[Lesson Plans Banner]

Photo Books for Parent Home Training

Cheryl Kincaid, Kay Hishinuma, Meiko Wada, Bob Slavin
Jefferson Elementary School, Honolulu, Hawaii

Subject: Special Education
Grade: Ungraded (Severely Multiply Handicapped, ages 3-12)

"We have found that as our children's skills have improved, so has their acceptance by tourists and other local people."

Purpose and Description of Project

Special education teachers Cheryl Kincaid, Kay Hishinuma, Meiko Wada, and Bob Slavin used individualized photo booklets to enhance the communication between family and school that is so important to "ensuring consistency in implementation of the Individualized Educational Programs (IEPs) of severely multiply handicapped children (SMH)."

The 25 students involved in this project function at a severely retarded level, having two or more of such conditions as profound mental retardation, orthopedic or other chronic health impairment, severe emotional disturbance, hearing impairment, and/or visual impairment. The teachers were concerned about the regression in the children's basic skills that occurred over holidays, vacations, and other absences. The areas of concern include self-help, communication, social, and cognition skills, and might include feeding one's self, making eye contact, or being able to balance on hands and knees.

The teachers photographed each child to demonstrate the child's current positioning, exercise, and communication objectives and also the direction and handling skills needed by parents to help the children attain these objectives. The photos show exactly how to set up the necessary learning environment, position the child, and carry out various procedures. Photos in the booklets are accompanied by captions and explanations of what is shown.

As a result of the booklets, say the teachers, parents became more confident in helping their children, and skill regression during absences from school was significantly reduced. In addition, copies of the booklets are kept at school. The teachers have found that the photographs have made trainers more "aware of the effects of their attitudes during training" and that the booklets are valuable for use in training substitute teachers, foster grandparents, and other volunteers.

Activities

The first activity is to evaluate each child in conjunction with a physical therapist, occupational therapist, speech therapist, and parents. Goals and objectives are then set, written in measurable terms, and broken into steps. The children are pre-tested to see how near they are to the objectives, and strategies are discussed. Then the teachers photograph "critical components of activities/strategies to reinforce the importance of precise and proper methods."

The photos and captions about each child are then organized in a booklet that can easily be revised according to progress or regression, and the activities and strategies are taught to parents in real situations with their own children. The book is then sent home, parents continue to work with the children, and progress is charted. Additional photos and activities are added or deleted as the child's needs change.

Materials, Resources, and Expenses

Human resources include physical, occupational, and speech therapists, and, of course, the parents themselves. The teachers used commercially produced therapeutic equipment in the classroom and focused on how parents could adapt furniture and materials at home to the same purposes. Teachers used their own cameras. Other requirements were notebook, film, developing, copying, and plastic covers. Some of the film and developing costs were donated.

Outcomes and Adaptability

The teachers assessed the project on the basis of pre- and post-tests surrounding two extended vacations-one prior to development of the home teaching books and one after. Data "showed that for the majority of the students, the degree of regression during the second vacation was minimal when compared to the regression noted in the first." As a result, the teachers have concluded that photo books are "a valuable tool for ensuring continuity between school and home environments" for these severely handicapped children.

The teachers feel that photo books would be valuable in any parent training program designed to improve follow-through at home.

| More Lesson Plans | Digital Learning Center - Educators |