Links & Resources
Checklist for teachers:
http://www.learnalberta.ca/content/inmdict/html/cerebral_palsy.html
Ontario Federation for Cerebral Palsy:
http://www.ofcp.ca/index.php
Adaptive Physical Activity:
http://www.pelinks4u.org/articles/stopka/oct07_a.htm
http://www.learnalberta.ca/content/inmdict/html/cerebral_palsy.html
Ontario Federation for Cerebral Palsy:
http://www.ofcp.ca/index.php
Adaptive Physical Activity:
http://www.pelinks4u.org/articles/stopka/oct07_a.htm
Definition & AB Education Code"Cerebral palsy (CP) refers to a group of disorders that result from injury to the developing brain, and can affect movement and muscle coordination. Depending on which areas of the brain are damaged, CP can cause one or more of the following: muscle tightness or spasms, involuntary movement, difficulty with gross motor skills such as walking or running, difficulty with fine motor skills such as writing or doing up buttons, and difficulty with perception and sensation. Individuals with CP may have cognitive, speech and language disorders, visual and hearing impairments and/or learning disabilities. The parts of the body that are affected and the severity of impairment can vary widely. CP is not progressive, but can seem to change as the child grows."
(Learn Alberta) Code: 44 |
Characteristics & BehaviourSpastic cerebral palsy
This is the most common form of cerebral palsy. Spastic refers to stiffness or tightness in the muscles being relayed incorrectly through the damaged part of the brain. People with spastic CP often walk with their legs turning in or scissoring their legs. Athetoid cerebral palsy
Uncontrolled movements that occur, most noticeable when a person starts to make a movement. People with athetoid cerebral palsy often have very weak muscles and feel floppy when carried. They have troubles holding themselves upright, steady position, and often show involuntary motions. Ataxic cerebral palsy
This is the least common form of CP. Refers to the shaky, unsteady movements and often causes problems with balance |
StrategiesUnderstand the nature of a child’s disability
Teachers play an important role in helping a child develop positive self-esteem. Self-confidence is among a child’s chief concerns, especially if he or she has special needs. Part of making sure a child develops a healthy self-image, and learns in the classroom is to understand how a child’s disabilities affect their ability to learn. Meaning of Normal
Debunk the meaning of ‘normal’- Goes along with the strategy above, but explain and model to the class that there is no such thing as ‘normal’, instead every person is different in their own way, and that is what makes everyone so special. Teach from a compassionate point of view
Think about how the student will be viewed and seen in the eyes of others and themselves. If completing the project means a child with special needs will have to go about it in a way that draws too much attention from classmates, perhaps it is best to reconsider the assignment for the entire class. In many cases, special needs children don’t need the bar lowered for their benefit. But they also don’t want the requirements to be so vastly different from the way other students satisfy the assignment that it attracts unwanted attention. Inform
Give children all of the information they need about a classmate’s disability- Educating the students on the disability is important, so that the students understand that the student is not weird or abnormal, but just operators in different ways. |