I have worked with special needs kids for four years. This chapter was absolutely great learning experience for me. I have had some of the hands on with some of the technology for special needs kids. The technology that I read in this chapter will help me tremendously in my future class room.
My four years of experience with special needs is very frustrating at times and very rewarding. I have worked with autistic kids. Some that I have worked with fit right in don’t have a problem with the other kids. The one I work with this year has sever autism. His behavior contains screaming, not working by throwing his job work, and he will take off running out of the school. He keeps our job interesting. I have to say the little girl that I also work with in the elementary is a shaken baby syndrome. She is one of the lucky ones; her disabilities are her motor skills and a little slow on comprehending what’s going on in the class room. She has to wear braces on her legs to help her walk. I have one other student that I work with in the morning when I’m at the elementary. He is an outgoing living life like there’s no tomorrow. His disability is his legs don’t have enough muscles to keep him up on his own; he is in a standing wheel chair to help strengthen his legs. He also has a feeding tube. Let me tell you that does not stop him. He gets in and out of his wheel chair into a regular chair. He opens doors on his own and many participate in everyday things at school.
One of the technologies that I read about I have worked with many times. The student cannot use the mouse like a regular person. So she uses her index figure to touch were she wants to go on the monitor. Another technology that I have used is called a “Go Talk”. This helps the student and the teacher to know what the student needs. There are about eighteen buttons with pictures that show them what they need then they push it. After they push it it’s a recording of the teachers voices letting us know if they need to use the bathroom or want something to drink etc. Trust me after reading this chapter I have learned about so many other technologies that are out there to help all kinds of students with different disability’s.
Monica,
ReplyDeleteI find your method of "Go Talk" to be very interesting and creative. It's amazing how you can use technology to access the needs of students, from their learning experiences to the communication of those with disabilities. In the past, I helped students with Attention Deficit Disorder and reading disabilities in elementary schools. I was a study buddy as well as a cadet teacher in high school, and would read with the children. We usually read out in the hallway but at times would listen to recorded books. It amazed me how much more information the students retained from the recorded books, as well as how much better they were at sounding out more challenging words after its use! I believe that this is a great example of how technology has a positive impact on learning and I will be sure to remember to integrate technical activities into my lesson plans.
I am specializing in Special Ed. However, I have not had the opportunity to work with special needs children yet. I really enjoyed reading about your experiences in working with special needs children. I really like your idea about using the recorded books and plan to use those books in my future teaching. It is good to know what things actually work with the kids in the classroom.
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