HIT: Primary: Ideas to use with handicapped children (Pt. 1)

["Tony L. Pope" <Pope1966@AOL.COM>]

Subj:   Re: TARGET: Primary: Ideas to use with handicapped children
From:   Jelinek121

At the school that I sub at the most there are two classes one k-3rd and one
fourth -sixth grade multihandicapped.  We mostly had story time.  It worked
really well if they had stuff animals or something to hold onto.  I hope you
have aides that come with the class.            Darla

From:   JECS57

I do a story time with all of our special ed. every week.  We have a BD class,
two LD classes, a Moderate (with physical and mental handicapps) and several
students in wheelchairs who are developmentally behind.  They adore puppet
shows, or even using a simple puppet on your hand while telling stories.  They
like repetitious stories/songs such as "Hermie the Worm", "Wide Mouth Frog",
"Itsy Bitsy Spider, etc.  I've even sung "Shoo Fly" after reading and acting
out the book Old Black Fly.   Of course, big books are a great visual also.
They like Arthur, D.W. and most animal characters that can be followed in more
than one book.                  Julie

From:   bfrost@jcf.jonesnet.org (Barbara Frost)

We have had a multi-handicapped class at our school for several years.  What
I'm able to do with them varies greatly from year to year depending upon their
individual attention spans and abilities. Some resources that help are the
magazine "Babybug" from the same publishers as Cricket, color and shape flash
cards, Tana hoban books and very frequently board books too. Inclusion is a
main philosophy at our school so I see these kids with the kindergarten class
aand as a small group too. I do see more progress with the small group than
with the mainstreamed class. There does seem to
be an improvement in socialization and people skills and more acceptance of
our handicapped students by the majority. Wordless picture books do help as
well. I've used big books even with a group of 3-5 visually impaired kids to
allow them more focus and interaction with the book. I'll try to e-mail you
exact titles from school tomorrow.  Thanks-hope this helps.             Barb Frost


From:   mflan@massed.net (Mary Flanagan)

Hi there- I have never had a preK OR a handicapped class.  If were in your
situation, I would go speak to the teachers and ask their suggestions and
guidance.  Then I would look for books written for public librarians that
focus on programming for toddlers.

I do notice that young children LOVE music and I sing various little library
songs with them.  The words could be VERY simple, like "We want to read a
book, We want to read a book, Hi Ho librario, We want to read a book!  (sung
to Row Row Row Your Boat tune.)

How about books with repetition: Wanda Gag, Millions of Cats Simple stories
with animal sounds: John Burningham,  Mr Gumpy's Outing Mother Goose rhymes -
maybe work on learning a few throughout the year.  Good luck!

From:   misslibrary@juno.com (Cathy M Martin)

Tony, I have had some experience with handicapped students--physically and
mentally--this past five years.  I had no training or previous experience with
them.  It has been a learning experience.  Mine range from kindergarten to
high school age.

One of my first activities is to videotape them so that I can get to know them
better.  Most love to see themselves.  They seem to enjoy music and rhythm so
I do song stories and activity stories.  I'm not a great singer, but they
don't care!  We have fun with it.  I do easy crafts connected to a story upon
occassion.  There are usually lots of extra
adult hands to get these things done since there extra aides in these classes.
We play games like who has the mitten after a mitten story.  I started
subscribing to a magazine called TOTLINE.  It has some easy activities and
things that can be connected to a story.  Puppets are fun with them as
well.   Cathy Martin, Librarian

From:   FTripka

Tony,  I have 3 Pre-K  handicapped classes in my school.  What  I try to do is
to
ask the teacher what concept she is teaching in the classroom, and try to gear
a very short lesson around it.  I only take the PreK classes  for 15 minutes
when they come into the library.  Probabaly it would be good to start off with
something like colors, or shapes.    Use a lot of hands on materials, I like
the books by Hoban, (I believe this is the author) which show real photographs
of signs, objects and colors.  Stories need to be really simple.   A few words
to the page.  You won't believe the difference in these children from the
beginning of the year and when it ends.  It's truly amazing.  When you
start seeing progress, you can get into other areas, like animals, weather,
etc.  Also at first they might not talk to you, but watch out, once they know
you, they are so loveable.  Very rewarding.   Hope this helps.          Fran Tripka

From:   Guusje

I do a story time with our handicapped class- I keep it simple- I use several
short picture books rather than one long one.  They like Going on a Bear Hunt,
Napping House, Just a Little Bit --anything with lots of repetion and audience
participation.  Be really annimated and ham it up- they love that.  Good luck!
Guusje Moore

From:   cooklib@austin360.com (Timothy G. Lance)

