Exceptional Children: an Introduction to Special Education

Instructor’s Manual

to accompany

Exceptional Children: An Introduction to Special Education

Ninth Edition

Prepared by

David F. Bicard and Sheila R. Morgan

Upper Saddle River, New Jersey Columbus, Ohio ______

Copyright © 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. This publication is protected by Copyright and permission should be obtained from the publisher prior to any prohibited reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or likewise. For information regarding permission(s), write to: Rights and Permissions Department.

Pearson® is a registered trademark of Pearson plc

Instructors of classes using Heward’s Exceptional Children: An Introduction to Special Education, Ninth Edition, may reproduce material from the instructor’s manual for classroom use.

9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 ISBN-13: 9780135144515 ISBN-10: 0135144510

ii TABLE OF CONTENTS

Message to Instructors...... iv Suggested Speakers, Field Experiences, Student Presentations, and Projects...... iv Alternative Assessments...... vi MyEducationLab...... viii

CHAPTER GUIDES Chapter 1: The Purpose and Promise of Special Education...... 1 Chapter 2: Planning and Providing Special Education Services...... 6 Chapter 3: Collaborating With Parents and Families in a Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Society...... 12 Chapter 4: Intellectual Disabilities...... 18 Chapter 5: Learning Disabilities...... 23 Chapter 6: Emotional and Behavioral Disorders...... 27 Chapter 7: Autism Spectrum Disorders...... 31 Chapter 8: Communication Disorders...... 35 Chapter 9: Deafness and Hearing Loss...... 39 Chapter 10: Blindness and Low Vision...... 44 Chapter 11: Physical Disabilities, Health Impairments, and ADHD...... 48 Chapter 12: Low-Incidence Disabilities: Severe/Multiple Disabilities, Deaf-Blindness, and Traumatic Brain Injury...... 53 Chapter 13: Giftedness and Talent...... 57 Chapter 14: Early Childhood Special Education...... 62 Chapter 15: Transitioning to Adulthood ...... 66

iii MESSAGE TO INSTRUCTORS

A lot has changed since the first time we agreed to prepare an Instructor’s Manual for Exceptional Children (Sheila, 6th edition, and Dave, 7th edition). We strongly encourage you to take advantage of the new video links and student activities in MyEducationLab at the Pearson website. One thing that hasn’t changed since Heward and Orlansky’s first edition of this book is the quality of the content. Although this book is tagged as an “intro” book, it makes for an excellent reference book for any course in special education.

David F. Bicard Sheila R. Morgan The University of Memphis The Ohio State University

Suggested Speakers, Field Experiences, Student Presentations, and Projects

The following list of suggested speakers, presentations, and projects should be relevant across all categories of exceptionality. These activities should extend the content of the text by giving students firsthand experience with exceptional children, their families, educational professionals, and issues that influence the direction of the field. We recommend developing a specific format for each of the activities to help students plan, organize, and produce a written report for the projects assigned.

Interview or invite to speak in class:

 College students with exceptionalities

Suggested topics: the student’s educational history; academic, vocational, and social challenges; and advice to peers

 Parents or other family members of children receiving special education services

Suggested topics: the family’s evaluation of special education services, relationship with educational professionals, and insight into the joys and challenges of having an exceptional child as a family member

 Special education teachers, administrators, and regular education teachers who have been involved in the education of exceptional learners in mainstream classrooms

Suggested topics: a discussion of the challenges, successes, and frustrations associated with working with exceptional learners, their families, and regular education colleagues; professional responsibilities; classroom management and instructional practices; and professional training

 Professionals such as speech therapists, school psychologists, vocational specialists, interpreters who use sign language, or social workers who provide related services to exceptional children

iv Suggested topics: job descriptions and responsibilities, challenges and successes, and their relationships with other professionals in the child’s family

 Community businesses that employ persons with disabilities; co-workers of persons with disabilities

Suggested topics: the employer’s motivation for hiring persons with disabilities, training procedures used and modifications made, and public perceptions of the exceptional employees

 Persons from rehabilitation, employment, or mental health agencies who serve persons with disabilities outside of school settings

Suggested topics: qualifications needed to work in their field, a typical workday, and the frustrations and rewards inherent in their work

 Community members, attorneys, or politicians who have organized or participated in advocacy efforts for persons with disabilities and their families

Suggested topics: barriers to educational and community access, support networks, advocacy practices

Instructor-led field experience

 Visit a special education classroom, school, sheltered workshop, or community-based employment setting representing each population of exceptional students.

Suggested activity: take a guided tour of the facilities. Observe/converse with the teachers, children or adults being served, the structure and organization of the setting, instructional methods

v Student-initiated field experience

 Volunteer to work as a tutor, mentor, or aide in a setting in which persons with disabilities are educated, housed, or employed.

Suggested activities: plan and present a lesson for one student or a small group of students. Collect intervention data and report on the progress of the student

 Volunteer at a Special Olympics event or other function that promotes the abilities of exceptional children outside of a school or employment setting.

Suggested activities: observe and write a report on the type and extent of the student’s involvement with nondisabled peers or others

 Attend a meeting of a local advocacy group or other organization that represents exceptional persons.

Suggested activities: produce a report and present to the class on the organization’s goals and activities

 Attend a conference, lecture, or workshop that addresses topics related to special education and exceptional learners.

Suggested activities: Take notes and produce a report on the topic of discussion

Alternative Assessments

Assessment is the process of gathering evidence of what a student can do. Evaluation is the process of interpreting and making judgments and decisions based on this evidence. If the assessment is not sound, the evaluation will not be sound. The image of the twenty-first century classroom is emerging as an authentic experience for learners. Instead of a flat, one-dimensional “picture” in a folder, teachers can capture the vitality, movement, and physical and mental growth of students in a moving, vivid, three-dimensional “video.” The “video” is colorful, alive, and fluid. One can see students develop, change, and grow in every frame. And what is more important, students see themselves develop, change, and grow. This process of reflection prepares each student to emerge as a reflective practitioner. Assessment strategies include portfolios, performances and exhibitions, projects, learning logs and journals, observational checklists, graphic organizers, and rubrics.

Portfolios. A portfolio is a collection of a student’s work that connects separate items to form a clearer, more complete picture of the student as a lifelong learner. Portfolios can contain a repertoire of assessments. Varying types of assessments allow students to display many aspects of their capabilities. A portfolio contains several separate items that may not mean much by themselves, but when compiled together, they produce a more accurate and holistic portrait of the student.

vi Performances and exhibitions. Performances are applications of learning and are integral in the learning to transfer process. Business leaders have been critical of education because many students enter the workforce with the knowledge base of facts that have been memorized, but without the ability to perform the tasks necessary for the job. They cannot transfer their knowledge of skills to their application of skills in situations outside the classroom. Asking students to perform is certainly not an innovative educational strategy; teachers have been assessing performance for years. What has been missing in many cases, however, is the development of the criteria by which the performances are assessed.

Projects. A project is a formal assignment given to an individual student or a group of students on a topic related to the curriculum. The project may involve both in-class and out-of-class research and development. A project should be a learning activity, not primarily an evaluation activity. Students are encouraged to be creative and personal in developing their projects, and also work cooperatively with other students for extended periods of time.

Learning logs and journals. Learning logs and reflective journals have been used by teachers as formative ongoing assessment tools for years. Logs usually consist of short, more objective entries that contain problem-solving entries, observations, questions about lectures or readings, homework assignments, or anything that lends itself to keeping records. The response is usually brief, factual, and impersonal. Journals, on the other hand, are usually written in narrative form, are more subjective, and deal more with feelings, opinions, or personal experiences. Both offer valuable evidence when evaluating students over time.

Graphic organizers. Graphic organizers are mental maps that represent key skills like sequencing, comparing and contrasting, and classifying and that involve students in active thinking. These mental maps depict complex relationships and promote clearer understanding of content lessons. Graphic organizers such as webs, Venn diagrams, and concept maps, as well as many others, help students make their thinking visible.

Rubrics. Rubrics allow assessment to be more objective and consistent by focusing the teacher on clarifying criteria in specific terms and clearly indicating how work will be evaluated. This effort will promote student awareness about criteria, as well as provide feedback on instructional effectiveness. When creating a rubric, one needs to (1) review the standards, outcomes, and objectives the rubric is to assess; (2) establish criteria that will be used to judge the product or performance; (3) make a frame by deciding on the major categories and/or subcategories the rubric will address; (4) describe the different levels of performance that match each criterion (give indicators that the criterion has been met); (5) test the rubric to see if it is understandable; and (6) revise the rubric as necessary. The following activity may prove beneficial.

Class Performance

 Select a partner.  Select a student performance.  Use the rubric template.  Fill in the criteria. Be sure to use the objective or behavior (categories), range level, and the degree to which it has been met.

vii  Provide indicators for each level (specific descriptions of expected student performance at each level.  Use the rubric to assess your product.  Prepare to share your rubric with the class.

MyEducationLab

For a number of years, we at Pearson have heard the same message from you as we have learned about the goals of your courses and the challenges you face in teaching the next generation of educators. Working with our authors and many of you, we have created a website to provide the sample classrooms and student work that research on teacher education tells us is so important. Through authentic in-class video footage, interactive simulations, rich case studies, examples of authentic teacher and student work, and research-based articles, MyEducationLab offers you and your students a uniquely valuable teacher education tool.

Look for the MyEducationLab logo and directive at the beginning and end of each chapter in the text, in the margins, and at the end of each Teaching & Learning feature. Follow the directive and the simple navigation instructions to access the multimedia Individualized Study Plan, Homework & Exercises, and Building Teaching Skills assignments in MyEducationLab that correspond with the chapter content.

 Individualized Study Plan: Students have the opportunity to take pre- and posttests before and after reading each chapter of the text. Each pre- and posttest question is tied to a chapter objective, so the students are assessed on their knowledge and comprehension of all of the concepts presented in each chapter. The test results automatically generate a personalized study plan for each student, identifying areas of the chapter that still need some additional study time to ensure full understanding. Students are also presented with interactive multimedia exercises to help ensure learning—when just rereading and studying chapter content is not enough. The study plan is designed to help each student perform well on exams and to promote deep understanding of chapter content.  Homework & Exercises: These activities are referenced in this manual and offer opportunities to understand content more deeply and to practice applying content. Each homework exercise is explicitly connected to chapter content. Depending on the chapter, there are anywhere from 4 to 11 homework exercises available. These exercises present thought-provoking questions that probe the students’ understanding of the concept or strategy that is presented in the text through classroom video footage, research-based articles, simulations, or teacher and student artifacts.  Building Teaching Skills: These application assignments help students practice and strengthen skills that are essential to quality teaching. Students watch authentic classroom video footage or examine teacher and student artifacts and critically analyze how they can learn these skills and strategies and then hopefully incorporate them into their teaching repertoire or portfolio.

The rich, authentic, and interactive elements that support the Individualized Study Plan, the Homework & Exercises, and the Building Teaching Skills you will encounter throughout MyEducationLab include:

viii  Video: The authentic classroom videos in MyEducationLab show how real teachers handle actual classroom situations. There are over 150 video clips on the Heward MyEducationLab.  Simulations: Created by the IRIS Center at Vanderbilt University, these interactive simulations give you hands-on practice at adapting instruction for a full spectrum of learners.  Student & Teacher Artifacts: Authentic preK–12 student and teacher classroom artifacts are tied to course topics and offer you practice in working with the actual types of materials you will encounter daily as teachers.  Case Studies: A diverse set of robust cases illustrate the realities of teaching and offer valuable perspectives on common issues and challenges in education.  Lesson & Portfolio Builders: With this effective and easy-to-use tool, you can create, update, and share standards-based lesson plans and portfolios.

Visit www.myeducationlab.com for a demonstration of this exciting new online teaching resource.

ix x CHAPTER 1 THE PURPOSE AND PROMISE OF SPECIAL EDUCATION

Focus Questions

 When is special education needed? How do we know?

Special education is individualized purposeful intervention designed to help students with disabilities become more independent and successful in school and society. Special education is needed when the physical attributes and/or learning abilities of students differ from the norm to such an extent that an individual educational program is required to meet their needs. How is the need for special education determined? Children in need of special education are usually identified by parents, teachers, and/or assessment instruments. When a child is not progressing as expected and not responding to attempts at remediation, multifactored nondiscriminatory assessments can be administered to determine eligibility for special education services.

 If disability labels do not do not tell us what and how to teach, why are they used in special education?

Some educators argue that a system of classifying children with exceptionalities is a prerequisite to providing the special programs these children require. Labeling allows advocates to make the needs of exceptional children more visible to the public, helps professionals communicate with one another, and may lead to a protective response from peers. Other educators propose alternative approaches to classifying exceptional children that focus on educationally relevant variables, like the curriculum and skill areas that they need to learn.

 Why have court cases and federal legislation been required to ensure that children with disabilities receive a free, appropriate education?

Prior to 1975, schools were allowed to deny enrollment to children with disabilities. When schools began to accept children with disabilities, they often attended isolated classrooms away from the typically developing children. Providing equal educational opportunities and services for children with disabilities closely parallels the struggle by minority groups to gain access to and enjoy the rights to which all Americans are entitled. An awareness of the barriers that have deprived these children of equal educational opportunity is important. Judicial and legislative action has been necessary to establish universal rights for children with disabilities. Our work as special educators is most often performed in local schools, but it is supported and guided by federal and state law.

1  How can a special educator provide all three kinds of intervention—preventive, remedial, and compensatory—on behalf of an individual child?

Special educators must provide the kinds of intervention that will be most beneficial for each individual learner. Preventative interventions can keep potential problems from becoming disabilities. Remediation helps to eliminate the effects of a disability, and compensatory intervention allows a student to perform a skill despite his or her disability. Preventative efforts are relatively new, and their effects will not likely be felt for many years. In the meantime, we must count on remedial and compensatory efforts to help people with disabilities achieve fuller and more independent lives.

 What do you think are the three most important challenges facing special education today? Why?

Among the many challenges facing special education, closing the research-to-practice gap is one of the most important. Scientific research has demonstrated many empirically validated instructional methods, but, unfortunately, evidence-based practices are not used in many classrooms. Other critical challenges include improving the availability and intensity of early intervention programs, improving services for transitioning students from school to adult life, and improving the partnership between regular and special education.

Discussion Questions

 What experiences have you had in your life with people with disabilities?

 Exceptional children are more like other children than they are different. What specific examples illustrate this point?

 Why do you think due process provisions are an important component of special education legislation?

 The number of children and youth who receive special education has grown every year since 1976, increasing at least 50% since then. What are the possible reasons for the increase?

 If disability labels provide little or no useful information for planning and delivering instruction, why is the practice of labeling children by disability category continued?

 To what extent should schools provide services to students with disabilities in the general education classroom?

 What is special education?

