EVERYBODY COUNTS! What are disabilities?

1. EVERYBODY COUNTS!What are disabilities? Professor Martha Williams Dr. Patricia Hoyle

2. Objectives - the participants will understand and be able to • Identify the characteristics of the most frequently recognized disabilities. • Appreciate differences. • Reflect on steps to take in their classroom and school.

3. Activity 1 – Find someone who… • Interview yourcolleagues. Find a personwho can answer “Yes” to eachquestion and writethatperson’sname in theblank. Ifthepersonyou are interviewinganswers “No,” youmustaskthatquestion to a different individual. • Be careful! It has to be a differentpersonwhoanswers “Yes” foreachquestion. • Whenyouhavecompletedthesurvey, pleasereturn to yourseat.

4. Activity 1 - Find someone who… • Loves to dance and/or _________________ does physical exercise on a regular basis. • Is good at solving math _________________ problems (balances checkbook). • Loves to read and _________________ expresses him/herself well. • Can draw a picture to _________________ represent his/her feelings today. • Sings in the shower and _________________ when riding in the car.

5. Godcreated a world of diversity.

7. Thomas Jefferson & Martin Luther King, Jr. “certain inalienable rights… life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” (1776) “Thearch of the moral universeislong, butitbendstowardtheside of justice.” (1967)

8. Do youknowthemeaning of disability?Do youknowanyonewith a disability? In Santa Cruz alone more than 6,000 individualswithdisabilities are registered in the Programa de Registro Único Nacional and there are 25 specialeducation centers.

9. Exploringmythsaboutlearningdisabilities: TrueorFalse • Students with learning difficulties may not learn in traditional ways. • Many students who struggle to learn have normal or above-average intelligence. • Students who are frustrated with learning can behave improperly and seem less competent than they actually are. • Many behavior problems improve significantly when students perceive themselves as competent in the school. • It is unfair to use adaptive technologies with special needs students (calculators, recording devices, hearing aids, etc.).

10. What is the definition of a disability? • It reflects a deficit in the sense of thoughts (understanding) or limitations that greatly affect the development and learning of children. • But any deficit leads to a disability and a dysfunction in the ability of the individual to adapt to his/her environment. • The primary role of educators is to embrace the deficit/disability and help the student to manage their immediate environment.

11. Reference to Santa Cruz Handbook for Teachers and Parents/Guardians of Special Needs Students • http://www.santacruz.gob.bo/accion/buscar/contenido.php?IdNoticia=6391

12. Didyouknowthat…? • All children need an education that will help them develop social relationships and prepare them to live in society. • All children have the right to learn together. • Educational units have the challenge of responding to linguistic, cultural and individual differences; of adapting instruction to the needs of each person; employing cooperative educational systems and making networks and agreements with other institutions such as centers of special education and NGOs and incorporating members of the community. • (Guía para profesores, págs. 27-29) • http://www.santacruz.gob.bo/accion/buscar/contenido.php?IdNoticia=6391

13. Whatisintellectualdisability? Intellectual disability, also known as mental retardation, is a term used when a person does not have the ability to learn at expected levels and function normally in everyday life. A change in terminology is suggested because it is less offensive; it is more in line with international terminology; it provides a solid foundation for the provision of specialized support and resources; it conforms with the practice of professionals focusing on the context and functionality; it reflects a conceptual change substituting the pejorative term, "mental retardation", which does not communicate the dignity or respect the disabled deserve and ofteneven gives place to the devaluation of the disabled. (p. 4)

14. What are the characteristics of intellectual disability? • Below normal intelligence (IQ of 70 or below). • Deterioration of the adaptive capacity of the effectiveness of the child or adolescent to meet demands made for their age and their cultural group, in at least two of the following areas: communication, personal care, home life, social skills, academics, leisure, health, etc. Itbegins in childhood. (pág. 4) • (The 4 subgroups are defined on p. 5)

15. Which areas of development do these characteristics have an affect on? • Cognitive: There may be an orientation towards the concrete, self-centeredness, distractibility and short attention span. Sensory hyperactivity can lead to disruptive behaviors, avoidance of stimuli, and the need to process stimuli at low intensity levels.

16. Which areas of development do these characteristics have an affect on? • Emotional: They find it difficult to express feelings and perceive emotions both in themselves and in others. Physical impediments may modify the expression of affect. (hypertonic, hypotonic) • Speechdelay: May inhibit the expression of affect, leading to instances of feigned affective hyperactivity which includes impulsive anger and a low tolerance for frustration.

