Federal Definition of the Disability – Major Components, Including Incidence and etiology
IDEA definition of learning disabilities is: "Specific learning disability" means a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using language, spoken or written, which may manifest itself in an imperfect ability to listen, speak, read, write, spell, or to do mathematical calculations. The term includes such conditions as perceptual handicaps, brain injury, minimal brain dysfunction, dyslexia, and developmental aphasia. The term does not include children who have learning disabilities which are primarily the result of visual, hearing, or motor handicaps, or mental retardation, or emotional disturbance, or of environmental, cultural, or economic disadvantage (U.S. Department of Education, 1977, p.65083).
-It must be noted that defining the term learning disability has proven to be problematic.
Regulations from the U.S. Office of Education to identify if a child has a learning disability include:
1. The child does not achieve commensurate with his or her age and ability levels in one or more of the areas listed in paragraph (a) (2) of this section, when provided with learning experiences appropriate for the child's age and ability levels; and
2. The team finds that a child has a severe discrepancy between achievement and intellectual ability in one or more of the following areas:
-Oral expression
-Listening comprehension
-Written expression
-Basic reading skill
-Reading comprehension
-Mathematics calculation
-Mathematics reasoning (U.S. Office of Education, 1977, p.65083)
Typical Physical Characteristics of the Disability
Health Issues
Poor motor abilites.
It affects the brain's ability to receive, process, store, and respond to information. Students may have oral language difficulties psychological processing deficits.
Typical Learning Characteristics and/or Effects Of The Disability On Development And Learning
-Disorders of attention.-Information processing problems.
-Short/long term memory problems.
-Impaired metacognition.
-Reading difficulties.
-Phonological awareness deficiencies.
-Written language problems.
-Quantitative disorders.
Common Communication and/or Behavior Issues & Needs
Children may develop social skills deficits (Friend, 2011; Hallahan, Kauffman, & Pullen, 2012).
Healthy social and emotional skills are the most consistent indicators of success for people with a learning disabilty, even more so than academic factors.
Pages 89-92. “Teaching in Today’s Inclusive Classrooms: A Universal Design for Learning Approach” By: Richard M. Gargiulo & Debbie Metcalf. Second Edition.
Emotional /BehavioralPatrick Warren
Federal Definition of the Disability – Major Components, Including Incidence and etiology
There is no universally accepted definition of emotional or behavioral disorders (Webber & Plotts, 2008).
The IDEA Act uses the term emotional disturbance to describe the population with emotional or behavioral needs.
The Idea definition is: The term means a condition exhibiting one or more of the following characteristics over a long period of time and to a marked degree that adversely affects a child's educational performance:
-An inability to learn that cannot be explained by intellectual, sensory, or health factors.
-An inability to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships with peers and teachers.
-Inappropriate types of behavior or feelings under normal circumstances.
-A general pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression.
-A tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears associated with personal or school problems.
The term includes schizophrenia. The term does not apply to children who are socially maladjusted, unless it is determined that they have an emotional disturbance.
Typical Physical Characteristics of the Disability
Health Issues
-Disrupts classroom activities.
-Impulsive, inattentive, distractable.
-Demonstrates aggressive behavior.
-Intimidates and bullies other students.
-A general pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression.
-A tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears associated with personal or school factors.
Typical Learning Characteristics and/or Effects Of The Disability On Development And Learning
-Does not follow or appear to care about classroom rules.
-Poor concentration.
-Often speaks out with irrelevant information or without regard to turn taking rules.
-Regularly absent from school.
-Difficulty working in groups.
-Often manipulative of situations.
Common Communication and/or Behavior Issues & Needs
-Demonstrates aggressive behavior towards students.
-Resistance to change and transitions in routines.
-Intimidates and bullies other students.
-Consistently blames others for their dishonesty.
-Low self esteem.
-Demonstatartes self injurious behavior.
-Can not apply social rules related to others personal space and belongings.