2 Activities

In-Class Activities:

Think, Pair, Share

Allow students to share any preconceived notions about working with exceptional individuals. This can be done as a “Think, Pair, Share” activity. First, students will think about the assignment and write down ideas (no longer than 5 minutes). Second, students are asked to pair with another individual in the class. Finally, they take turns sharing with each other their ideas. An extension to the activity is to have the “listener” of the pair speak for the “speaker.” This requires listening to, rather than simply hearing, another person’s point of view.

Small-Group Activity: When Does a Disability Become a Handicap?

A disability limits the ability to perform certain tasks (e.g., seeing, reading, walking). A handicap refers to a problem a person with a disability encounters when interacting with the environment. For example, a child with an artificial limb may be handicapped when competing with nondisabled peers in a basketball game, but not handicapped when competing academically in the classroom. Generate with your group a list of five types of disabilities. For each disability, describe the circumstances of the environment under which the disability might become a handicap, and the circumstances under which the disability is not a handicap.

Small-Group Activity: Discuss Your Experiences With People With Disabilities

In your small group, discuss the following questions related to your experiences with people with disabilities. What experiences have you had in your life with individuals with disabilities? What type of emotional responses have you had when you have seen individuals with disabilities? What preconceived notions have you had about people with disabilities in the past? Have a member of the group record notes. This activity will be followed by a whole-class discussion. At the end of the small-group discussion, report to the class the common and unusual experiences for you and your group members.

Individual Homework Assignments:

Have students read the prologue of Heward’s personal philosophy of education. Then have them write a one- to two-page personal philosophy.

The MyEducationLab website for this text has Homework & Exercises for Chapter 1 in addition to the Study Plan Materials. These exercises are also referenced in the text via margin notes.

Have students complete the Homework & Exercise activities referenced in the text.

3 Go to the Homework & Exercises section in Chapter 1 on MyEducationLab, view the video about Mr. Heimlich’s classroom, and complete Homework Exercise 1. Go to the Homework & Exercises section of MyEducationLab and complete Homework Exercise 2. As students complete this exercise, they should consider the value of assistive technology in helping students with disabilities achieve success in the classroom. View the videos of the Ohio State School for the Blind on MyEducationLab to learn more about students receiving and using related services and assistive technology. Then complete Homework Exercise 3. Go to the Homework & Exercises section on MyEducationLab and complete Homework Exercise 4. Students should think about how they could employ the signaling for help strategies presented in the simulation to create a successful learning environment for students with disabilities.

Current Issues and Future Trends______

“What’s in a Name? The Labels and Language of Special Education” presents an enlightening commentary on the challenge and importance of changing attitudes and values toward individuals with disabilities. Write your responses to the following questions: How does the practice of changing labels affect people with and without disabilities? How can the use of labels both help and hinder children with exceptionalities?

Supplemental Resources______

Byrnes, M. A. (2006). Taking sides: Changing views in special education. McGraw-Hill.

Chapman, R. (2005). The everyday guide to special education law. The Legal Center for People With Disabilities.

Friend, M. (2007). Special education: Contemporary perspectives for school professionals, IDEA 2004 update edition. Allyn & Bacon.

Huefner. D. S. (2005). Getting comfortable with special education law: A framework for working with children with disabilities. Christopher-Gordon Publishers.

Osborne, A. G., & Russo, C. J. (2006). Special education and the law: A guide for practitioners. Corwin Press.

Weishaar, M. K. (2006). Case studies in special education law: No Child Left Behind Act and Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act. Prentice Hall.

Werts, M. G., Culatta, R. A., & Tompkins, J. R. (2006). Fundamentals of special education: What every teacher needs to know (3rd ed.). Prentice Hall.

4 Ysseldyke, J., & Algozzine, R. (2006). The legal foundations of special education: A practical guide for every teacher. Corwin Press.

Websites  Council for Exceptional Children http://www.cec.sped.org  Division of Developmental Disabilities (DSHS) Resource Links http://www1.dshs.wa.gov/ddd/links.shtml  Museum of Disability History http://www.museumofdisability.org/  National Dissemination Center for Children With Disabilities http://www.nichcy.org  Special Education News and Resources http://www.specialednews.com/  U.S. Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/osers/index.html  WrightsLaw http://www.wrightslaw.com/

5 CHAPTER 2 PLANNING AND PROVIDING SPECIAL EDUCATION SERVICES

Focus Questions

 Why must the planning and provision of special education be so carefully sequenced and evaluated?

The effectiveness of special education services can be determined by the level of independence students with disabilities can attain in normalized settings. Because children with disabilities need more time to master essential skills, it is important that instruction is both effective and efficient. Teachers must use data from direct assessments to carefully plan and sequence instruction so that students can achieve mastery. Frequent progress monitoring is necessary to determine the extent to which instruction is effective, and it allows teachers to make timely instructional decisions.

 Why do collaboration and teaming impact the effectiveness of special education?

An appropriate education for students with disabilities can best be accomplished when both regular and special education teachers and other service providers work together to provide high-quality instruction for all children. The educational needs of exceptional children cannot be resolved by any single individual or professional discipline. Children with disabilities can benefit most from the collective and collaborative efforts of all individuals charged with the responsibility of educating them.

 How should the quality of a student’s individualized education program (IEP) be judged?

The individualized education program (IEP) is a collaborative effort of the members of an IEP team and provides a measure of accountability for teachers and schools. A high- quality IEP accurately identifies the child’s present levels of performance based on direct assessment information and determines appropriate future goals that are ambitious but realistic. The school district is legally bound to provide the special education and related services identified in the IEP, and the school must be able to document that it made a conscious and systematic effort to achieve those goals. Whether or not a particular school or educational program is effective will be judged by how well it is able to help the child meet the goals set forth in his or her IEP.

 Is the least restrictive environment always the general education classroom? Why?

The regular classroom is often but not always the least restrictive environment. The regular classroom is the starting point for the IEP team’s discussion of placement. Judgments about the restrictiveness of a given setting must always be made in relation to the individual needs of the student. The regular classroom can promote or restrict a child’s educational opportunities and skill development depending on the quality of the learning opportunities the child receives. No setting is, in and of itself, restrictive or

6 nonrestrictive. It is the needs of the child and the degree to which a particular setting meets those needs that define restrictiveness. Restrictiveness is a feature of place. But the physical place in which children receive their education will rarely be the only variable that determines the appropriateness of their educational opportunities.

 What elements must be in place for special education to be appropriate in inclusive classrooms?

Inclusion is the process of integrating children with disabilities into the academic and social activities of regular schools and general education classrooms. Studies have shown that well-planned, carefully conducted inclusion can be generally effective with students of all ages and degrees of disability. In order for an inclusive placement to be successful, collaboration and teaming are crucial. Professionals who are well trained in inclusive practices can work together to solve learning and behavior problems, design appropriate instructional arrangements, monitor progress, and deliver effective instruction.

 In what ways has special education been most successful? What are the field’s greatest shortcomings and challenges?

The field of special education has made substantial progress toward fulfilling the promise of free, appropriate education for all children with disabilities. The effects of IDEA have had far-reaching effects. Instead of excluding children as in the past, schools are now seeking the most appropriate ways to include children with disabilities. In addition to academic instruction, schools also provide wide-ranging services to children from diverse backgrounds and with different learning needs. Implementation of IDEA has also brought the problems of inadequate funding, inadequate teacher training and support, and opposition to including children with disabilities in regular classrooms. The field of special education will continue to face the challenges of providing the best instruction for each child with disabilities.

 The IDEA mandates that children with disabilities be educated with children without disabilities to the maximum extent appropriate. Why do you think this mandate is necessary?

 What factors must the IEP team take into consideration when determining what the least restrictive environment is for an individual student?

 Why is parent participation so critical to the IEP process?

 How can the effectiveness of instruction (or lack of) contribute to relative restrictiveness of the environment?

 What are the advantages of using responsiveness to intervention (RTI) in the prereferral process?

7  What are the best ways to monitor student progress of IEP objectives?

 The Teaching & Learning feature, “Classwide Peer Tutoring: Collaborative Learning for Students With Disabilities in Inclusive Classrooms,” describes a teaching technique that can benefit both nondisabled students and those with disabilities. What might be some concerns of a teacher about implementing this technique in his or her class?

Activities

Small-Group Activity: Writing Instructional Objectives

Short-term instructional objectives consist of the antecedent conditions for performing a skill, an observable behavior, and criteria for mastery. Use the following guidelines when examining and writing instructional objectives:

1. State the conditions (e.g., when presented with a list of 50 sight words, 10 multiplication problems, five paper cut-outs of shapes, a ruler and five items to measure, a paragraph written at the third grade level).

2. State what the child will do in observable terms (read aloud, solve, answer, point to, identify, spell, compute, recite, state, edit). Do not use terms such as “understand,” “appreciate,” “know how to,” “learn,” or “increase knowledge,” as these behaviors are not directly observable.

3. State the criteria or level of mastery (e.g., 90% accuracy). The criteria set for each objective will depend upon the student’s ability level, the difficulty of the task, and the proficiency demanded by the child’s natural environment (e.g., you would probably want the child to be able to safely cross the street to 100% accuracy).

Select one of the following goals, and create five instructional objectives related to reaching that goal. The student will:

 read and comprehend text written at the fifth grade level.

 solve addition and subtraction problems up to four digits with or without regrouping.

 apply the basic concepts of measurement.

 demonstrate effective written expression skills at the fourth grade level.

 demonstrate basic computer and word processing skills.

 state and follow safety rules for home and school.

 demonstrate organization skills.

8 Small-Group Activity: Prereferral Intervention Strategies

Select one of the following students, and examine their inappropriate behaviors to determine prereferral intervention strategies. When creating strategies to address the problems, consider how you might change the inappropriate behaviors by changing the antecedent conditions and/or consequences. Additionally, describe the method you will use to assess the effectiveness of your selected intervention.

Douglas, a sixth grader:  ignores his teacher when she gives him directions to follow.  leaves his materials that he needs for class at home, on the bus, in the rest room, or on the playground.  refuses to complete in-class and homework assignments.  frequently argues with his classmates.

Julie, a third grader:  tantrums when she does not get her way.  cries when asked to do an assignment.  verbally abuses peers and adults.  wanders quietly around the classroom, but disrupts the class when asked to return to her seat.

Small-Group Homework Assignment

With your group, brainstorm, list, and prioritize the type of information necessary to determine the least restrictive environment for a child with disabilities. Then, write a hypothetical case study describing the social, academic, and behavioral characteristics of the specific child. Include information on the child’s age, grade, ethnicity, and specific strengths and weaknesses. Additionally, describe the characteristics of the child’s school environment (e.g., teacher training in inclusive education, types of supports in place, demographic information on nondisabled peers). Based on the information you provided, select the least restrictive environment for this child, and defend the appropriateness of your decision.

Go to MyEducationLab and view the videos showing different types of active student responding activities. As they complete Homework Exercise 1, they should think about how these strategies benefit all of the students in the classroom.

9 View the video about the intervention assistance team on MyEducationLab. As they complete Homework Exercise 2, the students should examine how the intervention assistance team shares ideas for helping a student who is experiencing difficulties in the general education classroom.

View the video and complete Homework Exercise 3 on MyEducationLab. As the students watch the video, they should think about the importance of collaboration and teaming. Go to the Homework & Exercises section in Chapter 2 on MyEducationLab, view the video “Collaboration Among Professionals,” and complete Homework Exercise 4.

Since IDEA was reauthorized in 2004, special education teachers are mandated to use evidence-based practices to make instructional decisions. After reading the article “Evidence- Based Practice: Easier Said Than Done,” describe what is meant by evidence-based practice. Then examine the websites included in the insert, find an evidence-based practice that is interesting to you, and present that practice to the group.

Supplemental Resources

Bateman, B. D. (2006). Writing measurable IEP goals and objectives. Attainment Co.

Bateman, B. D., & Linden, M. A. (2006). Better IEPs: How to develop legally correct and educationally useful programs. IEP Resources.

Cramer, S. F. (2006). The special educator’s guide to collaboration: Improving relationships with co-teachers, teams, and families. Corwin Press.

Pierangelo, R. & Giuliani, G. A. (2007). Understanding, developing, and writing effective IEPs: A step-by-step guide for educators. Corwin Press.

Ruebling, C. E. (2006). Redesigning schools for success: Implementing small learning communities and teacher collaboration. AuthorHouse.

Siegel, L. M. (2007). The complete IEP guide: How to advocate for your special ed child. NOLO.

Straus, D. (2002). How to make collaboration work: Powerful ways to build consensus, solve problems, and make decisions. Berrett-Koehler Publishers.

Stride, J. (2006). Briefcase two: Inclusion collaboration for middle and high school. Attainment Company Inc. and Wolfpack Multimedia, Inc.

Ysseldyke, J., & Algozzine, R. (2006). Effective assessment for students with special needs: A practical guide for every teacher. Corwin Press.

10 Websites  ABC Teach www.abcteach.com  AIMSweb: Curriculum-Based Measurement Materials http://www.aimsweb.com/  Busy Teacher’s Web Site K–12 http://www.ceismc.gatech.edu/BusyT/  Classroom Connect http://corporate.classroom.com/  Education World http://www.education-world.com  Office of Special Education Intervention Techniques http://curry.edschool.virginia.edu/go/cise/ose/information/interventions.html  Regional Technology Consortium http://www.rtec.org/

11 CHAPTER 3 COLLARORATING WITH PARENTS AND FAMILIES IN A CULTURALLY AND LINGUISTICALLY DIVERSE SOCIETY

Focus Questions

 What can a teacher learn from the family of a child with disabilities?

In addition to being the most powerful and pervasive influence in a young child’s life, the family of a child with disabilities also knows the child best. Parents and families are the best sources of information about the child and their own strengths and needs in coping. What teachers can learn from the parents and families of children with disabilities is as varied as the children themselves. Some parents will have a great deal to offer by providing a deeper understanding of the overall strengths and needs of their child, identifying potential reinforcers, helping to identify meaningful instructional objectives, and supporting extra practice of skills at home. Other parents may be less involved in their child’s education but can still provide important insight about the needs of their children.

 In what ways is a child’s disability likely to affect the family system and roles of parents?

The birth of a child with a disability is an intense and traumatic event for the family. Most parents go through an adjustment process that begins with a period of emotional crisis, followed by alternating feelings of anger, guilt, depression, and finally acceptance. Even though this is a common pattern, teachers should refrain from expecting parents or family members to exhibit any kind of “typical” reaction. However, almost all parents and family members can be helped by sensitive and supportive friends and professionals. Teachers should also be aware that the birth of a child with a disability also extends the parents’ roles of caregiver, provider, teacher, counselor, behavior support specialist, and advocate; and that the child’s disability affects the family in different ways at different stages in the life cycle.

