SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS (SEN)

1. SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS (SEN) CIE A Level Psych- Educational Psychology

2. CIE Syllabus Components for Special Education Needs (SEN) • Topic 1: Definitions, Types, & Assessment of Special Education Needs (including gifted children)  • Definitions of special education needs and giftedness • Types & Assessments: Dyslexia, ADHD, Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) • Assessments: Advantages & Disadvantages • Topic 2: Causes & Effects of one special education need • Autism (ASD)- Possible Causes of and Effects (characteristics) of Autism • Dyslexia- (Refer to review literature for content) • Topic 3: Strategies for Educating Children with Special Needs • Integration vs. Segregation (Focus on Autism) • Acceleration vs. Enrichment • For Gifted children- Schoolwide Enrichment Model (SEM) (Renzulli, 1977) • Strategies for Overcoming Dyslexia • Alpha to Omega method (Hornsby & Shear, 1976)

3. AICE Syllabus Components • Topic 1: Definitions, Types, & Assessment of Special Education Needs (including gifted children)  • Definitions of special education needs and giftedness • Types & Assessments: • Dyslexia • ADHD • Giftedness • Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) (talked about in next topic) • Assessments: • Advantages & Disadvantages

4. Defining Special Education Needs • Though there is not a clear-cut definition, special educational needs can be described as: • Clark (2013) notes “where a child who is not educationally ‘average,’ either because of giftedness or disability, and may need different educational strategies and/or facilities from the norm • May be a result of a physical and/or mental ‘exceptionality’ • For the ‘exceptional’ student, may show a significantly greater difficulty in learning than most students of the same age • For ‘gifted’ student, may show a significantly greater ease of learning and/or higher levels of creativity/motivation/etc

5. Defining SEN (not giftedness) A child with SEN may have: • a significantly greater difficulty in learning than other children of the same age OR • a disability that needs different educational facilities from those that schools usually provide. • This definition includes both physical and cognitive needs.

6. Defining Special Education Needs • Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) (1975) • Requires that educators working with students with exceptionalities do the following: • Provide free & appropriate public education • Educate children in the ‘least restrictive environment’ (LRE) • Protect against discrimination in testing • Involve parent/guardian(s) in developing the child’s educational plan • Develop an individualized education plan (IEP) for the student

7. Defining Giftedness • Marland (1972) defines gifted children as those ‘who by virtue of outstanding abilities are capable of high performance’ • Gifted children often display qualities of: • Quickly learning and/or adapting new info • Ability to transfer knowledge/skills to new situations • Meta-cognitive awareness • Research has listed early signs of giftedness: • Bridges (1969)- reading at age 3 & tons of energy • Tempest (1974)- high competitiveness & ability to handle abstract problems

8. Defining Giftedness • Mixed ideas about what constitutes a child as ‘gifted’ • Most agree on a 130+ IQ, high creativity, ease of learning new info, high curiosity, wide range of interests, & high motivation • Some argue based only on the IQ range, noting that 140+ is the key (Marland, 1972) • Some argue that it is the skills that they possess and display (Sternberg & Wagner, 1982) • *Most agree somewhere in the middle ground that ‘gifted’ students have the IQ, have specific abilities, high levels of commitment, motivation, and creativity (Renzulli, 1986) • ‘Gifted but learning disabled’ (Baum, 1990) • Students who display gifted qualities but have learning difficulties at the same time (such as students with dylexia) • Often seen as one or the other, not as a mix of the two

9. Your Assignment • Research dyslexia, ADHD, and Autism Spectrum Disorder(ASD) • Make sure to: • Define the disability • Describe different types and symptoms • Explain assessments for SEN students (in schools) • Create a short quiz (5 Qs)

10. Types of SEN- Dyslexia • Dyslexia- a combination of abilities & difficulties that affect the learning process in one or more of reading, spelling, & writing (British Dyslexia Association) • Seen to be a persistent condition • Auditory dyslexia- hearing words in a scrambled way, taking more time than average to process those words, and an issue with connecting sounds to the symbols that letters are • Visual dyslexia- prevents you from recognizing and remembering how words look- often includes reversing numbers/letters • Impacts 3-5% of the population and tends to be hereditary • 3-4 times more prevalent in boys