References
Pages 97-100. “Teaching in Today’s Inclusive Classrooms: A Universal Design for Learning Approach” By: Richard M. Gargiulo & Debbie Metcalf. Second Edition.
www.gallaudet.edu/clerc_center/information_and_resources/info_to_go/educate_children_(3_to_21)/students_with_disabilities.html. Gallaudet University. Retrieved May 28, 2012.
Deaf/Hard of HearingJordan Musselwhite
Federal Definition of the Disability – Major Components, Including Incidence and etiology
IDEA definition- hearing impairment that is so severe that the child is impaired in processing linguistic information through hearing with or without amplification that adversely affects a child’s educational performance.
71,000 students between the ages of 6 and 21 during the 2009-2010 school year have hearing impairment and receive special education. Genetic and hereditary factors contribute to hearing impairments, Infections are also causes of hearing impairments.
Typical Physical Characteristics of the Disability
Health Issues
-Daydreaming or frequently inattentive
- Impaired speech
-Limited vocabulary
-Mouth breathing
-tugging or pulling of ear(s)
-recurring ear infections
Typical Learning Characteristics and/or Effects Of The Disability On Development And Learning
Deafness does not limit cognitive abilities. Pupils who are deaf though experience considerable difficulty in the educational system.
-Limited vocabulary
-Frequent requests to repeat verbal information
-Inappropriate response to verbal questions
Common Communication and/or Behavior Issues & Needs
-low ability to communicate with other children.
-trouble developing friendships
-feeling lonely and isolated and other social interactions are often not normal
References
Pages 112-120 in “Teaching in Today’s Inclusive Classrooms : A universal design for learning approach” By: Richard M. Gargiulo & Debbie Metcalf. Second Edition
Blind/VisionJordan Musselwhite
Federal Definition of the Disability – Major Components, Including Incidence and etiology
IDEA- an impairment in vision, that even with correction adversely affects and individual's educational performance.
26,000 children between the ages of 6 and 21 during the 2009-2010 school year had a visual impairment and were receiving special education.
Causes
-refractive errors (myopia, hyperopia, and astigmatism)
-defects of the ocular muscle (strabismus and nystagmus)
-disorders of the cornea, iris, and lens (cataracts and glaucoma)
Typical Physical Characteristics of the Disability
Health Issues
-excessive rubbing of the eye
-watery and or itchy eyes
-extreme sensitivity to sunlight
-complaints of frequent headaches and dizziness
-swollen or inflamed eyes
Typical Learning Characteristics and/or Effects Of The Disability On Development And Learning
There is no reason to suspect that vision loss causes a student to perform and not have the intellectual abilities that a sighted person would have. Learning obtained from interacting with the environment which sighted children can accomplish is almost impossible for the visually impaired.
Common Communication and/or Behavior Issues & Needs
A loss of vision often negatively affects the acquisition of appropriate social skills. Visually impaired often tend to not look someone they are talking to in the face because they do not know where they are standing, thus making conversation hard and unusual. Feelings os isolation and a lack of feeling needed are some things that the visually impaired have experienced.
References
Pages 120-127 in “Teaching in Today’s Inclusive Classrooms : A universal design for learning approach” By: Richard M. Gargiulo & Debbie Metcalf. Second Edition
Federal Definition of the Disability – Major Components, Including Incidence and etiology
The IDEA definition- Significantly subaverage general intellectual functioning existing concurrently with the deficits in adaptive behaviors and manifested during the developmental period that adversely affects a child’s educational performance.
The AAIDD definition- Mental retardation(intellectual disabilities) is a disability characterized by significant limitations both in intellectual functioning and in adaptive behavior as expressed in conceptual, social, and practical adaptive skills. This disability originates before 18.
Determining the cause (etiology) of intellectual disabilities is challenging. There are many reasons why someone may show cognitive disabilities. Many times the etiology is unknown. The causes are usually prenatal, perinatal, or postnatal.
In about 80% of children with severe intellectual disability, a contributory factor can be identified, 70% are prenatal.
Typical Physical Characteristics of the Disability
Health Issues
Impaired cognitive functioning; the impact the low IQ has on the individual to learn, acquire concepts, process information, and apply knowledge in various settings.
