Disability

Handbook
Molly Nelson, Molly Brownlow, Brenna Herting,
Matthew Steiner, Katlyn Rilla, Kara Dollinger
Major Laws
PL 94-142 The Education for
All Handicapped Children Act
● FAPE, LRE, IEP, Due Process,
Non-discriminatory assessment, ● 4 main purposes
Parental Participation ○ improve how children with
disabilities were identified and
● Passed on Nov. 29, 1975 by
educated
President Ford ○ to assure that the rights of children
● Guaranteed a free appropriate public with disabilities and their parents are
education to each child with a protected
disability ○ to assist States and communities in
○ Only ages 3-21 providing adequate education for all
children with disabilities
● supported over 1 million children
○ to assess and assure the
who had been excluded entirely from effectiveness of efforts to educate all
the education system children with disabilities
● supported children who had only
limited access to the education
system and were denied an
appropriate education
 PL 99-457 Education of the Handicapped Act
Amendments Programs:

● Preschool Grant Program

● President Reagan signed into law on October 8,
1986
● These amendments reauthorize the Education
of the Handicapped Act
● Extended special education right to 3-5 year
olds
● Added a new federal discretionary program for
states to provide services to 0-3 years olds who
qualify with:
○ Condition resulting in developmental delays
○ Developmental delays
○ At-risk for developmental delays
● Handicapped Infant and Toddlers
Program
● Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP)
○ The driving force behind the delivery of
early intervention services to infants and
toddlers were are at risk or have a
disability
○ Intentionally designed to preserve the
family’s role as a primary caregiver

Services may include: family training, counseling, home visits, speech pathology, physical therapy, health
services, vision services, etc.
 PL 101-476 Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act
● Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
(IDEA)
● President Gerald Ford signed the law in 1975.
● Law 101-476 adds traumatic brain injury
(TBI) and autism to the category of disabilities
● Requirements include, a student’s transition
plan be created no later than the age 16 or
older.
● Added language that states were not immune
from lawsuits under the 11th Amendment of
the IDEA.
● Changed to “people first” language.
● Some Changes made:
○ Students with disabilities may be
disciplined in ways that are similar to
students who do not have
disabilities.
○ IEPs are a requirement to show how
students with improve with general
curriculum.
○ Educators become part of the IEP
team.
○ Different tools or strategies are
required to be used in an effort to
gather functional and developmental
information.
 PL 105-17 Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act Key Components
● Passed in 1997 by President Clinton
● Biggest changes:
○ Students who violate student code of
conduct may be removed from their
current educational placement only after
due process hearing
○ Students expelled or suspended from
school are still entitled to receive
services in accordance with their IEP
● Establish performance goals and
indicators for students with disabilities
● Orientation and mobility are included
as a related service
● Discretionary use of “developmentally
delayed” label for students ages 3-9
● General educators required to
participate on IEP team
● Mediation offered as a service to
settle disputes
● Include students with disabilities in state
and district-wide testing programs, with
appropriate accommodations
 No Child Left Behind
● Passed in 2001 by President George W.
Bush
● Most recent update to the Elementary
and Secondary Education Act
● NCLB provisions apply to all students,
including those whose disabilities
require special education
● The Act required states to develop
assessments in basic skills. To receive
federal school funding, states had to
give these assessments to all students
at select grade levels.
● Schools need to report results of all
students but also subgroups of
students
● The goal is to bring all students to the
proficient level on state test
● If a school doesn’t make its adequate
yearly progress (AYP) two years in a
row students have right to transfer to
a new school in district and if schools
fails to make AYP three years in a row
they have to provide free tutoring to
all.
 Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act 2004
● Signed into law by George W. Bush
on December 3, 2004.
○ Became effective July 1, 2005
● Clarifies transition services should
start by 16
● School staff get more discretion to
determines discipline individually
● Timely access to appropriate and
accessible instructional materials
● Supplementary aids required in
extracurricular settings
● Districts can use a model other than
IQ to determine learning disabilities
● Early intervening services
● Give IEPs long term goals and require
less paperwork
● All members of IEP team don’t always
need to attend
● Special ed. teachers must be highly
qualified
○ Must obtain full state
certification or pass the state’s
licensing exam and hold a state
license
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of
1973
● One of the first U.S. federal civil rights
laws offering protection for people
with disabilities
● set precedents for subsequent
legislation for people with disabilities,
including the Virginians with
Disabilities Act in 1985 and the
Americans with Disabilities Act in
1990
● If an organization receives federal
support of any kind, even if the
organization is not a federal or state
organization, the organization must
comply with Section 504
Disability Categories
Autism Spectrum Disorder
● Definition
● Characteristics/warning signs
○ A developmental disorder
characterized by abnormal or
impaired development in social
interaction and communication and a
markedly restricted repertoire of
activity and interests
○ APA definition
https://www.apa.org/pi/disability/res
ources/publications/newsletter/2016
/09/autism-spectrum-disorder
● Each child with autism is likely to have a
unique pattern of behavior and level of
severity
○ low functioning to high functioning.
● There is no cure for autism but early
treatment can make a big difference in their
life
○ Social
■ Failure to develop peer relationships, has
no interest in certain objects, doesn’t
express pleasure and lacks coordinated
gaze
○ Academic/cognitive
■ Lacks recognition of parent’s voice,
delayed onset of babbling, absent use of
pre speech gestures
○ Behavioral
■ Plays with toys in an unintended fashion,
insensitive to pain, repeated body
movements, and be rigid about routines or
object placements
○ Other concerns
■ Problems with concentration, attention,
and anxiety level
Autism cont.
● Prevalence
○ Fastest growing developmental
disability category
○ As of 2014, 1 in 68 children at age
8 is identified with ASD
○ The risk of ASD is 5 times more
likely in males
○ 62,600 preschoolers are identified
with autism as a primary disability
● Strategies to help children or adults with autism
○ the best thing you can do is to start
treatment right away
○ Avoid abstract ideas
○ Avoid speech students might misinterpret
■ Idioms, jokes, sarcasm, nicknames
○ Break down tasks
○ Assist with organizational skills
○ Prepare them for change
■ Assemblies or substitutes
○ Make adjustments for auditory and visual
distractions
○ Facilitate group work
○ Employment options
■ Teach soft skills
Autism cont.
● Services
○ Early intervention services are
important, like nutrition services,
occupational therapy,parent
counseling, recreational therapy,
nursing services and speech and
language therapy
○ Schools provide them

