Federal Definition of the Disability – Major Components, Including Incidence and etiology
A learning disability is a neurological disorder. In simple terms, a learning disability results from a difference in the way a person's brain is "wired." A learning disability can't be cured or fixed; it is a lifelong issue. Children with learning disabilities are as smart as or smarter than their peers. But they may have difficulty reading, writing, spelling, reasoning, recalling and/or organizing information if left to figure things out by themselves or if taught in conventional ways. “Fifteen percent of the U.S. population, or one in seven Americans, has some type of learning disability”, according to the National Institutes of Health. Difficulty with basic reading and language skills are the most common learning disabilities. As many as 80% of students with learning disabilities have reading problems. Statistics compiled by the federal government suggest that approximately 2.71 million pupils ages 6-21 are identified as learning disabilities. “Scientists have been unable to offer much in the way of concrete evidence as to the etiology of learning disabilities. Investigators posit four basic categories for explaining the etiology of learning disabilities: 1. Acquired trauma 2. Genetic/hereditary influences 3. Biochemical abnormalities 4. Environmental possibilities.
Brittani Edgerton
Typical Physical Characteristics of the Disability
Health Issues
Visual perception, fine motor skills: eye –hand coordination, gross motor skills: walking, kicking, sitting upright, lifting, throwing a ball; dealing with muscle tone and strength.
N.Tucker
Typical Learning Characteristics and/or Effects Of The Disability On Development And Learning
Since learning disabilities represent such a wide range of students, there is no such thing as a "typical" person with learning disabilities. However, the primary characteristic of a learning disability is a deficit in academic performance. Other attributes can include cognitive difficulties, problems with motor skills, social deficits, hyperactivity, coordination problems, disorders of attention, impulsivity and language deficits. - Eric White
Common Communication and/or Behavior Issues & Needs
Katie Moore
Hyperactivity, Perceptual – Motor Impairments, Emotional Liability, Coordination Problems, Disorders of Attention, Impulsivity, Disorders of Attention, Impulsivity, Disorders of Memory and Thinking, Academic Difficulties, Language Deficits, Equivocal Neurological Signs, Disorders of Attention, Poor Motor Abilities, Psychological Process Deficits and Information-Processing Problems, Lack of Cognitive Strategies Needed for Efficient Learning, Oral Language Difficulties, Written Language Problems Quantitative Disorders, Social Skills Defects
Federal Definition of the Disability – Major Components, Including Incidence and etiology
Emotionally disturbed, behaviorally disordered, emotionally conflicted, socially handicapped, personally impaired, socially impaired, and many others.
The term means a condition exhibiting one or more of the following characteristics over a long period of time and to a marked degree that adversely affects a child’s educational performance:
-An inability to learn that cannot be explained by intellectual, sensory, or health factors
-An inability to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships with peers and teachers
-Inappropriate types of behavior or feelings under normal circumstances
-A general pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression
-Tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears associated with personal or school problems
(Michelle Cooksey)
Typical Physical Characteristics of the Disability
Health Issues
“The IEP team may identify a child as having an emotional behavioral disability if the child meets the definition under par. (a), and meets all of the following:
1. The child demonstrates severe, chronic and frequent behavior that is not the result of situational anxiety, stress or conflict.
2. The child’s behavior described under par. (a) occurs in school and in at least one other setting.
3. The child displays any of the following:
a. Inability to develop or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships.
b. Inappropriate affective or behavior response to a normal situation.
c. Pervasive unhappiness, depression or anxiety.
d. Physical symptoms, pains or fears associated with personal or school problems.
e. Inability to learn that cannot be explained by intellectual, sensory or health factors.
f. Extreme withdrawal from social interactions.
g. Extreme aggressiveness for a long period of time."
(Ashley Stanton)
Typical Learning Characteristics and/or Effects Of The Disability On Development And Learning
Students with emotional/behavioral disorders tend to score in the low-average range on tests that measure intelligence. They are typically two or more years below their grade level expectations in curriculum areas such as reading, math, and spelling. These students generally have poor grades and are at grade retention. They also have a lot of absences and approximately one-half of these students will leave school before graduation. This is the highest dropout rate among individuals who have a disability. - Tracy Pinero
Common Communication and/or Behavior Issues & Needs Difficulty building and maintaining satisfactory relationships with peers and adults. May be particularly aggressive and hostile towards others, whereas others may appear withdrawn and socially isolated. Acting out, exhibit aggressive behaviors, also debilitating disorders as schizophrenia, depression, anxiety and conduct disorders.
