Providing Access
If students are to become fully participating members of the school
community, they must have access to as much of the school as possible. Learning
environments should be physically accessible to all students, and provisions
should be made to meet students' particular physical needs. This requirement
will present challenges in many older schools, and readers are referred to the
ministry publication Designing for the Physically Disabled (1986). Where
changes to the physical environment of a school are necessary, they should be
carried out creatively, always bearing in mind the need to promote positive
interaction among all members of the student body. Such modifications should be
depicted as reflecting positive community values and as benefiting all members
of the community. (Ramps and washroom modifications make the school accessible
to all community members, not just to students with special needs.)
Retaining Features of Regular
Programming
Although students require individualized programs and possibly specialized
equipment and materials, special classes should reflect the general set-up of
other classes in the school as much as possible. For example, an emphasis on
active learning is as appropriate for special as for regular elementary
students, facilitating the provision of a personalized, experiential program.
The usual practices of providing a range of concrete materials to manipulate
and planning regular community excursions are particularly important in meeting
the needs of these students. At the secondary level, more sophisticated regular
activities, such as community involvement, work experience, and co-operative
education, may be appropriate.
Providing Materials and Equipment
Students will sometimes require specialized equipment, such as wheelchairs,
walkers, and modified tricycles, to help them use the school environment as
independently as possible. In addition, students should be positioned in the
classroom in a way that ensures appropriate instruction and promotes good
physical development and posture. Chairs and desks should be the right size and
provide sufficient support.
Learning materials (e.g., reading materials, computer software and hardware)
should be geared to students' individual needs and chronological ages. Where
possible, the general equipment used in the school should also be modified to
accommodate students' special needs. If this is not possible, the school should
investigate the use of specialized equipment.
Because an important goal in the education of students is to stress their
similarities with their peers, it is important that materials be appropriate
and suitable to their chronological ages. For example, a sixteen-year-old
student who needs to improve fine-motor or manipulative skills should practise,
not putting pegs in holes, but using a key lock, operating a vending machine,
or stapling papers. A student in the Intermediate or Senior Division who is
learning to recognize his or her written name could be required to check it off
on the class roster as an attendance check. As well, all students should be
encouraged, with their parents' co-operation, to dress in a way that reflects
the norms of their age groups.
Encouraging Interaction With Peers
In order to ensure that students get the most from their opportunities to
interact and socialize, they should be involved in regular school routines and
special events as much as possible. This includes arriving and departing from
school at the same time as other students, attending general assemblies, and
using the regular lunch facilities. Common recess and break times provide
further opportunities for social interaction and for both supervised and
unsupervised leisure and play.
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