COUNSELING CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS
2.0 Introduction
Children with special needs are those whose performance, experiences or life patterns deviate from what is considered the norm. They may be children who are intellectually gifted or those severely challenged. These therefore, include children who are gifted, talented, physically or mentallychallengedand thosewith hearingandvisual impairment. Also includedare childrenwho are abused, affected by or infected with HIV, children from divorced parents and emotionally disturbed. These children are very much in need of rehabilitation. Rehabilitation means to restore to useful life through therapy and education.
2.1 Counseling an Abused Child
Child abuse consists of anything which individuals or institutions fail to do which directly or indirectly harms children or damages their prospects of safe and healthy development into adulthood. It is also defined as failureto providethechildwith thecarethat circumstances demand. It is an act that harms the child physically, socially, emotionally and psychologically. Child abuse takes place different, ways and may take place within the family outside the family or in institutions like schools orphanages or rehabilitation centers. A child may be abused through sexual harassment in the form of rape or incest, child labour, physical assault, abandonment, neglect, verbal abuse ridiculing, infanticide or bullying.
2.2 Identifying an Abused Child
There are signs or symptoms that may help in identifying children who are abused. However, it should be noted that the signs do not necessarily indicate child abuse, but they do help adults recognize that something is wrong. When a child displays a number of these symptoms, or any of them to a marked degree, the possibility of abuse should be investigated.
i. Aggression towards others.
ii. Low self-esteem and lack confidence.
iii. Poor performance, lack of concentration and absenteeism in school.
iv. Inability to communicate clearly, such as having speech disorders.
v. Overreaction to critics.
vi. Extreme reactions such as depression, self-mutilation, suicide attempts running away and overdoses.
vii. Sudden change in behavior portrayed in withdrawal and lack of interest in life.
viii. Injuries, bruises and cuts in the body, in sex organs and unexplained fractures.
ix. Poor health and malnutrition.
x. Regressing to younger behaviour patterns such as thumb sucking and bed-wetting.
Using the above criteria, parents, teachers and caregivers can detect an abused child in die community, schools and other institutions. Other people in the community or neighborhood may also assist in identifying the abased child- After identifying such a child, the counselor can then find the best ways to help the child. The stigma of the abused child the shame and the criminality of the perpetrator make accurate estimates of child abuse difficult. Therefore, when counseling children, the counselor will need to address not only the interpersonal issues of the child in
individual counseling, but also systematic issues involving the child's parents and/ or familywhich may be causing and/or maintaining the child's problems, or are a consequence of these problems. A counselor working with abused children must adjust counseling procedures to maximize the child's abilityto communicate the experiences underlying the abuse, takinginto account cognitive, emotional, physical andbehavioural immaturityofthechild. Someoftheseconsiderations include:
i. Confidentiality
ii. Communication styles
iii. Use of play
iv. Using drawing
2.2.1 Confidentiality
Confidentiality is important when counseling abused children since it assures them of securityand respect. However, the confidentialityissues pose a dilemma to the counselor since children depend on their guardians and other significant people to change their circumstances. The children will have the confidence of these people but not that of the counselor, necessitating the counselor to seek their assistance if need be. For example, the child may refuse to talk to the counselor on a one-on-one base, when the mother is around.
2.2.2 Communication Styles
When a counselor is talking to a child, he/she should do so with respect and with due consideration of their cognitive and language development levels. Such children will usually find it difficult to express themselves because of the experiences they have undergone. The counselor should communicate using short sentences and ask simple questions that help the child to describe his experiences more freely. He/she should also Endeavour to use the child's name and those of other involved persons, rather than referring to them using pronouns. The counselor should listen more than talk, so as to encourage the child to tap: thereby get the needs, wishes and the dreams the child has.
2.2.3 Use of Play
Play offers a window to a chad's thoughts and feelings and helps them to express themselves in the best way they know how. The counselor should therefore provide time, space, materials and supervision for play during counseling. The counselor will then more naturally enter, understand and relate to the child experiences by observing him at play.
Play is important in child counseling because it:
i. Is a child's natural medium ol self-expression.
ii. Facilitates the child''; communication and expression.
iii. Allows of release of feelings and frustrations.
iv. Can be refreshing; and constructive in the child's life.
2.2.4 Using Drawing
Drawingis atechniquethat is usefulwhen counseling abused childrenbecausethroughit emotions that lie deep down in the child's heart may be uncovered and interpreted. The counselor should therefore:
i. Provide the child with paper and paint or crayon,
ii. Give the child a theme to draw, for example his/her family,
iii. Allow the child sufficient time to draw without interruption.
iv. Keep the drawing activity relaxed and enjoyable for the child.
v. Observe as the child draws and comment as the picture takes shape.
vi. Enquire from the child what she/ he has drawn so as to ascertain his intentions. Drawing- is important to use with children because:
i. The drawing will show feelings that a child is unwilling in words; fondest hopes and profound fears and those elements that they may have been denied, or are angry about expressed directly or disguised in me images in the pictures they draw.
ii. Emotions that are too powerful or too confusing to think about clearly find release through crayons and painting on paper.
In order to ensure full interpretation of what the picture has, the counselor should work systematically in an organized manner, from the general to the particular.
2.3 Counseling the HIV Affected or Infected Child
Children affected by or infected with HIV often suffer stigma from the people around them. The infected/affected child is likely to have a broad spectrum of physical, psychological and social needs that require adjustment. These would include financial needs and treatment, as well as the need to overcome fear, anger, anxiety and confusion. They need to be helped to understand and accept the situation and be assisted to develop coping abilities, for example how to adjust to life situations in case it is their parents who are infected and eventually die. It is the duty of the counselor to advise the caregiver of the infected/affected child on how to manage, and contain the problems that are related to HIV. Counseling benefits both the infected and the affected child even because it helps them:
i. identify and clarify their problem,
ii. reduce anxiety, fear, anger and other destructive feelings,
iii. accept the situation,
iv. express feelings freely, and
v. Receive help.
2.4 Counseling Children from Divorced Or Separated Parents
When a divorce or separation occurs, it is the children who are likely to suffer the most, this is because of the love they have for both parents and it is difficult for the children to decide which parent to live with. Divorce may cause psychological effects to children, evidenced by depressive and anxious behaviours. These include increased bed-wetting and crying spells for younger children expression of anger, aggression and signs of withdrawal from older children. These may initially be due to parent's involvement in quarrels and fights before divorce, which in itself is a stressful experience for children. The parents suffer psychologically and materially as a result of the divorce arrangements and this also further contributes to the child's problems.
When counseling children in this situation:
i. The counselor should help the child be honest and to speak openly about the parents divorce. This helps the child to know that they can still cope with their new circumstances.
ii. The parents should continually assure the children that they still love them.
iii. The children should be made so know that they are not to blame for the divorce.
iv. Parents should avoid open confrontations in front of the children.
v. Teachers and caregivers should not stigmatize such children.
2.5 Rehabilitating Street Children
Street children are those who live on the streets and fend for themselves. Some of them were born on the streets and grew up there, others have run away from home due to unfavorable conditions whereas some are brought to the streets and abandoned by their parents. They depend mainly on begging. Most of these children abuse drugs, especially glue, live in dirty environment and have poor personal hygiene. Street children are traumatized children because of the kind of life they live. They experience various difficulties especially since most of them have no relatives or homes to go to. Street children require basic needs visit like any other children, and lack of fulfillment of these needs may make them behave like maladjusted children. When a child is unable to vary his responses to frustrating situations, so that his needs become satisfied in a socially acceptable manner, ii is possible that he/she will become maladjusted to some extent. This is 'the reason why street children tend to portray aggressive and destructive behaviours.
They need to be (rum set led just like anyother traumatized children. Counseling must be provided to help them overcome the trauma they experienced while on the streets. The counselor can then refer them to suitable '[rehabilitation centers. When street children /get to rehabilitation centers, they need to be given proper nutrition, and have access to healthcare and formal education. The) also need to be trained on personal hygiene, proper manners and responsibilities. The counselor should endeavour to contact the parents or guardians of the street children to see if some of them could get back to their homes. He/she can also raise die issue with the government for assistance in the rehabilitation processes. Communities in which these children live should be encouraged to appreciate that these children also need to be loved and trained to be self- reliant, as well as in need of formal education.