11. Types of SEN- Dyslexia • Common characteristics of dyslexia • Letter reversal or rotation (‘d’ may be shown as ‘b’ or ‘p’) • Misspelling (‘discutian’ for ‘discussion’) • Scrambling letters (‘brid’ for ‘bird’) • Problems keeping track of correct place when reading or pronouncing unfamiliar words • Problems with sequencing • Issues with fine and/or motor skills (writing, moving, etc.)

12. Types of SEN- ADHD • ADHD has two parts: • an attention deficit strand • can be illustrated by behaviors such as inattentiveness in class or being very easily distracted or taken off task • a hyperactivity strand • could include over-activity, impulsivity • ADHD can be diagnosed with enough symptoms from one of the two strands, or a combination of symptoms from both strands (detailed on next page & DSM-V content)

13. Types of SEN- ADHD • To be diagnosed, a child must show “a persistent pattern of inattention and/or hyperactivity-impulsivity that interferes with functioning or development, as characterized by (1) and/or (2): • 1. Inattention: 6 (or more) of the following for at least 6 months (for those 17+, at least 5 are required) • Lack of close attention or makes careless mistakes • Difficulty in sustaining attention in tasks or play activities • Often does not seem to listen when spoken to directly • Often does not follow through on instructions & fails to finish tasks • Often difficulty organizing tasks & activities • Often avoids, dislikes, or reluctant to engage in sustaining mental tasks • (more in DSM-V manual)

14. Types of SEN- ADHD • 2. Hyperactivity and impulsivity: 6 (or more) of the following for at least 6 months (for those 17+, at least 5 are required) • Often fidgets with or taps hands or feet or squirms in seat • Often leaves seat in situations when remaining in seat is expected • Often runs or climbs in inappropriate situations • Often unable to play or engage in leisure activities quietly • Is often “on the go” acting as if “driven by a motor” • Often talks excessively • (more in DSM-V manual) • Also, several of the aforementioned symptoms: • (a) were present prior to age 12, (b) were present in 2+ settings, (c) interfere with/reduce quality of life, and (d) can not be explained by another disorder

15. Types of SEN- ADHD • Statistics on ADHD (in the US) • Avg age of diagnosis is 7 (symptoms appear b/w 3-6) • Roughly 11% of children have been diagnosed with ADHD • Rates have increased 42% over the past 8 years • Boys are 3× more likely to be diagnosed (13.2%>4.9%) • ADHD diagnoses vary by state (5% in NV to 19% in KY) • Caucasians (10%) are most prevalent, closely followed by African-American (9.5%), then Hispanics (5.5%)

16. Type of SEN- Autism(ASD) • DSM-V now includes all previous subcategories into the Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) • Generally characterized by impaired social relationships and skills, unusual behavior, and may include: • Communication and/or language deficits • Unusual sensitivity to sensory stimuli • Insistence on sameness and preservation • Ritualistic and unusual behavior patterns • Early symptoms may include lack of responding to social stimuli & ritualistic behaviors like repeating words and/or behaviors

17. Type of SEN- Autism(ASD) • Main characteristics of ASD: • Impairment of social interaction • May show difficulty in reciprocal social interactions, may come across as not being interested, and/or may like social contact but do not reciprocate it • Impairment of social communication • May find it difficult to communicate with others (both verbal and non-verbal), may lack eye contact, and/or use of gestures is limited • Impairment of social imagination • May have a difficulty in thinking imaginatively and/or pretend play may be absent or the same thing is repeated over & over

