Disability Handbook

Allison Armstrong SPED 225

Specific Learning Disabilities

Definition:
A disorder in one or more of the basic psychological process involved in understanding or in using language, spoken, or written, it affects the ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, and perform math equations or calculations. Includes perceptual disabilities, brain injuries, minimal brain dysfunction, dyslexia, and developmental aphasia Does not include problems that occur from the loss of sight or hearing, motor skills, emotional disturbance, mental retardation, environmental, cultural, or economic disadvantage.

Characteristics/Warning signs:
There are certain characteristic(s) that may prevent them from succeeding in something that they should be able to do. There are many combinations of problems in reading, listening, mathematics, reasoning, memory, attention, perceptional, processing, and focusing on stimuli. Reading disabilities are common, with dyslexia being the most common. Difficulties with accuracy, fluency, and word recognition are poor. Also children have difficulty understanding the sounds in language. Many of learning disabled students are often diagnosed with ADHD. Students often suffer from low self-esteem from constant failure and have behavioral problems in class because of frustration. Because of this, they often end up with fewer friends and have low social status, creating more problems.

Prevalence Rates:
Largest category in Special Education Represent almost of students receiving special education 3 times as many boys than girls are diagnosed with specific learning disabilities Some believe the increase in diagnosed students is because of over identification and misdiagnosis of students who do not achieve as well in class.

Strategies/interventions:
Content enhancement: using various techniques to enhance organization and delivery of curriculum content. Graphic organizers: providing visual arrangements to help students see the meaningful hierarchal, comparative, and sequential relationships of the words and concepts. Teach note-taking strategies.

Have students use mnemonics: using silly phrases or creating a story to help student remember information. For example Never Eat Soggy Waffles is used to remember the four directions on a compass. Teach students task specific strategies that allow them to guide themselves through doing a certain task. Often involves creating a mnemonic. Have guided notes: teacher prepared handouts that help guide a child through a lecture, movie, or book. Often include blanks that child needs to fill out. Have instruction that focuses on small steps and making sure that students comprehend the knowledge presented to them

Speech/Language impairments
Definition:
Impairment in the ability to send, receives, process, and comprehends verbal or nonverbal concepts, and graphic symbol systems. Evident in the process of hearing, speaking and listening

Characteristics/Warning signs:
Thee are four basic speech-sound errors: distortions, substitutions, additions and omissions Child with articulation disorder cant produce a sound physically Child with phonological disorder can produce a given sound but not always correctly Stuttering is most common with fluency Voice disorder involves abnormal vocal quality, pitch, loudness, resonance, and or duration for the speakers age or gender

Impairments involve problems with phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, pragmatics, and are classified as either receptive or expressive

Prevalence Rates:
2.5% receive special education for school age children Second largest disability category under IDEA Twice as many boys as girls Articulation and spoken language problems represent the largest category

Strategies/Interventions:
Explicit instruction- clear, direct, teaching the targeted knowledge or skills, students are shown directly what to do, opportunities to practice and receive feedback from teacher, and opportunities to apply what they have learned later Learning strategies- they can help guide themselves through a general problems or specific tasks Content enhancements- graphic organizers, note-taking strategies, mnemonics, and others to make content more accessible

Emotional/Behavior Disorders
Definition:
A condition exhibiting one or more of the following characteristics for a long period of time and to a degree that adversely affects educational performance o Inability to learn which cant be explained by intellectual, sensory, or health factors o Inability to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships with teachers and peers o Inappropriate types of behavior or feelings under normal circumstances o General persuasive mood of unhappiness or depression o Tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears associated with school or personal problems

Includes: Schizophrenia

Characteristics/Warning signs:
Show frequent problems with antisocial behavior, sometimes becoming delinquents when they are adolescents Tend to internalize problems and are overly withdrawn, they lack social skills needed to interact successfully with others Perform academically one or more years below grade level generally A large number of students also have language delays or learning disabilities On average they have slightly lover IQ scores Many have difficulty maintaining or developing personal relationships Approximately 1/3 of students are arrested during their school years.