Issues with attention, memory, motivation, generalization, language development, academic development, and social development.
Some Physical Characteristics may cause pain, discomfort, and frustration.
Sensory Impairments and Epilepsy
Poor sleep patterns, tired all day
Practical skills—activities of daily living (personal care), occupational skills, healthcare, travel/transportation, schedules/routines, safety, use of money, use of the telephone.
Typical Learning Characteristics and/or Effects Of The Disability On Development And Learning
Deficits in memory, limitations in ability to store information, difficulty with short-term memory.
Difficulty applying knowledge or skills to new tasks, situations, or settings.
Problem in using previous experience in novel circumstances.
Conceptual skills—language and literacy; money, time, and number concepts; and self-direction.
Common Communication and/or Behavior Issues & Needs
Language Development may be a communication issue. Vocabulary is often limited, speech disorders are often present, grammatical structure is impaired, there is a correlation between intellectual ability and language development; individuals with intellectual disabilities often follow same sequence of language as their classmates.
These students experience rejection by peers, frequently exhibit immature behaviors, diminished self-esteem, and lacks social competence.
Social skills—interpersonal skills, social responsibility, self-esteem, gullibility, naïveté (i.e., wariness), social problem solving, and the ability to follow rules/obey laws and to avoid being victimized.
When assessing an intellectual disability professionals must consider linguistic diversity and cultural differences in the way people communicate.
References
Pages 82-88 in “Teaching in Today’s Inclusive Classrooms : A universal design for learning approach” By: Richard M. Gargiulo & Debbie Metcalf. Second Edition
Federal Definition of the Disability – Major Components, Including Incidence and etiology
IDEA (2006) defines Traumatic Brain Injury as "....an acquired injury to the brain caused by an external physical force, resulting in total or partial functional disability or psychosocial impairment, or both, that adversely affects a child’s educational performance. The term applies to open or closed head injuries resulting in impairments in one or more areas, such as cognition; language; memory; attention; reasoning; abstract thinking; judgment; problem-solving; sensory, perceptual, and motor abilities; psycho-social behavior; physical functions; information processing; and speech
The term does not apply to brain injuries that are congenital or degenerative, or to brain injuries induced by birth trauma.”
According to NICHCY, approximately 1.4 million people recieve TBI's a year. Of children age 0-14 TBI results in 435,000 trips to the emergency room annually, hospitalize 37,000, and result in nearly 2,700 deaths.
Typical Physical Characteristics of the Disability
Health Issues
Individuals who suffer from TBI may have problems with their senses such as speaking, seeing, and hearing. They often experience fatigue and headaches. Spasticity (sudden contraction or tightening of the muscles) makes skills such as drawing and writing difficult. Some may exierience seizures and paralysis on one side or both sides of the body. Balance and walking can sometimes also be an issue.
There are several health complications that occur immediately or soon after a tb:
Different states of consciousness (coma, vegatative state, locked-in syndrome)
Seizures
Infections (meningitis)
Nerve damage
A tbi may increase the risk of diseases that result in the gradual degeneration of brain cells and gradual loss of brain functions. These include:
Alzheimer's disease, which primarily causes the progressive loss of memory and other thinking skills (dementia)
Parkinson's disease, which primarily causes the progressive loss of motor skills
Dementia pugilistica — most often associated with repetitive blows to the head in career boxing — which causes dementia and Parkinson's symptoms
Typical Learning Characteristics and/or Effects Of The Disability On Development And Learning
Children may have issues with short-term and long-term memory. They have trouble concentrating and can only pay attention and focus for a short amount of time. They may think more slowly and have difficulties talking and listening to others. They may also have difficulty with reading and writing, planning, sequencing, and judgement.
