Typology of Learners with Special Needs

c. Learners with Physical Disability -

1. Visual Impairment
Finals: Module 12-A (ProfEd F/TC 4)
ProfEd F/TC 4 - Module 12: Learners with Physical Disability

Learning Objectives

At the end of the lesson, the students should be able to:

a. identify the disabilities which falls under the category of physical
disabilities;
b. distinguish the causes and characteristics of students with
physical disabilities;
c. describe the different types of students with physical disabilities;
and
d. identify the educational considerations which need to be
considered in teaching students with physical disabilities.
ProfEd F/TC 4 - Module 12: Learners with Physical Disability

Guide Questions for Modules 12

1. What are the examples of physical disabilities? Define each of them.

2. If you were to choose one of the disability under physical
disabilities, which do you like to teach and why?
3. Why is it important that we know the characteristics of students with
physical disabilities?
4. Why do we need to always consider the different educational
considerations when teaching students with physical disabilities?
ProfEd F/TC 4 - Module 12: Learners with Physical Disability

Julian’s Story
When Julian was almost two years
old, he developed this adorable habit
of closing one eye when he looked at
you. It almost seemed as if he were
winking. The possibility that Julian
had a visual impairment didn’t initially
occur to his parents, but when
Julian’s right eye started crossing
inward toward his nose…
ProfEd F/TC 4 - Module 12: Learners with Physical Disability

Off they went to the eye doctor, who

confirmed that, yes, Julian had a visual
impairment—amblyopia, often called “lazy
eye.” As the most common cause of vision
problems in children, amblyopia is the
medical term used when vision in one eye
is reduced because that eye and the brain
are not working together properly.  Julian
was also very farsighted, especially in the
eye he’d taken to closing.
ProfEd F/TC 4 - Module 12: Learners with Physical Disability

Soon Julian had a brand-new pair of durable glasses suited

to his active two-year-old self. The eye doctor also put an
eyepatch over Julian’s better eye, so that he would have
to use the weaker eye and strengthen its communication with
the brain. Otherwise, the eye doctor said, the brain would begin
to ignore the images sent by the weaker eye, resulting in
permanent vision problems in that eye.

Julian took good care of his glasses, but he didn’t take well
to the patch, unfortunately. He ripped it off every time his
parents put it on…and back on… and back on again. So today
his eye still turns inward if he doesn’t wear his glasses.
ProfEd F/TC 4 - Module 12: Learners with Physical Disability

I. Definition according to IDEA

● Visual impairment including blindness means

an impairment in vision that, even with
correction, adversely affects a child’s
educational performance. The term includes
both partial sight and blindness.
ProfEd F/TC 4 - Module 12: Learners with Physical Disability

II. Causes
These systemic conditions may cause visual impairment:
● Diabetes
● Hypertension (high blood pressure)
● Cerebrovascular (brain blood vessel) disease or stroke
● Atherosclerotic disease (cholesterol deposits in blood vessels, including those of the eye)
● Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) usually due to infection with cytomegalovirus, a
virus that affects the eye
● Vitamin A deficiency
● Infections involving the eyes
● Some eye infections, including those caused by parasites, are more common in developing
countries. Infections in a pregnant woman can affect the fetus. This type of vision loss,
present from birth, is called congenital blindness.
ProfEd F/TC 4 - Module 12: Learners with Physical Disability

III. Signs / Symptoms

Common signs that a child may have a visual impairment include the
following:
● Eyes that don’t move together when following an object or a face
● Crossed eyes, eyes that turn out or in, eyes that flutter from side to side or up and
down, or eyes that do not seem to focus
● Eyes that bulge, dance, or bounce in rapid rhythmic movements
● Pupils that are unequal in size or that appear white instead of black
● Repeated shutting or covering of one eye (as noticed with Julian)
● Unusual degree of clumsiness, such as frequent bumping into things or knocking
things over
● Frequent squinting, blinking, eye-rubbing, or face crunching, especially when
there’s no bright light present
ProfEd F/TC 4 - Module 11: Learners with Physical Disability - Visual
Impairment

IV. Types of Visual Impairment

Most of us are familiar with visual impairments such as
nearsightedness and farsightedness. Less familiar visual
impairments include:

● strabismus, where the eyes look in different directions and do

not focus simultaneously on a single point;
● congenital cataracts, where the lens of the eye is cloudy;
ProfEd F/TC 4 - Module 11: Learners with Physical Disability - Visual
Impairment

