Observing Obstacles: Barriers in the DD Classroom ISABEL NAPIER Year 3 Human Geography Major French Language and Education & Society Minor
A
s educators, we must teach to the needs and interests of our students rather than to the abstract notion of the students. There is arguably no environment that this conception applies to more than the Developmental Disabilities (DD) classroom. To a heightened degree, the DD classroom is a mosaic of abilities, personalities and temperaments which require educators to maintain constant attention towards its ever-changing needs. However, drawing on personal experience as a volunteer in a TDSB DD classroom, shortcomings in support provided to DD classrooms limit educators’ ability to reliably provide each student with the individual assistance their exceptionalities require. As I entered Ms. Harrison’s* class for the first time, pictures of six smiling students greeted me. Animating them was enthusiastic chatter from further into the classroom and Ms. Harrison introduced me to the kids that I would come to know well in the next six months. I also began to pick up on the characteristics of their exceptionalities: Bryan chewed on anything he found on the ground, Karim required a diaper
05
HEY, TEACH! FALL 2019
change during bathroom times, and Maia had a tendency to scream at the top of her lungs when she became frustrated.
“It became apparent that understanding the particularities of each student was crucial to the DD classroom.” There were aspects of care that needed to be provided to each child in order for them to be comfortable and for the class to run; difficulty with self-regulation meant that any discomfort experienced by Ms. Harrison’s students caused significant disturbance to the function of the class and the experience of their peers. Maia’s frustrated screams, for example, upset her peers while drawing Ms. Harrison’s attention and limiting her ability to provide necessary attention to others. Even with a small average of five students in attendance and two employed adults to work with them (plus a lunch monitor and at least one volunteer), the classroom was in constant
