Special Education Overview

1. Special Education Overview Elementary Education, 1st Semester Fall, 2007

2. Key Terms in Special Education Exceptional Children: physical attributes and/or learning abilities differ from the norm (either below or above); individualized program of adapted, specialized education required to meet needs At-Risk: not currently identified as having a disability, but considered to have a greater-than-usual chance of developing a disability Disability (impairment): reduced function or loss of a particular body part or organ which limits ability to perform certain tasks Handicap: problem a person with a disability may have when interacting with the environment (a disability may be a handicap in one environment, but not another)

3. Six Major Principles of IDEA • Zero reject: schools must educate all children with disabilities • Nondiscriminatory identification and evaluation: schools must use nonbiased, multifactored methods of evaluation to determine disability and whether special education services are needed • Free, appropriate public education (FAPE): all children with disabilities must be provided an appropriate education at public expense. IEP (individualized education program) must be developed and implemented for each child who qualifies.

4. Six Major Principles of IDEA (continued) • Least restrictive environment: students with disabilities must be educated with peers without disabilities to the maximum extent appropriate to meet their individual needs. • Due process safeguards: schools must provide safeguards to protect the rights of children with disabilities and their parents. • Parent and student participation and shared decision making: schools must collaborate with parents and students in the design and implementation of special education services.

5. Disability Categories at Federal Level with MI terminology in ( ) • Specific Learning Disabilities (LD) = SLD • Speech or Language (Communication) Impairments = SLI • Mental Retardation (MR) = Cognitive Impairments (CI) • Serious Emotional Disturbance (SED) = Emotionally Impaired (EI) • Multiple Handicapped (MH) • Orthopedic Impairments • Other Health Impairments (OHI) = POHI (May include OI) • Hearing Impairment (HI) • Visual Impairments (VI) • Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) = Not separate in MI • Autism = Autistically Impaired (AI) • Early Childhood Intervention (ages 3-5 mandatory; infant-3 optional) = Pre-Primary Impaired • Talented and Gifted – not governed by IDEA SXI – Severely Multiply Impaired

6. Learning Disabilities Defined • Severe discrepancy between ability and achievement (different from state to state) • Definition may change to “Response to Intervention (RTI)”. • Need for special education services • 7 Areas: • basic reading, reading comp, writing (spelling) • dyslexia, dysgraphia • math calculation, math problem solving • dyscalculia • *** listening comp, oral expression *** • Exclusion criterion: learning problems not explained by other disabilities or lack of opportunity to learn

7. “Individuals with learning difficulties may appear to possess the characteristics of a person with learning disabilities. However, it is only when those learning difficulties are so pervasive or severe that they markedly interfere with learning or day-to-day living that a learning disability is suspected.” Lokerson: http://www.ldonline.org/ld_indepth/general_info/eric_ldgen.html

8. Some LD Characteristics • Spectrum from mild to severe • A person with learning disabilities is of average or above average intelligence • Academic difficulties (e.g. reading, math, spelling, writing) • Difficulty with psychological processes, including cognition, perception, language, attention, motor abilities, and social skills. For example: • Reasoning: Difficulty in organizing and integrating thoughts • Organization skills: Difficulty in organizing all facets of learning Inability to set realistic goals • Uneven/unpredictable test performance • Difficulty with concepts left-right, above-below, up-down, yesterday-tomorrow, in-out, etc. • Difficulty telling time • Poor eye-hand coordination • Clumsy/accident prone • Disorganized/loses things • Quick tempered/easily irritated or frustrated

9. Attention Problems and Hyperactivity • Physician determines • Can be subjective • ADHD Evaluation Scales • Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) • Dimensions: inattention, impulsivity, hyperactivity • Six or more symptoms for at least 6 months • May co-occur with LD, but not the same

