social interaction – mamasmunchkin

This week I found an article that was a bit concerning to me. Many efforts have been made to de-institutionalize people with disabilities but this article seems to want to take a step back in time. I spend a lot of time writing about the importance of living as independently as possible within your limitations. The opportunity to live somewhere, other than with your parents when you reach 18 is like a right of passage for most young adults. It’s no different for those who live with a disability. The experiences we have building relationships, holding jobs and even volunteering enhances the quality of our lives like nothing else.

Day programs vary in what they do but I really like the one mentioned in this article. There are a bunch of activities ranging from work and play. Also, the residents aren’t necessarily restricted to staying indoors all day. The participants have their own apartments that give them an element of individuality too. A sense of community, where people don’t feel so alone, has also been fostered within the group. Friendships and social interaction between people is an important part of their environment and even trickles out into the community. Not surprisingly, funding is at issue, and these programs are in jeopardy of being cut. As a result, the residents will lose the predictability and stability of what they’re able to do.

It would be beneficial to all if other solutions could be found, instead of going to the extreme of cutting funding for these programs all together. More individualized approaches could be taken so participant’s lives aren’t totally disrupted. Other solutions could avoid putting some participants in situations they can’t handle because of their disability. Since disabilities vary in how they affect people, it would be interesting to find out if some sort of assessment to determine level of need were conducted, how much could the program be changed to benefit both the State and the participant?

Unfortunately, programs for the disabled and or disadvantaged populations always seem to be the ones cut or downsized in some way that negatively impacts recipients. Maybe in the long run solutions can be devised so the quality of life of these participants won’t be negatively affected.

What do you think of the benefits these programs provide?

Thanks for reading..
cr

For more information check out the link below:

http://www.northjersey.com/news/changes-ahead-in-n-j-for-disabled-some-fear-loss-of-familiar-programs-1.1307297

It’s been a few weeks ago now that I was watching the news and saw a report of how one of the local schools was using IPads with students in Special Education. This got me thinking about how far technology has come since I was in school. Advances like the IPad have far-reaching effects, not only on society, since we’re very much on-the-go and rely on devices that travel with us, but on the students in today’s classrooms too.

While I had certain accommodations in school, the thought of what the IPad may be able to do to help students reach their educational goals was very interesting to me. When I started doing some research, it was clear that the IPad was definitely an asset to the classroom. Students were more involved in their work as well as with their peers. Then a light bulb went off in my head when I read about the speech-to-text function. That’s perfect for anyone who has limited use of their hands and needs to type something.

Unfortunately, there’s limited research available on the usefulness of this device in the classroom. One can only hope that maybe as more schools get on board with the idea, someone will conduct further research to determine the positive and negative effects that exist. Although, like everything else, the IPad isn’t a substitute for certain things, and isn’t a feasible tool for all disabilities, it’s encouraging to know it can reach students in alternative ways. It allows students the opportunity to be excited about learning. Once you can engage students in the learning process, the outcome can’t be anything but positive.

What other advances currently available might be able to assist a special needs student in their quest to learn?

Thanks for reading..

For more information go to these links:

http://www.post-gazette.com/news/health/2013/09/09/Breaking-Down-Barriers-iPad-helpful-tool-for-special-needs-students/stories/201309090197

http://www.npr.org/blogs/ed/2014/06/13/321058641/ipads-in-special-ed-what-does-the-research-say