DRC_grad

To Begin… Disabilities: Awareness and Support! • Identify one of your professional goals • Write your thoughts about this goal in a paragraph • Use NO VOWELS (a,e,i,o,u) in the paragraph! Dr. Kris Webb Director: Disability Resource Center Associate Professor: UNF Department of Special Education I am thrilled… Let’s Talk… • What was most frustrating about this task? • How can you relate this activity to interacting to our UNF students with special needs? • To be with you today, • That you are willing to help individuals with disabilities, • That we can share information that you may find helpful! Handy Information about Disabilities… • Use the term Disability rather than handicap when referring to someone who has a disability. Listen to this story… • Never refer to a person as a victim of a disability. (victim of cerebral palsy) • Never say someone is confined or bound to a wheelchair. ALWAYS use Personfirst language • • • • Man with mental illness Woman with learning disabilities Individual with a physical disability NEVER: the learning disabled, the retarded mentally ill man 1 First some fundamentals… • Individuals with disabilities must be diagnosed by a licensed professional! • We are not qualified to even suggest that an individual may have a disability! You might be tempted to… • Tell an individual she has a learning disability, • Tell an individual she has Attention Deficit Disorder, • Tell an individual she has mental illness. • Tell an individual she is paranoid. HOWEVER: You could… • Suggest to an individual that she talk to her physician and explain the difficulties she is having with concentration and focusing. • Suggest to an individual that she contact the Disability Resource Center if she is interested in finding out more about her difficulties with reading and writing. • What else? Who is this person? • Couldn’t read by 3rd grade • Had poor interpersonal skills • Mother was concerned about him academically • A large part of his life was spent in lowpaying jobs How about this person? • Didn’t learn to read beyond primary skills • Used a secretary and his wife to read to him • Had amazing skills in strategy planning And finally, • Has difficulty reading • Has difficulty writing • Is an award winning professional in her field 2 If you are working with a person who has a disability • You may find that a definition of the disability is helpful • You may find that knowing about characteristics is helpful • You may find that knowing about strategies and interventions is helpful. LD Definition • Intelligence scores within normal range • A significant discrepancy between academic achievement and expected potential • Not caused by other factors (Exclusion Clause) • Problems intrinsic to the individual Learning Disabilities • • • • • • Student with LD Students with LD have a greater reliance on external factors for accomplishment which interferes with their motivation • Motivation is the inner drive that causes individuals to be energized and directed • Attributions are the selfexplanations about the reasons for one’s success or failure • Unexpected underachievement Lack of motivation or poor attribution Attention deficits Inability to generalize Faulty information processing Insufficient problem solving strategies • • • • Students with LD may also develop learned helplessness and be inactive in the learning process Poor language and/or cognitive development Immature social skills Disorganization Strategies for Success • ADHD defined • ADHD is a persistent pattern of inattention and/or hyperactivityimpulsivity that is more frequent and severe than is typically observed in individuals at a comparable level of development. You can help if you: – Repeat important information – Organize content systematically – Provide students with relevant information – Anchor examples to their experiences – Associate content with familiar information – Teach students to use thinking skills such as classifying, associating, and sequencing 3 Strategies for Success ADHD Characteristics • Hyperactive, impulsive, and distracted • Excessive movement, difficult to control behavior or verbal impulses • Unable to sit for a long time • Unable to concentrate • Student engagement in interesting activities • Many of the same highly structured strategies used for students with LD • Shorter study periods • Shorter classes more times per week • Peer tutoring has been very successful with these students Emotional Disabilities – An inability to learn that cannot be explained by factors relating to health, IQ, or sensory problems – The condition results in poor interpersonal behaviors, a pervasive mood of depression or unhappiness, and inappropriate behaviors – The condition persists and adversely affects educational performance and life functions Characteristics/Emotional 74% have academic problems Social Skills – Poor social relationships – Inability to cope effectively with expectations of social settings – Inappropriate expression of desires and needs – Lack of social competence Students with externalizing problems display excessive behavior problems. Noncompliance Coercive behaviors