What is Special Education?
WHAT IS INTELLECTUAL DEFICIT?
The term intellectual disability (ID) is increasingly being used in place of mental retardation. ID is understood as the slow and incomplete acquisition of cognitive skills during human development, which implies that the person may have difficulties understanding, learning and remembering new things, which are manifested during development, and which contribute to the level of intelligence general; for example, cognitive, motor, and social and language skills (World Health Organization, 1992).
In general, children with ID are less efficient at learning than other children. As they grow and master the activities of daily life, they need to attend school. In high-income countries, such as the United States, all children with ID ages from 3 to 21 have access to a free public education through an individualized education program. In developing countries, such as India, there has also been considerable progress in addressing the challenges posed by children with ID. However, in low-income countries there is still a long way to go to develop effective, accessible and affordable interventions (Girimaji & Srinath, 2010).
Most common traits of people with intellectual disabilities:
- Poor acquisition and use of language.
- Difficulty directing and maintaining attention on relevant stimuli.
- In general, problems sharing, waiting for a turn, smiling, attending, imitating, and following directions.
HOW TO MANAGE INTELLECTUAL DEFICIT IN THE CLASSROOM?
RECOMMENDATIONS OF ACTIVITIES FOR CHILDREN WITH INTELLECTUAL DEFICIT
Activities in early childhood education are usually very diverse and their time varies, depending on the dynamics of the children. Good coordination between teachers is the basis for a constant adaptation of the school day, attending to the needs and convenience of the student with I.D.
There will be times when the speech therapy time corresponds; the child is doing an activity with his classmates that has been extended in time and that is especially useful because he is being able to listen in a group, to work with companions orrelating. In this case, you should consider whether it is not more convenient to postpone said session and recover it at another time.
Some activities that are recommended are the following:
Topic: Daily Routine
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1fpHlDdRAtLmLaQLU4oGiyg9FcQtUgnik/view?usp=sharing
Topic: Shapes
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1UqcOaBqKhbVzRmL-Lqs2MBykX5nXzJKE/view?usp=sharing
Topic: Parts of the body
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1NBLVI8WP1F7wtlwZmdKQi-4U6bjvrgkU/view?usp=sharingWHAT IS ATTENTION DEFICIT HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER (ADHD)?
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders of childhood. Its diagnosis is usually made in childhood and often lasts into adulthood. Children with ADHD may have trouble paying attention, controlling impulsive behaviors (they may act without thinking about the outcome), or be overly active.
It is normal for children to have a hard time concentrating and behaving well from time to time. However, children with ADHD do not outgrow these behaviors as they get older. Symptoms continue and can cause difficulties at school, home, or with friends.
Some symptoms are:
Fantasying a lot.
Forgetting or losing things very often.
Switching or fidgeting.
Talking a lot.
HOW TO MANAGE THIS DISORDER IN THE CLASSROOM?
Teachers should treat the child with this disorder like everyone else. Also, what teachers can do is refer the child to a psychologist so that the child can receive therapies focused on their disorder; thus, the child will have advances in his or her life. In the same way, if the kindergarten does not have a psychologist, the teacher can refer the student to institutions or organizations where there are professionals in psychology. Besides that, teachers must be very patient with these children and give them time so that their illness does not get worse.
RECOMMENDATIONS OF ACTIVITIES
Move in slow motion: In this activity, the teacher tells the children that they will pretend to be astronauts and have to move in slow motion. This activity consists of the children pretending to be in space to do missions on the moon. After they finish the missions, the teacher can let the children act as they want in space.
The turtle technique: it is a technique that helps the child to regulate his behavior and control his impulsiveness. The game is simple, it is about the child learning to transform into a turtle. Turtles move slowly and act little by little, and when there is a threat, they hide in their shell; in this way, they can calm down.
Imitations: In this game, a person performs an action or a set of actions, and the rest of the players have to repeat that action as closely as possible to the model. With this exercise, we are working attention and memory. In this case, the person who will perform the actions will be the teacher, and those who will repeat the actions will be the students.
