Transcript Document

THE VISION IMPAIRED STUDENT
IN THE CLASSROOM INDIVIDUAL, SOCIAL & FAMILY
PERSPECTIVES
Geoff Bowen
Psychologist, Statewide Vision
Resource Centre
CONTENTS
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Living your life fully!
Families, grieving and disability
Issues re. counselling
Working with students in the classroom:
Discipline issues
Stepping back
Social skills
American Foundation For The Blind –
Living With Vision Loss
Our Members want to:
• Live independently and productively
• Read and write
• Raise a family
• Have a social life
AFB – Living With Vision Loss
• Travel
• Maintain a career—or launch a new one
• Enjoy recreational sports and games
• In short, lead a normal life
Unemployment - Australia
“Surveys suggest that while people who
are blind or vision impaired are eager to
work (62% participation rate, which is high
relative to other disability groups (ABS
1997), only 21 % are able to find work
(RBS 1996: 101).”“BCA estimates that the
rate of unemployment amongst vision
impaired and blind people in Australia to
be around 70 percent.”
Children With Disabilities
“Finding out that your child has a disability, whether
at birth, or later or after an illness or accident is one
of the most shattering things that can happen to
parents. They may go through all of the emotions
that people feel after a major loss -the loss of the
child you expected to have, the loss of your dreams
for your child's future, the loss of the your child's
quality of life, the loss of your way of life. When
these losses happen unexpectedly there is the
added shock of things going wrong at a time of life
when you expect every thing to go well. There are
such big adjustments for parents and families to
make that it is no wonder it causes stress and puts
pressure on your relationships.”
Coping With Disability
“Every child is different and every disability is
different so how you cope will depend on
your own particular situation. There are
differences in the kind and severity of
disability and also differences in experience
of grief and ways of coping. Families can
have children with very similar disabilities but
learn to cope very differently depending on
their own situations, finances, and the
support they get from other family and
friends.”
Child and Youth Health - Parenting SA
http://www.cyh.com/HealthTopics/HealthTopicDetails.aspx?p
=114&np=306&id=1635#3
Quality Of Life
• Children with a disability can lead positive,
happy lives and bring joy to themselves and
many people.
• Quality of life is not about ability - we all have
different abilities.
• Quality of life is about your child feeling well,
being safe and comfortable, having
experiences to enjoy, feeling that she is a
lovable person, and having some things that
she can feel proud of being able to do.
Dealing With Families
“It is important to be sensitive to a family’s
current emotional state and equally
important to avoid categorising family
members according to predetermined
expectations that accompany traditional
models. At any given point, families need
opportunities to express themselves, and
they need acknowledgment of their feelings
by others. They also need specific, relevant
information regarding their child, presented
in an honest, empathic manner.” (Cohen et.
al. 1992)
How Well A Parent Copes
• What sense you are able to make of what
happened (what you tell yourself about it) this can be related to how well it was
explained to you and what the cause was.
• The amount of support you have from
family and others, including service
providers and other parents.
• The relationship you are able to build with
your child.
How Well A Parent Copes
• The quality of life your child is able to have
(even children with very big problems can
have enjoyment of their lives).
• The effect it has on your family life.
• The effect it has on your working life,
• For some people, support from their
religious faith.
Helping Parents with “Grieving”
• Be aware that all responses to the loss are
ways of coping. This is anything the person
does, thinks or feels. The response moves
round!
• Individuals will move through the process at
THEIR rate. As with death the Kübler-Ross
model of linear development usually does not
usually apply.
• Don’t take it personally some parents can be
very confronting.
• Be with the person – I have found that really
spelling out the truth of how crap the
situation actually is makes it real
(particularly in recent severe vision loss).
• Allow the pain - enter into it/ not try to take it
away.
• Allow expression of feelings without
judgement.
• Accept the story being told over and over
again.
• Listen and hear what is really being said.
• Communicate information in an honest
and empathetic manner.
• Involve the client in collaborative problem
solving so parents feel they can have
some control of the management and
education of their child.
• Our attitude can be disabling.
• Be aware of the needs of the siblings.
• Ethnic differences. Be aware that different
groups deal with disability in different ways.
• Information should be provided from a
culturally relevant perspective and in
language understandable to the client.
• Crisis or change may reactivate a more
intense period of stress.
