Teaching Children with Multiple Disabilities: Teaching and Learning Through Perspective

1. Teaching Children with Multiple Disabilities: Teaching and Learning Through Perspective Presented by Melinda Docter, Ed.D.

2. Classroom Curriculum and Content Areas Alternate Curriculum and Assessments • CAPA, Prescriptive Behavioral Checklist, AAMR, Seaco Functional Content Areas • Functional Writing • Functional Reading • Functional Math • Self help • Motor Skills • Vocational • Social Emotional • Behavior

3. A Variety of Disabilities • Mental Retardation • Autism • Cerebral Palsy • Traumatic Brain Injury • Cortical Visual Impairment • Genetic Disorders • Orthopedic Impairments

4. Impact of Disability in the Classroom • Cognitive Delay • Visual Impairment • Lack of Executive Function • Delayed Receptive and Expressive Language • Lack of Social Interaction • Motivation • Gross and Fine Motor Skills • Delayed Self-Help Skills

5. Strengths, challenges and strategies Repetitive thoughts and behaviors • Obsessive compulsive disorder? • Everyone has hobbies. Why is this different? • Exceptional knowledge or true disruption? • Imaginative play or exact replication? Strategies • Setting boundaries • Highly preferred activities as motivator/Highly preferred staff • Medication?

6. Strengths, challenges and strategies Executive Function • Organization of thoughts • Processing information • Task analysis • What did I tell you to do? Strategies • Break task into smaller parts • Check for understanding • Stay away from open-ended questions • Visual cue for partial participation • Tactile cues for schedule • Rewards for partial participation • Make sure that the child has a way in which to respond

7. Strengths, challenges and strategies Communication • Non-verbal cues • Rigidity • Processing time • Flexibility in thinking • Strategies • Augmentative communication • Assistive technology • Object cues • Object schedules • Transition objects • Tactile books • Tactile calendar

8. Strengths, challenges and strategies Sensory needs or need to avoid • Sounds • Touch • Textures (Foods and fabrics) • Smell • Sight • Self-stimulatory behaviors • Rocking • Hand flapping • Waving items • Facial movements • Tapping • Grunting, noises, screaming Strategies • If it’s not disruptive to learning or social development for either the student with autism or those around him, ignore it! • If it is, provide more appropriate behaviors that meet the same need. • Choose your battles and let everyone else know which battles you have chosen to ignore

9. Behavior as communication Inappropriate Behaviors Screaming Hitting Self-stimulatory behaviors Perseveration Inflexibility Co-morbid disorders Ask yourself, “Would this child choose to behave like this if he/she had a more appropriate choice that met the same need?” Strategies What is the payoff? Alternate appropriate behaviors that meet the same need. Motivators Positive Behavior Support Catching good behavior before it turns bad Choices Transitional objects Schedules Predicting Clarifying expectations Consistent and continual reminders Immediate reinforcement Behavior Intervention

10. Prompting • Natural Cues • Prompting Levels • Least to Most • Most to Least

11. Augmentative Communication • Switch Program – • Kansas University and The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development

12. Teaching and Learning Through Perspective • Anxiety • Frustration • Motivation • Progress