Teaching Students With Mobility Impairments
These disabilities may be a result of congenital conditions, progressive neuromuscular diseases, or accidents, and may include conditions such as cerebral palsy, spinabifida, spinal cord injury, severe arthritis, cardiac conditions, short stature, paralysis, stroke, polio/post polio, cystic fibrosis, amputation, chronic pain, diabetes, and so on.Accommodations vary greatly with this population due to the wide array of physical abilities and limitations.
Use Good Communication:
- Keep an open communication line with the student, and be open to suggestions.
- Be creative and open minded, work with the student to develop ways to make information more accessible.
- Discuss the students’ needs early in the term to alleviate potential difficulties
- If you are involved in a conversation with a person using a wheelchair or someone of short stature for more than a few minutes, try to kneel, sit or squat, to eliminate the students need to crane their neck for an extended period of time.
- Do not discuss concerns with the student in front of the class, do this privately.
- When communicating with a person, who is a wheelchair user, do not lean, grab or hold onto the wheelchair.
Class considerations
- Give ample notice about field trips, it takes time to set up alternate transportation for some students.
- Student may choose to tape record class lectures.
- Keep chairs pushed in when not occupied.
- Keep reserved seats available.
- Some students may need to change positions during class, e.g.: sit/stand.Often they select the most appropriate location in the classroom.
- In some cases, providing an oral exam or allowing the student to tape his answers may be reasonable solutions if the student is either incapable of writing or if their writing is illegible.
- The majority of students with mobility impairments will ask for help when needed.Do not assume assistance is automatically required.Offer assistance if you wish.However, do not insist and accept being turned down graciously.
Accommodations may include one or more of the following:
- Extra time to get from one class to another
- Use of tape recorders
- Extended time for tests
- Use of computer rather than handwriting texts and assignments
- Note takers
- Private testing
- Scribes
- Priority Seating (some desks will be reserved in the classroom please do not move these desks)
- Voice recognition software
- Ergonomic chairs and desks
- Use of adaptive technology (keyboards, trackball, touch pad, one-handed keyboard…)
- Extra time for written assignments
- Assistive Listening Devices