A list of learning disablities produced by about.com are below:
Difficulty with logic, thinking and reasoning
Slower to respond, react and complete actvities and tasks
Difficulty focusing attention
Inappropriate social behaviors
Difficulty remembering
Frequently puzzled or challenged by grade level work
Difficulty learning
It is believe that TBI has a profound effect on new learning even though previous learning may remain in tact
Never underestimate the potential for growth and development
Some TBI children will have speech and language deficits
Cognitive problems include:
Memory
Learning
Reasoning
Problem solving
Speed of mental processing
Judgment
Attention or concentration
Multitasking
Organization
Decision making
Beginning or completing tasks
Common Communication and/or Behavior Issues & Needs
Difficulties include sudden changes in mood, anxiety, and depression. They also experience trouble relating to others. They are often restless and cry alot. They do not have much motivation or much control over their emotions. In some cases, there are instances where inappropriate social behaviors occur.
According to MayoClinic, Communication problems include:
Difficulty understanding or producing spoken and written language (aphasia)
Difficulty deciphering nonverbal signals
Inability to organize thoughts and ideas
Inability to use the muscles needed to form words (dysarthria)
Problems with changes in tone, pitch or emphasis to express emotions, attitudes or subtle differences in meaning
Federal Definition of the Disability – Major Components, Including Incidence and etiology
Autism is defined by the U.S. Department of Education under the IDEA (2006) as “a developmental disability significantly affecting verbal and nonverbal communication and social interaction, usually evident before age 3 that adversely affects a child’s educational performance” (34 C.F.R. 300.8[c][1]) (Federal Register, 2006).
According to NASET (2007), most practitioners and educators believe autism is a “spectrum” disorder, a group of disorders with similar features, which can range from mild to severe. Therefore, autism is typically referred to as an “Autism Spectrum Disorder” (ASD).
The CDC (2012) estimates that approximately 1 in 88 children have been identified with an ASD. These estimates were generated from research collected and analyzed by the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network on behalf of the CDC.
The Mayo Clinic (2010) states that there is no single known cause of autism. In fact, they believe there may be many causes. One of the causes may include genetic problems. These genetic problems may be inherited or spontaneously generated. However, specific genes have not been identified. Another cause may be related to environmental factors such as viral infections and air pollutants. It is important to mention that it was once believed that there was a link between autism and some childhood vaccines including measles-mumps-rubella (MMR), but no study has been able to find enough reliable evidence to confirm this theory.
Typical Physical Characteristics of the Disability
Health Issues
In general, people with autism do not have physical or health issues directly related to the disability. However, other disabilities commonly co-exist with autism which may or may not cause physical and health issues according to the Autism Society of North Carolina (2011). This organization also suggests that research points to a physical problem that affects the parts of the brain responsible for processing language and information; however, more research is needed.
Typical Learning Characteristics and/or Effects Of The Disability On Development And Learning
Smith and Tyler (2010) summarize the learning characteristics and the effects of autism on development and learning. They note that the four main characteristics that affect learning are impairment in reciprocal social interactions, poor communication abilities, insistence on sameness, and unusual behavior patterns. The following is a list of characteristics that may affect the learner’s ability to learn or develop:
Failure to develop relationships with peers
Preferred interaction style may be characterized as “extreme isolation”
Understanding other’s beliefs, emotions, or motivations is greatly impaired
Ability to cooperate or share interests with others in the same event or activity is greatly impaired
Contribution to a conversation is rare
Distress is expressed when minor changes are made to the environment
Responses to visual, tactile, or auditory stimulation are inconsistent
Noncompliant behavior to requests from others may result in disruptions from the individual and others
Common Communication and/or Behavior Issues & Needs
Smith and Tyler (2010) also provide an in-depth list of common communication and behavior issues associated with students with autism.
The communication issues usually include:
Inability to acquire functional language
Content of language is usually unrelated to present events
Speech is usually repetitive, meaningless, and echolalic
Gestures, facial expressions, and nonverbal cues are poorly understood
Spontaneous conversation is rarely initiated
Both expressive and receptive language are extremely literal
The behavior issues usually include:
Aggression to others when compliance is requested
Self-injurious behavior (hitting, biting, kicking, head-banging) may be common and frequent
Extreme social fears toward strangers, crowds, unusual situations, and new environments
Loud sounds may result in fearful reactions
Severe sleep problems
Self-stimulation (twirling objects, rocking) consumes a considerable amount of time and energy
Federal Register. (2006, August 14). Assistance to states for the education of children with disabilities, 71(156), 46756.
