Overview
Learning community living skills is critical for students because such
skills will enable them to adapt to and live in the community independently and
successfully. The key to learning community living skills is practice in
reallife situations. If students are to develop the social and economic
competence necessary to function independently, their programs must give them
opportunities to integrate into the community.
A key feature of community-living-skills programs is decision making - that
is, learning to identify problems, to decide on plans of action, and to accept
the consequences of the chosen actions.
Community living skills can be taught in all grades and in a number of
program areas. For the younger student, community awareness is emphasized
through excursions in the community -excursions that involve, for example,
observing community helpers in action or purchasing items for use in the
classroom.
For the older student, community living experiences can be provided through
consumer studies and personallifemanagement courses. Students require
individualized, community-focused programs that include activities such as
shopping for goods and services, using public transportation, using financial
services, and selecting appropriate support services.
Experiences for students with multiple needs may include opportunities for
sensory and social stimulation from sounds and sights in the community.
The Planning Cycle
Assessment and Development
the first two phases of the planning cycle, educators need to:
- identify students' physical, cognitive, social, and communicative
capacities and needs with respect to community involvement;
- obtain parents' co-operation and consent for their children's participation
in community-based programs;
- identify community agencies and facilities that are used by students'
families and by the school;
- identify priorities for learning (e.g., crossing the street safely,
purchasing food, using a hospital);
- identify opportunities for social interaction with peers;
- identify safety hazards (e.g., traffic, possibility of exploitation by
people in the community);
- develop policies about such matters as insurance and staff support;
- plan for the additional costs of community-based programming;
- identify any logistical problems (e.g., staffing, timetabling).
Implementation and Evaluation
In the last two phases of the planning cycle, educators need to:
- begin community-based programming in the elementary years and gradually
increase the amount of time spent on this area;
- use an integrative approach, combining language, mathematics, and the
social and mobility skills required for functioning in the community;
- use a variety of techniques in the classroom (e.g., role plays, films,
games, discussions) to reinforce community learning;
- provide opportunities for students to generalize their skills to a range of
environments (e.g., to purchase groceries at various supermarkets, to use
several banks);
- provide students with problems to solve in a variety of community
environments (e.g., returning an item for a refund, finding their way when
lost);
- monitor students' skills carefully and provide tasks that are challenging;
- provide community experiences that are ageappropriate.
Resources
Falvey, Mary A. Community-based Curriculum: Instructional Strategies for
Students With Severe Handicaps. Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes, 1986.
Ontario. Ministry of Education. Business Studies, Intermediate and Senior
Divisions: Consumer Studies. Curriculum Guideline. Toronto: Ministry of
Education, Ontario, 1987.
_____. Community Study. Curriculum Ideas for Teachers. Toronto:
Ministry of Education, Ontario, 1977.
_____. Geography, Intermediate and Senior Divisions, Part A: Policy and
Program Expectations. Curriculum Guideline. Toronto: Ministry of Education,
Ontario, 1988.
_____. Personal Life Management, Intermediate and Senior Divisions.
Curriculum Guideline. Toronto: Ministry of Education, Ontario, 1985.
Case Study - Elementary Level
Student Profile Jonathan is a seven-year-old with multiple
disabilities. He has a slow, unsteady gait as a result of cerebral palsy; is
subject to grand mal seizures, which are usually controlled by medication; and
has a severe hearing loss in his left ear. He requires assistance with
toileting and has difficulty with the fine-motor skills needed for such
dressing tasks as buttoning and zipping clothes. He points and gestures to
communicate what he wants. He understands one- and twoword phrases, but it is
necessary to get his attention first because he is frequently unaware of his
surroundings. He loves watching wrestling on TV and playing with
"transformer" toys.
Learning Environment Jonathan attends a Primary class in a
special school. An important goal for him is to increase his awareness of the
environment around the school and his home. At school he is accompanied by his
teacher or an educational assistant. His parents are willing to cooperate with
the school in the development of a community-awareness program for Jonathan.
Expected Learning Outcomes Jonathan is expected to:
- develop skill at walking in the local community with his classmates and
going to the store with the educational assistant to purchase wrestling toys;
- improve his awareness of safety practices, such as stopping at curbs and
crossing with lights;
- improve his ability to interact appropriately with adults and peers when
travelling in the community.
Student Program Jonathan is being provided with opportunities
to:
- expand his understanding of the words he needs for safe travel in the
community (e.g., stop, wait, sidewalk, curb) by attending to
environmental cues such as buildings, colours, and distinctive signs;
- refine his pointing and gesturing skills to indicate where he wants to go,
what he wishes to purchase, and so on;
- recognize the logos for men's and women's washrooms in the school and the
community;
- develop appropriate ways of interacting with his peers, school staff, and
store personnel through verbal prompts, modelling, and praise;
- develop increasing independence in the use of public washrooms;
- learn to choose appropriate clothing for outings by practising making
choices;
- take responsibility for wearing his safety helmet when walking;
- develop an awareness of safety practices in the community (e.g., using the
sidewalk, stopping at curbs, looking both ways before crossing streets,
recognizing traffic lights);
- develop a variety of mobility and endurance skills by walking on a variety
of surfaces (e.g., sidewalks, grass, slopes, snow, ice) and by stepping up and
down curbs or stairs;
- improve his finemotor skills (e.g., handling money to purchase a wrestling
poster).
Case Study - Secondary Level
Student Profile Fifteen-year-old Corinne takes care of her
personal needs and communicates effectively. She is very shy, especially when
talking to people whom she does not know well. She is able to read important
words that she encounters in the community (e.g., STOP, LADIES, DANGER)
and to add and subtract to 10. She is well co-ordinated and enjoys
participating in a variety of sports.
Learning Environment Corinne attends a special class in her
local secondary school.
Expected Learning Outcomes Corinne is expected to: - learn to
travel to school on her own by public transit through an extensive program
designed specifically for her; - generalize her independent travelling skills
to other excursions, such as going bowling.
Student Program Corinne is being provided with opportunities
to:
- develop the language skills she needs to request bus tickets, ask for
assistance or directions, and request information about bus routes and times;
- develop the ability to follow oral directions if lost;
- read significant information on the bus and in the station, the names of
streets en route, the names of community stores and recreational facilities,
and a bus timetable;
- improve her ability to read and write important information on her student
identification card, including her parents' workplaces, her telephone number,
and the school address;
- overcome her shyness about asking questions and learn how to interact
effectively with transit personnel and other travellers by practising specific
dialogue, using confident body language, and role playing possible situations;
- become responsible for carrying proper identification, caring for her
personal belongings en route, making a telephone call from a public booth, and
practising street safety;
- practise problemsolving procedures that she can use in an emergency;
- develop competence in using money by purchasing tickets, making telephone
calls, and paying to use a bowling lane;
- develop numeracy skills by recognizing the time of arrival of various buses
and estimating what time she needs to leave home in order to arrive at school
on time.
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