Animals and Special Education

For my blog post, I researched different ways that people use animals to teach and interact with children with disabilities. In trying to think of something interesting for one of our last blogs, I finally came up with something that had always interested me. My older brother, Dallas, has Down syndrome and had a difficult time learning to speak and communicate effectively until he reached his teenage years. It seemed that all at once he was talking up a storm to everyone he met and bearing his testimony every single fast Sunday. But during that time he preferred almost anything over strangers, he LOVED animals. He would go in our backyard and spend hours petting our dog, Coach, and following him around the yard. He would pick him up and put him on the trampoline and take naps with him and bounce him around while Coach sat patiently through it all. Interestingly enough Coach loved him just as much. He knew when Dallas would get home from school and would jump and wag his tail when he saw him through the window. They were, and still are, a mischievous pair. Not only have I seen this happen with my brother but many other kids with disabilities as well. I used to work at a horse ranch that did therapy on horseback for kids with autism, cerebral palsy, and other disabilities. It was amazing to watch some of the kids as they struggled to concentrate while their moms spoke to them but as soon as they were brushing a horse and petting his nose, nothing could distract them from the horse. The horses could tell when they had someone extra special on them and would be gentler and slower. Some kids were scared of such large animals at first but once they had pet the horse and ridden them for awhile they usually calmed down and would be excited to try again the next week. My question is if you think that animals are a good “tool” to use in Special Education? Some people think that it is dangerous or a waste of time, but I think that one of our number one goals is to get the students engaged and excited about learning. This article, , shares the story of a dog named Chloe who went into different Special ed classes and interacted with the students and it became a very positive experience. Do you think that animals should be allowed in Special Ed classrooms? Besides allergies, do you see that many constraints? Even beyond utilizing the bond, understanding, and patience that a lot of animals have with children with disabilities, what ideas can you come up with of how to use animals to teach other lessons? Have you too had experiences where animals get through to someone when no one else could?

People with Disabilities in the Work Force

I read an article about hiring people with disabilities and how it is beneficial for both the employee and employer.It can be costly because the workplace will need to be adjusted in order to be accessible to people with disabilities. Besides the cost I think that it is a great idea to have employees with disabilities. Just think about the boost of confidence that it gives these employees. They feel useful and needed. Everyone likes to feel needed. Some children that I worked with when they had their own responsibilities they felt more confident and even just looked happier. It is natural for every person to want to feel needed and useful in any way. Some companies have even started support groups for their employees with disabilities. This allows them to express their specific needs that otherwise their employees would not recognize on their own. I think that this is a great program. It is a way to keep the building and environment in a condition that allows all their employees to feel safe and included.

The company can also benefit from having people with disabilities work for them. A lot of them are really bright and can bring great ideas and input to a business. Not to mention they can give input on how to aim their product towards the customers with disabilities. This other article really gives insight on how companies need to be exposed to people with disabilities in order to feel comfortable and realize how beneficial it can be to them.

I think that companies should start having a quota to fill with people with disabilities. I really think it would help the community to be more aware of this population and realize how wonderful they really are. It might even be what our country needs to be humbled and appreciative of our lives and what we have. When I work with children with disabilities it brings such a great light into my day. They are amazing people! So, I guess my questions are what do you think about integrating people with disabilities into the workplace? How do you feel about the support groups that some companies have? And how would this benefit the employee (with disabilities) and their employer?

Disabled Individuals in Adulthood

This article talks about individuals with autism in their later years. http://www.mentalhelp.net/poc/view_doc.php?type=doc&id=8800. Because autism is becoming more apparent and well known the issue of transition from child to adult has become more of a concern. One of the main concerns is where the individual will live. There are a couple options: the person could be placed in a group or rehabilitation home, an institution, or stay with their family. Growing up, the house next door to me was rehabilitation home. There were only about 3-4 individuals that lived in the house at a time with a care giver there at all times. The patients who lived there had many different disabilities, not autism. From my experience with this home I saw that the care givers were not always the best and didn’t have the best interest of the individuals that lived there. Most of the people that worked there just needed a job and this gave them that and a place to stay. In this specific case, I feel there could have been better opportunities for the disabled individuals if they were living somewhere else. Also, I also had the opportunity to go to a larger group home for people with disabilities. It was for individuals over 50 and the people who lived there also had many different disabilities. I went there a couple of times to visit and the workers had different activities and things going on for the residents to do. In this case, the group home was run and operated in an efficient manner and I feel the residents benefitted from that. The next option would be for the individual with a disability to stay with their family. I have always thought that it would be hard as a parent to let your child go. In a way it could be like giving them up. However, I also understand that taking care of your child for the rest of their or your life could be very emotionally hard. Just last week I had a guest speaker in one of my classes that talked about her son who is 19 years old and how he lives in a group home. At first she was completely against it, but she now realizes that it is for the best. He is happy there and gets to come home on the weekends to spend time with his family. My question for all of you is to just discuss what you think the best living situation is for individuals with disabilities in their adult years. You can discuss a specific disability, like autism, or just disabilities in general. What’s your stance on group homes?

