My group did our podcast about the young adult novel, "Freak the Mighty." In the story, two boys become friends and help each other through their struggles with disabilities. One has a physical disability but is very intelligent, and the other has a learning disability but is large in stature and strong. Together they go on adventures and face crazy real life situations.
After thinking more about our podcast, I realized how fun it would be for a student with a disability to do something like that. I know that my cousin who has Autism loves whenever his teachers do something different to appeal to those who lean differently. I think technology plays a huge role in this. As we know, every student learns differently and has methods which appeal to them more and help them better understand the material. For many, the hands-on and visual aspects of multimodal activities offer such students the opportunity to gain a better understanding. For example, students with visual disabilities no longer have to struggle through class. They are given books and readings with much larger font, or as a girl in my first high school had, some students have headphones in and listen to books on tape. Something which seems so easy to us may be a huge challenge for certain students; therefore, as educators we can aid in learning by just altering our plans and classroom activities slightly.
I know this seems random and simple, but it was just a topic I was thinking about today. We have come a long way in helping students with disabilities succeed in the classroom, and with careful planning, individualized instruction, and attention to each student's needs we could allow all of our students to grow even more.
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