2.6 Talented and the Gifted
Talented and gifted children are those children with an ability or potential to develop to a level significantly ahead of their age mates or year group. Their IQ is above average. The expression gifted learners' is usually used to refer to children with outstanding abilities in one or more subject areas. Talented learners' is usually used' to refer to those with outstanding practical skill in, for example, sports, music and performing arts. These children are always ahead of the normal set class work and they finish any assigned work faster than the average child. Gifted and talented children usually stand out from the rest. However, they can become a nuisance in class if they are not adequately catered for in terms of work given and constant guidance by the teacher. They are likely to show outstanding abilities in either one or more of the following areas:
i. General intellectual ability usuallymanifested in their academic excellence, creativity and problem-solving skills.
ii. Specific academic aptitude.
iii. Creative and productive dunking.
iv. Visual and performing arts like fire art, drama, design or dressmaking.
v. Psychomotor abilities, such as sports.
vi. Leadership abilities.
Some talented and gifted children usuallyset high goals for themselves which they work very hard to achieve, which means they have high aspirations. The teacher needs to inspire the children by giving them challenging tasks according to their ability. In so doing, the children becomes busy and concentrates with the work given keeping them out of trouble. It is very important for the parents, teachers and other caregivers to know how to deal with them and the kind of activities to
give them. The following points could be applied to inspire the: talented and gifted children.
i. Answer all the children's questions as best as you can. Be patient with them when they follow your explanations with another question.
ii. Provide plenty of opportunities for creativity, exploration, experimentation, manipulation and observation.
iii. Ask them the "why", "how." "When" and "what" questions as they engage in different activities. When answering these questions, their thinking ability is challenged.
iv. Allow children freedom to do what they want as long as they ensure safety and good conduct.
v. Never allow them to develop pride for their achievements. These children should he counseled no to look down on those who are slow in performing certain activities or in understanding new concepts.
vi. Train them to recognize, appreciate and assist others who are in need. Guide them in realizing that they need others in order to live happy and fulfilled lives.
vii. The teacher should not be reprimanding them when they look restless after completing their assignments or when they ask many questions. They should be helped to behave well when with adults and other children, have good interpersonal relations, work in a team and appreciate the work of others.
2.7 Counseling Handicapped Children
Handicapped children are among a group of exceptional children who have special needs related to their inability to learn or function as the rest. Handicapped children are those with a disability, either of the body or the mind. These disabilities include impairments or limitations in sight, speech, hearing and movement (walking), among others. These disabilities can be severe or mild. In order to counsel such children, the counselor needs to understand the world of the handicapped child through having a basic knowledge of the disabling condition. The counselor should be concerned with the child's self-concept. They have received negative messages about their worth, and experience some form of rejection and failure. Being listened to builds respect and a sense of worth. Thecounselorassists thehandicapped childbuildabetterself-concept throughhelpingsuch children see themselves as people who can perform and accomplish goals. The counselor should focus on the positive things the child has or can accomplish rather than on the negative aspects of their lives.
When caring for handicapped children, it is vital to remember that every child is a unique individual with specific needs. These needs depend on their own abilities and it should be noted that children will not achieve the teacher to come across category of children. The teacher needs to work at the children's pace and give them assistance as much as possible. The teacher should counsel, encourage and help such children to see themselves as complete individuals even with their disabilities. If the state of disability is severe, the teacher should ask the parents to seek medical attention and specialized counselors for the children. They may also need to be referred to specific institutions rehabilitation for their specific handicap.
2.8 Counseling the Emotionally Disturbed Child
Emotionallydisturbed children have behavioral disorders. For someone to be deemed emotionally disturbed, it must, be determined that the person's condition results in functional impairment that substantially interferes with are or more major life abilities such as eating, dressing and bathing. An emotionally disturbed person may also be referred to as a troubled person. According to some
educationists, a troubled child is characterized by:
i. Repeated deliberate anti-social behavior
ii. Showing abnormal attempts to please others
iii. Having habitual easy crying
iv. Putting others down by calling them names
v. Lacking decision-making abilities
vi. Showing withdrawal symptoms or retreats to fantasy
vii. Being tense.
It is therefore important that the child is helped to become a self-controlled individual. The child should be taught ways of coping with frustration by using problem solving techniques. In counseling emotionally disturbed children, the teacher-counselor should speak to them calmly, even when they have done something wrong, pointing out to them the mistake they have made and warning them not to repeat it. Even when the mistake is repeated, the approach should be reminded once more not to repeat the mistakes explaining reasons why. These-children need love and understanding. They need a counselor who can provide security. The counselor needs to be strong enough to place consistent limits on the children requiring them to assume responsibility for their behaviour. This approach does more good to the children than shouting at them. Alter such an approach that shows concern for them when these children left alone, they will think over the matter and deck to do their best in order not to offend die teacher/counselor who is kind to them. The teacher or the parents should take time to listen to and help an emotionally disturbed child who approaches them. They should never be too busy to attend to the child.
The role of the counselor :
a) Forming a relationship with a child that includes well-defined responsibilities and limits.
b) Working towards positively changing the child's negative self-image.
c) Conducting individual and group counseling sessions to deal with feelings and behaviours.
d) Teaching social skills and improving academic performance.
e) Assisting parents and teachers in being supportive to the child.
3.0 Introduction
CHAPTER THREE
A GOOD SCREENING PROCEDURE
This chapter describes the characteristics of good screening procedures used as children develop andgrow.Theseproceduresarerecommendedparticularlytoearlychildhoodspecialistandspecial needs teachers.
3.1 A Good Screening Procedure
A good screening procedure should have the following characteristics.
3.1.1 Acceptability
Any investigation of a child’s development must be of a form/manner which is acceptable to both the child and the parents. Painful experience should be avoided e.g. it is acceptable to prick the finger to get the blood but is not acceptable to do a bomber puncture of a unit.
3.1.2 Specificity
Any particular screening process should be aimed at a specific problem. The specificity can vary in degrees e.g. screening for femalphenyelketonoria (pku) is highly specific while screening for learning disabilities is not very exact. In general psycho general difficulties are subject, to lower degree of specificity which is partly the result of the nature of these problems and partly because of the different links/values and its cause e.g pku can be traced or linked to a specific problem which is the body’s processing of an amino-acid called penylalanine. On the other hand failure to learn to read which leads to learning disabilities has several or multifactoral causes.
3.1.3 Sensitivity
Any screening procedure must be sensitive (accurate). It would be wasteful and even damaging if a screening procedure puts majority of the children in the category of learning disabled.
3.1.4 Cost Effectiveness
Screening procedures are expected to be simple and quick and cheap. If it is highly sensitive/accurate it will be cost effective e.g. screening by health/community workers is cheap and relatively quick but measurement of its cost effectiveness is hampered by insufficient evidence/accuracy.
3.1.5 Pass/fail
The end of the screening process for any child should be a simple categorical statement. In ideal situations it should be pass or fail. However, we usually have a ‘doubtful’ category. Provided the
screening procedure is accurate, action is easy to determine however, where one is in doubt then the child requires further assessment. To refer a child for further assessment and especially to reduce by doubtful category one has to consider the number of children in that doubtful category as a result one has to make a decision whether a child to be retested immediately or to be followed up after one year. Although it is pass and fail we can’t avoid a doubtful category.
3.1.6 Resources
Screening should be undertaken when resources of intervention measures are put aside. Surveys can be used to determine a need and the results used to put pressure on authorities to allocate resources but in the case of screening resources must be available in form of money, equipment, personnel in order to do what is recommended to be done.
4.0 Introduction
CHAPTER FOUR
AN EXCEPTIONAL CHILD
Exceptional children are those who deviate significantly from the average or normal to such an extent that they require unique curricula, specialized teaching, intervention procedures, equipment, facilities, materials, or special educational services in order to develop their maximum capacity. They are children who have been determined to require special attention and specific necessities than other children. Students with special needs are those who are different enough from their peers that theyrequire specially adapted instructional materials and practices to help them maximize their learning and achievement.
4.1 An Exceptional Child
Exceptional child is different from average children in:
i. Mental characteristics
ii. Sensory abilities
iii. Neuromuscular or physical characteristics
iv. Social and emotional behavior
v. Communication abilities
vi. Learning abilities etc.
