Exceptional Learners

Lizamarie C. Olegario

UNDERSTANDING THE EXCEPTIONAL LEARNER


U.P. College of Education


Exceptional Learner

one who differs from the average or normal, with emphasis on factors relating to current practices, identification, characteristics, and educational adaptations


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


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



• 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



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)


Mental Retardation

aids for mental retardation – psychological tests

– playtherapy set

– Montessori teaching set

– Kindergarten set

– television


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



adversely affect performance in one or more areas– self-care– social relationships– personal adjustment– academic progress– classroom behaviors– work adjustment



may co-exist with one or more of the following conditions: – aggression– (ADHD)– anxiety & stress related disorders– depression– suicide– PDD



– 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



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



– 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



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



– 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


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



– 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)



–Anxiety disorders – a family of disorders where the dominant feature is exaggerated anxiety• school phobia

• post-traumatic stress disorder

• avoidant disorder)



– 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



–Schizophrenia – a serious emotional disorder characterized by loss of contact with environment and personality changes; hallucinations and delusions often exist



– 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



The student may be enrolled in three or more alternate courses:– self care– social relationships– personal adjustment– anger management– anxiety reduction– behavior control



–Supports required by the child/ youth to enable learning:• The needed structures and routines

• Transitional supports

• Environmental adaptation

• Counseling


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.



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)



• 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)



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



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


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



Language disorder – the impairment or deviant development of comprehension and/or use of a spoken, written, and/ or other symbol system.



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



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.



– 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



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)



– 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



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



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



– 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



– 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



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)



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



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



alternative means of communication – writing notes, using sign language or manipulating a low-tech augmentative communication system



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



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


Physical Impairments

Physical disability or orthopedic impairment– includes such conditions as

• cerebral palsy• spina bifida• amputations or limb absences• muscular dystrophy



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



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



Five basic goal areas:– Physical independence, including

mastery of daily living skills– Self-awareness and social maturation– Communication– Academic growth– Life skills training



Aids for visual disability– brailler

– brailler slate

– thermoform machine

– tape recorded lectures/ text

– note taker

– large print class material



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



aids of locomotor disability– specialized furniture

– mobility aids

– orthotic and prosthetic


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


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



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



Autism– may exhibit repeated body movements

(hand flapping, rocking)

– unusual responses to people or attachments to objects and resistance to changes in routines



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



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



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



Rett’s Disorder– head deceleration occurs

– “hand washing” movements

– episodes of screaming or tantrums



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



Childhood disintegrative disorder / Hetter’s syndrome – Difference from autism is only based

on child’s early developmentCause:

– nervous system problems


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

Documents

Exceptional Learners