● Strabismus ● Congenital Cataract

ProfEd F/TC 4 - Module 11: Learners with Physical Disability - Visual
Impairment

● retinopathy of prematurity, which may occur in

premature babies when the light-sensitive retina
hasn’t developed sufficiently before birth;
● retinitis pigmentosa, a rare inherited disease that
slowly destroys the retina;
ProfEd F/TC 4 - Module 11: Learners with Physical Disability - Visual
Impairment

● retinopathy of prematurity
● retinitis pigmentosa
ProfEd F/TC 4 - Module 11: Learners with Physical Disability - Visual
Impairment

● coloboma, where a portion of the structure

of the eye is missing;
● optic nerve hypoplasia, which is caused by
underdeveloped fibers in the optic nerve
and which affects depth perception,
sensitivity to light, and acuity of vision; and
● cortical visual impairment (CVI), which
is caused by damage to the part of the brain
related to vision, not to the eyes themselves.
ProfEd F/TC 4 - Module 11: Learners with Physical Disability - Visual
Impairment

● optic nerve hypoplasia ● cortical visual impairment

ProfEd F/TC 4 - Module 11: Learners with Physical Disability - Visual
Impairment

V. Understanding How Children with Visual Impairments Learn

● Children with visual impairments can certainly learn and do learn well, but they lack
the easy access to visual learning that sighted children have. The enormous amount
of learning that takes place via vision must now be achieved using other senses and
methods.
Hands are a primary information-gathering tool for children with visual impairments.
So are the senses of smell, touch, taste, and hearing. Until the child holds the “thing”
to be learned and explores its dimensions—let us say, a stuffed animal, a dog, a salt
shaker, or a CD player —he or she cannot grasp its details. That is why sensory
learning is so powerful for children with visual impairment and why they need to
have as many opportunities as possible to experience objects directly and sensorially.
ProfEd F/TC 4 - Module 11: Learners with Physical Disability - Visual
Impairment

Families, friends, and others can support sensorial learning in many

ways.
“Mmmm. Do you smell dinner?” appeals to the child’s sense of
smell.
“Listen to that bird singing outside” calls to the child’s hearing.
You might also say, “That’s a robin,” which gives the child a name
for the bird that sings the song he or she is hearing.
“Your clothes are so soft today” speaks to the child’s sense of
touch and helps the child build a picture of the “whole” from the
many details.
ProfEd F/TC 4 - Module 11: Learners with Physical Disability - Visual
Impairment

● Being able to see enables us to capture the

“whole” of an object immediately. This isn’t so
for children with a visual impairment. They
cannot see the “whole,” they have to work from
the details up to build an understanding of the
whole.
ProfEd F/TC 4 - Module 11: Learners with Physical Disability - Visual
Impairment

VI. Educational Considerations

Children with visual impairments need to learn the same subjects and
academic skills as their sighted peers, although they will probably do so in
adapted ways. They must also learn an expanded set of skills that are
distinctly vision-related, including learning how to:

● move about safely and independently, which is known as orientation and

mobility (O&M);
● use assistive technologies designed for children with visual impairments;
ProfEd F/TC 4 - Module 11: Learners with Physical Disability - Visual
Impairment

● use what residual vision they have effectively and efficiently; and
● read and write in Braille, if determined appropriate by the IEP team of
the child after a thorough evaluation.
These are just some of the skills that need to be discussed by the student’s
IEP team and included in the IEP, if the team decides that’s appropriate.
Each of the above skill areas—and more—can be addressed under the
umbrella of special education and related services for a child with a visual
impairment.
Typology of Learners with Special Needs
c. Learners with Physical Disability -
2. Hearing Impairment
Finals: Module 12-B (ProfEd F/TC 4)
ProfEd F/TC 4 - Module 11: Learners with Physical Disability - Visual
Impairment

Learning Objectives

At the end of the lesson, the students should be able to:

a. identify the disabilities which falls under the category of physical
disabilities;
b. distinguish the causes and characteristics of students with
physical disabilities;
c. describe the different types of students with physical disabilities;
and
d. identify the educational considerations which need to be
considered in teaching students with physical disabilities.
ProfEd F/TC 4 - Module 11: Learners with Physical Disability - Visual
Impairment

Guide Questions for Modules 11-14

1. What are the 4 examples of physical disabilities? Define each of

them.
2. If you were to choose one of the disability under physical
disabilities, which do you like to teach and why?
3. Why is it important that we know the characteristics of students with
physical disabilities?
4. Why do we need to always consider the different educational
considerations when teaching students with physical disabilities?
ProfEd F/TC 4 - Module 12: Learners with Physical Disability - Hearing
Impairment

How does the sound travel?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQEaiZ2j9oc
ProfEd F/TC 4 - Module 12: Learners with Physical Disability - Hearing
Impairment

I. Definition according to IDEA

Hearing impairment is defined by IDEA as "an impairment in hearing,
whether permanent or fluctuating, that adversely affects a child's
educational performance."

