On or about 11-30-05 11:24, Ardith Hinton did engage James Bradley

 AH> [Re kayaking, canoeing, etc.]

 AH>          Probably.  There is an underlying structure... but various
 AH> things must be modified for people with special needs.  If the
 AH> focus of a particular lesson is on how to get back into a
 AH> kayak when one or more limbs don't work very well, that's
 AH> enough of a challenge without the added complication of
 AH> frigid water.  I watched with amusement the antics involved
 AH> in getting a service dog back into a kayak too, when he &
 AH> his human companion had to perform the same drill....  :-)

Hey, I couldn't imagine! Mom's latest was to suggest I should take up canoing
again, but I haven't the foggiest of how I could modify things to make it
tolerable. I just had to jab that us Albertans have to somehow sneak in a
breath or two while we figure out the mornings classes.

How I would construct a lesson plan for your class, is beyond my comprehension.
I would have been able to teach a novice class if I *really* had to, but a
special needs situation would be incomprehensible without someone such as
yourself to clue me in to the challenges, and modifications required.


 JB>  I would still try to edumicate her though.

 AH>          Uh-huh.  She's a kind-hearted & sensitive person
 AH> who's easily hurt, so I try to be gentle when she asks (for
 AH> example) whether Nora can climb a certain number of stairs
 AH> & I want more information about the height of the risers.
 AH> :-/

Like you were saying in a previous post. You can gauge your communications by
reading a persons body language, or by recognizing certain manurisms... Fer
instance, I have no qualms about my bombastic nature, but I try to let
corespondents feel comfortable with "letting me have it". I try
not to let them
"have it" before I let them know I'm harmless. I'm a fool for a
chink in the
armour though, and if I tickle it too early, I risk being interpreted as less
than human.



 AH>  While I appreciate her ability to tune in to Nora's needs
 AH>  in many ways, I often have to spell out practical details.
 AH>  People generally resort to their preferred reasoning style
 AH>  in an emergency... so I'm not sure she'd catch on quickly!

 JB>  That is a tough one to call.


 AH>          Yes, it is.  Nora has said several times that the teacher
 AH> saved her... they were canoeing on a small lake... they were all
 AH> wearing life jackets... and nobody drowned!  Knowing Nora
 AH> as I do, I think the teacher's physical proximity was
 AH> probably very reassuring to her.  The textbook may not
 AH> recommend attempting to help various people at the same
 AH> time by diving into the water with them, but under the
 AH> circumstances it may have been surprisingly effective.
 AH> Maybe that is what was necessary to make sure the kids were
 AH> receptive to instruction....  :-)

Just knowing that someone is there to jump in after them, can be enough to
bolster ones courage, which is liberating enough. Animal instincts alone is
enough to keep a human alive when they first hit the water, so the instructors
can be secure in tossing their subjects in the drink. 


 AH>  Whether or not I'd catch on any more quickly in the same
 AH>  situation I can't say because I've never been in a canoe.
 AH>  I knew how to deal with my aunt's aphasia some time after
 AH>  seeing an article about it in READER'S DIGEST, however.
 AH>  I may be unusual in that I notice such things before the
 AH>  need arises....  :-)

 JB>  I'll bite. What is aphasia?

Sorry, I think you covered this earlier with me. I don't have an excuse, I
posses a reason. /-:

 AH>          A condition in which a person isn't able to speak because of
 AH> damage to the language centre of the brain.  Depending on the
 AH> nature of this injury, they may or may not be able to
 AH> understand spoken or written communication originated by

See, I think I am just *damaged*. 

 AH> others.  My aunt had a stroke which severely affected her
 AH> ability to speak & to use her right hand.  She was able to
 AH> mime what she wanted, to some extent... so my parents
 AH> understood what she meant when she demonstrated an action
 AH> such as brushing her teeth or applying deodorant.  They
 AH> were quite baffled, however, in regard to one particular
 AH> issue.  She was worried about something, but what??  I
 AH> offered to see what I could do.  She kept repeating the
 AH> word "June", and when I didn't get it she obtained a
 AH> magazine from the other side of the room & pointed out the
 AH> date.  I said "Something which happens in June?"  She
 AH> nodded in assent, and we were off & running.  About twenty
 AH> minutes later I'd ascertained that the as yet unpaid bill
 AH> for the taxes on her house was in a cupboard in the kitchen.

 AH>          I made a kid's day in rehab too.  Nora had a roommate with a
 AH> stroke on the same side of the brain.  I explained to Nora that
 AH> "Melanie" understood, but couldn't speak.  Then I turned to
 AH> "Melanie" and asked whether this analysis was correct.  She
 AH> grinned from ear to ear & nodded enthusiastically in reply.
 AH>  Many people assume those who can't speak have nothing to
 AH> say... but that was not the case with her or with my aunt!
 AH> And with time & effort, a person who has had an injury of
 AH> this type may recover a lot of their speech.  While the
 AH> pronunciation may be rather odd & the words may come
 AH> haltingly, the basics are there....  :-)

See, I'm no better than Nora's teacher running into the water without the
knowledge of what to do when she got there.

As much as I try to educate others about how a cane really benefits things
other than locomotion at times, and that a chair is not an option, I have a
very minuscule understanding of aphasia. Quite frankly, I do not remember if
you described it earlier or not, but I suspect you did. 

This is one of the hardest things I have had to admit to myself, that the mind
really does suffer, when the real cause of its impairment is a physical malady.

You had first hand knowledge of a condition, and were able to string together a
reasoning, where the rest of us can only look at *poor* Helen Kelar.


... James
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