WHAT IS ATTENTION DEFICIT DISORDER (ADD)?
Children with attention deficit disorder often present confusion and inattention, which leads to a significant loss of information. They generally have a slow cognitive tempo and have difficulties with working memory and with retaining new information. All of this causes errors in oral or written instructions. They are not characterized by being aggressive children; that is to say, they do not usually have too many problems in creating friendships between equals.
ADD Features:
They have great mental dispersion and are very easily distracted.
It is difficult for them to understand things clearly and quickly.
Difficulty organizing.
HOW TO MANAGE THIS DISORDER IN THE CLASSROOM?
Teachers should treat these children as they treat others because if they do not, the child with this disorder may feel isolated. The teacher can also talk to the other children and tell them to play and join the child with ADD in the games, but the teacher has to talk about this when the child with this disorder is not with them. On the other hand, if the situation becomes difficult, the teacher can talk with the parents of the other children to brainstorm what they need to do to help the child with ADD. Likewise, the teacher can refer the child to a professional in psychology to receive therapies focused on his or her disorder.
RECOMMENDATIONS OF ACTIVITIES
Matching game: In this game, usually cards, although it can be played with other elements, we will have to find the pairs among a group of cards that are face down. We will have to lift them only two by two; if it is not correct, we must leave them covered again.
Play echo: In this game, a child says any word, and the rest have to repeat the last syllables as if they were the echo. It can also be made more complex so that the echo is not done by all the children at the same time, but they would have to do it in a staggered way.
WHAT IS DOWN SYNDROME?
In every cell in the human body, there is a nucleus, where genetic material is stored in genes. Genes carry the codes responsible for all of our inherited traits and are grouped along rod-like structures called chromosomes. Typically, the nucleus of each cell contains 23 pairs of chromosomes, half of which are inherited from each parent. Down syndrome occurs when an individual has a full or partial extra copy of chromosome 21.
This additional genetic material alters the course of development and causes the characteristics associated with Down syndrome. A few of the common physical traits of Down syndrome are low muscle tone, small stature, an upward slant to the eyes, and a single deep crease across the center of the palm – although each person with Down syndrome is a unique individual and may possess these characteristics to different degrees, or not at all.
HOW TO HANDLE STUDENTS WITH DOWN SYNDROME IN THE CLASSROOM?
The attention that must be given to the students with Down syndrome is essential since it will depend on how long the student can pay attention to us. It is very important to emphasize that all students must be taken into account regardless the type of activity. As teachers, we must include students with disabilities because they can also be part of the development of activities; for example, if the activity is related to a talent show, it can be included as a judge of the event. Those small actions are help to involve all students.
It is important that the teaching body should updated regarding this type of situation. A good teacher is one who has empathy, patience and kindness even though sometimes they find themselves at a crossroads when not having the experience or being in front of a situation such as teaching a child with Down syndrome. For this reason, teachers must know the basic characteristics of this condition so that they know how to act and not to find themselves without tools or strategies in this situation.
The rest of the class must know that their partner is the same as them, and he or she has the same opportunities. The recommendation is to talk with students to explain about their partner´s condition in order to have a respectful and empathic environment.
Some recommendations to consider as a teacher are:
Do not try to protect him too much; he or she also needs to be trusted in what is doing and discovering.
The student will always need help but try not to overdo it. Let him or her develop the activities, but always being on the lookout if he needs help with something.
Let them do things by themselves to learn that they can too if they want to.
Speak and listen to them. The attention that they receive is very important because the students feel confident with their teacher.
Let them communicate with you. When they express themselves about something and take a long time, you must be patient.
Play and share time with them.
RECOMMENDATION OF ACTIVITIES
Classroom curricular adaptations can be understood as measures taken within the group-class framework to bring the student with Down syndrome, or with some other type of special educational needs, the common curriculum planned for all classmates. They are variations in the programming that, being applied to all, indirectly benefit that specific student. Obviously, it is not the same to program and intervene from individualized support and outside the ordinary classroom as specialist teachers usually do, than in the framework of the class, where together with the student with Down syndrome there are many other children who demand and require the attention of the classroom teacher or tutor.
