Monday, July 16, 2012

Art Education for Children With Learning Disabilities

There are a large number of students who have difficulty learning material using traditional teaching methods. Learning disabilities vary from mild forms such as attention deficit disorder to more severe disabilities like autism and mental retardation. Incorporating art into the curriculum of students with learning disabilities can be a useful tool. Students with disabilities are not students who are incapable of learning but instead are students who may need material presented to them using alternative methods. Methods that incorporate art can be very successful for these children.

Many students with disabilities are separated from regular students for either part of all of the school day. These students spend a great deal of time focusing on remedial skills and learning new skills to help them catch up with the rest of the class. For students with learning disabilities the knowledge that they are not able to function at the same level as other students can be very discouraging. Introducing these students to art classes can offer them the opportunity to do something creative where success is not measured by the same standards as in regular academics. The feeling of succeeding at something can provide these students with self-worth and confidence that can carry over into other areas of study. Allowing children to be involved with art related activities also encourages creativity, problem solving skills, motor skills and other skills that are useful in all areas of academics like math, science and language.

Art lessons can be combined with traditional lessons and used as a teaching tool for these students. Children that have difficulty with verbal expression will often have more success by expressing themselves through art. Practicing expression through art may translate to better overall communication skills. Teaching math and science lessons that are hands on art based lessons also tend to hold a student's interest more than traditional lecture lessons. Sometimes just holding a student's attention is half the battle especially for students with attention deficit disorder. Activities that encourage drawing and painting can help students learn about shapes, contrast and spatial relationships. Teachers can implement lessons that use these art activities to teach basic math skills like geometry and various other math techniques. Another interesting way to teach history involves having students create plays that focus on historical events. This method can help students internalize the material as oppose to just memorizing facts from a textbook.

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

How to Ensure A Good Education for Your Deaf Child

Having a child with disabilities isn't easy. If you're the parent of a deaf child, then you know this as well as anyone. Whether it's a physical, mental, emotional or psychological disability, the fact is that the world isn't really built for people who are different, so chances are you've already ruled out the notion of keeping your child in the public school system and you're looking at deaf school options or possibly home schooling.

Home Schooling for Deaf Children

There are a lot of arguments for and against home schooling for deaf children. The fact is that your child may well wind up learning more through staying home and being taught by people he or she loves and trusts than by going to a special school to learn. The downside is that this can have an adverse effect on a child's developing social skills. By simply staying home, within their comfort zone, they may not learn how to deal with others until their early adulthood.

On the other hand, you may well be able to find a home schooling community for hearing impaired children, but i you don't live in a big city, this may be much easier said than done.

Deaf School Options

At a school for the hearing impaired, children may have some difficulty adjusting, at first, to being surrounded by new people. However, over time, the benefits do seem to outweigh this. A child who goes to a school for the deaf will, first and foremost, realize that perhaps they're not so different after all. By being surrounded by those who understand hearing impairment and those who suffer from hearing impairment themselves, a deaf child may feel much more comfortable and be much more willing to simply learn and stay focused in a more comfortable environment than that which public schooling provides.

Another benefit is that you're likely to meet other parents of deaf children through the school, other parents who know how difficult it can be and who understand that behind the disability is a unique individual. At a school for the deaf, and within the surrounding community, your child isn't a "deaf kid", but a person who may be exceptionally intelligent or creative, who may be athletic or have a great sense of humor. In being around other deaf people and those who see your child as a person, not as a disability, your child may really bloom as an individual and learn to take pride in who he or she is.