Introduction to Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). (2007). Retrieved May 24, 2012, from National Association of Special Education
Teachers: http://www.naset.org/2562.0.html
Smith, D. D., & Tyler, N. C. (2010). Introduction to special education: Making a difference (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson
Education, Inc.
-It must be noted that defining the term learning disability has proven to be problematic.
Regulations from the U.S. Office of Education to identify if a child has a learning disability include:
1. The child does not achieve commensurate with his or her age and ability levels in one or more of the areas listed in paragraph (a) (2) of this section, when provided with learning experiences appropriate for the child's age and ability levels; and
2. The team finds that a child has a severe discrepancy between achievement and intellectual ability in one or more of the following areas:
-Oral expression
-Listening comprehension
-Written expression
-Basic reading skill
-Reading comprehension
-Mathematics calculation
-Mathematics reasoning (U.S. Office of Education, 1977, p.65083)
Health Issues
It affects the brain's ability to receive, process, store, and respond to information.
Students may have oral language difficulties psychological processing deficits.
-Short/long term memory problems.
-Impaired metacognition.
-Reading difficulties.
-Phonological awareness deficiencies.
-Written language problems.
-Quantitative disorders.
Healthy social and emotional skills are the most consistent indicators of success for people with a learning disabilty, even more so than academic factors.
Pages 89-92. “Teaching in Today’s Inclusive Classrooms: A Universal Design for Learning Approach” By: Richard M. Gargiulo & Debbie Metcalf. Second Edition.
The IDEA Act uses the term emotional disturbance to describe the population with emotional or behavioral needs.
The Idea definition is: The term means a condition exhibiting one or more of the following characteristics over a long period of time and to a marked degree that adversely affects a child's educational performance:
-An inability to learn that cannot be explained by intellectual, sensory, or health factors.
-An inability to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships with peers and teachers.
-Inappropriate types of behavior or feelings under normal circumstances.
-A general pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression.
-A tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears associated with personal or school problems.
The term includes schizophrenia. The term does not apply to children who are socially maladjusted, unless it is determined that they have an emotional disturbance.
Health Issues
-Impulsive, inattentive, distractable.
-Demonstrates aggressive behavior.
-Intimidates and bullies other students.
-A general pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression.
-A tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears associated with personal or school factors.
-Poor concentration.
-Often speaks out with irrelevant information or without regard to turn taking rules.
-Regularly absent from school.
-Difficulty working in groups.
-Often manipulative of situations.
-Resistance to change and transitions in routines.
-Intimidates and bullies other students.
-Consistently blames others for their dishonesty.
-Low self esteem.
-Demonstatartes self injurious behavior.
-Can not apply social rules related to others personal space and belongings.
www.gallaudet.edu/clerc_center/information_and_resources/info_to_go/educate_children_(3_to_21)/students_with_disabilities.html. Gallaudet University. Retrieved May 28, 2012.
71,000 students between the ages of 6 and 21 during the 2009-2010 school year have hearing impairment and receive special education. Genetic and hereditary factors contribute to hearing impairments, Infections are also causes of hearing impairments.
Health Issues
- Impaired speech
-Limited vocabulary
-Mouth breathing
-tugging or pulling of ear(s)
-recurring ear infections
-Limited vocabulary
-Frequent requests to repeat verbal information
-Inappropriate response to verbal questions
-trouble developing friendships
-feeling lonely and isolated and other social interactions are often not normal
26,000 children between the ages of 6 and 21 during the 2009-2010 school year had a visual impairment and were receiving special education.