Deafness is defined as "a hearing impairment that is so severe that the child
is impaired in processing linguistic information through hearing, with or
without amplification."

Thus, deafness may be viewed as a condition that prevents an individual from

receiving sound in all or most of its forms. In contrast, a child with hearing loss
can generally respond to auditory stimuli, including speech.
ProfEd F/TC 4 - Module 12: Learners with Physical Disability - Hearing
Impairment

II. Causes
Causes of hearing loss include:
1. Damage to the inner ear. Aging and exposure to loud noise may cause wear and tear
on the hairs or nerve cells in the cochlea that send sound signals to the brain. When
these hairs or nerve cells are damaged or missing, electrical signals aren't transmitted
as efficiently, and hearing loss occurs.
2. Gradual buildup of earwax. Earwax can block the ear canal and prevent conduction
of sound waves. Earwax removal can help restore your hearing.
3. Ear infection and abnormal bone growths or tumors. In the outer or middle ear,
any of these can cause hearing loss.
4. Ruptured eardrum (tympanic membrane perforation). Loud blasts of noise,
sudden changes in pressure, poking your eardrum with an object and infection can
cause your eardrum to rupture and affect your hearing.
ProfEd F/TC 4 - Module 12: Learners with Physical Disability - Hearing
Impairment

Factors that may damage or lead to loss of the hairs and nerve cells in your inner
ear include:
Aging. Degeneration of inner ear structures occurs over time.
Loud noise. Exposure to loud sounds can damage the cells of your
inner ear. Damage can occur with long-term exposure to loud noises,
or from a short blast of noise, such as from a gunshot.
Heredity. Your genetic makeup may make you more susceptible to ear
damage from sound or deterioration from aging.
Occupational noises. Jobs where loud noise is a regular part of the
working environment, such as farming, construction or factory work,
can lead to damage inside your ear.
ProfEd F/TC 4 - Module 12: Learners with Physical Disability - Hearing
Impairment

Recreational noises. Exposure to explosive noises, such as from

firearms and jet engines, can cause immediate, permanent hearing loss.
Other recreational activities with dangerously high noise levels include
snowmobiling, motorcycling, carpentry or listening to loud music.
Some medications. Drugs such as the antibiotic gentamicin, sildenafil
and certain chemotherapy drugs, can damage the inner ear. Temporary
effects on your hearing — ringing in the ear (tinnitus) or hearing loss
— can occur if you take very high doses of aspirin, other pain
relievers, antimalarial drugs or loop diuretics.
Some illnesses. Diseases or illnesses that result in high fever, such as
meningitis, may damage the cochlea.
ProfEd F/TC 4 - Module 12: Learners with Physical Disability - Hearing
Impairment

III. Signs / Symptoms

To identify learners with difficulty hearing observe a student and see if he/she does the
following:
1. Speaking loudly
2. Positioning ear toward the direction of the one speaking
3. Asking for information to be repeated again and again
4. Delayed development of speech
5. Watching the face of the speaker intently
6. Favoring one ear
7. Not responding when called
8. Has difficulty following directions
9. Does not mind loud noises
10. Leaning close to the source of the sound
ProfEd F/TC 4 - Module 12: Learners with Physical Disability - Hearing
Impairment

IV. Types
There are four types of hearing loss:
1. Conductive hearing loss is caused by diseases or
obstructions in the outer or middle ear (the pathways for
sound to reach the inner ear). Conductive hearing losses
usually affect all frequencies of hearing evenly and do not
result in severe losses. A person with a conductive hearing
loss usually is able to use a hearing aid well or can be helped
medically or surgically.
ProfEd F/TC 4 - Module 12: Learners with Physical Disability - Hearing
Impairment
ProfEd F/TC 4 - Module 12: Learners with Physical Disability - Hearing
Impairment