Aggression Overactive and inattentive Peers without disabilities perceive these individuals as different. Students with internalizing problems display these characteristics – Depression – Withdrawn – Anxiety Strategies for Success • Make sure these students feel that they have a circle of support • Help them find their strengths • Many of the strategies used for students with LD are helpful • Help them access services and counseling Physical Disabilities Physical impairments Individuals have problems with structure or functioning of their bodies – Includes impairments caused by: • Congenital anomaly • Disease • Other causes such as cerebral palsy and amputations Special health care needs – individuals as having: • Limited strength • Chronic or acute health problems • Affected educational performance – Can be divided into two categories • Neuromotor • Muscular/skeletal 4 Characteristics Fatigue Inconsistent abilities to pay attention Weakened muscles and physical conditions Absences from school Loss of physical coordination Strategies for Success College students may require special features and instructional accommodations such as: – Adjusted schedules and extra time – Accessible physical and learning environments – Planning for health care on campus – Creative solutions to lessen impact of absences – Goals that foster independence – Assistive technology Asperger’s Syndrome • On the Autism Spectrum Autistic Spectrum Disorder covers five specific disorders: – Autistic disorder or autism – Childhood disintegrative disorder (CDD) – Asperger’s syndrome – Rett’s syndrome – Pervasive developmental disorder – not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS Characteristics – Significantly affects verbal and nonverbal communication and social interaction – Generally evident before the age of 3 – Adversely affects child’s performance – May includes characteristics of: • Engagement in repetitive movements • Resistance to environmental change or changes in routine • Unusual response to sensory experiences • Disorders share similar behavioral traits including problems with: – Communication – Social skills – Patterns of behavior or range of interests Strategies for Success • Teaching communication and social skills is paramount • Strategies for successful participation – – – – – – Develop a schedule Avoid surprises Provide structure and a routine Use direct statements Avoid slang or metaphors Use concrete examples Blind/Low Vision • Visual efficiency: – Is how well people use their sight – Is influenced by visual acuity and peripheral vision – Varies greatly among individuals • Can be divided into: – Low vision – Blindness • Students with low vision may use sight for reading • Students who are blind cannot use vision and are educated through other sensory channels • Acuity – Normal vision is said to be 20/20 – 20/70 means this person can se at 20 feet what people with normal vision see at 70 feet • Can be classified by: – Severity – Age of onset 5 Characteristics • Visual information contributes to the acquisition of social skills • Lack of good interpersonal skills can have a lifelong impact • Characteristics attributed to people who are blind include: – – – – – – Low self-esteem Socially immature Isolated Passive Withdrawn Dependent Strategies for Success • Accommodations and modifications are determined for each student and may include: – Changing a teaching style – Allowing students to position themselves where they can benefit most from instruction – Elimination of obstacles and hazards – Providing consistent organization, expectations, and consequences Deaf/hard of hearing • People who are Deaf: – Have profound hearing loss – Have little use of hearing, even with a hearing aid – Usually perceive some sound – Experience a loss in the speech range of greater than 60 dB • People who are hard of hearing: – Experience a loss of hearing in the speech range greater than 15– 25dB and less than 60 dB Characteristics • Estimated that 25% of Deaf and hard of hearing children have additional disabilities • Academic achievement levels are poor but improving • Reading achievement is poor • Between 25 and 45 percent have intelligible speech Strategies for Success • Hard of hearing students usually find that proper amplification allows them to benefit from typical classroom instruction with some accommodations • Accommodations include: – Placing student close to speaker – Reducing background noise – Using an overhead projector for notes or assign a peer helper – Gain student’s attention – Articulate clearly Remember… • To address the person who is deaf, NOT the interpreter! • Always talk to the person so he/she can see your mouth and facial expressions • Slow your speech so the interpreter can sign all of your language clearly. 6 What would you do with these students? • Connect with 5-6 others to form a working group. • Your group will be assigned a case study. • With your team, create a plan that will help each student maximize his tutoring time. • Share your ideas with the group! I learned… I felt… I noticed… I wondered Thank you for allowing me to be a part of your day! 7