Making the Educational Experience Work

By Mary Morse, Ph.D.

Physical and Environmental Considerations include such factors as your child's health, stamina, ability to manage sensory-motor demands, levels of arousal, communicative status, need for structure and organization, etc.

Instructional Considerations include such factors as relevant goals and objectives, motivating and understandable activities, and providing appropriate adaptations and supports to help your child be successful.

Social Considerations include developing relationships in which your child is an equal partner in interactive and satisfying experiences. Social equality rests, in part, on

• maximizing independence in self-help skills.
• facilitating not only communication but also the ability to appropriately respond to the emotional and social aspects of experiences.
• providing opportunities for your child to contribute to his/her non-disabled peers.
• planning interactive experiences, based on your child's strengths, which can be mutually enjoyed by your child and his/her peers.

Curriculum Implementation Considerations include such factors as:

• determining priority school environments and activities for those children who require more time to understand and perform tasks
• planning how to present experiences so they are understandable to your child.
• providing learning materials which are sensory-motor friendly for your child.