Physical/Medical Domain

 

Physical/Medical Domain

        I have chosen to focus on the physical/medical domain because I have a personal interest in this domain. My father has bilateral optic nerve hypoplasia, which means that his optic nerves are underdeveloped. This is a congenital condition, meaning he has lived this way his entire life. With this condition, he also struggles with nystagmus, the inability to control the movement of his eyes. 

        When I tell people that my father is blind, they immediately imagine that he sees total darkness. Blindness, like many other disabilities, is a spectrum. According to the Iowa Department for the Blind, only around 18% of people who are legally blind are classified as being totally blind (https://blind.iowa.gov/resources-and-publications/misconceptions-about-blindness). The way that I typically describe my father's blindness to others is like a blurry watercolor painting. He can see color, but struggles with differentiating objects as there are no defined lines. 

        My father graduated from high school in 1985, and in speaking with him, the education he received with his disability is very different from the education we provide students with today. My father played trumpet in band when he was in school. Throughout my lifetime, he has shared with me the struggles he faced in high school, including not being able to read sheet music in band or find his dot in marching band. Outside of music, he struggled most with physical education, as he had chosen to take the regular gym class instead of the adaptive option. My father has always been fiercely independent, and he wanted the same experiences as his peers in school.

        Physical/medical disabilities can be any disability that impairs the function of the body. Physical/medical disabilities include: sensory impairments (vision or hearing), mobility issues, chronic illnesses, and more. Students with physical/medical disabilities face many challenges in their education, and they must be provided with appropriate accommodations. According to the text, students with physical/medical disabilities often do not struggle with their cognitive function, but still require accommodations to be successful in the classroom and achieve their independence (Teaching Music to Students with Differences and Disabilities, page 21).

        The music classroom is one of the most inclusive environments for students with visual impairments, and there are many ways to include these students in music-making activities. The article "Tips for Including Students with Visual Impairment in the Music Classroom" on the NFHS website talks about how including these students in the music classroom gives them a space to feel equal and included. The article also outlines some of the simple accommodations and resources we can use to teach students with visual impairments (https://nfhs.org/stories/tips-for-including-students-with-visual-impairment-in-the-music-classroom). The website gives an example of assisting students with visual impairments to keep the bow on a stringed instrument straight by using bow guides until the student has developed the muscle memory. It also talks about using textured materials for other instrumentalists. 

Some of the simplest accommodations we can make for students with visual impairments:

• Give very clear verbal instructions
• Provide braille or enlarged sheet music
• Record parts for the student to listen back to
• Provide aural, oral, and kinesthetic modeling tools

        The NFHS article also emphasizes the importance of communicating with the student, parents, special education coordinator, and other teachers to determine the best mode of instruction for the student. 

        Students with physical/medical disabilities may also face challenges in feeling “different” from their peers. The article “Academy of Music and Arts for Special Education (AMASE): An Ethnography of an Individual Music Instruction Program for Students with Disabilities” provides a social model of a disability (https://journals-sagepub-com.proxy-lvc.klnpa.org/doi/full/10.1177/0022429421990337). The model focuses on how certain aspects of a disability can change the experience for a person, but also includes contingent conditions that come from the surrounding environment. 

        To use this model as an example, a student with a visual impairment may struggle to participate in the same ways as their peers. In my choir classes, we participate in sight-singing every day. This is done with the use of the projector. If I had a student with a visual impairment in this class, they may struggle to participate in the same way as their peers based on their proximity to the projector screen. This would not be an issue for their peers, but this student would require accommodation to be able to participate at the same level as their peers. To remedy the constraints for the student, they could be provided with large-print music or braille music, depending on the extent of the student’s visual impairment. 

        The Foreseeable Future Foundation was founded by Griffin Pinkow in 2017 to help those who are blind or visually impaired live more fulfilling lives through recreational activities. In the video, Griffin talks about how the only limits you have are the ones you put on yourself. He emphasizes that your disability does not define you, but is only a part of who you are (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNl82erUxJ8). 

        On the Foreseeable Future Foundation website, there are blogs about events the foundation has been a part of. The one that interested me the most was a "Come to Your Senses" dinner experience (https://foreseeablefuture.org/blindfolded-dining-experience/). The evening was meant to build community and bring awareness for the blind/visually impaired, but also included sighted attendees. This unique experience allowed all attendees a safe environment for conversation and a deeper understanding of the blind and visually impaired community.