Special Education

FARAH NASIR
WEEK 13
 Educating Students with Special Needs
in the General Education Classroom

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act

(IDEA)
 IDEA grants educational rights to people with cognitive,
emotional, or physical disabilities from birth to age 21.

Jeanne Ellis Ormrod Copyright © 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc.

Educational Psychology: Developing Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458
Learners, sixth edition All rights reserved.
 IDEA

Guarantees the following:

 A free and appropriate education
 Fair and nondiscriminatory evaluation
 Education in the least-restrictive environment
 Individualized education program
 Due process

Jeanne Ellis Ormrod Copyright © 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc.

Educational Psychology: Developing Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458
Learners, sixth edition All rights reserved.
 Exceptional children
experience difficulties in
learning, their performance is
superior requiring
modifications in curriculum
and instruction to help them
fulfill their potential.
The terms impairment,
disability, and handicap are
sometimes used
interchangeably, but they are
not synonymous.
Impairment: the loss or reduced
function of a particular body part or
organ (e.g., a missing limb).
A disability exists when an
impairment limits a person’s ability
to perform certain tasks (e.g., walk,
see, add a row of numbers) in the same
way that most persons do. A person with a
disability is not handicapped, however,
unless the disability leads to educational,
personal, social, vocational, or other
problems.
Handicap: a problem or a
disadvantage that a person with
a disability or an impairment
encounters when interacting
with the environment. A
disability may pose a handicap in one
environment but not in another.
Concept of Special Educational Needs ( SEN)

( Frederickson & Cline, 2002)

Individual Environmental
Special Needs
Differences Demands
 Need for Special Education

Cater to Make ES
Help ES be Teach ES
needs of ES aware of
more self daily living
(exceptional external
sufficient skills
students) surroundings
 FACTORS THAT MAY IMPEDE HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

Causes of Disabilities
- Genetic
- Environmental
- May occur during the prenatal, natal, or postnatal periods

* Genetic Factors
- Sometimes disabilities and other conditions are inherited
- Down Syndrome, Hemophilia

* Environmental Factors
- Toxins in the air
- Water Pollution
- Lead Poisoning
- Poverty
  FACTORS THAT MAY IMPEDE HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
(continued)

 Prenatal (Before birth)

 * Poor nutrition
 * Hepatitis or measles
 * Drug use, alcohol or smoking * Natal (At the time of birth)
 * Medicine taken during pregnancy * Premature
 * Food additives * Loss of oxygen
 * Long Labor
 * Excessive hemorrhaging
 Postnatal (After birth) * Early separation of the placenta
 * Injury to central nervous system * Direct Injury to the head
 * Severe blows to head (accident or abuse)
 * Inability to breathe
 * Poisoning
 * Tumors
 * Infectious diseases such as Meningitis or Encephalitis
 3 Steps to Special Education

1. Pre-referral
 * Need interventions in place prior to referral

2. Evaluation
 * A team takes a comprehensive look at the needs of the student

3. Develop an IEP (Individual Education Program)

 * If eligible, an IEP is developed for that student
How Can A Student Qualify for Special Education Services?

• Autism Spectrum Disorders • Other Health Disabilities

(ASD)
• Blind-Visually Impaired
• Deaf-Blind
• Deaf and Hard of Hearing
(DHH)
• Developmental Cognitive
Disabilities (DCD)
• Developmental Delay (DD)
• Emotional or Behavioral
Disorders (EBD)
(OHD)
• Physically Impaired (PI)
• Severely Multiply Impaired
(SMI)
• Specific Learning Disability
(SLD)
• Speech or Language
Impairments
• Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
Students with Cognitive or Academic Difficulties

 Learning Disabilities students:

 Comprise the largest single category of students with
special needs
 Have average or above average IQ but specific
deficiencies
 May have difficulty sustaining attention
 Have poor reading skills
 Have ineffective learning/memory strategies
 Have difficulty with tasks involving abstract reasoning
 Have low motivation/poor self-concept
 Have poor motor skills (not always)
 Have poor social skills (not always)

Jeanne Ellis Ormrod Copyright © 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc.

Educational Psychology: Developing Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458
Learners, sixth edition All rights reserved.
 Students with Cognitive or Academic Difficulties

Strategies for adapting instruction for students with learning disabilities

include:
 Minimizing potentially distracting stimuli
 Using multiple methods of presentation
 Analyzing students’ errors for clues about processing difficulties
 Teaching learning and memory strategies
 Providing study aids

Jeanne Ellis Ormrod Copyright © 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc.