In a bit less than 30 minutes I do 3 books and still have time for them to run
amuck. I have lots of animals. I taught this level for 16 years. I got too old
to do it but love keeping my hand in.  Readiness (1,2,3 and A,B,C books, shape
books). Today's nonfiction publishing has many, many very primary titles.
Predictable books.  Repetitive. Books with which  a few of them might actually
identify (Fish is Fish, Mama Zooms). Start looking at the collection and you
will probably find the titles you need. Let me know and I'll send you a list
of my favorites.  I am glad to know you are doing this; too many don't. While
you will not be teaching anything approaching informational skills/use you are
including them in the overall processes of your school. You are providing them
with real-life settings in which they should act right (or some such
approximation!). You are demonstrating to all the other students that these
kiddos have a place/reason for being there. Hopefully they will enjoy it and
you.  Tim

From:   marti@inwave.com (Marti Anderson)

Tony, I'd say the first thing to keep in mind is that these children are,
first and foremost, children. They have some challenges that most of us do not
need to face, but when you really get to know them, you'll find that they're
more alike, than different, from other children. These classes may even become
some of your favorites.  I'm a former Early Childhood: Exceptional Educational
Needs teacher, who had students between the ages of 3 and 6 with various
developmental delays and physical disabilities in my classes. Later, while
working as a sub, I had a long-term assignment with high school students with
multiple and severe disabilities that lasted most of the year. Much of
the rest of my subbing experience was also with kids with disabilities --
either cognitive, emotional, or physical. Many of those children have weaved
their way permanently into my heart.  One thing I would suggest is to talk
with their classroom teachers to learn about their developmental levels and
interests. This will give you a good feel for where to start when the school
year begins. As you get to know the children, you will gain even more insight
into their interests and abilities. Every child has strengths that can be
encouraged and weaknesses that can be either compensated for or turned into
strengths, and these children are no exception.   Another thing to keep in
mind is any physical limitations the children might have. If any of the
children have visual impairments, you might want to consider using a big book
format or large and boldly colored visual aids. If any of the children have
hearing difficulties, you might want to have them positioned where they can
read your lips or see if a sign language interpretor is available. Children in
wheelchairs or standers will need to be carefully positioned during story
times, so they can get the full impact of your sharing of literature.   If the
challenges are of a cognitive, emotional, or behavioral nature, you may need
to restructure your lessons to allow for shorter attention spans, difficulties
in handling transitions, or difficulties sitting still. It's often helpful in
these cases to have several short activities, using a variety of learning
styles, and clearly defining the transitions, so the children know what to
expect.   I've found that many children with special needs do well with
computer activities, particularly in a game-like format. Most, however, become
frustrated with programs like Accelerated Reader, so if at all possible, I
would avoid using them.    One of the advantages of working with classes with
children with special
needs is that the class size is smaller. This will allow you to get to know
the children individually and to be able to gear your storytelling and
research lessons to their individual needs and interests. Many of these
classes also have one or more teacher's aides, and they can be a wonderful
help, both with the individual students and with helping you to understand the
children and their needs.  You will probably notice that I didn't give
specific suggestions of types of books to share with the students. That is
because their interests and educational needs vary so greatly. For example, my
first
year of teaching preschoolers with special needs, I had a class that loved
fantasy and humorous stories, while my second year, the children were more
interested in nonfiction books about animals, science, and dinosaurs. As you
get to know your own students, you'll see what sparks their interest. Just go
with the flow.  I think you'll find yourself pleasantly surprised at how much
you will enjoy your new classes. Hope these ideas help you, and if there is
anything else you'd like me to share with you, please ask.

From:   GSolomon@dpi.state.nc.us (Gerry Solomon)

Tony, I had several PreK handicapped classes in a school in Va where I used to
work.  Some of the children had visual impairments, others toted oxygen tanks
in wagons or used crutches etc.  The best advice I think I can give you is to
forget that they are handicapped and treat them as you would any preschoolers.
They love stories in which they can participate, finger plays, nursery rhymes,
chants etc.  Working with these children are among my fondest memories.  Enjoy
them.   Gerry Solomon,

