Special Needs Education

ReSearch

Google:
- Special Needs Education https://www.google.com/search?q=special+needs+education&gws_rd=ssl
- Special Needs Education Adults https://www.google.com/search?q=special+needs+education&gws_rd=ssl#q=special+needs+education+adults
Books
Papers

Context

Institutions

National Association For Adults with Special Learning Needs http://naasln.org/
Autism Speaks http://www.autismspeaks.org/

Ideas

Autism

Tools and Resources

Apps for Autism - http://www.autismspeaks.org/autism-apps - sorted by platform, age, research support and purpose.

Outlines

Special Needs Education

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_education

What is Special Education or Special Needs Education?
- Practice of Educating Students with Special Needs
  - learning disabilities, communication disabilities, emotional and behavioral disorders, physical disabilities, and developmental disabilities
- To Address their individual differences and needs through
  - Different approaches to Teaching, Use of Technology, Specifically Adapted teaching area, Individually planned and systematically monitored arrangement of teaching procedures, adapted equipment and materials, accessible settings, and other interventions
- To help them Achieve a higher level of personal self-sufficiency and success in school and community than would be available if the student were only given access to a typical classroom education
Identifying Students with Special Needs
- Medical History: Diagnosed with a genetic condition that is associated with intellectual disability, may have various forms of brain damage, may have a developmental disorder, may have visual or hearing disabilities, or other disabilities.
- Learning Difficulties in School
  - Discrepancy Model: teacher noticing that the students' achievements are noticeably below what is expected
  - Response to Intervention Model: identification children who are having difficulties in school in their first or second year after starting school.
- <at home?>
IEP Individualised Education Plan (Used in US, Canada, UK)
- Determine specific strengths and weaknesses.
- Placement, resources, and goals are determined on the basis of the student's needs.
- Accommodations and Modifications to the regular program may include changes in the curriculum, supplementary aides or equipment, and the provision of specialized physical adaptations that allow students to participate in the educational environment to access subject matter, physically gain access to the school, or meet their emotional needs.
- Methods of Provision
  - Inclusion
  - Mainstreaming
  - Segregation
  - Exclusion
- Effective Instruction
  - Goal Directed
  - Research-based Methods
  - Guided by Student Performance
Instructional Strategies
- Accommodation: reasonable adjustment to teaching practices so that the student learns the same material, but in a format that is more accessible to the student. Accommodations may be classified by whether they change the presentation, response, setting, or scheduling of lessons.
  - Response Accommodations
  - Presentation Accommodations
  - Setting Accommodations
  - Scheduling Accommodations
- Modification: changes or adapts the material to make it simpler. Change to what is learned, how difficult the material is, what level of mastery the student is expected to achieve, whether and how the student is assessed, or any another aspect of the curriculum
  - Skipping Subjects
  - Simplified Assignments
  - Shorter Assignments
  - Extra Aids
  - Extended Time
Developmental, corrective, and other supportive services Services
- speech and language pathology, audiology, psychological services, physical therapy, occupational therapy, counseling services, including rehabilitation counseling, orientation and mobility services, medical services as defined by regulations, parent counseling and training, school health services, school social work, assistive technology services, other appropriate developmental or corrective support services, appropriate access to recreation and other appropriate support services.
Issues
- Inclusion of At-Risk Students with Students with Special Needs in the same class or approached in the same manner (Paper)
- Inclusion into a mainstream classroom (Link 1/ 2)
- Eligibility Criteria and Application: Placement into a Special Education Program due to mental health conditions like obsessive compulsive disorder, depression, anxiety, panic attacks or ADHD, while the student and his parents believe that the condition is adequately managed through medication and outside therapy (link)
- Education of most severely disabled child
- Lack of Resources
- Issues in Maths

Autism Spectrum Disorders

<Note: There is very poor authoritative and consistent terminology used in this field>

From Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autistic_spectrum_disorder

