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PRE School Education 7: (Children With Special Needs)
PRE School Education 7: (Children With Special Needs)
SCHOOL
EDUCATION
7
(CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL
NEEDS)
SUBMITTED TO:
MS.KATHLEEN KAY RODRIGUEZ
SUBMITTED BY:
MS.RIO ROSE S. CAJUCOM
TABLE OF CONTENTS
A. Special Education
IDEA ensures that children with disabilities have access to a free and appropriate
public education and those schools provide special education to these children in
the least restrictive environment possible, which means keeping them in general
education classrooms whenever possible.
IDEA covers children from the age of 3 through high school (or the age of 21,
whichever comes first). Children younger than the age of 3 can receive services
through IDEA’s early intervention services.
To qualify, children must fall under one of the 13 disabilities identified by IDEA:
Autism
Deafness
Emotional disturbance
Visual impairment, including blindness
Speech or language impairment
Orthopedic impairments
Hearing impairment
Intellectual disability
Multiple disabilities
Traumatic brain injury
Other health impairment, including ADHD
Specific learning disability, including (among others) dyslexia, dyscalculia,
and dysgraphia
Children eligible for IDEA must have a diagnosis for one or more of the above
named disabilities and, because of that disability, require special accommodations
to make academic progress. The criteria used for determining whether a child has a
specific learning disability include:
The child does not meet state-approved grade-level standards in one or more
of the following areas:
o Oral expression
o Listening comprehension
o Written expression
o Basic reading skills
o Reading fluency skills
o Reading comprehension
o Mathematics calculation
o Mathematics problem solving
The child does not meet state-approved grade-level standards or exhibits a
pattern of strengths and weaknesses in achievement and/or performance due
to:
o Cultural factors
o Emotional disturbance
o Environmental or economic disadvantage
o Limited English proficiency
o Mental retardation
o Visual, hearing, or motor disability
States are responsible for providing special education to their citizens. To do so,
they are expected to follow a set of principles:
Schools must educate all children with disabilities, regardless of the nature
or severity of the disability.
Schools must use a set of nonbiased methods of evaluation for determining
if a child has a disability. Testing and evaluation must not discriminate
based on race, culture, or native language.
All children with disabilities must receive a free, appropriate public
education. An IEP must be developed and implemented to meet the needs of
children with disabilities.
Children with disabilities must be educated with children without disabilities
as much as possible. Students can only be moved to separate classrooms or
schools if they cannot receive an appropriate education in a general
education classroom.
Schools must have safeguards in place to protect the rights of children with
disabilities and their parents.
Schools must collaborate with parents and students when designing and
implementing special education services.
Most special education takes place in the general education classroom – consistent
with IDEA’s goal of providing children with disabilities special education services
in the least restrictive environment. However, not all special education can be
taught in general education classrooms; therefore, special education teachers and
paraprofessionals must sometimes provide special education in separate
classrooms and, outside of the public school system, in separate residential settings
and day schools.
Most special education students spend at least a portion of their day in a resource
room, where they can receive individualized instruction.
It is also common for some special educators to provide special education services
at home or in community-based settings. Special education teachers in these
settings work with students with severe disabilities, helping them practice
functional daily living skills.
The federal government defines educational placements for
students with disabilities as:
Regular classroom: Student receive most of their education in a regular
classroom and less than 21 percent of their day receiving special education
and related services outside of the regular classroom.
Resource classroom: Students receive special education and related services
outside of the regular classroom more than 21 percent but less than 60
percent of their day.
Separate classroom: Students receive special education and related services
outside of the regular classroom more than 61 percent but less than 100
percent of their day.
Separate school: Students receive special education and related services in a
public or private day school for students with disabilities for more than 50
percent of their day.
Residential facility: Students receive special education and related services
in a public or privately operated residential facility, where they receive 24-
hour care.
Homebound/hospital: Students receive special education and related services
in a hospital or home-based program.
