Ability Awareness

Do You Have The Ability?

Noa Parker - Intro to Education

Learning Objectives

By The End of this book you will be able to:

1. Describe Ability Awareness
2. Identify Why An IEP Is Important
3. Describe the CORRECT way to treat students disabilities

ABILITY AWARENESS

The Disabled World says that Ability Awareness means giving Information
on disability awareness and educating people regarding disabilities
including disability etiquette guidelines in the community.

Why Should Teachers Learn To Accommodate

Teachers that practice ability awareness are more accessible to students that
need extra help. This does not always mean that the student classifies as Special
Needs. Sometimes a student just needs the subject to be taught more specifically
to their needs and learning styles. Teachers that embrace ability awareness are
better adapted in the classroom.

Individualized Education Program

An Individualized Education
Program or IEP is a document
developed for each public school
child that needs special education.

What Do IEPs focus on?

IEPs are made specifically for each student that need special education in
the classroom. They have the students current educational assessment
and also have goals that the teachers and parents would like the student
to reach by a certain time in the school year.



Why it is Important to Accommodate

Accommodations for students may take extra time, space, efforts, and
even money, but it could result in a lifetime of success for the students
that need the extra accommodations to learn. These accommodations can
include verbal testing, private learning centers, longer testing time, or
even a different classroom for adapted learning. This helps the students
focus and better understand the subjects at hand. They also help students
with high anxieties stay calm and at low risk for panic attacks.

How Should I Approach Someone With Special Needs?

If you are thinking about talking to or greeting someone with special needs
you should treat them the same way you would any other stranger.

Just because they do not learn the same does not mean that you should look
down on them and it does not give you the right to talk over them or act superior of
them.

Learning With Special Needs

Learning with a disability does not mean that they the students get to slack off or
get any special treatment. They are held to the same standards as their
classmates, however, they have certain accommodations that are needed to help
them focus, comprehend, and function in their classroom setting.

Why It Is Important That I Learn Ability Awareness

Ability Awareness is important for all teachers that need to accommodate
for their students. However, knowing that I plan on going into the Special
Education field it is even more important that I learn to adapt as I continue
my education and career. No two students are the same and I will have to
make new accommodations for each student I meet, new goals, and new
struggles.

Pause & Reflect Questions

- What Accommodations did you have in your school that helped
you learn? Or what accommodations do you wish that could
have had?

- What knowledge of disabilities and ability awareness can you
bring into the classroom?

Our Final Word

Ability Awareness is becoming important throughout schools as the faces
of disabled students are being brought into the public more. Being
disabled was once a terrible diagnosis, however, now as the disabled
community is being integrated with regular education students and finding
jobs outside of school, disabilities are no longer viewed negatively. It is up
to teachers to help students with disabilities, specific learning styles,
multiple intelligences, and other impairments to excel in school and
outside of school.

My Final Word

1. Do you think that the special needs community and the ‘regular
education’ community could be more integrated? If so, how
could we work on that - In the classroom and in the actual
community

Key Terms

● Ability Awareness
● IEP
● Integrated
● Disability
● Special Education
● Multiple Intelligences
● Accommodations
● Impairment

For Further Information :

“AbilityAwareness.Com. Home” 2016.https://www.abilityawareness.com.

“Ability Awareness.” Down Syndrome Connection Of The Bay Area.
https://www.dsconnection.org/files/content/DSEA_ABILITY_Awareness.pd
f.