Educational Psychology: Developing Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458
Learners, sixth edition All rights reserved.
Students with Cognitive or Academic Difficulties

Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

(ADHD)
 Children with ADHD have the following characteristics:
 Inattentiveness, hyperactivity, and impulsive behavior
 Cognitive processing difficulties
 Poor school achievement
 Exceptional imagination and creativity
 Difficulty interpreting and reasoning about social
situations
 Few friendships

Jeanne Ellis Ormrod Copyright © 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc.

Educational Psychology: Developing Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458
Learners, sixth edition All rights reserved.
Students with Cognitive or Academic Difficulties

 Strategies for adapting instruction for students with

ADHD include:
 Giving the most challenging academic subjects and
tasks in the morning
 Teaching attention-maintaining strategies
 Providing outlets for excessive energy
 Helping them establish routines
 Teaching and encouraging appropriate classroom
behaviors

Jeanne Ellis Ormrod Copyright © 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc.

Educational Psychology: Developing Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458
Learners, sixth edition All rights reserved.
Students with Cognitive or Academic Difficulties

Speech and communication disorders are

characterized by impairments in spoken
language and/or comprehension that interfere
with classroom performance.

Students with speech and communication

disorders have the following characteristics:
 Difficulty with speaking, particularly in public
 Poor reading/writing skills

Jeanne Ellis Ormrod Copyright © 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc.

Educational Psychology: Developing Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458
Learners, sixth edition All rights reserved.
 Students with Cognitive or Academic Difficulties

 Strategies for adapting instruction for students with speech and communication
disorders include:
 Encouraging regular oral communication
 Asking for clarification when a message is unclear
 Providing a supportive environment for public speaking
 Listening patiently so that students have adequate time to express themselves

Jeanne Ellis Ormrod Copyright © 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc.

Educational Psychology: Developing Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458
Learners, sixth edition All rights reserved.
 Students with Social or Behavioral Problems

 Behaviors that consistently and significantly disrupt

academic learning and performance
 Difficulty interacting in socially acceptable ways
 Difficulty maintaining satisfactory interpersonal
relationships
 Low self-esteem
 Frequent absences
 Inability to recognize the severity of problem

Jeanne Ellis Ormrod Copyright © 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc.

Educational Psychology: Developing Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458
Learners, sixth edition All rights reserved.
 Students with Social or Behavioral Problems

 Strategies for adapting instruction for students with social or behavioral

problems include:
 Being alert for problems at home (e.g., abuse)
 Making classroom events/topics relevant
 Showing a personal interest in student
 Being alert for suicidal signs
 TEACHING interpersonal skills
 Being clear about expectations
 Identifying problems early

Jeanne Ellis Ormrod Copyright © 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc.

Educational Psychology: Developing Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458
Learners, sixth edition All rights reserved.
 Autism Spectrum Disorders

 Autism is a disability characterized by impaired

social interaction and communication, repetitive
behaviors, restricted interests, and a strong need for
a predictable environment.
 Students with autism often have:
 Strong visual-spatial thinking skills
 Impaired social cognition
 Echolalia
 Strong attachments to certain inanimate objects
 Abnormal movements

Jeanne Ellis Ormrod Copyright © 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc.

Educational Psychology: Developing Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458
Learners, sixth edition All rights reserved.
 Mental Retardation

Disability characterized by significantly below-average general

intelligence and deficits in adaptive behavior
Different than Learning Disabled—below- average IQ (70 or below)
Require adapted instruction
Often provided with vocational skills

Jeanne Ellis Ormrod Copyright © 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc.

Educational Psychology: Developing Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458
Learners, sixth edition All rights reserved.
 Students with Physical/Sensory challenges

 Includes illnesses or physical impairments such as deafness, blindness, etc.

 Learning ability usually perfectly normal
 Often given fewer opportunities to interact with peers
 Possibly low self-esteem, insecurity, embarrassment, etc.

Jeanne Ellis Ormrod Copyright © 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc.

Educational Psychology: Developing Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458
Learners, sixth edition All rights reserved.
 Students with Physical/Sensory Challenges

Adapting instruction for students with physical and/or sensory

challenges:
 Be sensitive
 Learn about physical condition of student
 Educate classmates about condition
 Refer to text for specific recommendations for each type of deficit

Jeanne Ellis Ormrod Copyright © 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc.

Educational Psychology: Developing Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458
Learners, sixth edition All rights reserved.
 Giftedness

There seems to be no universal agreement on what constitutes a gifted

child.
 Creativity and imaginative thinking are characteristics.
 Some “gifted” children excel in many areas, some in specific areas.
 IQ of 130 or higher can be used as an identifier.

Jeanne Ellis Ormrod Copyright © 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc.

Educational Psychology: Developing Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458
Learners, sixth edition All rights reserved.
 Giftedness

Common characteristics of the gifted child include:

 Learn with little effort
 Highly motivated
Terman’s longitudinal study found gifted children to be “well-rounded,”
emotionally stable, with good health, lower rates of delinquency, etc.