18. Type of SEN- Autism(ASD)

19. Types of SEN: Autism(ASD) • Statistics about Autism (according to Autism Society) • About 1% of the world population has a form of ASD • As of 2010 in the US, 1 in 68 children are born with ASD • up from 1/150 in 2000 (120% increase) • 4 times more prevalent in boys • About 35% of adults with ASD will not hold a job or attend college after finishing high school • Costs $8,600 more per year to educate a child with ASD • On top of the base of $12,500

20. Assessing Special Education Needs • Process goes through a multi-modal, multi-agency assessment with parent/guardian, teacher(s), doctor(s), and school/district personnel • Take into account child’s health, activities, relationships, behaviors, interests, etc • Looks at child’s strengths/weaknesses in the learning context • Usually involves various psychometric tests (like IQ, personality inventory) and assessments for specific disorders (like autism, AD(H)D, dyslexia, sensory impairments, etc)

21. Assessing Special Education Needs • SEN can be assessed in a variety of ways: • IQ tests- help to determine low and high IQs • Helps to yield signs of mental retardation and giftedness • Developmental tests- designed to assess fine/motor skills, language/social/cognitive/self-help skills, and others • Screening tests- aim to identify children who might need a more thorough test of a possibly identified special need • Can be done before or after IQ & developmental tests • Comprehensive tests- used to target possible special need(s) that assesses reading, spelling, drawing, math, reasoning, visual, and sequencing abilities • Used to determine which SEN are then to be taken

22. Assessing Special Education Needs • Advantages of assessing SEN • Provides students access to specialized help and strategies, • Otherwise wouldn’t be available to students without the diagnosis • Takes the 'blame' away from students • SEN students may see that their problems are the result of a condition, not that they are just 'stupid' etc. • This could have positive effects on their self-esteem • Provides opportunities for students to excel in their education and reach their full potential

23. Assessing Special Education Needs • Disadvantages of assessing SEN • Issue of 'labelling' • Student may be treated according to the label of the disease rather than as an individual • Teachers may treat the student as ‘lesser,’ ‘different,’ or even resent them due to different required teaching techniques • Every case will be different • There are individual differences between all students with SEN • Can be reductionist in grouping SEN students as one group

24. CIE Syllabus Components • Topic 2: Causes & Effects of one special education need   • Autism (ASD) • Possible Causes of Autism • Effects (characteristics) of Autism

25. Causes & Effects- Autism(ASD) • Genetic ‘Causes’ of ASD • Mutation in the SynGAP1 gene that severely disrupts how the developing brain circuits organize during first years • Medical influence during pregnancy • Having the flu doubles the risk of ASD • Fever lasting more than a week triples the risk of ASD • Parents with bipolar or schizophrenia show higher risk • Older fathers (40+) show a slightly greater risk of having offspring with ASD

26. Twin/Adoption Studies • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Trc2dJgeyvc • Check you can define the following terms: monozygotic, twin & adoption study, concordance rate • can you explain how twin studies could help us to answer questions in the nature/nurture debate?

27. Causes & Effects- Autism(ASD) • Genetic ‘Causes’- Twins studies • When one identical twin has autism, in 60% of cases their co-twin also has autism • Rivito et al (1985) found that there was a 96% concordance rate for MZ twins but only a 23% rate for DZ twins. • With fraternal twins there is a different pattern: most of the time when one twin has autism, the other does not have a diagnosis. • In comparison, regular siblings show a very small concordance rate • Bolton et al (1994) found that there was a 3% concordance rate for siblings with autism.

28. Theory of Mind (ToM) • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjkTQtggLH4 • Theory of mind is a term that refers to the beliefs we are able to form about other people's thoughts and intentions. It is what allows us to understand and make predictions about other people's behaviour.