Prevalence Rates:
Few kids with emotional behavior disorder receive special education 3%-10% have emotional or behavior problems that warrant an intervention

Strategies/Interventions:
Systematic instruction in social and academic skills School-wide systems of positive behavior that support appropriate behavior to all of the students in the school Good classroom management using proactive strategies to encourage a positive, supportive environment that promotes social and academic achievement Teach self management skills to help them feel more in control of their environment, self direction and responsibility for their actions Group processes approach to encourage group work, and so they learn to behave appropriately Differential acceptance and empathetic relationship

Definition:

Mental Retardation

Significantly sub-average general intellectual functioning existing concurrently with deficits in adaptive behavior and manifested during the developmental period that adversely affects a childs educational performance. Four general levels of mental retardation, classified by IQ test scores Mild- 50/55-70 Moderate- 35/40-50/55 Severe- 20/25-35/40 Profound- below 20/25

Characteristics/Warning signs:
Experience substantial performance deficits in school

Likely to become independent or semi-independent adults May have normal or nearly normal social skills Delays usually start in preschool years Trouble retaining short-term memory Learn at a slower rate Do not usually use metaconitive or executive control strategies like rehearsing and organizing information Have difficulty focusing attention on task at hand, but rather other stimuli Some develop learned helplessness Some do not trust themselves and rely on others for answers Have limitations in self care, social relationships, and behavioral characteristics Many have curiosity in learning, get along with others, and are a positive influence on others

Prevalence Rates:
Approximately 1% of the total population In the 2005-2006 school year 0.8% of school enrollment received special services for mental retardation.

Strategies/Interventions:
Instruct in basic skills and skills that can be used in their future Focus curriculum on functional skills that will help students succeed Explicit systematic instruction including analysis, active student response, feedback, transfer of stimuli control, teacher provided cues and prompts, and measurement of student performance Benefit from full or partial inclusion in general education classroom

Definition:

Traumatic Brain Injury

An acquired injury to the brain by an external physical force, this resulting in partial or complete functional disability or psychosocial impairment, or even both, this adversely affects a childs educational performance. Applies to open or closed head injuries resulting in impairments in one or more of the following areas, such as cognition, language, memory, attention, reasoning, abstract thinking, judgment, problem-solving, sensory, perceptual and motor abilities, psychosocial behavior, physical functions, information processing, and speech. Does NOT apply to brain injuries that are congenital or degenerative or to brain injuries that occurred through birth trauma.

Characteristics/Warning signs:

The affects and characteristics are determined by the severity of the injury and vary greatly Brief or momentary losses of consciousness Temporary headaches, dizziness spells, and fatigue Cumulative neurological and cognitive deficits Bruising, swelling and bleeding from the head Blood vessels may rupture Loss of consciousness lasting for extended periods of time Confusion In severe cases a coma

Prevalence Rates:
In the US 1.5 million people sustain a traumatic brain injury each year 2005-2006 school year 23,449 students received special services for a brain injury under IDEA Combined with multiple disabilities and deaf-blindness they represent less than 3% of all children who receive special education.

Strategies/Interventions:
Shortened school day, focusing on academic instruction in peak periods with many breaks, and a reduced class load Rehearse situations in advance, provide explicit instruction, and prompts about social interaction Clear uncomplicated instructions divided into many steps Auditory and visual instructions Special resource periods at beginning and end of day to help with memory Modifications, extra textbooks at home, peer help moving from class to class, early dismal from class, etc. Behavior management and counseling sessions Tape record lectures, provide a note taker and extra test time

Definition:

Deaf/Blindness

Combination of hearing and visual impairments, this combination causes severe communication, educational, and other developmental needs that cannot be accommodated solely for one of the impairments in special education.