Signs That Grief Is Not Resolving
• If they are stuck with memories of the crisis
and can't seem to get away from them.
• If they can't really accept your child as he is,
but still believe that he will have great
achievements in ways that he cannot.
• If they continue to be very angry or feel very
guilty.
Signs That Grief Is Not Resolving
• If they are still looking for a reason why it
happened, after they have had all the
possible information.
• If they still, after time, cannot see anything
positive about your child's life (or if you
cannot see any of the problems but think
of it all as a blessing).
Other Problem Issues With Parents
Some parents may want their child to
change in their thinking/cognitive mind
and not in their emotional mind. The
emotional mind will win every time and
your best efforts may be sabotaged
and not valued.
Some parents burnout and have
reached a balance in their life and
do not wish to be bothered or
changed. Again your best efforts
may sabotaged or not valued.
Family Or Parent Stories
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“I’ve had to fight to get my child to
here.”
“No professional really understands
my child.”
“My child is only safe when I am with
them.”
“Nobody can see what he can do other
than me.”
“Nobody is allowed to make a mistake
with my child. I can, but not you.”
Myths Of Parenting
• If I make a mistake, it will always affect my
child.
• As a parent, I have the power to make my
children do whatever I want and the
responsibility to make them do what’s
right.
Myths Of Parenting
• My children cause my unhappiness, so
they must change for me to feel better.
• Children are naturally undisciplined and
behave like wild animals. Parents must
beat them into shape to make them
civilized.
Myths Of Parenting
• It is my responsibility to solve my
children’s problems and to protect them
from life’s threats.
• When I had a disabled child my right to
a happy and fulfilled life was over. I
must completely sacrifice myself to my
disabled child because I was the one
that gave them life and I am responsible
for it.
Narrative Therapy
“Narrative Therapy is a counselling technique
that is growing in use in the mental health area.
The approach uses a process to identify the
problems that people may be having and the
stories that dominate the person's life, and then
encourages the development of more useful
stories about the person. Therefore, problem
stories are deconstructed and then the aim is to
support the person and those in his/her support
network to reconstruct stories that lead to better
outcomes.”
Matthews and Matthews (2002): Narrative Therapy: Potential
uses for People With Intellectual Disability
http://www.ijdcr.ca/VOL04_01_CAN/articles/matthews.shtm
Once you are aware of the predominate
family story work with it.
e.g. It is because of your hard work and
struggle that your child has got to where
they are today. Now I am going to work
with you and him to add to the brilliant
work you have done.
Teacher And Parent Mottos
• Let us work together in the best
interest of your child.
• Let us work together in your best
interest.
• Let me work with you in the best
interest of my child.
VI STUDENTS IN THE CLASSROOM
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Beware the“slippery sided sympathy pit”.
Remember if you do it right they won’t
need you anymore! Step Back!
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Non-verbal discipline skills: “the look”, eye
contact, body posture and teacher
placement.
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VI students need considerably more verbal
indication of where they are “at” with their
behaviour.
Beware, Beware, Beware
The slippery sided sympathy pit!!!
THE “MOVING IN” APPROACH
1. Get close to the child and gain their
attention i.e. arms length, eye contact and
say their name.
2. Tell your child specifically what you want
them to do in calm clear voice.
3. Give the child time to cooperate and
encourage them if they do. If they
argue stay calm and even drop your
voice level and say something like: I
hear what your saying but I want you
to do..(Repeat the instruction). If
argument continues; step 4.
4. Back up your instruction with a
consequence.
5. If they do what they are told after the
consequence, use lots of praise.
EFFECTIVE DISCIPLINE
• YOU MUST PLAN FOR EFFECTIVE
CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT.
• POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT IS THE
KEY.
• BEFORE YOU RULE REMIND, WARN
OR GIVE A CONSEQUENCE, PRAISE AT
LEAST TWO STUDENTS FOR
COMPLIANCE.
OTHER USEFUL IDEAS
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PROXIMITY PRAISE
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THE CANTER “MARBLES IN JAR”
APPROACH
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ORGANISE “DOWNTIME”
A Good Quality Of Life
Includes
Having Power And Control Over Your Life
This Is:
Self Determination
Essential Characteristics of
Self-Determined Behavior
• Make choices and decisions as needed.
