Intellectual Disabilities

Students with Intellectual Disabilities tend to have a variety of challenges that must be supported on a daily basis. Many of these individuals have trouble processing, storing, generalizing, remembering, and using metacognitive skills (2015, August 11). Class Lecture. They will also have difficulty with reading, writing, spelling, language, and other literacy skills (2015, August 11). Class Lecture. It is very important for teachers to know what the student’s strengths and weaknesses are so that they can determine how they can help them in the classroom and in daily life activities.

Assistive Technology (AT) is a must with these types of students and should be introduced at the earliest age possible (Evmenova, Ault, Bausch, Warger, 2012, p. 1-2). The AT should also be used throughout various settings and not just within the classroom. An article that I read lists 7 areas in which AT should be used and how it can help the students overcome many challenges. I would like to discuss each area and provide some examples of AT that would help students with intellectual disabilities be more successful in life.

The first area that the individual will need assistance in is “home living”. This area includes skills that are used at home such as brushing your teeth, dressing and undressing, eating, and bathing (Evmenova, Ault, Bausch, Warger, 2012, p. 1-2). The picture below is an example of a built up handle for different utensils that the student will use throughout their home environment. It can be adapted for not just eating utensils, but for other items that the student may have trouble holding or grabbing.

 [Untitled photograph of built up handles]. Retrieved from http://www.easycomforts.com/easycomforts/images/p345274b.jpg

The second area that the individual will need assistance in is “community living”. This includes learning how to use public transportation, shopping, and recreational activities (Evmenova, Ault, Bausch, Warger, 2012, p. 1-2). The picture below is a battery controlled card shuffler. I would have never thought this would be an example of AT but I could definitely see where someone might have trouble shuffling cards. Cards can be a fun game that everyone can play and this way the individual can participate in the shuffling part.

[Untitled photograph of a battery controlled card shuffler]. Retrieved from http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41YwzTKQ56L._SY355_.jpg

The third area that the individual may need help in is “lifelong learning”. This includes learning to play with others and having experiences interacting with peers around them (Evmenova, Ault, Bausch, Warger, 2012, p. 1-2). An example of AT that would help the individual learn more about life would be audio books. By listening to stories the individual can learn more about other people and how to interact with those around them.

[Untitled photograph]. Retrieved from http://cdn3.openculture.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/bigstock_Audio_book_14340599-e1330386218724.jpg.

The fourth area that the individual may need help in is “employment”. This includes getting a job and maintaining the skills required for that job (Evmenova, Ault, Bausch, Warger, 2012, p. 1-2). A great way to make sure that this individual succeeds in this area is to provide a lot of video modeling so that they can see what they need to do. Once the individual got the job, I would have someone video tape the other co-workers to show this individual what exactly they need to do.

[Untitled photograph of someone video recording]. Retrieved from http://apostrophemagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/employeessuccess-600x275.jpg

The fifth area that an individual may need assistance with is “health and safety”. We want to make sure that the individual is maintaining a healthy diet, exercising, and taking proper medication when needed (Evmenova, Ault, Bausch, Warger, 2012, p. 1-2). A life alert watch may be a great way to encourage independence but still have a way to ensure the individuals safety in case of an emergency.

[Untitled photograph of life alert watch]. Retrieved from https://www.alert-1.com/data/uploads/media/image/one%20button.jpg

The sixth area that an individual may need assistance in is “social activities”. This is all about the social skills and making friends and having positive relationships in their life (Evmenova, Ault, Bausch, Warger, 2012, p. 1-2). A great app that can help with social skills is Photo Tell. The individual can post pictures and then add an audio caption to each one. This can allow the student to have their own photo story and share it with others.

 

[Untitled photograph of Photo Tell app]. Retrieved from http://cdn.cultofmac.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/mobileapps-e1398032068301.jpg

The last area of assistance is in “protecting and advocacy”. This entails dealing with money and legal responsibilities (Evmenova, Ault, Bausch, Warger, 2012, p. 1-2). A great tool for this would be some online training about ADA. You can do it with the student and then discuss things one on one to inform them of their rights.

All of these are just some of the great tools to help assist individual with ID. I hope you got some great ideas and tools from this blog. Enjoy!