Characteristics/Warning signs:
Cannot hear fully and cannot see fully Hand flapping Finger licking Head rocking Initiate inappropriate interactions with others

Have signals for what they want, but others may not understand signals Develop learned helplessness

Prevalence Rates:
60% of students with deaf-blindness also have other physical disabilities 68% have cognitive impairment 40% have health care needs Combined with Multiple disabilities and traumatic brain injuries these students make up less than 3% of all children who receive special services

Strategies/Interventions:
Tactile teaching involving sense of touch Some visual and auditory aids are effective if directed toward the child Strengthen other senses

Definition:

Visual Impairments

Visual impairment including blindness means impairment in vision that, even with correction, adversely affects a childs educational performance. This term includes both partial sight and blindness. Totally blind- receives no useful information though the sense of vision and must use tactile and auditory senses for all learning Functionally blind- little vision that they primarily learn through auditory and tactile senses, but may use limited vision to supplement information received from other sense to assist with certain tasks Low vision- uses vision as primary means of learning but supplements visual information with tactile and auditor input

Characteristics/Warning signs:
Do not benefit from incidental learning obtained in everyday experiences Leads to delays and deficits in motor development Some experience social isolation and have a difficult time interacting socially Inability to use eye contact, facial expressions, gestures and other speech cues while talking

Prevalence Rates:
Low-incidence disability and affects less than 2 in 1,000 children in school-age population. About of all students with visual impairments also have another disability.

Strategies/Interventions:
Use Braille as reading and writing Special equipment to access standard print through touching, and prerecorded machines Students with low vision need help learning to use visual efficiency or functioning Low vision students should use 3 methods for reading print- magnification, optical devices, and large print Need orientation instruction and cues to help them know where they are Systematic development of listening skills Teach living skills such as personal hygiene, cooking, shopping, financial management, transportation, and activities of recreation.

Definition:

Hearing Impairments

An impairment in hearing whether permanent or fluctuating, that adversely affects a childs education performance but is not included under the definition of deafness.

Characteristics/Warning signs:
Speech may be hard to understand Fall behind in school Sit closer to the from so they can hear Feel isolated from peers

Prevalence Rates:
Hearing loss students represent 1.2% of students receiving special education.

Strategies/Interventions:
Emphasize on training in auditory, amplification, speech reading, technology aids and talking Sign language and lip reading

Definition:

Developmental Delays

Significant delays or atypical patterns of development that allow children to be available for early intervention. Children do not need to be labeled in specific categories to receive early intervention services.

Characteristics/Warning signs:
Slower rate of learning, do not meet traditional milestones Slow heart rate Shallow, irregular breathing Not responsive

Slower motor development Forgetful, slow cognitive skills Lack of communication skills Does not speak clearly Lack of ability to respond nonverbally Do not share toys, take turns, or cooperate easily with others Self grooming and hygiene skills are not at the typical rate Use one side of body more than the other Shorter attention span

Prevalence Rates:
1.3% of students receiving special services had/have developmental delay

Strategies/Interventions:
Early intervention consists of nutritional, childcare, family, and educational supports to reduce the effects of disabilities or prevent developmental problems later in life for at risk children. Evaluate childs progress Promote child engagement and independence Build social skills Generalize the use of skills, so they better understand Prepare the child for everyday life experiences Set up classroom with well defined areas

Definition:

Physical Disabilities and Other Health Impairments

Physical Disabilities: Severe Orthopedic Impairment- adversely affects the childs educational performance. Includes impairments caused by congenital anomaly, impairments caused by disease, and from other causes, including cerebral palsy and amputations. Involves the skeletal system, bones, joints, limbs, and associated muscles. Neuromotor impairment- involves the central nervous system, affecting the ability to move, use, feel, or control certain parts of the body. Other Health Impairments:

Having limited strength, vitality, or alertness, including heightened alertness to environmental stimuli, which results in limited alertness with respect to the educational environment. Includes chronic or acute health problems such as o Asthma, ADD, ADHD, diabetes, epilepsy, a heart condition, hemophilia, lead poisoning, leukemia, nephritis, rheumatic fever, sickly cell anemia, and tourette syndrome o Also adversely affects academic performance

Characteristics/Warning signs:
Varied depending upon exact disability Inability to walk or move different body parts Disturbances in voluntary motor functions Loss of sensation or severe muscle weakness in lower or upper part of the body Gradually lose the ability to walk independently Paralysis Disorder of metabolism- such as diabetes Age of onset and visibility of impairment are important when defining characteristics and warning signs

Prevalence Rates:
10.3% of all school-age children who receive special education are under the disability categories of orthopedic impairments and other health impairments.

