Services Provided by the Community:
In this video, Loretta Claiborne discusses the major impact that participating in Special Olympics has had on her life. She encourages those with any kind of disability to participate because not only did it give her freedom, but it gave her goals to work towards and respect earned along the way.
Services for Babies and Toddlers:
IDEA mandates Early Intervention, which is a system of services and resources readily available to families with young children that have been identified with having a developmental delay or an intellectual disability. A variety of services are available within the community, from nutrition specialists to communication therapists.
Services at Home:
Paraprofessionals are available to make home visits to work with children with intellectual disabilities. If a consistent paraprofessional works with a student in the classroom as well as in the home, the consistency oftentimes aids the student to a great degree.
Parent Groups are available for parents of children with intellectual disabilities. Parent Groups are a wonderful resource because they allow parents to connect with other parents and share resources, discuss new ideas for education, and support one another as they share similar hardships and joys. Parent Training Information and Community Parent Resource Centers are available in most states. Click the link below to be directed to a Parent Training Center near you!
(Center for Parent Information and Resources, 2013)
Services at School (discussed by the IEP team):
General Education Settings: Students should be encouraged to participate as much as possible in general education settings. Under IDEA, modifications are to be made for the individual student within a general education setting rather than fully removing them from the general education setting.
Supplementary aids: Oftentimes students need additional support within the classroom in order to be fully successful. Aids are placed with students within the classroom in order to provide support, guidance, and assistance.
School librarians are often able to direct parents, staff members, and teachers to resources within the library that will further knowledge about intellectual disabilities.