Many of these students have cognitive, personal, social, or physical disabilities that adversely affect their performance in a typical classroom. Others, instead, are so advanced in a particular domain that is, they are gifted - that they gain little from the activities and assignments suitable for most of their age-mates.
They may require teachers who have some knowledge about their problems, intervention procedures, and teaching techniques.
4.2 Inclusion
4.2.1 Merits and Demerits of Inclusion
Many students with special educational needs are in general education classrooms for part or all of the school day-a practice known as inclusion. The common practice of inclusion for students with disabilities has been controversial among both theorists and practitioners. Some argue that students are most likely to develop normal peer relationships and social skills when they participate as fully as possible in the overall social life of their school. But other experts worry that when students with special needs are in a regular classroom for the entire school day, they cannot possibly get the intense specialized instruction that many need to achieve essential basic skills in reading, mathematics, and so on. Furthermore, nondisabled classmates may stigmatize, avoid, or bully students who appear to odd or incompetent in some way.
Many research studies indicate that placing students with disabilities in general education classrooms can have several benefits over educating them in self-contained special education classrooms. In particular, inclusion can lead to the following benefits:
i Better social skills
ii More appropriate classroom behavior
iii More frequent interaction with nondisabled peers
iv Academic achievement equivalent to (and sometimes higher than) that in a self-contained classroom
v More positive sense of self in the school environment is one in which all students accept and respect individual differences in their classmates
Nondisabled students often benefit from inclusive practices as well: They develop an increasing awareness of the heterogeneous nature of the human race and discover that individuals with special needs are, in many respects, very much like themselves. It is essential that nondisabled students treat classmates who have disabilities in respectful and supportive ways and, better still, forge friendships with these classmates. To nurture positive relationships between students with and without disabilities, we can do several things:
i. Explicitly point out the strengths of a student with a disability.
ii. Ask students with and without disabilities to assist others in their particular areas of strength.
iii. Plan academic and recreational activities that require cooperation.
iv. Encourage students with disabilities to participate in extracurricular activities and community events. The disadvantages include:
i Lack of intense specialization instruction
ii Stigmatization
iii Bullying by normal children
4.3
Learning Disabilities
Students with learning disabilities comprise the largest single category of students with special needs. These students have significant difficulties in one or more specific cognitive processes that cannot be attributed to mental retardation, emotional problems, sensory impairment, or environmental derivation. Such difficulties often appear to result from specific and possibly inherited brain dysfunctions.
Alearningdisability,orlearningdisorder,isnotaproblemwithintelligence.Learningdisorders are caused by a difference in the brain that affects how information is received, processed, or communicated. Learning disability is a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or using spoken or written language, which may manifest itself in an imperfect ability to listen, speak, think, read, write, spell or do mathematical
calculations. A child is not considered to have a learning disability if leaning difficulties can be attributed to visual, hearing, or motor handicaps; mental retardations; emotional disturbance; or environmental, cultural, or economic disadvantage.
In general, students with learning disabilities are different in many more ways than they are similar. They typically have many strengths but may face challenges such as:
i. Difficulty sustaining attention in the face of distractions
ii. Poor reading skills
iii. Ineffective learning and memory strategies
iv. Difficulty with tasks involving abstract reasoning
v. Poor sense of self and low motivation for academic tasks (especially if they receive no special assistance in areas of difficulty)
vi. Poor motor skills
vii. Poor social skills
viii. Motor difficulties. Motor difficulty refers to problems with movement and coordination whether it is with fine motor skills (cutting, writing) or gross motor skills (running, jumping).
By no means do such characteristics describe all students with learning disabilities, however. For instance, some are attentive in class and work diligently on assignments, and some are socially skillful and popular with peers.
Common Types of Learning Disabilities
Dyslexia
Dyscalculia
Dysgraphia
Dyspraxia (Sensory Integration Disorder)
Auditory Processing Disorder
Visual Processing Disorder
Difficulty processing language
Difficulty with math
Difficulty with writing
Difficulty with fine motor skills
Difficulty hearing differences between sounds
Difficulty interpreting visual information
Problems reading, writing, spelling , speaking
Problems doing math problems, understanding time, using money
Problems with handwriting, spelling, organizing ideas
Problems with hand–eye coordination, balance, manual dexterity
Problems with reading, comprehension, language
Problems with reading, math, maps, charts, symbols, pictures
4.4 Dyslexia
The term "Dyslexia" is used to cover a wide range of learning problems. It refers to a specific difficulty in learning, either inborn or acquired, in reading, spelling and written language. This may also be accompanied by difficulty in number work. It is a neurological condition in which the child has tremendous difficulty acquiring language skills, even though she/he may be intellectually bright, with oral skills so good that she is able to go through the early classes.
Dyslexiais abroad term definingalearningdisabilitythatimpairs aperson's fluencyor accuracy in being able to read, write, and spell, and which can manifest itself as a difficulty with phonological awareness, phonological decoding, orthographic coding, and auditory short-term memory. Dyslexia is separate and distinct from reading difficulties resulting from other causes, such as a non-neurological deficiencywith vision or hearing, or from poor or inadequate reading instruction. Although dyslexia is not an intellectual disability, it is considered both a learning disability and a reading disability. Dyslexia and IQ are not interrelated, since reading and cognition develop independently in individuals who have dyslexia.
Dyslexia is most often inherited through the genes. It can also be caused by early ear infections. In both cases it is harder for a young child to distinguish the difference between similar sounding words.
4.4.1
Dyslexia Symptoms
4.4.2 Difficulties with Spelling
Spellingistheactivitywhichcausesmostdifficultyfordyslexicchildren.Noticingspellingerrors in short, simple words is the way in which most dyslexic children first come to our attention. Examples of words which cause particular difficulty are: any, many, island, said, they, because, enough, and friend. Other words will sometimes be spelt in the way that you would expect them to be spelt if our spelling system were rational, for example does/dus, please/pleeze, knock/nock, search/serch, journey/jerney, etc. Dyslexic children also experience difficulties with 'jumbled spellings'. These are spelling attempts in which all the correct letters are present, but are written in the wrong order. Examples include dose/does, freind/friend, siad/said, bule/blue, becuase/because, and wores/worse. 'Jumbled spellings' show that the child is experiencing difficulty with visual memory. Non-dyslexic children and adults often use their visual memory when trying to remember a difficult spelling: they write down two or three possible versions of the word on a spare piece of paper and see which spelling 'looks right'. They are relying on their visual memory to help them, but the visual memory of a dyslexic child may not be adequate for this task.
Confusion over left and right: A fairly quick way to establish this type of confusion is to ask a child to point to your left foot with his or her right hand. If you try similar instructions - in a nonthreatening environment - you will soon be able to see if this causes difficulties or not. You may also notice difficulties with east and west, or in following directions like 'Go to the end of the road and turn left, and then right, etc.
Writing letters or numbers backwards: Some children may mix up 'b' and 'd', or even 'p' and the number 9. These letters are the same in their mirror image, and cause regular confusion for a dyslexic person. Some pupils make a point of always writing the letter 'b' as an upper-case (B) as they find this much easier to remember in terms of the direction it faces.
Difficulties with math/s: One feature of dyslexia is difficulties with sequencing - getting things in the right order. Math/s depends on sequences of numbers - 2. 4. 6. 8. etc.
Difficulties organizing themselves: dyslexic children may have genuine difficulties with planning and thinking ahead like deciding when a book or pen might be needed next.
Difficulty following 2- or 3-step instructions: For example, 'Go to Mrs. Brown and ask her if Peter Smith is in school today. Oh, yes, and ask if I can borrow her dictionary' - such an instruction is just too much. It involves both sequencing and memory skills, and you would be very surprised to see a dyslexic child return with the dictionary and information about Peter Smith.
