Teens and Disabilities

1
Teens and Disabilities

• Partnering and promoting youth as problem solvers

2
Whats it like to have a learning disability?
Try this exercise in a small group.
3
Teens with Disabilities

• What should you should know
• about working with teens
• with emotional, mental,
• and physical disabilities?

4
Many disabilities are hidden

• Approximately four million students with
  disabilities are enrolled in public elementary
  and secondary schools in the United States.

http//www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/hq52
69.html
5
Dont assume!

• Do not make
• negative assumptions
• about a teens ability
• to participate in their
• own planning, no matter their disability.

6
Working with teens who have disabilities

• Ask a teen with a disability if s/he
• needs help and what kind of
• help is needed before
• providing assistance.

http//www.washington.edu/doit/Brochures/Academics
/equal_access_udi.html
7
Working with teens who have disabilities

• Talk directly to the person with a disability,
  not through the person's parent, companion or
  interpreter.

8
Working with teens who have disabilities

• Refer to a teens disability only if it is
  relevant to the conversation. If so, mention the
  person first and then the disability. "A girl who
  is blind" is better than "a blind girl" because
  it puts the person first.

9
Working with teens who have disabilities

• Avoid negative descriptions of a person's
  disability. For example, "a person who uses a
  wheelchair" is more appropriate than "a person
  confined to a wheelchair." A wheelchair is not
  confiningit's liberating!

10
What else you can do

• Ask a teen who is disabled what, if any,
  accommodations are needed so that they can
  participate in their case planning.

11
What you can do

• Do not over-indulge, talk down to, attempt to
  protect, talk for, talk loudly to, or otherwise
  treat differently a youth who is disabled.

12
Service Gaps

• Depending on the type of disability, a teen may
  experience exclusion from age-appropriate
  experiences such as after-school activities,
  appropriate sex education, or even ability to
  communicate with parents, peers, and family
  members.

13
Facts about teens with disabilities
Teens with disabilities are more likely than
other teens to become victims of all types of
crime. Teens with disabilities are less likely
than other teens to learn information about
crimes, vulnerabilities and redress
http//disability-abuse.com
14
Facts about teens with disabilities
Teens with disabilities are more likely than
other teens to be bullied, teased, humiliated,
sexually harassed and assaulted. Teens with
disabilities in general have less ability and
training in responding to and reporting such
harassment AND if such harassment is reported,
are less likely to enjoy relief through the
intervention of school personnel.
15
Physical Abuse

• Signs of physical abuse in Children with and
  without disabilities are the same. HOWEVER
• Sometimes the signs of ABUSE are attributed to
  the DISABILITY and ignored
• Sometimes the disability causes conditions that
  mimic signs of ABUSE and are mistaken, causing
  care providers to erroneously by accused of abuse.

16
Physical Abuse

• Physical neglect (failure to provide medicine,
  food, water, assistive devices, etc) may cause an
  exacerbation of the symptoms of the disability
  leading to temporary mental aberration, physical
  symptoms, coma and even death.
• Often Children do not disclose the abuse for
  multiple fears and no apparent sign that help is
  available.
• http//disability-abuse.com

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How can you know if abuse is going on?

• ASK!!!
• Most adults who have disabilities state that
  although they have been abused many times in
  their life, NO ONE ever asked about this aspect
  of their lives.
• Be sure that you have something to offer if you
  decide to ask this question. Such as
• Time to listen to their story
• Suggestions for help such as a GOOD referral to
  therapy, groups, books, pamphlets, videos, peer
  groups

18
Myths about students with psychological
disabilities

• students with psychological disability are
  dangerous
• students with psychological disability are likely
  to use more services than other disability groups
  
• students with psychological disability are more
  likely to be disruptive
• psychological disability intellectual
  disability
• providing services to students with psychological
  disability compromises academic integrity

19
Myths and Facts about People with Disabilities

• See this handout of
• common stereotypes.

20
Conversation Starters

• What do you like best about yourself?
• What do you think is your greatest ability?
• What would you like people to know about you?
• What would you like to try to do that you havent
  had a chance to try?