need specialized attention, lessons and seating. There are many forms of diverse learners from students who suffer from ADHD to physical disabilities to students with autism to ones that are bullied in school. There are so many things going on in our students lives we sometimes forget they have lives, pressures and disabilities that affect their performance and attitude in our class that have a profound impact on how they learn. For this paper I
The idea of children with disabilities, whether they be mild or severe has been a very controversial and misunderstood topic. In the past inclusion has brought about huge changes for not only the students, but also the parents and families of these children, and staff at schools. Teachers and education professionals were the first to really feel the wrath and intimidation of this dramatic shift in education. There were several different factors that were coming about that made it very difficult for schools and teachers, the unorganized mandates were strict and didn’t allow much time for change. “President Gerald Ford signed the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EAHCA) into law in 1975. Since the original passage of the EAHCA, the law has been amended four times and renamed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)” (Conroy, Yell, Katsiyannis, & Collins, 2010, para.1).
According to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, students with disabilities should be placed in a “least restrictive environment.” One of the main ideas of this act was to improve the learning experiences of students with disabilities by giving them learning opportunities outside of a special education classroom. The number of students with disabilities being placed in their general education classrooms is increasing more and more each year. The U.S Department of Education’s 27th annual report to Congress on the implementation of The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (2005) indicates that the number of students with disabilities in general education classrooms has risen to almost 50 percent. This is about a 17 percent increase from the 1997 U.S
Children with special needs are slightly different from non-disabled kids, but they’re should not be a barrier between non-disabled children and children with disabilities. Special needs covers a wide range. Some children with physical disabilities use wheelchair, or cane while other children with learning disabilities such as, autism, or emotional disorder. Children with special needs are like all children they want to make friends. Non-disability children want respect, love, good education and job of their dream. Children with special needs can do the same things non-disabled kid do, but it can take them longer. It requires additional explanation or attention. Parents of children with special needs usually feel isolated and uncertain about their child 's future. Schools can help them find support that children are not alone and help is available. Teachers should meet with parents in order to get to know the children better, the specific of their children. Special teachers may come into the class to work one-on-one with the student, for individualized attention. Change begins with an honest examination of understandings, knowledge and belief. Children with special needs should spend more time with non-disabled kids. Children with special needs should study more at public school to learn from
One of the most controversial issues facing educators today is the topic of educating students with disabilities, specifically through the concept of inclusion. Inclusion is defined as having every student be a part of the classroom all working together no matter if the child has a learning disability or not (Farmer) (Inclusion: Where We’ve Been.., 2005, para. 5). The mentally retarded population has both a low IQ and the inability to perform everyday functions. Activities such as eating, dressing, walking, and in some cases, talking can be hopeless for a child with mental retardation.