The disability/exceptionality I chose for this assignment is body image issues such as anorexia or bulimia. Students who struggle with body image issues often are unhappy with how they look. Students may want to change their body size or shape as a result. Anorexia is an eating disorder that causes severe and intense fears of gaining weight. People who struggle with anorexia ma see themselves as fat even though they may be perfectly healthy or even under weight. Bulimia nervosa, similarity to anorexia, causes severe problems in a person's eating habits. Bulimia nervosa can be characterizedby uncontrolled episodes of overeating which is called binge-eating or bingeing.

There are many strategies that teachers can use to accommodate students special needs in the classroom. Regarding body image issues, there are three specific strategies that teachers can use to tailor students special needs in the classroom. These three strategies are positive praise & affirmations, being a positive model for students, and focus on things that bodies can do rather than how they look. Positive praise and affirmations can help students focus more on their positive attributes rather than their negative body image. As a teacher, reflecting on your own attitudes and habits related to food and weight can help your students see healthy ways to treat and take care of their own bodies. Finally, emphasizing that bodies come in all shapes and sizes can help students feel more comfortable in their bodies.

Resources for caregivers:

F.E.A.S.T:

https://www.feast-ed.org/

F.E.A.S.T is a resource for caregivers or families taking care of someone who struggles with an eating disorder. Caregivers can build their own eating disorders toolkit through earning useful skills.

Mental Health Foundation: EFFT Resources for Caregivers Supporting a Loved One with an Eating Disorder:

https://www.mentalhealthfoundations.ca/ed-parent-webinar

This resource provides caregivers with many videos that give them ideas for support strategies that they can use with a loved one who is struggling with an eating disorder. In some of the videos parents who have a child who struggles with an eating disorder is encouraging other parents on how to support their child.

Resources for teachers:

Educator Toolkit (NEDA Feeding Hope):

https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/EducatorToolkit_2023-bb7.pdf

The Educator Toolkit is a resource for teachers to better support and encourage students who are struggling with eating disorders. This toolkit is designed to meet and address the diversity and complexity of the all the needs of students in the classroom, providing one place for teachers to pull resources from.

Understanding Eating Disorders in BC Schools:

https://keltyeatingdisorders.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Understanding-Eating-Disorders-in-Schools.pdf

This resource is a guide to trauma informed practices/strategies that teachers cause in the classroom to empower and support students with eating disorders. This guide specifically helps teachers understand ow to guide classroom discussions about eating disorders.