Wisconsin Wildlife Federation member Rick Heisler shared these insights to help WWF members who host events, teach classes, and mentor students.
The retired West Bend Public Works administrator is a long-time instructor who successfully taught students with special needs in the Campbellsport Hunter Safety course.
Heisler also said, “My outline is based on experiences with several special needs individuals over the past several years. My outlook and approach to teaching special needs individuals is very simple. I consider it to be an honor and privilege in preparing them to become part of our hunting heritage.
Every time one of them emails a picture or stops at my home to show me their success or just to talk, the smile on their faces tells it all. As a volunteer, I cherish those moments.”
With support from Rick Heisler, fellow students, and the entire Campbellsport hunter education team, including DNR professionals, Lindsay Muench graduated with honors.
I have several pictures and thank you notes and letters from individuals with special needs from over the years. One of the letters written by a local mother and dad and sent to Jeremy Cords after their daughter with special needs graduated from our course was extremely touching. Lindsay, who has Spinal Muscular Atrophy, is a very intelligent young lady who excels in forensics, speech, and other speaking activities in school. When her mother told me she was writing the letter, I asked her not to individualize me in the letter, but rather to include the entire instructor team which I am so proud of, as key components in the satisfaction the family received from the course. The letter gained a lot of attention in Madison, and we received positive comments back from the DNR Secretary. We were very proud of that but more importantly it generated widespread public recognition in the media that special needs people can be as much a part of our hunting heritage as anyone.
Rick’s Tips
First and foremost, all kids are special. The only difference is some have special needs. This could be a wide variety of needs such as learning disabilities, health conditions, mobility concerns and emotional problems to name a few.
With special adaptive equipment on her wheelchair, Lindsay shot her first turkey.
There needs to be a full commitment from the instructor group in providing acceptance of these individuals. If this does not occur the student and parents will not feel welcome, and the experience will be a negative one.
If there are instructors who are not comfortable with the situation, it is my recommendation not to have them be part of the interaction with these people. This needs to be done in a discreet manner not to offend the instructor or allow the special needs person to know of the concern. I spoke to an instructor one time who could not understand how I could feel so comfortable dealing with these people. He had nothing against them but simply had a hard time with it. He asked me my opinion and I told him that for him to continue trying to teach these people was not good for them and not good for him as well. Although he felt bad, he fully understood and agreed.
Be certain your facilities are capable of accommodating individuals with special needs. This includes the classroom and field activities.
I always spend time with the parents and guardians of the individuals, prior to the course in an effort to fully understand the needs of the person and assure the parent or guardian the individual will be given all the opportunities he or she is capable of doing in the course contents. At that time, I will also, in a discreet manner, assure the parent or guardian we are pleased to have the individual in our course and will do our best to make the person feel as comfortable as possible.
Lindsay also shot this nice bull elk.
Always assure and encourage the parent or guardian to ask any and all questions they may have. Try to give them a sense of security they can feel comfortable relating to any and all concerns with you. Parents and guardians to some extent are self-conscious of the situation as well.
I always view individuals with special needs as having enough challenges in life without having the feeling of not being accepted. There are several opportunities in the length of a course to recognize the person in a discreet manner to give the person a sense of satisfaction and well being. A good example I use is asking the person a question I know he or she can answer based on previous conversations and the person’s interests. When he or she answers the questions, reward them with a good comment or recognition of their knowledge of the subject manner. Things like this can be done in a very rewarding manner not to individualize the person based on their special needs and give them a sense of acceptance.
Lindsay used what she learned in class to successfully harvest her first deer.
Most parents are very cooperative in discussing various ways of getting the student to participate. As an example, several years ago, we had a young lady who was wheelchair bound and had limited use of her hands and arms. We put together a device to allow the young lady to participate in trap shooting on the night of graduation. Remarkably, Amy hit one of the targets and everyone clapped and cheered for her. Amy and her parents still talk about it as one of the most exciting things that has ever happened to her.
The family added venison to the freezer when Lindsay shot her second whitetail.Many times, these individuals are very intelligent but suffer only from some disorder which limits mobility and various activities. Do not go without recognizing the intelligence the person has and allow them to excel. Give them a good sense of acceptance and it will be rewarding for them and the instructors as well.
I had one special needs person tell me how happy he was to have taken the course and learn to admire the outdoors and all it has to offer. He related to a quote my dad said to me several years ago which I always try to tell the class. If you come home disappointed from a day of hunting or fishing, it’s because you went with your eyes shut. The young man told me he never knew there was so much to appreciate in the outdoors and how fascinating just watching a bird or squirrel can be. As he was telling me this, the parent was looking over his shoulder and smiling. To me it was a great sense of satisfaction.