Brittani Edgerton
Teaching in Today’s Inclusive Classrooms by Richard M. Gargiulo and Debbie Metcalf - Tracy Pinero
Deaf/Hard of Hearing
Federal Definition of the Disability – Major Components, Including Incidence and etiology
“Hearing impairment that is so severe that the child is impaired in processing linguistic information through hearing, with or without amplification that adversely effects a child’s educational performance.” Federal Register,2006)So by the definition a person that is deaf or hard of hearing cannot understand speech. According to the department of education(2008) there were 72,600 students that were defined as having an hearing impairment which represents 1.2% of all students with disabilities. N.Tucker
Typical Physical Characteristics of the Disability
Health Issues
Students who are deaf or/hard of hearing may have recurring ear infections, may wear hearing aids, may move about the class to get closer to the sound source, or may be physically uncoordinated in some activities. - Eric White
Typical Learning Characteristics and/or Effects Of The Disability On Development And Learning
Katie Moore
“Findings suggest that intellectual development for people with a hearing impairment is more a function of language development than cognitive ability.” “Low achievement is characteristic of students who are deaf (Geers, 2006); they average three to four years below their age-appropriate grade levels. Even students with mild to moderate hearing losses achieve below expectations based on their performance on tests of cognitive abilities (Williams & Finnegan, 2003).” Indicators of Possible Hearing Impairment in Children Daydreaming or frequently inattentive
Impaired speech
Limited Vocabulary
Lethargic – complains of always being tired
Often turns head to favored side
Mouth breathing
Difficulty following verbal commands or directions
Nonresponsive to environmental sounds
Complains of earaches, ringing noises in the ear
Recurring ear infections
Inappropriate responses to verbal questions
Tugs or pulls ear(s)
Excessive volume when listening to audio devices (television, radio, portable music player)
Imitates or mimics the actions/movements of peers and classmates
Frequent requests to repeat verbal information
Difficulty hearing telephone conversation
Common Communication and/or Behavior Issues & Needs
Speech and language skills are the areas of development most severely affected for those with a hearing impairment, particularly for children who are born deaf. Social-emotional development depends, in part, on the ability to communicate with others. (Michelle Cooksey)
Federal Definition of the Disability – Major Components, Including Incidence and etiology
Legally blind is the federal definition of blindness, “An impairment in which an individual may have some light or form perception or be totally without sight. “
(Ashley Stanton)
Typical Physical Characteristics of the Disability
Health Issues
There may not necessarily be any physical characteristics for students who are blind or have a visual impairment. Some students with this disability tend to wear regular glasses, contacts, or sunglasses. They may even wear their sunglasses inside. Students with this disorder may also use a can or a seeing dog. – Tracy Pinero
Typical Learning Characteristics and/or Effects Of The Disability On Development And Learning
Academic Achievement: Learners with visual impairments often experience academic delays, incidental learning obtained from interacting with environment is severely restricted. Social/Emotional Development: negatively effects acquisition of social skills, unaware of people’s body language and nonverbal social cues. Orientation and Mobility: Typically depends on severity, use three methods: long cane, guide dogs, and human guides.
Brittani Edgerton
Common Communication and/or Behavior Issues & Needs
Issues and needs of a blind student depends on how much vision is lost and they type of impaiement. Most people that are blind go on to live very noramlly lives without needing much help from other people. Just because someone is blind does not mean this person will have a lower intellectual ability than anyone else. Socailly students that are blind are normally in isolation because these students never devlop the proper social skills due to their impairment. Some students will flap their hands or even rock their bodies. N.Tucker
References: Teaching in today’s inclusive classrooms by Richard M. Gargiulo Debbie Metcalf - Ashley stanton
Federal Definition of the Disability – Major Components, Including Incidence and etiology
Mental retardation occurs before a person is 18 and leads them to have significant sub-average intellectual functioning (IQ 70-75 or below) and limitations in at least two of 10 major activities, such as communication, self-care, and functional academics. - Eric White
Typical Physical Characteristics of the Disability
Health Issues
Katie Moore
are likely to need only intermittent to limited support;
typically do not "look" different from their non-disabled peers;
often have only mild or moderate developmental delays, except in academics, which is often the major area of deficit;
therefore, they are often not identified until they enter the school setting, where their cognitive disability is most apparent;
in Minnesota, students with mild MR spend most of the school day in the regular classroom;
they typically attain 3rd- to 6th-grade academic achievement levels by the time they finish high school;
as adults, many, though not all, with mild MR will be able to obtain independent employment;
many will marry, have children, and blend rather indistinguishably into the community; for those who achieve total independence, the label of mental retardation is no longer appropriate.
||
Typical Learning Characteristics and/or Effects Of The Disability On Development And Learning
The most defining characteristics of someone identified as mentally retarded is impaired cognitive functioning. Their lower IQ has an impact on the individuals ability to learn, acquire concepts, process information, and apply knowledge in carious settings such as school, home, and community.