 How can a teacher who is not the parent of a child with a disability communicate effectively and meaningfully with parents of exceptional children?

Teachers who are not the parents of a child with disabilities cannot know the 24-hour reality of being in this role. Nonetheless, they should strive for an awareness and understanding of how a child with special needs affects (and is affected by) the family system. The teacher’s increased awareness of the challenges faced by a family of a child with disabilities is the first step to effective and meaningful parent-teacher communication. Frequent communication with families is crucial for meeting the needs of the child. Teachers can communicate effectively with parents by accepting parents’ statements, listening actively, questioning effectively, communicating encouragement, and staying focused on the child’s education program and progress. Teachers should also

12 be aware of and avoid the barriers to communication such as treating parents as vulnerable clients, keeping professional distance, blaming the parents for their child’s condition, and treating parents as adversaries.

 How can a teacher communicate effectively and meaningfully with families from diverse cultures?

Cultural differences between teachers and families of children with disabilities can become barriers to family involvement. Teachers who do not recognize and respect cultural differences are prone to biased and faulty judgments that weaken the partnership between school and home. In order to communicate effectively with families from diverse cultures, the first step is becoming culturally responsive by developing a general self-awareness and appreciation of diversity. This process begins with a thorough understanding and appreciation of one’s own culture but must then be extended to an understanding, appreciation, and respect of the culture of others. Teachers must also work toward understanding how differing values and belief systems may influence the perspectives of the family.

 What forms of home–school communication are likely to be most effective?

 How much parent and family involvement is enough?

Parents can be involved in their child’s education in many ways, such as implementing home-based parent tutoring or participating in parent education and support groups. In general, the more involved the parents are in their child’s education, the better. However, expectations for participation beyond the family’s capabilities can cause feelings of failure and stress. The Mirror Model for Parental Involvement recognizes that parents have a great deal to offer, as well as a need to receive services from special educators. All parents should be expected to provide and obtain information and be active participants in IEP planning. Fewer parents will be able to participate or contribute to workshops and extended parent education groups.

 How might parents’ own school experiences influence their attitudes about interacting with their child’s teachers?

 What responsibility do parents have for their child’s success in school?

 Why have legislators mandated parent and family participation?

 How often and under what circumstances should parents and teachers communicate?

 Why is a chapter on working with parents and families and cultural and linguistic

13 diversity an important element in an introductory text about exceptional children? Why is multicultural education becoming a required component in many teacher education programs?

 Why is there concern over the role our educational system may be playing in limiting the achievement of students from different cultural groups?

 Why do you think children from diverse backgrounds are overrepresented in classes for children with disabilities and underrepresented in classes for children who are gifted?

 How can teachers’ cultural backgrounds influence the way they approach the education of their students?

 Why is it important for teachers to develop self-awareness before they can become culturally responsive?

 To what extent do cultures influence educational practices, and to what extent do educational practices influence cultures?

Activities

Small-Group Activity: Parent-Teacher Conference

Role-play an interactive parent-teacher conference. Prior to the simulation, determine the child’s age, disability, and the area(s) of concern (e.g., specific academic or social skills). Additionally, determine the general attitude of the parent (e.g., cooperative, hostile, etc.). Proceed through the following steps as you role-play. 1. build rapport 2. obtain information 3. provide information 4. summarize and follow up

Small-Group Activity: Cultural Self-Awareness

In this cooperative learning group activity, students should get into groups of five. Decide on the following roles for each member of the group: leader, facilitator, recorder, time monitor, and presenter. The jobs for each person are as follows:

Leader: Guide the discussion and make sure each viewpoint is clarified for the group. Facilitator: Make sure everyone participates. Recorder: Write down the main points of the discussion. Time monitor: Make sure the group stays on task during the discussion. Presenter: Present the results of the group to the class after the group activity.

Discuss the following questions with your group, and provide personal examples to illustrate your points.

14 1. How has your cultural group influenced your attitudes?

2. How has your cultural group influenced your values?

3. How has your cultural group influenced your lifestyle decisions?

4. To what extent did culture influence the educational practices in your K–12 school experience?

5. How will the influences of your culture influence your decisions/practices as a classroom teacher?

6. What educational practices at your college or university have promoted your capacity to teach students from diverse backgrounds? What practices have interfered?

Small-Group Homework Assignment:

Develop a Collaborative Multicultural Unit. Team up with four other students in your class and complete the following steps: 1. Select a grade level for which you will be developing the unit. 2. Select a few instructional objectives for each skill and/or content area your group will be addressing in the unit (e.g., math, language arts, science, social studies, physical education, art, music). 3. Select a cultural group around which you will be planning the unit. 4. Each member of the group will select a skill or content area for which he or she will be responsible. 5. Gather information and materials about the cultural group your team has decided to study, and create three to five lesson plans for your designated skill/content area. For example, if the team is studying Chinese culture, the person responsible for the math skill area may develop problem-solving lessons using tangrams or magic squares. 6. Present your multicultural unit to the class.

Go to the Homework & Exercises section in Chapter 3 on MyEducationLab and complete Homework Exercise 1. As they watch the video about Dunkirk Elementary School, students should think about how a positive classroom environment can enhance instruction.

View the video of Nicole’s IEP meeting in Chapter 3 on MyEducationLab and complete Homework Exercise 2.

15 Go to the Homework & Exercises section on MyEducationLab and complete Homework Exercise 3. As students read the article and answer the accompanying questions, they should think about how this parent-teacher partnership benefits the student, his family, and his teacher. Go to the Homework & Exercises section in Chapter 3 on MyEducationLab and click on Homework Exercise 5 to see Ms. Crangle and Ms. Maheady conduct a parent-teacher conference. As students watch the video and answer the accompanying questions, they should consider the interaction between the teachers and the parent.

Irvine, J. J. (2003). Educating teachers for diversity: Seeing with a cultural eye. Teachers College Press.

Korn, C. & Bursztyn, A. (2002) Rethinking multicultural education: Case studies in cultural transition. Bergin & Garvey.

McConaughy, S. H., Kay, P., Welkowitz, J. A. & Hewitt, K. (2007). Collaborating with parents for early school success: The achieving-behaving-caring program. Guilford Press.

Taylor, G. R. (2000). Parental involvement: A practical guide for collaboration and teamwork for students with disabilities. Charles C. Thomas Pub Ltd.

Trask, B. S. & Hamon, R. R. (2007). Cultural diversity and families: Expanding perspectives. Sage Publications, Inc.

Utley, A. R. & Obiakor, F. E. (2001). Special education, multicultural education, and school reform: Components of quality education for learners with mild disabilities. C. C. Thomas.

Vavrus, M. J. (2002). Transforming the multicultural education of teachers: Theory, research, and practice. Teachers College Press.

Websites  Division for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Exceptional Learners http://www.cec.sped.org  Bilingual/ESL/Multicultural Education Resources http://www-bcf.usc.edu/~cmmr/BEResources.html  Five Strategies to Reduce Overrepresentation of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students in Special Education http://www.teachervision.com/lesson-plans/lesson-6049.html  The Inclusive Education Movement and Minority Representation in Special Education: Trends, Paradoxes and Dilemmas http://www.isec2000.org.uk/abstracts/keynotes/artiles.htm

16  Multicultural Education Essays and Articles http://www.edchange.org/multicultural/sites/essays.html  National Dissemination Center for Children With Disabilities http://www.nichcy.org/  National Parent-to-Parent Support and Information System http://www.nppsis.org/  Parents Helping Parents http://www.php.com/

17 CHAPTER 4 INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES

Focus Questions

 What can be gained by classifying a child with intellectual disabilities by the intensities of supports she needs to access and benefit from education?

 The AAID’s “2002 System” provides recommendations for functionally classifying intellectual disabilities according to needed supports. This approach is much more useful for planning and delivering appropriate special education services than classifying intellectual disabilities based on IQ scores. Needed supports are identified and classified by an interdisciplinary team according to four levels of intensities: intermittent, limited, extensive, and pervasive. This system reflects the idea that expression of the impairments is strongly affected by the life arrangements of the individual.

 What is most important in determining a person’s level of adaptive functioning: intellectual capability or a supportive environment?

Both intellectual capability and a supportive environment are important factors in the level of adaptive functioning of a person with ID. However, it is imperative that teachers not have low expectations for the person who is mentally retarded. With the correct level of support, many people with ID are able to lead productive lives and achieve things many thought not possible. Moreover, words such as helpless, unteachable, dependent, and childlike are often associated with people with intellectual disabilities. Less often are people with intellectual disabilities described with positive characteristics, such as hardworking, capable, independent, and productive. Yet when supported properly, children and adults with intellectual disabilities are just that: hardworking, capable, independent, and productive members of classrooms and communities. Some individuals with intellectual disabilities, certainly, are not as capable as others, but this same statement can be made about any group of people.

 How are the characteristics of students with intellectual disabilities relevant to planning and delivering instruction?

The individual characteristics of the student are extremely relevant when planning instruction. Not all students labeled with intellectual disabilities have the same abilities or interests. When planning and delivering instruction, a teacher must design each student’s program to fit his or her unique needs.

18  What factors might account for the wide differences in the prevalence of mental retardation within the school-age population reported by the states?

Mental retardation is a complex concept that is difficult to define. It involves significant deficits in both intellectual functioning and adaptive behavior—both of which are difficult to measure. Even the slightest rewording in the definition can influence who is considered mentally retarded and, consequently, who is eligible for special education services.

 Why has prevention of mental retardation proven so difficult?

Great progress has been made in identifying the causes of ID. Likewise, great advances in preventative medicine have occurred that help identify and treat high-risk pregnancies. However, for a significant percentage of children diagnosed with ID, no known cause can be identified. Huge advances in research are needed to further investigate biomedical causes of ID. In addition, approximately 50% of students identified with ID fall in the “mild” range. For many of those children, evidence suggests that their disabilities can be traced to factors in the environment such as low levels of social engagement, child abuse, and neglect. Much more needs to be done to provide parents of children at risk for ID with training and support.

 What should curriculum goals for students with intellectual disabilities emphasize?

The goals will differ depending on the individual characteristics of the student. Regardless, functional skills that will lead to the child’s independence in the community and workplace should be the focus of most educational programs for individuals with mental retardation.

 What are the most important features of effective instruction for students with mental retardation?

There are six features to effective teaching: (a) precise definition and task analysis of the new skill to be learned, (b) direct and frequent measurement of the student’s performance, (c) frequent opportunities for active student responding, (d) immediate and systematic feedback, (e) procedures for achieving the transfer of stimulus control from instructional cues or prompts to naturally occurring stimuli, and (f) strategies for promoting the generalization and maintenance of newly learned skills to different, nontraining situations and environments.

 What is needed to make education for a student with intellectual disabilities appropriate in a general education classroom?

Simply placing a child with disabilities into a regular classroom does not guarantee that student will be accepted socially or receive the most appropriate and needed instructional programming. Factors which may determine the success of an inclusive placement in a regular classroom include the child’s level of functioning, the teacher’s ability to

19 individualize instruction and make appropriate accommodations, the degree of support and collaboration with other professionals, the extent of parent involvement, and the level of peer maturity. Recent developments in instructional technology provide evidence that individuals with intellectual disabilities can learn skills previously thought beyond their capability.

 Why is it important how mental retardation is defined?

 What are the advantages and disadvantages of IQ tests and testing?

 Why is the medical definition of mental retardation of little use to teachers?

 Adaptive behavior is the degree to which an individual meets the standards of personal independence and social responsibility expected of his or her age and social group. What are some specific examples of adaptive behavior? Why is adaptive behavior difficult to measure? Why is it necessary to include adaptive behavior in the definition of mental retardation?

 How might a child appear mentally retarded in school but not in the community? How might a child appear mentally retarded outside his or her social group?

 How can an individual’s interaction with the environment cause mental retardation?

 What are the most important curriculum goals for children with mental retardation?

 What supports do you think are necessary for successful inclusion of a student with mental retardation in a general education classroom?

Activities

In-Class Activity:

Have students examine the following examples and determine which dimension(s) of feedback is provided: frequent, immediate, positive, specific, or differential.

1. Tyree completed ten long division problems and brought his work to his teacher, Mr. Wei. Mr. Wei checked Tyree’s work and said, “Very good, Tyree. You got eight correct today. That’s three more than yesterday!” Positive: “Very good”; specific: “You got eight correct today”; differential: “That’s three more than yesterday”

2. Marlene handed in a written composition. The next day her teacher circled all of the mechanical errors in red pencil and wrote at the top of Marlene’s paper, “You’re making a lot of mistakes, but I liked your story.”

20 Positive: “I liked your story”

3. When the students entered the classroom after lunch, Jordan went to her seat and immediately began writing in her journal. Her teacher said, “Jordan, you always do good work in my class.” Specific: “Jordan”’ immediate and positive, “you always do good work in my class”

4. While his students are working independently on their spelling assignments, Mr. Hardy monitors student progress by walking around the room and telling students which answers are correct. When students have the incorrect answers, he asks to check their incorrect items. He then returns to those students to check if they have successfully corrected their work. Immediate, positive, specific, and differential: Telling students which answers are correct and incorrect

5. During a social skills lesson, Ms. Silbernagel asks the students for examples of when it would be a good time to say “I’m sorry.” Helen answers, “tomorrow.” Ms. Silbernagel says, “Uh. OK . . . anyone else?” A nonexample

In groups of three, have students investigate the services available in your community for parents of children born with intellectual disabilities. Develop a pamphlet describing these services and how to access them.

Go to the Homework & Exercises section in Chapter 4 on MyEducationLab and click on Homework Exercise 1. As they watch the video and answer the accompanying questions, tell them to think about how a well-organized classroom can enhance classroom instruction.

Go to the Homework & Exercises section in Chapter 4 on MyEducationLab and complete Homework Exercise 3 (what to do when students make mistakes).

Current Issues and Trends

Have students reread the insert on Self-Determination and answer the following additional essay questions?

21 1. What does self-determination mean to you? Are you a self-determined learner? Why or why not?

2. Do you think that the level or severity of mental retardation impacts the ability of a person to become self-determined? Why or why not?

Blair, K. S, Umbreit, J., Dunlap J, & Jung, J. (2007). Promoting inclusion and peer participation through assessment-based intervention. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 27, 134.

Freemann, S. (2000). Academic and social attainments of children with mental retardation in general education and special education settings. Remedial & Special Education, 21, 3- 20.

McCay, L. O., & Keyes, D. W. (2001/2002). Developing social competence in the inclusive primary classroom. Childhood Education, 78, 70-79.

O’Donoghue, T. A., & Chalmers, R. (2000). How teachers manage their work in inclusive classrooms. Teaching and Teacher Education, 16, 889-904.

Peetsma, T. (2001). Inclusion in education: Comparing pupils’ development in special and regular education. Educational Review, 53, 125-136.

Sandler, A. G. (1999). Short-changed in the name of socialization? Acquisition of functional skills by students with mental retardation. Mental Retardation, 37, 148-151.

Wilson, B. A. (1999). Inclusion: Empirical guidelines and unanswered questions. Education and Training in Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities, 3, 119-133.

Websites

 American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities http://www.aamr.org  The Association for Retarded Citizens http://www.thearc.org/NetCommunity/Page.aspx? &pid=183&srcid=214  Division on Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities http://www.cec.sped.org  Eunice Kennedy Shriver Center http://www.umassmed.edu/shriver/

22 CHAPTER 5 LEARNING DISABILITIES

Focus Questions

 Why has the concept of learning disabilities proven so difficult to define?

There are many different kinds of academic and social skills students are expected to learn during their formal education. In addition, there is a wide range of individual differences among learners in any given classroom. Thus, no large group of children can be expected to learn the same skill at exactly the same rate or to the exact same level of proficiency. So, in one sense, all students could be said to be learning disabled in relation to some level of “standard” performance. Primarily for these reasons (among others), experts in the field of learning disabilities have struggled to provide a coherent definition that excludes those who should be excluded and includes those who should be included. Moreover, the definition itself provides the classroom teacher with little useful information about how or what to teach a particular student. Therefore, the majority of educational professionals’ efforts should be devoted to the development and delivery of effective instruction rather than debates over definitions.

 What characteristic encompasses all students with learning disabilities?

Learning disabilities are considered by some to be a school-defined phenomenon because the disability is most commonly exhibited through difficulties in mastering academic skills. Although learning disabilities are often specific to certain kinds of skills, many individuals have difficulty learning across a wide range of settings and situations. However, the fundamental, defining characteristic of students with learning disabilities is specific and significant achievement discrepancy in the presence of adequate overall intelligence.

 What factors might account for the huge increase in the prevalence of students identified with learning disabilities since the category was officially recognized in the mid-1970s?

Learning disabilities is often called the “invisible disability” because there are no physical signs associated with the diagnosis. Moreover, there is no standard, universally accepted definition of what constitutes a learning disability. In addition, the causes of a specified learning disability are often unknown. These are all likely contributing factors to the increase in prevalence of the disorder.

 Are the achievement deficits of most students diagnosed with learning disabilities the result of neurological impairment or poor instruction?

In most cases, the cause(s) of learning problems are unknown. Science has not progressed to the point where one can claim that a specific learning problem is the result of an organic defect in the brain. In addition, evidence shows that the learning problems of

23 many children can be remediated by intensive, explicit, and systematic instruction. At this point, it is probably best for teachers not to focus on the suspected causes of whatever learning problem a student is presenting with, and instead focus on the methods under which the student best learns.

 What can a student’s responsiveness to evidence-based instruction reveal about the need and focus of special education?

In the RTI model only students who consistently show learning problems in spite of (a) primary intervention consisting of evidence-based curriculum in a general education program and (b) targeted interventions for a fixed duration of time will be identified for special education services. Thus, the focus of special education will be targeted at whatever deficit the child is showing. In theory there will be a lot fewer children identified for special education, and those who are identified will need intense and specific interventions.

 How can academic tool skills and learning strategies relate to each other?

Learning strategies are procedures a student follows when planning, executing, and evaluating performance on a task and its outcomes. In order to become proficient in the use of learning strategies, students will need at least some proficiency with knowledge and application of basic academic skills. Learning strategies can help a student to engage in academic tool skills by organizing information, seeing relationships between facts and events, and providing explicit instruction.

 What skills are most important to the success of an elementary-age student with learning disabilities in the general education classroom? For a secondary student?

Obviously learning to read and write and performing mathematical computations at or near grade level are important skills for children at any level of education. In addition, skills such as getting along with peers, learning to follow rules, coming to class prepared, and turning in work on time are important at all grade levels. So in essence, many of the same skills are important in elementary and secondary grade levels. However, in the secondary grades, student self-management becomes more important than in earlier grades.

 The lack of a standard operational definition for learning disabilities presents what kinds of problems to school districts, parents, and program planners?

 Children with learning disabilities, like other children, experience varying degrees of social acceptance. How can a teacher influence a child’s level of acceptance?

 Would the educational strategies outlined in this chapter be appropriate for students without disabilities? Why or why not?

24  In an RTI model, what role should assessment play in planning instruction for students with a learning disability?

 Support or refute the statement that all students with a learning disability can be served in the general education classroom

Activities

Whole-Class Discussion:

The focus question “Are the achievement deficits of most students diagnosed with learning disabilities the result of neurological impairment or poor instruction?” provides an excellent opportunity to get students thinking about the situational nature of many disabilities and the degree to which disabilities, in general, are socially constructed. This issue is of particular importance since the category of learning disabilities has often been a “dumping ground” label for many students who experience difficulty in school. Students can be encouraged to discuss the role of assessment in identifying children with learning disabilities, relevance of curriculum, instructional strategies, and issues related to definitions of learning and other disabilities. An extension of this discussion should focus on the role of general and special education as partners in meeting the needs of individuals identified as exceptional.

The most common practice for identifying children with learning disabilities is determining if a discrepancy exists between their ability and achievement. The discrepancy criterion is usually determined by comparing the student’s IQ score to an achievement test score. There are many problems with this system of identification. According to Sternberg and Grigorenko (2001), “We should immediately stop using discrepancy scores to identify children with learning disabilities. The method is psychologically and psychometrically indefensible. It must go” (p. 339). Have students write a four- to five-page position paper explaining some of the problems with the discrepancy criterion, and suggest alternative ways of identifying children with learning disabilities.

Have students read “What Is Direct Instruction?” and go to the Homework & Exercises section in Chapter 5 on MyEducationLab and complete Homework Exercise 3. In addition, have them answer the following questions:

1. Do you think you would like to use direct instruction material when you teach? Why or why not? 2. Do you think using direct instruction materials will make you less of a teacher? Why

25 or why not?

Current Issues and Trends

Have students reread Kame’enui’s insert on responsiveness to intervention. Then have them go to http://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/resources.html and complete the modules on Response to Intervention. Make sure to have the students type the questions and answers and turn them in to you.

Fuchs, D. & Fuchs, L. S. (2006). Introduction to response to intervention: What, why, and how valid is it? Reading Research Quarterly, 41, 93-99.

Gunderson, L., & Siegel, L. S. (2001). The evils of the use of IQ tests to define learning disabilities in first- and second-language learners. Reading Teacher, 55, 48-56.

Johnson, E., Mellard, D. F., Fuchs, D., & McKnight, M. A. (2006). Responsiveness to intervention (RTI): How to do it. Lawrence, KS: National Research Center on Learning Disabilities. Available at http://www.nrcld.org/rti_manual/index.html.

Sternberg, R. J., & Grigorenko, E. L. (2001). Learning disabilities, schooling, and society. Phi Delta Kappan, 83, 335-339.

Vaughn, S., Linan-Thompson, S., & Hickman, P. (2003). Response to instruction as a means of identifying students with reading/learning problems. Exceptional Children, 69, 391- 409.

Websites  Division for Learning Disabilities http://www.teachingld.org/  LDOnline http://www.ldonline.org  Learning Disabilities Association of America http://www.ldanatl.org  Council for Learning Disabilities http://www.cldinternational.org  Iris Center http://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/resources.html

26 CHAPTER 6 EMOTIONAL AND BEHAVIORAL DISORDERS

Focus Questions

 What are the points of agreement and disagreement between the definition of emotional disturbance in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and the definition of emotional or behavioral disorders by the Council for Children with Behavior Disorders?

Both of the definitions outline a pattern of behavior that adversely affects educational performance, is more than episodic or temporary, and includes mental illness such as schizophrenia. The IDEA definition requires that a student not be “socially maladjusted”; conversely, the CCBD definition makes no such distinction. In addition, the CCBD definition places the behavior problems within the context of school, age, culture, and ethnic norms. Finally, the CCBD definition states that the disorder may coexist with other disorders.

 Who is more severely disabled: the acting-out, antisocial child or the withdrawn child?

When attempting to determine the relative severity of a disorder, it is necessary to examine the individual child and the extent to which the behavior pattern interferes with his or her ability to function. Acting-out children tend to be disruptive. Although withdrawn children may not be disruptive, their behavior also interferes with their learning. Acting-out and withdrawn children can be equally disabled because both encounter problems with the acquisition of academic, social, personal, and vocational skills. From an identification perspective, withdrawn children have the potential to become more disabled because they are less likely to be identified and to receive treatment.

 What factors might account for the disparity between the number of children receiving special education under the emotional disturbance category and researchers’ estimates of the prevalence of emotional or behavioral disorders?

First, many children with emotional or behavioral disorders are served under other categories. Second, many children with emotional or behavioral disorders either drop out of school or become immersed in the juvenile justice system. Finally and perhaps most importantly, in many respects an emotional or behavioral disorder is a socially constructed phenomenon, and as a result, states and LEAs interpret criterion for eligibility of services differently. Small changes in the wording of assessment results can influence whether a person suspected of having an emotional or behavioral disorder receives services. As a result, many children who exhibit internalizing behavior patterns may not get the services they need, or a young child with mild symptoms might not get services until the symptoms have progressed.

27  How can research findings about the cumulative interplay of risk factors for behavior problems in adolescence and adulthood guide the development and implementation of prevention programs?

As with most disabilities, a key factor in changing the trajectory of a child’s life is early identification and treatment. The greater the number of risk factors and the longer a child’s exposure to them, the greater the probability that the child will experience negative outcomes. Therefore, the early identification of risk factors provides a means to assess and treat behavior problems before they reach a tertiary level.

 Although screening and assessment tools for emotional or behavioral disorders are becoming increasingly sophisticated and efficient, schools seldom use them. Why?

In many cases, children with emotional and behavior disorders identify themselves through their antisocial behavior. However, not systematically using assessment tools may cause LEAs to delay treatment, misdiagnose, or not diagnose some children, especially those with internalizing problems.

 What are the most important skills for teachers of students with emotional and behavioral disorders?

Rhode, Jenson, and Reavis (1999) describe children with emotional and behavioral problems as “tough kids.” Perhaps no other label describes them so well. Many of them have few friends and often behave in such a persistently obnoxious manner that they seem to invite negative responses from peers and adults. However, anyone who has ever taught “tough kids” will tell you that they can be bright, creative, energetic, and even fun to be around under the right circumstances. All teachers, including those who teach students with EBD, must be skilled in delivering effective instruction so that students will attain mastery of important academic and social skills. The most effective teachers will create positive, supportive environments that promote and maintain student success. Teachers of students with emotional and behavioral disorders must have good problem- solving skills and be prepared for the challenge of managing and changing disruptive behaviors.

 Why might the inclusion of children with emotional or behavioral disorders in general education classrooms be more (or less) intensely debated than the inclusion of children with other disabilities?

The answer to this question hinges on the definition of least restrictive environment. The behavioral excess of some children identified with EBD may actually make the general education setting a more restrictive placement if the student is continually removed from the setting. Many students with EBD require a level of planning, coordination with others, and support that are often unavailable in the general education setting. However, with the advent of School Wide Positive Behavioral Support, there is cause for optimism that more children at risk for EBD will be served effectively in the general education setting.

28  What are the largest current impediments to children with emotional or behavioral disorders receiving the most effective education possible?

Many advocates of children with EBD see the need for revising the federal definition so that all students who exhibit emotional and behavioral problems can be served. Relatedly, early identification and proactive prevention must occur at a greater level than what is currently available. Lastly, closing the gap to what is known about preventing and treating EBD and actual educational practice must occur.

 What are the connotations associated with the terms emotionally disturbed and behaviorally disordered? Which do you think teachers perceive as having a better chance of success in class?

 How do you distinguish disordered behavior from normal childhood roughhousing, pranks, tantrums, and/or moodiness?

 Many of the assessment measures for identifying students with emotional and behavioral disabilities are subjective in nature. What power does this give to teachers and parents in determining this disability?

 Although there is an overall underidentification of students with emotional and behavioral disorders, young African American males are overrepresented in this category. Why do you believe that this is the case?

 Teachers tend to be more concerned with those students who exhibit externalizing behaviors. What dangers are there in not identifying students with internalizing behaviors?

Activities

Whole-Class Discussion: Write the following question on the whiteboard or chalkboard:

“ It has been suggested that one reason schools do not use systematic screening and identification methods for suspected emotional and behavioral disorders is that many more children would be identified and that this would create a financial burden to the school. Do you think that this is a valid claim? Would you feel the same if you were a member of the school board? The principal?”

29 Small-Group Homework Assignment:

Have students go to MyEducationLab and complete Exercise 8. Then in groups of two or three have them develop their own self-management cards for students.

Have students go to MyEducationLab and complete Exercise 1 on developing and using motivational strategies.

Have students go to the Iris website (http://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/bi1/chalcycle.htm) and complete Part 1, “Understanding the Acting Out Cycle”. Have the students answer the questions, print them, and bring them to class for a discussion

Current Issues and Future Trends

Have students reread the insert “Teaching Students with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders: Then and Now.” Make sure they answer the two essay questions at the end of the insert, and have them go to http://www.pbis.org/schoolwide.htm and read about school-wide positive behavioral support answer the following question.

Advocates of SWPBS insist that a school have at least a 80% buy-in before attempting to implement the system. “Buy-in” means that at least 80% of the faculty agrees to implement SWPBS. Why is “buy-in” important? Put yourself in the position of a principal or advocate, and describe how you would go about getting others to buy in to the system.

Websites

 Iris Center http://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/resources.html  Journal for Behavior Disorders http://www.ccbd.net  Behavior Disorders Program http://www-vms.uoregon.edu/~sugai/BD1.HTM  Council for Children With Behavioral Disorders http://www.ccbd.net/  Positive Behavioral Support http://www.pbis.org/schoolwide.htm

30 CHAPTER 7 AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDERS

Focus Questions

 How are the two major subtypes of autism spectrum disorder-autistic disorder and Asperger syndrome—defined and differentiated from one another?

The disorders are defined as developmental disabilities affecting verbal and nonverbal communication and social interaction. The disorders are differentiated from one another primarily by age of onset and severity of the symptoms. Children diagnosed with autistic disorder often have impaired cognitive functions and severe communication impairments. Children diagnosed with Asperger syndrome often do not have cognitive impairments or severe communication problems, but demonstrate problems with social interaction.

 How might some of the behaviors characteristic of autism spectrum disorders become assets for the child as a learner?

