This page is for:

• catechists whose pupils now include children with disabilities

• special education catechists who are experienced with one kind of disability but wish to know something about others

• administrators and supervisors who want to know more about directing the catechesis of all children, including children with disabilities

Dealing with a child who has disabilities is dealing first with a child. All children learn differently, and the catechist’s challenge comes in recognizing and adjusting to the individual.

Thus, the ideas that follow are simply suggestions, which catechists are to accept, reject or modify to match the needs and characteristics of individual children.

1. Obtain background information prior to the student’s enrolling in your class, if possible.

2. Elicit assistance from resource room catechists, therapists, and other professionals involved in the care of the child.

3. Ask the student and parents/guardians about adaptations that may help the student.

4. Encourage the student to be as independent as possible. It may require effort on your part to keep from helping the student with a difficult task. If it is within the student’s ability, encourage but don’t intrude.

5. Discuss the nature of the disability with other students when appropriate. Your attitude toward the student with a disability will largely determine how the class responds.

Emphasize that all students are more alike than different.

1. Set realistic goals for the student, keeping environment and abilities in mind.

2. Carefully sequence learning activities, from easy ones to difficult ones.

3. Use concrete concepts and simple phrases in your explanations.

4. After a lesson, clarify any problems the student may have.

1. Work closely with parents to choose goals, teaching methods and evaluation strategies.

Try to keep home and school programs consistent.

2. Use materials and methods that are chronologically, physically age-appropriate.

3. Emphasize repetition and provide opportunities for using the learned skill.

4. Promote skill generalization; teach the same skill in diverse settings.

5. Provide as many opportunities for interaction with typical peers as possible.

6. After a lesson, clarify any problems the student may have.

1. Use highly structured methods. Tell the student exactly what is expected.

2. Understand that a learning disability may cause inconsistent performance.

3. If the child has a receptive language problem, use short sentences and simple vocabulary.

4. Allow students who have difficulty with written language to use tape recorders or the reproduced notes of fellow students.

5. Use self-correcting materials for immediate feedback without embarrassment.

6. Provide ample opportunities for drill and practice.

7. After a lesson, clarify any problems the student may have.

1. Provide adequate structure in the learning environment. Let the student know what is expected, but also indicate where there may be more flexibility.

2. Reinforce appropriate behavior; ignore inappropriate behavior. Model and explain what constitutes appropriate behavior.

3. Expect improvement on a long-term basis. Understand that small gains may take time to become permanent.

4. Be sensitive to individual differences. Try to create an atmosphere in which students are respected and learn to respect others.

5. After a lesson, clarify any problems that students may have.

1. Before the school year begins, acquaint the student with the classroom and the building.

2. Teach other students the sighted guide technique or other ways to help without sacrificing the student’s independence.

3. Keep background noise to a minimum.

4. Speak in a normal tone of voice.

5. Encourage the student to use a tape recorder or other special equipment in class.

6. Note that most catechetical materials can be adapted to Braille if this is what the student uses.

7. Set an example for the other students in the class by describing the things you see and relating them to their sounds.

8. Give the student ample opportunity and assistance to structure personal space.

9. Find out how much residual vision the student has. Ensure that lighting is appropriate.

10. After a lesson, clarify any problems the student may have.

1. Ask the student about aids and adaptations he or she may use.

2. Find out from parents or therapists what limitations the child has, if any.

3. Don’t do unnecessary things for the student. If he or she appears to want help, ask first.

4. Encourage the student to participate as much as possible in the regular class routine.

5. After a lesson, clarify any problems the student may have.

1. Before the year begins, acquaint the student with the classroom and the building.

2. Seat the student where he or she can see your lips clearly.

3. Don’t speak with your back to the class or with a bright light behind you. Don’t inadvertently cover your mouth when you speak. Try not to pace or walk around as you speak to the class.

4. Body language and gestures help students with hearing impairments understand the message.

5. Speak in a normal tone of voice.

6. Become familiar with hearing aids or any other special equipment the student may use.

7. Write assignments and directions on the board or on handouts. Have a hearing student take notes for a student with hearing impairments.

