Teachers can be great allies in keeping your child with intellectual disabilities safe and successful in school, but you'll need to make sure they have all the knowledge they need to help. Use these suggestions to create a information packet to bring educators up to speed.
Five Things Teachers Need to Know
1. Please do not hug or show special affection to my child. Not every adult she meets will be safe and friendly, and she needs to learn boundaries and appropriate ways to interact.
2. Don't just assume my child can't do things. Take the time to show him what to do in a way that is meaningful to him.
3. Teaching strategies intended for children with intellectual disabilities will help my child learn better and make her easier for you to deal with.
4. My child is an individual, not a diagnosis. Please be alert and receptive to the things that make him unique and special.
5. Please keep the lines of communication open between our home and the school. My child needs all the adults in her life working together.
Tips for Teachers
[The following is excerpted from Intellectual Disability, a publication of the National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities. Fact Sheet 8, January 2004.]
Learn as much as you can about intellectual disability. The organizations and resources listed in the boxes at the right will help you identify specific techniques and strategies to support the student educationally. We've also listed some strategies below.
Recognize that you can make an enormous difference in this student's life! Find out what the student's strengths and interests are, and emphasize them. Create opportunities for success.
If you are not part of the student's Individualized Education Program (IEP) team, ask for a copy of his or her IEP. The student's educational goals will be listed there, as well as the services and classroom accommodations he or she is to receive. Talk to specialists in your school (e.g., special educators), as necessary. They can help you identify effective methods of teaching this student, ways to adapt the curriculum, and how to address the student's IEP goals in your classroom.
Be as concrete as possible. Demonstrate what you mean rather than just giving verbal directions. Rather than just relating new information verbally, show a picture. And rather than just showing a picture, provide the student with hands-on materials and experiences and the opportunity to try things out.
Break longer, new tasks into small steps. Demonstrate the steps. Have the student do the steps, one at a time. Provide assistance, as necessary.
Give the student immediate feedback.
Teach the student academic and life skills such as daily living, social skills, and occupational awareness and exploration, as appropriate. Involve the student in group activities or clubs.
Work together with the student's parents and other school personnel to create and implement an educational plan tailored to meet the student's needs. Regularly share information about how the student is doing at school and at home.
Printouts to Share with Teachers
Students with Intellectual Disabilities: A Resource Guide for Teachers
Source: Government of British Columbia Ministry of Education
Strategies for Teaching Students with Intellectual Impairments
Source: West Virginia University
Mental Retardation
Source: Edmund J. Sass, Ed.D.
Adaptive Physical Education Fact Sheet: Mental Retardation
Source: TAHPERD
Students Who Are Slower Learners
Source: Special Needs Opportunity Windows