(Michelle Cooksey)
Common Communication and/or Behavior Issues & Needs
Attention: inability to attend to critical or relevant features of a task, short or no attention span, has trouble ignoring distractions, Memory: “deficits in memory correlated with severity of mental retardation, limitations in ability to selectively process and store information, inefficient rehearsal strategies,”
Hard time recalling short term memory is ex recalling directions in sequence presented seconds earlier,
“long term retrieval (recalling telephone number) is similar to peers without mental retardation” Motivation: “History of and a generalized expectancy for failure – Learned Helplessness – effort is unrewarded failure is inevitable, exhibit External locus of control- belief that outcomes of behavior are the result of circumstances (fate, chance) beyond personal control rather than own efforts. “ They have a loss of confidence and rely on others Generalization: have a hard time applying knowledge or new things to a situation or setting , have a hard time using previous experience or knowledge to novel situations Language development: Same language acquisition as regular classmates but with a slower rate, there is a strong connection between intellectual ability and language development vocabulary is usually limited and their grammar and sentence structure is often impaired. Academic Development: They have difficulty is all subject areas and reading is usually the weakest, and they usually have trouble solving problems in math Social Development: they lack social concepts; they are often rejected by their peers and classmates. They also show immature behavior and have a hard time keeping and establishing friends.
(Stanton)
Federal Definition of the Disability – Major Components, Including Incidence and etiology
“Our nation's special education law, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) defines traumatic brain injury as...‘...an acquired injury to the brain caused by an external physical force, resulting in total or partial functional disability or psychosocial impairment, or both, that adversely affects a child's educational performance. The term applies to open or closed head injuries resulting in impairments in one or more areas, such as cognition; language; memory; attention; reasoning; abstract thinking; judgment; problem-solving; sensory, perceptual, and motor abilities; psycho-social behavior; physical functions; information processing; and speech. The term does not apply to brain injuries that are congenital or degenerative, or to brain injuries induced by birth trauma.’ [34 Code of Federal Regulations §300.7(c)(12)]”-Tracy Pinero
Typical Physical Characteristics of the Disability
Health Issues • Physical characteristics
– Seizures
– Spasticity or paralysis
– Poor coordination
– Physical weakness & fatigue
– Headaches
– Vision or hearing problems Brittani Edgerton
Typical Learning Characteristics and/or Effects Of The Disability On Development And Learning
These learners have a wide variety of learning characteristics. Some students experience minimal change while others have change that is more dramatic. These changes include: long term/short term memory problem, attention disorders, organization and planning difficulties, uneven academic abilities, impaired oral and written language, problem solving and abnormal reasoning deficits, perseveration. N.Tucker
Common Communication and/or Behavior Issues & Needs
Federal Definition of the Disability – Major Components, Including Incidence and etiology
Katie Moore Autism is a complex developmental disability that typically appears during the first three years of life and affects a person’s ability to communicate and interact with others. Autism is defined by a certain set of behaviors and is a "spectrum disorder" that affects individuals differently and to varying degrees. There is no known single cause for autism, but increased awareness and funding can help families today.
Typical Physical Characteristics of the Disability
Health Issues
Some unique physical characteristics of autism could be as follows: low facial muscle tone, larger eyes, impaired motor skills, which are your fine and gross motor skill,pale skin, ear flapping, and head banging. (Michelle Cooksey)
Typical Learning Characteristics and/or Effects Of The Disability On Development And Learning
Typical characteristics of autism are Intellectual/Academic functioning some of the behaviors include, poor reading comprehension, uneven academic achievement. Concentration and attention is another characteristic with behaviors of hyperactivity and short attention span. Another characteristic is Self-injurious with behaviors of banging his/her head, biting of the finger, hand or wrist and excessive rubbing or scratching. There are also Eating Abnormalities which some children will eat foods or items that are not edible. Some children have sleeping disorders with behaviors of waking up frequently throughout the night, waking up early in the morning, bed-wetting and having trouble falling asleep. Another characteristic is abnormalities of their mood or affect with behaviors of depression, giggling or weeping when there isn’t a reason, and lack of emotion. The last characteristic is sensory perception with behaviors of oversensitivity to sounds or touch, having exaggerated responses to lights or colors and hypertensive to sounds.
