"Fair" doesn't mean "the same" (part 4: helpful questions)

I originally planned for this series to just be two posts. To do it justice, though, I've expanded it to five! Here is post four of five. If you missed the previous three, please check them out first:

• "Fair" doesn't mean "the same" (part 1: why)
• "Fair" doesn't mean "the same" (part 2: the terms & mindset)
• "Fair" doesn't mean "the same" (part 3: how)

And now in this penultimate post, I will offer some questions that may be useful for selecting modifications and accommodations for students. I initially wrote this as part of a professional development guide I wrote while working with the national design team for Teach For America, but I have adapted it for ministry settings.

Presentation:

• Can the student listen to and/or follow oral directions given by an adult or an audio tape?
• Can the student read the Bible story in the same way as other students (i.e. from a personal Bible or from the Bible story page from the curriculum)?
• Can the student read and/or understand the story with simplified wording?
• Can the student read the story with enlarged text?
• Can the student understand a different, complementary story if she can't understand the one planned for the lesson?
• Is the student overwhelmed by a lot of text on a page?
• Does the student have sensory problems that could be helped by increasing contrast with colored paper or colored transparency overlays on top of the story?
• Does the student need the story read out loud to him?
• Is the student unable to participate in class without reminders to stay on task?
• Does the student need visual, auditory, or illustrated cues in addition to written directions?

Response:

• Can the student respond verbally?
• Can the student respond nonverbally? If so, how?
• Can the student write?
• Does the student have difficulties writing that could be helped by using a word processor?
• Does the student’s disability affect the amount of writing he can produce?

Timing:

• Does the student need extra time due to his disability to process questions?
• Does the student need breaks to stay focused?
• Does the student become anxious when working on certain skills (such as reciting a memory verse) so that it might be optimal to complete it at a different time than other students?
• Does the student learn better, worse, or the same following physical activities (i.e. would it help to schedule game/rec time or playground trips at a certain time in the class)?

Setting:

• Can the student learn the Bible story and concepts in a typically sized class?
• Can the student only learn the Bible story and concepts with a few other students in the room?
• Can the student only learn the Bible story and concepts in a one-on-one setting?
• Does the student exhibit behaviors that are distracting to other students?
• Is the student easily distracted or overwhelmed by motion, noise, or visual displays?
• Does the student need to take the test in a different way from other students, such as orally? If so, then a different setting may be necessary.

Classroom aids and design:

• Does the student function better when a predicable routine is followed?
• Can the student learn about the Bible story without additional visual aids or other sensory inputs?
• Can the student physically enter the classroom or Bible study setting?
• Does the classroom design encourage or inhibit learning for the student?

Would you add any more questions to the mix? C'mon, I know I didn't include all possible questions. (And my love language is comments. Just saying.)


And as a reminder, tomorrow kicks of the first post in the series Fridays from the Families. You don't want to miss what Becky has to share here then! On Saturday, I'll be posting the final part of this series, part 5: making the right choices.

"Fair" doesn't mean "the same" (part 3: how)

On Monday, I posted about why modifications and accommodations may be necessary in special needs ministry. Yesterday, I defined the terms. (If you missed either of those posts, please read them before continuing with this third installment!)

And today I promised to share specific strategies. This is not meant to be a complete list, but it should give you an idea of the types of changes that could be useful. (However, as we'll see in the posts coming tomorrow and Saturday, we need to keep in mind that each is chosen on an individual, case-by-case basis.) Without further ado...

Accommodations (changes to how content is taught or presented)

• Presenting instructions in multiple ways, offering clarification as necessary
• Posting visuals, like a stop sign by the door to remind individuals not to exit the classroom without permission
• Providing reminders to help students stay on task or focus
• Creating and implementing an elopement plan for individuals at risk for leaving
• Choosing a different classroom that you would typically use (so that a wheelchair can be accommodated, for example, or so that more space is available for a child with sensory integration difficulties to have a cool-down corner)
• Enlarging font size
• Providing sign language interpreters and/or providing reserved seating near the front for individuals who need to read the lips of the preacher
• Allowing a person to answer in a different way (i.e. nonverbal responses if speech ability is limited; verbal responses if written one are difficult; and so on)
• Including open spaces in which wheelchair seating can be accommodated without forcing people to sit in the aisles
• Teaching in a multi-sensory way to target different learning styles (i.e. incorporating visuals, audio, movement, and touch whenever possible)
• Letting a child listen instead of singing during music time
• Splitting one class into two for someone who does better with smaller settings
• Providing preferential seating, adaptive furniture, and/or special lighting or acoustics.
• Positioning yourself near a student who needs more frequent redirection or who does better with closer proximity to you
• Offering alternate worship areas (for example, we offer a smaller worship setting in which the service is projected on large screens, as well as our larger sanctuary)
• Posting schedules, which can help provide a predictable structure for kids who need that
• Limiting distractions
• Using technology to augment lessons or to assist learning (for the group or the individual; i.e. we have a high school student who is nonverbal, using an audio Bible device to "read" aloud during class and texting his leaders prayer requests that he wants them to pray out loud)
• Providing a Bible story page with visuals
• Creating a graphic organizer for students to jot down their notes during a sermon or class (for examples, see here and here)
• Avoiding idiomatic expressions or sarcasm for students who think in more literal or concrete ways
• Using more stringent good health policies (for example, in a class with a child who is medically fragile) 

Modifications (changes to what is taught)

• Creating a separate class for children with disabilities (even when this class uses the same exact curriculum, learning it in an environment separate from non-disabled peers does typically change what is learned and not just how it is learned)
• Using a different curriculum, such as one designed for people with special needs (a few are available, but I'm most familiar with Lifeway's Special Buddies for elementary and we use Access in our separate class for teens and adults) or one designed for younger children (for example, using elements from a preschool curriculum for an elementary-aged student)
• Simplifying what it taught or teaching a child one-on-one instead of in the larger group (which is what we do for one child who hasn't successfully been part of the Bible teaching time in his class; instead, he and his buddy do related puzzles and talk about the same story at a level suitable for him)
• Prioritizing different content for different students
• Changing expectations for students based on their needs (for example, one preschooler with Down syndrome only learned one Bible verse during a year in AWANA at our church - a feat that we celebrated with him and his family because he met reasonable expectations for his abilities!)