17. Which areas of development do these characteristics have an affect on? • Adaptive difficulty: The normal complexities of daily interactions can challenge the cognitive limits of the child with intellectual disability. In extreme cases, the lack of impulse control can lead to violence and destructiveness. Changes in everyday life may confront the cognitive abilities and coping skills and lead to frustration. Primitive reactions: Frustration and tension may involve aggressive, self-injurious behaviors or stimulation.

18. Activity 2 - How’syour visual perception? C aba pe r son aconbiscaba ci babpe a bren di zafeesuviniudiuibualbero at gnu as caracteris ti cas g eneralesex is len. (Every person with a learning disability is an individual but some general characteristics exist.)

19. What are learningdisabilities? Themostcommonsigns: Thechild • Does not master the basic skills of reading, spelling, writing, and/or math, thereby failing his/her school work. • Lacks coordination when walking, playing sports, or carrying out simple activities such as holding a pencil or tying his/her shoes. • Has difficulty understanding the concept of time, confusing “yesterday” with “today” or “tomorrow.” • Becomes irritated or excited easily. (p.12)

20. How can theteacherdetectlearningdisabilities? Reading (vision) The child gets too close to the book; says words out loud; points to, substitutes, omits and reverses words; sees double, skips and reads the same line twice; does not read fluently; has little comprehension in oral reading; omits final consonants in oral reading out loud; blinks excessively; becomes cross-eyed when reading; tends to rub his/her eyes and complains that they itch; presents problems of limited vision, uses poor spelling, among other symptoms.

21. How can theteacherdetectlearningdisabilities? Writing The child inverts and varies the height of the letters; does not leave space between words and does not write on the lines; holds his/her pencil awkwardly and it isn’t clear whether s/he’s right or left-handed; moves and places the paper incorrectly; tries to write with his/her finger; has poorly organized thoughts and posture, etc.

22. How can theteacherdetectlearningdisabilities? Auditory y verbal The child is apathetic, frequently has a cold, allergy or asthma; pronounces words poorly; breathes through his/her mouth; complains about ear problems; feels dizzy; goes blank when you talk to him/her; talks loud; depends on others visually and watches the teacher with a blank stare; s/he cannot follow more than one step of instruction at a time; turns the volume of TV and radio up high, etc.

23. How do effective teachers helpall students think—and learn?

24. Detecting and evaluating Special Ed. Needs;Responding to Intervention • Detection and evaluation is a fundamental stage. • The purpose of the evaluation is to analyze the student's potential for development and learning. • To determine what type of instruction s/he needs, the additional resources needed to provide the best education in the most integrated setting possible.

25. When should we talk about special educational needs? • When the means that cover the educational needs of the majority of the population are insufficient. • When we look at the situation of a particular student on the basis of their special educational needs, we need to think of useful educational provisions to facilitate their learning. We need to insure: • Provisions that can facilitate access to the curriculum. • Curricular modifications that guarantee its adaptation. • Special attention to the emotional environment.

26. CAVEATS: • Special Educational Needs have a relative and contextual character. • A problem in identifying children according to a rigid category is that many children may have several different disabilities. • Categorizing children promotes the idea that all children with the same label have the same educational needs. • When the categories are the basis for the provision of resources, they are not provided for the children who do not fit the established category. • Categories have the effect of negatively labeling children.

27. Did you know that there are individuals who, without having a disability, can have difficulty learning, communicating, or behaving appropriately?

28. (fotocopias: Formulario_Uno y …)HOJA DE REGISTRO DE OBSERVACIONES DIARIASFECHA ________________________

29. Develop intervention team • Observe, document student behavior. • Discuss interventions with another teacher of the student. • Invite experienced teachers (specialists) and parent to form a team. • Devise interventions to try based on the knowledge of the team. • If child does not respond to interventions, refer for multifactorial evaluation to determine if a disability exists. • This process may also be followed to address the needs of students with other disabilities.

30. Problem-solving activity • Write your name and a question or concern you have on a 3” x 5” index card. Then pass the card to your left. • Write a solution to your colleague’s concern and pass the card to your left. • Continue two more times. • Return the card to the owner. You should now have 3 possible ways to deal with your concern. • Share with the total group.

31. Evaluation – Complete and submit: • Something I learned… • Something I want to learn more about… • Something I am reflecting on… • A general comment about today’s sessions…

32. Ticket out the door • Tell me one new concept youlearnedfrom thissession.