Carla,
I am unclear as to how arrangements are made for students with disabilities at your institution, but it would seem unusual for there to be a student to be in class with a significant sensory disability (blindness, deafness) without the instructor being aware of it.
Dr. Jane Jarrow
Grades may be affected if instructor unaware and accomodations not met.
Trish ,
It sounds as though the student has a significant language-based disability (perhaps as the result of a stroke or some closed-head trauma?). Whatever the cause, it sounds as though she has landed in a supportive environment with people willing to recognize her strengths and help her to achieve. Lucky lady!
Dr. Jane Jarrow
Currently we have a student who is approaching graduation. She is a superior student in everything she does hands on. She can learn easily with help next to her. She has a speak problem that seems to limit her comprehension. She has been using several sources of study habits and they are working well. Her grades are improving, she has a study partner who clarifies pronounciation and helps read and give definitions for terms she doesn't understand. She is making SAP after struggling for most of her course in her written competency. We have as a team encouraged her and her self esteem has grown with the SAP.
Guerda,
That's a good example of the impact of low expectations -- all too common for individuals with sensory disabilities to face!
Dr. Jane Jarrow
Guerda,
Agreed. Too often, those of us without such disabilities make assumptions about what our capabilities would be, facing those same circumstances, and because we can't imagine being able to cope, we assume that the student won't be able to cope, either. Bad assumption! GRIN
Dr. Jane Jarrow
A misconception about students who are hard of hearing, deaf, blind, or have limited vision could lead to crippling preferential treatment; as was the case with Helen Keller. Initially, it seemed that her family felt that her condition made her incapable of learning basic common courtesy and manners. However, after hiring Annie Sullivan, the family soon learned Helen was capable of learning and communicating. Helen Keller went on to be the first deaf-blind person to earn a earn a Bachelor of Arts degree.
Being hard of hearing, deaf, blind, or having limited vision should never be the absolute reason for labeling it’s not a clear indication of one’s learning or thinking ability. It would be unfair to set unfounded limits on any student.
Helen,
Absolutely! And you have just experienced another of the major problems... students who can "pass" as being just like everyone else are often too embarrassed to admit that they need our help so that they can perform just like everyone else. Anything you can do to make such self-identification easier will certainly be of benefit to your students.
Dr. Jane Jarrow
I have a student who has a visual disability. Some of the other students were commenting on this student being lazy and not so smart. I did not know at first that this student had visual problems, she did not want to share this. She came to me after class to ask me to enlarge the print on a few things for her and that is when I realized she was 50% blind. So people can perceive negative things about a person without understanding the real issue.
You are right, Ellen. Students with hearing loss are legendary for faking their way through life because they feel self-conscious about asking for repetition over and over. They often ask once, then again, and then they smile and nod and go away to ask someone else. It is ironic that students who have the lease "visible" disabilities (that is, you can't tell by looking at them) are often the most severely impacted simply BECAUSE others don't realize their needs.
I find that there are many misconceptions. I was just speaking with a student who has hearing issues. She can't afford hearing aids and she often must ask for clarification ( or repetition in class). After she asked the instructor to repeat something another student said, "What? Are you deaf!?" She said that although her disability is minimal, she still feels self-conscious and doesn't always want to tell people, including instructors, that she has hearing issues.
I could understand her concern. Oftentimes, there is a judgment that students can't learn as easily or that they are just being a pain. Accommodating the student so that they are in the best situation for mastering the concepts is ideal but sometimes it takes extra effort which causes undue criticism as well.
I agree, Dale. How can you "operationalize" that idea? Do you have any ideas as to how you can create a welcoming atmosphere in your classroom for students with disabilities?
Dr. Jane Jarrow
Very well put Pamela, we should treat everyone equal and try to understand the disabilites that they have, and the accomadations that they need.
