Sharjah Higher Colleges of Technology Compliments of Dr. Simon Hayhoe What are Special Needs? Sharjah Higher Colleges of Technology Compliments of Dr. Simon Hayhoe

What do you understand by special needs In groups of three, please discuss: Question 1: What do you understand by special needs in your class? Question 2: What are physical barriers to learning in your class? Question 3: What are social barriers to learning in your classrooms?

What are Special Needs What does the term mean, Who has them, What does having one mean

Forms of special need Biological – disabilities: Physical impairment Cognitive learning impairments, such as dyslexia or dyspraxia Sensory impairments, such as blindness and deafness Social impairments to learning students who speak English infrequently social disadvantage, such as poverty Emotional and behavioural impairments to learning Behavioural problems which are the product of abuse or neglect Eating disorders, such as anorexia or bulimia

The nature of special needs Biological Emotional / Behavioural Social

What is disability? Inability to perform tasks comfortably and normally by the standards of society. Association to other people with similar traits. Inability to look, sound and smell like mainstream society. A need to use technology that identifies him or her as impaired. The rarity of his or her trait compared with other disabling traits. A person not being able to change his or her situation in a relatively short period of time, and without recourse to major medical interventions. The perceived permanence of impairment. The strength of his or her impairment in comparison to the social or cultural norms of ability. (Hayhoe, S. (2011). Classifying Impairment in Western Societies. Downloaded from http://thebubblechamber.org/2011/02/classifying-impairment-in-western-societies/)

Misconceptions about disability Genetic differences or traits are not necessarily disabilities. This includes: Handedness Physical appearance Dwarfism not cause restricted movement Disability and special needs should not be seen a medical / health conditions or diseases Disabilities are either: the outcomes of a disease, accident or disorder the symptom of a disease People with the same disability do not necessarily have the same causes or traits Disabilities are not absolutes, they are usually on a scale from slight to severe

Strategies for working with Students with Special Needs Strategising your approach to working with students with special needs

The functional definition of special needs Body Movement: Physical Development and Motor Skills Thinking and Learning: Cognitive Development Skills Communication: Language Development Skills The Senses: Vision, Hearing and Touch (Including Sensory Integration) Relating to Self and Others: Social Development Skills and Emotional Development Skills Self-Care and Daily Living Skills: Adaptive Development Taken from the Center for the Improvement of Child Caring (http://www.ciccparenting.org/cicc_home.aspx)

What shouldn’t we do? Draw attention to disability without the student wanting to be identified Make assumptions about people with special needs based on their appearance or their disability Underestimate the ability of students with disabilities Overestimate the ability of students with disabilities

Tradecraft for students with special needs They need to work with their teachers to develop an Individual Education Plan (IEP) They need to have a strategy that can be transported from class to class They have to be professionally assessed They should work in conjunction with counsellors