Handling Students With Disabilities Term Paper Sample

Sam is my student in my general education class. His disability is mental retardation, which is a learning disability, which appears before adulthood. It, therefore, can be identified at three or four years of age. He will be in first grade inclusion class. Other two professions who would be very resourceful in providing services for Sam are the visual therapist and the general education teacher. This is because; many mentally challenged students are visual learners.
One goal that would help him live productively and harmoniously with others in a diverse society would be to develop the potential of Sam to maximum, which includes some social skills to help him function as a normal person in the best way possible as well as his visual skills.
The technique that a general education could prepare Sam achieve that goal is mnemonic devices. They are useful for students with mental disabilities as well as visual aids when making a presentation to such students since they are visual learners. I would also incorporate the hands-on experiences in the teaching. This would include allowing him to touch various fabrics like velvet when teaching them the different textures. This would help him grasp abstract materials, which are not easy for such students to grasp.
The visual therapist, the special education teacher and the parent will first meet to discuss the technique to be applied in teaching. Once the time schedule is developed the parents would be invited to discuss n the agreed technique and how its implementation. The teacher will then monitor the effectiveness of the technique used and decide on when the technique should be used. Both teachers will work together with a common goal of helping Sam understand how to live in harmony with others and become a productive member of the society. This is a common problem to mentally retarded students. The progress monitoring will help them determine if they are making any progress and discuss how Sam would get mastery of the skills.