Indywidualne zajęcia rewalidacyjno-wychowawcze (IZRW) – najważniejsze problemy terapeuty (z doświadczeń pracy nauczycieli w ZSS nr 11 w Krakowie)

Abstract

The article presents the specificity of working with students with severe multiple disabilities at their homes. It deals with the issues of the conditions of conducting classes, relations of a teacher with the student’s family, the student’s contacts with school as well as the importance of cooperation between IREC teachers and their home institution. The aim: presenting the most important problems of an IREC therapist and showing the available sources of support. Research material and methods: questionnaires conducted on a group of 40 teachers from Special Education School Complex No. 11 who realize IREC classes with 15 students with severe disabilities who have a specialist opinion on the necessity of participating in such classes. A quantitative and qualitative analysis of the questionnaires was conducted. School documentation, i.e. the protocols from the sessions of the IREC Teachers Board from the years 2007–2009, as well as the results of a school study realized within the prevention programme were also analysed. The results – verification of the hypotheses. The research has not confirmed the hypothesis that factors such as the place – the home of a student – and conditions of conducting classes as well as the limited access to specialist equipment are the greatest obstacles in the work of an IREC teacher. The factor which largely determines the attitude of professionals and affects the whole process of therapeutic influences is the health and the state of psychophysical limitations of a student. The research has shown that conversations and exchanges of experiences within small groups of co-operating teachers as well as individual contacts constitute the main source of support for the IREC teachers. The research allowed to specify the integration level of that group of students with the school and revealed a group that functions independent of the school community. It confirmed the thesis that school is the richest educational and social environment for the development of students, including students with severe multiple disabilities. The conducted research pointed to the necessity of considering the following issues: legal liability of teachers working with children with such serious health problems and the range of medical procedures that can be carried out by a teacher at the student’s house or in a life-threatening situation. It also determined tasks for the further functioning of the school: working on a fuller integration of this group of students with school as well as supporting IREC teachers and placing them within the structure of school, the need of concluding contracts with parents and the necessity of teachers’ supervision.