Schools across the country have special needs students. These students fit
into a number of categories. This is essentially because of the vastness of
special needs issues. A special needs child is often considered disabled in
some way. These are children who have mild learning disabilities or
profound developmental problems. The umbrella of special needs includes
some children that would not be considered in this way.
In other cases, children are physically handicapped in some way. These children
simply need adequate building codes to accommodate their disabilities. In many of
these cases, students are able to perform their work normally. When every
necessity is provided, most children can achieve their educational goals. Teachers,
administrators, and parents must work together to make sure these issues are
addressed.
Schools at all grade levels receive students with disabilities. This sometimes means
that these students need age appropriate services or assistance. Once this help is in
place student have much of what they need to thrive. Encouragement from parents
and teachers are important in this process. Children with disabilities need more
patience and understanding than the average student.
10 Basic Steps of Special Education
Many children struggle with learning and developmental disabilities. Parents often
recognize problems early in their children's lives, but occasionally, problems are
not recognizable until their children enroll in school. Children struggle with
various learning problems, including difficulty retaining information, dyslexia, and
other reading problems. Many children struggle with behavioral problems.
Parents should be aware of the process followed to diagnose special needs or at-
risk children with learning disabilities. The following information details the 10
major steps followed when determining whether a child has a learning disability:
Child Find. A law passed by the federal government in 2004 known as the
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act mandates that all state public schools
evaluate students demonstrating signs of potential disabilities. If a child is
diagnosed with a disability, school districts must provide adequate special
education assistance. Many educators rely on the Child Find program to locate at-
risk children.
After parents grant their consent to an evaluation of their child, the law requires
that evaluations be concluded within 2 months after parents agree to the decision.
However, this timeframe can differ in individual states.
Parents disagreeing with IEPs can always discuss the issues they have with
educators and others involved in the process. When compromises cannot be
reached, parents can request mediation.
1. Sensory Tables
Sensory tables offer a wealth of benefits for children with special needs. Engaging
in sensory experiences like running fingers through dried rice or pouring water can
distract and calm a child who is feeling over-stimulated or anxious. It promotes
self –discovery and encourages a child to explore new textures which in turn
supports social and emotional development.
Offering textures like dried beans, sand or cotton balls promotes hand-eye
coordination and gives the opportunity for a child to pinch, grasp and enhance fine
motor skills. As children discover new textures and objects, they tend to have a
verbal response. Engaging them in a sensory table is great way to work on
language development.
Offering plenty of options for free play is important too. When given sidewalk
chalk and outdoor equipment like balls and hula hoops, children will engage their
fine and gross motor skills without even realizing it.
Many yoga poses are named after animals, so it’s easy to incorporate story books
with the poses and make the practice fun. Children can slither like snakes or roar
like fierce lions, all while learning how to focus in a pose. Here is an example:
Frog Pose
Squat on the floor, balancing on your toes with knees spread wide apart.
Place hands on the floor between your legs.
Look up and inhale.
As you exhale, straighten your legs and lower your head toward your knees.
Return to squatting position and repeat.
4. Light Boxes
A light box is fun and mesmerizing for all children, but it specifically helps to
increase the attention spans of children with special needs. Children can spend
hours with a light box, exercising their fine motor skills by creating illuminated
patterns and pictures with brightly colored transparent shapes. Even better, this
easy homemade version works great in a home or classroom. Be sure to have
plenty of brightly colored transparent items on hand like decorating rocks, plastic
blocks and even colored salt.
Materials
Music time can be especially beneficial to children who are non-verbal. For them,
music can be a way of expressing themselves and interacting with their peers.
During circle time, provide children with instruments, like egg shakers, bells or toy
drums. Encourage them to make noise with their instruments and move their
bodies to the music. Sing songs that incorporate the name of each child so that
everyone feels like they have an individual role in the activity.
Additionally, incorporate music in other activities of the day. Sing songs while
cleaning up and transitioning into new activities like nap or snack time.