● Intervention Programs
○ Developmental, Individual-Difference,
Relationship-Based Model
○ Discrete Trial Training
○ Lovaas Model of Applied Behavior Analysis
○ Picture Exchange Communication System
○ Social Stories
○ TEACCH Model
 Deaf and Blindness
Definition
The word “deaf-blindness” may seem as if a person cannot hear or see at all. The term actually
describes a person who has some degree of loss in both vision and hearing. Our nation’s special
education law, the IDEA, defines “deaf-blindness” as:
“…concomitant [simultaneous] hearing and visual impairments, the combination of which causes
such severe communication and other developmental and educational needs that they cannot be
accommodated in special education programs solely for children with deafness or children with
blindness”

Characteristics/warning signs
● The student has difficulty with communication
● The student may have distorted perceptions.
● It is difficult to see the whole picture or relate one element to the whole.
● The student may have difficulty anticipating what is going to happen.
● Clues from the environment or from the faces/actions of others may be difficult to
read. Deaf-blind American author, activist,
● The student-may be somewhat unmotivated. Things may not be seen or heard and lecturer Helen Keller in 1904
enough to be desirable. The student needs to learn mainly through first hand
experiences. The lack of vision and hearing make it hard to learn through
incidental or group learning experiences.
 Deaf and Blindness cont.
Prevalence

● According to the U.S. Department of Education, Deaf-Blindness represents less than 1.0 percent of all students
having a classification in special education.
● As far as it has been possible to count them, there are over 10,000 children (ages birth to 22
years) in the United States who have been classified as deaf-blind.
● It has been estimated that the adult deaf-blind population numbers 35-40,000.

Useful Strategies / Interventions

● Deaf-Blindness is a disability of access to information and requires specialized teaching strategies with a heavy
emphasis on communication instruction.
● Team members working with students with dual sensory impairments need to carefully consider each student’s
unique needs and learning style as well as the demands of the task.
 Deaf and Blindness cont.
The following strategies are provided to promote access to math content, based on Virginia’s SOLs, for students who have
dual sensory impairments.

● Students with Deaf-Blindness will require on-going adaptations and accommodations in mathematics to compensate
for the reduced and/or distorted information available through vision and hearing.
● Decisions regarding instructional strategies must be made based on accurate and comprehensive assessment of the
child’s vision and hearing and involve all team members.

Instructional and Environmental Strategie

● Involve the student in the brainstorming process; ask him/her to make suggestions about environmental and
instructional strategies that are helpful.

● Provide directions and instructions using the student’s preferred and strongest mode of communication. Many
students will benefit from total communication approach including spoken language, tactile information, and sign language.

● Provide information to the student to indicate that a new task is beginning, the expectations for the lesson, and
prepare the student for transitions to new activities. Consistency across routines will facilitate learning.

● Allow opportunities for repetition and practice of previously introduced material.

