Disability Awareness
Looking for some basic guidelines to help you work with your students with different types of disability? Inside this article you will find proper etiquette and teaching tips covering intellectual, sensory, and physical disabilities.
Individuals with Physical Disability
There are a wide range of causes and degrees of physical disability. As such, it is critically important to always consider the ability level of each individual. One child who has Spina Bifida may have none of the same characteristics as another child who has Spina Bifida. Consider first that each individual is unique, independent of similar disabilities.
Inquire directly with a student before moving his or her mobility device out of reach. Additionally, ensure others do not play with the device. As his or her sole means of ambulation, it is important that it is accessible for whenever it is needed.
Certain disabilities predispose some individuals to latex allergies, some of which can be very serious. Some activity equipment may contain latex, and care needs to be taken to provide latex free options. Examples of such equipment include exercise bands, gripping tape (for tennis racks, baseball bats, etc.) balloons, and many more.
Regardless of age, you may need to consider using the basic concepts of progression with different sports. For example, if your student is unsuccessful connecting a bat with the ball, you may want to consider using a larger bat, putting the ball on a tee or using a larger ball that travels more slowly, like a beach ball.