4.4.3
Interventions
The following items should provide useful guidelines for teachers and parents to follow and support:
i. Outlining what is going to be taught in the lesson and ending the lesson with a resume of what has been taught. Inthis wayinformation is morelikelyto gofrom short term memory to long term memory. When homework is set, it is important to check that the child correctly writes down exactly what is required. Try to ensure that the appropriate worksheets and books are with the child to take home.
ii. Make sure that messages and day to day classroom activities are written down, and never sent verbally, i.e. music, P. E. swimming etc.
iii. Encouragegoodorganizationalskillsbytheuseoffoldersanddividerstokeepworkeasily accessible and in an orderly fashion.
iv. Break tasks down into small easily remembered pieces of information.
v. If visual memory is poor, copying must be kept to a minimum. Notes or handouts are far more useful.
vi. Seat the child fairly near the class teacher so that the teacher is available to help if necessary, or he can be supported by a well-motivated and sympathetic classmate.
vii. Use different colour chalks for each line if there is a lot of written information on the board, or underline every second line with a different coloured chalk.
viii. Ensure that the writing is well spaced.
ix. Leave the writing on the blackboard long enough to ensure the child doesn't rush, or that the work is not erased from the board before the child has finished copying.
x. A structured reading scheme that involves repetition and introduces new words slowly is extremely important. This allows the child to develop confidence and self esteem when reading.
xi. Don't ask pupils to read a book at a level beyond their current skills, this will instantly demotivate them.
xii. Save the dyslexic child the ordeal of having to 'read aloud in class'. Reserve this for a quiet time with the class teacher. Alternatively, perhaps give the child advanced time to read pre-selectedreadingmaterial, to bepracticed at homethedaybefore. This will help ensure that the child is seen to be able to read out loud, along with other children
xiii. All children should be encouraged to proof read, which can be useful for initial correction of spellings. Dyslexics seem to be unable to correct their spellings spontaneously as they write, but they can be trained to look out for errors that are particular to them.
4.5 Dyscalculia
"Dyscalculia" is a lesser-known learning disability that affects mathematical calculations. It is derived from the generic name "mathematics difficulty". A student with any degree of mathematics difficulty may be considered to have "dyscalculia" by some educational specialists. The problem may be caused by weakness in visual processing. To be successful in mathematics, one needs to be able to visualize numbers and mathematics situations. Students with dyscalculia have a very difficult time visualizing numbers and often mentally mix up the numbers, resultingin what appearto be "stupidmistakes." Anotherproblem is withsequencing.
4.5.1 Symptoms Dyscalculia
Many students with disabilities have histories of academic failure that contribute to the development of learned helplessness in mathematics. It is important that mathematics instructors recognize the symptoms of dyscalculia and take the necessary measures to help students who are affected. Some of the symptoms are:
i. Spatial problems and difficulty aligning numbers into proper columns.
ii. Trouble with sequence, including left/right orientation. They will read numbers out of sequence and sometimes do operations backwards. They also become confused on the sequences of past or future events
iii. Students typically have problems with mathematics concepts in word problems, confuse similar numbers (e.g., 7 and 9; 3 and 8), and have difficulty using a calculator.
iv. Students have difficulty with the abstract concepts of time and direction (e.g. inability to recall schedules, and unable to keep track of time). They may be chronically late.
v. Mistaken recollection of names. Poor name/face retrieval. Substitute names beginning with same letter.
vi. Students have inconsistent results in addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Students have poor mental mathematics ability. They are poor with money and credit and cannot do financial planning or budgeting (e.g. balancing a checkbook). May have fear of money and cash transactions. May be unable to mentally figure out change due back, the amounts to pay for tips, taxes, etc.
vii. Inability to grasp and remember mathematics concepts, rules formulas, sequence (order of operations), and basic addition, subtraction, multiplication and division facts.
viii. Poor memory for the "layout" of things. Gets lost or disoriented easily. May have a poor sense of direction, loose things often, and seem absent minded.
ix. May have poor athletic coordination, difficultykeeping up with rapidly changingphysical directions like in aerobic, dance, and exercise classes. Difficulty remembering dance step sequences rules for playing sports.
4.5.2 Mitigative Strategies:
Although dyscalculia may be difficult to diagnose, there are strategies that teachers and parents should know about to aid students in learning mathematics.
i. Encourage students to work extra hard to "visualize" mathematics problems. Draw them or have them draw a picture t help understand the problem, and make sure that they take the time to look at any visual information that is provided (picture, chart, graph, etc.)
ii. Have the student read problems out loud and listen very carefully. This allows them to use their auditory skills (which may be strength).
iii. Provide examples and try to relate problems to real-life situations.
iv. Provide younger students with squared paper and encourage them to use it in order to keep the numbers in line.
v. Discalculiastudents must spend extratimememorizingmathematics facts. Repetition is very important. Use rhythm or music to help memorize.
vi. Many students need one-on-one attention to fully grasp certain concepts. Have students work with a tutor, a parent, or a teacher after school hours in a one-on-one environment.
vii. Allow more than the "common" time to complete problems and check to see that student is not panicking (tears in eyes, mind frozen).
viii. Most importantly, be patient. Never forget that the student wants to learn and retain. Realize that mathematics can be a traumatic experience and is highly emotional because of past failures. Patience and individual attention do help. ix.Assign extra problems for practice and maybe a special TA (teaching assistant) or special education is assigned to assist the affected student.
ix. When presenting new material, make sure the student with discalculia is able to write each step down and talk it through until they understand it well enough to teach it back to you.
4.6 Dysgraphia
"Dysgraphia" is a learning disability resulting from the difficulty in expressing thoughts in writing and graphing. It generally refers to extremelypoor handwriting. Most learning disabled studentsexperiencedifficultywithhandwritingandprobablycouldbeconsidered"dysgraphic". Students with dysgraphia often have sequencing problems. Studies indicate that what usually appears to be a perceptual problem (reversing letters/numbers, writing words backwards, writing letters out of order, and very sloppy handwriting) usually seems to be directly related to sequential/rational information processing. Some students can also experience writing difficulty because of a general auditory or language processing weakness.
4.6.1 Symptoms Dyscalculia
i. Students may exhibit strong verbal but particularly poor writing skills.
ii. Random (or non-existent) punctuation. Spelling errors (sometimes same word spelled differently); reversals; syllable omissions; errors in common suffixes.
iii. Generally illegible writing (despite appropriate time and attention given the task).
iv. Inconsistencies: mixtures of upper and lower case, or irregular sizes, shapes, or slant of letters.
v. Unfinished words or letters, omitted words.
vi. Inconsistent position on page with respect to lines and margins and inconsistent spaces between words and letters.
vii. Cramped or unusual grip, especially holding the writing instrument very close to the paper, or holding thumb over two fingers and writing from the wrist.
viii. Talking to self while writing, or carefully watching the hand that is writing. 9
4.6.2 Intervention Strategies:
i Practicing handwriting.
ii Encourage student to talk aloud as they write.
iii This may provide valuable auditory feedback.
iv Allow more time for written tasks including note-taking, copying, and tests.
v Give and allow students to begin projects or assignments early.
v. Instead of having the student write a complete set of notes, provide a partially completed outline so the student can fill in the details under major headings (or provide the details and have the student provide the headings).
vi. Remove 'neatness' or 'spelling' (or both) as grading criteria for some assignments, or design assignments to be evaluated on specific parts of the writing process.
vii. Allow abbreviations in some writing (such as b/c for because). Have the student develop a repertoire of abbreviations in a notebook. These will come in handy in future note taking situations.
viii. Reduce copying aspects of work; for example, in Math, provide a worksheet with the problems already on it instead of having the student copy the problems.
ix. Allow students to use paper or writing instruments of different colors.
x. Allow the student to use the writing instrument that is most comfortable for them.
xi. Develop cooperative writing projects where different students can take on roles such as the 'brainstormer,' 'organizer of information,' 'writer,' 'proofreader,' and 'illustrator.'
xii. Build handwriting instruction into the student's schedule. The details and degree of independence will depend on the student's age and attitude, but many students would like to have better handwriting.
xiii. Keep in mind that handwriting habits are entrenched early.
xiv. Reinforce the positive aspects of student's efforts.
xv. Be patient and encourage student to be patient with himself.