(Ashley Stanton)
Common Communication and/or Behavior Issues & Needs
People with autism have different speech development than others. The effects of communication vary with some common problems in the lack of eye contact, poor attention, being able to point objects to others, and difficulty with the ‘give and take’ in a regular conversation. Sometimes children may be mute throughout their lives but may have varying degrees of literacy. They sometimes will communicate in other ways such as through images, visual cues, sign language, and typing. For those who do not speak, they may use language in ways such as speaking only single words or repeating a phrase over and over again. Many people have a strong tonal sense and can understand some spoken language. Some people with autism dislike interaction and others may display slight delays in language. Some people with autism avoid all forms of social interaction and some have difficulty understanding body language, vocal tones, or phraseology. Talking in a high-pitched, sing-song, or flat, robot-like voice may be common in autistic children and some have relatively good language skills speak like little adults, and do not communicate at their current age level. When frustrated, some may scream or grab what they want. Children with autism are not able to understand the consequences of their actions; therefore, punishment is likely to make this behavior worse. The child or student should be removed from the situation as soon as possible and the teacher or parent should find out why this behavior is being displayed. Children with autism also display obsessive and repetitive characteristics. One should set boundaries for this child, use this obsession as a reward for good behavior, and teach the child about social interaction by showing them that other people do not share their obsession. Children with autism also have difficulty during an ‘unstructured’ part of the school day. To help make the day more structured teachers should create a buddy system, a timetable, and explain what is going to happen if there are to be any expected changes in the daily schedule.- Tracy Pinero
Learning Disabilities
Brittani Edgerton
Health Issues
N.Tucker
Katie Moore
Hyperactivity, Perceptual – Motor Impairments, Emotional Liability, Coordination Problems, Disorders of Attention, Impulsivity, Disorders of Attention, Impulsivity, Disorders of Memory and Thinking, Academic Difficulties, Language Deficits, Equivocal Neurological Signs, Disorders of Attention, Poor Motor Abilities, Psychological Process Deficits and Information-Processing Problems, Lack of Cognitive Strategies Needed for Efficient Learning, Oral Language Difficulties, Written Language Problems Quantitative Disorders, Social Skills Defects
http://learningdisabilities.about.com/od/gi/p/grossmotorskill.htm
http://www.helpguide.org/mental/learning_disabilities.htm
Teaching in Today’s Inclusive Classroom – Debbie Metcalf
http://www.ldonline.org/ldbasics/whatisld Teaching in Today’s Inclusive Classroom - Metcalf
Emotional /Behavioral
The term means a condition exhibiting one or more of the following characteristics over a long period of time and to a marked degree that adversely affects a child’s educational performance:
-An inability to learn that cannot be explained by intellectual, sensory, or health factors
-An inability to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships with peers and teachers
-Inappropriate types of behavior or feelings under normal circumstances
-A general pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression
-Tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears associated with personal or school problems
(Michelle Cooksey)
Health Issues
1. The child demonstrates severe, chronic and frequent behavior that is not the result of situational anxiety, stress or conflict.
2. The child’s behavior described under par. (a) occurs in school and in at least one other setting.
3. The child displays any of the following:
a. Inability to develop or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships.
b. Inappropriate affective or behavior response to a normal situation.
c. Pervasive unhappiness, depression or anxiety.
d. Physical symptoms, pains or fears associated with personal or school problems.
e. Inability to learn that cannot be explained by intellectual, sensory or health factors.
f. Extreme withdrawal from social interactions.
g. Extreme aggressiveness for a long period of time."
(Ashley Stanton)
Difficulty building and maintaining satisfactory relationships with peers and adults. May be particularly aggressive and hostile towards others, whereas others may appear withdrawn and socially isolated. Acting out, exhibit aggressive behaviors, also debilitating disorders as schizophrenia, depression, anxiety and conduct disorders.