Deaf and Blindness cont.
● Continuum of services. (Where are children with this disability typically served?)
● National Deaf-Blind Child Count data shows that although children who are deaf-blind
are educated in a variety of settings, most are educated separately from students who
do not have disabilities.
● Infants and Toddlers
● Seventy percent of children with deaf-blindness from birth through age 2 receive early
intervention services at home. The rest are typically served in specialized settings such
as hospitals, clinics, early intervention centers, and residential facilities.
● Pre-school
● Seventy-two percent of children aged 3 through 5 are in special education classrooms,
separate schools, or residential facilities. Only 20% are in classrooms with young
children who do not have disabilities, and 5% are educated at home.
● School-age
● Most children and youth aged 6 through 21 are also educated apart from students who
do not have disabilities:
● 39% in separate classrooms
● 16% in separate public schools
● 10% in public or private residential facilities
● 8% in separate private schools
Developmental Delays (Early Childhood
Special Education)

● Definition
● Generally, a developmental delay
(DD) is defined as slow to meet or not
reaching milestones in one or more of
the areas of development
(communication, motor, cognition,
social-emotional, or, adaptive skills) in
the expected way for a child’s age.
The child’s slow development may
not be associated with a condition or
a specific diagnosis. Under IDEA a
child with a developmental delay may
be eligible to receive early
● Prevalence

● Only 2%–3% of all children receive

public early intervention services by
age 3 years, compared with
approximately 15% who are estimated
to have a developmental disability
during childhood (9,10).

The process of early identification requires

health-care providers to be aware of
developmental milestones and implement
informal and formal developmental probes as
part of routine well-child checks. The use of
validated developmental and behavioral
● disability characteristics/warning signs
● Warning signs of speech or
language delays. Contact
your child's doctor if your
child has any of the
following signs at the age
that's indicated. In addition,
watch for any loss of skills
that have already been
learned.
● Prevalence
● During 2014–2016, the prevalence of
children aged 3–17 years who had
ever been diagnosed with a
developmental disability increased
from 5.76% to 6.99%.
● During this same time, the prevalence
of diagnosed autism spectrum
disorder and intellectual disability did
not change significantly.
● The prevalence of autism spectrum
disorder, intellectual disability, other
developmental delay, and any
 ● useful strategies/interventions that focus on
providing access for children and adults with
disabilities in the school and community:

Physical Development

● Plan physical activities for times when the student

has the most energy.
● Provide simple, fun obstacle courses that the
student is capable of completing.
● Provide daily opportunities and activities for children
to use handheld tools and objects.
● Use songs with finger plays to develop fine motor
skills.
● Use materials such as a non-slip mat under drawing
paper, thick crayons, and thick handled paint
brushes that are easy to grasp.
● Incorporate singing and dancing into many activities.
Cognitive Development (intellectual abilities)

● Use the student’s preferences and interests to build

lessons (get input from parents).
● Allow student time to complete tasks and practice
skills at own pace.
● Acknowledge level of achievement by being
specific.
● Be specific when giving praise and feedback.
● Break down tasks into smaller steps.
● Demonstrate steps, and then have student repeat
the steps, one at a time.
● Be as concrete as possible.
● Demonstrate what you mean rather than giving
directions verbally.
● Show a picture when presenting new information
verbally.
● Provide hands-on materials and experiences.
● Share information about how things work.
Communication Development (speech and language)

● Use large clear pictures to reinforce what you are

saying.
● Speak slowly and deliberately.
● Paraphrase back what the student has said.
● Clarify types of communication methods the student
may use.
● Identify and establish functional communication
systems for students who are non-verbal.
● Reinforce communication attempts (e.g. their
gestures, partial verbalizations) when the student is
non-verbal or emerging verbal.
● Label areas in the room with words and pictures.
● Use sequencing cards to teach order of events.
● Provide puppets/pictures as props when using finger
plays and songs.
● Develop a procedure for the student to ask for help.
● Speak directly to the student.
Social and Emotional Development

● Use strategies to assist student in separating from

parent.
● Set a routine in saying goodbye (such as finding a
book to read).
● Value and acknowledge student’s efforts.
● Provide opportunities for students to play in
proximity to one another.
● Provide opportunities for students to interact directly
with each other.
● Work to expand the child’s repertoire of socially
mediated reinforcers (e.g. tickling, peek-a-boo,
chase, etc.).
● Explore feelings through use of play.
● Teach students to express their feelings in
age-appropriate ways.
● Provide play activities that don’t require sharing
such as art projects, making music (students have
Adaptive Behavior (everyday skills for functioning)

● Explicitly teach life skills related to daily living and

self-care.
● Break down each skill into steps.
● Use visual schedules with pictures / icons to
demonstrate each step.
● Plan experiences that are relevant to the child’s
world.
● Find ways to apply skills to other settings (field
trips).
● Minimize distractions and the possibility for
over-stimulation.
● Teach and model personal hygiene habits such as
washing hands, covering mouth and nosewhen
sneezing or coughing, and dental care.
● Find ways to practice personal care and self-help
skills (using centers in the classroom).
● Provide opportunities for students to practice asking
● Continuum of services. (Where are children
with this disability typically served?)
● How to get in touch with your
community’s early intervention
program | There are several ways to
connect with the EI program in your
community. Try any of these suggestions:
● Contact the Pediatrics branch in a local
hospital and ask where you should call to
find out about early intervention services in
your area.
● Ask your pediatrician for a referral to the
local early intervention system.
● Visit the ECTA Center’s early intervention
 Emotional/Behavioral Disorders

