Physical Disability

English for Special Educators A

1. Causes, Diseases, and Conditions

a)    What can cause physical disability? What diseases do you know? What are some conditions not
stemming from a disease?

Diseases


        Other Conditions


b)    Have you had any experiences assisting or teaching a person with a physical disability? Tell
us about it.

2. Mini-lesson on a Physical Disability

With your neighbors/s:

1)    Choose a physical disability to research and teach others about.

2)    Research English websites and/or videos in English to learn about the disability (take
notes).

3)    Decide on some key vocabulary and key points to know about this physical disability and
create a poster or visual (e.g., mind map, academic poster, diagram, etc.).

4)    Teach the whole class about your physical disability of choice.

Examples

●      cerebral palsy

●      spinal injury

                     ●      ALS

                     ●      MND


3. What can teachers do?

Using your modal verbs: Remember to say what might be a challenge, what teachers could, should, or
must do, and also what you would do in the same situation (of a teacher or student with a physical
disability).

a)    Brainstorm the challenges students with physical disabilities face when attending school.
Think about inside and outside the classroom, learning and social skills, study time, and
lunchtime.


b)    Now, think about teachers at a mainstream school. What challenges do they face, and what
accommodations would they need to make for the students with physical disabilities?


c)     Watch teaching professionals talk about how they accommodate Charlotte, who has CP. What are
the proven teaching strategies, impacts of CP on Charlotte at school, and adaptations to the school
facilities they’ve made?

Teaching


        Impacts of CP


                     Adaptations




4. Living with CP and Quality of Life

a)    How would you expect people to view and treat people with CP where they can see a walking
impairment and/or hear a speech impairment?


b)    Watch this video where three people with CP talk about their experiences with CP and how
people treat them. After viewing the video, discuss how you can educate people around you, such as
teachers, students and friends on how to treat someone with CP.


c)     Discuss with your neighbors how might we improve the quality of life for people with
physical disabilities?