29. Causes & Effects- Autism(ASD) • Cognitive ‘Causes’ of ASD • lack of Theory of Mind (Baron-Cohen & Frith, 1985) • Involves 2 stages of understanding someone else’s mindset • Stage 1- ability to attribute the relative mental state of another person (compassion) • Stage 2- ability to infer the content of that mental state (compassion for her mother’s loss) • Also referred to as ‘social intelligence’ by Baron-Cohen • The results of this test (and others since) suggest that that autistic individuals are not able to understand the inner mental states of others and therefore unable to think about how others might think or feel

30. Causes & Effects- Autism(ASD) • Other possible ‘causes’ of ASD • MMR vaccine link (though CDC states studies debunking this) • Certain food allergens • Chemical changes in the brain of children b/w 3-10 showed to be different (choline and N-acetylaspartane)

31. Causes & Effects- Autism(ASD) • Effects of Autism • Cognitive Effects: • Not being able to understand the thoughts/emotions of others (To M) • Other issues may depend upon the severity of student’s ASD • Social Effects: • Difficulty interacting in social environments, making it hard to create new friendships (Baron-Cohen & Wheelwright, 2003) • Student’s lack of ToM can wrongly be construed by others that the student is uncaring, insensitive, rude, or unkind • As students may lack social skills, this may result in loneliness, unhappiness, & low self-esteem • Obsessive traits can be misunderstood by others, but they can be a source of common ground with other children who like the same thing

32. Exam Q, Section C • a) Describe one cause and one effect of a learning difficulty or disability [6]

33. CIE Syllabus Components • Topic 3: Strategies for Educating Children with Special Needs • Integration vs. Segregation • For Students with SEN • Focus on Autism • Acceleration vs. Enrichment • For Gifted children • Focus on Schoolwide Enrichment Model (SEM) (Renzulli, 1977) • Strategies for Overcoming Dyslexia • Alpha to Omega method (Hornsby & Shear, 1976)

34. Integration vs. Segregation • This ‘battle’ stems from legal issues that secluding SEN students from others does not promote their learning needs and instead harms these students’ social and academic progress • Integration: SEN students go to school and spend most of their time in a 'normal' classroom with their 'normal' peers • AKA ‘Mainstreaming’ or ‘Least restrictive environment’ (LRE)- placing the student in a typical classroom while still meeting the needs of the students • May still receive specialist help (either through an teaching assistant with them or attending certain classes/pullouts) • Teachers work with various personnel to ‘customize’ the learning environment of the student

35. Integration vs. Segregation • Advantages of Integration: (Jenkinson, 1997) • Social learning of appropriate behaviors • Subject matter and teaching from trained teacher and assistance from SEN facilitator • A tendency for higher academic achievement • Disadvantages of Integration: (Johnson & Jones, 1999) • Classroom may be overwhelming for student (social and/or content) • Classroom teacher may not be trained on the disorder(s) • The child may not be able to get the same level of SEN specialist attention as they would elsewhere • The child may not feel successful in comparison to their peers in the class, damaging their self-esteem

36. Integration vs. Segregation • Segregation: SEN students either attend specialized schools or are secluded from other students ‘in-house’ at a traditional school • Was the primary form of schooling prior to 1970s • Often involves individual curricular and/or social goals • Often depends upon the severity of the SEN • May depend upon the student’s local school’s facilities and personnel

37. Integration vs. Segregation • Advantages of Segregation: (Smith, 1998) • Often allows for more one-on-one (or small group) instruction • Often enables SEN students to be instructed by teachers/facilitators that have been specially trained • Specialist therapies and/or training are more accessible • Disadvantages of Segregation: (Dunn, 1968) • Students miss opportunities for social learning in social contexts • Detrimental effects of labeling and secluding students • Possible problems with the integration of the students into society after school

38. Integration vs. Segregation • Research on Integration vs. Segregation debate • Hanline (1993)- found that secluding SEN preschool children resulted in social and communication benefits • *Cole (1991)- studied social integration of SEN students among 43 Minnesota classrooms over 2 years • Compared integrated and segregated school sites • Found evidence that developmental skill progress was similar in both types of schools among SEN students • *Concluded that SEN children in integrated sites progressed in social skill development while the segregated SEN children instead regressed in social skill development

39. Strategies for Educating SEN students • Strategies for Educating Students with ASD • There are two main common approaches: • 1- Attempt to make the classroom environment as predictable as possible • Includes focusing on routines, clearly outlined rules & expectations • 2- Focuses on social skills and attempts to help autistic students learn to interact with peers and adjust to social demands of the classroom/school • May include perspective taking and social problem solving

40. Strategies for Educating SEN students • Strategies for Educating Students with ASD • Other strategies: • Present info in visual manners to encourage processing • Use of technology-based instruction • Provide opportunities for autistic students to share their experiences & understanding with others • Encourage independent thinking and task completion • Present info that may stimulate all 5 senses • Facilitated Communication?

