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OVERVIEW
The ICEVI Standing Committee on Persons with Multiple Impairments (hereafter referred to as the Standing Committee) was formed as an outgrowth of the ICEVI Working Group on Multiple Impairments after the last Quinquennial Conference in 1992. The Standing Committee is composed of a Core Committee and Regional Key Persons. The Core Committee consists of Coen G.A. de Jong, Chairperson, Alana M. Zambone, Secretary and Robert Mortimer, Assistant. The Key Persons include Graciela Ferioli, Latin America; Lilly Jaqueline Williams, North America and Caribbean; Marlies Raemaker and Isabel Amaral, Europe; Mila Wayno, East Asia; Akhil Paul; Asia; Edward Makumi, Africa; and Helen Daisley and Gendy Ritzema, Pacific. The Key Persons are responsible for developing and field testing the Model Functional Curricula in their regions. For this purpose, each Key Person established a regional working group of field workers, families and professionals. Funding was generously provided mainly by the Bartimeus Association.
Mission: The mission of the
Standing Committee is to:
Promote the development
and dissemination of appropriate programs for persons who have multiple
disabilities. For the purpose of the work of the Standing Committee, persons
who have multiple disabilities are considered to be those individuals with
visual impairment and intellectual impairment, including mental retardation,
or neurological impairments such as cerebral palsy.
The Standing Committee selected the development of model functional curricula as its priority activity because it is directly related to the guiding principles and priorities of dignifying human life, training personnel, disseminating information at the field level and conducting practical research.
Intent of the Priority Activity The majority of the world's children and youngsters who have multiple disabilities do not have access to appropriate formal educational settings. Families and individuals providing community-based rehabilitation and/or non-formal education services need resources to assist them in helping these children. Thus, the intent of the project is to produce locally developed functional curricula that can be of use to caregivers and service providers who have not had an opportunity to receive professional training in education of persons with multiple disabilities.
The materials produced should
provide the caregivers, field workers, and other non-formal education personnel
with simple, ready-to-use curricula that reflects local environments, conditions,
resources, materials and priorities. The curricula should guide the family
or field worker through the assessment and planning process for each child
to be served and provide a structure for making decisions regarding:
What should be taught
Instructional techniques
Motivation/reinforcement
strategies
Correction procedures
Adaptations (teaching techniques,
activity performance, activity outcome criteria, environments, materials)
Generalization and maintenance
of mastered activities
Functional curricula are
those curricula that address training in activities that are central to
the individual's survival and participation in his or her family and community
life. The content of such curricula should identify skills which are to
be taught within the functional context of the activities and the environments
requiring those skills. Thus, the person learns to engage in activities
that:
Have a direct relationship
to everyday life
Address basic needs
Have a direct relationship
to activities in which the person's participation would be required, expected
or desired by his or her family or community, if that person did not have
a disability
HIGHLIGHTS/SPECIFIC ACHIEVEMENTS
The Standing Committee accomplished a great deal. The Core Committee first came together shortly after it was formed at the 1992 ICEVI Quinquennial Conference to draw up preliminary plans for carrying out the task of developing model functional curricula for field workers and families serving children with multiple disabilities. At this time, the Core Committee also identified and approached Key Persons from each of the ICEVI Regions, with assistance from the ICEVI Regional Chairpersons. These individuals were called Key Persons because they would be charged with developing and field-testing culturally relevant model curricula samples with the assistance of a local resource group of field workers, families, teachers and other "experts". Key Persons were secured from all regions except the Middle East. The Key Persons came together at Bartimeushage in Doorn, Netherlands in 1993 for training and to plan how each would carry out the work in the regions. While distance and limited resources precluded frequent direct contact between the Core Committee and the Key Persons, support to Key Persons was provided through correspondence, facsimiles and telephone. Together, the Key Persons and the Core Committee proceeded with the project as planned, in the way which worked best for each of them, given each individual's resources, time, and extensive work and personal commitments. The Core Committee maintained contact and provided ongoing feedback and direction through regular newsletters and individual communications. At the same time the Core Committee continued to meet to evaluate and revise the Project and develop the resource and guidance materials which will accompany the model curricula. In 1995 the Core Committee was able to enlist the services of Robert Mortimer for valuable assistance in organizing and supporting its work. The Core Committee, with organizational support from Key Persons and their employing agencies at each site, conducted working group meetings of the Key Persons charged with developing curricula for different age groups. Meetings were held in Kenya (school-age), Philippines (infant-toddler and early childhood) and the Netherlands (transition age) during 1997 to review and refine the work to date; plan activities for the ICEVI Quinquennial Conference this August, 1997; and design the final project and future activities related to completing and disseminating the curricula.
