Special Education (SPED)

SPED in the Philippines started in 1908 where the school for deaf (in Harrison, Pasay City) was
established and marked the official government recognition of obligations towards the education of the
handicapped children.

Goals of SPED

Article 1, Section 5 of Child and Youth Welfare Code (PD no. 603)

 States that the ultimate goal of Special Education shall be integration and mainstreaming of
learners with special needs into regular school system and eventually in the community.
 To meet the individual educational needs of the learners and, to extent possible, prepare them
for going to a more regular classroom setting.

Historical Perspective on the Philippines’ Special Education

1902 – The interest to educate Filipino children with disabilities was expressed through Mr. Fred
Atkinson, the General Superintendent of Education.

1907 – Special Education was formally started in the country by establishing the insular School for the
Deaf and Blind in Manila.

1926 – The Philippine Association for Deaf was founded.

1927 – The government established the Welfareville Children’s Village, a school for people with mental
retardation in Mandaluyong.

1945 – The National Orthopedic Hospital School for the Crippled Children and Youth is established.

1949 – Quezon City Science High School was inaugurated for gifted students.

1950 – PAD opened a school with hearing impairment.

1953 – The Elshie Gaches Village was established in Alabang to take care the abandoned and orphaned
children and youth with physical and mental handicaps.

1954 – The first week of August was declared as Sight Saving Week.

1956 – Special classes for the deaf in regular class were implanted.

1957 – The Bureau of Public School of the Department of Education and Culture created the Special
Education Section of the Special Subjects and Service Education.

1958 – The American Foundation for Overseas Blind opened its regional office in Manila.

1960 – Some private college and universities started to offer special education courses on graduate
school curriculum.
1962 – The Manila Youth Rehabilitation Center was opened.

1963 – With the approval of R.A. No. 3562, the training of DEC teacher scholars for blind children started
at the Philippine Normal University.

Types of Disabilities

Auditory Impairment (AI) - Means a hearing impairment that is so severe that the child is
impaired in processing linguistic information through hearing, with or without amplification that
adversely affects a child’s educational performance.

Autism (AU) – Means a developmental disability significantly affecting verbal and nonverbal
communication and social interaction, generally evident before age three, which adversely
affects a child’s educational performance. Other characteristic often associated with autism are
engagement in repetitive activities and stereotyped movements, resistance to environmental
change or change in daily routines, and unusual responses to sensory experiences.

Deaf-Blindness (DB) – 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 b7y 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; and
 A tendency to develop physical symptoms 0r fears associated with personal or
school problem.

Dyslexia – it is the best known learning disability. It is a learning disorder that impedes the
student’s ability to read and comprehend a text.

ADHD – Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder has affected more than 6.4 million children at
some point. Students who have ADHD have difficulty paying attention and staying on task.
These students can be easily distracted and often have difficulty in traditional school settings.

Dyscalculia – While difficulty with reading can affect a student’s ability in math, some students
also suffer from dyscalculia, which is a disorder that specifically affects one’s math capabilities.

Dysgraphia – it is related to the physical act of writing. These students often cannot hold a
pencil correctly, and their posture may be tense while trying to write. This leads them to tire
easily, causing discouragement that further inhibits progress. Dysgraphia may also cause
students to struggle with basic sentence structure and grammatical awareness.
Advantages of SPED to Teachers

Meaningful Work

 When special education teachers go to work each day, they know they are
making a difference in lives of children. By helping children and teens learn
everything from self-care skills to academics, special education teachers help
those children build a brighter future. By assisting special needs children, special
education teachers know they are doing meaningful work, so they can feel good
about the work they do and the contributions they are making to society.

Relationships

 Special education teachers have a rewarding position in that it allows them to

form relationships with the students they help. Teachers have the chance to
participate in the overall planning of students’ educations and serve as a mentor
to them, as well as an educator. Teachers can learn a great deal from having
these relationships with their students and be enriched and rewarded through
them.

Rey John A. Lumayag

BSED-401