Monday, March 29, 2010
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?
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sory the link didnt post! the website is http://www.childrensdisabilities.info/therapy-service-animals/therapy-dog-special-education.html
ReplyDeleteI love hearing stories like this. I think it's great that people can find such friends and support in animals. I've heard of horseback riding used as therapy, and then of course there are dogs that go around hospitals to cheer people up. I think that an animal is a great tool to use to help children with disabilities for several reasons. First, it's a friend that they can rely on, who they don't have to be scared will leave them, will react badly, and they are always predictible. So in that sense, I think a dog is a great pet for a child with autism. Also, I think learning to interact with animals in a great first step to interacting with people. It's like the robots, who are predictible so that the child will learn to feel comfortable with others. I could see a constraint being the practicality along with availability. Not all families could own a pet, whether it's money issues, rules where they live, or allergies, so you'd have to find a place that would provide these services. Therapy using horseback riding I would imagine to be expensive. All in all, I think it's a great idea that would really boost a child's life. I liked that effect that Chloe the dog had in Sebastian's life as a boost in his self-esteem. Sometimes, I think having a better self-esteem will solve some communication problems. All in all, if that family agrees, I think it's a great idea to have children interact with animals as a way to help them with their disabilities.
ReplyDeleteI had never considered the helpful "tool" that animals could be to help students with disabilities learn different life skills. After reading this article, I would certainly give animals a try in a special education classroom. What fascinated me the most was how fast Chloe was able to connect with each child and do something that humans were unable to do. After talking about using robots for those with autism, I think it would be helpful to see the comparison between animals and robots with this disability. I do see some constraints though. One is that the animals need to be trained first and already have experience with other people. Also, there needs to be someone there who would know the animal well enough. Also, the animal would probably have to be gentle, kind, and patient enough to be around students with disabilities. The greatest lesson that was taught with Chloe, in my opinion, was that teaching those with disabilities to take responsibility for something and become a part of something.
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of having animals in classrooms. I think they are good for all kids but I cannot see having a class pet in a lifeskills classroom, unless the teacher is willing to take the pet for every holiday. This would be one constraint. I know that dogs who come to classrooms must be trained so that could be a constraint also. I do think that if someone owned a therapy dog and you could arrange to have the dog come in once a week so so that would be great! Other than the aspects Courtney spoke about he dog could teach self help and grooming by showing how the dog has to brush his hair, brush his teeth and other regular grooming things a dog does. The dog could help the kids count by jumping over a certain number of objects and learn to read by performing tricks when the book says that word, such as jump or walk. I have never seen children learn or change by interacting with animals but I do feel that animals are very positive no matter what kind it is.
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of using animals as a teaching tool in special education. From what I can see, the benefits for the children interacting with these animals, greatly outweigh any risks involved. I liked how the article said that chloe taught the children to use manners and to be gentle. Those are skills that could hopefully be translated into their everyday interactions with people too. I think that along with teaching them appropriate ways to treat others, it can also be a calming tool for them, which some children in special ed really do need. While reading this post, I also found it very endearing to learn about Courtney's brother and his sweet relationship with their family dog. Animals can have a special connection with all types of people, but I think especially in the case of those with special needs, animals can become a real comfort and source of friendship. I really enjoyed this post and I definitely support the idea of using animals more in special education..
ReplyDeleteI do think that animals are a great tool for every child especially children with disabilities. I know all growing up my dogs were my best friends and I would tell them everything where with other people I kept to myself more. People feel comfortable knowing that an animal will always love them and never judge them....they are the best listeners. As much as I love animals I do not think they should be allowed in classrooms. Teachers already have so many other responsibilities taking care of an animal is the last thing that they need to deal with. I do believe that families should use animals at home or even have their children participate at a place with horses etc. Outside of school I think it is a great idea I just don't think as teacher I would want more to take care of and watch when there is so much going on.
ReplyDeleteIt could be great though to bring animals into class for a lesson, show-n-tell or so many other ideas. There could even be a week of animals coming to class and making a lesson out of it. I guess you could have a class pet like a fish, something easy to take care of, and then the students can learn responsibility and love for something that is not a family member. Great post!
