Notes from our latest teacher council meeting on teaching those with special needs.

1. TEACHING IN THE SAVIOR'S WAY
Teaching those with special needs

2. GROUND RULES
➤ This class was at the request of the ward
council
➤ I have no special knowledge about your
struggles
➤ My perspective comes from being a mom
➤ You have been set apart to teach!
➤ “whom the Lord calls, the Lord
qualifies.” - Monson
➤ Nephi’s boat, shown where to find ore
➤ The Spirit is the ultimate guide. He will
help you
➤ Ground Rules
➤ No names
➤ For more info, try disability.lds.org
➤ full list of topics and strategies

3. “
“For reasons usually unknown, some people are born with physical limitations.
Specific parts of the body may be abnormal. Regulatory systems may be out of
balance. And all of our bodies are subject to disease and death. Nevertheless, the
gift of a physical body is priceless. Without it, we cannot attain a fulness of joy.
“A perfect body is not required to achieve a divine destiny. In fact, some of the
sweetest spirits are housed in frail frames. Great spiritual strength is often
developed by those with physical challenges precisely because they are challenged.
Such individuals are entitled to all the blessings that God has in store for His
faithful and obedient children.
“Eventually the time will come when each ‘spirit and … body shall be reunited
again in … perfect form; both limb and joint shall be restored to its proper
frame’ (Alma 11:43). Then, thanks to the Atonement of Jesus Christ, we can
become perfected in Him.”
—Russell M. Nelson, "We Are Children of God," Ensign, Nov. 1998, 86–87

4. WHY IS THIS A CRITICAL PIECE OF TEACHER DEVELOPMENT?
➤ Look to the Savior’s example
➤ How often do the NT miracles involve someone with special needs?
➤ Matthew 9: he heals a paralytic, a woman with an issue of blood, raises
Jairus’ daughter, heals the blind, casts out a devil, all in the presence of
others.
➤ How were they treated in society?
➤ How were they treated in his presence? Matt 9:20-22
➤ What did it teach those around him?
➤ D&C 84:110
➤ How are we as a ward edified through caring for those with special needs?
➤ As a parent, it brings me closer. I apologize everywhere else. Here I find
comfort

5. GORDON B. HINCKLEY
“Every one … needs three things: a
friend, a responsibility, and
nurturing with ‘the good word of
God’ (Moro. 6:4). It is our duty
and opportunity to provide these
things.”1 While this statement was
made in reference to new members
of the Church, Latter-day Saints
who apply these three principles to
members with disabilities and
their families can help strengthen
them and help them meet the
different challenges they face.
disabilities.lds.org

6. FRIENDSHIP
➤ ATOT: Going to the play with Jason, shooting looks
➤ Friendship is knowing someone gets you - and knowing they know your
weaknesses and still love you
➤ Be proactive
➤ Talk to the parents, leaders should step in here
➤ Don’t wait, keep them in the loop on the good and bad
➤ Use surveys to get more info
➤ Their likes, dislikes, fears, frustrations
➤ Incorporate those details into you lessons
➤ Spend time outside of class (trek, sports, etc)
➤ Be consistent (they need structure to feel comfortable)
➤ Visual schedules

7. RESPONSIBILITY
➤ ATOT: Going to Bear Lake, I had no jobs or responsibilities. They do that because they think I’m
overwhelmed but I miss out on connection that comes through service
➤ Students with disabilities need opportunities to serve and be a part of class.
➤ How can we do that effectively?
➤ Communicate with parents about jobs they do at home
➤ roll, copies, tech, greeter, teach portions of the lesson
➤ Hold them accountable for jobs
➤ Hold them accountable for behavior
➤ Work with the parents to understand expectations
➤ ATOT: Seeing Jack under his teacher’s chair in Primary
➤ Why do we avoid this? How can we overcome that fear?
➤ Use positive reinforcement whenever possible (survey)
➤ Ask the parents to reinforce at home (Jack’s charts on his desk)

8. NURTURING WITH THE GOOD WORD OF GOD
➤ Why is it tempting to skip this piece?
The individual with a disability also needs to be in a class learning the gospel.
President J. Reuben Clark Jr., who served as a counselor in the First Presidency,
stated that the youth are “hungry for things of the spirit; they are eager to learn
the Gospel, and they want it straight, undiluted.”3 Teens with disabilities should
be included with same-age peers when possible. Their spirits can be touched by
the truths taught as they participate with their friends. Others in the class will be
blessed to feel the love and emotions expressed by members with disabilities as
hearts are turned towards the Savior.
➤ How do we make this happen when it seems so hard?
➤ Use the checklist at the back of the teacher manual (Ether 12:27)
➤ ATOT: Mom’s water pitcher analogy, we need to constantly be pouring. Things will
stick!

9. RELY ON THE HOLY GHOST
➤ ATOT: Teaching Jack for the first time down in the basement. He
couldn’t speak but when I drew an apple he could say it perfectly. He
loved blues clues so I would put paw prints on things and help him
learn. Those ideas came from the Spirit
➤ Our Father in Heaven loves his children. He knows them and
sees them in their perfect ‘eternal’ state.
➤ The more we love and serve them, the more we’ll catch
glimpses of who they are eternally…and the easier it will be
to whole-heartedly love them
➤ Testimonies

10. “
“President Joseph Fielding Smith explained that ‘all spirits while in
the pre-existence were perfect in form, having all their faculties and
mental powers unimpaired. … Deformities in body and mind are …
physical.’ Physical means ‘temporal’; temporal means ‘temporary.’
Spirits which are beautiful and innocent may be temporally restrained
by physical impediments.
“If healing does not come in mortal life, it will come thereafter. Just as
the gorgeous monarch butterfly emerges from a chrysalis, so will
spirits emerge.”
—Boyd K. Packer, "The Moving of the Water," Ensign, May 1991, 8–9