I am not sure what you are suggesting here, Pamela. While it is not uncommon for students with disabilities to hide their difficulties or try to cope without having to share their problem with others, it IS uncommon for students who are blind or deaf not to be aware of that fact. A student who is hard of hearing may not realize that there is sound they are missing. A student who is deaf WILL know. You are right, though, in thinking that the student with the disability is generally the best person to to know and be able to explain to others the type of help he/she can use.
Dr. Jane Jarrow
I agree with some of your response, but then I disagree with some of it. For example, we have had students who instructors thought they might have a learning disability, but were found hard of hearing. Some students blame us for not speaking clearly, or just accept that when the instructor turns towards the board that it just sounds differently. Some students are just scared to tell anyone they can't see the board well, and some cannot afford the eyewear needed.
The part about a deaf student being prohibited from participating, made me think of a co-worker/friend of mine. He has been hard of hearing since childhood, and has that distinctive speech that alot of hard of hearing/deaf people do; he told me that some people think it is an accent, when he first meets them. Anyway, he made it through a program here, but uses his other talents and skills working here; he is the head maintenance person and part security. Everyone here accepts the fact that they have to get his attention a certain way, and that you have to look at him to speak. The amazing thing to me is that he reads lips so well that I forget he is hearing impaired; I have, on several occasions, gotten close to whisper and realized that he could not hear me. He is very good with cars, and has helped me in the past. I told him about a noise it was making; he said,"I could drive it, and it could be whistling Dixie, but I could not hear it." It wasn't said seriously, because we both laughed about it.
Once students know how they have to accommodate, and others around them accept and help them in certain situations,the possibilities are endless.
Marcia,
This is so true, especially when a deaf person signs and speaks at the same time. Like I said in an earlier post, I've grown up and worked with friends who are/were hearing-impaired from a young age; a couple of years ago,we had a medical student who was hearing impaired, who could read lips and sign, but needed a sign-language interpreter in her classes. My workplace hired an interpreter for her, and the interpreter signed the graduation ceremony for her. I knew a little sign language myself, but not enough; the student taught me even more, and corrected me when I was not doing it quite right! We both laughed at that, and she was encouraging me by telling me of resources on the Internet for quick brush up.
Pamela,
I cannot think of a more positive attitude for a teacher to have in facing a crop of new students -- disabled or not! -- with the kind of respect you demonstrate here for individual worth and potential. Not only will it serve you well in coming in contact with new folks along the line, but THEY will be better for having found someone who is ready and willing to be inclusive. Great job.
Dr. Jane Jarrow
Alot of people with the disabilities mentioned are first looked at as helpless; some are looked at as dumb. This could not be further from the truth. Teachers who have not had contact with students who are hard of hearing or blind, tend to be "scared" or undsure what to do.
I grew up next door to a girl who was hearing-impaired; when she had the measles, they got in her ears and affected her hearing. She wore a hearing aid, but was also taught to read lips. I learned that if she could not hear me, I would point to my lips to understand. She graduated from high school, college, got married and had children.
Another example is a former student of mine, at the college where I work. He had a condition of the eyes called nystagmus; this causes the eyes to constantly move. He did not want people to treat him any differently, and he definitely proved that he was smart. In a certain class in his major, the instructor had him come up to the board, to see what was being written; the students accepted that with no problem. Students also accepted that he had to be right at the computer screen, and have his speech class notecards written in large print. He was like a big bear you wanted to hug.
I believe that if you have been taught how to accept a person's physical disability (ies), like I have, and see the real person behind it/them, it will help you help that person achieve his or her goals.
One more thing: I had to start wearing hearing aids myself about five years ago; my high frequency hearing was going, and had been gradual over the years. Getting hearing aids made a difference, and made me realize what I was NOT hearing. No one at work has started treating me any different than before.
You are absolutely right, Marcia. This kind of stereotyping inevitably leads to restricted opportunities. It is something that the disability community has fought for many years, and it is the impetus behind the ADA. The law requires that we give people with disabilities a chance, whether we think they can (or would want to) use that chance or not. And people with disabilities are chipping away at those stereotypes daily!