● Definition: The inability to build and

maintain personal relationships with
peers, teachers, and any other trusted
adult.
● Characteristics: Aggressive behavior,
short attention span or impulsiveness.
Some warnings signs are aggression
towards self or others, such as acting
out, or fighting. This could also be the
opposite such as not socially
interacting with peers, showing fear or
anxiety.
● Social: Children could either be normally social, or tend
to not socially interact with peers, showing fear or
anxiety.
● Academic/Cognitive: Children may act out or have
short attention span while trying to learn.
● Behavioral & mental health concerns: Children may
act out of aggression towards self or others.
 Emotional/Behavioral Disorders cont.
● More than 35,000 children or students suffer from
● Strategies to help children with
Emotional/ Behavioral Disorder.
● Roughly 77% of students receive special education
services.
Emotional/ Behavioral Disorder:
○ Get the child help he/she needs.
○ Educate parents, and individual
about the disorder.
○ Take away triggers in the child’s
everyday life if possible.
○ Present positive surroundings and
learning places for individual.
 Emotional/Behavioral Disorders cont.
● Strategies cont.
○ Remain calm when talking
with child, avoid conflicts,
arguments, or
disagreements.
○ Most importantly establish
consequences that the child
understands, for
misbehaving.
● Children with Emotional/
Behavioral Disorder have many
options for services.
● Therapy sessions, counseling
sessions in schools, even support
groups to help students talk and
get advice with how to live with
this disorder.
Gifted/Talented ● Characteristics
○ Social
● Definition
■ Self-confident, works independently,
○ Persons who possess abilities and talents that
can be demonstrated, or have the potential for leadership skills, relates well to older
being developed, at exceptionally high levels students/people, sensitive and
○ Each state defines it differently empathetic, dislike of routine, regulations
○ Children may have high performance in:
and rules, concern for justice and idealism
■ General intellectual ability
■ Specific academic aptitude ○ Academic/cognitive
■ Creative or productive thinking ■ Think abstractly, highly inquisitive,
■ Leadership ability persistent learner, early reader, excellent
■ Visual and performing arts
memory, good problem solving skills,
■ Psychomotor ability
asks probing questions
○ Behavioral
■ Initiate activities
■ May play with older, more advanced
At age nine, Jaxon Cota was accepted
peers
into Mensa, a society for geniuses.
His IQ puts him in the top two
percent of the world- Learn more by
watching the video
https://youtu.be/aIYBZIM10DA
Gifted/Talented cont.
● Prevalence
○ Educators believe 3-5% of
school-age population is gifted
○ Professionals believe 10-15% of
school-age population is gifted
○ National Association for Gifted
Children working with Council of
State Directors of Programs for the
Gifted estimate that 3 million children
are gifted and talented
■ This is 6% of the school-age
population in the US
● Instructional Strategies
○ Curriculum compacting
○ Higher-Level Thinking and
Problem Solving projects
○ Flexible Grouping
○ Cluster Grouping
○ Tiered Assignments
○ Problem-Based Learning
○ Pacing Instruction
○ Teaching creative thinking
■ Originality, flexibility,
fluency, and elaboration

Gifted/Talented cont.
● Services
○ Service Delivery Options
■ Gifted Resource Services
● Resource room or
pull-out program
■ Acceleration
● Grade skipping or
advanced subject area
■ Independent Study
■ Honors and AP Courses
■ Mentorships
○ Self-Contained Classes and Special
Schools
■ Summer and Saturday
Programs
■ Competitions
One program my(Brenna) school had was
called Gifted And Talented Education
(GATE). Every Thursday afternoon a bus
would come pick us up and bring us to
Garfield Elementary where each grade had
a curriculum topic as a focus with learning
emphasis in research and technology. For
the second half of the day we would work
with students on more advanced subjects of
our choice. Their philosophy is “Because
they are a unique population of learners,
gifted students benefit from additional
opportunities to enhance their educational
and social growth. We believe that by
providing additional services, beyond the
regular curriculum, we will give gifted
students opportunities to excel and grow
academically.”
https://private-watertown.k12.sd.us/gate/
 Hearing Impairments
● Definition: Hearing impairment/hearing
happens when you lose part or all of your
hearing ability.
● Some symptoms of hearing impairment are
ringing ears, sensitivity to sound, speech delay
in children or isolation from peers.
● Characteristics: Some found in the classroom can
include difficulty following verbal directions, oral
expression and difficulty with social/emotional
skills.
● Social: In the social aspect it may be
hard for children to communicate and
make friends if they are hearing
impaired. Students can learn sign
language to better communicate.
● Academic/ Cognitive: Academically
there are options of a interpreter to be
with the child, or technology to be
able to play videos for a visual.
● Behavioral & Mental Health
Concerns: Being different from other
students may lead the student to
have some anxiety or fear from his
classmates. This could be shown as
getting frustrated or embarrassed.
 Hearing Impairments cont.
● About 13% of children at the age
of 12 have lost hearing in both
ears. About 2% of age 45-54 are
hearing impaired.
Strategies:
● Get educated about hearing
impairment.
● Use accommodations when
communicating, such as sign
language or visuals to help the child
learn.
● Make eye contact with the child and
not their interpreter
● Make use of as much technology as
possible with captions for the student
to read. .
 Hearing Impairments cont.

