Description

Instructors of persons with disabilities teach children and adults using a variety of techniques to facilitate communication, rehabilitation, social skills and increased independence. They are employed in rehabilitation centres, specialized educational institutes and throughout the school system.

Job Titles

• Braille instructor
• Instructor of persons with a mobility impairment
• Instructor of persons who are deaf
• Instructor of persons who are hard of hearing
• Instructor of persons with a learning disability
• Instructor of persons with a visual impairment
• Instructor of persons with special needs
• Lip-reading instructor
• Orientation and mobility instructor
• Sign language instructor
• Teacher for persons with intellectual disabilities

Main Duties

• Develop individualized education and intervention plans based on special needs of client to facilitate their readaptation and independence objectives
• Assess individuals in areas such as physical limitations, orientation and mobility skills, and cognitive, social and emotional barriers to establish client rehabilitation or adaptation goals
• Assist individuals with physical, intellectual, visual and hearing disabilities or multiple disorders to develop life skills and provide job training
• Instruct individuals with disabilities and their families in the use of rehabilitative techniques, prosthetic devices, wheelchairs and other equipment designed to maximize clients’ independence and potential
• Instruct persons with a visual impairment in reading and writing braille and in the use of special equipment or supports such as human or animal guides, long canes and other adaptive mobility devices
• Instruct persons who are hard of hearing or deaf in lip-reading, finger spelling and sign language according to individual communication needs
• Instruct persons who are hard of hearing or deaf in the formation and development of sounds for speech using hearing aids, and other devices and techniques
• Collaborate with specialists, such as rehabilitation counsellors, speech-language pathologists and occupational therapists, to develop programs for clients’ special needs

Workplaces

• Elementary and secondary school systems
• Rehabilitation centres
• Specialized educational institutions

Skills

• Instructing
• Learning and Teaching Strategies
• Social Perceptiveness
• Oral Communication: Active Listening
• Oral Communication: Oral Expression

Abilities

• Memorizing
• Speech Clarity
• Speech Recognition
• Verbal Ability
• Written Expression

Personal Attributes

• Adaptability
• Collaboration
• Concern for Others
• Active Learning
• Analytical Thinking

Similar Occupations

• Speech and hearing therapist (in 31112.02 Speech language pathologists)
• Occupational therapy rehabilitation consultant (in 31203.00 Occupational therapists)

Source: OaSIS