EDU 537: Foundations of Special and Inclusive Education

Student’s Module #19

Name:______________________________________________________ Class number: _______

Section: _______________ Schedule:____________________________ Date: _______________

Lesson title: Learners with Difficulty Walking/Moving Materials:

Lesson Objectives: Activity Sheets
At the end of this module, I should be able to:
1. Analyze the scenario below and apply the concepts learned References:
on this topic Aligada-Hala, et.al (2020)
2. Design an infographic Foundations of Special and
Inclusive Education (1st Edition)
Rex Bookstore, Manila, Philippines

Productivity Tip:
Track your time. It’s difficult to plan your personal time if you don’t know how you’re spending it.

A. LESSON PREVIEW

1) Introduction (2 mins)

Have you ever wondered why there are those who uses wheelchairs and walking aids while other
students can normally walk then both still have the same intellectual capacity? In this chapter we will
study the differently abled student who needs accommodation in moving or walking.

2) Activity 1: What I Know Chart, part 1 (3 mins)

Let us determine if what do you know about our topic. Write your ideas in the first column.

What I Know Questions: What I Learned (Activity 4)

1 When do we say that a student
has difficulty in moving/walking?

2 What are the red flags to

determine a child with difficulty in
moving/walking?

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 EDU 537: Foundations of Special and Inclusive Education
Student’s Module #19

Name:______________________________________________________ Class number: _______

Section: _______________ Schedule:____________________________ Date: _______________

B.MAIN LESSON

1) Activity 2: Content Notes (13 mins)

Read carefully the content notes and try to highlight or underline the key terms for greater level
of understanding.

Learners with Difficulty Moving/Walking

According to the New Brunswick Human Rights Commission (2011), physical disability is defined as:
Any degree of disability, infirmity, malformation or disfigurement of a physical nature caused by bodily
injury, illness or birth defect and includes, but is not limited to, a disability resulting from any degree of
paralysis or from diabetes mellitus, epilepsy, amputation, lack of physical coordination, blindness or visual
impediment, deafness or hearing impediment, muteness or speech impediment, or physical reliance on
a guide dog or on a wheelchair, cane, crutch or other remedial device or appliance.

A physical disability must not be confused with intellectual disability. Some individuals with physical
disabilities have problems with diction, for example, but their intellectual capacity is not affected in any
way. Physical disability varies according to the type and intensity of loss of mobility. People with a physical
disability have a loss that reduces the body’s motor skills. Motor skills are based on a complex body
structure, which includes the nervous system, spinal cord, muscles, nerves, and joints. The disability
affects one or more of these elements (e.g., muscular, neurological, or skeletal systems) rather than a
certain part of the body.

There are a wide range of problems grouped together under the term physical disability. They may
be directly linked to the disability or may be problems associated with some of the following conditions:
amputation, cerebral palsy (cerebral motor disorder), congenital conditions, epilepsy, Friedreich’s ataxia,
head injury, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, paraplegia/quadriplegia,
scoliosis, or spina bifida. Some disabilities involve the use of mobility devices such as prostheses,
orthoses, a cane, a wheelchair, crutches, or a walker.

Common Traits
As IDEA’s definition demonstrates, orthopedic impairments can stem from various causes. While
most of the causes listed are fairly self-explanatory, “burns that cause contractures” warrants further
explanation. The National Institutes of Health’s Medline Plus Medical dictionary defines “contracture” as
“a permanent shortening (as of muscle, tendon, or scar tissue) producing deformity or distortion.”

An evaluation is required for a disability to be classified as an orthopedic impairment. While the exact
requirements for such an evaluation vary by location, this process generally includes a medical
assessment performed by a doctor, detecting how the impairment may impact a child’s academic
performance and observing the child in his or her educational atmosphere.

Impact of a physical disability

The impact of physical disability on learning will vary but for most students the issues of most
significance relate to physical access, manipulation of equipment (e.g. in a laboratory), access to
computers, participation in field trips and the time and energy expended in moving around campus.

