"Mild Intellectual Disability".
To me, the term "mild" sounds like something that isn't too bold or serious. You get mild cheddar cheese when you don't like a bold taste. You get mild hot chicken wings when you don't like it spicy. You cure a mild headache with some advil.
Mild Intellectual Disabilities, however, NEED to be taken seriously, as does any exceptionality in the classroom. MID cannot be cured by a one-step system like advil or a change in wing sauce spiciness.
Mild Intellectual Disabilities covers a wide spectrum, and the only way to accommodate for students with MID is to try to understand them individually and assist them on a daily basis. In the same way that all students without exceptionalities are unique, so too are students with MID. I don't agree with grouping students into a category of learners for the sole purpose that students under this umbrella of MID will require different tools, be unique learners from each other, and will not benefit from living life under a label. I do acknowledge the fact that these categories help educators to assist students with MID by suggesting teaching strategies that might work. However, I hold strong to my belief that learning is largely individual, and we need to keep this in mind at all times.
MID is definitely a condition that requires extra attention, extra aid, and extra resources, however again, I'd like to reference my previous blog and state that this should not be viewed as a burden. Accommodating students with MID in our classrooms is no easy task, and it's crucial that future teachers be informed about it in order to provide the best possible learning environment for them.
It's astounding to me that in the past, MID was seen as something that the individual possessing it is responsible for. I was pleased to hear that since then, the finger of blame has been turned away from the individuals with MID and towards the rest of us. What makes learning difficult for those students? A large part of the time, it's burdens that society places on these individuals that makes functioning difficult. We need to know what it is that we're doing to limit students with MID and take active steps to avoid this and/or to accommodate our actions to include them as much as possible.
I think working with students with intellectual disabilities would be a very challenging job. Often, since students with MID have problems communicating, there'd be a barrier between the student and the teacher. This is a large part of the issue that arose between the cases of Ashley Treatment and the Rick Hoyt - if a student with MID can understand but not communicate that they understand, life can get pretty frustrating for both parties quickly. Special Education teachers who work with students with MID must be able to assess the needs of the student quickly and adapt to a case-by-case basis with each individual. I bet that some days are really tough, but these angels in our school are unsung heroes for continuing on in the face of difficulty. To know that they are making a difference in the life of even ONE exceptional learner is motivation enough to keep on working towards positive change in the future. I admire their willpower and dedication, and I can really see myself working in special education sometime in my career.
The video linked below (although a bit dated) is a quick view into the life of a special needs teacher. I realize that this video includes teaching students with a wide variety different physical and mental disabilities, however I believe that much of my discussion of intellectual disabilities transfers well to other areas of exceptionalities as well.
No comments:
Post a Comment