Within the school system, the current trend is to include students with intellectual disabilities in the general classroom. This especially applies to those with mild disabilities, but an increasing number of children with moderate or severe intellectual disabilities are being included as well. While this reflects a dramatic change away from segregated classrooms, students identified as intellectually disabled are still often educated in separate settings. 40% of children with intellectual disabilities are still in self contained or segregated schools.
The majority of general classroom options are at the elementary level. A student's success depends on a number of factors that include his or her age, support services available, curriculum adaptations and modifications, acceptance by the other students, the classrooms teacher's experience with and exposure to children who are exceptional, and the availability of community resources.
Examples of accommodations:
-Teach in small groups to allow practice and feedback Groups should be kept to 2-4 students
-Use Computer Assisted Instruction (CAI), which is proven to be particularly effective for children with intellectual disabilities
Examples of Material accommodations:
-Highlight textbooks
-Provide supplementary content written in a lower level than that of the textbook
-Provide outlines for the chapters and, for older students, any lecture presentations
-Teach textbook structure (ie: headings, subheadings, differing print, introductory and summary paragraphs)
Examples of instructional adaptations:
-Be honest but liberal with praise and offer consistent reinforcements
-Use specific, evaluative feedback.(ie:"I like the way you formed your letters" instead of "Good work.")
-Use many instructional scaffolds
-Increase motivation by using thematic projects that allow children to pursue their interests and be active participants
-Reward effort rather than ability
-Promote transfer of learning by applying learning to other situations, objects, and problems in the learner's environment.
-Present tasks in an uncomplicated, brief, and sequential fashion moving from the simple to the more complex.
-Ensure mastery of new material through repetition and over-learning.
-Drill to overcome memory problems, and have students practice math and reading in a variety of ways with a variety of materials.
-Stop and activity a few minutes in and have the student tell or write about what they've learned, any item that confuses them, any questions they may have.
-Teach specific learning strategies.
-Read to the class to provide pacing and ensure better understanding.
-Start a dialogue by summarizing, generating questions, clarifying, and predicting what will happen next.
Information from:
Winzer, Margret. Children with Exceptionalities in Canadian Classrooms. Toronto: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2008. Print.
I really like how it says reward effort rather than ability......I think every child who is rewarded on effort can exceed in a classroom.
ReplyDeleteA positive attitude,patience are so important when working with any child. It is important to remember that what works on one child may not work with an other .You have to find the right teaching strategies for the child to succeed.
ReplyDeleteI too like how it says to reward effort, I've seen first hand in the classroom how this brings up the effort of all children, not only ones with Intellectual disabilities. Children, like all people, like to know when their efforts are noticed!
ReplyDeleteWhen working with a child who has a intellectual disabilty, patience is a virtue. Each child is their own individual and each child has their own goals. With the proper help and support within the classroom setting (sensory tools/reward systems) and of course with the help provided by an EA, they should succeed to best of their abilities and achieve their goals.
ReplyDeleteSome of the instructional adaptations apply well to human management in general. How many of us have had manager who didn't provide specific, evaluative feedback? I also really like instructional scaffolding as it is a great way to learn. I've been working on improving my abilities here, execeptionality or not, it just seems to work as a teaching method.
ReplyDeleteI am excited by the use of technology in the classroom to assist the students with intellectual disabilities (as well as other disabilities). I have been in the classroom where students who usually struggle and get frustrated while working on their math, excel and actually engage when doing their work on the smart board or classroom comupter. Now this was in an elementary setting but I would have to think that it would be beneficial for all students. It seemed to be very stimulating and really kept the student's attention.
ReplyDeleteI have a cousin who is autistic and non-verbal, and he has really benefitted from having access to technology. By simply pressing a button on his tablet-like computer, he is able to tell those around him what he wants. The computer reads his selection out loud, and there is no longer any guessing at what he needs to make him happy!
ReplyDeleteMy daughter has come such a long way with the use of technology in the classroom. It makes it fun for these kids and really helps them to learn better. It has really helped her come along way in her math skills.
ReplyDeleteI think the best way to get kids engaged, disability or not, is to keep them interested. Modifying simple tasks to better suit 'today's generation' can benefit all children.
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