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 EDU 537: Foundations of Special and Inclusive Education
Student’s Module #19

Name:______________________________________________________ Class number: _______

Section: _______________ Schedule:____________________________ Date: _______________

Students may be affected in the following ways:

• When there is limited time to move between venues, students may miss the beginning of a class.
• Fatigue is common for many of these students. Using facilities that others take for granted, such as
toilets, food-outlets, libraries and lecture rooms, may be a major undertaking.
• Some students may experience functional difficulties: an inability to write using a pen; reduced writing
speed; involuntary head movements which affect the ability to read standard-sized print; and reduced
ability to manipulate resources in the learning environment. They may have difficulty turning pages or
using standard computers.
• Students may have frequent or unexpected absences from class owing to hospitalization or changes in
their rehabilitation or treatment procedure. Earlier periods of hospitalization may have meant gaps in
schooling.
• Students with a long-standing mobility disability may have experienced gaps in their schooling due to
periods of hospitalization. This may have affected their confidence in learning.
• Students with a mobility impairment may have fewer opportunities for interaction with other students.
Feelings of separateness in the learning environment may have an impact on learning.

Teaching Strategies
There is a range of inclusive teaching strategies that can assist all students to learn but there are
some specific strategies that are useful in teaching a group which includes students with physical
impairment.

The fact that students have a mobility disability may not always be immediately apparent. Needs will vary,
and difficulties may fluctuate. Some students will choose to disclose their disability; others will not. At
your first lecture, you might invite any students who have a disability to contact you for a confidential
discussion of their specific learning needs. You might also ask students what, if any, information would
need to be shared with other members of staff, or with other students in the class. Below are some further
suggestions:

• Students who use wheelchairs, callipers or crutches, or who tire easily, may find it difficult moving about
within the constraints of lecture timetables. Absence or lateness may be a result of the distance
between teaching venues, so at the end of a lecture you may need to recap any information given at
the beginning.
• Check that academic activities which take place off-campus (such as industry visits, interviews or
fieldwork) are accessible to people with a mobility disability. Consider supplementary laboratory
practicals, films or videos as alternative options to field trips.
• Students with a mobility disability may sometimes wish to use their own furniture, such as ergonomic
chairs or sloped writing tables. Extra space may need to be created in teaching rooms, but this should
be done unobtrusively.
• Some students with back problems may prefer to stand in lectures or classes, rather than sit.
• Some students may need to use a tape recorder or note-taker in lectures. Extra time is involved in
processing information acquired in this way. It is common practice in some departments to routinely
tape all lectures. This is a practice which will assist a variety of students, including those who may be
absent from time to time because of their disability.

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 EDU 537: Foundations of Special and Inclusive Education
Student’s Module #19

Name:______________________________________________________ Class number: _______

Section: _______________ Schedule:____________________________ Date: _______________

• Students may need extensions to deadlines for work involving locating and using library resources.
Provide reading lists well before the start of a course so that reading can begin early.
• Academic isolation may be an issue for students who are unable to participate in some class activities.
One-to-one sessions with a tutor may help fill this gap in participation.

2) Activity 3: Skill-building Activities

Let’s check what you have learned. Analyze the scenario below and apply the concepts learned on this
topic.

John-john is a student who has difficulty walking. Most of the times he is late for his class because he is
required to transfer classrooms. Most of the times he is absent in PE class because he lacks confidence
to join the games. Given the situation choose the behavior that needs to be improved and what are the
accommodations for this?

Behavior Accommodation

3) Activity 4: What I Know Chart, part 2 (2 mins)

Now let us assess if you have learned something new, let’s go back to the What I Know Chart from
Activity 1 and write your answers to the questions based on what you know now in the third column of
the chart.

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 EDU 537: Foundations of Special and Inclusive Education
Student’s Module #19

Name:______________________________________________________ Class number: _______

Section: _______________ Schedule:____________________________ Date: _______________

4) Activity 5: Check for Understanding (5 mins)

Design an infographic for the people to be aware of the things they should and should not do if they see
a person with a difficulty in moving or walking.

C. LESSON WRAP-UP

1) Activity 6: Thinking about Learning (5 mins)

Congratulations for finishing this module! Shade the number of the module that you finished.

Great Job! Did you finish all parts of the module? Do you have any questions you may want to ask to
clarify the topic? You may write any question to further help you learn and your teacher will get to you
on the answers.

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 EDU 537: Foundations of Special and Inclusive Education
Student’s Module #19

Name:______________________________________________________ Class number: _______

Section: _______________ Schedule:____________________________ Date: _______________

FAQs

Food for Thought!

If you have questions that you cannot ask to your teacher, this may help you clarify things out.

1. How do you support a learner with physical impairment?

→ Remove obstacles so that the learner can move freely from lesson to lesson. Encourage support for the
learner from the classmate. Incorporate advise from the occupational therapist in the student’s
programme.

KEY TO CORRECTIONS

Answers on Skill-building Activity (Act.3)

(Answers may vary)

Answer on Check for Understanding Activity (Act. 5)

(Answers may vary)

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