2. Sensorineural hearing loss results from damage to the delicate sensory

hair cells of the inner ear or the nerves that supply it. These hearing losses
can range from mild to profound. They often affect the person’s ability to
hear certain frequencies more than others. Thus, even with amplification to
increase the sound level, a person with a sensorineural hearing loss may
perceive distorted sounds, sometimes making the successful use of a hearing
aid impossible.
3. A mixed hearing loss refers to a combination of conductive and
sensorineural loss and means that a problem occurs in both the outer or
middle and the inner ear.
4. A central hearing loss results from damage or impairment to the nerves
or nuclei of the central nervous system, either in the pathways to the
brain or in the brain itself.
ProfEd F/TC 4 - Module 12: Learners with Physical Disability - Hearing
Impairment

V. Educational Considerations

Hearing loss or deafness does not affect a person’s intellectual capacity

or ability to learn. However, children who are hard of hearing or deaf
generally require some form of special education services in order to
receive an adequate education. Such services may include:

● regular speech, language, and auditory training from a specialist;

● amplification systems;
ProfEd F/TC 4 - Module 12: Learners with Physical Disability - Hearing
Impairment

● services of an interpreter for those students who use sign

language;
● favorable seating in the class to facilitate lip reading;
● captioned films/videos;
● assistance of a notetaker, who takes notes for the student with a
hearing loss, so that the student can fully attend to instruction;
● instruction for the teacher and peers in alternate communication
methods, such as sign language; and counseling.
ProfEd F/TC 4 - Module 12: Learners with Physical Disability - Hearing
Impairment

VI. Methods of Communications

• American Sign Language (ASL): This is the primary language of people who are deaf. It
consists of a combination of hand movements and positions to express thoughts and
phrases.
• Finger spelling: This is a manual form of communication in which the hand and fingers
spell out letters of the alphabet to form words.
• Lipreading: This is a difficult skill used only by about 10% of people with hearing
impairments. Therefore, don't assume that a deaf person to whom you are speaking can lip
read. Even if a person cannot lip read, however, being allowed to see the speaker's mouth
provides helpful visual cues.
• Written communication ("Pad and Pencil"): This is a fairly simple way to
communicate with a person who is deaf. Remember, however, that sign language is the
primary language for most persons who are deaf; English is a second language, so keep
your words simple.
• Oral communication
ProfEd F/TC 4 - Module 11: Learners with Physical Disability - Visual
Impairment

REFERENCES

● https://www.parentcenterhub.org/hearingloss/#types
● https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hearing-loss/
symptoms-causes/syc-20373072
ProfEd F/TC 4 - Module 12: Learners with Physical Disability - Hearing
Impairment

Teaching Tips
● Position yourself where the student with the hearing impairment can see
your lips and maintain eye contact; do not turn your back on the student
and talk.
● When outdoors, position yourself so that you face the sun rather than the
student.
● Use visual attention-getters (i.e., bright cones, jersey flags).
● Provide adequate lighting in the teaching environment.
● Encourage the use of what hearing the student may have.
● Coordinate communication methods (oral, sign, total communication)
with your school.
ProfEd F/TC 4 - Module 12: Learners with Physical Disability - Hearing
Impairment

● Learn some basic signs and use them during instruction.

● Refrain from having long lines and circle formations when giving
information.
● Demonstrate or have a student demonstrate.
● Stand still while giving instructions and keep instructions simple and
direct.
● Select activities that allow the student to be actively involved
throughout.
● Stand still while giving instructions and keep instructions simple and
direct.
● Select activities that allow the student to be actively involved
throughout.
● Provide a safe place for hearing aids in aquatics and contact sports.
ProfEd F/TC 4 - Module 12: Learners with Physical Disability - Hearing
Impairment

● Talk to the student, not to the interpreter.

● Use sign language only if you're qualified. Otherwise, incorrect
information may be conveyed.
● Do not shout. Hearing aids make sounds louder, but they do not
clarify the person's reception or understanding of the sound. The
presence of a hearing aid does not mean that the person can hear
normally.
● If all else fails, use a pad and pencil to communicate. Since this often
isolates the person with a hearing impairment from the group, try to
use writing only if oral speech, lip reading, sign language, gestures,
and finger spelling have failed.
ProfEd F/TC 4 - Module 12: Learners with Physical Disability - Hearing
Impairment

● Watch the person who is deaf or hearing impaired

carefully for facial expressions and body language that
will help you determine the success of your
communication.
● If you have trouble understanding the speech of a person
who is deaf, don't hesitate to ask him to repeat what he
said. Your willingness and desire to communicate is
what is most important, not the ease with which you
understand.
ProfEd F/TC 4 - Module 11: Learners with Physical Disability - Visual
Impairment

REFERENCES

● https://www.parentcenterhub.org/visualimpairment/#kids
● https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/197487