From:   Bookpusher

Tony, I *think* SMH means severely mentally handicapped, and PMH is profoundly
mentally handicapped. That's what they meant when  I was in college in 87-92,
but acronyms and designations change.  My original degree is in special ed,
and have had such classes in my school's LMC. Let me assure you, you must not
let yourself get offended by lack of attention!  :)  First thing I did with
the teachers is (and this is of course dependent on your schedule) to see if I
could see them for TWO 15 minute classes in stead of one 30 minute one per
week. The attention spans of these kids couldn't handle the longer class.
Actually, the shorter classes even pushed it.  Then, the kinds of stories I
read to them were extremely simple and usually repetitive (Very hungry
Caterpillar (& other Carle books), Owl Babies, King Bidgood's in the Bathtub,
The Napping House, Brown Bear, some simple and short Dr. Seuss (but not too
much, the kids get lost)and so on... ) and I did an art-type project with
them. For example, we'd read OWL Babies, and then make little owls with a
ditto paper for them to color and cotton to glue on the bellies of the owls.
If possible, I would try to find some kind of tactile stimulation for the
project, as this is often something the special ed teachers are looking for.
But occasionally, we'd just color. One fun but messy thing was to have the
kids shred red paper and then we helped them glue it onto a robins breast
picture. They looked nice and the kids had fun. However, these projects were
dependent on whether or how many aides came with the classes.  I also, in lieu
of the project, would make puppets (or use what I had that was appropriate)
and read the story, read the story using the puppets, and then read the story
with the kids using the puppets.)  Another thing I found useful was to have a
little song (and I don't like to sing) to sing with them that goes with the
story, or a fingerplay that isn't too hard (there are books full of them).
Dividing up the time with various different stimulation helps.  I also had the
kids sit around a long table with the aides in between, trying to get the kids
to focus attention on the book. This was not always particularly successful,
but to get any child to look at the book for any bit of time was the rough
goal.  One tip I have is to check with each teacher to see what behavior plans
are in place for the class or individual students, or what particular (or
peculiar) behaviors you might see. (For example, we had one boy who forced
himself into flatulence to see the reaction it got-- I was supposed to ignore
this, in accordance with his behavior plan. )  If you would like me to think
of a list of the books I have uses with my sp.ed. classes, just drop me a note
and I'll work on it for you.
Good luck!    Carin Barwick

From:   obrienj@ride.ri.net (Judi O'Brien)

Hi Tony, I spent one year at a townwide kindergarten which included two
special needs pre-school classes. Prior to that, I did pre-school story hours
at a public library. I found that the kids loved flannelboard stories because
it was so much easier for them to see the pictures. If the kids are mobile,
flannelboard activities which encourage their participation are great. For
example, after reading stories about shoes, "The Shoes from
Grandpa" (or something like that) by Mem Fox and other stories, I had shoes of
different colors and patterns on the flannelboard and students had to come up
and match the pairs. When I did stories about trains, it was followed by train
cars of different colors and I would direct students to come to the
flannelboard and build a train with, for example, all red cars.  In both
cases, I photocopied a picture of the object from an activity book
or a coloring book, then colored it with magic markers. They loved nursery
rhymes, especially those that had hand movements. Songs are great - "Bingo"
when you do dog stories like Clifford. With bear stories, we did "Teddy Bear,
Teddy Bear, Turn Around". When you use books, try to use those with a limited
amount of text and large illustrations like Audrey Wood's The Napping House as
well as alphabet and counting books. I didn't have any puppets, but I'm sure
that puppets would work well. If you have enough time, a very simple craft
activity that tied in with the day's theme is good also because the kids loved
to leave the library with something they had made. For example, the newsletter
Totline has lots of very simple activities for preschoolers which require you
to just copy, cut and glue.  After spring stories, I gave the kids a paper
kite to decorate. It was just a colored construction paper shaped kite with
yarn attached and a tail made out of scraps of fabric.   If you'd like, I'll
photocopy some of the things I used for craft activities and mail them to you.
Just let me know.   Judi

From:   Georol

Dear Tony, For my 5-6 year old special ed classes I often borrow books from my
toddler niece and these work well.  Books with flaps (Where's Spot, Corduroy's
Christmas) go over big. Also books with songs that they know (Old MacDonald,
Six Little Ducks, THis old  man) make them able to be involved in the story.
Their favorite is the Wheels on the bus (My  niece had a pop up version that
was especially good)- I lined up chairs and that was their bus, a change from
having them on the floor, assuming they can sit in a chair with or without an
aide.  Check out the toddler books at the public library or book store for
ideas.  Also: repetitive books such as gingerbread man

From:   Georol

Tony, Sorry I sent my message by mistake before I was done.  Also: No Nap
(Bunting)-I make a sign that says "no nap" for them to repeat.  Mary wore her
red dress and henry wore his sneakers-(book's at school)-we repeat this with
each child and they like being the star while the group personalizes the chant
for them  Good Luck,  They are fun groups to have but you sometimes may feel
drained when they leave.  Talk to their teachers for more suggestions and
don't worry if you repeat books, they seem to enjoy them as much (more?) the
next time.  Depending on the group you may b able to have a simple art
activity too.  Time goes slowly sometimes and you may need a simple extra.  I
always  put about five minutes of a song video (kidsongs or their favorite,
Clifford's sing along) at the end of the class. THis calms them down before
lining up and many of the songs go along with books you  may be able to find.
Carol Palumbo

From:   carrk@nccsc.k12.in.us (Kimberly Carr)

If you have access to "big books," those work  well with the pre-K set and
special needs kids.  I always start out by asking each one to tell me if they
have a favorite book.  Some can tell me a specific book or type of book.  I
always make a big deal about their favorite books and then every time we meet
after that I ask them if they have read, seen or heard any good books and they
look forward to sharing with me before the story.
Kim Carr

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