Warm-up Activity
In institutions, textual records are created as a mechanism to facilitate action. One example of this textual record is an Individual Education Plan (IEP, used in school contexts), or an Individual Support Plan (ISP, sometimes used in early childhood environments). These documents are often described as necessary in order to get support for some children/students. In this activity, look at the ISP (attached) and consider how disability is described in the textual record. Textual records are used for institutional purposes, but they also influence how the child’s/student’s identity develops and how they are understood by educators, parents, and peers. This textual record then impacts the child’s/student’s relationships and interactions.
Instructor Information
Create small groups of 2 to 3 people and read through the Individual Support Plan. Ask students to discuss the following questions:
- What do you know about the child/student from the textual record created by the educators?
- What information is recorded in the forms that are used?
- What other information would be important to have if you were to recognize disability as a social and relational phenomena?
- What other information would you need to identify social and relational barriers?
- How does the document impact the way in which you think about the child? Is the document oriented toward a medical, social or social relational model of disability?
- How does the form itself, shape the way the child/student is described?
- Are differences in cultural understanding of developmental differences apparent in the document?
Come back together as a whole group to share the discussion ideas and to re-iterate the social and relational aspects of disability. Each small group can report back key ideas.