8. If the student uses the services of an interpreter, do not talk to the interpreter. Rather, talk directly to the student. The interpreter will translate what you say; there is no need to funnel requests or questions through the interpreter.

9. After a lesson, clarify any problems the student may have.

Your attitude towards students with disabilities will set the tone of the classroom and shape the interactions among students. One important aspect of attitude is expectation. Research findings have repeatedly emphasized the influence of catechist expectation on student performance. If catechists expect students to have behavior problems, students may very well fulfill this expectation.

Labels may affect expectations. Frequently, labels introduce a set of preconceived characteristics (stereotypes), causing a catechist who is assigned a class including a student with disability to envision a specific behavior pattern before even meeting the student. You should be aware of your own attitudes and expectations and should ascribe to labels no greater import than the information they provide about how the student learns and what the student needs.

Placing students with disabilities into the “mainstream,” or regular classes, does not guarantee that they will be liked, accepted, or chosen as friends by their peers. Without careful attention by sensitive catechists, such a placement could even be a harmful experience.

You will find that working closely in advance with the parents, the student, and the resource or special class catechist, may be instrumental in preparing the student with disabilities for regular classroom experiences.

To prepare the class for the entry of a student with disabilities, focus on student similarities rather than differences. Deal forthrightly and comfortably with students’ questions, letting them know it is all right to discuss disabilities. Two other approaches can promote positive relationships among students: encourage cooperative learning tasks and establish ways for students to help each other.

In small groups, students work together on tasks that encompass all the other students’ abilities.

Cooperative learning is the opposite of competition, which may not be fair to all students with disabilities. To teach cooperation, the catechist must be ready to help by:

1. Giving the student with the disability a structured role in the group.

2. Showing that each member of the group has different skills.

3. Emphasizing that the best work will need everyone’s contribution.

4. Teaching typical students and students with disabilities how to cooperate.

5. Adapting tasks so that the student with a disability can succeed. This may mean giving group members different tasks, and varying the amount of work each member receives, or using improvement rather than performance as a measure of success.

Another way to promote acceptance among students is to encourage them to help each other.

They do it all the time, informally. Given a little training, students can learn how to teach and encourage their peers, and in the process they can improve their understanding of the subject and of themselves.

Students with disabilities do not always need to be on the receiving end. Their strengths can be used to help their classmates, and they can develop confidence in doing so. Students have great gifts of faith to share with their classmates.

Peer teaching will not work without some guidance from catechists. In regular sessions with the tutors, catechists can demonstrate methods of instruction and answer specific questions, especially about the tutor’s feelings.

One unexpected benefit of the peer teaching approach is the effect it may have on the rest of the

students. Students may begin to look out for their new friend in other situations outside the classroom. As students see their classmates assuming the tutor role, they may become interested as well, and associating with students who have disabilities may take on greater status. Above all, some real contact is being made between students who might otherwise never have gotten to know each other.

Catechists organize the learning environment all the time, consciously or unconsciously. There are some very simple steps a catechist can take to maintain order. For example, desks can be grouped in ways that encourage or discourage interaction among students, and learning centers can be set up to structure independent work or provide for small group instruction. Areas of rewards and punishment (time-out space) can also be designated.

Students with special needs may need special equipment. For example, young children with physical problems may need to use a prone board while doing fine motor tasks, because positioning in a certain way gives them the greatest control over their movements. Therapists will advise you about these kinds of special needs, by suggesting how to incorporate the special equipment into other classroom routines.

Seating considerations are another important aspect of physically structuring the class. Children with hearing impairments who rely on lip-reading skills will naturally need seating that gives them clear view of the catechist or other speakers with adequate lighting on the speaker’s face.

Children who are easily distracted may be best placed near quiet, self-directed classmates, rather than beside other children who are easily distracted. Students with visual impairments should be situated so that it is easy for them to find their seats and equipment (Braille writers, low vision aids, or other aids).