Guiding Children with Special Needs- Part One

1. 31 Guiding Children with Special Needs- Part One By Dr. Yvonne Gentzler. Adapted by Dr. Vivian G. Baglien Learning Target: Student will describe and identify the methods of integrating special needs students in an educational setting.

2. Key Concepts • Teachers’ roles may include identifying and working with children with special needs. • Special needs may include hearing, speech, language, vision, and health disorders; physical and cognitive disabilities; social or emotional impairments; and giftedness.

3. Objectives • Describe methods of integrating children with special needs into a typical program. • Explain the special needs of children who are gifted and how these needs can be met.

4. Guiding Children with Special Needs • Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA): federal law requiring all states to provide education for children who have developmental disabilities • Inclusion: placing children with special needs in regular classrooms • Previously referred to as mainstreaming

5. Individualized Education Plans • The purpose of an Individualized Education Plan (IEP), is to ensure that each child with a disability receives an appropriate education • By law, parents are allowed to take part in designing their child’s program • A copy of the plan is given to the parents • An IEP is usually written for a 12-month period continued

6. Individualized Education Plans • specific services that will be provided with a time line noting the dates services will begin and end • evaluation criteria that will be used to decide if educational objectives are met continued

7. Individualized Education Plans • Individualized Family Service Plans (IFSP) include • the family’s needs in regard to enhancing the child’s development • goals for the child and resources to achieve them • services to be provided • how the child is learning • a plan for transitioning to other services

8. Teacher’s Roles • Teachers need to • take part in identifying children with special needs • work with other specialists and resource persons to design individual programs continued

9. Teacher’s Roles • teach children who have special needs and nondisabled children in the same classroom • share information with parents and make suggestions for referrals • base program decisions on input from several resources including parents, other professionals, and personal observations • encourage parents to participate in their child’s education

10. Identification • Early identification of special needs is key to promoting the child’s development • If special needs are not identified early, children may go through years of failure • A number of techniques can be used to collect data • Observe unusual social, cognitive, emotional, or physical development

11. Referrals • Referral: the suggestion of a specific professional for a child to see • Hearing, language, or speech problems may be referred to a speech clinician • Learning and behavioral problems are often referred to a school psychologist or local agency • Depending on the state, Department of Social Services

12. Hearing Disorders • Hearing impairment: a problem in one or more parts of the ear that prevents the child from hearing adequately • One of the most common congenital disabilities (present since birth, but may not be hereditary) • A child who is hearing impaired can often be identified by his or her lack of vocabulary and overall delays in language development continued

13. Hearing Disorders • Hearing loss may range from mild to profound • A child with moderate hearing loss will also have trouble in large group situations • Hearing aid amplifies and magnifies sounds

14. Teaching Suggestions • When approaching a hearing-impaired child, • get down to the child’s eye level • get the child’s attention before speaking • speak in a normal volume and speed • speak clearly and distinctly; maintain eye contact • use the same sentence structure as you would for other children • pause and wait for a response after you speak continued

15. Teaching Suggestions • if the child does not understand you, repeat, rephrase, or demonstrate • encourage other children to imitate you when they communicate with the child • use gestures and facial expressions to reinforce the spoken word • let the child sit in front of you in a group situation continued

16. Teaching Suggestions • Visual skills are important for these children • Use concrete materials to demonstrate abstract concepts • Provide a variety of games and puzzles for the children to practice visual perception skills • Label classroom furniture and materials • Select books with illustrations • Use visual cues to teach safety and daily routines and to notify of upcoming activities

17. Speech and Language Disorders • Identification • Articulation problems • Voice (phonation) disorders • Stuttering

18. Identification • Speech impairments are interference with specific sounds or sound blends • Identify the speech impairment before altering your program • Informal observations most common method • Listen to speech patterns in a variety of settings • The director or teacher will determine whether a parent conference should be scheduled

19. Articulation Problems • Articulation problems are most often omissions, distortions, or substitutions of vowels or consonants or both • Certain speech sounds are left out in an omission error • Substitution is when an incorrect sound is used • After a child has been diagnosed as having an articulation problem, a speech clinician should be consulted

20. Voice (Phonation) Disorders • Voice characteristics include pitch, loudness, flexibility, and quality • A good speaking voice during routine conversation uses a variety of pitches and loudness levels • Harshness, hoarseness, breathiness, and nasality are all voice-quality disorders continued

21. Voice (Phonation) Disorders • To help prevent or correct voice disorders, promote voice control • Encouragechildrento use thecorrectvoicevolumeduringindoorplay • Discouragechildrenfromscreamingoryellingtoomuchduringoutdoorplay • Modelgoodvoicecharacteristics

22. Stuttering • Stuttering in young children is characterized by repetition, hesitation, and prolongation • Many children experience stuttering in the early stages of language development • Most often occurs when they feel pressured continued

23. Stuttering • If you have stuttering children in the classroom, • focus on creating good speaking conditions • plan activities so children experience success • provide children with enough time to say what they have to say • listen closely; do not focus on the stuttering • avoid rushing children through a task

24. Vision Disorders • One of the smallest groups of children with special needs is the visually impaired • To understand visual impairments, you need to understand how a healthy visual system works

25. Early Identification • Certain symptoms may suggest vision problems • Excessive rubbing of the eyes • Clumsiness and trouble moving around • Adjusting the head in an awkward position to view materials • Moving materials so they are close to the eyes continued

26. Early Identification • Squinting • Crust on eye • Iris on one or both eyes appearing cloudy • Crossed eyes or an eye that turns inward • Red, encrusted, or swollen eyelids • Excessive blinking

27. Types of Visual Disabilities • Amblyopia • Glaucoma • Nearsightedness • Farsightedness • Color deficiency • Uncorrectable conditions

28. Teaching Suggestions • Visual needs of the children affect your classroom • Always create a need to see • Include a study unit on sight to help all the children understand vision • To reduce glare, use chalkboards with dull finish and colored markers on whiteboards • Hang children’s work at their eye level continued

29. Teaching Suggestions • Ensure safety by putting toys away • Because auditory clues are important, keep noise level low • In the reading area, always have a number of large print books with clear, simple pictures • Use touch, smell, and sound clues • Use auditory reminders for transitions • Encourage children to use their senses

30. Teaching Standards