I really enjoyed reading this article. It really stuck out to me when I read how the students have to learn to be more calm and quiet around Chloe because of her timidness. It might be hard for some students to be calm and quiet and it might be hard for some teachers to teach their student to be calmer, but having a dog like Chloe present might bring out a natural instinct inside the student to be calmer around the dog. Which in turn will teach the students how to be calm in other situations as well. So, yes, I do think that animals in the classroom is a good idea. There are obvious benefits like the one I just mentioned from the article, but there are some constraints that need to be taken into consideration as well. Making sure the dog will not harm anyone is a major one. I know it would be taken into consideration, but sometimes out of no where things happen and teachers should be instructed on how to handle a serious injury if it were to occur. I also liked the part of the article where it talked about the student giving demands to the dog. He was learning how to speak because the dog was present. In a way it reminds me of the robots, a child with autism is able to connect to an animal better than a human, but because of the animal connection the student will eventually learn how to communicate with other people better. Overall, there are more benefits I see than constraints.
ReplyDeleteI think that animals are a great tool for children. I do believe that some children can benefit from interaction with animals. Animals allow people to interact with other living beings with out the social pressure. I think that children with special needs can sense this. I do think that it would be good to have an occasional pet in the classroom to help the children learn, but I think it also may be a distraction to have them there all of the time. Some constraints may be that an animal would be a little bit of trouble to take care of. As someone mentioned in class, it would be a good way to teach the children responsibility. If they took care of the animal it could build self esteem and give them an important lesson on responsibility.
ReplyDeleteOver this past summer I was able to nanny for two boys. One had autism and the other had aspergers. Every Saturday we went to horse therapy where the boys cared for and rode the horses. This activity taught them great responsibility skills and was fun! There were also cats at the ranch and when Trent, the boy with aspergers, was having a rough day the cats would often help him feel at ease and relax even more so than the horse. These boys also had a dog at home and Spencer, who has autism, loved there dog and often would calm down after going on walks with him. I think the lack of verbal communication necessary with animals is often good for children with autism. Because of this experience I have had with children with disabilities and the fact that I love animals, I think it is a great idea to have them in the classroom. There is the necessity to have consent of the parents first though.
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of having animals work with students with disabilities. I have seen and experienced the benefits and what these animals can do with these children. For two years I worked at Rocky Top Therapy Ranch for children with disabilities. Every week I spent time walking along side the children on horseback. It helped them physically and cognitively. Like Courtney said, the horses know when they have someone riding on them and these horses always behaved themselves. My cousin who has CP and severe brain damage also goes to horse therapy and it has helped him learn how to sit up. In the classroom, i probably would not always have an animal in the classroom but I would have one brought in weekly. I think children can form a special bond with animals that sometimes we cannot. I think that having trained dogs in the classroom could help with many aspects including behavior, focus, responsibility and just helping the students. I totally want to have a dog in my classroom, i think that would be the coolest thing ever.
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of using animals as a "tool" for teaching in the special education setting! At the camp I worked at this summer we had dogs and horses that the kids interacted with regularly. It is so true that a calm comes over them during interaction with animals. I had a camper in particular who was self abusive, whenever he was having a "fit" we would bring the dogs up and encourage him to pet them. After no more than five minutes he had resumed to his typical joyful and calm self, the transition was incredible! While it may be tricky to incorporate dogs into a classroom I think that it could be a weekly, or biweekly thing. That way students would have something to look forward to and the visit could be included in a reward-type system. This could teach patience, basic connections, and responsibility.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely think that utilizing this special bond with animals and our students is a great tool to use. I think that the application may be difficult depending on a lot of different things. I think that if it is a smaller animal that it would be more realistic to have it in the classroom. Larger animals require more maintenance and they are a larger responsibility. I think that the rules for having animals in the classroom will depend on the district and administration. I do think that it is clear that animals can have a way of connecting with our students that is difficult for us to achieve. If the student has some sort of special bond with animals and if the animals can help the student in some way I think it would be more realistic to use them in an after school kind of setting. for example maybe the student could hold a job at a zoo, pet store, ranch or something like that. If that kind of thing is out of the question than it would always be possible for the students to visit the animals. I just think it may be difficult to integrate them into the normal classroom setting.
ReplyDeleteI definitely think that using animals as a tool to help our students can be beneficial. I think that it may be difficult to integrate animals into the regular classroom setting. Smaller animals would be good but larger animals require more maintenance and they are a bigger responsibility. It is clear that some of these students have a strong bond or connection with animals and in many instances they can be used to help the children develop things like social skills. I think that they can be a huge benefit just like the robots can be a huge benefit. I think it works in the same way. I think that using animals will depend on the rules of the administration and district that you work for. If it does not work to use them in the classroom they can be used in an after school kind of setting. For example the student could get a job at a pet store, zoo, or ranch or something like that. Or if that is out of the question the student can always visit animals at these places or they can get a pet of their own. I think that the benefits are clear but the integration of using them in the classroom kind of seems difficult
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