Description
These “Supporting Youth with Disabilities” Spark Deck provides 52 concrete strategies to help teachers, school staff, afterschool workers, camp counselors, and even parents uplift, empower, and include all youth.
Pick a card at the beginning of the day or week, implement it, and notice how sometimes small changes can make a big difference.
Some examples from this deck:
- Even what may seem like small noises (like a pencil scratching on paper) can make it difficult for some youth to focus. Create a quiet corner where youth can find noise-canceling headphones, a white noise machine, and a comfortable place to site, away from the bustle of the rest of the group.
- Some youth need extra tools and reminders to stay organized and on-task. Help youth set up a system they can use to keep themselves on track. This may include a set of folders for their work, a calendar with due dates or events, checklists for what to pack in their bag or bring each day, etc.
- Get consent: Don’t assume a youth needs help, instead, ask if support is wanted or needed before providing it.
At the end of your week, check-in with friends or colleagues to talk about the activity you tried. How did it go? What did you learn? If it didn’t work this time, try it again tomorrow or next week. What could you change to make it work better?