Although children diagnosed with ASD share a number of common behavioral characteristics, it is important to recognize they are often more different than alike. It is therefore imperative for a teacher to determine what the child is good at doing. For example, some children with ASD may not respond well to verbal directions but are very good at following written directions. For those children it is probably best to give written directions. Other children may be very good at following a set routine but have trouble when the routine is changed. For those children it may be better to start each school day with a set routine and slowly make changes as the school year continues. Some students with ASD develop intense interests in particular toys or activities. A teacher can use these interests to motivate the student to learn important social skills. These are just three examples of the myriad ways in which a teacher may make accommodations based on a child’s strengths.

 What factors might account for the enormous increase in the prevalence of autism spectrum disorder?

Probably the biggest single factor that has contributed to the rise in the prevalence of ASD is improvements in assessment procedures that can diagnose the disorder at an earlier age. Before these improvements, a child with ASD may have been misdiagnosed or diagnosed later in life. Because of the improvements in assessment and screening, the public has become more aware of the disorder. A third factor that may contribute to the rising prevalence is the improvement and greater availability of educational services, particularly applied behavior analysis.

31  How have etiologic theories and the search for causes of autism changed from the first reports of the disability to today?

Not so long ago the suspected cause of autism was thought to be uncaring or unloving parents. This theory has totally and utterly been debunked. Today we are still no further to finding the cause of autism; however, the search for causes has shown that autism may have a biological origin in the form of abnormal brain development or neurochemistry. Other unsubstantiated theories include reactions to common vaccinations and allergic reactions in early childhood.

 Why are research and development of tools for early screening and diagnosis of autism spectrum disorders so critical?

Like most potentially debilitating conditions, the earlier the condition is diagnosed, the earlier treatment can begin, and often the prognosis for a more typical life is improved. This appears to be critical for children diagnosed with ASD. Early, intensive, behavior analytic–based instruction has been scientifically demonstrated to improve communication, language, and social skills to such an extent that some children with ASD have been able to succeed in general education classrooms.

 What skills are most important for teachers of children with autism spectrum disorders?

Teaching children with ASD requires a teacher to be well organized, task oriented, attuned to small but cumulative improvements in skill acquisition, and well versed in effective teaching strategies. However, the same can be said about teaching any child. Nevertheless, because children diagnosed with ASD can be among the most difficult to teach, these skills are particularly important for teachers of children with ASD.

 What features of an educational environment (a general education classroom, resource room, or special class) will enable a child with autism spectrum disorders to benefit optimally from placement in that setting?

Just as a teacher should be well organized, a well-organized classroom is necessary for students with ASD. In addition, the classroom should be a place where there are optimal opportunities for teaching communication skills and providing varied opportunities to promote independence.

 Why are fads and unproven interventions so prevalent in the education and treatment of children with autism?

It has been said that education proceeds from revolution rather than evolution. What that means is that unproven fads have been a part of education for a very long time. Unfortunately, this is especially true for the treatment of ASD. Because the causes of ASD are poorly understood, seemingly plausible theories for treatment are presented in the absence of proof. If these theories are presented by credible authority figures and

32 supplemented with testimonials, parents and educators are likely to give the unproven treatment credence. Because of the characteristics and severity of the disorder, hope and hype often replace reason and evidence when determining what is and what is not an effective treatment. The best way teachers can protect themselves from fad treatments is to ask for the data on the treatment’s effectiveness for children like the ones they teach, and evaluate the believability independently from those promoting the treatment.

 What are some of the reasons that have been proposed for the increasing prevalence of autism? How do they affect services provided by schools? How is the issue of increasing prevalence impacted by the fact that the precise cause of autism is unknown?

 Why is it important to conduct a functional analysis before intervening in severe behaviors? How would you address ethical concerns regarding self-injury?

 Why do think it is so important to teach communication skills to children with autism?

 What are some of the research-proven strategies for educating students with autism? What are the arguments that some propose against these strategies? How can these arguments be combated?

 What are some of the strategies utilized with children with autism that do not have evidence of effectiveness? Why have these become so prevalent? What, if anything, is the danger in implementing such strategies?

Activities

In-Class Activity (Small Group):

If you have access to the Internet in class, have students reread the Teaching & Learning insert. Then go to MyEducationLab and watch the video that accompanies Homework Exercise 2. After watching the video, have the groups of students identify a “behavior trap” for Tyler.

Small-Group Homework Assignment

Search the Internet for keywords “ABA and Autism.” Review an “ABA/Autism” website and describe in a one- to two-page paper how they define/describe applied behavior analysis. How does their definition/description relate to Figure 7.4, “What is ABA?” in the textbook?

33 Individual Homework Assignment:

Have students reread the TIPS for Beginning Teachers. One of the tips Ms. Kito and Ms. Mueninghoff give is to “focus on teaching skills not decreasing behavior.” Have the students write a one- to two-page position paper on what that statement means to them. Make sure to have the students list references identifying positive teaching strategies.

Have students reread Catherine Maurice’s feature “The Autism Wars.” Afterward have them create a table or graphic display that organizes interventions for children with ASD described in the chapter (e.g., intensive behavioral intervention, facilitated communication) into three categories: Strong Scientific Support, Minimal Scientific Support, and No Scientific Support.

Have the students answer the additional question: If scientifically proven teaching strategies and tactics are available in the treatment of ASD, why do fads and unproven treatments prevail?

Websites

 The Association for Persons With Severe Disabilities (TASH) http://www.tash.org  Association for Science in Autism Treatment http://www.asatonline.org/  Autism Society of America http://www.autism-society.org  Asperger’s Disorder Home page http://www.aspergers.com

34 CHAPTER 8 COMMUNICATION DISORDERS

Focus Questions

 How do definitions of speech and language impairments relate to one another and to typical language development?

Language is a formalized code used by a group of people to communicate with one another. Each language has rules of phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics that describe how users put sounds and ideas together to convey meaning. Speech is the oral production of language. It is the fastest and most efficient method of communication by language, and it is also one of the most complex and difficult human endeavors. A speech impairment deals with some problem in the production of oral language. A language impairment deals with some problem in the way a person is able to communicate.

 What basic types of communication disorders might statements such as “The dogs runned home” and “That foop is dood” signal?

The problems likely signal an error in articulation of speech. However, children’s words and sentences often differ from adult forms while children are learning language. As their language develops, children will gradually replace incorrect word pronunciations and sentence structures with acceptable adult forms of language. Whether the child’s language errors are age-appropriate, it is important that the teacher respond to the child’s message first before attempting to correct the errors. There are a variety of approaches for treating speech and language problems, but speech-language pathologists are increasingly employing naturalistic interventions to help children develop and use language skills.

 What is the relative prevalence of speech and language impairments by gender and age group?

Five percent of school-age children have speech impairments serious enough to warrant attention in the form of screening and formal testing. Nearly twice as many boys as girls have speech impairments. Children with articulation problems represent the largest category of speech-language impairments.

 How are causes of speech and language impairments classified?

Communication disorders that are organic are attributed to a specific physical cause. Most communication disorders, however, do not have a known physical origin. Environmental influences, such as the child’s opportunity to learn speech and language, are thought to be the major causes of many communication disorders.

35  What are the major components of a comprehensive evaluation to detect the presence and extent of a communication disorder?

The first line of assessment involves universal screening and teacher observations. If a child is suspected of having a communication disorder, a speech-language pathologist conducts more systematic tests. These often include articulation and hearing tests, auditory discrimination tests, phonological processing tests, vocabulary tests, written and spoken language samples, and observation conducted in natural settings. After the data from the mutlifactored tests are gathered, the SLP determines if the child has a communication disorder and the extent to which the disorder interferes with the child’s educational progress.

 What are the basic goals and common elements of effective interventions for speech- sound errors? For language disorders?

A wide variety of approaches have been used successfully to treat speech and language impairments. The goal of most treatment programs is to teach children to communicate with a variety of other individuals and across a variety of circumstances. No matter what the approach to treatment, children with language disorders need to be around children and adults with something interesting to talk about. Language is an interactive, interpersonal process, and naturally occurring intervention formats should be used to expose children with language disorders to a wide range of stimuli, experiences, contexts, and people. Effective speech-language pathologists establish specific goals and objectives, keep precise records of their students’ performance, and arrange the learning environment so that each child’s efforts at communication will be rewarded and enjoyable. Although the specific objectives for intervening on language disorders may be different, the basic goals and common elements are the same.

 How does the role of the speech-language pathologist change as a function of the educational setting in which a child with communication disorders is served?

The SLP is the person whose primary job responsibility is providing therapeutic services. The SLP’s role in providing these services can range from primary service provider to consultant depending on the nature and setting of the intervention. The models that the SLP designs to provide services can range from structured 1:1 drills in a pull-out session, to group pull-out sessions where natural language contexts are used, to collaborative consultation in classroom-based sessions where a teacher is leading the intervention.

 When does a communication difference become a communication disorder?

 Historically, communication disorders have been considered less severe than other types of disabilities. Under what types of conditions would a communication disorder not be handicapping at all? Under what types of conditions would a communication disorder result in severe limitations for the individual?

36  Should all children in the United States be expected to speak Standard American English regardless of their cultural, social, or geographic background? Explain your answer.

 What are the advantages of obtaining language samples from a child in a conversational rather than a structured or directed context? Why should children’s language be assessed during their interactions with parents, other adults, and peers?

 What is the best way for a teacher to teach language skills? What problem does practice present for classroom teachers? What challenges do speech and language therapists have in meeting the needs of their students?

Activities

In-Class Discussion Activity:

Begin by discussing the role of SLP in the treatment of communication disorders. You may want to note that a speech and language pathologist (SLP) has been traditionally responsible for providing services to students with communication disorders, most of the time in a “pull- out” session outside the classroom. However, SLPs are not trained teachers and hold no certification in teaching.

Discussion Questions:

What role should an SLP take in the classroom? Should SLPs also be trained in teaching methods? How can a teacher help integrate the SLP in the classroom?

Individual Homework Activity:

Write a two-page discussion paper addressing the following question: Should all children in the United States be expected to speak Standard American English regardless of their cultural, social, or geographic background? Explain why or why not.

Have students compete the Homework & Exercise activities referenced in the text.

Group Homework Activity:

In groups of three to five, have students choose one of the following topics to do an Internet search: stuttering; lisping; selective mutism; cluttering; atypical voice (high pitch in boys, for example). Have them present their findings to class using the information and websites they found.

37 Supplemental Resources

Websites

 American Speech-Language-Hearing Association http://www.asha.org/  Division for Children With Communication Disorders http://www.cec.sped.org/  General Information About Speech and Language Disorders http://www.kidsource.com/NICHCY/speech.html

38 CHAPTER 9 DEAFNESS AND HEARING LOSS

Focus Questions

 What distinguishes a child who is deaf from a child who is hard of hearing in terms of the primary sensory modes used for learning and communication?

Children who are deaf may be able to perceive some sound but are unable to use their hearing to understand speech. Deaf children develop speech and language skills mainly through their sense of sight. Children who are hard of hearing, on the other hand, have a significant hearing loss that makes special adaptations necessary. It is possible, however, for these children to respond to speech and other auditory stimuli. Children who are hard of hearing develop their speech and language skills mainly through the sense of hearing.

 How might deafness affect a child’s acquisition and use of speech and language, overall academic achievement, and social functioning?

As discussed earlier in the text, a disability may be a handicap in one environment but not in another. Many children with hearing impairments and deafness lag behind their hearing peers in academic achievement, and the achievement gap usually widens as they get older. This suggests that more effort needs to be made in enhancing the curriculum and instructions for students with hearing impairments. Conversely, when answering this question in regard to language and social functioning, it may be helpful to consider another question: Is it “nature” that attaches enormous importance to hearing in human development and learning, or is it society? Most people live in a world where hearing is vital to virtually every aspect of their lives. Yet, there exists a “Deaf culture” that insists it is not a disability to be hearing impaired. In that community, what appears to be a handicap is not, and given a supportive environment with listeners who can understand the mode communication, most deaf and hard of hearing children function quite well.

 How does the prevalence of hearing loss in school-age children compare to that of older segments of the population?

More than half of all the cases of hearing loss are persons over the age of 65. Conversely, hearing loss among children and young adults under the age of 18 represents only 4% of the persons with a hearing loss.

39  What implications for a child’s education result from the type of hearing loss and age of onset?

In general, the time of onset and the severity of hearing loss greatly affects a child’s education. Prelingually deaf children’s education normally focuses on acquisition of language and communication. A child who has suffered a postlingually hearing loss usually focuses on maintenance of intelligible speech and appropriate language patterns.

 What advantages does the precise assessment of a child’s hearing loss hold for intervention?

The precise assessment of any disability helps one to more precisely focus on the problems presenting for targets of intervention. In the area of hearing loss, a precise assessment helps the professional to tailor assistive technology devices like hearing aids, interpreters, or other assistive listening devices or provide ASL or other communication systems for children with profound hearing loss or deafness.

 In what ways do students who are deaf or heard of hearing use technologies and supports that amplify, supplement, or replace sound?

Depending on the severity of the hearing loss, a student may have a hearing aid placed in one or both ears to be able to amplify ambient sounds. These same children may also use a speech-to-text computer program to help supplement their hearing aid in large group discussions. They may also employ a sign language interpreter in other situations where appropriate.

 How do oral/aural, total communication, and bilingual-bicultural approaches to teaching students who are deaf differ in their philosophies and methods?

For many years educators have debated the most appropriate instructional methods for these children. Educational programs with an oral emphasis view speech as essential for integration into the hearing world. Much attention is given to amplification, auditory training, speechreading, and the use of technological aids. Other educators utilize a total communication approach with students with impaired hearing. This approach uses a variety of methods to assist the child in expressing, receiving, and developing language. Still others believe that deafness merely reflects a linguistic difference, not a disability, and therefore advocate for the exclusive use of ASL as the method of instruction.

40  How might a student’s and his family’s perspective and wishes regarding educational placement be influenced by their membership in the Deaf culture?

Hearing impairments are usually viewed as one of the more significant disabilities, perhaps because so much of our learning comes to us through the sense of hearing. Yet, many people with hearing impairments or who are deaf view hearing loss not as a disability but as a linguistic difference. In addition, most people who are hearing impaired have typical cognitive abilities and can and often do vociferously advocate for their own rights. For children who are born to parents who are Deaf, participation and affiliation with people who share the same mode of communication may be extremely important.

 In general, deaf children of deaf parents have a better chance of academic success than deaf children of hearing parents. What might explain this? What might account for those deaf children of hearing parents who do succeed academically?

 Do you believe that schools should be responsible for the cost of providing interpreters for students who are hearing impaired? Do you believe that businesses should do the same for their employees?

 Why is it that many people do not view their hearing loss as a disability?

 What is your position in the debate regarding cochlear implants? Would your position change if your own child was deaf?

Activities

In-Class Assignments:

Have students watch a short (5-minute) piece of a situation comedy video with the sound turned down and no captioning. Then have them watch it with captioning but no sound. Finally, have them watch the video with sound. Afterward, have a whole-class discussion on the relation between the sense of hearing and comedy.

