Special Educational Needs for Educators

1. Special Educational Needs for Educators Presented by Dr. Kay Bartosz and Dr. Maureen Brustkern

2. Special Needs often seen in Mainstream Classrooms Learning Disabilities Attention Deficit Disorder Behavior or Emotional Problems Physical Disabilities Mental or Brain Processing Disability Speech or Communication Difficulty Sensory Impairment

3. Children with Learning Disabilities • Often have difficulties with basic reading and language skills • May have a family history of LD problems • Are as smart or smarter than their peers • Cannot be cured or fixed • Can be successful students and professionals when provided with support and intervention.

4. Common Learning Disabilities • Dyslexia – a language-based disability in which a person has trouble understanding written words. • Dyscalculia – a mathematical disability in which a person has a difficult time solving arithmetic problems and grasping math concepts. • Dysgraphia – a writing disability in which a person finds it hard to form letters or write within a defined space.

5. Common Learning Disabilities • Auditory and Visual Processing Disorders – sensory disabilities in which a person has difficulty understanding language despite normal hearing and vision. • Nonverbal Learning Disabilities – a neurological disorder which originates in the right hemisphere of the brain, causing problems with visual-spatial, intuitive, organizational, evaluative and holistic processing functions.

6. What Learning disabilities are not • Mental retardation, autism, deafness, blindness, and behavioral disorders. • Caused by family situations, changing schools, poverty and attendance problems. • To be confused with difficulties students face when learning a second language.

7. Signs and Symptoms of Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) • difficulty focusing and maintaining attention in academic and/or social situations • chronically disorganized • poor memory • consistently loses things • procrastination

8. Signs and Symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) • Impulsiveness: a child who acts quickly without thinking first. • Hyperactivity: a child who can't sit still, walks, runs, or climbs around when others are seated, talks when others are talking. • Inattention: a child who daydreams or seems to be in another world, is easily distracted.

9. Treatment of ADD and ADHD • Medical Treatment • Behavior Therapy • Combination of Both

10. Bullying Eating Disorders Lying Phobia Stealing Temper Tantrum Truancy Vandalism Withdrawal Behavior or Emotional Disorders

11. Physical Disabilities • Cerebral Palsy • Cystic Fibrosis • Muscular Dystrophy • Poliomyelitis • Spina Bifida

12. Physical Disabilities May be something a child is born with or may be a result of accident or illness. May be mild or severe

13. Medical Conditions • Asthma • Cancer/Leukemia • Diabetes • Epilepsy • Heart Defect • Rubella

14. Speech or Communication Difficulty • Autism • Asperger Syndrome • Stuttering

15. Sensory Impairment • Deafness • Blindness • Deaf/Blind Rubella