Running head: SPECIAL NEEDS 1

Special Needs

Name

Institutional Affiliation
SPECIAL NEEDS 2
Special Needs

Student’s Learning Profile

The case in this paper is on a fictional student whose background and educational

challenges match with the literature on special needs children in school settings. The person in

question is a twelve-year-old (12) Saudi Arabian boy named Ali. Ali is third in birth order and is

a secondary school student in a public school within Saudi Arabia. Public schools in the

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) are characterized by encompassing children from all walks of

life as there is free education for all (Almethen, 2017). Ali, like other KSA citizens, is entitled to

this equal education.

The boy was diagnosed with dyspraxia at the age of five. This diagnosis was taken on

due to the strange and abnormal behavior the child was revealing as compared to his siblings. He

was very playful but overly disorganized and naughty since childhood. He would jump around

without minding the consequences of his actions. Ali was enrolled in school like normal children

and had been going to school with his siblings from a young age. Now he is in secondary school

and has been struggling to work and achieve like other kids.

Dyspraxia also called Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) is a neurological

condition that affects a person’s motor and fine coordination (Missiuna et al., 2014). The state is

common in both children and adults that can create difficulties in speech, writing and movement

(Meachon, 2017). for Ali, it has always been hard to move at the same pace with classmates

which hinders his learning. He has difficulty in planning himself in terms of homework,

timetabling, and organizing for discussions. Besides, his muscles are not so coordinated that he

cannot play well which has failed him in joining any form of sporting activities at school. his

inability to communicate effectively and limited concentration levels limit his ability to grasp

what is being taught in the classroom effectively. He says that he has always had problems with
SPECIAL NEEDS 3
his memory such that sometimes it is difficult to remember what the teacher said during the

lesson.

Learning Goals and Family Expectations

Given the above characteristics, Ali needs special attention at school and in his classroom

since all the other students are normal and he must compete with them. Together with the

teacher, Ali’s learning goals that are projected to his learning achievement have been set. One of

the goals is that Ali will employ acceptable problem-solving techniques to organize routines.

Second, he will follow classroom strategies to contribute and participate in group discussions.

Finally, Ali will complete tasks and homework on time and hand it in when asked. These three

learning goals are negotiated with the student because he needs to concentrate in class and

achieve like the rest of the healthy children in the class. Since the purpose of each classroom is to

see the students perform better in academics, Ali is also set to achieve this goal.

The family of the boy also have their expectation for his learning and education. Top on

the list is that they desire that the child receives appropriate education and support that will help

him succeed academically. They expect programs that will help Ali to obtain good grades and

behave like normal students at the school. The parents of the boy look at his condition as limiting

but want him to become socially fitting in the school as well as the society. In this case, they

require that the school takes note of everything Ali does to enable him to behave in a socially

adequate manner. Practically, no parent wishes failure for their child regardless of whether or not

the child has a limiting condition. Thus, Ali’s parent’s expectations reveal the love they have for

their child and are willing to provide the support required for the student to achieve.

Strengths

Although Ali has the DCD condition, he is highly adaptable to situations. For instance, in

the classroom of more than 40 students, he would not achieve much because of the limitations in
SPECIAL NEEDS 4
concentration. But he manages to cope with the condition and see that he learns despite the

challenges. Jones (2005) mentions that dyspraxic people do not have many difficulties in

cognition terms. This implies that attending a public school is not very challenging to Ali; that is

why he is able to cope with the demanding school environment like the other students. He can

participate in class although sometimes is not ready to deliver the right information due to some

conditional challenges like mood, anxiety and attitude.

Moreover, Ali is overly creative such that he is able to come up with alternatives in case

of limitations and also finds aids to help him when things in the public school seem not to be

working out. Sometimes, the resources are not adequate or suitable for his condition; when this

happens, Ali is always finding alternate means to get what he wants from the learning session.

This creativity helps him to survive in a school with limitations. Also, the dyspraxic boy is very

empathetic in that he takes his fellow’s problems personal and is willing to help at all times. This

enables him to relate with other classmates and fits in the school environment. In this case, these

strengths make him survive the competition and pressure at school and in the classroom.

Learning Challenges, Needs and Its Impact at School and Home

Ali has dyspraxia that comes with various learning limitations. From literature, people

with dyspraxia have poor motor coordination which brings about emotional and social problems

(Farrell, 2017). Ali also faces these challenges especially when he realized his physical

incompetence; he decided never to take part in several physical activities. In terms of behavior,

Ali is unable to concentrate on a single thing for a long time. This has severe implications for his

performance. Secondary school education is quite hectic and requires a lot of concentration. This

implies that the student stretches himself to catch up with the heavy classroom schedules in the

secondary school section.

SPECIAL NEEDS 5
Practically, motor coordination problems increase as a person affected with DCD

continuously withdraw from those activities in which they fail to take part (Caçola & Romero,

2015). Ideally, support to assist these students in controlling their learning needs to be given

priority. Particularly, Ali has withdrawal from sporting participation yet he was a lover of sports.

In such an instance, the student needs to undergo changes so that he can adapt to participating in

some sports activities appropriately. According to Caçola and Romero (2015) active participation

in loved activities helps children with dyspraxia to become emotionally and socially satisfied

which gives them better control ability on their learning.