41. Strategies for Educating Gifted Students • Some advocate that students be educated in different schools, yet most stress that mainstream schools are the best setting to reduce social isolation that may lead to difficulties relating to others • A debate persists between the 2 approaches for gifted education: • Acceleration- using the same curriculum, students move ahead at a faster pace than non-gifted students • May include skipping grades, summer school, doubling courses, etc • Enrichment- either staying in the regular classroom or being pulled out for specialized classes, students are provided additional & different school experiences in order to promote potential (most common)

42. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hf5kuYxSa5o

43. Strategies for Educating Gifted Students • Gifted Education through Acceleration • Advantages: • Enables gifted students to achieve at their full potential of intellectual development by completing advanced material at an earlier age • ‘Removes’ the boredom and frustration of easy schoolwork • Allows gifted students to progress at their own pace and potentially specialize in topics of interest • Disadvantage: • Main documented issue has been social isolation that can lead to negative social and/or emotional effects

44. Strategies for Educating Gifted Students • Gifted Education through Enrichment • Schoolwide Enrichment Triad Model (SEM) (Renzulli, 1977) • A school-wide framework for providing different experiences to gifted learners • The talent pool of top 20% of above-average ability/high-potential students is identified through a variety of measures • For students who show that they have already mastered curricular content, their remaining curricular goals are then reworked to eliminate this content • Instead, students are then provided opportunities to learn new content that is at the next level and/or of personal interests

45. Strategies for Educating Gifted Students • SEM focuses on three types of enrichment: • Type I: General Exploratory Activities (top 20%) • Enrichment consists of general exploratory experiences such as guest speakers, field trips, demonstrations, interest centers, and the use of audiovisual materials designed to expose students to new and exciting topics, ideas, and fields of knowledge not ordinarily covered in the regular curriculum 

46. Strategies for Educating Gifted Students • SEM focuses on three types of enrichment: • Type II: Group Training Activities (top 20%) • Enrichment includes instructional methods and materials purposefully designed to promote the development of thinking, feeling, research, communication, and methodological processes • Type II training is meant to promote: • (a) creative thinking and problem solving, critical thinking, and affective processes • (b) a wide variety of specific learning-how-to-learn skills • (c) skills in the appropriate use of advanced-level reference materials • (d) written, oral, and visual communication skills

47. Strategies for Educating Gifted Students • SEM focuses on three types of enrichment: • Type III: Individual and Small Group (top 5%) • Type III Enrichment depends on an individual's interests, motivation, and desire to pursue advanced level study • Investigative activities and artistic productions where the student takes on the role of a practicing professional (given the student's level of development and age) • This enrichment takes a holistic approach in blending present or newly developed interests (Type I) with advanced level thinking and research skills (Type II) into application situations (Type III)

48. Strategies for Educating Gifted Students

49. http://www.gifted.uconn.edu/sem/movie/a_rising_tide.html

50. Strategies for Educating Gifted Students • Research into the Schoolwide Enrichment Triad Model has shown: • To improve teachers' attitudes toward the education of gifted students • Increase elementary students' attitudes toward learning and their self-concept • Positive changes in many aspects of schooling including instructional activities and student projects • To increase creativity and task commitment in targeted students • To be an appropriate intervention for special populations of gifted students, including SLD and those who are identified as underachieving • To assist many students in traditional programs for the gifted as well as high-ability students in vocational/technical schools to plan appropriate career choices