Teachers need to understand
that everyone has a different way of learning and that no two students are
exactly alike. When a teacher creates a lesson plan, they need to know the
demographics of each student and find a way to meet each student’s needs. In
order for specific needs to be met, the teacher may need to add some
accommodations, or modifications to the lesson plan. According to Texas Project First’s “Accommodations
Vs. Modifications” chart, there is a distinct difference between the two.
Instructional Accommodation and Instructional Modification both change how the
content is taught, made accessible, and/or assessed. The main difference
between the two is that “Accommodations do not change what the student is to
master. The objectives of the course activity remain intact. Modifications do
change what the student is expected to master. Course activity/objectives are
modified to meet the needs of the learner” (n.d.).
Edutopia’s
10 minute video titled “Assistive
Technology: Enabling Dreams,” (2005) featured a variety of assistive technology
tools and instruments to demonstrate how important and how much of a difference
they make in the lives of individuals with disabilities. The video showed how
motorized wheel chairs helped students get around, how a technologically
modified instrument helped another student play in his school band, and how
speech communication devices helped non-verbal students communicate with their
teachers and families. It was truly amazing to see how these tools helped these
individuals to do so much and live independent and fulfilling lives despite
their disabilities.
During one of my observations at a local
high school, I was able to shadow a deaf-blind student and their
paraprofessional educator for one full school day. This student used a number
of assistive technologies to enhance their mobility and educational experience
at school. The school provided hearing aides and a small microphone along with
a small speaker so the student could hear lessons and have conversations with
other people. The special education resource room provided a walking stick for
the student so they could walk around the classroom independently. The class
also had a braille typewriter so the student could complete written
assignments. The student was very bright and was able to complete assignments
in the recourse room because of these assistive technologies.
The deaf-blind student had some classes in the general education
classrooms, but the classes did not provide the same assistive technologies so
it was difficult for the student to participate in class activities and
complete work independently. In one of the student’s general education classes,
the teacher did not modify their lesson to meet the student’s needs. According
to the paraprofessional educator, the teacher would regularly write notes on
the whiteboard for the students to copy in their notebooks. After the students copied
their notes, the students would receive a short worksheet related to the notes
and they were to complete it during the class period. Since the student was
blind, and the teacher did not add any accommodations for this particular
student in their lesson, there was no way for the student to complete the
assignment independently. The student’s paraprofessional educator had to write
the notes for the student. While the paraprofessional was writing the notes the
student was left out and did not have anything to do. After the
paraprofessional copied the notes for their student, they would read the notes
aloud for the student. The paraprofessional would also read the questions on
the short worksheet aloud for the student and write the student’s answers down.
As
a future special education teacher I was very disappointed with what I
observed. The same student who was able to walk around the class and do
independent work during the previous class period was now excluded from the
rest of the class and was left fully dependent on their paraprofessional
educator because this general education classroom did not have the tools the
student needed and the teacher did not adjust their lesson plan to accommodate
the students needs. As a special education teacher I would have used the
student’s Individualized Education Program as a way to revise my lessons and to
evaluate the appropriateness of the revised activities. According to
Stanberry’s article titled “Understanding Individualized Education Programs,”
she stated that, “If your child receives special education services, he must
have an Individualized Education Program (IEP). That’s the law. An IEP is an
important legal document. It spells out your child’s needs, the services the
school will provide, and how progress should be measured” (n.d.).
I feel that the general education
teacher could have made some minor adjustments to their lesson that would have
made a major difference to this student’s learning experience in their
classroom. The teacher could have delivered the notes and the worksheet to the student
orally, or provide them in braille. Also instead of having the paraprofessional
copy the notes for the student, the teacher could have requested that the
student bring their braille typewriter from the resource room to their
classroom so the student could write their own notes. I believe that students
with special needs can accomplish so much more than what others give them
credit for; they just need to be given the opportunity to show us what they can
do and they need the proper tools to accomplish these feats.
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| Me at age 3 with my brother at age 2. |
Another personal experience I had with someone who used assistive
technology was with my brother, who was born with clubbed feet. According to
the American Academy of Orthopedic
Surgeons, “clubfoot is a deformity in which an infant’s foot is turned
inward, often so severely that the bottom of the foot faces sideways, or even
upward.” My brother was considered physically disabled from birth until he was about
3 or 4 years old when he completed treatment and physical therapy. My brother
went through three different methods to correct the position of his feet, which
included multiple surgeries on each foot, wearing casts, and using solid bar
braces. The casts and solid bar braces are considered assistive technologies
because it helped in the process of straightening out my brother’s feet to
improve in his functional capabilities.
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| My brothers, cousin, and I after a soccer game. |
I completely forgot that my brother had
a disability until this assignment. I think the fact that that my brother was
born with a disability slipped my mind because my parents did not treat him any
differently from the way they treated my other brothers and I. Yes, he may have
only been considered physically disabled until he was about 4 years old, but I
believe that by seeing beyond a person’s disability and seeing who they really
are and who they can become makes a huge difference in the way we treat
individuals with disabilities
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| My brother, left center, along with his teammates celebrating their win after a local competition. |
With the help of the assistive technology,
my brother is now able to walk, run, and be physically independent. When we
were in elementary school, he was able to play on the soccer team with me.
After the soccer season ended my brother wanted to try a martial arts, so my
parents enrolled him in Taekwondo. My brother became very dedicated to the
sport that he made first-degree black belt by the time he was a sophomore in
high school. He also represented Guam in the 4th Oceania Taekwondo
Championships in 2010 and came home with a silver medal. When my brother
started high school, he was enrolled in the Junior Reserve Officer Training
Corps (JROTC) program. Since he was in the class, he decided to tryout for the
school’s armed drill team. During all four years on high school, he was able to
compete in the local JROTC competitions and his school won each year. Each year
my brother’s JROTC team went on to compete in the Golden Bear National Drill
Competition in California and they would bring home trophies each time. By his
senior year in high school, my brother made Cadet Colonel, which is the highest
rank a student can get in high school.
He also became the Battalion Commander for the school’s JROTC program.
Right before he graduated from high school, my brother was awarded with a full
scholarship to the University of Guam under the university’s ROTC program.
I did not share my experience with my
brother and all his accomplishments to boast about him, because who wants to
openly admit that their sibling is cooler than them, but to show that with the
proper support from families and the community, and the help of assistive
technologies no matter how simple, or high tech they may be, individuals with
disabilities can reach their full potential and can essentially be limitless.
As a future teacher in the special education department, I will certainly do my
best to ensure that each student’s needs are met and to see beyond their
disabilities to help them have a full and meaningful life.
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| My family together with my brother after he was awarded with a full scholarship to the University of Guam. |
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