Children with Exceptionalities

1. Chapter 1 Children with Exceptionalities

2. Exceptional vs. Disabilities vs. Handicapped vs. Special Needs?? • Exceptional Child: Child with disability and child with gifts and talents • What’s a typical child? • 6.0 million children can be classified in one of the categories of Exceptional children • 1 in every 10 children may be classified as Exceptional

3. RESPONSE TO INTERVENTION MODEL:RTI • Evidence based instructional practices • Hierarchy of supports and services • www.ncld.org National Center for Learning Disabilities RTI Action Network • www.Idanatl.org Learning Disabilities Association(LDA) • www.TeachLD.org The Division for Learning Disabilities, Council of Exceptional Children • Council of Exceptional Children Foundation • www.eparet.com Exceptional parent magazine

4. Council of Exceptional Children Foundation was funded in 1922 in order to organize teachers who worked with children with exceptionalities. • 1975: FAPE! LRE! IDEA!

5. Historical Overview Early History: Era of Superstition (1500 BC–1700 AD): Early beliefs centered on superstitions, witchcraft and generally not a supportive environment for someone with disabilities. Nineteenth Century: Era of Institutions (1790–1870): Jean-Marc Itard and Edouard Sequin were the first individuals to work with children with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Toward the end of this era, many institutions were in existence in the United States. Dr. Thomas Gallaudet started programs for students with hearing impairment and deafness. Early Twentieth Century: Era of Public School Classes (1900–1950): Isolated classes for students with disabilities were started in the United States. In 1922, the Council for Exceptional Children was founded in order to organize teachers who were working to help children with exceptionalities.

6. 1950s and 1960s: Era of Legislation and National Support: In 1950, the post–World War II era saw the beginnings of special programs for children with exceptionalities. This era included the civil rights movement for our country. • 1970s: Era of Normalization, Child Advocacy and Litigation: During this era, many lawsuits, class action suits, and laws were established to provide services for students with disabilities. The courts were enacting legislation that mandated that schools provide students with disabilities a free and appropriate education. • 1990s: Era of Rededication, Redefinition, and Refinement

7. Children with Exceptionalities We consider a child to be exceptional when the child requires either a modification of school practices or special educational services to develop his or her unique capabilities. There are 13 different legal categories for exceptionalities (IDEA 2004)p.7 &8 IFSP (0-3) Regional centers IEP(Local educational agencies: School District) IPP: Regional Centers

8. Standard categories of exceptionalities Intellectual differences: From gifted to severe intellectual delays Communication differences: Communication is impaired or delayed Learning disabilities: Difficulties with learning and attention in the class. Sensory differences: Includes children with visual and hearing impairments Behavioral differences: Includes children who are emotionally or socially challenged. Multiple and severe disabilities: children with combination of impairments: deaf and blind, CP and intellectual delays Physical Differences: Children with mobility , health impairments.

9. Federal Legislation does not address the needs of children who are gifted or with talents! What do you think?? Interindividual and Intraindividual differences (p.8 &9) Inter-individual differences - The general gap in ability or performance between the child with disabilities and his/her peers. Intra-individual differences- A major variation in the abilities or development of a single child.

10. How do children learn? • Steps Information Processing Model: • Children receive information from their senses (attention) • Information is processed through memory classification and reasoning abilities(thinking) • Children respond to information through output (Response) : speaking, writing, motor response, dancing, running, social interactions

11. InteractionHeredity & Environment • Pre – 1960 Heredity determines intelligence • 1960’s: many exceptionalities can be created or intensified by environmental conditions: delays and giftedness! Environment determines intelligence • Around 1990:Heredity and environment interact. Early years can be affected by environment: 1997(Gotlieb) Early Intervention programs! • Human Genome Project: International project intending to identify all human genes and make them available for further biological studies. Goal was accomplished in 2003!!!

12. High Incidence Disabilities & Low Incidence Disabilities • High Incidence: Categories of disabilities that are most prevalent (at least 1% of school population) It does not include children who are gifted. 88% of exceptional children exhibit high-incidence disabilities • Low Incidence: categories that are less than 1% of school population

13. Figure 1.2: Percentage of Total Disability Population of High Incidence Children Source: U.S. Department of Education (2005). Twenty-sixth Annual Report to Congress. Washington, DC: Offi ce of Special Education Programs.

14. Figure 1.3: Percentage of Total Disability Population of Low Incidence Children

15. Culture and Language in Special Education • There is an overrepresentation of some culturally and linguistically diverse students assigned to special education. • 50% of Black and Latino students are falling below basic skills in reading, while only 20% of white students are falling below. • There are at least three possible explanations: (1) The tests and measurements employed in diagnosing the conditions are biased against the minority students and provide inaccurate information about them. (2) Many minority family situations have unfavorable ecological conditions that can cause the inadequate development of abilities in early life. This disadvantage can be seen in the lower performance of their school-age children. The schools are discriminating against minority students by removing them from the regular classes and placing them in special programs away from the other students. (3) Office of Civil Rights to look at many individual school districts in which disproportionate membership in special education programs has occurred in order to determine whether the third possibility is true in those schools.

16. Figure 1.5: National Special Education Percentages by Race and Ethnicity Source: U.S. Department of Education (2002). Fall 1998 Elementary and Secondary School Civil Rights Compliance Report. Washington, DC: Offi ce for Civil Rights.

17. Ecological Approach & Family • Improving the context where a child lives, learns and plays will make a positive impact on child’ development. • Family, School, Peers, Community • Family responses to an exceptional need: • Shock/ loss • Denial • Guilt • Anger • Sadness • Adjustment • before adjusting to situation. Few parents will experience severe depression. Family Quality of Life Scale(Evaluation and assessment for family supports)p.19

18. Siblings of children with exceptionalities • There is not evidence that the siblings of children with exceptional needs are more stressed or face greater adjustment problems than siblings of children without exceptionalities. • There are support groups for siblings of children with exceptionalities! • It is important for teachers to identify the strengths of the students and their families who are from different cultures: “The Spirit catches you and you fall down”

19. Intervention • Family Centered Model • Power provided to family • Strengths orientation • Entire family is unit of support for intervention • Ecological Model • Interactions with environment • Role of the environment in the development of the child • Modify learning and improve the environment

20. Family as Advocate • ARC • UCP • Learning Disabilities Association of America: LDA • Autism Society of America • Parents of children with Down Syndrome • Protection and Advocacy Organizations like the ones listed above have made a difference with state and federal legislature related to services and education of children with disabilities. • Organizations supporting the needs of children who are gifted do not have the same political influence than the organizations for children with disabilities.

21. Cultural attitudes, values, customs and language must be taken into account when working with children with exceptionalities and their families!!! Cultural reciprocity: A “meeting place” between the cultural goals and expectations of the family and those of the professionals who work with the child. Cultural Influence

22. As a team of four, list individually and then compare responses to identify the extent of interindividual and intraindividual differences on the following items: • 1. Interindividual differences • a. Physical differences (color of hair and eyes, shape of face, size) • b. Interests and hobbies • c. Place of birth • D Aim in life • e. Attitude toward exceptional children • f. Academic standing • g. Preference of time of day to study • h. Characteristics of home culture • 2. Intraindividual differences • a. Best subject • b. Worst subject • c. Greatest fear • d. Person or thing loved most • e. Person or thing hated most • f. Foods liked • g. Foods disliked • In what ways might these differences enhance and in what ways might they hinder your ability to communicate and work together?