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Academics
Are Not Enough:
Incorporating
Life Skills in the Curriculum
for Children and
Youth with Visual Impairments
Sandra
Rosen
San
Francisco State University
Children and youth with visual impairments learn a wide range of academic
skills in school. In addition to providing academic instruction, however,
schools must also provide these children with instruction in performing
independent life skills in an alternative manner. Life skills are just as important as academic skills in preparing
children and youth with visual impairments for future employment, social
integration and participation in the community. The ability to perform life skills as independently as
possible also enhances self-esteem and feelings of self-worth that are central
to the psychosocial development of children with visual impairments.
Life skills include social skills as well as
self-care, clothing care and selection, food preparation, time management,
consumerism, career development, money identification, organization and
labeling, and recreation and leisure. These skills are used not only at home,
but at school, on the job, and in a wide variety of social situations. Without these life skills, children with visual impairments are at a
disadvantage in competing for and maintaining employment, making friends, and
taking advantage of opportunities for full integration in the community.
Children with visual impairments often need
specialized instruction to learn independent life skills. Unlike their sighted peers, they are often unable to take advantage of
opportunities for incidental learning by observing what others around them are
doing. Similarly, parents may not
have the tools or the resources to make the adaptations or to provide the
specialized life skills instruction that their children need. This instruction is best facilitated by a teacher of students with visual
impairments, who, as part of his or her professional education, is specially
prepared to assess the need for and to teach independent life skills to children
and youth with visual impairments.
Structured opportunities and experiences to help children and youth with visual impairments develop age-appropriate
independent life skills should begin in early childhood and continue throughout
the school years as a student's needs dictate. Such instruction is essential to
a student's later success and employability, and administrators must support
teachers in this effort.
Teachers of students with visual impairments,
regular education teachers, parents and administrators must work together to
ensure that students with visual impairments receive appropriate life skills
instruction. This includes providing both structured opportunities and
experiences for life skill development when necessary, and providing instruction
in natural settings and at naturally occurring times whenever possible. There
are many opportunities for reinforcing age-appropriate independent life skills
that occur naturally throughout the day. For example, a student can learn food
preparation skills in his or her home at breakfast time, in a home economics
classroom, or in another appropriate setting. Giving a student responsibility for preparing his or her own lunch;
caring for clothing, grooming, and other personal needs; organizing his or her
own materials; and managing time effectively are other effective strategies for
teaching independent life skills.
With sufficient time and attention during the school day to
providing formal instruction in independent life skills as well as flexible
scheduling and creative programming outside of school hours and on weekends to
learn, practice, and reinforce skills, teachers, parents, and administrators can
help ensure that students with visual impairments develop the life skills
fundamental to successful participation in society.
Position
It is the position of DVI that children and youth
with visual impairments require specialized instruction in independent life
skills. Development of independent
life skills is vital for independent living, employment, and for full
integration in society. It cannot
be assumed that children with visual impairments will acquire independent life
skills through incidental learning. Specialized
assessment and instruction must be provided. In addition, sufficient time, resources, and support must be available to
teachers of students with visual impairments to allow them to address both the
independent life skills and the academic needs of their students. Teachers, parents, and administrators should work together in these
efforts.
Physical activities enhance the lives of all children. Exercise helps build the strength, endurance, flexibility, and social
skills needed to be successful in daily living skills. A good body image and a healthy self-concept are improved through
physical education, enabling students, including those who are blind and
visually impaired, to have a greater opportunity to fully participate in the
life of their community and build friendships around common interests. In addition to the obvious benefits, physical fitness enhances
orientation and mobility training, job performance, social development, lifetime
recreational and leisure pursuits as well as good mental health. To assure that an appropriate physical education program is in place and
effectively presented, adapted physical educators should collaborate with
regular physical educators and educational settings. Placing adaptive physical education goals in student IEPs is a positive
approach to assure the availability of appropriate programming.
Position
Movement
and exercise are crucial to health and well being. Most physical activities are easily adaptable to children and youth who
are blind or visually impaired even though certain visual problems cause
limitations. Therefore,
it is the position of CEC/DVI that physical education programs/classes should be
provided to all students with visual impairments in all educational settings
enabling most of them to capability of participating fully with sighted peers.
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