Enhancing Education for Children with Multiple Disabilities and Visual Impairment

1. Educating Children with Multiple Disabilities and Visual Impairment (MDVI): Effective strategies in the age of inclusivity. Mary Maragia Mary. Maragia@Perkins.org Angela. Affran Angela.Affran@Perkins.org

2. Our Belief: • Quality of life

3. What is their quality of life? • Are they happy? • Who are they? • Where are they? • How old are they? • How many are they? • What are their abilities? • What are they doing? • Who do they live with? • Who do we need to collaborate with?

4. Who are they? • Children with Multiple Disabilities and visual impairment(blind or low vision with additional disabilities) • Autism • Intellectual disabilities • Deaf and hard of hearing • Physical disabilities • Health problems • Communication challenges

6. Establishing a Foundation Our philosophy is: • To Live • To Love • To Work • To Play

7. Foundation for Teaching and Learning • Children who are MDVI have unique, specific individual educational needs. • The process of setting up a quality instructional program for a child who is MDVI - - takes time, - energy and - knowledge of resources.

8. A strong educational team, including the family, is key to a positive educational experience for the child. • The elements that follow are considered critical to the success of a child’s educational learning.

9. Multidisciplinary team approach Ongoing evaluation and modifications of program Family Involvement Instructional Strategies Authentic Assessment Systematic Instruction and natural teaching approaches Established Learning Goals (IEP) Access to the general education curriculum

10. Guiding principles in the age of inclusivity • All children can learn, communicate and need support • Need for education structures, systems ad learning methodologies to meet the needs of all learners. • Need to respect differences in children (age. gender, ethnicity, language, class, disability, HIV etc.) • It is a never ending process.

11. Effective Strategies • Making the most of every opportunity for learning • Choosing appropriate methods of teaching to meet the unique diverse needs of each individual learner • Arranging the learning and the physical environment • Prioritizing the learning goals and pursuing them.

12. Considerations when choosing appropriate teaching strategies: • Child’s level of functioning • Skill/concept being taught • Sensory needs of the child • Age of the child • Child/family preferences

13. There is NOT one teaching strategy that fits the needs of all children. • Instruction must accommodate the child’s unique learning needs and work toward implementing the goals outlined in the IEP.

14. Teaching & Learning strategies • Partial vs. full participation • Consistent structure and Routine • Modeling • Task analysis • Motivating activities • Age appropriate • Clear beginning, middle and end • Choice making • Clear expectations • Accessibility (Visual, motor, auditory adaptations) • Turn taking • Natural environments

16. Routines, Anticipation, Consistency, and Clear Expectation • Children need to anticipate • A predictable daily schedule at school and at home (helps children feel safe and secure, so they are ready to learn). • It’s important to prepare children for changes in their routines. 

17. They need consistency of people, places - consistent teachers and - caregivers • Help build trusting relationships with adults and peers.

18. Functional activities

20. Task analysis(Steps of an activity) • Baking activity

21. Natural environments • A positive learning environment sets the stage for effective teaching and successful learning. • Teaching in natural settings and natural times promotes the use of environmental cues to learn

23. Age appropriate

24. Modeling • Modeling planting

25. Imitation • Imitation • attracts attention of both the child and the partners to each other • stimulates turn taking during an interactive exchange

26. allows a child and the partner to recognize each other • greeting rituals such as a way of saying hello, saying goodbye • helps to reveal to a child that the partner is ‘just like me’ • imitative responses provides new communicative possibilities

27. Choice Making • How many choices did you make before you came here today? • Are choices important to you? • Children with MDVI/DB can make choices • Offer many choices throughout the day • Identify what’s child likes and dislikes • Start with 2 choices • Choice of activities, objects, people…

28. Choice of 2

29. Motivating activities(Child’s likes/preferences)

31. Music and movement

32. Play Activities

34. Learning MUST be fun…fun..!!!

35. Allow me to know you

36. The End!!!