Work Tasks are Accessible for All
Present opportunity. Expose students to experiences. See ability.
Featured guest blogger: Alex of Accessible for All, an Intellectual Disabilities Teacher.
As a new special education teacher for low incidence students, I was tasked with developing career and academic programming for students with severe intellectual, multiple, and physical disabilities. With the above philosophy running through my head, I thought to myself, “How can I foster an environment where these students thrive, are exposed to a meaningful and enriching education, and have many opportunities to demonstrate skills at their level?”
Our career preparation class was just the place.
When I began my journey with these students in a high school career preparation course, we were starting from square one. Most students had never accessed a community job site before; some had not been exposed to conventional work tasks, and most were still developing foundational fine and gross motor skills.
What better way to address these needs than in the context of job tasks, community trips, and a community worksite? Today, I will walk you through my philosophy for teaching as it relates to my career preparation class. Let’s get started!
Present Opportunity and Expose Students to Experiences
To begin their programming, students underwent a year of career exploration. I coordinated with different community members, and students went all around their community to explore different careers such as hairstylist, dentist, firefighter, grocer, laundromat worker, and more.
To supplement their career exploration trips, students also worked in the school and completed task boxes in the classroom (these are described in more detail later). Once we had practiced this for a year, the students were ready for a community job site. They were exposed on a weekly basis to the ins and outs of working – greeting their supervisor, learning their tasks for the day, and engaging in work tasks with support.
Without these experiences and opportunities, students would not have had the opportunity to explore, demonstrate their skills, or develop an enriching high school experience. This exemplifies the philosophy that, no matter the ability or skills a student possesses, we will always meet them where they are and adjust experiences to meet their needs.
See Ability
So far, I have described the “what” – the career exploration, the task boxes, and community worksite, but I have not quite addressed the “how”.
It would have been impossible for me to create this programming without seeing their ability. Yes, it’s true, all my students were nonverbal and had physical and cognitive deficits. And most required hand over hand support to complete work tasks.
Do you think that stopped us?
NOPE! Despite potential limitations, I flip conventional thinking. Instead of trying to fit the student to a standard work task, I used the student’s abilities to develop work tasks at their level. In developing work task boxes, I took common tasks (sorting silverware, wrapping gifts, sorting recycling, sorting clothes, packing a lunch box, put-in tasks, setting the table, cleaning tasks) and made them accessible.
How did I do this? Instead of looking at tasks literally, I like to think outside the box. Maybe a student is not quite at the point of sorting. However, the student has developed fine motor skills of reaching and grasping. Maybe this sorting task can become a put-in task. Maybe a student has limited arm movement, but incredible eye gaze abilities. I can turn conventional hands-on sorting into an eye gaze activity. Below, I will give some specific ideas from my classroom:
Sorting Tasks
I do sorting work tasks in different ways. Sometimes, I place an object it in front of the student. I wait for the student to engage with the object by reaching, grasping it, and then placing it in one of two bins to sort. To further adapt this task, I present an object and see if the student engages with it. Then, I prompt them with hand over hand to sort. In addition, I have had students use eye gaze to show where objects should be sorted. Example tasks: silverware, recycling, clothing, utensils
Cleaning Tasks
Cleaning involves so many skills: reaching, grasping, attending, and movement. I try to assess how independently students engage in these tasks. Can they reach for a cleaning object? Can they grasp it? Can they sustain their grasp? Students may require hand over hand prompt support and that is alright. We are exposing them to a new task and exercising their fine motor skills. Example work tasks: cleaning table, cleaning placemat, watering flowers, cleaning toys.
Put in/Put on Tasks
These are great tasks for building attention, engagement, and interaction with objects. I typically place an object in front of a student and allow them time to engage with it. If students require prompts and support to put objects “in” or “on,” that is okay. They are being exposed to job tasks and building fine motor skills in the process. Using large, bright, easy-to-grip objects is also helpful in building engagement. Example work tasks: setting the table, shelving books, packing a grocery/lunch bag, moving clothes to a bin.
General Fine Motor Tasks
Any opportunity to use our hands is amazing! Manipulating objects and moving their hands purposefully to show engagement are important steps to building fine motor skills. Example work tasks: wrapping gifts, stocking shelves, cutting with adapted scissors.
Final Thoughts
I have shared the “what.” I have shared the “how”. Finally, I need to share more about the “why”.
We talked about the importance of exposing students to opportunities. Developing work skills both in school and in the community is crucial to helping students have new experiences. We talked about seeing students’ abilities. As educators, we should develop tasks that give students opportunities to demonstrate their skills and develop new abilities.
Meet students where they are and develop career opportunities that best align with their abilities and interests.
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