Strategies/Interventions:
Physical therapists and Occupational Therapists come in and work with student Modifications to environment so they can move around more easily and comfortably, and participate more fully in the classroom Assistive technology to increase, maintain, and improve functioning capabilities of the individual Animals, usually dogs or monkeys, assist people or make them feel less lonely Teach personal care so students feel more independent Proper positioning, allow extra time to move chairs and lifting a child Encourage children to develop independence Set realistic expectations and accept help when needed Have them meet adults with the same disabilities, to help them gain selfknowledge and gain self confidence

Definition:

Multiple Disabilities

Concomitant impairments, including blindness and orthopedic impairment, the combination of which causes severe educational needs that cannot be

accommodated in special education programs for only one of the impairments. This does NOT include deaf-blindness.

Characteristics/Warning signs:
Most exhibit significant deficits in intellectual functioning Majority of students have more than one disability Many need services for motor impediments, communication, visual and auditory impairments and medical conditions such as a disorder with seizures Many require frequent attention due to medical needs Show significant and obvious deficits in multiple life skill or developmental area No set of characteristics fits all students with multiple disabilities Slow acquisition rate when learning new skills Do not generalize well Limited levels of communication skills Each child has a unique set of physical, intellectual, and social characteristics

Prevalence Rates:
In 2005-2006 132,595 students in school received special education for multiple disabilities. Combined with traumatic brain injuries, and deaf-blindness they represent less than 3% of all children who receive special education.

Strategies/Interventions:
Focus on teaching life skills that are functional and age appropriate, also that fit their current and future home and school environments Teach choice making skills Teach functional communication skills and having shared meaning in communication Teach recreation skills Prioritize and choose IEP objectives that most benefit the individual student and the family Integrate them in small groups while teaching, if not one on one Use positive instruction and deal with behavior problems appropriately Include them in general education classrooms if at all possible at least for part of the day Be sensitive to small changes

Definition:

Autism

A neurobehavioral syndrome marked my qualitative impairments of social interaction and communication, and by restricted, repetitive and stereotyped patterns in behavior.

Characteristics/Warning signs:
All characteristics are dependant on the levels of functioning. Children with different diagnosis along the spectrum may share some of the same characteristics. Difficulty in perceiving the emotional state of others Many children do not speak, echolalia is common with those that do speak Can be severe mental retardation or intellectually gifted Over selectivity- focus on small things/features Obsessive attention on specific things for long periods of time Strong aptitude for rote memory, difficult to remember current events Uneven skill development Obsess with having everything stay the same, no change May exhibit aggressive or self-injurious behavior Sensitivity to detail, intense interests in topics Generally normal physical appearance

Prevalence Rates:
Occurs in 1 in 150 people Boys affects 4 times more often than girls Fastest growing category in special education

Strategies/Interventions:
Need carefully planned, delivered, evaluated and analyzed instruction Use ABA programming, by using a variety of procedures to help them generalize new skills, strategies for shifting control of stimulus, picture exchange communication, peer-mediated interventions, functional assessments, and naturalistic teaching strategies Have a schedule up with pictures and names of events and activities that the children can perform, presented in the order that hey can perform them. This helps them independently select and follow the actions. Explain and give them social stories, and expected behavior before going into a new social setting to help release some anxiety and to improve some of their behavior.

Definition:

Gifted/Talented

Students who are identified as possessing demonstrated or potential high performance capabilities in areas such as intellectual, creative, specific academic, or leadership ability or in the performing and visual arts and who therefore requires services or activities not ordinarily provided by the school.

