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Message board > a new student in a wheechair
a new student in a wheechair
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jamiejules
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a new student in a wheechair
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hello all,
I was wondering if anyone has experienced the situation because I will soon be teaching a new pupil at school , he is 11, in a wheelchair and his illness prevents him from writing as well (his parents say he will be lucky if he lives to be 22)
I feel terrible but at the same time as a professional I can �t let my emotions take over....
any tips?? (teaching,coping....) |
13 Jun 2009
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anitarobi
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I �ve never had that type of a problem, but I have had different ones... What I have learned over the years is this - you can bet other kids from the class will point you in the right direction - kids don �t think as much as we do, they don �t plan and they �re more natural about everything in life, including situations like this. If you really care, which I �m sure you do, since you are willing to ask for advice on this topic, you will find the way... Regardless of the boy �s misfortune, you will probably discover he �s a kid as much as any other kid, and your teaching style will probably just adapt, not change, because of him and for his benefit. Sure, some methods might change, because he cannot write, so you will have to find something for him to do instead, but there �s a lot of things people will advise you to do, and you �ll find a way. It might cloud your judgment and objectivity now, but once he �s among other kids, you will see him as part of the whole situation, not just him with his problem (as huge as it is)... Sometimes kids will treat him in a bad way (rarely though, you �ll see - their sensors are still natural and unspoiled), and you WILL see it and react, and that will give you an idea on what to teach next... Sometimes kids will do something amazing and wonderful, and that will give you an idea and inspire you to do something else... Life takes care of life, in all its shapes and sizes... And the boy is a kid, a person and your student... Trust your senses as a person and a teacher, rely on your students, and I hope you get the necessary cooperation from his parents and your colleagues... I �m sure everyone here will join in with a piece of advice. Everyone in life is our teacher in something! |
13 Jun 2009
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Isabelucha
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What a great answer Anita! I totally agree with you. I �m sure that a person who asks for advice on this subject surely is a great teacher. Just one small question Jamie: the boy can �t write... why? because he could never learn how to do it, or because he has some problem in his hands...? This is important because if his illness also afects his learning skills, then you have to make a bigger effort... but if he (only...) has a problem with his hands, then reading, multiple choices, speaking, will probably help... |
13 Jun 2009
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Isabelucha
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I once had a Student (girl) from Morocco. She was 14. She had never been to school before. She couldn �t read, write, speak portuguese... She couldn �t even handle a pencil! It was very scary at the beginning because I hadn �t had any kind of preparation to deal with these situations... But as soon as I faced the problem and started thinking about strategies it all went well. She developed so quickly, that I sometimes had problems in getting material to give her!!! She was amazing. At he beginning we worked a lot with the computer... She ended up speaking, reading and writing (with many mistakes, of course) very easily. At least people could understand what she wanted. :-) |
13 Jun 2009
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roneydirt
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Wish I had some good tips just basically try to include where ever possible and look beyond the illness. Had one the first year in my school in Korea with the same aspects plus couldn �t really speak. I use to lean over and throw jokes his way randomly during the class like "hey how would he taste BBQ"and point to another student... I have a strange humor and the students love it. The first day that joke came up when a student asked why was I so fat. Said it was either I am the first pregnant guy or from eating bad students. The fun part was getting to school because the first ones there got the honor of carrying him and his wheelchair up the stairs. Actually had students fight over that, not actual fights. Our school doesn �t have an elevator and is 6 stories high with special classes at the top, the lowest grade next floor and downwards the teacher area and library on the second. Now question he can �t write at all? Have they tried to strap a pen or art brush to his hand? As for coping personally think about this you are giving what time he has the best that you can and trying to let him feel a bit normal like every other student when you include him. I don �t think there is any miracle cure on that. I also think he will be in your memory for a very long time. I still remember kids I worked with when I was a kid that had "problems" or special needs to this day and remember their smiles. |
13 Jun 2009
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jamiejules
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the boy has Duchenne muscular dystrophy and yes Sylvie he will have an AVS (for the non french: a person here to help the child at all times during school from morning till evening!!)
I know he is getting worse, but I am used to coping with kids with disabilities so the "handicap" issue isn �t really one, my real concern is: Do I ignore the fact that he may be in pain? Do I turn a blind eye if he doesn �t do his homework? my problem is really do I (in my everyday way of "handling" him) make it implicit that I know he is dying and therefore treat him differently because of it??
I am struggling.... it is a real dilema as a teacher?
by the way thanks for the answers I have had so far!
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13 Jun 2009
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anitarobi
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Oh, dear, I don �t know you or him, but I don �t think anyone would like to be treated differently because you know they �re dying... god, this is a difficult subject, and it �s difficult to be clever about it or say anything clever about it... what I meant was - I don �t think anyone would want to be reminded every day and everywhere that they �re dying soon... ( �Everyone dies, sooner or later... �) As I said, I don �t know him or you, and you will DEFINITELY be the best judge of the situation (and see all the support you got here), but treat him as much as you can like the other kids - I guess he �ll be thankful for that, and so will his parents, because they obviously want him to spend the rest of what he has as normally as possible, not moaping around somewhere secluded... (BTW, I have a student I treated slightly more firgivingly than others after a terrible family shock - he and his family were held separately in different rooms of the house all at gunpoint while they house was being robbed by men in police uniforms(he was 6 at the time)- and I see it didn �t help at all - in fact his parents asked me to treat him quite normally because they were trying to do the same...I know it �s not the same situation, but kids want to feel like kids, not - subjects... I really wish I could say sth really clever and helpful now, but I get your dilemma. It �s not easy to be clever in this situation... |
13 Jun 2009
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Olindalima ( F )
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Hi Jamie
I had a student with very similar conditions about some 12 / 13 years ago. it was said his life expectation was very, very short.( 2/3 years )
Well, good news first; he is still wandering around, he lives in a special place for old/sick/ handicapped people.
