Working With Special Groups of

Children and Child Care Issues

COURSE: 7112

Early Childhood Education II

ESSENTIAL
STANDARD:

5.00

C3

13%

Apply procedures and strategies for working with special

groups of children.

OBJECTIVE:

5.02

B2

7%

Understand strategies for working with children with special

needs.

UNIT C

Essential Question: What are some effective ways to respond to children with special needs?
UNPACKED CONTENT
Special needs are individual factors that cause a childs development---physically, cognitively, or behaviorally---to vary
from the norm. Classroom strategies for working with children with special needs are accommodations. Early
childhood professionals need to know how to identify and accommodate children with special needs.
Hearing impairments
Impact on language development and other areas of learning

Degree of hearing loss

Accommodations for children who have hearing impairments

Vision impairments
Impact on physical abilities

Need for a consistent room layout

Includes lazy eye, glaucoma, nearsightedness, farsightedness, color blindness, and blindness
Accommodations for children who have vision impairments
Physical and motor impairments
Impact of limited range of motion on experiences

Includes spina bifida and amputations with prostheses

Accommodations for children who have physical and motor impairments
Cognitive impairments
Impact on attention spans and development of intellectual abilities

Impact on motor skills and eye-hand coordination

Impact on social skills and emotional control
Basic categories of cognitive impairments--- mental retardation and learning disabilities
Types of learning disabilities---speech and written language disorders, dyslexia, dyscalcula, reasoning and
memory disorder, and attention deficit disorder (ADD)

Accommodations for children who have cognitive impairments

Giftedness
Extraordinary talent in one or more areas---intellect, artistic expression, physical abilities, etc.

Need for programs that challenge

Accommodations for gifted children

Behavioral and emotional disorders

Impact on learning

Two types--- attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism

Accommodations for children who have behavioral and emotional disorders
Special health conditions
Impact on participation in activities; medication requirements

Includes allergies, asthma, diabetes, epilepsy, and hemophilia

 Accommodations for children with special health conditions