How do you deal w/ disabled People

[tkdgirl30616]

Hey everyone! I know that this is a touchy subject but I was wondering how everyone else handled it. We have a couple disabled people in our organization. Like we have a deaf person at my school, and if we don't know how to do a sign we write it down. And if it takes to long to spell it out we just write it down for him to read it. Then we have one boy on cruches. He does his form and then he spars, and everyone looks at him as being just like us. I know this isn't really a disability, but we have ADHD children there too. If yall have those kind of people how do you keep them centered on you and nothing else? But I was really looking to see how everyone deals w/ these issues if you have them or if you don't have them but that is the way you would handle it. Thanks!

 

Sarah

 

3rd Probationary Black Belt

 

Taekwondo Plus

 

Trainee

[SaiFightsMS]

Basically you treat a person with a physical disability like you would anyone else. You make what accomadations are needed and just keep going.

 

As for ADHD that is a different story. You will need to find someone with a background in that area.

[ninjanurse]

Sai is right. Treat everyone the same regardless of their physical abilities. What is different is how you teach them to adapt to their ability.

 

As far as ADHD goes: There are several learning styles that instuctors must learn and strategize for and some people have more that one learning style. The trick is to be able to cover all the different learning styles in one class session so everyone gets something "personal" from it. ADHD kids are usually physical learners but a savvy instructor can learn to appeal to a less physical style such as visual or environmental and use it to counter the kids distractability by keeping them "distracted". Confused? Well to make it simple, these kids need to be moving from one thing to the next constantly because their attention spans are so short that they get bored quickly and move on to something else whether you are ready or not. A change of pace, change of position in the class, change of roles (let them demonstrate or help another student), change of activities, or change in noise level distracts them just enough to let you keep in control. Always praise a job well done, always ignore thier attention seeking behaviors, always keep your cool! If you have to sit out a kid who has lost control make it brief or he/she will quickly forget why they are sitting out in the first place and the lesson will be lost. Hope this helps!

 

[TKDLadyInSC]

tkdgirl30616

 

Did you attend the seminar on ADHD Mr. Wiley Robinson gave at Black Belt Camp this summer? He focused on that. He has a lot of medical knowledge on it and has it. If you missed the seminar, ask Mr. Newton about it, they were going to make a print version of it available to the instructors.

 

As far as disabilities, do bad knees count?

[karatekid1975]

LOL. I have bad knees, but it doesn't stop me (except when they ache really bad).

 

Anyways, in my boyfriend's school (where I used to train), there is a lady in a wheelchair. She doesn't get any special treatment, except the way she trains. I used to teach her stuff like defenses and joint locks that would work for her or modify the ones the school taught. She is smart, so she picked them up quick.

 

She can't kick, so the instructor made up hand techniques to replace the kicking techniques in forms. I learned the forms her way, so I could help her. But she would know if I did something wrong with my kicks (if I asked her to help me). Just because she couldn't kick, doesn't mean she didn't know how to in her mind. She has a great attention to detail.

[TKDLadyInSC]

karatekid1975

 

We have a student who does the same thing with forms. He can walk, but can't kick due to total hip replacement.

 

I had knee surgery in June, and still have lots of trouble with it. Currently it takes about 2 weeks to recover from 1 class, so i am on a hiatus from class right now. It annoys me.

[karatekid1975]

TKDLadyInSC,

 

don't give up. Just keep plugging at it. The lady above I talked about has a heart of gold.

 

I also have knee problems, but I am trying to strengthen them before they get worse. After one class of doing grappling and/or throws, my knees hurt like heck. But my instructor gave me this stuff (chinese meds) that seems to help. The lettering is in Chinese, but I will ask my isntructor what it is for you.

 

Also, did you ever try a physical therapist that specializes in sports therapy? This might help after your surgery.

[three60roundhouse]

I teach about 400 kids in my school, and I've seen all sorts of physical disabilities - we've also had children with mental handicaps like autism. I don't have any problems with these children participating in class - there is, however, a MAJOR problem when the child's parents don't inform the instructor! I know this doesn't really answer your particular question, but I think it is important! Parents need to understand that instructors aren't babysitters, nor are they mindreaders - considerations based on abilities can only be taken into account when one is aware of the disabilities of the student.

[SaiFightsMS]

Very good point.

[tkdgirl30616]

Hey everyone! Thanks for all that good post! It really has helped out a lot.

 

TKDLadyInSC

 

Hey there! I did take that seminar at black belt camp. I was going to ask you if you remember the book that he asked us to read, thanks!!