Strategies cont.

● Considering classroom arrangements to

Services:
accommodate for student.
● Don’t chew gum, it is hard for the student to ● Interpreter that uses sign language.
read your mouth when doing so. ● Early Intervention: helps students with
● Keep light level low when showing videos, so speech and communication skills.
there is not a glare when watching. ● Counseling services
● Human Services
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_EmsguJMic
Mental Retardation
● Definition; Characteristics / Warning Signs
○ Having significant limitation in both
intellectual functioning and adaptive ● Subaverage intellectual functioning
behaviors, which covers many
● Having related limitations at the same time in
everyday social and practical skills.
two or more adaptive skill areas:
● Now referred to as intellectual
● Social: Academic/Cognitive: low IQ has impact
disability since 2010
on the ability to learn, acquire concepts,
● IQ is below 70
process information, and apply knowledge in
various settings like school and the community
● Behavioral:
● Common Mental Health Concerns:
 Mental Retardation cont.
● Prevalence
○ Approximately 415,200 children
age 6-21 identified as
intellectually disabled and
received special education in
2013-2014 school year
○ Represents 7.1% of all students
with disabilities
○ Only represents 1% of the total
school age population
Video: https://youtu.be/K6WmGhY8Q4I
● Strategies/interventions
○ Functional curriculum: instruct students in
the life skills required for daily success in
two common ways:
■ Fundamental, generalized skills useful
for life routines
■ Embedded, academic skills
appropriate to specific life situations
● Continuum of services
○ Students are usually educated in a separate
classroom but also in a resource room and
sometimes in a regular classroom
Other Health Impairments

● Definition -
● Disability characteristics/
having limited strength, vitality, or warning signs
alertness, including heightened ○ Fatigue
alertness to environmental stimuli, ○ Mobility issues
that results in limited alertness, ○ Issues involving attention
with respect to education ○ Coordination difficulties
environment that is due to chronic ○ Muscle weakness
or acute health problems, and ○ Frequently absent or late
adversely affects a child’s ○ Poor stamina
educational performance ○ Inability to concentrate long
 Other Health Impairments cont.

● Prevalence of the disability -

In the 2013-2014 school year,
806,972 school-aged children
received services
● Useful strategies/interventions
○ Allow breaks
○ Give more time on tests
○ Decrease distractions
○ Give instructions in writing
○ Remove unnecessary material
Other Health Impairments cont.
● Continuum of services. ● Continuum of services
○ The severity of other health
impairments vary.
○ They may be fairly mild
asthma or diabetes, which
likely won’t require much
more than an inhaler or
insulin.
○ Then there’s AD/HD, which
likely involves more attention,
to keep the child on task,
among other
accommodations.
○ Then, on the more severe
side are conditions like
leukemia where the student
will likely miss a lot of school
for medical appointments
and the like.
 Physical Disabilities

● Definition - ● Disability characteristics/

A severe physical impairment that warning signs
adversely affects a child’s educational ● Involuntary motor movements
performance. This includes ● Poor balance
impairments from congenital ● Slow movements
anomaly, impairments from disease, ● Weak limbs
and impairments from other causes. ● Joint effusion (swelling)
● Fatigue
● Lack of stamina
Physical Disabilities cont.

● Prevalence of the disability - ● Useful strategies/interventions

In the 2013-2014 school year, ○ Make the room easy to
52,629 school-aged children maneuver
received services ○ Notetakers
○ Adaptive equipment
 Physical Disabilities cont