• Exhibit some personal or internal control
over actions.
• Feel capable and act that way.
• Understand the effects of own actions.
Component Elements of
Self-Determined Behavior
Choice-Making Skills
Decision-Making Skills
Problem-Solving Skills
Goal-Setting and Attainment Skills
Independence, Risk-Taking and Safety Skills
Self-Observation and Self-Evaluation Skills
Self-Reinforcement Skills
Self-Instruction Skills
Self-Advocacy and Leadership Skills
Self-Awareness
Self-Knowledge
19 WAYS TO STEP BACK
It often feels right to give help to students
with visual impairments, but this may not
be in their best interest. Use the following
list to help yourself step back.
Adapted from Classroom Collaboration, by Laurel J Hudson, PhD
(Perkins School for the Blind) Available at:
http://www.afb.org/Section.asp?SectionID=6&TopicID=19&Documen
tID=1573
1.
You’re stepping back so your students can step
forward and become independent. Keep this in
mind.
2.
Pause before answering or helping.
3.
Sit on your hands for a whole task while you
practice giving verbal instead of touch cues.
Hands off the hands.
4.
If you need touch cues, try hand-under-hand
instead of hand-over-hand. This gives students
much more choice.
5.
Acknowledge your impulse to make students'
days go smoothly. There's a reason you chose
the helping profession.
6.
Sit further away. If you have been within arm's
reach, sit just within earshot. If you have been
sitting just within earshot, sit across the room.
7.
Pat yourself on the back every time you help with
seeing, not thinking. Your job is to give
information. Record your and their behaviour over
time – Functional Behaviour Analysis.
8.
Even though helping can feel right, be aware that
to much assistance is short sighted. Sometimes
less is more, less is better.
9.
Unless you are the Classroom Teacher, catch
yourself before you correct students' work.
Remember, this is about the students' skills . . .
not yours.
10.
Commit to no intervention for a whole activity.
Take data instead. Things may not fall apart as
much as you expected.
11.
Have students discreetly ask their classmates
for information (what page they are on, what is
the school lunch, who the teacher is talking to,
etc.) Coach them to do this on the telephone in
the evening as well as during school hours.
Remember you can’t always be there and
you are not there for the rest of their lives.
12.
Assign students learning partners and sighted
guides. This can help the caring “patsy” friend
from developing.
13.
Teach students to decline assistance, “Thanks,
but let me try it by myself.”
14.
Whenever you add prompts, include a plan to
phase them out.
15.
Make sure that team members (especially the
principal) know your reasons for stepping back so
it doesn't seem like you are shirking your
responsibilities. Get the whole school onboard
including the students.
16.
Collaborate with other adults to break your habits
of helping too much. Agree to remind each other
to step back.
17.
Try helping only when classroom teachers give
you a signal. They may prefer to respond directly,
or give students longer to work it out.
18.
Let your students make mistakes and get into
trouble. It's part of the human experience!
19.
Post a sign, “Are there any other ways I could
step back?“
Other Thoughts
• Never do something for a child that they
can do themselves.
• People change their behaviour when they
are inconvenienced not when those who
care about them are inconvenienced.
Other Thoughts
• Increase student’s sense of mastery in
their lives. Don’t cheat them and lie to
them by trying to give false self-esteem.
Self esteem grows out of challenge and
mastery rather telling a child they are great
regardless of what they do.
(Seligman 1996, The Optimistic Child)
• Have a laugh now and then. Blind people
have not lost their sense of humour!
SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT AND
DISABLED STUDENTS
• Non-disabled peers tend to react less
favourably towards disabled children.
• Less likely to initiate social interaction with
disabled classmates.
• Less likely to respond positively to the
approaches of disabled peers.
• There is a limitation of the positive learning
experiences that children with disabilities
have in their social interaction with other
children.
• They have fewer chances to interact with
peers and on the other hand their attempts
to use appropriate social skills are often not
rewarded.
• The lack of success from social interaction
may, in turn, produce poor self-image on the
part of the disabled child.” Spence, 1995.
Social Deficits
It is not surprising therefore to find
that disabled children often have
social skill deficits!
