Bullying and independent living

A big part of independent living is bullying. Bullying is when a person or group uses physical harm, hurtful teasing or threat, to abuse, dominate or intimidate as well as persuading someone to do something by using force or threats. It is intended to hurt another individual, physically, mentally or emotionally. Who are the victims? Boys, girls, men and women. Often times people think of school age (in the schools, or on the playground) when it comes to bullying. It is much more. It is out in the community and even in the workplace. It happens to adults too. For adults it often times can be in the workplace or even at home. Signs of adults being bullied, can be lost of self worth, loss of interest, increase health problems, decrease in job performance and even thoughts or acts or hurting themselves. What are the signs in children? Unexplainable injuries, lost or destroyed items, feeling sick or faking illness, changes in eating, difficulty sleeping or frequent nightmares, declining in school performance, loss of interest, or not wanting to go to school, sudden loss of friends or avoidance of social situations, feelings of helplessness or decreased self esteem, self-destructive behaviors such as running away from home, harming themselves, or talking about suicide. When a person is being bullied ALWAYS take it seriously especially when a victim says it is happening. It is very difficult for a victim (children and adults) to admit they are being bullied for fear of retaliation, being ignored or told it will pass. For children keep in contact with the school teachers and staff, or other adults if it is occurring outside of the school about the situation. For adult victims tell them to talk to someone like a person in Human Resources when its at work or a counselor. If it happens at work tell them to document and even send emails to HR so they can keep track of what's going on.

Volunteering

A big part of independence is volunteering.  Volunteering helps with self-confidence and future employment as a person works on independent living.  Many people think volunteering is just helping out at a food pantry or soup kitchen. Volunteering is so much more. There are so many other ways to volunteer. How do you find ways to volunteer? Go to your county, city or town website, a hospital website, school district website or nonprofit website and see if there are any volunteer possibilities. One thing I love to do is join local and state boards of directors and committees for nonprofit agencies. When I do that, I volunteer my time to help people and make sure their needs are being met. Even if you simply attend a board or committee meeting as a citizen to talk about a concern is volunteering your time. You are advocating for people they serve who may not have a voice for themselves.

For me, volunteering on boards and committees via the computer is a great way to work on independence if I am dealing with health issues and am unable to hold a paying job.

PARAEDUCATORS IMPACT ON INDEPENDENT LIVING

Schooling is a big part of a person's independence. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act requires schools to provide needed accommodations and modifications to students with disabilities to enable equal access to education. Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires that students with disabilities receive free appropriate public education specific to their needs.

Disabilities that students have vary and can include learning disabilities, physical disabilities, intellectual disabilities, communication disorders, emotional disabilities, developmental disabilities, etc.

It's important to understand that not everyone with a disability requires the same accommodations. For example, not everyone with a learning needs the same accommodations, not everyone with a physical disability (for example spina bifida) needs the same accommodations and not everyone with autism needs the same accommodations etc.

Often times enabling a student with a disability to have equal access to education requires having a Paraeducator in the student's classrooms. Paraeducators can be a crucial part of a student's education. They don't just provide one on one service to their student(s) teaching a specific subject. Paraeducators have many different roles. A paraeducator may work in special education classrooms, resource rooms or in mainstream classrooms.

Each student has different goals. Their goals are identified in their IEP’s (Individualized Education Program). The assistance that the paraeducator provides varies from student to student based upon those goals. The goals often times include adjusting lesson plans to meet the student's needs, providing social and emotional support, providing physical assistance as well as many other things.

When paraeducators work with their student(s) in the mainstream classes they often times work with students who don't have disabilities. They may need to work with other students to redirect them and keep them on task at the same time they are working with their student(s) on de-escalation when they are upset.