● Continuum of services
○ Depending on the situation,
services vary wildly. Students
with physical disabilities can
be in any setting, from a
general education classroom,
to staying home, to learning
in a hospital. Full integration
and complete separation
both occur.
 Specific Learning Disabilities
● Definition: a disability in which there is a
discrepancy between a person’s ability
and academic achievement: individual
possesses average intelligence
● Learning Characteristics
○ Reading, mathematics written language
spoken language, memory,
metacognition, attributions,
● Social Emotional Problems
○ Many are deficient in social cognition
and aren’t able to understand/interpret
social cues/situations,
● Behavior
○ Difficulty attending to tasks and some
show excessive movement and activity
● Common Mental Health Concerns:
 Specific Learning Disabilities cont.
● Strategies/Interventions:
○ Assessment for possible placement in a
program
○ Response to intervention (RTI): student is
exposed to increasingly intensive tiers/levels
of instructional intervention with ongoing
progress monitoring
■ Used upon two critical elements: (1)
use of evidence based on scientifically
validated instruction practice and (2)
the frequent and systematic
assessment of the individual’s
performance known as progress
monitoring
■ Shift from “wait to fail” approach to
one that emphasis early identification,
intervention, and possible prevention
● Prevalence
○ Recent statistics gathered show that
approximately 2.30 million students age
6-21 are identified with a learning
disability
● Continuum of Services:
○ Resource rooms have been one of the
most common service models however
there has been a switch away from
resource rooms and towards more
inclusive programs
○ Over two thirds (68.2%) of students
from 2013-2014 school year are in
taught in regular classrooms
■ Resource classroom (24.1%)
■ Separate class (6%)
■ Other environment (1.8%)
 Speech/Language Impairments

● Definition: problems in
communication and related areas
such as oral motor function
● The American
● Characteristics/Warning Signs:
Speech-Language-Hearing
Association (1993) defines a
communication disorder as “an
impairment in the ability to receive,
send, process, ad comprehend
concepts or veral, nonverbal, and
graphic symbols systems.
○ A communication disorder may be
evident in the processes of hearing,
language, and/or speech
○ Limited vocabulary
○ Incorrect grammar or syntax
○ Excessive repetition of information
○ Difficulty formulating questions
○ Difficulty following oral directions
○ Difficulty understanding humor or
figurative language
○ Difficulty comprehending compound
and complex sentences
○ Difficulty responding to questions
appropriately
 Speech/Language Impairments cont.
● Prevalence:
○ Speech and language impairments
are considered a high-incidence
disability
○ According to the U.S. Department of
Education (2015), slightly less than
20 percent of students receiving
special education services are
receiving services for speech and
language impairments
○ During the 2013-2014 school year,
approximately 1,047,000 individuals
ages 6-21 were identified as having
a speech and language impairment
○ Youngsters with speech and
language disorders represent almost
half of all preschoolers receiving a
special education
● Strategies:
○ Prevention of Speech Language Impairments:
■ Biological preparation
■ Successful nurturance
■ Sensorimotor experiences
■ Linguistic experiences
○ Elements that need to be considered in the classroom setting
include seating arrangements, reducing distractions in the
physical environment, and instructional techniques that will
help students with speech and language impairments such as
the following:
■ Using graphic organizers and visual aids
■ Slowly giving directions
■ Allowing sufficient time for the student to respond
■ Using gestures to clarify information
■ Using short sentences
■ Repeating important information
■ Modeling correct speech
■ Being patient
 Speech/Language Impairments cont.
● Services:
○ Early intervention to address communication
problems in the young child is grounded by four
guiding principles put forth by the American
Speech-Language-Hearing Association (20018):
■ Family centered and culturally and
linguistically responsive
■ Developmentally supportive, promoting
children’s participation in their natural
environment
■ Comprehensive, coordinated, and team
based
■ Based on the highest-quality evidence
available
○ Children with a speech language
impairment thrive in the general
education classroom. These settings
provide interactions with peer models
and exposure to a rich variety of
experiences
○ Adolescents and adults may receive
services from a speech-language
pathologist
 Traumatic Brain Injury
● Definition: temporary or permanent
