This document discusses types of exceptional students including those with attention deficit disorders, autism, speech/communication disorders, giftedness, hearing impairments, learning disabilities, mental retardation, and visual impairments. It provides brief descriptions of each type of exceptionality and strategies for teaching exceptional students inclusively, such as using assistive technology, facilitating participation, and having high expectations. The document emphasizes the importance of understanding each student and embracing diversity.
The most prevalent symptoms of ADD / ADHD are inattention and distractibility and/or hyperactive and impulsive behaviors. Difficulties with concentration, mental focus, and inhibition of impulses and behaviors are chronic and pervasive and impair an individual’s daily functioning across various settings -- home, school or work, in relationships, etc.
Even a "straight A" student with autism who has a photographic memory can be incapable of remembering to bring a pencil to class or of remembering a deadline for an assignment. In such cases, aid should be provided in the least restrictive way possible. In dealing with autistic students, consistent treatment and expectations from everyone is vital.
Communication Disorders involve a wide variety of problems in speech, language, and hearing. For example, speech and language disorders include stuttering, aphasia, dysfluency, voice disorders (hoarseness, breathiness, or sudden breaks in loudness or pitch), cleft lip and/or palate, articulation problems, delays in speech and language, autism, and phonological disorders. Speech and language impairments and disorders can be attributed to environmental factors, of which the most commonly known are High Risk Register problems, which include drugs taken during pregnancy, common STD's such as syphilis, and birthing trauma to name a few. Communication disorders can also stem from other conditions such as learning disabilities, dyslexia, cerebral palsy, and mental retardation.
Gifted students possess some common characteristics. Recognizing these general traits and understanding how they may reveal themselves in the classroom is an important step toward working effectively with this unique group of children.
Over time, the average hearing impaired student shows an ever increasing gap in vocabulary growth, complex sentence comprehension and construction, and in concept formation as compared to students with normal hearing. Hearing impaired students often learn to "feign" comprehension with the end result being that the student does have optimal learning opportunities. Therefore, facilitative strategies for hearing impaired students are primarily concerned with various aspects of communication. Other problems arise because deafness is an invisible disability. It is easy for teachers to "forget about it" and treat the student as not having a disability. It has also been shown that hearing impaired students with good English skills also have good science concept formation. ("Mainstream Teaching of Science: A Source Book", Keller et al.)
Most people know, or are taught, at an early age, how to process information and develop an organized plan or strategy when confronted with a problem, whether that problem is social, academic, or job related. Others find such cognitive processes quite difficult. Learning disabilities have only recently been recognized as disabilities. This neurological disorder causes difficulty in organizing information received, remembering them, and expressing information and therefore affects a person's basic function such as reading, writing, comprehension, and reasoning. However, these students with learning disabilities can be taught effective learning strategies that will help them approach tasks more effectively. (Learning Strategies for Problem Learners, by Thomas Lombardi)
Individuals with mental retardation benefit from the same teaching strategies used to teach individuals with learning disabilities, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and autism. It is helpful to break tasks down into small steps and introduce the task one step at a time to avoid overwhelming the individual. Once the student has mastered one step, the next is introduced.
From the very beginning of their lives, people with visual impairments, need to be taught the basics of every day functioning. What sighted individuals note as every day tasks need to be learned and practiced by the visually impaired. Research indicates that children with visual impairments "differ from their sighted peers in some areas of intelligence, ranging from understanding spatial concepts to a general knowledge of the world" (Hardman, 1993)
In 1975, Public Law 94-142,the Education for all Handicapped Children Act, was signed into law. The legislation provided individuals 3-21 with the following:
According to Loris Malaguzzi , the founder of the Reggio Emilia Schools in Italy, having these children in the schools with the other children could stimulate us, as teachers, to think in terms of a much broader pedagogical approach for all children, to broaden our horizons for all the children
On previous research performed in inclusive classrooms teachers have learned the following:
Getting to know a child with special rights.
Inclusion is the full acceptance of all students and leads to a sense of belonging within the classroom community
As schools are increasingly challenged to serve a diverse student population. However, the concern is no longer whether to provide inclusive education, but how to implement inclusive education in ways that are both feasible and effective in ensuring schooling success for all children in the classroom.
One of the most effective ways teachers can prepare for the inclusion of students with disabilities spectrum disorders is to develop an understanding about the disorder by obtaining accurate information. Having access to accurate information fosters understanding and facilitates a positive attitude toward the challenge of including a student with autism spectrum disorders.
It is for important for teachers to not rely on color during presentations to convey meaning as some students may have color blindness or a visual impairment that makes it difficult to perceiving colors accurately. A dark background and light text is best for dark rooms. A light background and dark text is best for light rooms.
It may be necessary to move the classroom furniture around or to allow students to decide where they will be most comfortable. If a wheelchair user is restricted by the layout of the room in any way, ensure that he or she can still take part in group work and see the whiteboard. Also think about less obvious environmental factors such as sufficient lighting, noise levels and room on desks for assistive technology.