The difficulty increases therefore, in the classroom environment and with the presence of classmates, who become co-protagonists of the scene that takes place there. However, from the classroom setting, the teacher can plan certain strategies that allow them to serve all students while making the environment more welcoming for the student with Down syndrome. Some measures that we can use to make the classroom more inclusive are:
Measures regarding clusters
Carry out activities with different types of groups, individually, in a large group and whenever possible in pairs or in a small group. Cooperative work is a very useful measure of attention to diversity.
Organize reinforcement groups outside the established schedule, with students with similar difficulties.
Reorder and regroup the students in a classroom according to their level in various subjects.
Establish as a methodological measure peer tutoring in class, also known as peer instruction, in which certain students explain to others what they do not understand.
Create the figure of the student-tutor or host companion. If this figure is officially established in the classroom, it can rotate so that at some point the child with Down syndrome himself becomes a tutor.
Measures regarding the presentation of content
Use structural organizers for all students, before, during and after the lesson, for example, outlining the content and objectives at the beginning, summarizing key points as the lesson progresses, and reviewing at the end of the lesson.
Carry out information organization strategies. Prepare before the beginning of each lesson a concept map, a synoptic table or a preliminary diagram, which collects the main ideas of the topic to be taught so that all students know in advance what they will work on in the next hours or days and prepare a final summary at the end of the topic.
Highlight the fundamental ideas of each lesson, either from the textbook with underlining or highlighting techniques or from scripts or summaries. In this way, the teacher helps students to carry out synthesis tasks, picking out the essentials.
Write the key words and the new vocabulary on the board.
Classroom dynamization measures
Frequently send positive messages, encouragement, and appreciation collaboration, addressed to individual students and to the class as a whole.
Appreciate what the students do, giving each one their minute of glory. It is clear that everyone does something well at some point although teachers usually tend to correct and look for errors.
Maintain eye contact with students and, in some cases, physical contact. A gesture, a caress, a small touch on the shoulder or arm, and a friendly smile are clear signs of interest towards the child and sources of stimulation and encouragement.
Obviously, respect the students, avoiding disqualifications and ironic, offensive or hurtful comments.
Start teaching high meaning sight words.
Visual memory
Recognition memory
Match activities with solid black shape.
Use flashcards to explain reading activities.
Use music to practice articulation
WHAT IS AUTISM?
Autism, or autism spectrum disorder (ASD), refers to a broad range of conditions characterized by challenges with social skills, repetitive behaviors, speech and nonverbal communication. Autism affects an estimated 1 in 54 children. We know that there is not one autism but many subtypes, most influenced by a combination of genetic and environmental factors. Because autism is a spectrum disorder, each person with autism has a distinct set of strengths and challenges. The ways in which people with autism learn, think and problem-solve can range from highly skilled to severely challenged. Some people with ASD may require significant support in their daily lives while others may need less support and, in some cases, live entirely independently.
HOW TO HANDLE STUDENTS WITH AUTISM IN THE CLASSROOM?
Learn about the learner from the learner: One of the most common mistakes that teachers make is to think that they will completely understand how to teach a kid with autism only by reading information on the web because, as we said before, every child with this condition has different challenges with his or her development. The recommendation is to study the child through observation or to take a survey to discover the possible methods and activities to work with the student.
Teach to fascinations: whenever possible, educators should use the interests, strengths, and skills of the kid to call his attention.
Get them talking: To create an environment where the child can participate and share his or her ideas, the teacher will need activities that give the child an opportunity to participate.
Give choices: Give them the opportunity to choose. It will be helpful for students with autism who have special needs when it comes to the learning environment, lesson materials, and communication. Students can choose which assessments to complete, which role to take in a cooperative group, and how to receive personal assistance and support. Examples of choices that can be offered in classrooms include:
Solve five of the ten problems assigned.
Work alone or with a small group.
Read quietly or with a friend.
Use a pencil, pen, or the computer.
Conduct your research in the library or in the resource room.
Take notes using words or pictures.
Create a comfortable classroom: Providing an appropriate learning environment can be as central to a student’s success as any teaching strategy or educational tool. Students with autism will be the most prepared to learn in places where they can relax and feel secure. Ideas for making the classroom more comfortable include providing seating options (e.g., beanbag chairs, rocking chairs); reducing direct light when possible (e.g., using upward projecting light, providing a visor to a student who is especially sensitive); and minimizing distracting noises (e.g., providing earplugs or headphones during certain activities).
RECOMMENDATION OF ACTIVITIES
Using technological devices when you are developing a writing activity because it helps them focus on the task at hand (content) instead of on their motor skills (process).
Consider implementing support strategies that all students might find useful to prepare to transition from school to home. Specific skills can even be taught during this time (e.g., creating to-do lists, prioritizing tasks).
Use a visual timer so students can manage time on their own throughout an activity.
Give reminders to the whole class before any transition.
Provide the student or entire class with a transitional activity such as writing in a homework notebook or for younger students, singing a short song about “cleaning up”.
Ask peers to help in supporting transition time. In elementary classrooms, teachers can ask all students to move from place to place with a partner. In middle and high school classrooms, students might choose a peer to walk with during passing time.
Provide a transition aid (a toy, object, or picture).
Some students work best when they can pause between tasks and take a break of some kind (walk around, stretch, or simply stop working). Some learners will need walking breaks — these breaks can last anywhere from a few seconds to fifteen or twenty minutes. Some students will need to walk up and down a hallway once or twice; others will be fine if allowed to wander around in the classroom.
WHAT IS SENSORY DEFICIT?
When we speak about deficit, we are referring to the absence or lack of what is judged as necessary or essential to the development of day-to-day activities. According to neurologists, human beings have around 26 senses such as sight, sound, taste, touch, gravity and smell, and the lack of them is defined as sensory deficit. This loss may be from birth or gained from growing up and affect the individual's functioning. This research is divided into the most common and difficult ones when we are working with children.
HOW TO MANAGE SENSORY DEFICIT IN THE CLASSROOM? BLIND CHILDREN
The position where the blind student will be for the rest of the year is essential since he or she cannot see but can listen very well. Also, the teacher must know the background of the children. If the child became blind, the teacher will use his or her visual memory, but if the kid was born with this condition, the teacher has to explain using the language that the child understands.
In addition, it is imperative to talk with the other students and ask them to be emphatic with that student, but also to explain to them that be blind is not an impediment to learn as they can do it.
DEAF AND HARD OF HEARING
The difference between hard of hearing and deaf is that the first one is able to hear but not well. In this situation, the student has to sit down near the teacher to hear better and clearly, but if the student is deaf, the teacher has to work only the reading and writing skills; the teacher has to use the Sign Language both in the native language and in the foreign language. Remembering to face the students as often as possible and keep eye contact while we move your mouth and your hands to explain.
Use audios to improve the listening skill.
The speaking activities are the best option to work with them
Use real objects to explain or give examples
Use braille, either with a braille writing machine or a slate.
It is difficult to learn grammar just by listening, so be patient and try to work with letters that the child can touch.
FOR DEAF CHILDREN
Writing out form notes
Filling out forms
Teach gestures that English speakers recognize
Teach the basic universal signs ( each country has its own but some gestures remain)
Writing out instructions
Writing short form
Visual materials that come with transcriptions
Use vocabulary Emotionalization
15 Actividades para realizar con niños con TDAH
Sources of Sensory Deficits
Teaching English to Blind Students, TeachingEnglish, (Web Site)
English as a Foreign Language for Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Persons, Cambridge Schoolar, (PDF)
Tips for Teaching Students Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing, University of Arkansas, (PDF)
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