injury to the brain from acquired
cases such as car accidents,
accidental falls, and gunshot wounds
to the head; it does not include
congenital or degenerative conditions
or birth trauma.
○ The effects of an injury will differ
depending on the cause
○ Some individuals may recover from
traumatic brain injuries while others
are permanently disabled
● Characteristics/Warning Signs:
○ Individuals may start to have problems with headaches,
fatigue, distractibility, memory problems, and perceptual
motor slowing for months, years, or permanently.
○ Individuals may have deficits in such areas sustaining
attention, shifting attention, organization, planning,
comprehension, and memory.
○ Poor social interactions can occur following a traumatic
brain injury with low peer acceptance. Some individuals
will have impulsive behavior and episodic aggression.
○ Some individuals lose the ability to walk or use their
hands.
○ Individuals experience decreased motor speed, balance,
strength, and coordination.
 Traumatic Brain Injury cont.
● Strategies:
○ Teachers can use systematic
instructions and specialized
● Prevalence:
strategies to assist students who
○ Approximately 1.7 million people in
struggle with setting goals,
the United States experience a
remembering information, or
traumatic brain injury each year
remaining focused.
○ Although a person can acquire a
○ A behavior management plan is
traumatic brain injury at any age, one
usually constructed to provide
of the highest rates is among
guidelines for how to address the
teenagers
behavior problems.
○ Teachers need to use various
● Services: adaptations and techniques to
○ Students with traumatic brain injuries constantly need to be address many problems that may
assessed because skill levels do improve over time occur in a student with a traumatic
○ May receive services from a speech language pathologist brain injury. These techniques may
○ May receive physical therapy include giving more time on tests,
○ May have adjusted classwork
limiting distractions, or allowing rest
■ Example: longer timed tests
breaks.
 Visual Impairment
● Characteristics/Warning Signs:
● Definition: an impairment in vision
that, even with correction, adversely
affects an individual’s educational
performance.
○ Includes both visual impairments and
blindness
○ The definition encompasses students
with a wide range of visual
impairments, who may vary
significantly in their visual abilities
○ Academic performance - intellectual capabilities of students
with visual impairments are similar to those of their sighted
peers. Despite this, significant academic delays are common in
learners with visual impairments. This is most likely due to their
restricted opportunity to obtain things visually.
○ Socialization - Knowledge about body parts, eating skills,
age-appropriate behaviors, clothing, grooming, and other skills
are not learned by viewing family members or peers in the
community. People with visual impairments may have trouble
keeping eye contact, smiling at someone in a friendly manner,
or reaching out to touch someone nearby. Some people with
visual impairments may exhibit repetitive body movements
characterized by hand flapping, head weaving, twirling, eye
pressing, and rocking.
 Visual Impairment cont.
● Prevalence:
○ Visual impairments are relatively rare
among children and young adults
○ The U.S. Department of Education
(2015) reports that about 23,000
children ages 6-21 were receiving
services in the 2013-2014 school
year because of visual impairments.
○ Vision loss may be associated with
cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy,
arthritis, or other childhood diseases.
As a result in the improvement of
neonatology and advanced medical
procedures, this population of
children continues to grow; however,
these students are often reported in
categories other than visual
impairments.
● Strategies:
○ Students with visual impairments
require an educational plan to
prepare for independent and
productive lives.
○ Allow them to gather information
through incidental learning,
observation and imitation,
exploration, and social behavior.
○ Teach students communication skills,
social competency, employability, and
independence.
● Services:
○ Students with visual impairments either
receive services in the general education
classrooms or in a separate classroom.
○ Services may include magnifiers, Braille,
bold line writing paper, embossed writing
paper, talking clock, large print books,
electronic mobility devices, etc.
Resources
Activity Center
 ARC of West Central
The West Central Region Serves People with Phone Number: 218-233-5949
intellectual and developmental disabilities and their
families in Becker, Clay, Douglas, Grant, Norman, Address: 810 4th AVe. S. #134
Otter Tail, and Wilkin counties. Moorhead. MN 56560

