Assignment 2.2—Research Your Disability
For this Assignment, you will research your disability in a variety of formats. In Part A, you will interview someone with a similar disability or a professional who can share more information. In Part B, you will conduct research online. In Part C, you will read a book, magazine, or web-based article to learn about your disability. Your findings from this research will then be used to help you write a summary of your disability in an upcoming assignment.
Part A:
Interviewing Someone with Similar Disability
Or
Interviewing a Professional about your Disability
Part A- Interviewing Someone with a Similar Disability
Purpose: Often professionals and literature on the subject of disabilities do not have all the answers. Talking with another person with a similar disability may give a person new insight as well as new strategies to manage the disability, ideas for accommodations for the disability, share their transition path and a sense of not being alone.
Instructions: Interview a classmate or someone else in the community with a similar disability. Record their answers to the following questions. Later you will use their answers to help you write the summary of your disability. * The interview may be taped/recorded if given permission by the interviewee.
When did you discover you had a disability?
How does it impact your life physically, socially and your ability to learn?
What is the hardest thing for you to accept about your disability?
What are some strategies you use to overcome your disability?
What are some accommodations that help you be more successful in a learning environment?
Can you share your transition story with me and offer any advice?
Is there anything else you would like to share with me?
Part A- Interviewing a Professional
Purpose: A professional, whether it be the family doctor, specialist for the disability, or the school psychologist, can provide you with vast amounts of information about your disability. The more knowledgeable the better you will know what types of accommodations and strategies will help you be successful.
Instructions: Discuss with your case manager and decide on a professional you can interview about your disability. Use questions below for this interview. Then use the responses as you write a summary about your disability. A professional should be able to explain it in simple terms so he or she is understood. So, if you don’t understand, be sure to ask to have things explained again.*The interview may be recorded if you get the permission of the person you are talking to.
What is the official name for my disability?
How would you define my disability?
How can it impact me physically, socially and my ability to learn?
What challenges do you think I may have because of my disability?
What outside resources and agencies would you recommend as I work on transition?
Do you have anything else you would like to share about my disability?
Part B: Website Research
Name of disability researching:
Website address:
Date accessed website:
Copyright date of website or publication date:
Author (if given):
Background on author:
Organization:
Background on organization:
Instructions: Read to find answers to the following questions.
Are there any causes known for the disability?
List the characteristics of the disability?
How does the disability impact learning?
What kinds of accommodations are recommended?
What are three new facts you learned from this source?
Part C: Book, Article Search
When locating an article or book to use for this assignment, be sure that the date of publication is not more than five years old (unless approved by the instructor).
Name of Disability:
Name of Book, Article or Web-based source:
Author of Publication:
Date of Publication:
What aspect(s) of the disability did this book or magazine cover?
Examples: definitions, personal experiences, accommodations
What are three new facts you learned from this source?
Does anything in this book or magazine remind you of how your disability impacts your own life?
How is the information different from how you live your life with a disability?