Disability and Education

Thinking about our visits to Domino Preschool, our Assistive Technology Workshops, our various school visits, and what we've been discussing in our academic classes, what did you discover about how disability affects students' capacity to be successful in school? In what ways is this similar to your home country? In what ways is this different than in your home country? As an educator, how do you understand your role in assisting students with a variety of special needs to be successful in school?

There are more obstacles in students success when they have disabilities,  therefore is necessary that the country is prepared to adapt the school to their needs.

I have to admit that I was really satisfied with the fact that the Assistive Techology teachers gave us material, because in Portugal the students, for example, with difficulties in listening and see sometimes are very isolated from the others, so with this new software I will be able to help them, even though I am not specialized in disabilities. I was two semesters in the Psychology course, so I am very aware of the social needs the students  have. If we have the possibility to include the students with disabilities in our class is beneficial, because kids tend to imitate what they see. 

In Portugal, the kids with severe disabilities are treat outside of the class, however the others  are inside the class and some explications are done with a specialized teacher inside the classroom.

My role is really important, because they can`t think that they will not reach their objectives, and we should be persistent and have high expectations of all.

The intervention I liked the most in Assistive Technology was from Paul and the mom Dorothy, because they were talking about personal experiences and that touched me. Is fascinating that people that were not professional could do so much, like the father of Paul and the mother Dorothy. That leads to the conclusion that when we care, we can make a difference even if looks impossible sometimes.