4.6.3 General Approaches for Children with Learning Disabilities
Instructional strategies for students with learning disabilities must be tailored to students' specific strengths and weaknesses. Nevertheless, several strategies should benefit many of these students:
i. Minimize distractions. Because many students with learning disabilities are easily distracted, we should minimize the presence of other stimuli that might compete for their attention. For example, we might pull down window shades if other classes are working or playing outside, and we might ask students to keep their desks clear of objects and materials they don't immediately need.
ii. Present new information in an explicit and well-organized manner. Most students with learning disabilities learn more successfully when instruction directly communicates what they need to learn, rather than requiring them to draw inferences and synthesize ideas on their own. Frequent and carefully structured practice of important skills is also critical
iii. Use multiple modalities to present information. Because some students with learning disabilitieshavetroublelearningthrough a particularsensorymodality,weneedto think broadly about the modalities we use to communicate information. For example, when teaching students to recognize alphabet letters, we might have them not only look at the letters but also trace large, textured letter shapes with their fingers. In lectures to secondary students, we might incorporate videos, graphics, and other visual materials, and we might encourage students to audiotape the lectures.
iv. Teach study skills and learning strategies. Many students with learning disabilities benefit from being taught specific strategies for completing assignments and remembering classroom subject matter . For example, we might teach them concrete strategies for taking notes and organizing homework assignments. And we might teach them specific mnemonics, or memory tricks, to help them remember particular facts.
v. Providestudyaids. Students withlearningdisabilitiesoftenstudymoreeffectivelywhen they are given scaffolding (assistance) to guide their efforts. For instance, we might provide study guides, outlines, or graphics that help students identify and interconnect important concepts and ideas. We might also let students copy (or receive a photocopy of) the class notes of high-achieving classmates.
4.7 Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
This is characterized by developmentally inappropriate levels of activity, concentration, distractibility and impulsivity. It is assumed to have a neurobiological basis. Children with ADHD typically have significant and chronic deficits as reflected in the following identification criteria:
i. Inattention. Students may have considerable difficulty focusing and maintaining attention on assigned tasks. They may have trouble listening to and following directions, make frequent and careless mistakes, or be easily distracted by appealing alternative activities.
ii. Hyperactivity. Students may seem to have an excess amount of energy. They are apt to be fidgety, move around the classroom at inappropriate times, or have trouble working or playing quietly.
iii. Impulsivity. Students have trouble inhibiting inappropriate behaviors. They may blurt out answers, begin assignments prematurely, or engage in risky or destructive behaviors without thinking about potential consequences. A child having problems with inattention often:
iv. Fails to give close attention to details or makes careless mistakes in school work, or other activities
v. Has difficulty sustaining attention tasks or play activity
vi. Does not seem to listen when spoken to directly
vii. Does not follow instructions and fail to finish school work, chores, or routines
viii. Has difficulty organizing tasks or activities
ix. Avoids, dislikes or is reluctant to engage in tasks that require sustained mental effort (such as homework)
x. Loses things necessary for tasks or activities
xi. Is forgetful in daily activities
A child with problems in impulse control often:
i. Has difficulty awaiting his or her turn
ii. Interrupts or intrudes on others (e.g. butts into conversations or games)
iii. Blurts out answers before questions have been completed
A child experiencing hyperactivity often:
i. Fidgets with hands or feet or squirms in seat
ii. Leaves seat in classroom or other situations in which remaining seated is expected.
iii. Runs about or climbs excessively in situations in which it is inappropriate.
iv. Has difficulty in engaging in leisure activities quietly
v. Talks excessively
vi. Acts as if “driven by a motor” and cannot remain still vii. Inability to cooperate with others
4.7.1 Common Characteristics
In addition to inattentiveness, hyperactivity, and impulsivity, students identified as having ADHD may have characteristics such as:
• Exceptional imagination and creativity
• Exceptionally detailed memories of past events
• Certain specific cognitive processing difficulties and low school achievement Poor sense of self
• Classroom behavior problems (e.g., disruptiveness, noncompliance with rules) Poor social skills; sometimes outright rejection by peers
• Increased probability of substance abuse in adolescence
• The child may outgrow these difficulties with time
• ADHD is assumed to have a biological and sometimes genetic origin. But once identified as having ADHD, many students can be helped through behaviorist techniques and remediation of cognitive difficulties. For students with ADHD medication is also helpful Some students with ADHD may also have a learning disability or an emotional or behavioral disorder, whereas others may be gifted. The symptoms associated with ADHD may diminish in adolescence, but to some degree they persist throughout the school years, making it difficult for students to handle the increasing demands for independence and responsible behavior that come in high school. Accordingly, students with ADHD are at greater than average risk for dropping out of school
4.7.1 Adapting Instruction
The strategies previously listed for students with learning disabilities can be helpful for students with ADHD as well. Researchers and practitioners have offered several additional suggestions:
i. Modify students' schedules and work environments. The symptoms of ADHD tend to get progressively worse as the day goes on. Ideally, students should have most academic subjects and challenging tasks in the morning rather than in the afternoon. Furthermore, moving students' desks away from distractions (e.g., away from the door and window but not too close to classmates) and close to the teacher, where behavior can be monitored, can enhance their attention and achievement.
ii. Teach attention-maintaining strategies. Students with ADHD often benefit from learning concrete strategies for keeping their attention on an assigned task . For instance, we can ask them to keep their eyes on us when we're giving directions or providing new information. And we can encourage them to move to a new location if their current one presents too many distracting sights or sounds.
iii. Provide outlets for excess energy. To help students control excess energy, we should intersperse quiet academic work with frequent opportunities for physical exercise. We might also give students a settling-in time after recess or lunch-perhaps reading an excerpt from a high interest story book or magazine article-before asking them to engage in an activity that involves quiet concentration.
iv. Help students organize and use their time effectively. Because of their inattentiveness and hyperactivity, students with ADHD often have difficulty completing daily classroom tasks. Several strategies can help these students organize themselves and use class time more effectively. We can show them how to create to-do lists and establish a dailyroutine that they post on their desks. We can also break large tasks into smaller ones and set a
short time limit for each subtask. And we can provide a folder in which students transport homework assignments to and from school.
4.7.2 Speech and Communication Disorders
Speech and communication disorders are impairments in spoken language or language comprehension that significantly interfere with students' classroom performance. Examples include persistent articulation problems (e.g., we saw a big bolt rit in frot of us, weclied up the pleygonds etc.), stuttering, abnormal syntactical patterns, and difficulty understanding other people's speech. Sometimes, but not always, these children have difficulty perceiving and mentally processing particular aspects of spoken language. And often-but again, not always-the source of the disorders can be traced to heredity or specific brain abnormalities.
The great majority of students with speech and communication disorders are in general education classrooms for most or all of the school day. Some of these students have other disabilities as well, but many are in all other respects, just typical students.
4.7.3 Common Characteristics
Several characteristics are sometimes, although not always, observed in students with speech and communication disorders:
• Reluctance to speak
• Embarrassment and self-consciousness when speaking
• Difficulties in reading and writing.
4.7.4 Adapting Instruction
Typically, atrainedspecialist will workwith students to help themimproveorovercometheir speech and communication difficulties. Nevertheless, general education teachers can assist in several ways:
i Encourage regular oral communication. Students with speech and communication disorders need as much practice in classroom-based public speaking as their class mates do. Thus, we should encourage them to talk in class, provided that doing so does not create exceptional stress
ii Listen patiently. When students have trouble expressing themselves, we might be tempted to assist them - for instance, byfinishingtheir sentences for them. But we better help them when we allow them to complete their own thoughts. We must learn to listen politely and attentively to students with speech problems, and we must encourage their peers to do likewise.
iii Ask for clarification when a message is unclear: When we haven't entirely understood what a student is saying, we should explain what we did understand and ask for clarification of the rest. Providing honest feedback helps students learn how well they are communicating.
Other general strategies that a teacher can apply to many students with specific cognitive or academic difficulties include the following:
i. Get an early start on appropriate interventions. When students lack basic concepts and skills on which their future learning will depend, providing intensive instruction to fill in the gaps-and the earlier, the better-can often make a significant difference in their longterm achievement
ii. Take skill levels into account when assigning reading materials. Despite receiving intensive reading instruction, many students with specific cognitive or academic difficulties will continue to have poor reading skills. Thus, we may sometimes need to identify alternatives to standard grade-level textbooks for presenting academic content. For instance, we might reduce the amount of required reading, substitute materials written on a simpler (yet not babyish) level, or present information through some medium other than written text.
iii. Clearly describe expectations for academic performance. Students will have an easier time accomplishing classroom tasks if they are told in concrete and precise terms, what is expected of them. For example, before students begin a science lab activity, we might first remind them to carefully follow the steps described on the lab sheet, then review safety precautions, and finally provide a written list of components they should be sure to include in their lab reports.
iv. Take steps to enhance self-confidence and motivation. Students with a long history of failure at academic tasks need to see that they are making progress and that they do some things very well. For instance, we can give them daily or weekly goals we know they can attain. We can also have them keep journals in which they describe the successes they have achieved each day. And we can give them opportunities to do tasks
4.8 Emotional and Behavioral Disorders
Students with emotional and behavioral disorders become identified as students with special needs-and therefore qualify for special educational services-when their problems have a substantial negative impact on classroom learning. Symptoms of emotional and behavioral disorders typically fall into one of two broad categories.
