Disability Awareness
Information for Teachers
Pre and Post Test
1. What is your level of knowledge about the various disabilities?
very knowledgeable somewhat knowledgeable
very little knowledge
2. What is your comfort level supporting students with disabilities?
very comfortable
somewhat comfortable
not at all
3. What is your level of knowledge of strategies to support students with
disabilities in the classroom?
very knowledgeable somewhat knowledgeable
very little knowledge
4. What is your awareness level of resources available to assist you in supporting
students with disabilities?
very knowledgeable somewhat knowledgeable
very little knowledge
Awareness is not
the same as
emphasis
Ask me what I
CAN do, not
what I can’t do
ACTIVITY
 Individuals with such disabilities
often have great difficulty with
directions and receptive language.
(Sit back to back, one person has
picture of abstract shape, cannot
use names of shapes but must
describe it and he other person
must reproduce it)
Additional experiences…
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/misunderstoodminds/experiences/attexp2b.html
About your experience…
 Were any of the
activities frustrating
to you?
 Was it frustrating or
embarrassing to not be
able to complete some
of the tasks?
Consider motivation of
behaviors







Frustration
Embarrassment
Avoidance
Attention
Receive some type of reward
Communication
Sensory stimulation
Facilitate access and
success
 Give positive reinforcement
 Decrease the length of tasks and divide
into smaller parts
 Take frequent breaks
 Keep consistent daily schedule
 Provide “stress balls” and other
inconspicuous items for stimulation
 Allow for movement
Facilitate access and
success
 Interact with the individual as a
PERSON FIRST
 Break down concepts into small,
simple components
 Teach functional skills to support
independence
Resources
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VADSA.ORG Disability Organizations Listing
View a comprehensive listing of Disability Related Organizations
across the state and the nation.
Virginia Dept. for the Blind and Vision Impaired (DBVI)
Enables blind or visually impaired individuals to achieve their
maximum level of employment, education, and personal
independence.
Virginia Industries for the Blind (VIB)
Established over seven decades ago as a not-for-profit
organization offering vocational rehabilitation for blind
Virginians, VIB is a self-funded division of the Virginia
Department for the Blind and Vision Impaired (DBVI).
Virginia Dept. for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (VDDHH)
Operates with the full understanding that communication is the
most critical issue facing persons who are deaf or hard of
hearing.
Resources
•Virginia Board for People with Disabilities (VBPD)
Empower Virginians with Disabilities to achieve their personal goals,
to be self-reliant, and to participate fully in their communities by
strengthening community involvement, building advocacy capacity,
enhancing service delivery, and informing public policy.
•Department of Rehabilitative Services
Collaborates with the public and private sectors to provide and
advocate for the highest quality services that empower individuals
with disabilities to maximize their employment, independence and
full inclusion into society.
•Woodrow Wilson Rehabilitation Center
is the first state-owned and operated comprehensive rehabilitation
center in the country. WWRC provides comprehensive medical,
assistive technology and vocational rehabilitation services to persons
with disabilities to help them gain increased independence and
employment.
Resources
•Voice of the Blue Ridge
is a non-profit organization chartered in 1981 to help people who cannot read
newspapers or magazines because of physical impairments such as partial vision
loss, blindness or stroke.
•Virginia Relay
The telecommunications system for the deaf and hard of hearing communities in
Virginia.
•American Council of the Blind
Strives to improve the well-being of all blind and visually impaired people by:
serving as a representative national organization of blind people; elevating the
social, economic and cultural levels of blind people; improving educational and
rehabilitation facilities and opportunities; cooperating with the public and private
institutions and organizations concerned with blind services; encouraging and
assisting all blind persons to develop their abilities and conducting a public
education program to promote greater understanding of blindness and the
capabilities of blind people.
Resources
•National Federation of the Blind
The purpose of the National Federation of the Blind is two-fold—to help
blind persons achieve self-confidence and self-respect and to act as a
vehicle for collective self-expression by the blind. By providing public
education about blindness, information and referral services,
scholarships, literature and publications about blindness, aids and
appliances and other adaptive equipment for the blind, advocacy services
and protection of civil rights, development and evaluation of technology,
and support for blind persons and their families, members of the NFB
strive to educate the public that the blind are normal individuals who can
compete on terms of equality.
•Make a Wish Foundation of America
Share the power of a wish.
•The ARC
National organization of and for people with mental retardation and
related developmental disabilities and their families.
Resources
•Low Vision Information Center (LVIC)
Nonprofit organization that helps people with low vision maintain their
independence.
•Special Education Resources from the Curry School of Education at the
University of Virginia
Information on disabilities categories: Attention Deficit Disorder, Autism,
Cerebral Palsy, Communication Disorders, Hearing Impairment, Learning
Disabilities, Mental Retardation, Serious Emotional Disturbance, Traumatic Brain
Injury, Visual Impairment.
•Commonwealth Community Trust
Established for Virginia residents to provide a convenient and economical way to
have trust funds administered for people with disabilities that will supplement
the benefits offered by entitlement programs.
•Dept of Mental Health, Mental Retardation, and Substance Abuse Services
(DMHMRSAS)
Improves the quality of life for people with mental disabilities and substance
abuse problems by providing the very best services possible, at minimal burden to
the taxpayer.
Resources
•Disability Services Agencies Forms
Consumer forms for the Department for the Blind and Vision
Impaired, Department for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing,
Department of Rehabilitative Services (DRS), and the
Virginia Board for Persons with Disabilities.
•The Virginia Office for Protection and Advocacy (VOPA)
helps with disability-related problems like abuse, neglect,
and discrimination. We also help people with disabilities
obtain services and treatment. All callers receive help with
these problems. Individuals with problems, targeted in our
program priorities, may also receive advocacy services
and/or legal representation.
•Adapted from DSA, Virginia.gov