Characteristics/Warning signs:
Students have the ability to Rapidly retain, acquire and use information in large amounts Relate one idea to another Make sound judgments Acquire and manipulate abstract symbol systems Solve problems my creating novel solutions and reframing the question Perceive large systems of knowledge that others might not recognize Many are creative although not all are

Prevalence Rates:
Gifted and talented students make up 3-5% of school population Estimated 10-15% of school population posses such talents

Strategies/Interventions:
Use Differentiation- allowing guidelines for each gifted and talented child in order to supply them with a rich and challenging assignment Accelerate the curriculum so the students do not become bored in class Study a topic/subject more in-depth then you usually would in a general education class Give students time to work on more challenging material Use tiered lessons to accommodate all students Ask questions and give assignments that have the students demonstrate their knowledge to you Have options for learning outside the classroom available Continue to work on social skills so the students still interact with others

Commonly Used Medications

 Ritalin
o Side effects can cause child to become lethargic, insomnia, decreased appetite, depression, headaches, weight loss, and irritability. o Used to help children focus and not get distracted, commonly used for ADD and ADHD.

Adderall
o It is a central nervous system stimulant. It affects chemicals in the brain and nerves that contribute to hyperactivity and impulse control. o Used to treat narcolepsy and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

Conserta
o It is a central nervous system stimulant o Affects chemicals in the brain and nerves to help contribute to hyperactivity and impulses o Used to treat ADD and ADHD o For children six years + o Should be included in a treatment program and not used alone

Anti-depressants o Used to treat depression and attention disorders o Different drug names are Tofranil, Wellbutrein, Aventyl o Possible side effects are dry mouth, blurred vision, constipation,
sedation, and seizures

Mood Stabilizers o Help treat bipolar, self abuse and other severe E/BD behaviors o Side effects include diarrhea, weakness, poor coordination, confusion, Antipsychotics o Treat symptoms of schizophrenia, depression, bipolar disorder, o Side effects include easier risk of infection, involuntary movements of
face and limbs, weight gain and motor restlessness anxiety disorders, and ADHD and possibly sedation

Law Review

P.L. 85-926: Provides funds for training professionals to train teachers to teach children with mental retardation. P.L. 87-276: Provided funds to training teachers to teach deaf children. P.L. 94-142: Education for all handicapped Children Act. This law was passed in 1975. Since it was passed it has been re-worked 5 times. It was renamed in 1990 to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). This acts main focus is to provide free appropriate public education to everyone, especially those with disabilities. P.L. 94-466: the reauthorization of IDEA, now called The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 2004. The purpose of IDEA is to ensure that all children with disabilities have free appropriate public education available to them and have unique services designed to their needs, also to ensure the effectiveness of the efforts to educate children with disabilities. P.L. 95-561: Provides funds for in-service training programs, research and other projects, which are aimed to meet the needs of gifted and talented students. P.L. 99-457: In 1986 congress included provisions to expand services from the Education of the Handicapped Act Amendments. Before this law congress estimates that only 70% of preschool age children with disabilities received special services and early childhood age children birth to age 2 that received special services were almost non-existent. This law requires a mandatory preschool component for children with disabilities ages 3-5 and a voluntary incentive grant program for infants and toddlers and their families to also receive early intervention services. P.L. 105-17: The IDEA amendments of 1997 added new provisions. These provisions allow school districts to discipline students with disabilities in the same way they do with students who do not have disabilities. There are a few exceptions how ever. If the student is suspended, expelled or is in a change of placement the IEP team has 10 days to review that situation and the relationship of the act with the students disability. If the team decides it is not related the same discipline remains, but they still have to provide the educational services. P.L. 100-297: this law is a component of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. This law provides federal support for demonstrated programs that develop and expand models serving gifted and talented students. P.L. 101-336: Americans with Disabilities Act was signed into law in 1990. It extends the civil rights of people with disabilities to private sector jobs, all public services and accommodations, and all transportation and telecommunications.

P.L. 108-446: each state must also serve at-risk infants and toddlers who are at-risk of experiencing severe developmental delays if early intervention services were not provided. P.L. 93-112: Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973: This law extends civil rights to people with disabilities. It states that no otherwise qualified handicapped individual should, solely based on their handicap, be excluded from participating in, denied benefits of, or be a subject of discrimination in any program or activity that receives federal assistance. P.L. 107-110: No Child Left Behind Act: In 2001 it was renames No Child Left Behind (NCLB). The intent is to improve the achievement of all students, with the majority of the emphasis on children from low-socioeconomic families. It also states that all children will be proficient in reading and math by the year 2014 and that students will be taught by qualified teachers who are highly trained in their subjects.