As I mentioned earlier, these lists are certainly not exhaustive. What else would you include?

Come back tomorrow for questions you can use for selecting the right modifications and accommodations to use, in part 4: helpful questions, and Saturday for a paradigm to use in decision-making, in part 5: making the right decisions.

Easter 2011

I've been posting on Facebook about the girl's attire choices. Basically, we let her dress herself, within reason. That "within reason" part means that her clothing must be weather-appropriate, modest, and - when going to church - not too casual. So while other families coordinated their kiddos, we let Jocelyn do her thing.

She chose a different, more Easter-y dress Sunday morning, but the tights stayed. And the leprechaun necklace. And two other necklaces. And three bracelets. And the silver gemstone shoes. And the pink purse we found at Goodwill a couple months ago, that one that she has designated her "nice church bag."

She also swiped my headband because we had forgotten her silver one.

When her teacher told her he liked her socks, she shouted joyfully, "They're tights!" and lifted her dress above her head to show him. Just goes to show you that making sure she's dressed modestly doesn't actually mean that she'll behave modestly.

And, by the way, I wish I could get tights like hers. For real.

The shamrock necklace, though? That's all hers. (As are the tights, I suppose, considering they wouldn't make it far up my legs!)

And how dapper is he?!?

(He still lets me dress him, if you can't tell!)

The only accessory he insisted on was the dinosaur in his hand!

Oh, how I love her!

And him!

Even if he tries to run away...

I can still catch him, though.

This, my friends, is a photo shoot when your kids are two and four. C'est la vie!

And their daddy ... he rocks.

"Fair" doesn't mean "the same" (part 2: the terms & mindset)

Yesterday, I explained why "fair" doesn't mean "the same" in special needs ministry. Today, we'll begin focusing on the "how" component: What are those not-the-same things that can make a difference for individuals with disabilities in your ministry? And tomorrow I'll provide some specific strategies, in part 3: how (which was originally promised for today, but this part ended up being longer than I expected, so the two part series has become longer than planned...actually, it will be five posts in all, wrapping up on Saturday!).

First, let's play a little Webster's...what are accommodations and modifications anyway? In the field of special education, an accommodation is a change in the way that a student is expected to learn or the manner in which she is tested (or, in a church setting, the way in which he is expected to recite a memory verse). A modification, on the other hand, is a change in the material that student is expected to learn.

Sometimes the terms are used interchangeably (as I have and will often use them on this blog), but the distinction is important. An accommodation is an adjustment in how learning takes place (for example, using a hearing aid or reading a Bible in Braille), while a modification changes what is learned. When you make an accommodation for an individual, that person still learns the same thing, just in a different way. When you make a modification, the person learns something different - sometimes a more simplified version of the same content, sometimes a completely different lesson.

When used well, modifications and accommodations act as undercover agents, meeting specific needs. By "undercover agents," I mean that they should not be obvious, nor should their cover be blown for anyone who doesn't have to be in the know.

Or, to use an even better analogy, proper accommodations and modifications are like contact lenses in two ways:

1. You choose them to meet the specific needs of an individual. If I tried to wear my husband's contacts, they would do more damage to me than good because my eyesight is pretty good. In fact, they wouldn't even fit me, because the shape of my eyes are not the same as his. Likewise, it does not help individuals with special needs to provide too few or too many modifications or accommodations. You're just aiming to meet the specific needs of the person. Think like Goldilocks: you want to find "just right."
2. When being used correctly, they shouldn't be obvious. You can't tell at a glance that my husband is wearing contacts. Meanwhile, when I wear my glasses, they're hard to overlook. As you'll see in my lists of specific strategies, some are more obvious than others; you just don't want to draw undue attention to any of them.

 As with anything else we do in special needs ministry, modifications and accommodations should be chosen and implemented out of love and respect for the individual.

Come back tomorrow for the third post in this series, which will provide some specific modifications and accommodations that could be useful as you minister to and with people with special needs in your church! I'll follow that with a post on Thursday with helpful questions to consider for each person and a final post on Saturday to help you make decisions. (Plus Friday kicks off my new guest blogger series - you don't want to miss it!)

(Photo credit)

"Fair" doesn't mean "the same" (part 1: why)

"But that's not fair!" When someone declares that, it usually means "that's not the same."

As in, "It's not fair to designate one volunteer to one child when we usually have one volunteer for seven kids."

Or "It's not fair to change some of our materials for one kid."

Or "It's not fair to devote money and resources to a ministry that serves so few."

Is it the same? No. Is it fair, though? Yes.

Would you deprive one kid of training wheels on her bike just because other kids might not need them? Or would you tell a child to take off his glasses just because everyone else in the class has perfect eyesight? No. Once again, it's not the same, but it's fair nonetheless.

Tomorrow I'll be posting some modifications and accommodations you can make for individuals with special needs in a church setting, both low-effort and high-effort ones. That'll be "part 2: how," what it looks like. (Edited to clarify that this is now a five-part series, with other posts on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday. I pray that it'll be helpful to you!)

(And, while I included the picture for the sake of illustration, isn't my little girl cute?)