What is the Autism Spectrum?
- Range of neuro-developmental conditions: Social Deficits, communication difficulties, stereotyped or repetitive behaviors and interests, cognitive delays
- Comprises of
  - Autism
  - Asperger Syndrome
  - PDD-NOS Pervasive Developmental Disorder not otherwise specified
  - Childhood Disintegrative disorder
  - Rett Syndrome
Classification of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
- Based on DSM-4-TR
- Based on DSM-5 Proposal by Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders version 5 (DSM-5), released May 2013.
  - Dimensional Approach with similar types of symptoms and differentiated by clinical specifiers (dimensions of severity) and associated features (known genetic disorder, epilepsy and intellectual disability)
  - Collapse social and communication deficit into one domain. (severity of fixated or restricted behaviors or interests and associated features)
Characteristics based on DSM-4-TR
- Autism
  - Delays or abnormal functioning before the age of three years in
    - Social Interaction
    - Communication
    - Restricted, repetitive and stereotyped patterns of behavior, interests and activities
- Asperger Syndrome
  - lack of delay or deviance in early language development and cognitive developmenr.
- PDD-NOS: Milder symptoms of autism or symptoms in only one domain
- Theories
  - Theory of Monotropism
  - Developmental Course
    - Symptoms onset occurred within the first year of life
    - Gradual course of onset in which parents report concerns in development over the first two years of life and diagnosis is made around 3–4 years of age. Some of the early signs of ASDs in this course include decreased looking at faces, failure to turn when name is called, failure to show interests by showing or pointing, and delayed pretend play
    - Regression and loss of skills in the first 2–3 years despite Normal or near-normal development. Regression may occur in a variety of domains, including communication, social, cognitive, and self-help skills; however, the most common regression is loss of language
Causes
- Risk Factor
  - Genetic Risk Factor
    - prevalence of autism in siblings of autistic children is approximately 15 to 30 times greater than the rate in the general population.[23]
    - higher concordance rate among monozygotic twins compared to dizygotic twins (Link)
    - no single gene that can account for autism. Instead, there seem to be multiple genes involved, each of which is a risk factor for part of the autism syndrome through various groups (Link 1, 2, 3)
  - Prenatal and perinatal factors: maternal gestational diabetes, maternal and paternal age over 30, bleeding after first trimester, use of prescription medication (e.g. valproate) during pregnancy, and meconium in the amniotic fluid
  - neuroanatomical abnormalities, and environmental factors.
- Associated Conditions
  - Intellectual disability[28]
  - Seizures and epilepsy
  - Tuberous sclerosis
  - Fragile X syndrome
  - Chromosome 15q11-q13 interstal duplication, du/triplications
  - Chromosome 15q11-q13 deletions (i.e. Angelman syndrome and Prader-Willi syndrome)
  - Rett syndrome
  - Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome, a cholesterol biosynthesis disorder
Diagnosis
- Evidence-based Assessment
  - Level 1 Developmental Screening by regular visits to the General Practitioners
    - Social Interactions and Relationships (How someone can connect with others)
      - Infants fail to maintain eye contact or uncomfortable when picked up or held - cry, become limp or tense.
      - No bond with parents or care givers
      - Lacking in ability to pick up on social cues - uncontrolled emotional outbursts, affect relationships with others their own age, unable to express themselves appropriately
      - Effect on sense of empathy and unable to understand pain and sorrow
    - Verbal and Non-verbal communication skills
      - by 12 months does not gesture (point and wave),
      - by 16 months does not say single words
      - Does not say 2 word phrases on his or her own and does not make a facial expression or respond to your facial expression
    - Behavioural Issues
      - the way they play with toys and other objects (eg repetitive lining of the toy in certain ways)
      - Need to have strict routine and constant familiarity and very resistant to change
      - Constant body movements or patterns of behaviour - hand flapping, spinning, body rocking
      - Tempter tantrums, screaming fits, hyperactivity and inappropriate laughing or giggling
      - Fixation or obsessive interest in an activity idea or person
    - Sensory Issues
      - Overwhelmed by senses and react badly to certain sounds (e.g. banging heads and obsessing how objects feel under their fingers)
  - Level 2 Evaluation by comprehensive diagnostic assessment by experience clinicians
    - ADI-R Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised
      - Semi-structure parent interview by evaluation of child's current behavior and developmental history
    - ADOS Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule
      - Measure social and communcation abilities by eliciting opportunities (Presses) for spontaneous behaviors (Eye contact) in standardized context.
    - Childhood Autism Rating Scale
    - Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test
  - Framework Evaluation
    - Multiple Informants: Parents and Teachers
    - Diverse Contexts: Home and School
    - Multidisciplinary team of professionals: clinical psychologists, neuropsychologists, and psychiatrists
- Comorbidity
  - Intellectual Disability (40-69% have some degree of mental retardation)
  - Learning Disability (25-75%)
  - Seizure disorder or Epilepsy (11-39%)
  - Tuberous sclerosis (1-4%)
  - Anxiety disorders (7-84%)
  - Depression (4-58%)
  - Behavioural problems: difficulties following directions, being cooperative, doing things on other people's terms
  - Sensory Processing Disorder (42-88%)
Management, Treatments and Therapies
- Main Goals
  - Lessen associated deficits and family distress
  - Increase quality of Life
  - Functional Independence
- Knowledge and Response
  - Understanding Aspects of it
  - Being Consistent with the treatment plan
  - Handle the normal range of emotions from a child with this disorder
  - Finding a Support group for child and Themselves
- Early Detection
- Intensive and sustained Special Education Programs and Therapy
  - ABA Applied Behavior Analysis
  - Developmental Models
  - Structured teaching
  - Social Skills Therapy
  - Behavioral training and management through positive reinforcement, self-hep and social skills training to Improve Behavioral and communication skills:
  - Speech therapy to Improve and Develop language skills:
  - Occupational Therapy to Develop Motor skills and self-help and functional skills like grooming
  - Applied behavioral analysis
  - Auditory integration training
  - dietary interventions
  - music therapy
  - physical therapy
  - sensory integration
  - vision therapy
- EIBI Early Intensive Behavioral Intervention
  - General Curriculum
    - Language
    - Social Skills
    - Play Skills
    - Motor Skills
    - Pre-academic and Academic Skills
    - Independent living Skills
  - DTT Discrete Trial Teaching
    - multiple discrete opportunities presented across the day or session, allowing for many learning opportunities. (e.g. therapist presenting an instruction, the child responding, and the therapist responding to that by presenting a consequence. If the child responds incorrectly, the reinforcer is not given and the therapist will follow up with an error correction procedure, followed by another trial)
  - NET Natural Environment Teaching (Link)
    - Maximising naturally occurring learning opportunities
    - child-directed format that allows for the child to initiate learning, and the therapist to recognize this and follow it by prompting the child for a desired behavior before giving the reinforcer
- Medication for anxiety, depression, hyperactivity, anger and aggression

Google Sites

Report abuse