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.
Printouts to Share with Teachers
Students with Intellectual Disabilities: A Resource Guide for Teachers
Source: Government of British Columbia Ministry of Education
Teaching Literacy to Students With Significant Cognitive Disabilities
Source: Council for Exceptional Children
Intellectual Disabilities
Source: Project Ideal
Adaptive Physical Education Fact Sheet: Mental Retardation
Source: TAHPERD
Disability Fact Sheet: Intellectual Disabilities (pdf)
Source: National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities
