Special Education Law and Disorders By: Andrea Edwards

IDEA Major Principles of IDEA Zero Reject Non-discrimatory Evaluation Free Appropriate Public Education Least Restrictive Environment Procedural Safeguards Parent Participation and Shared Decision Making Major Principles of IDEA Zero Reject – Schools must educate all individuals with disabilities Non-Discriminatory Evaluation – Schools must use multifactored methods of evaluation to determine whether a child has a disability or whether the child needs specifically designed instruction. Free Appropriate Public Education – All children who have disabilities will receive a free appropriate public education regardless of the disability. Least Restrictive Environment – IDEA requires the students with disabilities to be educated as much as possible with students without disabilities. Procedural Safeguards – The school district must follow a set of procedures and safeguards to protect the rights of the children with disabilities. Parent Participation and Shared Decision Making – The school districts are required to collaborate with parents of the students with disabilities.

Intellectual Disabilities Definition Significantly sub average general intellectual functioning. Characteristics Slower Learning Rate Difficulty using knew knowledge Substantial deficits in self-care and daily living skills. Challenges in social development. Definition The IDEA defines an intellectual disability as significantly sub average general intellectual functioning. Three specific criteria must be met in this definition: Significant means a score of ≥ 2 standard deviations below the mean on a standard intelligence test. This is approximately 70 or less. An individual must have significant difficulty with everyday tasks which are also known as functional tasks. The deficits in intellectual functioning and adaptive behavior must occur during the developmental period to help distinguish the disability from others. Characteristics An individual with an intellectual disability often has difficulty with remembering information. The rate at which a student with intellectual disability learns is well below the rate a typical developing child learns. An intellectual disabled child also has difficulty recalling and using new knowledge they have learned. An individual with an intellectual disability also has a lack of motivation or interest in learning. Individual with intellectual disabilities require immense support and teaching to acquire self-care and daily living skills. Social development is also an area of difficulty for intellectual disabled students. Making and keeping friends is an extremely difficult task for them.

Specific Learning Disabilities Definition Deficit in 1 or more of the basic psychological processes. Disorders Included dyslexia, developmental aphasia, minimal brain dysfunction, brain injury, perceptual disabilities Educational Approaches: Graphic Organizers Note Taking Strategies Mnemonics What is a Specific Learning Disability? A learning disability is a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using language either spoken or written. Disorders included: Dyslexia, developmental aphasia, minimal brain dysfunction, brain injury, perceptual disabilities. Disorders not included in SLD: Learning difficulties because of visual, hearing, or motor disabilities Educational Approaches for students with learning disabilities is particularly difficult especially at the middle and secondary levels. Some common educational approaches to use are: Graphic Organizers Visual arrangements of information that help students see the comparative or sequential relationships. These visual displays help the students to put their thoughts on paper before actually writing. Note Taking Strategies The traditional form of lecturing is used commonly in middle and secondary levels. A student with LD have difficulty taking notes. Guided notes are great for the LD student. They are created by the teacher. It is an outline of the lecture where the student completes as the lecture progresses. Mnemonics An example of mnemonics are letter strategies or acronyms.

Autism Spectrum Disability affecting: Characteristics: Types: Verbal/Nonverbal Communication Social Interaction Characteristics: Social, Communicative, and language deficits Repetitive Behaviors Unusual Response to Sensory Stimuli Types: Autism Asperger’s Childhood disintegrative Disorder Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS) Autism is a developmental disability affecting verbal and nonverbal communication and social interaction, normally before the age of 3. This disability effects a child’s educational performance. Characteristics: Many children with autism does not know or care that they are alone or around other individuals. Many autistic children are nonverbal, which means they do not speak. Some only utter simple sounds. Autistic children have repetitive behaviors and ritualistic routines. They like to have a routine of sameness. If something is out of place, this may cause them to get very upset. 70-80% of autistic individuals have an abnormal response to sensory stimuli. The intellectual functioning of autistic students often meets the same requirements as a intellectually disabled student. Types of Autism: Autism Asperger’s Childhood Disintegrative Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified

Communication Disorders Definition Inability to receive, send, process, and comprehend concepts, verbal, nonverbal, or graphic symbols Characteristics Speech Sound Errors Articulation Disorders Phonological Disorders Fluency Disorders Voice Disorders, Language Disorders A communication disorder is the impairment of the inability to receive, send, process, and comprehend concepts, verbal, nonverbal, or graphic symbol systems. Characteristics: Speech Sound Errors Articulation Disorders – inability to produce a given sound physically Phonological Disorders – inability to produce a given sound correctly Fluency Disorders – interruption in the flow of speaking characterized by atypical rate, rhythm, and repetitions in sounds, syllables, words, or phrases Voice Disorders – abnormal production or absence of vocal quality, pitch, loudness, resonance, or duration. Language Disorders – involve problems in or of the five parameters of language: phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and/or pragmatics

Deafness Definition Technologies and Supports: Hearing loss that is so extreme that the child has difficulty processing linguistic information through hearing with or without amplification. Technologies and Supports: Hearing Aids Group Assistive Listening Devices Cochlear Implants Sign Language Deafness means a hearing loss is so extreme that the child has difficulty processing linguistic information through hearing with or without amplification. Technologies and Support Hearing Aids make sounds louder. Group Assistive Listening Devices solve the issues caused by disturbance, noise, reverberation in the classroom. Cochlear implants by pass damaged hair cells and stimulate the auditory nerve directly. Sign Language is the communication by symbols performed by hands.

ADHD Definition Prevalence Treatment Difficulty attending at times Inappropriate or purposeless movements Prevalence 3-7% of school age children Boys are 3x more likely to be diagnosed Treatment Medication Behavioral Intervention The definition of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder is a child who consistently exhibits difficulty attending, and high rates of purposeless or inappropriate movements and exhibits behavioral traits. Prevalence 3-7% of school age children have been diagnosed with ADHD 9.5% of children 4 to 17 have ADHD at some point. Boys are about 3x more likely to be diagnosed Treatment: Medication – Rx stimulant medication is the most common intervention for children with ADHD. The number of children on this type of medication has increased drastically since the 1980s. Behavioral Interventions – Positive reinforcements, modifying assignment are the principles and methods of applied analysis that provide teachers and parents with practical strategies for teaching and living with children with ADHD.

Visual Impairments Definition Educational Approaches Including blindness means an impairment in vision even with correction affects a child’s educational performance. Educational Approaches Braille Tactile Aids & Manipulatives Computer Access Technological Aids for Reading Print The IDEA defines a visual impairment as an impairment in vision that, even with correction, adversely affects a child’s educational performance. Educational Approaches: Braille – The primary means of literacy for people who are blind. It is a tactile system of reading and writing. The letters, words, numbers and other symbols are an arrangement of raised dots. Tactile Aids & Manipulatives – Books created by attaching artifacts to the pages. Computer Access – Keyboarding is a vital form of communication for visually impaired individuals and their peers. Technological Aids for Reading Print – Character recognition software for visually impaired individuals converts printed text into spoken words

Physical Disabilities & Health Impairments Definition: Having limited strength, vitality, or alertness including heightened alertness to environmental stimuli that adversely affects a child’s educational performance. Types Cerebral Palsy Spina Bifida Spinal Cord Injuries Epilepsy Diabetes Asthma Cystic Fibrosis HIV & AIDS The IDEA definition of orthopedic impairments and other health impairments is having limited strength, vitality or alertness including heightened alertness to environmental stimuli that adversely affects a child’s educational performance. A severe orthopedic impairment is an impairment that affects a child’s educational performance. Types: Cerebral Palsy Spina Bifida Spinal Cord Injuries Epilepsy Diabetes Asthma Cystic Fibrosis HIV & Aids

For More Information What is Special Education? Disabilities Information

References Heward, W. (2013). Exceptional Children An Introduction to Special Education (10th ed.). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education.