Externalizing behaviors have direct or indirect effects on other people; examples include aggression, defiance, lying, stealing, and general lack of self-control.
Internalizing behaviors primarily affect the student with the disorder; examples include severe anxiety or depression, exaggerated mood swings, withdrawal from social interaction, and eating disorders. Students with externalizing behaviors-who are more apt to be boys than girls-are more likely to be referred for evaluation and possible special services. However, students with internalizing behaviors-who are more likely to be girls than boys can be just as much at risk for school failure.
Some emotional and behavioral disorders result from environmental factors, such as stressful living conditions, child maltreatment, or family alcohol or drug abuse. But biological causes-
such as inherited predispositions, chemical imbalances, and brain injuries may also be involved. Some students with a genetic predisposition for an emotional or behavioral disorder exhibit few, if any, signs of a problem until adolescence.
Factors at school may exacerbate the challenges that students with emotional and behavioral problems face. Their inappropriate behaviors interfere not only with academic achievement but also with peer relationships, leading to social as well as academic failure. Many students, especially those with externalizing behaviors, eventually seek the companionship of the few peers who will accept them - peers who typically behave in similarly inappropriate ways and may introduce one another to drugs, alcohol, or criminal activity
4.8.1
Common Characteristics
Students with emotional and behavioral disorders differ considerably in their abilities and personalities. However, in addition to the difficulty in maintaining healthy peer relationships just mentioned, you may observe one or more of the following characteristics:
i. Frequent absences from school
ii. Deteriorating academic performance with increasing age
iii. Low self-esteem
iv. Little, if any, empathy for others' distress
v. Significant substance abuse
vi. Lack of awareness of the severity of existing problems
vii.Hyperactivity (short attention span, impulsiveness)
viii. Aggression/self-injurious behaviour (acting out, fighting)
ix. Withdrawal ( failure to initiate interaction with others, retreat from exchanges or social interaction, excessive fear or anxiety)
x. Immaturity ( inappropriate crying, temper tantrums, poor coping skills)
xi. Learning difficulties ( academically performing below grade level)
Some students with emotional and behavioral disorders have other special needs as well, including learning disabilities, ADHD, or giftedness.
4.8.2
Adapting Instruction
Effective interventions must be tailored to each student's unique needs, but several strategies can benefit many of these students:
1. Show an interest in students' well-being and personal growth. A good first step in helping students with emotional and behavioral disorders is simply showing that we care about them. For instance, we can greet them warmly when we see them, express concern when they seem upset or overly stressed, and lend a supportive ear when they want to share their opinions or frustrations. Also, when appropriate, we can reveal aspects of our own lives, thereby
communicating that self disclosure can sometimes be cathartic and therapeutic. And we can take students' personal interests into account when planning instruction and assignments.
2. Give students a sense that theyhave some control over their circumstances. Some students, especially those who are frequently defiant, often respond to efforts to control them by behaving even less appropriately. With such students, it's important to avoid power struggles, situations in which only one person wins and the other inevitably loses. Instead, we must create situations in which we ensure that students conform to classroom expectations yet feel as if they have some control over what happens to them. For example, we can teach them techniques for observing and monitoring their own actions, with the goal of developing more productive classroom behavior. We can also give them choices, within reasonable limits, about what they want to do in particular situations.
3. Be alert for signs that a student maybe contemplating suicide. In the United States, suicide is the third leading cause of death for adolescents. Warning signs include the following:
i. Sudden withdrawal from social relationships
ii. Increasing disregard for personal appearance
iii. Dramatic personality change (e.g., sudden elevation in mood)
iv. Preoccupation with death and morbid themes
v. Overt or veiled threats (e.g., "I won't be around much longer")
vi. Actions that indicate putting one's affairs in order (e.g., giving away prized possessions)
Other intervention strategies include:
i. Modifying learning tasks to ensure success
ii. Developing learning strategies
iii. Providing clear and consistent expectations with resulting rewards and consequences
iv. Involving students in goal-setting and self-evaluation
v. Giving frequent feedback on performance
vi. Using cooperative learning and peer tutoring to structure peer interaction
vii.Teaching social-problem solving skills
viii. Direct teaching pro-social communication skills
4.9 Intellectual Disabilities
The term mental retardation has been used to refer to students who show consistent developmental delay across most domains. In recent years, however, many special educators have instead advocated for the term intellectual disability. Students with intellectual disabilities show pronounced delays in most aspects of cognitive and social development.
4.9.1
Levels of Mental Retardation
Mental retardation varies in severity. There are four different degrees of mental retardation: mild, moderate, severe, and profound. These categories are based on the functioning level of the individual. Individuals with mental retardation are typically sub classified in terms of the manifest severity of cognitive disability as reflected by the ratio of mental age to chronological
age, or intelligence quotient (IQ). Sub average intellectual functioning is defined as an IQ score of at least two standard deviations below the mean, or approximately 70 to 75 or below. Mild, moderate, severe, and profound degrees of mental retardation refer to below the normal IQ for the general population.
Class IQ
Profound mental retardation
Below 20
Severe mental retardation 20–34
Moderate mental retardation 35-49
Mild mental retardation 50–69
Borderline intellectual functioning 70–84
4.9.2 Mild Mental Retardation:
Approximately 85 percent of the mentally retarded population is in the mildly retarded category. Their IQ score ranges from 50 to 75, and they can often acquire academic skills up to the sixth grade level. They can become fairly self-sufficient and in some cases live independently, with community and social support.
4.9.3 Moderate Mental Retardation:
About 10 percent of the mentally retarded population is considered moderately retarded. Moderately retarded individuals have IQ scores ranging from 35 to 55. They can carry out work and self-care tasks with moderate supervision. They typically acquire communication skills in childhood and are able to live and function successfully within the community in a supervised environment such as a group home.
4.9.4 Severe Mental Retardation: About 3 to 4 percent of the mentally retarded population is severely retarded. Severely retarded individuals have IQ scores of 20 to 40. They may master very basic self-care skills and some communication skills. Many severely retarded individuals are able to live in a group home.
4.9.5 Profound Mental Retardation: Only 1 to 2 percent of the mentally retarded population is classified as profoundly retarded. Profoundly retarded individuals have IQ scores under 20 to 25. They may be able to develop basic self-care and communication skills with appropriate support and training. Their retardation is often caused by an accompanying neurological disorder. The profoundly retarded need a high level of structure and supervision.
More specifically, children with mental disability exhibit both of the following characteristics
• Significantly below-average general intelligence. These students have intelligence test scores that are quite low-usually no higher than 70, reflecting performance in the bottom
2% of their age-group. In addition, these students learn slowlyand show consistentlypoor achievement in virtually all academic subject areas.
• Deficits in adaptive behavior. These students behave in ways that we would expect of much younger children. Their deficits in adaptive behavior include limitations in practical intelligence - that is, managing the ordinary activities of daily living-and social intelligence - that is, conducting themselves appropriately in social situations.
These characteristics must be evident in childhood. Thus, a person who showed them beginning at age 18, perhaps as the result of a serious head injury, would not be classified as having an intellectual disability.
Intellectual disabilities are often caused by genetic conditions. For example, most children with Down syndrome have delayed cognitive and social development. Other cases of intellectual disabilities are due to biological but non inherited causes, such as severe malnutrition or excessive alcohol consumption during the mother's pregnancy or oxygen deprivation during a difficult birth. In still other situations, environmental factors, such as parental neglect or an extremely impoverished and un-stimulating home environment may be at fault.