Do Kids With Disabilities Strain or Strengthen Our Schools?

For this week’s blog, I chose an article that opened my eyes a bit to the reality of people in this world. http://www.businessweek.com/careers/workingparents/blog/archives/2009/09/kids_with_disab.html

It discusses how some people view children with disabilities in schools as a waste of effort and tax money. Why would we waste our time trying to help someone with little to no potential? Why wouldn’t we give all of our attention to those children who are gifted, who are intelligent, and who will make a difference in the world one day? I mean they are going to be the ones becoming doctors and lawyers, and who are going to eventually run this country… right? Hmm… don’t think so. I know that everyone responding to this blog is in the same boat, and I know that we all have personally experienced the importance of special education. Like the article says, people are not limited by their disability, they are limited by a lack of opportunity.

And so that is not necessarily what I am asking your opinion on. In reading this article, I was very much taken back by Lilly’s bitterness and anger towards those with disabilities in the schools. Are people really that heartless? Are they really so concerned with their tax dollars that they’d go after handicapped children? Apparently some are. I have an older sister with profound disabilities, and she was able to attend a special school for the disabled for 18 years. My family was never encountered with issues of acceptance by other parents at the school. We were welcomed with open arms and taken in as family. Although there have certainly been other situations where people have judged and rejected us because of these disabilities, I never felt anything of the sort from her school setting. That place was a safe-haven. I am finding that the public school systems are not all sugar and spice though. The harsh reality is that many people do not appreciate those with disabilities and many people do not value the efforts of educators that want to maximize these students’ potentials. And so this is what I want to know from you… what do you think it will take from a school community to create a common appreciation for these students? Parent meetings.. Information pamphlets… More peer tutoring opportunities… Awareness assemblies? The article talks about Dan’s efforts in the form of a film, which reached millions by airing on television and receiving tons of press. And although I thought this was wonderful, I wonder what practical things we can apply in the schools that will also make a difference. Many of you have already worked in a school setting. How have you seen teachers try and break down these barriers? What ideas can we as future teachers bring into the schools to create a community of awareness and appreciation, so that all the "Lillys" out there will understand the real objectives of special education… Do you think that is even possible? Or do you think it’s not really worth trying because people won’t change?

Learning to teach, teaching to learn

The last few weeks I like many of you have been working on my application to get into the special education program. Something that I found very interesting was the autobiographical essays that we had to do. The one I found most interesting was the one about how we would respond when we don't agree with what a teacher does. As I worked on that essay I was not quite sure why this was a topic that we had to write on. As I thought more and more about it I came to the realization that maybe one reason they had us write it was to see what kind of attitude we have as teachers. I think they were trying to see if we are the kind of people that think we know it all and don't need help from anyone else or if we are the kind of people that try our best to learn and grow. I think in order to be a good teacher we have to always be a student. I am sure that throughout our careers we are going to experience differences in opinion with other teachers but I think how we react is a reflection on what kind of teacher we are. I think it is critical to avoid the attitude that we are better than everyone else or that we know more than everyone else. Many of you know that my mother is a special education teacher. Throughout the years she has had many student teachers. She has told me that many of them are good but also that many of them come right out of college thinking they know it all and they act like my mother is a horrible teacher just becuase they may have a difference in opinion. We are all in the stage now of learning how to become good teachers and someday we will have to be either a student teacher or a intern. I think that we always need to remember that even though we may have gone through the classes and gotten credit to be a teacher that does not mean that the learning stops. This article is about a young teacher that just started out on her first job. I think that this is something all of us are going to be going through and I think that her story is a good model for us to follow. After you read this article I would like to hear your opinion about the question that was asked in the autobiographical essay. As a brand new teacher that is always trying to learn from others and get better what is an appropriate way to solve a disagreement with another teacher? Do we act like know it alls and completely disregard the other teacher or do we try our best to learn from the teacher despite our differences? I think that there is always something positive to be learned from others. Life is a process and not an event and we always need to try to learn from others. Here is the link http://teachers.net/wong/MAR10/