Download - Exceptional Learners
Lizamarie C. Olegario
UNDERSTANDING THE EXCEPTIONAL LEARNER
Lizamarie C. Olegario
U.P. College of Education
Lizamarie C. Olegario
Exceptional Learner
one who differs from the average or normal, with emphasis on factors relating to current practices, identification, characteristics, and educational adaptations
Lizamarie C. Olegario
Mental Retardation & Developmental Disabilities
Developmental Delay– refers only to children between the ages of 0 and 8
years
– a condition which represents a significant delay in development
– skills deficits including specific delays in language, perception, metacognition, social, emotional, and/ or motor development
Lizamarie C. Olegario
Cognitive Delay/ Mental Retardation
All of the following are present:– Significantly sub-average general intellectual
functioning – defined by IQ level below 70– Significant limitations in adaptive
functioning in at least 2 of the following skill areas:• communication• self care
Lizamarie C. Olegario
Cognitive Delay/ Mental Retardation
• home living• social/ interpersonal skills• use of community resources• self direction• functional academic skills• work• leisure• health and safety• onset must occur before age 18 years
Lizamarie C. Olegario
Cognitive Delay/ Mental Retardation
The degree of severity:– Moderate/ Moron - IQ level 35-49 to 50-55; MA
is upto 12 yrs old only– Severe/ Imbecile - IQ level 20-25 to 35-40; MA
is upto 7 yrs old only– Profound/ Idiot - IQ level below 20 or 25;
MA is upto 3 yrs old only– Moderate Global/ Severe Cognitive Delay
(Criteria C)
Lizamarie C. Olegario
Mental Retardation
aids for mental retardation – psychological tests
– playtherapy set
– Montessori teaching set
– Kindergarten set
– television
Lizamarie C. Olegario
Emotional & Behavioral Disorders (EBD)
a condition in which behavioral or emotional responses of an individual are so significantly different in degree and/ or kind from his/her generally accepted age appropriate, ethnic, or cultural norms
Lizamarie C. Olegario
Emotional & Behavioral Disorders (EBD)
adversely affect performance in one or more areas– self-care– social relationships– personal adjustment– academic progress– classroom behaviors– work adjustment
Lizamarie C. Olegario
Emotional & Behavioral Disorders (EBD)
may co-exist with one or more of the following conditions: – aggression– (ADHD)– anxiety & stress related disorders– depression– suicide– PDD
Lizamarie C. Olegario
Emotional & Behavioral Disorders (EBD)
– conduct disorders– delinquency– psychoses
(schizophrenia, borderline personality disorder)
– drug/ alcohol abuse
– habit disorders (sleeping, toileting, eating, speech)
– social conditions (poverty, discrimination, family discord, child abuse/ neglect)
– traumatic brain injury
Lizamarie C. Olegario
Emotional & Behavioral Disorders (EBD)
The child/ youth demonstrates four (4) or more of the following:– An inability to establish or maintain
satisfactory relationships with peers or adults
– A general mood of unhappiness
– Inappropriate behavior or feeling under ordinary conditions
Lizamarie C. Olegario
Emotional & Behavioral Disorders (EBD)
– Continued difficulty in coping with the learning remedial intervention
– Physical symptoms or fears associated with personal or school problems
– Difficulties in accepting the realities of personal responsibility accountability
– The behavior is a danger to himself, other people, or property
Lizamarie C. Olegario
Emotional & Behavioral Disorders (EBD)
All five of these qualifiers must exist: – Behavior significantly different in degree
and/ or kind from applicable normative data
– Behavior is adversely affecting educational performance in one or more areas
Lizamarie C. Olegario
Emotional & Behavioral Disorders (EBD)
– Behavior is not a transient response to stressors in the student’s environment
– Behavior persists after intervention and support
– Behavior is displayed in multiple environments, one of which must be in school
Lizamarie C. Olegario
Emotional &Behavioral Disorders (EBD)
Examples of emotional/ behavioral disorders and related conditions:– Adjustment disorders – behaviors
children may exhibit when they are unable, for a time, to appropriately adapt to stressful events or changes in their lives
Lizamarie C. Olegario
Emotional &Behavioral Disorders (EBD)
– Affective disorders (mood disorders) – disturbances of affect or mood, which are not due to physical or mental illness. • Bi-polar disorder (sometimes called
manic depression)• Childhood depression (also known as
major depressive episode)
Lizamarie C. Olegario
Emotional &Behavioral Disorders (EBD)
–Anxiety disorders – a family of disorders where the dominant feature is exaggerated anxiety• school phobia
• post-traumatic stress disorder
• avoidant disorder)
Lizamarie C. Olegario
Emotional &Behavioral Disorders (EBD)
– Disruptive behavior disorders – more common disorders of childhood• ADHD – combining inattention, impulsivity, and
hyperactivity; usually present in a child before age of seven
• conduct disorders – behaviors violate social norms; some children may refuse to follow rules at home or in school, become truant, delinquent, or even violent
Lizamarie C. Olegario
Emotional &Behavioral Disorders (EBD)
–Schizophrenia – a serious emotional disorder characterized by loss of contact with environment and personality changes; hallucinations and delusions often exist
Lizamarie C. Olegario
Emotional &Behavioral Disorders (EBD)
– Pervasive developmental disorders (PDD) – disorders where the brain has difficulty processing information; characteristics of PDD may include hallucinations, delusions, or a faulty perception of reality
Lizamarie C. Olegario
Emotional & Behavioral Disorders (EBD)
The student may be enrolled in three or more alternate courses:– self care– social relationships– personal adjustment– anger management– anxiety reduction– behavior control
Lizamarie C. Olegario
Emotional & Behavioral Disorders (EBD)
–Supports required by the child/ youth to enable learning:• The needed structures and routines
• Transitional supports
• Environmental adaptation
• Counseling
Lizamarie C. Olegario
Learning Disabilities
a disorder that affects people’s ability to either interpret what they see and hear or to link information from different parts of the brain.
