Suppose you have a student with a health impairment, who requires accommodations and modifications... (part 3)

Question

Suppose you have a student with a health impairment, in your classroom, who requires accommodations and modifications to his assignments and work load. Other students have been complaining by saying,"That's not fair." He is hearing these comments and feels that he will not have friends if you have different expectations for him.

HOW WOULD YOU RESTORE THE STUDENT'S FRIENDSHIP AND ACCEPTANCE LEVELS?

(i also have 2 other questions posted in this section about this topic)

Answer 1

I think the sources below will help you with this.   Pay special attention to the second site, which has games and activites listed that will help you with this.

http://www.uni.edu/coe/inclusion/prepari...

http://specialed.about.com/od/integratio...

Answer 2

I would send the student to the library and then discuss his condition with the other students. I am not suggesting that you do this in great detail, but tell them he has health problems and needs extra help.

Explain to the students that fair doesn't mean having everyone do the same thing. Fair means doing what a kid needs. To give them some perspective, tell them that if they broke a leg, that no one would expect them to run around the track and this student is not expected to do the same amount of work as the other students.

Finally, ask for students to volunteer to help the student and to be his friend. You will be totally amazed at how open hearted children are, once the situation is explained to them. I have never had this fail.