Designing an Olympic Venue

Blind, Developmental Coordination Disorder, Muscular Dystrophy

Blind

Low Vision of Blind Accommodations in the Classroom
The following is a list of ways to accommodate a Blind student in the classroom:
General Courtesy

• Speak to the class upon entering and leaving the room or site.
• Call the student with a vision impairment by name if you want his/her attention.
• Seat the student away from glaring lights (e.g. by the window) and preferably in front of the class.
• Use descriptive words such as straight, forward, left, etc. in relation to the student's body orientation. Be specific in directions and avoid the use of vague terms with unusable information, such as "over there", "here", "this", etc.
• Describe, in detail, pertinent visual occurrences of the learning activities.
• Describe and tactually familiarize the student to the classroom, laboratory, equipment, supplies, materials, field sites, etc.
• Give verbal notice of room changes, special meetings, or assignments.
• Offer to read written information for a person with a visual impairment, when appropriate.
• Order the appropriate text books for the students in their preferred medium.
• Identify yourself by name, don't assume that the student who is visually impaired will recognize you by your voice even though you have met before.
• If you are asked to guide a student with a visual impairment, identify yourself, offer your services and, if accepted, offer your arm to the student's hand. Tell them if they have to step up or step down, let them know if the door is to their left or right, and warn them of possible hazards.
• Orally, let the student know if you need to move or leave or need to end a conversation.
• If a student with a visual impairment is in class, routinely check the instructional environment to be sure it is adequate and ready for use.
• When communicating with a student who has a vision impairment, always identify yourself and others who are present.
• Do not pet or touch a guide dog. Guide dogs are working animals. It can be hazardous for the visually impaired person if the dog is distracted.
• Be understanding of the slight noise made by a portable translator.
• Also use an auditory or tactile signal where a visual signal is normally used.
• It is not necessary to speak loudly to people with visual impairments.
• Always notify changes of class schedule in advance.

• By verbally spelling out a new or technical word, you will be helping the student with a vision impairment, as well as for other students.
• An enlarged activity script, directions, or readings of a detailed lesson can be used for a low vision person and for use in describing tactile 3D models .
• Use an overhead projector to show step-by-step instructions. Mask all the instructions except the one(s) that you want to present.
• Use an opaque projector whenever possible to enlarge a text or manual.
• All colored objects used for identification related to a lesson, experiment, or other directions should be labeled with a Braille label maker or otherwise tacitly coded for most students with vision impairments.
  - Describe, in detail, visual occurrences, visual media, and directions including all pertinent aspects that involve sight.
• Use a sighted narrator or descriptive video (preferably the latter) to describe aspects of videos or laser disks.
• Describe, in detail, all pertinent visual occurrences or chalkboard writing.
• Where needed, have lesson or direction materials Brailled, use an enlarged activity script, or recorded ahead of time, for class handouts.
• Have tactile 3D models, raised line drawings, or thermoforms available to supplement drawings or graphics in a tactile format when needed.
• Whenever possible, use actual objects for three dimensional representations.
• Modify instructions for auditory/tactile presentation.
• Use raised line drawings for temporary tactile presentations.
• Use an overhead projector, chalkboard, graphs, or slides as you would normally, but provide more detailed oral descriptions, possibly supplemented with thermoforms where appropriate.
• Allow student to use a tape recorder for recording classroom presentations or the text.
• Make all handouts and assignments available in an appropriate form: e.g., regular print, large print, Braille, or on a cassette, depending on the students optimal mode of communication.
• Use a monocular or a private eye (electronic miniature television) or similar devices for long range observations of chalk board or demonstration table presentations.

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Developmental Coordination Disorder

From http://www.brightfutures.org/physicalactivity/issues_concerns/11.html
Our ability to coordinate movements so that we can button our shirts or tie our shoelaces is often taken for granted. But performing these seemingly simple tasks may be daunting for a child or adolescent with motor coordination problems.
Mild to moderate motor coordination prob-lems may accompany a range of disorders, including learning disorders (particularly nonverbal learning disorder), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and various congenital problems (e.g., premature birth, low birthweight, mental retardation).
Motor coordination problems may also occur in children and adolescents who have no obvious physical or mental impairments. These children and adolescents have been classified as having developmental dyspraxia, minimal cerebral dysfunction, or sensory integration problems. The American Psychiatric Association classifies these children and adolescents as having developmental coordination disorder (DCD), defined as "marked impairment in the development of motor coordination."1 It is estimated that 6 percent of children ages 5 to 11 in the United States have DCD.1
There is no consensus whether DCD is a physiological or developmental disorder or, if the disorder is physiological, whether it is multisensory or unisensory. Children and adolescents with DCD may have problems with gross motor skills, fine motor skills, or both. Some have difficulty planning movements (dyspraxia) and executing them, others have difficulty planning movements but not executing them, and others have difficulty executing movements but not planning them.
Children and adolescents with DCD should not be confused with those who do not perform motor skills as well as their peers. Rather, children and adolescents with DCD have extreme difficulty acquiring new motor skills. Practice can help them, but it must be structured in specific ways to be effective. Motor skill development is slow for children and adolescents with DCD, and perceptual motor skills that are complex and/or require precise perception, such as writing between the lines on a sheet of paper, can be very difficult.
Children and adolescents with motor coordination problems are at risk for low academic performance, poor self-esteem, and inadequate physical activity participation. Unless there is intervention, their problems are likely to continue through adolescence. These children and adolescents are likely to avoid physical activity and experience frustration if they are forced to participate. Motor coordination problems do not resolve themselves, and children and adolescents do not outgrow them.2
Children and adolescents with motor coordination problems are usually underactive throughout their school years and may not attain even moderate levels of proficiency in most types of physical activities. DCD, particularly when combined with other problems, is rarely identified until a child is at least 8 years old. The disorder often goes undiagnosed. One reason for this is that motor coordination problems manifest themselves in many ways, some of which are considered normal. For example, tripping and falling are not uncommon in young children and often go unremarked. Not catching a ball in a baseball game or striking out repeatedly may be attributed to lack of practice rather than to difficulty learning motor skills. Therefore, unless children and adolescents are severely affected (particularly in fine motor skills such as those needed for handwriting), usually neither parents nor school personnel perceive the child's or adolescent's poor coordination as a problem that needs special attention.