4.9.6
Common Characteristics
Most students with intellectual disabilities attend general education classes for part or all of the school day. Like students in any category of special needs, these students have differing personalities, strengths, and needs. Nevertheless, many of them are likely to exhibit characteristics such as the following:
i Sociability and a genuine desire to belong and fit in at school
ii Less general knowledge about the world
iii Poor reading and language skills
iv Short attention span
v Poor memory; few or no effective learning and memory strategies
vi Difficulty drawing inferences and understanding abstract ideas
vii Difficulty generalizing something learned in one situation to a new situation Immature play behaviors and interpersonal skills
viiiDelayed motor skills; conditions that adversely affect performance in physical activities (e.g., heart defects, poor muscle tone)
4.9.7
Adapting Instruction
With proper support, many students with mild intellectual disabilities can learn basic skills in reading, writing, and mathematics, perhaps even mastering components of a typical fifth - or Sixth-grade curriculum. Several strategies to use with students with intellectual disabilities include the following:
i Face instruction slowly enough to ensure success. When working with students who have intellectual disabilities, we should move through new topics and tasks slowly enough - and with enough repetition - that students can eventually master them. Students with intellectual disabilities typically have a long history of failure at academictasks.Thus,theyneedfrequentsuccessfulexperiencestolearnthat,withhard work, they can succeed at many tasks
ii Provide considerable scaffolding (support) to promote effective cognitive processing and desired behaviors. Because students with intellectual disabilities often have little awareness of how best to learn and remember new information, it can be helpful to provide detailed suggestions about what they can do to remember things - repeating instructions to themselves, practicing a new spelling word several times everyday, and so on. We can provide simple study guides that tell students specifically what to focus on as they study. We should also be quite explicit in our directions to perform various tasks.
iii Include vocational and general life skills in the curriculum. For most students with intellectual disabilities, training in general life and work skills is an important part of the high school curriculum. Such training is most likely to be effective when it takes place in realistic settings that closely resemble those in which students will find themselves once they leave school.
iv Encouragement in small success - The greatest factor for the success of the life of the child is his encouragement. We should tryto find out the strengths and weakness of the child. Emphasize on their strength to experience success. Teachers sometimes give importance to the good children and neglect the weaker in the class. Encouragement can change the whole personality of a child.
v Fixing the goal & Prescribing a Time table - The child should be persuaded to make a time table for the study purpose. Sometimes some children have no goal regarding study. The teacher should observe those children & inspire them to fix the goal for the life & help him to make a time table for every day work so that the child will be captured through the time table to do the things at write time.
vi Giving Memory tips - More often the child forgets whatever he learns. That‘s why he loses his confidence on him & differentiates between him & the good students.
vii Activities should be divided into manageable parts and carefully sequenced to offer a progression of skills.
viii Repetition of important tasks may also facilitate learning.
ix Explain required learning tasks in terms of concrete concepts.
x Stress real life applications.
xi Plan activities that are age appropriate.
xii Plan activities that require skills useful in community living, job training, etc.
xiii Try to ensure that the challenges of an activity correspond with the skills of the participants
xiv When possible start an activity at the participant‘s current skill level rather than the lowest possible level.
xv Small group and cooperative activities mayfacilitate social development for those with deficiencies in adaptive behavior.
4.10 Students with Physical or Sensory Challenges
Some students with special needs have obvious physical disabilities caused by medically detectable physiological conditions. These include physical and health impairments, visual impairments, and hearing loss. The great majority of these students attend general education classrooms for part or all of the school day. A small subset have severe and multiple disabilities that require significant adaptations and highly specialized services; such students are typically accompanied by child-specific teacher aides or other specialists when they are in general education classrooms.
4.10.1 Physical and Health Impairments
Physical and health impairments are general physical or medical conditions (usually long term) that interfere with school performance to such a degree that special instruction, curricular materials, equipment, or facilities are necessary. Students in this category may have limited energy and strength, reduced mental alertness, or little muscle control. Examples of conditions that might qualify students for special services are traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, asthma, cancer, and acquired immune deficiency disorder (AIDS).
4.10.2
Common Characteristics
It's hard to generalize about students with physical and health impairments because their conditions are verydifferent from one another. Nevertheless, several common characteristics are noteworthy:
i Low stamina and a tendency to tire easily
ii Varying degrees of intellectual functioning (many of these students have learning ability similar to that of nondisabled peers)
iii Lower levels of academic achievement as a result of frequent school absences
iv Fewer opportunities to experience and interact with the outside world in educationally important ways (e.g., less use of public transportation, fewer visits to museums and zoos etc.).
v Possible low self-esteem, insecurity, or heavy dependence on adults, depending partly on how parents and others have responded to their impairments
4.10.3
Adapting Instruction
Although we won't necessarily need to modify the academic curriculum for students with physical and health impairments, certain accommodations can be made:
i. Be sensitive to specific limitations, and accommodate them flexibly. One student may require extra time with a writing assignment and perhaps should not be held to the same standardsof neatness and legibility. Anothermayneed to respond to test questions orally, rather than on paper. Still another may tire easily and need to take frequent breaks.
ii. Know what to do in emergencies. A student with acute asthma may have trouble breathing. A student with diabetes may go into insulin shock. A student with epilepsy
may have a grand mal seizure (serious form of epilepsy with loss of consciousness). We should consult with school medical personnel ahead of time so that we are prepared to respond appropriately in such life - and health -threatening situations.
iii. If students and parents give permission, educate classmates about the nature of students' disabilities. Many children treat peers with physical disabilities kindly and respectfully, but some others do not. Sometimes, peers are simply ignorant about the nature of a disability, and givingthem accurate information can help them become more tolerant and accepting. For example, students can be made to understand the mode of HIV/AIDS transmission.
4.11 Visual Impairments
Students with visual impairments have malfunctions of their eyes or optic nerves that prevent normal vision even with corrective lenses, adversely affecting classroom performance. Some students are totally blind, others see only fuzzy patterns of light and dark, and still others have a restricted visual field (tunnel vision) that allows them to see only a very small area at a time. Visual impairments are caused by congenital abnormalities in or later damage to either the eye or the visual pathway to the brain.
4.11.1
Common Characteristics
Students with visual impairments are apt to have many or all of these characteristics:
• Normal functioning of other senses (hearing, touch, etc.)
• General learning ability similar to that of nondisabled students
• More limited vocabulary and general world knowledge, in part, because of fewer opportunities to experience the outside world in educationally important ways (e.g., less exposure to maps, films, and other visual materials)
• Delayed motor development; reduced capability to imitate others' behaviors
• Inability to observe other people's body language and other nonverbal cues, leading to occasional misunderstanding of others' messages
Uncertainty and anxiety (especially in chaotic environments, such as the lunchroom or playground) as a result of having no visual knowledge ongoing events
• In the primary grades, less knowledge about the conventions of written language (direction of print, punctuation, etc.)
4.11.2
Adapting Instruction
Specialists typically give students training in Braille, orientation and mobility, and specially adapted computer technology. In addition, several strategies can help students with visual impairments succeed in a general education classroom:
• Orient students ahead of time to the physical layout of the classroom. Students should have a chance to explore the classroom before other students arrive - ideally, before the first day of class. At that time, we can help students locale important objects (e.g.,
wastebasket and pencil sharpener) and point out special sounds (e.g., the buzzing of a wall clock) to help students get their bearing.
• Use visual materials with sharp contrast. Some students with partial sight can use visual materials with clearly distinguishable features, such as enlarged documents on computer screens and large-print books available at most public libraries. Students' eyes may tire quickly, however, so we should limit use of visual materials to short time periods.
• Depend heavily on other modalities. Print-reading computer software and portable print reading devices easily translate most printed language into speech to which students can listen. Many novels, school textbooks, and published curriculum materials are available in Braille, and school district employees or parent volunteers can sometimes be enlisted to convert other written materials into Braille. We can also conduct hands on activities involving objects that students can feel and manipulate. For example, we might use plastic relief maps that portray mountains, valleys, and coastlines in three dimensions, perhaps embellishing them with pin pricks to indicate country borders and small dabs of nail polish to indicate major cities.
• Allow extra time for learning and performance. Learning by hearing often takes more time than learning by seeing. When students look at something, they can perceive a great deal of information all at once and can easily see how certain things are connected (e.g., a cat and the sound it makes). When they must listen to it, however, they receive it sequentially-only one piece at a time-and often without obvious interconnections.
4.12 Hearing Loss
Students with hearing loss have a malfunction of the ears or associated nerves that interferes with the perception of sounds within the frequencyrange of normal human speech. Students who are completely deaf have insufficient sensation to understand any spoken language, even with the help of a hearing aid. Students who are hard of hearing understand some speech but experience exceptional difficulty in doing so.
