Overview
Personal-care programs involve all facets of the curriculum. Such programs
can include developing students' ability to communicate a need, developing the
fine- or gross-motor skills needed for dressing and undressing, and developing
the organizational skills needed for choosing, maintaining, and managing
clothing. For some students who require a high degree of support, the
development of personal-care skills can become one of the major emphases of
their overall program.
Proficiency in such areas as eating, dressing, grooming, personal hygiene,
and toileting is crucial to the student's sense of self-worth and ability to
control the environment in which he or she lives. Not all students will achieve
total independence in personal care. Nevertheless, opportunities to establish
appropriate health and hygiene habits need to be provided in the home, school,
and community.
Within the school environment, lunch time and recesses provide students with
opportunities to learn and apply independence in eating as well as to enjoy
communication and social interaction.
The Planning Cycle
Assessment and Development
In the first two phases of the planning cycle, educators need to:
- involve parents in establishing realistic personal-care expectations based
on individual needs;
- observe and assess what students can do for themselves;
- become aware of students' motor and cognitive abilities;
- involve qualified healthsupport professionals if needed;
- become aware of the methods by which students communicate their likes,
dislikes, choices, and problems;
- assess students' gross- and fine-motor control, balance, range of motion,
and perceptual abilities;
- consider modifications to clothing, equipment, and eating utensils to
accommodate students' needs.
Implementation and Evaluation
In the last two phases of the planning cycle, educators need to:
- teach personal-care programs in the most natural environment possible,
ensuring that the setting is age-appropriate;
- frequently review specific modifications and adaptations of equipment;
- evaluate specific programs continually;
- consult with health professionals when the need arises;
- share program strategies with parents;
- communicate progress to parents regularly.
Resources
Metropolitan Toronto School Board. The Developmentally Handicapped
Student: Curriculum Guidelines. Toronto: Metropolitan Toronto School Board,
1986.
Orelove, Fred, and Sobsey, Dick. Educating Children With Multiple
Disabilities: A Transdisciplinary Approach. Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes,
1987.
Case Study - Elementary Level
Student Profile Ten-year-old Nick had anoxia during
childbirth. His physical problems include microcephaly, cerebral palsy (spastic
quadriplegia), mild scoliosis, and a dislocated hip. He has no form of
independent mobility and depends on others for all aspects of his daily care.
He has poor head control, limited use of his hands, and no use of his legs. He
has excellent eye contact and communicates by eye pointing at a picture board.
Nick cooperates only for favourite staff members. He is very difficult to feed
and often clamps down on his spoon so that it is difficult to remove it from
his mouth. He lives in a small (fifty bed) residential facility for persons
with developmental disabilities.
Learning Environment Nick has been placed in a junior class
for students with developmental disabilities in a regular school.
Expected Learning Outcomes Nick is expected to:
- develop finemotor skills;
- demonstrate personal-care skills to the extent that he is physically
capable;
- improve his ability to relax, socialize, and communicate with staff and
students;
- communicate his needs and desires.
Student Program Nick is being provided with opportunities to:
- relax, inhibit his bite reflex while eating, and take food off the spoon
with his tongue;
- make choices about what he would like to eat or drink by eye pointing;
- eye-point to his lunch, cup, toothbrush, coat, and other personal
belongings;
- eye-point to yes and no cards to indicate whether or not his
face is clean after he has viewed it in a mirror;
- improve his reach in order to operate environmentalcontrol switches;
- learn to exert sufficient pressure to turn switches on and off.
Case Study - Secondary Level
Student Profile David is an eighteen-year-old student with
severe disabilities, including poor fine- and gross-motor skills. He is
learning to print his name, to count to 5, and to recognize colours. David
seems unaware of his appearance: his hair is often messy and his clothes are
uncoordinated. He often comes to school dressed inappropriately for the
weather. He is friendly, but in conversation he often repeats the same few
phrases over and over.
Learning Environment David has been placed in a special class
in a secondary school. He is integrated into regular classes for physical
education, and he has his lunch in the cafeteria with the other students.
Expected Learning Outcomes David is expected to:
- develop appropriate conversational skills;
- accept responsibility for his personal hygiene and grooming;
- develop skills required for independent living;
- demonstrate age-appropriate behaviour in his peer relationships.
Student Program David is being provided with opportunities to:
- maintain a well-groomed appearance and dress appropriately and seasonally;
- shower and wash his hair after physical education classes and swimming;
- complete grooming routines after lunch each day;
- socialize and converse with other students in the school cafeteria in order
to improve his expressive language and to become more aware of personal
grooming through peer influences;
- shop for clothes in the community, matching colours and choosing the
clothing items he needs to make a complete outfit.
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