Disability Awareness

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Disability Awareness

• Information for Teachers

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Pre and Post Test

• 1. What is your level of knowledge about the
  various disabilities?
• very knowledgeable somewhat knowledgeable
• very little knowledge
• 2. What is your comfort level supporting students
  with disabilities?
• very comfortable somewhat comfortable not
  at all
• 3. What is your level of knowledge of strategies
  to support students with disabilities in the
  classroom?
• very knowledgeable somewhat knowledgeable very
  little knowledge
• 4. What is your awareness level of resources
  available to assist you in supporting students
  with disabilities?
• very knowledgeable somewhat knowledgeable very
  little knowledge

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• Awareness is not the same as emphasis

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• Ask me what I CAN do, not what I cant do

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ACTIVITY

• Individuals with such disabilities often have
  great difficulty with directions and receptive
  language.
• (Sit back to back, one person has picture of
  abstract shape, cannot use names of shapes but
  must describe it and he other person must
  reproduce it)

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Additional experiences
http//www.pbs.org/wgbh/misunderstoodminds/experie
nces/attexp2b.html
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About your experience

• Were any of the activities frustrating to you?
• Was it frustrating or embarrassing to not be
  able to complete some of the tasks?

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Consider motivation of behaviors

• Frustration
• Embarrassment
• Avoidance
• Attention
• Receive some type of reward
• Communication
• Sensory stimulation

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Facilitate access and success

• Give positive reinforcement
• Decrease the length of tasks and divide into
  smaller parts
• Take frequent breaks
• Keep consistent daily schedule
• Provide stress balls and other inconspicuous
  items for stimulation
• Allow for movement

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Facilitate access and success

• Interact with the individual as a PERSON FIRST
• Break down concepts into small, simple components
• Teach functional skills to support independence

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Resources

• VADSA.ORG Disability Organizations ListingView a
  comprehensive listing of Disability Related
  Organizations across the state and the nation.
• Virginia Dept. for the Blind and Vision Impaired
  (DBVI)Enables blind or visually impaired
  individuals to achieve their maximum level of
  employment, education, and personal independence.
• Virginia Industries for the Blind
  (VIB)Established over seven decades ago as a
  not-for-profit organization offering vocational
  rehabilitation for blind Virginians, VIB is a
  self-funded division of the Virginia Department
  for the Blind and Vision Impaired (DBVI).
• Virginia Dept. for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
  (VDDHH)Operates with the full understanding that
  communication is the most critical issue facing
  persons who are deaf or hard of hearing.

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Resources

• Virginia Board for People with Disabilities
  (VBPD)Empower Virginians with Disabilities to
  achieve their personal goals, to be self-reliant,
  and to participate fully in their communities by
  strengthening community involvement, building
  advocacy capacity, enhancing service delivery,
  and informing public policy.
• Department of Rehabilitative ServicesCollaborates
  with the public and private sectors to provide
  and advocate for the highest quality services
  that empower individuals with disabilities to
  maximize their employment, independence and full
  inclusion into society.
• Woodrow Wilson Rehabilitation Center is the
  first state-owned and operated comprehensive
  rehabilitation center in the country. WWRC
  provides comprehensive medical, assistive
  technology and vocational rehabilitation services
  to persons with disabilities to help them gain
  increased independence and employment.

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Resources

• Voice of the Blue Ridgeis a non-profit
  organization chartered in 1981 to help people who
  cannot read newspapers or magazines because of
  physical impairments such as partial vision loss,
  blindness or stroke.
• Virginia RelayThe telecommunications system for
  the deaf and hard of hearing communities in
  Virginia.
• American Council of the BlindStrives to improve
  the well-being of all blind and visually impaired
  people by serving as a representative national
  organization of blind people elevating the
  social, economic and cultural levels of blind
  people improving educational and rehabilitation
  facilities and opportunities cooperating with
  the public and private institutions and
  organizations concerned with blind services
  encouraging and assisting all blind persons to
  develop their abilities and conducting a public
  education program to promote greater
  understanding of blindness and the capabilities
  of blind people.

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Resources

• National Federation of the BlindThe purpose of
  the National Federation of the Blind is
  two-foldto help blind persons achieve
  self-confidence and self-respect and to act as a
  vehicle for collective self-expression by the
  blind. By providing public education about
  blindness, information and referral services,
  scholarships, literature and publications about
  blindness, aids and appliances and other adaptive
  equipment for the blind, advocacy services and
  protection of civil rights, development and
  evaluation of technology, and support for blind
  persons and their families, members of the NFB
  strive to educate the public that the blind are
  normal individuals who can compete on terms of
  equality.
• Make a Wish Foundation of AmericaShare the power
  of a wish.
• The ARCNational organization of and for people
  with mental retardation and related developmental
  disabilities and their families.

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Resources

• Low Vision Information Center (LVIC)Nonprofit
  organization that helps people with low vision
  maintain their independence.
• Special Education Resources from the Curry School
  of Education at the University of
  VirginiaInformation on disabilities categories
  Attention Deficit Disorder, Autism, Cerebral
  Palsy, Communication Disorders, Hearing
  Impairment, Learning Disabilities, Mental
  Retardation, Serious Emotional Disturbance,
  Traumatic Brain Injury, Visual Impairment.
• Commonwealth Community TrustEstablished for
  Virginia residents to provide a convenient and
  economical way to have trust funds administered
  for people with disabilities that will supplement
  the benefits offered by entitlement programs.
• Dept of Mental Health, Mental Retardation, and
  Substance Abuse Services (DMHMRSAS)Improves the
  quality of life for people with mental
  disabilities and substance abuse problems by
  providing the very best services possible, at
  minimal burden to the taxpayer.

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Resources

• Disability Services Agencies FormsConsumer forms
  for the Department for the Blind and Vision
  Impaired, Department for the Deaf and Hard of
  Hearing, Department of Rehabilitative Services
  (DRS), and the Virginia Board for Persons with
  Disabilities.
• The Virginia Office for Protection and Advocacy
  (VOPA) helps with disability-related problems
  like abuse, neglect, and discrimination. We also
  help people with disabilities obtain services and
  treatment. All callers receive help with these
  problems. Individuals with problems, targeted in
  our program priorities, may also receive advocacy
  services and/or legal representation.
• Adapted from DSA, Virginia.gov