Mission Statement: The Arc promotes and protects Website:

the human rights of people with intellectual and https://arcminnesota.org/regions/west-central/
developmental disabilities, actively supporting them
and their families in a lifetime of full inclusion and
participation in their communities.

● People with intellectual and developmental

disabilities and their families trust Advocates
at the ARc for help in addressing issues that
affect their lives.
 Charism

● Charism is a non-profit organization that

serves low-income families with 3
locations in the Fargo area
● Partners with:
○ Fargo and West Fargo schools, Fargo Park
District, Fargo Police Department, colleges
and churches
● Charism serves kids of all abilities but they
do a lot of work with kids with behavioral
issues through the organizations different
programs available
● Provide different programs throughout
summer and school year to help kids:
○ Be active
○ engaged and participating in learning
○ Feed by provide them with meals
(summer months) and snacks
○ Have positive role models
○ Hold them accountable in their actions
and school work

● Phone Number: 701-356-0260

● Address: 122 ½ N Broadway Dr
● Website: https://www.charism.org/contact-us
 Fraser
Contact information
● Website: https://www.fraser.org/
Phone: 612-767-7222
● Fraser is a provider in Minnesota
● Fax: 612-861-6050
for autism and early childhood
● Email: fraser@fraser.org
mental health services. They serve
● Address: 3333 University Ave SE
all ages in healthcare, housing,
● Fraser has resources that anyone can
education and employment. The
look to when working with the autistic
community. They tell how to advocate entire family is encouraged to be
for family members with autism, have involved. They strive for equal
articles working to destigmatize autism opportunity and inclusion in the
by showing how it can fit in the
workplace, and tipson how to make community for the individuals they
holidays more sensory friendly among work with.
many other things.
 TNT Kid’s Fitness and Gymnastics
● They provide opportunities to kids of all abilities. In ● Mission Statement: “We believe that every individual is
regards to individuals with special needs they offer a able to unlock their potential through movement”
variety of opportunities: inclusive setting, one on
● “There are 3,000+ children with special needs living in
one, and small group
● 701-365-8868 our community. TNT is unique in welcoming children of
● 2800 Main Ave. Fargo, ND all abilities. For the first time, children with special
● http://www.tntkidsfitness.org needs are active side-by-side with their peers. TNT is
● Partner Organizations one of two facilities in the country that are all-inclusive,
○ Haley’s Hope accepting all children of all abilities. The physical, social,
○ Anne Carlsen Center emotional and cognitive needs of individuals of all ages
○ Learn n’ Move Child Care
and abilities are being met. Parents of children with
special needs can, for the first time, have all their
children participate in programs at one location where
they feel welcome and challenged.”
● Video: https://youtu.be/DGzKmKPPH48
 Gigi’s Playhouse:
Educate. Inspire. believe
● Gigi’s Playhouse is a worldwide center for all ages
with down syndrome. Gigi’s welcomes all families ● “GiGi’s Playhouse was created to change the
for many different activities, programs and offers way the world views a Down syndrome
one-on-one tutoring. diagnosis and send a global message of
● (701)-551-7529
acceptance for all.We understand that many
● 3224 20th St. S, Fargo ND 58104
families are first time parents and they need us.
● Partnered Organizations
Many young parents do not expect, or know in
○ Bataille Academie of the Danse
○ Cherry Logistics advance of their child’s diagnosis, and they
○ Advanced Technologies need renewed hope and genuine acceptance
○ Orthopedic Surgery Specialists from day one. At GiGi’s Playhouse families are
○ Alexian Brothers Health System
never alone. From a prenatal diagnosis to
○ And more!
career skills, we make a lifetime commitment to
remain by their side. Families are empowered
with all the tools their child needs to succeed!
● Haley’s Hope unlocks reading challenges; releasing success.
● Haley’s Hope helps people with dyslexia grasp the basics of reading ● 925 10th Ave E, Suite 2,
through an approach that’s used nationwide and proven across decades. West Fargo ND 58078
This approach is successful for all ages, children to adults. ● Monday–Friday
● The learning method used by Haley’s Hope progresses through reading, 9:00am–4:30pm
spelling and writing. It is systematic, fully hands-on and individually ● Literacy coaching available
paced. It requires a one-to-one coach-to-student ratio that is beyond the
Monday - Friday
resources of most schools, and why we’ve developed this specialized
8:00am–8:00pm
reading center for children and adults in our region.
● Phone (701) 373-0397
● As children grow and become more confident in their reading, they start
to see themselves differently. They feel smarter, better about themselves ● Email info@haleyshope.org
and are able to conquer barriers.
● Haley’s Hope unlocks reading so that teachers can unlock minds, bringing
students the knowledge they need for life.
Medication Guide
Disability Medication Side effects

ADHD Ritalin Nervousness, loss of

Dexedrine appetite, trouble sleeping,
Adderall headaches, anxiety,
increased heart rate,
dizziness

Diabetes Insulin Pain, itching, redness, or

Biguanides swelling at the injection site.
GLP-1 Fast heart rate, trouble
DPP-IV inhibitors breathing, sweating
Disability Medication Side effects

Cerebral Palsy Gabapentin Constipation, convulsions,

Lamotrigine dizziness, drowsiness,
Oxcarbazepine fatigue, hair loss,
headaches, incontinence,
nausea, and change in
appetite, mood, weight, and
vision

Autism Antipsychotic Sleepiness, antidepressant,

anxiety, irritability, upset
stomach, and headaches.
Disability Medication Side effects

OCD Selective Serotonin Selective Serotonin

Reuptake Inhibitors Reuptake Inhibitors
(SSRI’s): (SSRI’s):

citalopram (Celexa) Headache, Nervousness,

escitalopram(Lexapro) Nausea, Insomnia,
fluoxetine (Prozac)
fluvoxamine (Luvox) Benzodiazepines:
sertraline (Zoloft) Drowsiness, Dizziness,
Sleepiness, Confusion,
Benzodiazepines: Memory loss, Blurry vision,
lorazepam (Ativan) Balance problems,
clonazepam (Klonopin) Worsening- behavior
diazepam (Valium)
alprazolam (Xanax) Buspirone:
References
Gargiulo, Richard M., and Emily C. Bouck. Special Education in Contemporary Society: an Introduction to
Exceptionality. SAGE Publications, 2018.

https://www.autismspeaks.org/what-autism

http://www.intellectualdisability.info/mental-health/articles/the-use-of-medications-for-the-manage
ment-of-problem-behaviours-in-adults-who-have-intellectual-disabilities

https://services.anu.edu.au/human-resources/respect-inclusion/different-types-of-disabilities

https://private-watertown.k12.sd.us/gate/

https://www.nbcnews.com/nightly-news/texas-whiz-kid-young-gifted-trying-be-kid-n396016

https://www.apa.org

https://www.afb.org/about-afb/history/helen-keller/biography-and-chronology/biography

https://gigisplayhouse.org/why-gigis-exists/
https://www.charism.org/contact-us

https://www.cerebralpalsy.org/about-cerebral-palsy/treatment/medication