Individual Homework Assignment:

Have students complete the Homework & Exercise activities referenced in the text. Additionally, have students reread the Teaching & Learning insert and complete Homework Exercise 4 in MyEducationLab.

41 Small-Group Homework Assignment:

Supports or Barriers for Students Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing

Print out the following quote for your students:

“At the El Paso Regional Day Program, we use a SEE/Total Communication approach. SEE (Signing Exact English) is not a language. It’s a way to encode English so that students will develop a stronger command of the language. Some educators argue that because ASL is the true native language of American Deaf people, giving students a strong base in ASL will make it easier for them to acquire English as a second language. There are also advocates of programs that use other types of communication in the classroom such as manually coded English, cued speech, and oralism (though there are fewer purely oral programs these days).

Deaf education is a field with many knock-down, drag-out controversies, and most of them center around communication. To say that this is an area of some controversy is to say that many people got their hair mussed during the course of World War II.”—Douglas Jackson.

The education of children who are deaf or hard of hearing is one of the most challenging, complex, and interesting areas in all of special education. It is extremely difficult teaching an orally based language to children with limited ability to hear, and therefore to have access to the principles and nuances of that language. It should not come as a surprise, then, that many methods for teaching the deaf have been developed and tried, most with limited, although some, success. Most research and debate in deaf education today focuses on which language and mode of communication should be used in the classroom.

The Assignment Select a particular approach or method of instruction used in deaf education. Explore and learn about that method using one or more of the resources below as a starting point for your research. Write a position paper outlining your perspectives and recommendations concerning the approach or method with respect to this question:

How might the language and mode of instruction used to teach students who are deaf (or Deaf) support or impede their acquisition of English literacy skills, academic achievement, social functioning, and/or self-concept?

42 Current Issues and Future Trends

Have students read “Deafness: The Dilemma,” and write a two- to three-page paper explaining their perspective on the extent to which deafness is a culture and to what extent deafness is a disability.

Related Issues to Consider  What are the functions of classroom communication?  How does the setting in which a deaf student is educated impact the mode of communication?

Websites

 Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf http://www.agbell.org  American Society for Deaf Children http://www.deafchildren.org/  Gallaudet University http://www.gallaudet.edu  National Association of the Deaf http://www.nad.org  Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center, Gallaudet University http://clerccenter.gallaudet.edu/  Oral Approach http://www.agbell.org/  Signing Exact English http://www.seecenter.org/

43 CHAPTER 10 BLINDNESS AND LOW VISION

Focus Questions

 What are the instructional implications of the three general classifications of visual impairments that educators use?

The three general classification categories are totally blind (no vision), functionally blind (receives so little information from vision that other senses are primarily used), and low vision (receives information from sight but needs to use other senses to supplement). These general classifications imply that for the first two types of students, instruction should primarily focus on teaching a child compensatory skills such as learning to read Braille and mobility training. For children with low vision, classroom adaptations, optical devices, and large print can be used as assistive technology to support the student when reading or engaging in activities that require sight. The age of onset of a visual impairment is also an important consideration in programming. Children who have been blind from birth have no visual history to apply to their current learning needs. Adventitiously blind children, on the other hand, have had some visual experiences, which typically facilitate the teaching of many skills.

 How do blindness and low vision affect learning, motor development, and social interaction?

Children with visual impairments approach learning tasks much differently than children who have sight. Visual impairments often hinder much of the experiential learning that one gets from sight. Low vision also often affects a child’s ability to connect and organize different experiences. Visual impairments have a profound impact on a child’s ability to move about his or her environment. Because of the reduced movement, children who are blind or functionally blind often have slower motor development than do sighted children. Compared to sighted children, children with low or no vision play and interact less during free time. These children are often not asked to go to a movie or a ball game, for example. However, there is no evidence that suggests that these challenges to learning, mobility, and social interaction restrict the potential of children with visual impairments.

 How might the fact that visual impairments are a low-incidence disability affect a child’s access to special education and related services?

As with other disability categories, the continuum of services in the least restrictive environment is of paramount importance. For students, this may mean that part of their day is spent in a specialized classroom for mobility training. In addition, some vision professionals reject noncategorical special education services for students with visual impairments because of the nature and needs the students often have. However, financial restrictions may require some public and residential school programs to consolidate their services.

44  Why is it important that teachers know about the types of visual impairments affecting children in their classroom?

Knowing the type and severity of the visual impairment is of paramount importance for developing an educational plan to meet the needs of the student. Some students with visual impairments require more intensive supports and adaptations to the curriculum.

 How do the educational goals and instructional methods for children with low vision differ from those for children who are blind?

As do children in all other categories of exceptionality, children with visual impairments exhibit a wide range of abilities. Children who are identified as blind generally have little or no useful vision. Children with low vision, on the other hand, often have residual vision so that with various types of ocular aids, such as large print or magnifiers, they can use printed materials in their classrooms and communities. Children with visual impairments have different levels of visual ability, but the goal of instruction is the same for all these children: to teach them skills that will enable them to take their place in society as productive, self-sufficient individuals.

 How might the educational placement of a student with visual impairments affect her opportunities to learn the expanded core curriculum of nonacademic skills necessary for overall success in life?

A basic goal of special education concerns teaching skills for independent and productive living. Academic skills alone will not accomplish this goal. Learning life skills such as cooking, grooming, managing money, participating in leisure activities, and coping with societal expectations are essential parts of any curriculum for exceptional learners. In addition, children with visual impairments should know how to explain their disability to others and to refrain from behaviors such as rocking and head rolling that draw undue and, often, negative attention to their disabilities. Because most students with visual impairment are educated in regular school settings, it is easy to focus attention exclusively on academic skills. It is important to recognize, however, that academics are but one part of a curriculum necessary to prepare students with visual impairment for life beyond the classroom.

 How can the age of onset affect learning in children who have visual impairments?

 Why is the ability to travel independently so important for persons with visual impairments?

 It has been suggested that children with visual impairments are the easiest group of students with disabilities to integrate into the regular classroom. Would you agree or disagree with this statement? Explain.

45  How can nondisabled students benefit from the integration of students with visual impairments and other disabilities into regular classrooms?

 Educating children with visual impairments has a long history. What part of the timeline surprised you the most? What do you think could be added after the 1960s?

 Why do you think there has been a decline in the use of Braille in the visually impaired population?

 Under what circumstances do you think a student with a visual impairment should attend a residential school?

Activities

In-Class Small-Group Activity:

Go to the Homework & Exercises section in Chapter 10 on MyEducationLab and click on Homework Exercise 4. Watch the video on orientation and mobility training.

Divide students into groups of two for a simulated exercise in orientation and mobility training. The student groups will go to safe areas of the campus (e.g., free of motorized traffic). Have one student blindfold a second student, spin him/her five times (slowly), and act as a guide to get him/her back to the classroom. The guide student is not allowed to tell the student where he/she is in relation to the class but only to provide safety instructions (e.g., “you need to step up here—there are some steps”). Time the student groups. Have students respond to the following questions: (a) What methods did you use to help get yourself back to the classroom? (b) What other senses did you rely on as you navigated your way back to class? (c) What sorts of feelings did you have?

Small-Group Homework Activity:

Identify the most important functional skills for students with visual impairments.

Have students reread the Teaching & Learning insert, “I Made It Myself, and It’s Good!” The insert describes a study in which blind students use a Walkman to learn how to cook. Have students brainstorm in groups of three to four a list of other functional skills that should receive priority when selecting instructional objectives for students who are blind. Sequence the critical skills from most important to least important. Have students share their group’s list during a large-group discussion.

46 Have students complete the Homework & Exercise activities referenced in the text.

Have students reread the Current Issues and Future Trends insert and have them answer the three questions at the end of the insert. Then have them write a two-page position paper on one of the following topics:

Which child do you think would be more difficult to teach, the child with congenital blindness or the child with acquired blindness? Explain why.

It has been suggested that children with visual impairments are the easiest group of students with disabilities to integrate into the regular classroom. Would you agree or disagree with this statement? Explain.

What do you think the biggest hurdles are for people with visual impairments in obtaining and maintaining employment? Identify solutions to the problems of barriers to employment and meeting the specific needs of unemployed people with visual impairments.

Websites

 National Federation for the Blind http://www.nfb.org  Center for Accessible Technology http://www.cforat.org/  Blindness Resource Center http://www.nyise.org/blind.htm  American Foundation for the Blind http://www.afb.org/

47 CHAPTER 11 PHYSICAL DISABILITIES, HEATH IMPAIRMENTS, AND ADHD

Focus Questions

 How might the effects of an acute health condition on a student’s classroom participation and educational progress differ from those of a chronic condition?

Most physical disabilities and health impairments that result in a child receiving special education services are chronic conditions, meaning they are long lasting or permanent (e.g., cerebral palsy). Acute conditions may be severe and debilitating; however, they are typically short term (e.g., pneumonia). A child who has an acute condition may have limited participation and educational progress, but only temporarily. For example, a child who falls behind due to an acute illness may need remediation to help him catch up. A child with a chronic condition is likely to require long-term services of appropriately intensive supports.

 Why is the prevalence of chronic medical conditions in children much higher than the number of students receiving special education under the disability categories in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) of orthopedic impairments and other health impairments?

Two factors make the actual number of children with physical disabilities and health impairments much higher than the number of children receiving special education services under these categories. First, in order to qualify for special education services, a child’s physical or health impairment must adversely affect his or her educational performance. Many children have chronic conditions that do not adversely affect their educational performance, so they do not receive special education services. Additionally, many children with chronic physical or health impairments have multiple disabilities, and they are receiving special education services under other disability categories.

 What does a classroom teacher need to know about physical disabilities and health impairments in children?

It is important for teachers to understand how a particular condition may affect a child’s learning, development, and behavior. Teachers must also know how to manage the occasional complications and emergencies they may encounter. Additionally, teachers need to know the amount of support and accommodations that will be required to enable the student to function successfully in a classroom. The amount of support will vary greatly according to each child’s condition, needs, and level of functioning.

 Why do you think attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is not included as a separate disability category in IDEA?

In order to be diagnosed with ADHD, a physician must determine that a child has consistently displayed six or more symptoms of either inattention or hyperactivity-

48 impulsivity for at least six months with an onset before age 7. Because the federal government has stipulated that students with ADHD are eligible under the Other Heath Impairments category, it is probably unnecessary to create a separate category. Additionally, a substantial number of students diagnosed with ADHD receive special education services under other IDEA categories (e.g., Learning Disabilities).

 How might the visibility of a physical disability or health impairment affect a child’s self-perception, social development, and level of independence across different environments?

How children think about themselves and the degree to which others accept them are often affected by the visibility of their condition. Some children use a variety of orthopedic appliances that make their physical impairments more noticeable and make the child with disabilities look even more different from their classmates without disabilities. The visibility of some disabilities may cause others to underestimate the child’s abilities and limit their participation opportunities. By contrast, many health conditions that are not as visible (e.g., asthma) may decrease the inclination of others to provide the student with needed special education services.

 What are some of the problems that members of transdisciplinary teams for students with severe physical disabilities and multiple health needs must guard against?

Members of transdisciplinary teams must guard against anything that interferes with open communication with one another. No other group of exceptional children comes into contact, both in and out of school, with as many different teachers, physicians, therapists, and other specialists. Because the medical, educational, therapeutic, vocational, and social needs of students with physical and health impairments are often complex and frequently affect each other, it is especially important that educational and health care personnel openly communicate and cooperate with one another.

 Of the many ways that the physical environment, social environment, and instruction can be modified to support the inclusion of students with physical impairments, health impairments, and ADHD, which are most important?

Teachers of children with physical and health impairments often find it necessary to adapt equipment, schedules, or settings so that their students can participate more fully in educational and recreational activities. Although there is currently an increasing trend toward integrating children with physical and health conditions, this practice has raised several controversial issues. These issues revolve around determining the extent to which teachers and schools should realistically be expected to care for students with physical and health-related disabilities. Decisions concerning the safety of all students must be made. Perhaps the most important classroom modification is creating an atmosphere in which the student with disabilities feels socially accepted and comfortable enough to learn and contribute.

49 Discussion Questions

 Why do you think that the number of students with physical impairments and health care needs is much higher than the number of children actually receiving services under those categories?

 Do you think that the visibility of a disability is an important factor in terms of a student’s educational needs? Why or why not?

 Imagine having normal intelligence in a body that is severely impaired. What frustrations and difficulties would you have in proving your intellectual abilities? What challenges would a teacher have in providing opportunities for you to succeed?

 What is your biggest fear about working with a medically fragile child? How can you combat that fear before you are faced with it?

 What are some of the environmental modifications of which you are aware that enables persons with physical or health impairments to more fully participate in day-to-day activities in schools and communities? Are there any modifications that benefit or are useful for other people as well?

 How does the original description of Still’s disease as a “defect of moral control” coincide with the perception (or misperception, perhaps) of ADHD by some people?

 What is the subjective nature of diagnosing ADHD?

Activities ______

Simulation Activity:

Students can become more familiar with physical disabilities by taking on the role of an individual with a disability or of a helper/companion. Borrow a few wheelchairs from a local hospital or clinic. Create a scavenger hunt activity that requires students to navigate the school or campus community. Require the students to go to a second or third floor of a nearby building. Then have them order lunch at an on-campus restaurant or dining hall. Have the students note any physical obstacles they encountered. In addition, have the students report on their perceptions of the attitudes of others while on their excursion.

Small-Group Activity: Roles and Responsibilities

Coping emotionally with a physical disability or health impairment presents a major problem for some children. Maintaining a sense of belonging can be difficult for a child who must frequently leave the classroom to participate in a therapeutic session or other health care routine. Differences in physical appearance and the need for assistive technology may cause further problems. Work with your small group to answer the following questions: What role and responsibility does the teacher play in creating an inclusive environment in the

50 classroom? What do you think a teacher should do to help peers and others become more accepting of a student with a physical disability or other health impairment?

Have students complete the Homework & Exercise activities referenced in the text. Go to the Homework & Exercises section in Chapter 11 of MyEducationLab, view the video of Jose’s adapted wheelchair, and complete Homework Exercise 1.

Go to the Building Teaching Skills section in Chapter 11 of MyEducationLab, view the videos showing the MotivAider® and the Picture Schedule, and complete the activities.

Complete Homework Exercise 3 in Chapter 11 of MyEducationLab after viewing the video of Charlotte’s and Kavana’s PT session.

Complete Homework Exercise 4 after viewing the videos on MyEducationLab showing the difference mobility has made in the lives of three students who use different types of wheelchairs.

Complete Homework Exercise 5 in Chapter 11 on MyEducationLab after viewing the video of a neighborhood school designed for students with physical disabilities and health care needs.