Jeanne Ellis Ormrod Copyright © 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc.

Educational Psychology: Developing Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458
Learners, sixth edition All rights reserved.
 Giftedness: The Problems

Students may feel impatient with peers who are not as smart as they.
Gifted students report frequent boredom and frustration at school.
Adjustment problems are evident in the extremely gifted.

Jeanne Ellis Ormrod Copyright © 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc.

Educational Psychology: Developing Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458
Learners, sixth edition All rights reserved.
 Giftedness

 Adapting instruction for the gifted student includes:

 Providing individualized tests and assignments
 Forming study groups of students with similar interests
and abilities
 Teaching complex cognitive skills within the context of
specific subject areas
 Providing opportunities for independent study
 Encouraging students to set high goals
 Seeking outside resources

Jeanne Ellis Ormrod Copyright © 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc.

Educational Psychology: Developing Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458
Learners, sixth edition All rights reserved.
 What Do We Need To Place in Sped?

• Meet criteria of one of the 13 disability categories

• Have a need for special education services due to

disability

• Must have BOTH in order to receive services

  What Is An Individual Education Program
(IEP)
• Developed by a team including the child’s parent(s), teacher(s), and supporting school
staff.

• The team meets annually (at a minimum) to review and update the IEP. Meet every 3
years to re-evaluate if the student continues to be eligible for services and determine
needs.

• Legally Binding Document

• States where services a student will receive and why
• Based on special education needs identified through a comprehensive evaluation process
• Planned at an IEP team meeting
• Includes the student’s
 - Placement
 - Services
 - Academic and Behavioral Goals
 - Accommodations and Modifications Needed
 - Paraprofessional Support and Duties
 - Positive Behavioral Support Plan (if needed)
 Key Areas
Roles and Supporting
Responsibiliti Social
es Integration

Supporting Serving as a
Functional Communicatio
Skills n Link
 Important!!

Never help a child with

a task at which he feels
The goal of Special Education is to help he can succeed”
students become independent and
contributing members of society.
 Levels of Support
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 What is a Prompt?

 Cues students need to respond to in the school environment.

 Example: timer set in a classroom to cue the student when some
activity is ending.
 Goal:
 to add just enough information that the student can learn to do some skill
independently.
 to prompt a student in a manner that the prompt can then be faded.
 Increasing Prompt Hierarchy
(Least-to-Most” Prompting)

 INDEPENDENT: the student knows how to do this task without

any help from you. THIS IS OUR GOAL!!!

 INDIRECT VERBAL: An indirect verbal prompt tells the student

Dire Parti Full

Ge Mo
that something is expected but not exactly what. Example: “What
next?” “Now what?” Start here when using the increasing
hierarchy. al Phys
ct
Ver
stu del Physi ical
cal assis
bal re ing assist t
 Assistive Technology
A device or service which helps a student gain independence in his
or her school environment.

For people without disabilities,

technology makes things easier. For people with
disabilities, technology makes things possible.
-IBM training manual 1991
 Assistive Technology (AT) Examples
 Activities of Daily Living (ADLs)- adapted utensils, adapted devices for
hygiene, dressing aids
 Communication- symbol systems, communication boards, simple voice
output devices, voice output with dynamic display, speech synthesizers
 Computer access- key guards, alternate keyboards, adapted mouse,
trackball, touch window, switch with scanning, voice recognition
software
 Environmental control- remote controls, switches that can activate
electronic devices such as a blender, fan, radio or lamp
 Hearing- hearing aids, closed captioning, flash alert on computer, FM
system
 Learning/Studying- picture schedule, electronic organizers, digital
recorders, software for concept development, handheld computers
 Math- money, calculator, talking watches/clocks, talking calculator,
scanning calculator, math software
 AT Examples Cont.
 Mobility- walkers, wheelchairs (manual and powered), bikes, mobile
standers
 Motor aspects of writing- pencil grips, adapted papers, slant board,
portable word processor, computer with word processor
 Positioning/Seating- non-slip surfaces, floor sitters, straps, trays, custom
fit wheelchair
 Reading- changes in text size or background color, symbols with text,
scan and read programs, electronic books
 Recreation- adapted toys, adapted sporting equipment, arem supports
for drawing, computer games
 Vision- magnifiers, large print books, screen magnifier, books on
CD/DVD, text reader, screen reader, Braille
 Writing- talking spell checker or dictionary, word prediction software,
talking word processor
 Communicate!

• Regularly ask for clarification on duties from the special education teacher
and other providers
 - Behavior plans
 - Accommodations and modifications
 - Issue that is occurring in the classroom
 - Discuss when things aren’t going well
 * Clarify the process to handle/prompt/etc.
 * Problem solve together if a change needs to be
made