How do I get to know the students better?
What do I do if I do not like working with a particular student?
What do I do if the student has a seizure?
What do I do if the student does not follow my instructions?
How do I talk to the students?
What will the students do after graduation?
How can I develop a closer friendship with the students?
What can I tell my other friends about the students?
What if I do not feel comfortable being alone with the student?
What do I have to teach the students?
Will I know what to do in the class?
Can I catch what has made the students disabled?
Will the students everget better?
What kind of life will the students have after
graduation?
How do I get to know the students better?
Ask the students the same types of questions that you would ask any new
person you have just met. Ask them about their family, their likes and
dislikes. Ask them what they like to do. Ask them about their friends.
Always try and reflect back to them what they have said so that they know
that you are really listening. Then when you see them and talk with them,
make a reference to what they have said. This will show that you care
and that you listen – you would do this with any of your friends!
Tell them things about yourself and try to find things that you both have
in common. Ask students to join you in other activities. Call them at
home. Stop by to visit. If they have a computer, email them. This will
mean a lot to the student and to the parents to know that their son or
daughter has friends that care.
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What do I do if I do not like working with a particular student?
First, you need to figure out why you think that you do not like to work
with this student. After you have figured out why, think about ways to
work around it. Think what you would do if this same thing was happening
with a friend without a disability. How would you react? Could you handle
the situation the same way? If you think that you are not able to work
with a student after you have tried to handle the situation yourself,
then you need to discuss the situation with the special education teacher.
Do not allow the situation to continue and, most of all, do not treat
the student with disabilities in a negative way due to your feelings.
The student with disabilities may take your actions and feelings personal.
The special education teacher will know how to handle the situation, so
that it remains positive.
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What do I do if the student has a seizure?
During your training, the special education teacher should have gone over
seizures. If a student that you may be working with has seizures, make
sure that you have talked with the special education teacher so that you
know exactly what to do. There are a few basics rules to follow. Contrary
to popular belief, when a person is having a seizure, never put anything
in his or her mouth. Putting something in the mouth could cause injury.
When a person is having a seizure, try and get that person down to the
floor as safely as possible (but never force a person having a seizure
into any position – that can cause serious injury!). When the person
is on the floor, gently turn the person to his/her side. During a seizure,
some people may vomit and when they are lying on their side, they will
be less likely to swallow and choke. After turning the person on to his
or her side, try and put something soft below the head to protect it.
Another thing to do is to move any objects that are close to the person.
During a seizure, some peoples’ bodies have violent jerks, and if
there are any close objects (tables, chairs, glass items), more injury
could occur. A very important thing to take note of is the time of the
seizure. Medical personnel need to know the approximate length of the
seizure, and your teacher will want to record that. If there is a clock
or watch close by, take note of the time that the seizure began and when
it ended. A seizure can last anywhere from less than a minute to several
minutes, and the length of time is very important. If there is another
person close by, then try and get that person to get the special education
teacher.
Never try and hold the person during a seizure. If you do this, you could
cause injury to both of you. Sometimes during the seizure, the person
can lose control of their bodily functions and have a toileting accident.
This will not cause harm, but could cause the person to be very embarrassed.
If this happens, get a coat or blanket to cover the student. You should
not be the person to call 911. Medical attention is not always needed
when a seizure occurs. The special education teacher will know when to
call for medical assistance. When you do talk to the special education
teacher, tell the teacher everything that happened before, during and
after the seizure. All of this information is very important.
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What do I do if the student does not follow my instructions?
Make sure that when you give the directions, you are not giving them like
a teacher but as a peer student. If the student still does not follow
them, then ask the student if she/he understands the directions. If there
is still difficulty with the student following the directions, then ask
the teacher for help. Do not go ‘tattle’ and say that the
student is not listening to you; instead, tell the teacher that you believe
there is some difficulty with understanding what is to be done. Remember
you are not in the role of a teacher, but as a fellow student, and hopefully
as a friend.
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How do I talk to the students?
You talk to students with disabilities the same way that you would to
anyone else. Please refer to the unit on Communication for more information.
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How do I treat the students?
You treat students with disabilities the same way that you would treat
students without disabilities. You treat them as you would any of your
friends. If you have any questions, then ask the special education teacher.
