GRADUATE SCHOOL

Master of Arts in Special Education (MAS)

SPECIAL EDUCATION

JOURNAL REVIEW

Name: VICENTE, VINCE IRVIN R.

Subject Code: MAS-201

Subject Title: Introduction to Special Education

Date Submitted: September 7,2019

Title: Special Education

*Definition

*Special Education as Intervention

*The exceptional People

*Philosophy, goals and objectives

*Important Terminologies

Reference: Managing Children with Special Needs (Learning Disabilities,

ADHD, Autism)

Part I: SUMMARY

Special Education, also known as Special Ed or SPED, is a set of

educational programs or service especially design to meet the unique needs
of learners with disabilities that cannot be sufficiently met using traditional
educational programs or techniques. Special Education services and
programs may be provided individually (one on one setup) or in a group with
other learners with similar educational needs.
 Special education is in one sense of profession, with its own tools,
techniques and research efforts all focused on improving instructional
arrangements and procedures for evaluating and meeting the learners
needs of, children, youth and adults with special needs. At a more practical
level, it is individually planned and systematically monitored arrangement of
physical settings, special equipment and materials, teaching procedures and
other interventions designed to help exceptional children achieve the
greatest possible personal self-sufficiency and academic success (Howard
and Orlansky, 1998)

Article I, Section 5 of Child and Youth Welfare Code (PD No. 603) states that
the ultimate goal of special education shall be integration or mainstreaming
of learners with special needs into the regular school system and eventually in
the community.

To meet the individual educational needs of the learners and, to the

extent possible, prepare them from going to a more regular school classroom
setting. To achieve this, special educational programs must focus on helping
the learners develop academic skills, self-help skills, social proficiency, a
positive attitude and self-confidence (Raven’s Guide to Special Education)

University of the Philippines (UP) Categories of Exceptional People:

1. The gifted and the talented – With superior cognitive abilities, specific
cognitive aptitudes, creative and productive thinking, leadership,
psychomotor abilities, multiple, emotional and other intelligence
2. Those with developmental disabilities – Mental retardation, cerebral
palsy, Autism, ADHD/ADD and similar others
3. Those with sensory, physical and health disabilities – Visual impairment,
hearing impairment, both VI-HI, orthopedic handicap, chronic ill
health, severe and multiple disabilities and similar others.
4. Those with behavioral disorders – Social delinquency, substance abuse,
emotional disturbance and similar others.
The labeling and classification of children with special needs are controversial
issues because it may have administrative and political benefits but seem to
have negative effect on individual child who is labeled. In UP they are very
careful labeling the child with disability. For example, “autistic child” is not
used but instead. “child with autism.” In the field of Special Education, labels
continue to be used although they are more and more humane and less
stigmatizing than before.

Children with special needs are the exceptional children (Kirk, Gallagher and
Anastasiow, 2000) who differ from the average child to such an extent that
they require either a modification of school practices or special educational
services to develop their unique capabilities.

Some Common Disorders/Disabilities or Important Terminologies

1. Global Developmental Delay – implies that the child has delays in all
areas of development.
2. Mental Retardation – Characterized by severe delayed development
in the acquisition of cognitive, language, motor, or social skills
3. Down Syndrome – is a form of mental retardation resulting from genetic
abnormality – an extra twenty-first chromosome. Children with this
condition have forty-seven, instead of the normal forty-six
chromosomes.
4. Autism – is a serious lifelong development disorder characterized by
severe impairment of the development of verbal and nonverbal
communication skills, marked impairment in reciprocal social
interaction, and almost nonexistent imaginative activity.
5. Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) – with persistent pattern
problems in the areas on inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity that
is more frequent and severe than is typically observed in individuals at
a comparable level of development and also significantly
inappropriate for their age level.
Part II: REFLECTION

As a Special Educator I learned these things:

 Get to know all about children with exceptionalities

 Obtain knowledge about specific handicapping conditions and
special learner capabilities
 Specify the lesson’s instructional goals
 Carefully plan my instructional program for my class
 Assist in the design of supportive services programs
 Communicate instructional goals and learner’s progress to the parents
 Use similar behavior management techniques as others in the team so
that everyone responds in the same manner to learner’s behavior
 Compile folders of learner’s work for sharing with other members of the
team
 Participate in staff development sessions that facilitate the
coordination services
 Create a classroom environment that shows respect for all learners
 Observe learner interactions to ensure that the learning situation is
running smoothly
 Identify the roles of professional team members and plan for the use of
available resources
 Physically arrange the classroom accordingly
 Provide appropriate learning materials
 Modify teaching techniques, course content, evaluation and grading
procedures to accommodate the learner’s learning needs
 Incorporate IEP goals into typical activities and interactions according
to the team’s instructional plans
Part III: APPLICATION OF TOPICS TO THEIR PROFESSION

My roles and responsibilities as an active professional involved in Special

Education:

 Get to know the learner. Learn about the learner’s strengths,

weaknesses and interests. Talk with the SPED specialists at my
Intervention Center, and read about the learner’s disability so that I will
feel comfortable, prepared and confident
 Focus on learner’s actual skill deficits and behaviors rather than the
learner’s special education label
 Create lessons and activities that help increase the learner’s self-
esteem
 Always plan my day, set structure and routine to make them feel safe
and secured
 Ensure that the learner understands all of my directions and instructions
 Break down skills into sub-skills by teaching first the prerequisite then by
breaking down new lesson into sub-skills
 Develop specific, achievable objectives for both learning and social
behavior
 Promote social interaction by including the special learner to any
activity, modifying activity to make them participate
 Give assignments or home program and evaluate performance based
on the learner’s current level of functioning, rather than the level of
other learners in my class
 Deal with behavioral problems by setting firm, fair rules and by
enforcing them consistently and patiently
 Ask for advice from SPED specialists and if needed, support and help
from parents