After reading “Monkey Helpers: Professional Care Attendants and Companions for People with Disabilities” and exploring the website www.helpinghandsmonkeys.org, discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using animals to help people with disabilities.

Supplemental Resources ______

American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (2006). Humanizing pedagogy through HIV and AID prevention: Transforming teacher knowledge. Paradigm Publishers.

Block, M. E. (2006). Teacher’s guide to including students with disabilities in general physical education. Paul H. Brookes.

Dendy, C. A. Z. (2006). Teenagers with ADD and ADHD: A guide for parents and professionals. Woodbine House.

51 Farrell, M. (2007). The effective teacher’s guide to sensory impairment and physical disability: Practical strategies. Taylor & Francis.

Heller, K. W., Forney, P. E., Alberto, P. A. & Schwartzman, M. N. (2000). Meeting physical and health needs of children with disabilities: Teaching student participation and management. Wadsworth Publishing.

Martin, S. (2006). Teaching motor skills to children with cerebral palsy and similar movement disorders: A guide for parents and professionals. Woodbine House.

Reif, S. (2005). How to reach and teach children with ADD/ADHD: Practical techniques, strategies and intervention. Jossey-Bass.

Sandler, A. (2003). Living with spina bifida: A guide for families and professionals. The University of North Carolina Press.

Shorvon, S. D., Perucca, E., Fish, D. & Dodson, W. E. (2004). The treatment of epilepsy. Wiley-Blackwell.

Thornton, D. (2007). Physical disabilities: The ultimate teen guide. The Scarecrow Press.

Websites  Attention Deficit Disorder Association http://www.add.org/  Children and Adults With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder http://www.chadd.org/  Interventions for the classroom for students with ADD/ADHD http://www.addinschool.com/  KidsHealth for Parents http://www.kidshealth.org/parent/emotions/behavior/adhd.html  National Institute of Health: ADHD http://www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/adhd.cfm  SERI Physical and Health Disorders Resources http://seriweb.com/phys.htm

52 CHAPTER 12 LOW-INCIDENCE DISABILITIES: SEVERE/MULTIPLE DISABILITIES, DEAF-BLINDNESS, AND TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY

Focus Questions

 Why is a curriculum based on typical developmental stages and milestones inappropriate for students with severe and multiple disabilities?

Developmental theories of learning assume that children pass through an orderly sequence of developmental stages. These stages are the basis for determining what kinds of skills are appropriate for instruction and when those skills should be taught. For example, if a child has not yet developed the physical dexterity necessary to properly hold a pencil, teaching the child to write will usually not begin until the child is developmentally “ready.” A curriculum based on typical developmental stages, however, is unlikely to meet the needs of students with severe disabilities. For children with severe disabilities, learning such basic skills as getting from place to place independently, communicating, controlling bowel and bladder functions, and self-feeding cannot wait for a readiness stage to be reached. Instruction in these skills, all of which influence the individual’s quality of life, must begin when individuals with severe disabilities need to learn them, not when they are developmentally ready to learn them.

 How can a teacher increase the learning potential of students who exhibit significant and obvious deficits in multiple life-skill or developmental areas?

Often students with severe disabilities need instruction in many basic skills that most children acquire without intensive instruction. However, it is well documented that these students can learn, do learn, and, with appropriate teaching and support, lead productive lives. Effective instruction for this population of learners must be carefully planned, systematically executed, and continuously monitored for effectiveness. Specifically, teachers must use precise assessment to plan instruction, develop clearly defined and appropriately sequenced objectives, use clear prompts, provide immediate feedback and reinforcement, and use strategies to promote generalization.

 How can a teacher assist a child who has been hospitalized with a traumatic brain injury return to school?

A teacher should understand that a child returning to school after a traumatic brain injury will fatigue easily and have a short attention span. Teachers can assist these students by providing a shortened school day and concentrating academic instruction during peak performance periods. Additionally, the child should be provided with frequent breaks and a reduced work load. Teachers should provide clear uncomplicated instructions, break multistep instructions into simplified steps, and pair auditory with visual cues. Other modifications should be made based on the needs of the child. For example, a child who has problems with memory and organization might need a special resource time at the

53 beginning of the day where a teacher helps him plan the day’s schedule and keep track of assignments.

 Why is it so critical to select functional and age-appropriate curriculum objectives for students with severe and multiple disabilities?

Educational programs for students with severe disabilities are future oriented in their efforts to teach skills that will enable students to participate in integrated settings as meaningfully and independently as possible after they leave school. Functional and age- appropriate behaviors are more likely to be reinforced in the natural environments and, as a result, maintained in the student’s repertoire.

 What are the most important skills for a teacher of students with severe and multiple disabilities? Why?

Teaching students with severe disabilities is difficult and demanding. The teacher must be well organized, firm, and consistent. He or she must be able to mange a complex educational operation, which usually involves supervising paraprofessional aides, student teachers, peer tutors, and volunteers. The teacher must be knowledgeable about instructional formats and be able to work cooperatively with other professionals. Most important, teachers must be sensitive to small changes in behavior and be persistent in evaluating and changing instruction to improve learning and behavior.

 How much time should a student with severe and multiple disabilities spend in the general education classroom?

Although the social benefits of regular class participation for students with disabilities have been clearly shown, the effects of full inclusion on the attainment of IEP goals and objectives is not yet known. A major challenge for both special and general educators is to develop models and strategies for including students with severe disabilities in regular classroom activities without sacrificing their opportunities to acquire, practice, and generalize the functional skills they need most. “How much time should be spent in regular classes? Enough to ensure the student is a member, not a visitor. A lot, if the student is engaged in meaningful activities. Quite a bit if she is young, but less as she approaches 21” (Brown et al., 1991, p. 46).

Discussion Questions______

 How can teachers shape the attitudes of nondisabled students toward students with disabilities?

 Why are traditional methods of intelligence testing virtually useless with children whose disabilities are profound?

 What should and should not be the focus of special education for students with severe disabilities?

54  Why is deaf-blindness considered by some to be the most disabling condition a child can have?

 Why are communication skills important for a child with severe disabilities to learn?

 What are the arguments for and against students with severe disabilities attending their neighborhood schools versus segregated and/or clustered schools?

Activities______

Small-Group Activity: Inclusion

Inclusion has been a persistent theme throughout this text, and it provides an excellent means of introducing students to the area of severe disabilities. Have students form cooperative groups to design a plan for accommodating a child with severe disabilities so that he or she can participate in regular classrooms. The students can create a hypothetical child, listing his or her specific disabilities, strengths, and needs. Then the group can brainstorm and prioritize ways to provide an effective education in a regular classroom.

Ask students to go to the Homework & Exercises section in Chapter 12 of MyEducationLab and complete Homework Exercise 1 so they can learn more about tactile teaching techniques and how they can be used in classroom instruction Have students go to the Homework & Exercises section in Chapter 12 on MyEducationLab and complete Homework Exercise 2 so they can learn more about building communication skills in students with severe disabilities.

Have students go to the Homework & Exercises section in Chapter 12 of MyEducationLab and complete Homework Exercise 3 so they can learn more about applying functional assessment and positive behavioral support in the classroom.

Learn more about how a student with disabilities can benefit from a peer buddy by going to the Building Teaching Skills section in Chapter 12 on MyEducationLab and completing the activities.

55 Current Issues and Future Trends______

After reading “What Happened to Functional Curriculum?” discuss how teachers should determine the value and effectiveness of a lesson for students with severe disabilities. Additionally, describe how you would design a meaningful lesson for students with significant intellectual disabilities and no verbal expressive language.

Supplemental Resources______

Bryant, D. P., & Bryant, B. R. (2002). Assistive technology for people with disabilities. Allyn & Bacon.

Downing, J. (2008). Including students with severe and multiple disabilities in typical classrooms: Practical strategies for teachers. Brookes Publishing Company.

Fowler, S. (2008). Multisensory rooms and environments: Controlled sensory experiences for people with profound and multiple disabilities. Jessica Kingsley Publishers

Gosling, G. (2006). TBI hell: A traumatic brain injury really sucks. Outskirts Press.

Jameson, L. & Jameson, B. (2007). Brain injury survivor’s guide: Welcome to our world. Outskirts Press.

Orlove, F. P., Sobsey, D., & Silberman, R. K. (2004). Educating children with multiple disabilities: A collaborative approach (4th ed.). Brookes Publishing Company.

Senelick. R. C. & Dougherty, K. (2001). Living with brain injury: A guide for families (2nd ed.). CENGAGE Delmar Learning.

Smith, T. B. (2002). Guidelines: Practical tips for working and socializing with deaf-blind people. Sign Media Inc.

Websites  A-Z to Deafblindness http://www.deafblind.com/  Deaf Resources Library: Deaf-Blind Issues http://www.deaflibrary.org/deaf_blind.html  National Dissemination Center for Children With Disabilities: Severe and/or Multiple Disabilities http://www.nichcy.org/pubs/factshe/fs10txt.htm  National Resource Center for TBI http://www.neuro.pmr.vcu.edu/  Region XIII Education Service Center: Low-Incidence Disabilities http://www.esc13.net/hilit/  SERI Physical and Health Disorders Resources http://seriweb.com/phys.htm

56 CHAPTER 13 GIFTEDNESS AND TALENT

Focus Questions

 How has the evolving definition of giftedness changed the ways in which students are identified and served?

Intelligence, creativity, and talent have been central to the various definitions that have been proposed over the years, and they continue to be reflected in the current and still- evolving definitions. Historically, however, the concept of giftedness has been neither as broad nor as inclusive as the definitions we currently use. According to most early definitions, only those individuals with outstanding performances on standard intelligence tests were considered gifted. This narrow view of giftedness dominated by an IQ score prevailed for many years and came to be associated with only the Caucasian, urban, middle- and upper-class segments of society. Current definitions have grown out of our awareness that IQ alone does not define all the possible areas of giftedness. Today’s definitions include many talents that contribute substantially to the quality of life for both the individual and society. This more comprehensive definition allows us to identify and serve a more diverse group of gifted learners.

 Why do students who are very bright need special education?

Special education is necessary for children when their physical attributes and/or learning abilities differ from the norm to such an extent that an individualized program of special education is required to meet their needs. Just as the traditional curriculum is often inappropriate for the child with a disability, it also can be inappropriate for the child who is gifted and talented. The traditional curriculum may not provide the kinds of challenges the gifted student requires to learn most effectively. When a traditional classroom curriculum is not allowing children who are gifted and talented to fulfill their potential and to succeed fully in school, then special education is needed.

 How do estimates of the prevalence of giftedness in the school- age population compared to the number of students in K–12 gifted programs?

The most commonly cited prevalence estimate is that high-IQ students make up 3% to 5% of the school-age population, and that up to 10% to 15% of students have special talents. The number of students identified as gifted varies widely from state to state, ranging from 3% to 10%. However, there are approximately three million academically talented students. The discrepancy between the need and the level of service may make gifted and talented students the most underserved population of exceptional children.

57  What provisions should be made to accurately identify students with outstanding talents who are from diverse cultural groups or have disabilities?

Biases inherent in the identification process are primarily to blame for the underrepresentation of students from culturally diverse groups in programs for the gifted. Today more than ever, we recognize the need for culturally nonbiased identification and assessment practices. Current “best practices” for identifying gifted students from diverse cultural groups involve obtaining information from a variety of sources such as portfolios of student work, tests in specific content areas, creativity tests, and problem-solving tests. Maker (1994) developed a procedure called DISCOVER that is used to assess gifted students from diverse backgrounds, female students, and students with disabilities. The DISCOVER assessment process involves a series of five progressively more complex problems that provide children with various ways to demonstrate problem-solving competence with the content and with one another.

 How can the general education classroom teacher provide instruction at the pace and depth needed by gifted and talented students while meeting the needs of other students in the classroom?

Three common approaches for teaching gifted and talented students are enrichment, curriculum compacting, and acceleration. Enrichment experiences allow students to investigate topics of interest. Curriculum compacting is compressing instructional content so students have more time to work on more challenging materials. Acceleration allows the student to move through the curriculum faster. Each of these approaches can be used by the regular classroom teacher. Although ability grouping has been an issue of considerable debate, it is one strategy that might enable regular classroom teachers to appropriately differentiate instruction. Grouping enables gifted students to be appropriately challenged through more rapid and advanced instruction. Allowing gifted students to be grouped so that they can progress at their own pace may preserve the students’ motivation to learn and help prevent problems such as boredom and an aversion toward school.

 Should gifted students be educated with their same-age peers or with older students who share the same intellectual and academic talents and interests?

Because gifted students learn at a faster rate than most students, they benefit from a differentiated curriculum that can include enrichment and acceleration. With enrichment, a gifted child can stay in a class with same-age peers but study a topic in greater depth. With acceleration, students move more quickly through the curriculum. Grade skipping is one form of acceleration. One commonly heard concern is that grade skipping will lead to social or emotional problems because the child will be in a classroom with students who are more advanced physically and emotionally. School personnel and parents are usually concerned that talented students will suffer from the pressure to achieve or will become emotional misfits. However, longitudinal research found no evidence that acceleration harms willing students (academically or socially).

58 Discussion Questions

 Can being talented be a handicap for some children? How?

 What responsibility do educators have to meet the needs of children who are gifted and talented? Is it the same responsibility as they have for children with disabilities?

 How might precocious behavior hinder chances for the identification of a gifted and talented child?

 How are gifted and talented children served in your school district? Do you believe they adequately challenge and meet the needs of these students?

 Do you think our society puts too much pressure on children who are gifted and talented? Do you agree with Piirto that these children have no greater obligation than any other children to be future leaders?

 Do you believe that gifted and talented students benefit the most by participating in acceleration and enrichment programs with peers who show similar intellectual abilities?

 What kind of social problems could a child face if he/she skips grades in school?

In-Class Activities

Small-Group Activity: Identify Enrichment and Acceleration Activities:

Work with a small group of about four students to generate examples of activities that would be appropriate and motivating for gifted students. Classify each of your group’s activities as either enrichment or acceleration and explain why.

Small-Group Activity: Define Giftedness:

Work with a group of four students to develop a definition of giftedness. After you have developed your definition, develop a multifactored assessment instrument for identifying students who are gifted and talented. Describe how your instrument corresponds to your group’s definition.

Develop a brief assessment designed to measure creativity. After reviewing the definitions of each dimension of creativity identified by Guilford (1987) in Chapter 13, create one assessment task for each dimension. For example, fluency means the person is capable of producing many ideas per unit of time. So an example of an assessment for fluency might be “Tell me as many uses for a paper clip that you can think of in one minute.”

1. fluency

59 2. flexibility 3. novelty/originality 4. elaboration 5. synthesizing ability 6. analyzing ability 7. ability to reorganize or redefine existing ideas 8. complexity

Complete Homework Exercise 1 in the Homework & Exercises section of MyEducationLab. As students read the article and answer the accompanying questions, they should consider the heterogeneous nature of students who are gifted and the differences among these students.

