Learning From Students At Whitworth, Prospective Teachers Must Spend Time With Disabled Children

It’s hard to tell what goes on in Josh Finkel’s mind.

When the 7-year-old comes home from school, he can’t tell you how his day was. He can’t tell you if he’s hungry or thirsty, or how he feels about anything.

Josh Finkel is autistic. He looks and plays and hugs just like other kids, but he can’t carry on conversations and sometimes sits in a corner by himself.

Few people understand her son, said Amy Finkel, who lives in the Spokane Valley. But some, like Whitworth College student Jaime Dreewes, are making an effort.

In the past month, Dreewes has spent six hours getting to know Josh and learning about autism. She played with Josh, watched him during therapy and learned different ways to communicate with the first-grader.

Dreewes’ visits are part of a class at Whitworth called, “Exceptional Learners and Inclusion.” It’s a required course for all students seeking teaching certification, regardless if the person will teach in a special education classroom.

The “host family project,” which started in the fall of 1998, is one of a kind and was recognized in September as a model program by the U.S. Department of Education. In addition to classroom work, students who want to get teaching certification from Whitworth must spend at least five hours with families who have a disabled child.

All teachers, at some point in their career, will have a student with special needs in their classrooms, said Betty Williams, the Whitworth professor who teaches the class.

More than 45 percent of students with disabilities are placed in mainstream classes for all or part of the school day, according to a 1998 Department of Education report.

And many students have some sort of special need because of learning disabilities or conditions such as fetal alcohol syndrome or Down syndrome.

In the Spokane School District alone, 4,059 students have been placed in the special education program. That’s 13 percent of the district’s 30,500 students.

“Many people have never been in contact with a child with autism,” said Amy Finkel, who has hosted several Whitworth students. “If all you have in your head are the stereotypes, you become fearful and have no idea how to respond appropriately to my son. The host family project is a way for them to gain empathy.”

Dreewes is a junior and plans to teach elementary school after graduation. Before her first visit to the Finkels, she admitted being nervous.

“I was scared to death,” said Dreewes, whose only contact with special needs students had been with two children while working at a YMCA summer camp. “But it felt really good afterwards. I learned a lot being around Josh.”

During her visits, Dreewes learned how to communicate with Josh. He can’t understand facial expressions, Dreewes said, so she conveyed meaning to him by fluctuating her voice.

“Good job, Josh,” she said in a chirpy tone, whenever he got a math problem right.

“Try again,” whenever he got it wrong.

Josh Finkel’s progress has been amazing, his mother said. Three years ago, he didn’t say a word nor utter a sound. Although he still can’t have a conversation, Josh now can add and subtract, recognize patterns and answer simple questions like, “How old are you?”

From the time Dreewes spent with the Finkels, she has learned that Josh eats only 12 kinds of food and wakes up in the middle of the night. Dreewes also has some idea now of the challenges in Amy Finkel’s life - from sleep deprivation and the high cost of therapy for an autistic child to dealing with teachers and others who sometimes don’t realize Josh’s potential.

“Treat him like any kid and he might respond,” Amy Finkel told Dreewes. “Don’t be afraid.”

Like Dreewes, most of the Whitworth students visiting host families have had little or no experience with children who have disabilities.

This fall, 60 students visited host families. Except for Dreewes, most came in pairs to the children’s homes. Some visited the kids at their schools to learn more about how they responded to teachers and other children.

Williams got the idea to start the project after talking with LeAnne Johns, a former student who had two disabled foster children. Johns asked her if any of her students would be willing to spend time with her sons.

“Part of our objective is to better understand the family perspective,” Williams said.

More than 60 families have opened their homes to about 300 Whitworth students.

For the families, it’s a great opportunity to teach others about their children’s needs.

Earlier this season, Johns was one of several “host family” parents who came to Whitworth to talk about her sons.

“This is our best chance as parents to make you our advocates,” she said, passing out photos of her foster children.

Andy Porter, another parent who has a 12-year-old daughter born with internal growth retardation, gave some advice to the students at Whitworth.

“Don’t say `can’t.’ Can’t means they can’t do something. You have to push them one step further. Sure, it’s a little bit more work. But remember that beneath all the red tape is a child - a child with a dream.”