Brittani Edgerton
http://dpi.wi.gov/SPED/ED.HTML , http://dpi.wi.gov/SPED/pi11_0701.html#ebd - (Ashley Stanton)
Deaf/Hard of Hearing
Health Issues
Katie Moore
“Findings suggest that intellectual development for people with a hearing impairment is more a function of language development than cognitive ability.” “Low achievement is characteristic of students who are deaf (Geers, 2006); they average three to four years below their age-appropriate grade levels. Even students with mild to moderate hearing losses achieve below expectations based on their performance on tests of cognitive abilities (Williams & Finnegan, 2003).”
Indicators of Possible Hearing Impairment in Children
Daydreaming or frequently inattentive
Impaired speech
Limited Vocabulary
Lethargic – complains of always being tired
Often turns head to favored side
Mouth breathing
Difficulty following verbal commands or directions
Nonresponsive to environmental sounds
Complains of earaches, ringing noises in the ear
Recurring ear infections
Inappropriate responses to verbal questions
Tugs or pulls ear(s)
Excessive volume when listening to audio devices (television, radio, portable music player)
Imitates or mimics the actions/movements of peers and classmates
Frequent requests to repeat verbal information
Difficulty hearing telephone conversation
Teaching in Today’s Inclusive Classrooms,” Metcalf and Gargiulo
Blind/Vision
(Ashley Stanton)
Health Issues
Brittani Edgerton
Mental Retardation
(mild/moderate)
Health Issues
Katie Moore
(Michelle Cooksey)
Memory: “deficits in memory correlated with severity of mental retardation, limitations in ability to selectively process and store information, inefficient rehearsal strategies,”
Hard time recalling short term memory is ex recalling directions in sequence presented seconds earlier,
“long term retrieval (recalling telephone number) is similar to peers without mental retardation”
Motivation: “History of and a generalized expectancy for failure – Learned Helplessness – effort is unrewarded failure is inevitable, exhibit External locus of control- belief that outcomes of behavior are the result of circumstances (fate, chance) beyond personal control rather than own efforts. “ They have a loss of confidence and rely on others
Generalization: have a hard time applying knowledge or new things to a situation or setting , have a hard time using previous experience or knowledge to novel situations
Language development: Same language acquisition as regular classmates but with a slower rate, there is a strong connection between intellectual ability and language development vocabulary is usually limited and their grammar and sentence structure is often impaired.
Academic Development: They have difficulty is all subject areas and reading is usually the weakest, and they usually have trouble solving problems in math
Social Development: they lack social concepts; they are often rejected by their peers and classmates. They also show immature behavior and have a hard time keeping and establishing friends.
(Stanton)
Teaching in today’s inclusive classrooms by Richard M. Gargiulo Debbie Metcalf - Ashley stanton
http://www.rcomo.org/whatismr.htm
TBI
Health Issues
• Physical characteristics
– Seizures
– Spasticity or paralysis
– Poor coordination
– Physical weakness & fatigue
– Headaches
– Vision or hearing problems
Brittani Edgerton
http://www.slc.sevier.org/tbioutl.htm
Autism
Autism is a complex developmental disability that typically appears during the first three years of life and affects a person’s ability to communicate and interact with others. Autism is defined by a certain set of behaviors and is a "spectrum disorder" that affects individuals differently and to varying degrees. There is no known single cause for autism, but increased awareness and funding can help families today.
Health Issues
Typical characteristics of autism are Intellectual/Academic functioning some of the behaviors include, poor reading comprehension, uneven academic achievement. Concentration and attention is another characteristic with behaviors of hyperactivity and short attention span. Another characteristic is Self-injurious with behaviors of banging his/her head, biting of the finger, hand or wrist and excessive rubbing or scratching. There are also Eating Abnormalities which some children will eat foods or items that are not edible. Some children have sleeping disorders with behaviors of waking up frequently throughout the night, waking up early in the morning, bed-wetting and having trouble falling asleep. Another characteristic is abnormalities of their mood or affect with behaviors of depression, giggling or weeping when there isn’t a reason, and lack of emotion. The last characteristic is sensory perception with behaviors of oversensitivity to sounds or touch, having exaggerated responses to lights or colors and hypertensive to sounds.
(Ashley Stanton)
http://www.supernanny.co.uk/Advice/-/Health-and-Development/-/Special-Needs/Behaviour-and-Discipline-issues-for-children-with-Autistic-Spectrum-Disorders.aspx- Tracy Pinero
http://www.autism-behavior-strategies.com/Physical-Characteristics-Of-Autism.html
Teaching in today’s inclusive classrooms by Richard M. Gargiulo Debbie Metcalf - Ashley stanton