Lizamarie C. Olegario
Learning Disabilities
may occur in the following academic areas:– Spoken language: delays, disorders, or
discrepancies in listening and speaking– Written language: difficulties with
reading, writing, and spelling (i.e., dyslexia, dysgraphia)
Lizamarie C. Olegario
Learning Disabilities
• 3. Arithmetic: difficulty in performing arithmetic functions or in comprehending basic concepts (i.e., dyscalcula)
• Reasoning: difficulty in organizing and integrating thoughts
• Organization skills: difficulty in organizing all facets of learning (i.e. ADHD)
Lizamarie C. Olegario
Learning Disabilities
Classroom adjustments – special seating arrangement, alternative or modified assignments, modified testing procedures
Special equipment- electronic spellers and dictionaries, word processors, talking calculators, books on tape
Lizamarie C. Olegario
Learning Disabilities
Classroom assistants – note-takers, readers, proofreaders
Special education – prescribed hours in a special class, placement in a special class, enrollment in a special school for learning disabled students
Lizamarie C. Olegario
Communication Disorders
Involve a wide variety of problems in speech, language, and hearin
Speech disorder – an impairment of voice, articulation of speech sounds, and/ or fluency
Lizamarie C. Olegario
Communication Disorders
Language disorder – the impairment or deviant development of comprehension and/or use of a spoken, written, and/ or other symbol system.
Lizamarie C. Olegario
Communication Disorders
The disorder may involve – (1) the form of language
– (2) the content of language, and/ or
– (3) the function of language in communication in any combination
Lizamarie C. Olegario
Communication Disorders
Some causes include:– hearing loss– neurological
disorders– brain injury– mental retardation– drug abuse
– physical impairments such as cleft lip or palate, and vocal abuse or misuse
– But most language disability exists without an identifiable cause.
Lizamarie C. Olegario
Communication Disorders
– can be attributed to environmental factors, which include drugs taken during pregnancy, common STD’s such as syphilis, and birthing trauma
– can also stem from other conditions such as learning disabilities, dyslexia, cerebral palsy, and mental retardation
Lizamarie C. Olegario
Communication Disorders
Fluency disorders – interruption in the flow or rhythm of speech characterized by hesitation, repetition, prolongation– Echolalia – patient repeats without
modification any word or phrase that was spoken to him (this can be normal in children 18-24 months of age)
Lizamarie C. Olegario
Communication Disorders
– Palilalia – involuntary repetition of words and phrases
– Stutter – repetition of the first syllable of the word
– Stammer – prolong silence following a syllable
– Cluttering – speak in bursts or pause in unexpected places
Lizamarie C. Olegario
Communication Disorders
Articulation disorders – difficulty producing speech sounds– Dysarthria – inability to form or produce
understandable speech (after a stroke or brain injury
– apraxia/ dyspraxia – have difficulty making the movements needed for speech
Lizamarie C. Olegario
Communication Disorders
Expressive disorders – difficulty putting ideas into spoken form– Agrammatism – absence of recognized
grammatical element during speech attempts– Anomia – difficulty pronouncing nouns; patient
is unable to recall or express the names for objects, persons, flaws/ word finding problems
Lizamarie C. Olegario
Communication Disorders
– Circumlocution – attempts at word retrieval end in descriptions or associations related to the word
– Perseveration – condition wherein the patient’s response to the first query is correct
– Empty speech – fluent utterance that lacks substantive facts of language such as nouns and verbs
Lizamarie C. Olegario
Communication Disorders
– Jargon – disorder in which phonemes are produced in unintelligible, inaccurate sequences without meaning
– Selective mutism – persistent lack of speech in at least one social situation
– Aphasia – loss of the power of speech or the appropriate use of words due to disease or injury of the brain
Lizamarie C. Olegario
Communication Disorders
Receptive disorders – difficulty perceiving or understanding what other people say– dysphasia – impaired ability to understand and
use language
Voice disorders – Dysphonia – inability to vocalize (loss of
voice)
Lizamarie C. Olegario
Communication Disorders
Assistive technology – provide opportunities to communicate, access information, compete for and acquire employment, access curriculum or other learning activities, and participate in leisure opportunities– computer-related technology
Lizamarie C. Olegario
Communication Disorders
Augmentative communication devices (ACD) – also known as augmentative and alternative
communication devices (ACC), and speech generating devices (SGD)
– can assist the patient who lacks the ability to communicate with speech, or alternatives to speech, such as writing and sign language
Lizamarie C. Olegario
Communication Disorders