Specific achievements, to
date, of the ICEVI Standing Committee include:
Approval of the Standing
Committee's working plan by the ICEVI Principal Officers and Regional Chairpersons
Identification of Key Persons in each region
Training facilitated by Dr.
David Baine and a meeting of Key Persons held at Bartimeus in Doorn, Netherlands,
for the purpose of developing:
a common understanding of
concepts, terms and procedures for development of model functional curricula
individual plans of work detailing how the Regional Key Persons would develop functional curricula within their regions for dissemination to caregivers and service providers
plans for how the Regional Key Persons would work with the ICEVI Standing Committee
plans for how the Regional Key Persons would relate to the regional ICEVI structure
a relationship between Regional Key Persons so as to ensure support during their common pursuit
Development of an initial draft of an achievable plan of work detailing what each Regional Key Person would do to develop the model functional curricula and the timeline for achievement of each step of the plan
Distribution of a regularly sent newsletter to Key Persons and other interested parties to help Key Persons stay in contact with each other and with the Core Committee
A follow-up meeting with Dr. Baine and the Core Committee to map out the background and materials to be developed by the Core Committee in conjunction with the model curricula developed by the Key Persons
Regular meetings of the Core
Committee at Bartimeus to:
1. Review
and refine plans and progress on the project
Identify and address barriers and issues that may be slowing or otherwise impeding the implementation of each Key Person's plan, including the need for assistance narrowing and focusing the task; need for more direct contact with Core Committee members; and the need for assistance to help identify and/or move ahead resources in the regions, including resource persons and support sites
Continued efforts to identify resources to facilitate needed direct support between the Core Committee and the Key Persons
Ongoing feedback and support through the newsletters and other contact with the Key Persons
Completion and field testing of initial drafts of the Model Functional Curricula by the Key Persons
Three working sessions of the Core Committee with the Key Persons to review drafts of the curricula samples and the field test results and to visit a field test site. During these sessions the groups also planned their poster sessions and the Focus Day program for the ICEVI Conference in August, 1997. The first was organized in Nairobi, Kenya by Sight Savers International and the Ministry of Education with Key Persons Graciela Ferioli and Edward Makumi, who were addressing school-age children. Ana Maria Bernard da Costa served as a consultant to this group. The second addressed early childhood. It was organized by Resources for the Blind in Laguna, Philippines, with Key Persons Mila Wayno, Lilly Jaqueline, Helen Daisley and Gendy Ritzema. Kirk Horton participated in this session as an observer and provided useful suggestions. The third was held at Bartimeus with Key Persons Marlies Raemaker and Isabel Amaral to address the transition age group. Ana Maria Bernard da Costa served as a consultant to this group as well.
PRIORITIES/CHALLENGES FOR STRENGTHENING COMMITTEE ACTIVITIES
The Core Committee with the Key Persons have identified a number of priorities and strategies for strengthening the Standing Committee's activities. These include:
Provision of resources from the Bartimeus Association and ongoing support from the organizations which employ the Core Committee members and the Key Persons, to help offset the restricted level of resources for the work at the Regional level
Development of samples of the curriculum for distribution and feedback at the ICEVI Conference in August, 1997
Finalizing the document based on feedback and review from the conference and follow-up distribution of drafts of the document
Development and implementation of a plan for distribution of the materials as resources are identified
Consideration of a long-term plan to offer training to families, field workers and trainers in application of a functional curricula approach to serving children and youth with multiple impairments in developing countries
In summary, the Core Committee and the Key Persons have been very enthusiastically moving ahead with the project despite their many other commitments. It has proven to be a complicated and slow process, particularly given the restricted level of resources at the Regional level for the work and the distances and differences between regions and between Key Persons. The short-term goal is to seek feedback on samples of the curricula, revise and produce a final draft based on that feedback for further review, and produce the curricula. The Key Persons are to be commended for their magnificent efforts, often greatly helped by the organizations by which they are employed and often supported by the regional groups. We are grateful to Bartimeus Organisation for the extensive personal support and financial resources they generously provided to help realize this project.