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Here are things to think about when you invite someone with special needs to be
with your group. Involving a girl with Rett Syndrome with your group will also teach
others about Rett Syndrome and how girls can be a part of a better life for
everyone around them.
Invite a Rett girl to come to a meeting.
Don't just invite her to any meeting. You will have to plan a special meeting so that
the girl can participate. This is called "adapting" your meeting.
You can dream up different ways to adapt your activities. In fact, in the meeting
before, test our your plans by doing each activity as though you hand no hand use
or speech. You can even invite someone called an "Occupational" or "Speech"
therapist to the meeting to get their ideas. Every school will be able to give you the
number of someone who has this job.
This is also a great way to learn about some new kinds of jobs you maybe didn't
know existed.
EXAMPLE of an "adapted" meeting:
Typical meeting:
You sing a song, make a craft, eat a snack, run around a play a little.
Things to think about when coming up with an adapted meeting:
Sing a song: Rett girls cannot sing, but they LOVE music! Try some of these
things to help them participate: move with the song, walk the group around in a
circle or conga line. You can push her in her chair with the group.
Make a craft: Rett girls cannot use their hands very well, but they love to be with
other girls and have fun! Each item used for crafts like paint brushes and stamps
can be made larger so it is easier to hold. You can tape a wooden spoon to a
brush, a small pill bottle to the top of stamp. Make lots like this for every girl to use.
One girl can hold up two choices for the Rett girl to choose from. They are usually
very good at looking at which thing they want. This way, you can be a partner with
your new friend and make something together while getting her input too.
Eat a snack: Many Rett girls are on a special diet. Find out what she can eat in
advance and have that available. If the mother of the Rett girl has time, she might
be able to bring a snack to share with all the girls.
Run around a play a little: Rett girls cannot get around very well, but love to be
able to join in the fun! Let her help choose things like who should be "it" or which
ball to play with. You can run the bases while pushing her chair
CHECKLIST:
Before the meeting:
At the meeting:
with your group. Involving a girl with Rett Syndrome with your group will also teach
others about Rett Syndrome and how girls can be a part of a better life for
everyone around them.
Invite a Rett girl to come to a meeting.
Don't just invite her to any meeting. You will have to plan a special meeting so that
the girl can participate. This is called "adapting" your meeting.
You can dream up different ways to adapt your activities. In fact, in the meeting
before, test our your plans by doing each activity as though you hand no hand use
or speech. You can even invite someone called an "Occupational" or "Speech"
therapist to the meeting to get their ideas. Every school will be able to give you the
number of someone who has this job.
This is also a great way to learn about some new kinds of jobs you maybe didn't
know existed.
EXAMPLE of an "adapted" meeting:
Typical meeting:
You sing a song, make a craft, eat a snack, run around a play a little.
Things to think about when coming up with an adapted meeting:
Sing a song: Rett girls cannot sing, but they LOVE music! Try some of these
things to help them participate: move with the song, walk the group around in a
circle or conga line. You can push her in her chair with the group.
Make a craft: Rett girls cannot use their hands very well, but they love to be with
other girls and have fun! Each item used for crafts like paint brushes and stamps
can be made larger so it is easier to hold. You can tape a wooden spoon to a
brush, a small pill bottle to the top of stamp. Make lots like this for every girl to use.
One girl can hold up two choices for the Rett girl to choose from. They are usually
very good at looking at which thing they want. This way, you can be a partner with
your new friend and make something together while getting her input too.
Eat a snack: Many Rett girls are on a special diet. Find out what she can eat in
advance and have that available. If the mother of the Rett girl has time, she might
be able to bring a snack to share with all the girls.
Run around a play a little: Rett girls cannot get around very well, but love to be
able to join in the fun! Let her help choose things like who should be "it" or which
ball to play with. You can run the bases while pushing her chair
CHECKLIST:
Before the meeting:
- Make sure your facility is handicapped accessible.
- Talk about the agenda and how to adapt each activity.
- Contact a local occupational or speech therapist for input.
- Contact the parent for input on food and how their daughter likes to
communicate. - Practice the activities and see how each one feels if you don't have the right
skills, change accordingly.
At the meeting:
- Have fun!
- Explain each thing first.
- Talk right to your new friend. Look her in the eye. She can understand
everything you say! - Be patient. Maybe the first meeting won't go too well. Pick a time to try again!