alternative means of communication – writing notes, using sign language or manipulating a low-tech augmentative communication system
Lizamarie C. Olegario
Communication Disorders
Low technology, non-electronic augmentative communication devices – include boards that use letters, words, phrases,
&/ or symbols (communication boards, mini boards, schedule boards, & conversation books
– may be purchased or home made, or made by the speech therapist
Lizamarie C. Olegario
Communication Disorders
High technology augmentative communication devices– electronic and are usually computer-
based– convert the patient’s selections (of letters,
words, symbols and/or phrases) into electronic speech
Lizamarie C. Olegario
Physical Impairments
Physical disability or orthopedic impairment– includes such conditions as
• cerebral palsy• spina bifida• amputations or limb absences• muscular dystrophy
Lizamarie C. Olegario
Physical Impairments
Health impairments– convulsive disorders
– cystic fibrosis
– heart disease
– sickle cell disease
– hemophilia
– asthma
– rheumatic fever
– cancer – AIDS– any chronic or acute health
problem that limits strength, vitality, or alertness & adversely affects the student’s educational development
Lizamarie C. Olegario
Physical Impairments
Team including the parents, teachers, medical professionals, and health-related professionals such as a physical therapist should design a program that meets the needs of the student
Lizamarie C. Olegario
Physical Impairments
Five basic goal areas:– Physical independence, including
mastery of daily living skills– Self-awareness and social maturation– Communication– Academic growth– Life skills training
Lizamarie C. Olegario
Physical Impairments
Aids for visual disability– brailler
– brailler slate
– thermoform machine
– tape recorded lectures/ text
– note taker
– large print class material
Lizamarie C. Olegario
Physical Impairments
Aids for hearing disability– speech trainer– telecommunications
equipment (i.e., amplified telephones)
– alerting devices– sign language– interpreter
– assistive listening devices (FM systems & other amplification devices)
– note maker– captioned media– visual aids
Lizamarie C. Olegario
Physical Impairments
aids of locomotor disability– specialized furniture
– mobility aids
– orthotic and prosthetic
Lizamarie C. Olegario
Multiple Severe Disabilities/ Pervasive developmental disorders or PPD
a general category of disorders which are characterized by severe and pervasive impairment in several areas of development– commonly referred to as atypical autism
Lizamarie C. Olegario
Multiple Severe Disabilities
Autism – a complex developmental disability that
typically appears during the first three years of life
– result of a neurological disorder that affects the
– typically have difficulties in verbal & non-verbal communication, social interactions, & leisure or play activities
Lizamarie C. Olegario
Multiple Severe Disabilities
Autism– Difficulty in communicating with others with
others and related to the outside world– in some cases, aggressive and/ or self-injurious
behavior may be present– may also experience sensitivities in the five
senses of sight, hearing, touch, smell, and taste
Lizamarie C. Olegario
Multiple Severe Disabilities
Autism– may exhibit repeated body movements
(hand flapping, rocking)
– unusual responses to people or attachments to objects and resistance to changes in routines
Lizamarie C. Olegario
Multiple Severe Disabilities
Autism– a spectrum disorder, in other words,
the symptoms and characteristics of autism can present themselves in a wide variety of combinations, from mild to severe
Lizamarie C. Olegario
Multiple Severe Disabilities
Asperger’s disorder– characterized by impairments in social
interactions and the presence of restricted interests and activities, with no clinical significant general delay in language, and testing in the range of average to above average intelligence
Lizamarie C. Olegario
Multiple Severe Disabilities
Rett’s Disorder– a progressive disorder, which, to date, has
occurred only in girls
– period of normal development and then loss of previously acquired skills
– loss of purposeful use of the hands replaced with repetitive hand movements beginning at the age of 1-4 years
Lizamarie C. Olegario
Multiple Severe Disabilities
Rett’s Disorder– head deceleration occurs
– “hand washing” movements
– episodes of screaming or tantrums
Lizamarie C. Olegario
Multiple Severe Disabilities
Childhood disintegrative disorder / Hetter’s syndrome– characterized by normal development for
at least the first 2 years, then significant loss of previously acquired skills
– may become mute, lose the ability to play
Lizamarie C. Olegario
Multiple Severe Disabilities
Childhood disintegrative disorder / Hetter’s syndrome – Difference from autism is only based
on child’s early developmentCause:
– nervous system problems
Lizamarie C. Olegario
Giftedness
Exceptionally high academic ability, creativity & commitment to perform specific tasks
Exceptionally advanced performance or the potential for outstanding performance in intellectual, creative, leadership, artistic, or specific academic fields