Assignment 3: Tool-Belt
The student I have in mind for my tool belt is one that I worked with for many years while I was an Inclusion Support Staff at a childcare centre in Winnipeg. I worked with this child, who has Williams Syndrome, while he was in grades 2-6. The centre is located within the school the child attends, and I was very fortunate to have a great relationship with this child's EA as well as all of his teachers. We connected with one another at the end of each school day, and I worked with his school team to ensure that he continued his programming during school breaks to minimize any possible regression. This child is going to be starting grade 7 in September and is getting a lot more independent- so what a perfect time to come up with a toolkit for him! I am so very fortunate to still be a part of this child's life, even though we now live in different provinces and I no longer work with him.
Hard to tell from the picture, but this paper actually has raised lines on it to help students better control the size of their printing. The student I worked with had a lot of trouble identifying where the lines were on standard looseleaf, and therefore would have printing that was quite large. He switched over to using this paper and there was a huge difference in the neatness of his writing. Crazy that such a small change can have such a big impact!
While this is not a tool this child has used, after exploring how it works I think it would be a great resource for him to use mostly for reading, but possibly for longer writing activities as well. This student loves to read about high interest objects, such as diggers, subway trains, and buses. If he was able to put together a little story on one of those subjects then I know he would listen to it over and over again- and this tool would be a great way for him to do independently! I can also see this student using this tool in the classroom, especially as he approaches junior high and high school. There will no doubt be more writing and reading activities, both of which he is capable of, and this tool will give him the opportunity to become less dependent on his EA's for support.
This student uses an iPad throughout the day to supplement his in class instruction. He has many educational apps on his iPad that are used throughout the day to help meet his learning goals. The calculator app is one that is use quite frequently as an assistive tool for math problems. This student is very capable of solving math equations but uses the calculator to help him do so.
This student uses specialized pencil grips while he is writing to help him get better control of holding the pencil. This helps the student to have more control over his printing including both the size and neatness. His fine motor skills make it hard for him to hold such a small object while trying to manipulate it at the same time.
While this picture is not exact, this student also frequently uses board games when learning new math skills. This helps to make the learning fun for the student and it also keeps him much more engaged in the learning. While this option may not work for all learners, this is an activity that has proven to be very successful for this student in the past.
Although I mentioned this student using the calculator on his iPad, he also has a *large* calculator accessible to him throughout the day as well. I starred the word large because in this student's case, it is important that the calculator be a large size and not a standard palm sized one. He has trouble reading small print and numbers, so having a calculator with large buttons and large numbers on the screen is important. This is a tool this student would use to help him complete math problems. It is stated in his IEP as one of his goals to learn to use a calculator to help him solve more complex math problems. He is not expected to ever learn how to do these problems without a calculator as he does not have the executive functioning needed to do so.
One last tool that this student actually just got is a specialized bicycle to allow him to be active and go for bike rides with his family! Previously this student would tandem ride with his mom, but as he grows older that option just isn't feasible any longer. He was able to get his very own bike to ride and the best part is that he can do so totally independently! I have seen a few pictures and videos of him trying out his new toy and the smile on his face is abolsutely pricesless :)
I am so happy that he now has the ability to be active with his family and does not have to rely on anyone else while he bikes!