For more information, refer to the unit on People First.
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What will the students do after graduation?
After graduation, students with disabilities have the same choices as
students without disabilities. They could choose to continue their education
or get a job. Some students will continue to live at home and others may
live on their own or with roommates. Just because they have disabilities
does not mean that there are less options for these students. Please refer
to the units on Independence and on Preparation for Adult Life for more
information on this topic.
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How can I develop a closer friendship with the students?
The answer to this is simple. If you were to meet anyone new, how would
you go about developing a close friendship? You develop a friendship with
a person with a disability the same way as you would a person without
a disability. You get to know the person by talking, you call them on
the phone, hang out with the person, visit the person, and share your
secrets. People with disabilities want to develop friendships just like
anyone else.
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What can I tell my other friends about the students?
Tell your friends all of the positive attributes that students with disabilities
have. If you were introducing a new person without a disability to your
friends, what would you tell your friends about that person? Tell them
the same stuff about a student with a disability. Remember to keep the
negative information to a minimum and remember confidentiality. Ask your
friends if they have any questions. Answer those questions so that they
will feel more comfortable, but remember not to break confidentiality
and share information about the student’s disability or the student’s
IEP that is confidential. You need to model how to interact, so that you
friends can learn from you. Make sure that your friends understand that
students with disabilities are just like them and that they wanted to
be treated as such. Make sure that in the beginning, there are a lot of
positive interactions to break the ice.
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What if I do not feel comfortable being alone with the student?
If this question pertains to you, you need to talk with the special education
teacher immediately. You should not feel bad, just discuss it with the
special education teacher.
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Will the students hurt me?
If there is any chance that a student might hurt you, then the special
education teacher should not be putting you in that situation. There is
always a slim chance that an accident or an unpredictable behavior could
arise in any situation, so if something does happen that concerns you,
inform the special education teacher immediately. He or she will remove
you from that situation.
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Can the students talk?
Every person can communicate his or her wants or needs. Everyone can communicate
in some form, so the big question is how do they communicate? Some people
may communicate verbally, others with their hands, other with behavior,
others with body movement, others with communication devices, and still
others with eye movements. There are many ways to communicate. During
training, the special education teacher should have reviewed with you
how each student communicates. The teacher should have discussed how to
communicate with those students who have alternative or augmentative communication
systems (see the unit on Communication). The important thing to remember
is that no matter how a person communicates, make sure that you take the
time to pay attention and listen. Each and every person has something
important to say; it does not matter how they say it or how long it takes.
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What do I have to teach the students?
You may work on a variety of academic or everyday living skills. Students
with moderate to severe disabilities may often learn at a much slower
pace than you do (though in some areas, they may learn faster than you
do!). So the things that you learned while growing up, some students may
still be working on. The things that your parents taught you could be
what you are working on in the classroom. Everyday living skills could
include money, social skills, job skills, community skills, shopping,
tying shoes, dressing, counting, ironing, cooking, hygiene, first-aid,
etc. Academics could include math, science, reading, etc. You may be working
on several different items in a day, and you may work on the same thing
for several weeks until the skill has been mastered.
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Will I know what to do in the class?
The teacher or para-educator will give you instructions on what to do
and how to do it. If you do not understand, please ask so that the learning
can be a success. For more information, refer to the unit on Effective
Teaching.
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Can I catch what has made the students disabled?
None of the disabilities of the students are contagious. If a student
were to have something that could be contagious in this way, he or she
would not be allowed in school. For more information, please refer to
the unit on Types of Disabilities.
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Will the students ever get better?
It is important to know that, as a general rule, people cannot be cured
of disabilities. They may find ways to adapt to their disability, so that
they may appear to have overcome the disability, but you cannot, in most
instances, be cured of a disability. However, with excellent instruction
and plenty of the right support, peoples’ functioning level –
and their ability to meet the demands of everyday life – certainly
can improve! For more information, please refer to the unit on Types of
Disabilities.
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What kind of life will the students have after graduation?
For answers and thoughts on this question, refer to the units on Productivity/Contribution
and Independence. Remember that for each of us, our future is determined
as much as anything by our dreams, our motivation, our perseverance, and
the support that we receive from others!
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Why should I become a Peer Tutor?