Orthopedically Impaired in the Classroom

     At some point in the career of a teacher, he or she will more than likely be assigned a student with special needs in their classroom. In some schools, students with special needs are placed in classrooms separate from that of the general student population. This separation is often because the tools they need and the help they need do not exist in the regular population. Today however, teachers are learning more ways to accommodate these students within their classrooms. With modern day technology, learning beside their general education classmates, has become possible for students with special needs. Assistive technology is working wonders for students with special needs and is allowing them to be included in the regular classrooms.

     In the school year 2003-2004, the U.S. Department of Education reported that of the 5,971,495 students receiving special education services, 1.1% (or 68,188 students) received special education services based on a classification of orthopedic impairments. According to IDEA or, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act, the category of orthopedic impairments covers a wide variety of disorders; the most prevalent is cerebral palsy (Project IDEAL).
 
    With that said, teachers who do end up with a student with an orthopedic impairment, need to look at their lesson plans and think of ways that their lessons can be modified to ensure that that student is included in the educational experience. The teacher has to take into account, (1) the things that the student can do, (2) their limits, (3) if they have any medication that must be ready at all times and what time they should be taken, (4) how their assistive technologies work, and last but most importantly (5) any provisions made by their IEP, Individualized Educational Plan.

     Without getting into all the technicalities of the laws of Special Education and the specifications of an IEP, there are simple accommodations teachers can make during their lessons (504 Resources).

1. provide extra time to get to class
2. provide a bathroom assistance/bathroom buddy
3. ensure that their desk and any part of the classroom that is being used for activities has enough space for their mobility as many students with an orthopedic impairment use a wheelchair

     With observations I have done for one of my special education classes I have experienced one class in which there was a student that was orthopedically impaired. The student participated in the teacher's question and answer portion of class and the dancing activity. When it came to the dancing activity, fellow students knew that they had to understand and include him; they took turns offering to push his wheelchair to the designated area on the floor. The teacher told the student that he can still dance by simply doing the hand movements while a student volunteer moved the wheelchair side to side. 

     Personally, I do not have any friends or family members with an orthopedic impairment. My mother however, has Asthma. She has mild intermittent asthma and always has to have her inhaler with her. When our family has any events we make sure that family members who smoke are not near her and that we do not have her do any rigorous tasks because those things can trigger her Asthma, or worse, trigger an Asthma attack. 

     As a future educator, I will make it a point not to be ignorant about the existence of students with special needs and think to myself that I will never end up with one. As a future educator, I want to continue to educate myself as to how I can best communicate what I am teaching to my special needs students and learn about new ways I can incorporate them into my lesson activities. I do believe that these students can learn. I do believe that and when I become a teacher, they will. 

References

504 Resources. (n.d.). South Lane School District. Retrieved October 17, 2014, from http://www.slane.k12.or.us/departments/special-services/504-resources

Jamaica Gleaner. (2014, May 18). Johnathan Francis, quite the exception [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtLmYMHTPhE 

Orthopedic Impairments - Project IDEAL. (n.d.). Project IDEAL. Retrieved October 16, 2014, from http://www.projectidealonline.org/v/orthopedic-impairments/