He was a very bad student ( English and other subjects ) when I met him, he should be about 12/13 years old. He could hardly write, but you won �t manage to understand his handwriting, so, it was the same as if he could not really write.And he also had many difficulties in speaking, so, even in Portuguese, it was very hard to understand what he was saying.
Now, guess what, he, the guy who could hardly write, is a painter. Obviously he is not a Picasso or a Rembrant, but he paints and, as far as possible, he is happy and found a kind of way out.
Now, how to reach him / to teach him, that was, at that time a big problem for me. When he happened to be my student, it was supposed that it was his 4th year of English and, he didn �t say or write a simple sentence. Moreover, he would refuse to cooperate for many months, so whatever I tried, it didn �t succeed, so, my post is just to tell you that, HOPE IS THE LAST THING WE SHOULD GIVE AWAY.
Hope you can find your /his way through and, remember, the only important thing is, that we all deserve to be as happy as possible.
Good luck.
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13 Jun 2009
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Nabila Manzur
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I agree with you girls. I have a friend whose child, aged 7 has a problem similar to austism, he doesn�t speak, he still wears diapers, fortunately he can walk, sometimes with a bit of difficulty if the road is not flat, but the worse thing is that he doesnt have a medical diagnostic, cause all his tests are of a �normal �child.
All of us treat him as the other kids in the family and he is a HAPPY child. it�s not similar to the cause of your student my dear jamie, i know, but i think that you should be like you are, reading your words, i can feel that you are lovely with your sts, so... be you. And you�ll know how to adapt to each situation. Enjoy it! I�ll be another touching experience for your heart.
ALL WE NEED IS LOVE |
13 Jun 2009
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rozianne
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I have worked in the past with Duchenne �s boys. I agree with what everyone has said so far on the �no special treatment � thing. My experience is just treat him like all the other kids - no extra pity nor compensation, no extra compassion nor charity points. (You get all of those extra points on your own just for thinking so deeply about him ;)
I �m sure he �ll appreciate that more - but of course it �s sth you �ll feel as you go along. You don �t yet know how he �s been brought up. Some of the boys I did work with were molly-coddled and therefore EXPECTED special treatment. That can be upsetting to the child if they don �t get what they �re used to. However, most parents sensibly treated them as they did any other child. It �s sth you �ll figure out.
If he �s having a particularly bad day, you �ll probably know, unless he �s being brave + trying to cover up. I think when you have broken the ice and got to know him you �ll establish an open line of communication where he can safely say �Hey! Gimmeabreak - I haven �t slept in 2 days and my legs are spazzing up + killing me + my meds are knocking me out and that �s why I haven �t done any HW! OK? � Again it �s all about feeling your way as you go along. He needs to feel comfortable enough to do that. In that respect he does need �special � treatment on certain occasions because his circumstances are �different �.
Now as for his abilities, that �s sth you probably need to research a little first so you �re not taken aback by anything unusual. Parents are obviously your first port of call but also any therapist might help with their assessments - physio, language pathologist, special teaching staff, educational psychologists + other rehab staff. Maybe there is a full file you could have access to?
So, if he cannot write, does that mean he cannot understand the written word or just doesn �t have the muscle strength to hold a pen and coordinate his fine motor skills well enough? If so, something like this MIGHT help.
If not, there �s voice recognition technology that his parents may have at home (OK I �m assuming a lot here) so maybe he could do some HW assignments that way.
If he is unable to write but can understand the written word, then you could adapt exercises to meet his needs. So a small reading passage in class where Ss are taking turns to give answers, when it is HIS turn you could have a true and false piece of paper in front of him that he can either touch if he �s unable to speak, or eye-point to the card he �s unable to move his hand. Tons of flashcards will help here too.
OK I �m rambling. Basically, I think you need to get a full assessment of his current abilities and work around that level and aim to maintain that level considering his condition.
I �m sure he will be lucky to have you as a teacher and you too will feel lucky to have met him. I know that �s how I felt, even though �my � kids all passed away.
One final thing that has helped me is this;
See clearly, Act from the heart.
Rozianne.
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13 Jun 2009
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hedgehog
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as stexstme says, you can ask for an AVSI. In French �Assistant de vie scolaire individualis� �. This year I had an autist boy in one of my class and he was helped by an AVSI. They do a good job and they �re really helpful as far as they are with the child all day long. They help him understand, they re-explain, and they have contacts with the parents. They are formed for this job and it allows you to concentrate on the child but also on the other pupils who still need your help and your understanding. It �s difficult to work with �different � children but it �s also part of the job and I think it �s really great when you see the evolution
Good Luck
Anne
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13 Jun 2009
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