Teacher Discussion Forums

I teach a mixed-age (14-25ish) group of 8 or so beginners in a Tibetan part of China.

Today, one of the 14-year olds made a special request for a lesson on disabilities. He has a severe burn that affects about a quarter of his body, including half his face. I think the burn may be why he's at my center instead of in a regular middle school.

Outside of teaching vocab words for things like deaf, blind, etc., what do you all suggest I include? The part of town we all live in has rough stone streets so the tourists think it's pretty, so I could include a discussion on how this affects people in wheelchairs. I'm just very worried about making this boy feel like the spotlight is on him. In reality, he has NO disability, but because of his appearance people think he does. I suppose the inability to hold chopsticks is considered a disability it China...but he manages with a fork just fine.

Other ideas based on my experience in Asia: Lack of discrimination laws (or enforcement of them), and no job accommodations.

We have an organization called "Kids on the Block" in Canada and the US that comes to schools to put on plays about disabilities. http://www.kidsontheblocktoronto.com/

They have a lot of info on their website. It is a great puppet show because they are very forthright in talking about the difficulties the "kids" experience. There is a puppet with the disability and a puppet friend who talk together. It even works for the teenagers.

It sounds like this young fellow wants people to treat him like a person instead of a disability so his story might be the place to start. Then get stories from the kids about others with difficulties and how the students feel when they meet someone with difficulties and what to do and say.

For workshops for the "Kids on the Block" puppets we have a lot of props like glasses that have been covered over with different coatings so you can't see easily or just through one hole in the middle of the glass and so on. We bring wheelchairs for the kids to try and have them cover their ears with various earphones so they can experience different levels of hearing.

There is a fantastic video of a person without arms or legs that is really inspiring. http://vodpod.com/watch/635715-nick-vuj ... art-1-of-3

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This information is for all students with disabilities. More and more students with disabilities are being placed in the regular classroom setting to be 'included' with all students. One of the goals for inclusion to be successful is social skills development and examines support to ensure that students with disabilities feel well accepted.
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