Go to the Homework & Exercises section in Chapter 13 of MyEducationLab, read the article by Stephan Hawking “I Was Thinking About Black Holes,” and complete Homework Exercise 2.

Complete Homework Exercise 3 in Chapter 13 of MyEducationLab. As students read the article, they should consider the different methods for lesson differentiation that are available for students who are gifted.

Go to the Homework & Exercises section in Chapter 13 of MyEducationLab and click on Homework Exercise 4. As students watch the video, they should think about the pros and cons of ability grouping for students.

“Precocity as a Hallmark of Giftedness” illustrates how an academically advanced young child is transformed into an underachiever as she progresses through school. After reading this article, identify ways for teachers to prevent gifted children from becoming underachievers. How can teachers recognize precocious children? What can teachers do to encourage and foster the development of precocious children?

Supplemental Resources ______

Cramond, B. (2005). Fostering creativity in gifted students. Prufrock Press.

Delisle J. R., & Lewis, B. A. (2003). The survival guide for teachers of gifted kids: How to plan, manage, and evaluate programs for gifted youth K–12. Free Spirit Publishing.

60 Halsted, J. W. (2002). Some of my best friends are books: Guiding gifted readers from preschool to high school (2nd ed.). Great Potential Press.

Johnsen, S. K. & Goree, K. (2005). Independent study for gifted learners. Prufrock Press.

Masiello, T. S. (2005). Literature links: Activities for gifted readers. Great Potential Press.

Roberts, J. L. & Inman, T. F. (2006). Strategies for differentiating instruction: Best practices for the classroom. Prufrock Press.

Robinson, A., Shore, B. M., & Enerson, D. L. (2007). Best practices in gifted education: An evidence-based guide. Prufrock Press.

Rogers, K. B. (2002). Re-forming gifted education: How parents and teachers can match the program to the child. Great Potential Press.

Ruf, D. L. (2005). Losing our minds: Gifted children left behind. Great Potential Press.

Websites

 The Association for the Gifted (TAG) http://www.cec.sped.org  Differentiated Instruction for the Gifted http://www.kidsource.com/kidsource/content/diff_instruction.html  Gifted Child Society http://www.gifted.org  The Inclusive Classroom: Meeting the Needs of Gifted Students http://www.nwrel.org/msec/images/resources/justgood/12.99.pdf  National Association for Gifted Children http://www.nagc.org  NEAG Center on the Gifted and Talented http://www.gifted.uconn.edu/  Teaching in Mixed Ability Classrooms http://www.weac.org/kids/1998-99/march99/differ.htm

61 CHAPTER 14 EARLY CHILDHOOD SPECIAL EDUCATION

Focus Questions

 Why is it so difficult to measure the impact of early intervention?

Numerous methodological problems make it difficult to conduct early intervention research in a scientifically sound manner. Among the problems are selecting meaningful and reliable outcome measures; the wide disparity among children in the developmental effects of their disabilities; the tremendous variation across early intervention programs in curriculum focus, teaching strategies, length, and intensity; and the ethical concerns of withholding early intervention from some children so they may form a control group for comparison purposes.

 How can we provide early intervention services for a child whose disability is not yet present?

A child who has been identified as being at risk for developing a disability because of environmental or biological factors should receive preventive programming before any evidence of a disability exists. Parents and teachers do not have to wait until a delay in development occurs before they begin to interact with their children in ways that promote learning and development. Similarly, medical professionals do not need to wait and observe health or biological conditions before they can prescribe various precautionary or preventive procedures for the family to follow on behalf of the child. Intervention programs can never be started too early. Parents and professionals should pursue every reasonable precautionary and preventive measure that can be taken to ensure that the child does not develop a disability.

 How are the four different purposes of assessment and evaluation in early childhood special education related to one another?

The four major types of assessment used in early childhood education are sequential steps for identifying children with special needs and developing and monitoring their instructional programming. Screening involves quick, easy-to-administer tests to identify children who made have a disability and who should receive further testing. Diagnosis requires an in-depth and comprehensive assessment to determine eligibility for special education services. Program planning uses curriculum-based measurement (CBM) and criterion-referenced tests to determine a child’s present skill level and appropriate objectives. Finally, evaluation uses CBM and criterion-referenced tests to monitor progress on IEP/IFSP objectives and to inform instructional decisions. Early intervention has begun to shift away from assessment instruments based entirely on developmental milestones and has begun to move toward curriculum-based assessment, which links testing, teaching, and new skill acquisition by the child.

62  Which do you think are the most important goals of early childhood special education?

The goals of early childhood special education are (a) support families in achieving their own goals; (b) promote child engagement, independence, and mastery; (c) promote development in all important domains; (d) build and support social competence; (e) facilitate the generalized use of skills; (f) prepare and assist children for normalized life experiences with their families, in school, and in their communities; (g) help children and their families make smooth transitions; and (h) prevent or minimize the development of future problems or disabilities. After studying the goals, you should recognize that many are interrelated and all are intended to lead to increased independence and competency of individual children. All of the goals address the child within the context of the family and the community.

 How can a play activity or everyday routine become a specially designed learning opportunity for a preschooler with disabilities?

Play provides children with natural, repeated opportunities for learning. Teachers of young children with disabilities can arrange the child’s play environment to promote skill mastery across several developmental domains. Teachers must also monitor the child’s progress and make adjustments to the environment that will facilitate success of important skills.

 Do social and economic conditions existing today make early intervention programs more of a necessity than in the past?

 Should all infants be routinely evaluated for potentially disabling conditions? What if it is too expensive?

 Why is it important to involve parents in early childhood assessment?

 What do you consider the most important curriculum goals for early childhood special education?

 Why might a curriculum based totally on developmentally appropriate practice be inappropriate for young children with disabilities?

 What are the advantages and disadvantages of home-based and center-based early childhood special education programs?

63 Activities

Small-Group Activity: Selecting Toys

The Teaching & Learning feature, “Selecting Toys for Young Children With Disabilities,” provides guidelines for determining the most appropriate types of toys. Bring in a few toy catalogs and have students form small groups to identify specific toys and/or activities appropriate for preschoolers. Then require each group to generate a list of how each specific toy promotes growth in the following developmental or skill areas: auditory, language, visual, tactile, gross motor, fine motor, social skills, self-esteem, creativity, and thinking. In addition, have the students identify how the toys could be adapted or modified to accommodate the needs of students with severe disabilities.

Group Homework Assignment

Almost all early childhood educators share a common philosophy that learning environments and teaching practices should be based on what is typically expected of and experienced by children at their developmental stages. This is called developmentally appropriate practice (DAP). Most early childhood special educators view the guidelines for DAP as providing a foundation or context within which to provide early intervention services for children with special needs. However, a curriculum based entirely on DAP may not be sufficient for children with disabilities. Examine the list of guidelines for developmentally appropriate practice, and write an explanation of the extent to which DAP guidelines can be modified or are appropriate for students with special needs.

Individual Homework Assignments

Go to the Homework & Exercises section in Chapter 14 of MyEducationLab and complete Homework Exercise 1. As students read the article and answer the accompanying questions, they should consider how the “toy” helps preschoolers become more independent and prepares them for future academic challenges.

Go to the Homework & Exercises section in Chapter 14 of MyEducationLab and complete Homework Exercise 2 to learn more about strategies for helping preschoolers with disabilities develop independence.

Go to the Building Teaching Skills section in Chapter 14 of MyEducationLab and complete the activities. Students should think about the benefits of using puppets with scripted stories to increase language skills.

64 Go to the Homework & Exercises section in Chapter 14 of MyEducationLab and complete Homework Exercise 3 to learn more about promoting language skills and social interaction among preschoolers with and without disabilities.

Allen, K. E. & Cowdery, G. E. (2008). The exceptional child: Inclusion in early childhood education. CENGAGE Delmar Learning.

Bowe, F. G. (2007). Early childhood special education: Birth to eight. CENGAGE Delmar Learning.

Gonzalez-Mena, J. (2004). Diversity in early care and education programs: Honoring differences. McGraw-Hill.

Groark, C. J., Mehaffie, K. E., McCall, R. B. & Greenberg, M. T. (2006). Evidence-based practices and programs for early childhood care and education. Corwin Press.

Gullo, D. F. (2004). Understanding assessment and evaluation in early childhood education. Teachers College Press.

Isenberg, J. P. & Jalongo, M. R. (2003). Major trends and issues in early childhood education: Challenges, controversies, and insights. Teachers College Press.

Winter, S. M. (2006). Inclusive early childhood education: A collaborative approach. Prentice Hall.

Zaslow, M. J. & Martinez-Beck, I. (2005). Critical issues in early childhood professional development. Brookes Publishing Company.

Websites

 Division for Early Childhood http://www.cec.sped.org/  Early childhood special education: Recommended practices http://www.tr.wou.edu/train/cdcecse.htm  The Preschool Zone—Resources for Early Childhood Special Education http://www.mcps.k12.md.us/curriculum/pep/pz.html  Teaching Research Institute: Early Childhood and Training Department http://www.tr.wou.edu/train/  US Department of Education: Early childhood education http://www.ed.gov/parents/earlychild/ready/resources.html

65 CHAPTER 15 TRANSITION TO ADULTHOOD

Focus Questions

 Why should postschool outcomes drive education programming for secondary students with disabilities?

When developing an individual transition plan for secondary students with disabilities, the question guiding the selection of each objective should be “Will the student need this skill when he’s 21?” The goal of transition planning is to enable the student to function as independently as possible when he becomes an adult. The multidisciplinary team should select only the goals and objectives that will contribute to the postschool success of the student with disabilities.

 What are the most important factors in determining the success of an individualized transition plan?

Nowhere in special education is teaming and collaboration more important than they are when planning and delivering services for secondary students. The factors most likely to determine the success of an individualized transition plan include the student’s involvement, family involvement, and collaboration by the professionals involved. Cooperation and communication between and among professionals and families are critical to effective transition planning.

 How can teachers help elementary students with disabilities prepare for successful employment as adults?

According to IDEA, a statement of transition service needs must be included in the student’s IEP beginning at age 14, and an individual transition plan must be developed by age 16. However, preparing students with disabilities to function successfully in the real world should begin as early as possible. Teachers can begin preparing elementary children with disabilities for adulthood by targeting skills such as social interaction; functional academics (e.g., telling time, counting money), daily living (e.g., eating habits, self-care), and choice making. Additionally, teachers should expose students to the variety of career opportunities and leisure activities available to them.

 Why are self-determination skills so important for the success of students with disabilities in postsecondary education?

By the time typically developing young adults grow into adulthood, they gain a measure of freedom to make choices about their own life. This can and should be no different for adults with disabilities. Self-management and self-determination are important skills for young adults that enable effective goal setting, planning, studying, and self-advocacy needed to succeed in college.

66  How do the philosophy and principles of supported living differ from those associated with traditional residential placement services?

Supported living is the term used to describe the process of assisting adults with disabilities in living as normal a life as possible. Supported living is not a place or a single set of procedures but rather reflects a belief system that adults with disabilities should, to the highest extent possible, be able to make independent decisions about where they live, how the live, and how they spend their time and money. Conversely, traditional residential placement services often do not reflect a “normal” standard of living that adults without disabilities enjoy. For example, outside of a college fraternity, most adults do not live in a “group home.”

 How can teachers help school-age children with disabilities achieve satisfying recreation and leisure as adults?

In addition to academic skills, many professionals realize the importance of teaching recreation and leisure skills. However, learning appropriate recreational and leisure-time activities can sometimes be difficult for many people with disabilities. Too often leisure skills for people with disabilities consist of watching larger amounts of television or listening to music in isolation. One of the best ways to help students with disabilities is to expose them to many different kinds of recreation and encourage and support the student’s own interests.

 Should quality of life for adults with disabilities be the ultimate outcome measure for special education? Why or why not?

Ultimately, quality of life should be the outcome measure of all educational programs, including those programs for students with disabilities. A person may have been taught many skills, but if those skills do not enable him to enjoy the benefits available in personal, social, work, and leisure settings, the wrong skills have been taught and a disservice has been done to that individual. When selecting and prioritizing specific skills to teach students with disabilities, teachers must consider the extent to which those skills will ultimately help improve the student’s quality of life.

 How would you feel if the county announced a group home for adults with severe disabilities was to be located next door to your home? What would be your concerns? How do you think other people might react to such plans? What are some things the county could do to alleviate concerns?

 Preparing exceptional children for transition to adulthood has just recently become a priority in the field of special education. Why do you think this issue lagged behind other concerns in the field?

67  Like racism and sexism, handicapism deprives persons of educational, social, economic, and vocational opportunities. What impact does this have on society at large and individuals personally?

 What can special educators, employers, and communities do to eliminate handicapism? What responsibility do persons with disabilities have for eliminating stereotypic views of their behavior and increasing their level of equality in society?

 What advantages/disadvantages do you see in a program in which college students spend social time with an adult with disabilities? What can be learned by each individual? Do you believe that these college students are likely to continue their friendships once the program has ended? Why or why not? If not, is that important?

 What can be done to motivate businesses to train and hire people with disabilities? Why is it important/what are the benefits for businesses to do this, both from an economic perspective and a social one?

 Even though the quality of life is better than ever for adults with disabilities, what can be done in the future to make sure the trend continues?

Activities

In-Class Activity:

Entire-Group Discussion:

Write the following on the whiteboard/chalkboard:

“How do you define ’quality of life’? Explain how quality of life can be measured within the context of your definition, and make recommendations for what must be done to improve the quality of life for adults with disabilities.”

Individual Homework Exercise:

Have students review the personal philosophy of education they wrote after reading Heward’s prologue. Then have them write a revised “final” philosophy of instruction. In addition, have them write a one-page addendum describing how their attitude, dispositions, and outlook have changed in regard to teaching exceptional students. If their attitude has not changed, have them describe what they believe to be the most important aspect of teaching exceptional children. The MyEducationLab website for this text has Homework & Exercises for Chapter 15 in addition to the Study Plan Materials. These exercises are also referenced in the text via margin notes.

68 Group Homework Exercise:

In groups of two or three, have students identify a sheltered workshop, assisted living, or group home for adults with disabilities in the community. Have them go visit the organization and report back to the class.

Websites

 Transition Planning Resource Guide for Providers (PDF manual) http://www.communityinclusion.org/transition/providerguide.html  The Disability Rights Advocate http://www.disrights.org  Guide for Parents: Transition From Special Education to Adulthood http://www.oradvocacy.org/transerv.htm  Information on transition services, including vocational education http://www.pai-ca.org/Pubs/505001.htm  Transition for students with learning disabilities http://www.ldonline.org/ld_indepth/transition/transition.html