6/15/2017
Topic:
Students with Disabilities
Robert Stubbs
|
I have taught many students with disabilities. One student in particular who I have taught was a student with Intellectual Disability, Language Impairment and Speech Impairment who was in a percussion class. He was born with Cerebral Palsy and had a right-sided hemiparesis which significantly affected fine motor movement in his hand. His left-side was relatively unaffected by the Cerebral Palsy. His speech was minimal and mostly unintelligible. He used alternate means of communication other than speech such as gestures, facial expressions and, occasionally, a communication device. His instruction was modified to allow him to play percussion instruments with his stronger hand and to participate by using simple, more predicable rhythms such as a downbeat pattern. Instructions or directions for learning rhythms were broken down into smaller steps for better comprehension. A peer buddy was also used to assist with prompting as needed. |
6/19/2017
Topic:
Tools and Strategies
Robert Stubbs
|
Option 2:
A student was essentially non-verbal and could only approximate saying less than 5 words such as “yes” and “no”. Her intellectual skills were in the average range. The student used an augmentative device that produced speech to communicate. Specifically, it was an iPad with an app that had icons and a QWERTY keyboard and word prediction. She was able to state her thoughts, answer questions and give opinions with the teacher and other students. She also used a music app with vocabulary and concepts that were not necessarily found in the more general app that she used to communicate. It took some planning, persistence and patience at times, but it was so well worth it for her to be able to participate in class just as the other students. She was an amazing student and I felt privileged to be a part of education experience. |
6/19/2017
Topic:
Assessment of Learning
Robert Stubbs
|
The two assessment accommodations that could benefit a student I have in mind are 1) extra time to complete assessments and 2) directions, repeated or clarified. The student I know is eligible for the Deaf/Hard-of-Hearing and Language Impaired programs in Exceptional Student Education. He wears bilateral cochlear implants and is also a second language learner of English. He benefits from having directions repeated, restated or presented in different ways such as oral directions also provided in a written format. Once the directions are explained and confirmed the he understood, the assessment process works so much better. Obviously, with his hearing and language difficulties allowing increased up to double the time helps level the playing field for him to be assessed in class. He is a remarkable student with so many challenges to deal with. |