From: http://www.as.wvu.edu/~scidis/motor.html#sect0

One of the first considerations in the effective science education of individuals with motor/orthopedic impairments is a brief understanding of his/her impairment and the degree of educational limitation it causes. With such information, a set of mitigative strategies can be derived that are fully appropriate to that particular student, however, some of the strategies may not work for every student. (After "Mainstream Teaching of Science: A Source Book", Keller et al.)
General Courtesy

• Accept the fact that a disability exists. Not acknowledging this fact is not acknowledging the person.
• Ask the student to tell you when he/she anticipates a need for assistance.
• If spills occur, keep floors clear of liquids.
• If writing is difficult, use a tape recorder.
• Speak directly to the student with a disability, confidentially, as you would other students.
• Students should be encouraged to talk confidentially with their instructors during the first week of classes to discuss their functional difficulties and needs, and to talk about ways to accommodate.
• Allow course waiver or course substitution for certain students.
• Always plan any field trip in advance to ensure accessibility.

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Musclur Dystrophy
General Courtesy

• Accept the fact that a disability exists. Not acknowledging this fact is not acknowledging the person.
• Ask the student to tell you when he/she anticipates a need for assistance.
• Don't lean on a student's wheelchair. The chair is a part of the body space of the student who uses it.
• Don't patronize students who use wheelchairs by patting them on the head. This is a sign of affection that should be reserved only for small children, and most of them do not like it either.
• Encourage students who use crutches or canes to keep them within easy reach and make such a space available.
• Only push a wheelchair when asked.
• Have custodians use non-skid floor polish for students who use crutches and wheelchairs.
• If spills occur, keep floors clear of liquids.
• If writing is difficult, use a tape recorder.
• Speak directly to the student with a disability, confidentially, as you would other students.
• Students should be encouraged to talk confidentially with their instructors during the first week of classes to discuss their functional difficulties and needs, and to talk about ways to accommodate.
• Using a wheelchair when the person can walk with the aid of cane(s), brace(s), crutch(es), or a walker does not mean a student is "feigning" the degree of disability. It may be a means to conserve energy or move about more quickly.
• When it appears that a student needs help, ask if you can help. Accept a "no thank you" graciously.
• When talking to a student who uses a wheelchair for more than a few minutes, or so, sit down or kneel to place yourself at that student's eye level.
• Reserve parking space that is accessible and close to the building.
• Allow course waiver or course substitution for certain students.
• Always plan any field trip in advance to ensure accessibility.
• Words like "walking" or "running" are appropriate. Sensitivity to these words is not necessary. Students who use wheelchairs use the same words.

• If breaks between classes are short (10 minutes or less), the student who has a mobility impairment may frequently be a few minutes late. Students and instructors may want to plan for these occasions, so students don't miss important material.
• Observe potential obstacles so you can be aware of what is accessible and what is not accessible to students in wheelchairs.
• Students may need to tape lectures (difficulty with writing or unable to write).
• Table-type desks, with adequate leg space, which have enough clearance for wheelchairs can be moved into classrooms.

• Include student in open discussions.
• Allow more time for the student to complete activities.
• Use ramps and raised platforms for student's access.
• Lower chalkboard and/or corkboard.

• Review and discuss with the student the steps involved in a research activity. Think about which step(s) may be difficult for the specific functional limitations of the student and jointly devise accommodations for that student.
• Depending on the site of the research check the previous two sections.
• Use appropriate laboratory and field strategies.

• Allow more time for the student to complete the activities.
• Provide a separate place for the test if necessary.
• Give completely oral tests or completely written tests, whichever is more appropriate to the students needs.
• Allow students to tape record answers to tests or type answers, as needed.
• Writers should be provided for test-taking if the student is unable to write (or give oral tests out of the earshot of other students).
• Students may write slowly and need extended time for tests.
• Develop a portfolio of the student's work, both singly and as part of a cooperating group. Orally quiz him/her to establish the extent to which the student contributed to the group-based accomplishments.

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