Causes
-refractive errors (myopia, hyperopia, and astigmatism)
-defects of the ocular muscle (strabismus and nystagmus)
-disorders of the cornea, iris, and lens (cataracts and glaucoma)
Health Issues
-watery and or itchy eyes
-extreme sensitivity to sunlight
-complaints of frequent headaches and dizziness
-swollen or inflamed eyes
The AAIDD definition- Mental retardation(intellectual disabilities) is a disability characterized by significant limitations both in intellectual functioning and in adaptive behavior as expressed in conceptual, social, and practical adaptive skills. This disability originates before 18.
Determining the cause (etiology) of intellectual disabilities is challenging. There are many reasons why someone may show cognitive disabilities. Many times the etiology is unknown. The causes are usually prenatal, perinatal, or postnatal.
In about 80% of children with severe intellectual disability, a contributory factor can be identified, 70% are prenatal.
Health Issues
Issues with attention, memory, motivation, generalization, language development, academic development, and social development.
Some Physical Characteristics may cause pain, discomfort, and frustration.
Sensory Impairments and Epilepsy
Poor sleep patterns, tired all day
Practical skills—activities of daily living (personal care), occupational skills, healthcare, travel/transportation, schedules/routines, safety, use of money, use of the telephone.
Difficulty applying knowledge or skills to new tasks, situations, or settings.
Problem in using previous experience in novel circumstances.
Conceptual skills—language and literacy; money, time, and number concepts; and self-direction.
These students experience rejection by peers, frequently exhibit immature behaviors, diminished self-esteem, and lacks social competence.
Social skills—interpersonal skills, social responsibility, self-esteem, gullibility, naïveté (i.e., wariness), social problem solving, and the ability to follow rules/obey laws and to avoid being victimized.
When assessing an intellectual disability professionals must consider linguistic diversity and cultural differences in the way people communicate.
http://www.intellectualdisability.info/families/overview-of-learning-disability-in-children (Mary Lindsey)
http://www.aamr.org/content_100.cfm?navID=21 (AAIDD)
The term does not apply to brain injuries that are congenital or degenerative, or to brain injuries induced by birth trauma.”
According to NICHCY, approximately 1.4 million people recieve TBI's a year. Of children age 0-14 TBI results in 435,000 trips to the emergency room annually, hospitalize 37,000, and result in nearly 2,700 deaths.
Health Issues
There are several health complications that occur immediately or soon after a tb:
A tbi may increase the risk of diseases that result in the gradual degeneration of brain cells and gradual loss of brain functions. These include:
A list of learning disablities produced by about.com are below:
Cognitive problems include:
According to MayoClinic, Communication problems include:
Behavior problems include:
http://specialed.about.com/od/disabilities/a/tbi.htm
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/traumatic-brain-injury/DS00552/DSECTION=complications
According to NASET (2007), most practitioners and educators believe autism is a “spectrum” disorder, a group of disorders with similar features, which can range from mild to severe. Therefore, autism is typically referred to as an “Autism Spectrum Disorder” (ASD).
The CDC (2012) estimates that approximately 1 in 88 children have been identified with an ASD. These estimates were generated from research collected and analyzed by the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network on behalf of the CDC.
The Mayo Clinic (2010) states that there is no single known cause of autism. In fact, they believe there may be many causes. One of the causes may include genetic problems. These genetic problems may be inherited or spontaneously generated. However, specific genes have not been identified. Another cause may be related to environmental factors such as viral infections and air pollutants. It is important to mention that it was once believed that there was a link between autism and some childhood vaccines including measles-mumps-rubella (MMR), but no study has been able to find enough reliable evidence to confirm this theory.
Health Issues
The communication issues usually include:
The behavior issues usually include:
Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs). (2012, March 29). Retrieved May 24, 2012, from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:
http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/data.html
Federal Register. (2006, August 14). Assistance to states for the education of children with disabilities, 71(156), 46756.
Introduction to Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). (2007). Retrieved May 24, 2012, from National Association of Special Education
Teachers: http://www.naset.org/2562.0.html
Smith, D. D., & Tyler, N. C. (2010). Introduction to special education: Making a difference (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson
Education, Inc.
What is Autism? (2011). Retrieved May 27, 2012, from Autism society of north carolina: http://www.autismsociety-nc.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=341&Itemid=675