General Classroom Design, Routines, Processes and Priorities

The classroom in which Ali attends has more than 30 students, and he is the only one

with a rare condition. Some teachers who know him personally understand him and provide extra

time to help him with class learning. However, since it is a public school, the care is not as much

as would be in a private or unique needs center. The timetable requires that all students be in

class, ready with their assignments and home works by 8:00 am. However, most of the time Ali

reaches a bit late and is not remembering if he brought the work he did at home. This is one of

the mentioned fine motor signs of dyspraxic people such that organizing their stuff is

challenging. The challenge here is that the teacher that is on the timetable by that time find it

hard not to condemn the late coming or disorganization of the student which brings discomfort to

Ali.

Students in the class sometimes are reticent and trying to concentrate. Ali talks too much

at times, and this disrupts the peaceful learning environment for some students. At times, some

of his peers show him the discomfort with his talking too much, but it seems hard to control

because it comes after Ali forgets that he needs to be silent. Baxter (2011) mentions that there are

failures in the coordination of the mind and physical activity that a dyspraxic student is doing.
SPECIAL NEEDS 6
This way, it means that the child might do something uncalled for at the wrong time due to this

condition. It is quite challenging for Ali to keep the maximum silence as required in the class.

Notably, he needs understanding from his classmates because his state has no cure.

Student’s Cultural and Linguistic Context

Ali is from a Muslim home that treasures respect of others and collaboration with peers.

Saudi Arabian public secondary schools are mostly infested with Muslim students (Al rubiyea,

2010). The fact that Ali is part of the larger population, the school culture is not something

challenging to his condition. Besides, the Arabic language is his first language, so he does not

have issues with learning school language as a second language. It would be challenging in his

DCD condition to join a school that requires him first to learn a second language and then get

classroom concepts. Many dyspraxic students in the western world are challenged with their

learning in conditions where English is not their original language. In Ali’s case, the language

and culture in the classroom and the school at large gives him a chance to have a conducive

learning environment as they match what he knows from home.

Student’s Wellbeing and Social Profile

Ali has had dyspraxia since childhood and has learned to cope with it. He takes time to do

things both in and outside the classroom but is smart. He competes favorably with the normal

students although sometimes needs more time to deliver on tasks. Apart from the renowned

symptoms, Ali has no additional issues because he has close friends at school and moves along

well with the teachers. His compassionate and empathetic character finds him closer to many,

and this helps him develop high self-esteem. The building of an excellent public image helps Ali

to thrive socially within the class and this, in turn, contributes to better learning. Profoundly, he

has learned to live with his condition and believes he will succeed in life. The vision of

becoming important and educated helps him to do more so that his performance is convincing to
SPECIAL NEEDS 7
teachers and his parents. All in all, Ali is okay with a public school that has other students

without disorders like his. He is actually impressed by the achievements he obtains in school and

the reception that classmates give to him make it even easier to learn.

My Duty of Care Towards This Student

Formulating and sustaining an inclusive class environment is every teacher’s role

according to Missiuna et al. (2016). As the classroom teacher, I ensure to give attention to

special needs students because I understand that they cannot achieve much in a typical class

environment. Missiuna et al. (2016) suggest a general pedagogical approach to teaching students

with motor difficulties. They propose a framework that includes incorporating curriculum-based

activities in training to promote motor skills for all students. In other words, as a teacher, I must

ensure that the Saudi Arabian 2000 amendment of equal education for all is fulfilled. I consider

the students with disabilities as part of my responsibility despite the discomfort involved. In the

nine years, I have taught, I encounter students with different conditions and ensure to provide the

care as required by the non-discriminative law.

Role of Family/Careers/Agents in The Student’s Educational Program

Teacher-parent relationships create hindrances or support the implementation of inclusive

learning for students with DCD. The quality of communication among teachers and parents must

be reliable and should include cooperation. When these two groups are connected, they will

enable decisions that help improve the learning of the student in the best way possible. For

instance, Ali’s parents must review his works and behavior while he is at home and coordinate

with the teachers to see how to help him improve. If this relationship is existing, then the

educational goals of the DCD student could be attained.

Moreover, parents, teachers and external agents might help the student the challenging

learning aspects. They do this by identifying the causes of performance problems and offering
SPECIAL NEEDS 8
suitable support that will make it easy for the dyspraxic student to achieve in class. Government

regulations can also help in setting rules and laws that support inclusive education for special

needs students. Besides, external aides like not for profit organizations may assist in raising and

fighting for the rights of such students through advocacy (Al rubiyea, 2010). This implies that

parents, teachers and other agents need to be equally concerned and involved in implementing

inclusive programs and procedures for the learning of a child with special needs to yield fruitful

results.
SPECIAL NEEDS 9
References

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Needs and Rights (Doctoral dissertation, University of Leicester, Leicester).

Almethen, M. A. (2017). Saudi Special Education Teachers’ Knowledge, Skills, And

Professional Development Needs of Assistive Technology In The Classroom". California

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Baxter, P. (2011). Developmental coordination disorder and motor dyspraxia. Developmental

Medicine & Child Neurology, 54(1), 3-3. doi:10.1111/j.1469-8749.2011.04196.x

Caçola, P., & Romero, M. (2015). Strategies to Accommodate Children with Developmental

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Farrell, M. (2017). Educating Special Students: An introduction to provision for learners with

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