10. Some Characteristics of ADHD • Hyperactivity or Impulsivity • Feeling restless, often fidgeting with hands or feet, or squirming while seated • Running, climbing, or leaving a seat in situations where sitting or quiet behavior is expected • Blurting out answers before hearing the whole question • Having difficulty waiting in line or taking turns. • Inattention • Often becoming easily distracted by irrelevant sights and sounds • Often failing to pay attention to details and making careless mistakes • Rarely following instructions carefully and completely losing or forgetting things like toys, or pencils, books, and tools needed for a task • Often skipping from one uncompleted activity to another. From: http://www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/adhd.cfm#symptoms

11. Cognitive Impairments • Intellectual & cognitive deficits • Deficits in adaptive behavior • Manifested during developmental period (birth to 18 yrs) • Some characteristics: • Slower pace of learning • Lack of age-appropriate adaptive behavior • Lack age-appropriate social skills • Receptive & expressive language deficits • Difficulties learning basic academic skills • Poor motor coordination

12. Emotional and Behavioral Disorders • Three criteria • Severity – behavior must differ markedly from norm • Difficulty in school – adverse effect on educational performance • Chronicity – problems have existed over long period of time; likely to be unresponsive to direct intervention in general education • Some characteristics • Deficits in social skills and maturity • Aggressive with peers or adults • Responds inappropriately to discipline • Appears oblivious to class/school rules • Higher risk for substance abuse • Acts socially withdrawn or isolated; has few friends • Affective disorders • Exhibits negative attributions

13. Autism • Autism is a complex developmental disability that typically • appears during the first three years of life and • is the result of a neurological disorder that affects the normal functioning of the brain • Autism impacts development in the areas of social interaction and communication skills. • Both children and adults with autism typically show difficulties in verbal and non-verbal communication, social interactions, and leisure or play activities. From: http://www.autism-society.org/site/PageServer?pagename=WhatisAutism

14. Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD) • Autism is one of five disorders that falls under the umbrella of Pervasive Developmental Disorders (PDD), a category of neurological disorders characterized by “severe and pervasive impairment in several areas of development.” The five disorders under PDD are: • Autistic Disorder • Asperger's Disorder • Childhood Disintegrative Disorder (CDD) • Rett's Disorder • PDD-Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS) Each of these disorders has specific diagnostic criteria which been outlined in the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic & Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR).

15. Process and respond to information in unique ways. In some cases, aggressive and/or self-injurious behavior may be present. Insistence on sameness; resistance to change Difficulty in expressing needs, using gestures or pointing instead of words Repeating words or phrases in place of normal, responsive language Laughing (and/or crying) for no apparent reason showing distress for reasons not apparent to others Preference to being alone; aloof manner Tantrums Difficulty in mixing with others Not wanting to cuddle or be cuddled Little or no eye contact Unresponsive to normal teaching methods Sustained odd play Spinning objects Obsessive attachment to objects Apparent over-sensitivity or under-sensitivity to pain No real fears of danger Noticeable physical over-activity or extreme under-activity Uneven gross/fine motor skills Non responsive to verbal cues; acts as if deaf, although hearing tests in normal range. Some Characteristics of Autism/PDD

16. Gifted/Talented • Not covered by IDEA • Renzulli’s Three-Component Definition: • above-average ability • creativity • task commitment • New definition: outstanding talent; exceptional talent • Reduced focus on IQ • Includes persons from all cultural and socioeconomic groups

17. Gifted Rapidly acquire, retain, use large amts of info Able to relate ideas easily Able to “think big” or “think outside the box” Acquire and manipulate abstractions easily Solve problems by reframing questions and creating novel solutions Highly gifted Intense intellectual curiosity/need for mental stimulation Fascination with words and ideas Perfectionism Need for precision Learn in great intuitive leaps Difficulty conforming to thinking of others Early moral and existential concern Tendency toward introversion Some Characteristics of Giftedness

18. Outcomes of Special Education in the U.S. • Age 14, IEP team must consider post-school goals • Age 16, Individualized Transition Plan must be developed Why? • The unemployment rate for young adults with disabilities • out of school < 2 years = 46% • out of school 3-5 years = 37% • 4 out of 5 former special education students had still not achieved independent adulthood after being out of high school for up to 5 years. Adults with disabilities continue to face lack of acceptance as full members of society. Source: 24th Annual Report to Congress on the Implementation of IDEA.