4.12.1 Common Characteristics
Most students with hearing have characteristics such as these:
• Delayed language development because of reduced exposure to spoken language, especially if the impairment was present at birth or occurred early in life.
• Proficiency in sign language, such as American Sign Language (CASL) or finger spelling
• Some ability to read lips (speech reading)
• Less oral language than hearing classmates have (e.g., monotonous)
• Less developed reading skills, especially if language development has been delayed
• Less general world knowledge because of reduced exposure to spoken language
• Some social isolation, more limited social skills, and reduced perspective-taking ability as a result of a reduced ability to communicate.
4.12.2 Adapting Instruction
SpecialiststypicallyprovidetraininginsuchcommunicationskillsasAmericanSignLanguage, finger spelling, and speech reading. The regular school curriculum is appropriate for most students with hearing loss if remedial instruction is provided. However, several accommodations can facilitate students' success in general education classrooms:
i Minimize irrelevant noise. Even when students can benefit from the use of hearing aids, what they hear is often diminished or distorted; consequently, it's helpful to minimize potentially distracting sounds. For example, carpeting and bulletin boards can absorb some extraneous noise, and fans and pencil sharpeners should be located as far away as possible.
ii Supplement auditory presentations with visual information and hands-on experiences. Write important points on the chalkboard, illustrate key ideas with pictures, provide reading materials that duplicate lectures, and ask an aide or student volunteer to take notes on in-class discussions. We can also provide speech-to-text software, which enables students to translate spoken words into written language with reasonable accuracy. And we can use concrete activities (e.g., role playing) to make abstract ideas more understandable.
iii Communicate in ways that help students hear and speech read. Students who are hard of hearing are most likely to understand us when we speak in a normal tone of voice (not overly loud) and pronounce words distinctly but otherwise normally. To help students speech read, we should speak only while facing them and never while sitting in a dark corner or standing in front of a window etc.
iv Teach Sign Language and finger spelling to other class members. To facilitate communication with students who have hearing loss, other class members (students and teachers alike) should gain some competence in Sign Language and finger spelling.
4.12.3
General Recommendations
In addition to the strategies identified for specific physical disabilities, several more general strategies are useful with all students who have physical or sensory challenges:
i Ensure that all students have access to important educational resources and opportunities. Such access mayinvolvemodifyinginstructional materials (e.g.,obtaining large-print copies of textbooks), modifying a classroom's physical arrangement (e.g., widening aisles and placing bulletin board displays at eye level to accommodate students in wheelchairs), or making special arrangements that enable students to participate in field trips or sports activities.
ii Provide assistance only when students really need it. Out of eagerness to help students with physical and sensory challenges, many adults inadvertently perform tasks and solve problems that these students are perfectly capable of handling on their own. Yet one of our goals for these students should be to promote their independence, not their dependence on others.
iii Use technology to facilitate learning and performance. Such include print-reading software and speech-to-text software for students with sensory challenges. In addition, some computer printers can create Braille documents, enabling students with visual impairments to read their own class notes and compositions. Specially adapted voice recognition systems can supplement or replace computer keyboards for students with limited muscle control. And machines known as augmentative communication devices provide synthesized speech for students incapable of producing normal speech.
4.13.
Students with Advanced Cognitive Development
Many students are likely to have advanced abilities, either in specific subject areas or across the curriculum, that warrant our attention and encouragement. Some students especially those who are gifted are so far above the norm that special educational service are often appropriate.
4.13.1
Giftedness
In general, giftedness is unusually high ability or aptitude in one or more areas (e.g, in math, science, creative writing, art, or music) to such a degree that special educational services are necessary to help the student meet his or her full potential. In most instances, giftedness is probably the result of both a genetic predisposition and environmental nurturing. In some cases, however, special gifts and talents are largely the result of intensive practice and mentoring.
4.13.2
Common Characteristics
Students who are gifted vary considerably in their unique strengths and talents, and those who show exceptional talent in one area may have only average ability in another.
Nevertheless, many students who are gifted have characteristics such as the following:
• Advanced vocabulary, language, and reading skills
• Extensive general knowledge about the world
• Ability to learn more quickly, easily, and independently than peers
• Advanced and efficient cognitive processes and learning strategies
• Considerable flexibility in ideas and approaches to tasks
• High standards for performance (sometimes to the point of unhealthy perfectionism)
• High motivation to accomplish challenging tasks; boredom during easy tasks
• Positive self-concept, especially with regard to academic endeavors
• Above-average social development and emotional adjustment (although a few extremely gifted students may have difficulties because they are so very different from their peers)
Students can be gifted yet also have one or more disabilities, for instance, a learning disability or an emotional or behavioral disorder. In planning instruction for such students, we must address their disabilities as well as their unique gifts.
4.13.3
Adapting Instruction
i We should not limit gifted students to the assignments we give other students. In fact, manystudents with special gifts and talents become bored or frustrated when their school experiences don't provide tasks and assignments that challenge them and help them develop their unique abilities. Following are several suggestions for teaching students with unique gifts and talents:
ii Provide individualized tasks and assignments. Different students need special services in very different areas, for example, in math, creative writing, or studio art. Some students who are gifted, especially those with only a limited background in English, may even need training in certain basic skills.
iii Form study groups of students with similar interests and abilities. In some cases, a study group might explore a topic with greater depth and more sophisticated analysis than other students (an enrichment approach). In other instances, a study group might simply move through the standard school curriculum at a more rapid pace (an acceleration approach). Students benefit both academically and socially from increased contact with peers who have similar interests and talents.
iv Teach complex cognitive skills within the context of specific subject areas. Programs that teach complex thinking processes (e.g., creativity, critical thinking) separatelyfrom school subject matter tend to have minimal impact on students' cognitive development. A more effective approach is to teach complex thinking skills within the context of specific topics, for example, creativity in writing or reasoning and problem-solving skills in science
v Provide opportunities for independent study. Because many students who are gifted are highly motivated and learn effectively on their own, independent study or service learning projects in areas of interest may be quite appropriate. If we provide such opportunities, we must be sure students have the work habits, study strategies, and research skills they need to use their time and resources effectively.
vi Seek outside resources. When students have high abilities in domains outside our own areas of expertise, it is often helpful to identify suitable mentors elsewhere like in the community at large - perhaps at a local university, government office, private business, or volunteer community group.
4.13.4 Working with Students who have Special Needs
General recommendations:
i. Be flexible in approaches to instruction. Even when students dearly fall within a particular category of special needs, we can't always predict which instructional methods will be most effective for each of them. If we don't succeed with a particular approach, we should try again, but we might also want to be differently.
ii. Unless there is reason to do otherwise, hold the same expectations for students with disabilities as for other students. Sometimes, having a disability may make it difficult or impossible for students to accomplish certain school tasks, and we will have to modify our expectations and assessment practices accordingly. Aside from such situations,
however, we should generallyhave the same expectations for students with special needs that we have for other students. Rather than think of reasons that a student can’t do something, we should think about how we can help the student do it.
iii. Identifyand teach the prerequisite knowledge and skills students maynot have acquired because of their disabilities. As either a direct or indirect result of certain disabilities, some students lack the knowledge and skills essential for their school success. For instance, students with visual impairments have not been able to observe many of the cause-and-effect relationships that form a foundation for learning science - such as the changes in the appearance of wood when it's burned. And students whose medical conditions have limited their contact with other children may have poorly developed interpersonal skills.
iv. Consult and collaborate with specialists. Such include special educators, counselors, nurses, speech pathologists, and physical and occupational therapists. Some students can leave the classroom for part of the day to work with these individuals.
v. Communicate regularly with parents. Parents are part of the multidisciplinary team that determines the most appropriate program for a student with special needs. Parents can often tell us what works and what does not, and they can alert us to certain conditions or events at home that may trigger problem behaviors in class. Furthermore, we can bring about desired behavioral changes more effectively if the same expectations for behavior exist both at school and at home.
vi. Include students in planning and decision making. Educators recognize the importance of letting all students make some choices about their academic goals and curriculum. Students' decision making can ultimately promote greater self regulation and a greater sense of self determination.
vii.Keep your eyes open for students who may qualify for special services. Although specialists usually conduct the in-depth assessments necessary to identify particular special needs, the job of referring students for such assessments, and thereby gaining them access to the specialized services they may need is ultimately up to teachers in general education classrooms.
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