FRIENDSHIP: THE SIGHTED AND
VI STUDENT
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VI students list two significant criteria for
friends: “they don’t make fun of my
eyesight” “if I have problems they help
me out”
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Sighted students the most important
criteria for friends: “they hang around
with you” “they are fun”
WHAT VISION IMPAIRED
STUDENTS MISS OUT ON
• Visual modelling
• Visual cues to regulate social interaction
E.g. Eye contact regulates conversation
• Turn taking.
• Visual feedback after their behaviour.
• Incidental social engagement.
• Freedom from the “prying eyes” of “caring
adults”.
• Honest feedback from peers.
COMMON SOCIAL DIFFICULTIES
OF VI STUDENTS
• Focus too much on themselves rather
than others interest and concerns.
• Are not good listeners.
• Have poor gaze direction.
• Use inappropriate smiling.
• Avoid conflict.
• Have low levels of risk taking
• Don’t understand peer group rules and
what’s “cool”.
• Make inappropriate movements, which
emphasises how different they look.
• Demonstrate a lack of peer preference
and affection.
• Give low levels of peer reinforcement.
• Have limited or no opportunities for
reciprocity- they are always the ones
who need assistance.
• Are unresponsive to overtures from
others.
• Ask more questions and more irrelevant
ones.
• Suddenly and abruptly change a
conversation topic.
• Are often over involved with adults.
• Miss contextual cues.
• Make too many demands on others.
• Show too much dependent behaviour
(independence is confidence in action)
• Play with toys inappropriately or with
inappropriate toys.
• Have low levels of collaborative skills for
group work.
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Look different and seem low in confidence.
Stand too close.
Are passive and unassertive.
Use echolalic speech.
Frequently have poor motor skills.
SKILLS AND BEHAVIOURS TO
FOCUS ON
• Gaze direction and appropriate body
posture.
• Controlling inappropriate movement.
• Active listening.
• Assertiveness (proactive and reactive).
• Sharing and taking turns.
• Cooperation.
• Joining in and approaching.
• Giving and receiving compliments.
• Focussing on the interests and concerns
of others.
• Expressing preference and affection.
• Conversational skills.
• Identifying peer group norms and what’s
“cool”.
• Giving peer reinforcement.
• Demonstrating competence.
• Demonstrating independence.
• Conflict resolution.
• “Tease proofing” by learning internal
emotional control.
• Learning to be open and “cool” about their
disability.
STRATEGIES TO USE WITH VI
STUDENTS
• Cooperative activities and games.
• Direct teaching of social skills.
• Provision of social descriptions for
students to work from.
• Peer prompting.
• Musical and sound games.
• Changing seating and grouping.
• Setting up a buddy system.
• Discussing the skills of friendship.
• Developing independence.
• Giving opportunities for the students to
demonstrate competence.
• Develop a risk-taking program.
• Setting up situations where the student
helps others.
• Setting up opportunities for social
interaction.
• Sharpening listening skills.
• Using the same discipline system as is
used with the other students.
• Involve parents in the development and
implementation of the program.
• Have more regular PSG meetings where
the student’s social development is a high
priority.
• Encourage the development of social
skills OF all students within the school.
• Self-monitoring of inappropriate
movement.
• Positive encouragement & reward.
QUESTIONS TO EVALUATE
SOCIAL SUCCESS
1. Does the VI student play with and talk to
peers as much as do his/her classmates?
2. Do students talk with VI classmates in the
classroom, play with them on the
playground, and invite them to after school
and weekend activities?
3. Does the VI student show affection and
display preference for classmates?
4. Do you go out to observe interactions
during recess, and intervene when
necessary, so the VI student is not isolated
in the playground?
5. How does the status of the VI student
among his/her sighted classmates change
during the school year, and how do
interactions between the VI student and
sighted classmates develop?
SELF PERPETUATING SOCIAL
SKILLS PROGRAMS
1. Changing the attitudes of non-disabled
peers towards their disabled classmates,
through discussion and education.
2. Teaching non-disabled children to initiate
interaction with disabled peers and/or
rewarding them for doing so.
3. Teaching non-disabled children to respond
positively towards the social initiations of
disabled peers and/or rewarding them for
doing so.
4. Teaching non-disabled peers to train
children with disabilities to use social skills.
This method assumes that the training
process will carry over into naturalistic
situations and that peers will become
naturally occurring triggers for socially
skilled behaviour in real-life settings
(Social Skills Training by S Spence, 1995)