10.) Consider the parents the experts on their child with VI. Listen to what they are experiencing with the daily living experiences and THEN give instruction or guidance. If you go in like the new sheriff in town, it builds walls instead of a productive, positive relationship.
9.) Don't wait for the child! Start early exposing them to real-world experiences in their community. If the parents need guidance in this area, give reasonable suggestions on how to help them encourage interactions in stores, place of worship, doctor visits, or anywhere they regularly go. As a teacher, you could set up a field trip ( perhaps even a scavenger hunt for sounds, smells, or textures) and encourage parents' involvement.
8.) Consider cultural influence on how the family treats their child with VI. Some families have traditions that dictate how they treat their children regardless of whether the child had an impairment or not. Be sensitive and willing to understand where they are coming from.
7.) Allow the student to get dirty, explore, and make a mess. That is part of the real-world experience of childhood for any child, but it's even more essential to the child with VI. Let them smear shaving cream, play with a sand and water table, do cooking projects that allow them to feel, smell, and taste what the ingredients are. Take them out on the playground and help them learn to explore it. Encourage parents to do this at home as well.
6.) Be genuine with your student with VI. Yes, maintain that professional decorum ( never lose that), but if the child doesn't believe you care about him/her, you will never get them to trust you to guide them through their environment. Make sure you aren't another person treating that child like he/she should be wrapped in bubble wrap. Treat them with the respect and warmth you wish to be treated with because that's basic humanity that everyone needs.
5.) Build relationships with the students family. Like I said in #6, if they don't believe you truly care about the outcome for their child and build rapport, they won't help the student carry over what you are teaching and the whole thing becomes pointless. Make a concerted effort to relay a positive accomplishment their child makes frequently. Encourage them to come to you with any concerns or questions and validate them, don't dismiss them.
4.)Encourage student with VI to do their daily living skills and make sure the family helps carry over those skill to the home. If they are physically coordinated enough to do basic skills, they need to do them to develop a sense of empowerment over their lives. Even if the skill has to be paired down to adapt to other physical challenges, encourage simple steps in the classroom towards independence. Examples would be finding a cubby, or setting a place for lunch.
3.) Remind parents that how their child with VI reacts to new experiences is greatly in their control. If you go in with your own fears, the child absorbs that negativity. Be descriptive in relaying what to expect. Point out the sounds, smells, and textures they can identify. Your energy has a huge effect on how the child will respond.
2.) Make time to allow the child with VI to explore and experiment in his/ her environment. We live in a hyper-busy world, but if the child is rushed, he/she will never develop the skills they need to function. That may mean starting earlier to go somewhere, so a child can help get ready without being rushed. It might mean clearing something off of the schedule to give the child time to practice a needed skill or go on a trip to enjoy a new experience.
1.) Be positive! By the time the student with VI and his/her family reaches you for services, they have been through the wringer. They have heard about their child's dire diagnosis and the worse yet, the child has heard it too. Your job is to empower them with what they can do and better yet, how the child can adapt and learn to navigate in spite of the dire diagnosis. Make thinking outside of the box an adventure that they want to join you on. Give suggestions for fun activities the family can participate in with their child. Communicate often and with enthusiasm, (relaying an activity their child enjoyed participating in is encouraging and builds hope).
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