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.
- 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