EDUC 212 FOUNDATION OF INCLUSIVE AND SPECIAL EDUCATION

Name of Student __________________________________________________________________________

Course: _______________________________________Year and Section_____________________________
Address: _________________________________________________________________________________
Email Address: ____________________________________________ Contact No.:_____________________
Subject Instructor: LEA EVANGELISTA-MICIANO

MODULE 7 INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY (MENTAL RETARDATION) LEARNING DISABILITY

LEARNING OUTCOMES: At the end of the module, the student must have:
 define basic competencies
 identify the needs in terms of significant and curriculum adjustments
 create a poster recognizing intellectual and learning disability

PRE-TEST
A. Write five common causes of intellectual disability that you are familiar with
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
B. What comes into your mind upon hearing “learning disability”
Explain in a concise manner (5pts)
- ________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________

INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY (MENTAL RETARDATION)

About intellectual disability
Learners with an intellectual disability will have skills significantly lower than their peers of the same age. They are
likely to need significant support and curriculum adjustments in order to have success with learning.
They will have impaired skills in:

 Cognitive ability
 Learning
 Adaptive behavioural skills (skills needed for everyday living:

communication, self-care, home living, social and/or interpersonal skills, use of community
resources, self-direction, functional academic skills, work (if appropriate), leisure, and health and
safety
There is a range of intellectual disability; mild, moderate, severe and profound. The term intellectual
disability is now more commonly used than others such as mental retardation, mentally handicap,
intellectual handicap.
Some common causes of intellectual disability are: Factors occurring before birth

 Rubella and other diseases

 Rhesus blood incompatibility
 Drug, alcohol abuse
 Injury to the mother
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 Genetic or chromosomal syndromes (Down syndrome, Fragile X)

 Problems with the birth :for example Lack of oxygen, injury at birth
Factors following birth

 Diseases like meningitis, encephalitis, measles

 Accidents- electrocution, on the road, near drowning
 Several allergic reactions
 Malnutrition – iron and iodine deficiency
 Poisoning
Recognizing intellectual disability
Intellectual disability is determined by a standardized psychometric assessment and/or adaptive behaviour
assessment.
The checklist provided is a guide only for teachers in order to better understand the learner who is having
significant difficulties with learning. The information may then support referral to relevant specialists.
Learners with intellectual disability are likely to need support in the classroom in one or more of these
areas

 Attention
 Engagement
 Behaviour management
 Relationship with other students
 Resources
 Curriculum planning
 Health & personal care

Intellectual Disability Checklist

Name: Grade: Date:
Teacher: School:

Early Difficulties significantly below age peers with

Developmen  Sitting up, crawling or walking
t  Learning to talk
 Correction articulation (for age)
 Remembering things –eg safety rules
 Playing, singing
 Dressing and undressing
 Eating and drinking independently
 Learning personal information, to count
Social Significant difficulty with
Skills  Learning social rules
 Picking up social cues
 Displaying appropriate emotional range
 Playing with others (parallel rather than with)
 Seeing consequences of actions
 Solving problems independently
 Self- regulation of behaviour for example
perseveration, waiting
 Thinking sequentially
 Obsessive or repetitive behaviours/actions
 Adherence to routines- find transitions hard
 Self -help for example personal hygiene
Curriculum Significant difficulty with
 Most/all curriculum areas
 Learning letters and words
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 Understanding and responding to questions

 Oral expression – retelling events
 Learning a second language
 Following instructions, repeating
 Reading
 General knowledge
 Writing
 Counting, matching
 Other

Attention Significantly difficult with

 Listening
 Concentrating
 Attending
 Mental fatigue
 Physical restlessness
 Impulsiveness
Motor Significant difficulty with
Developmen  Pencil grip
t  Drawing
 Letter formation
 Self-management in the physical movement for
example : sitting still
 Physical stamina
 Physical activity
 Coordination

Comments

Follow- Who/What When

up

Adjustments
One list will not necessarily meet the needs of all learners with intellectual disability.
In the first instance:

 Utilise the learner’s IEP for information about the best supports for them
 Liaise with others – the special education teacher, resource room teacher, services,
colleagues, parents
 Seek out local resources – volunteers
 Think big and start small
 Negotiate with your principal for the support you need to plan effective
In the classroom

 Remember to personalize curriculum

 Set learners up for continued effort and motivation 80% success, 20% challenge
 Negotiate homework
 Look for learning in smaller chunks
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 Praise and encourage effort rather than outcomes

 Use learner strengths
Teaching Strategies
Find interesting irrelevant things to learn

 Use real things in the child’s experience to help connect learning

 Use favourite things for the same purpose
 Keep the child active in tasks rather than listening and answering
Break tasks into smaller chunks

 Use prompts as needed

 Use backwards chaining
 Use a multi-sensory approach
o Gestures
o Actions
o Facial expressions
o Practical demonstrations & written examples
o Verbal explanation

Use repetition

 Lots of active practice

 Say the same thing in a different way
 Say the same thing with gestures
 Say the same thing and show a visual cue
 One thing at a time
Model what to do

 Give practical demonstrations

 Talk as you show
 Let the learner copy alongside you, then repeat what you did with verbal coaching
 Stick to a routine of doing things, even use the same language
 Show what the finish product looks like
 Demonstrate how to deal with mistakes too!
 Teach and practice self- talk :
o Talk through routines as you go
o Repeat and practice internally the things that need to be learnt
o Demonstrate – multi sensory
o Prompt to help internalise
Give help when it is needed

 Set up for success

 Give a choice of two answers
 Quietly put a marker under/near needed text
 Start a sentence for the learner to finish
 Tell the answer as if you knew they were about to say it and re ask in a few moments, for example:
“Yes Rhiza was on her way home…where did you say she was going?
 Use guided moment

Ideas
Communicate regularly with the learner’s parent through a communication diary or note book.

VISUAL SUPPORTS
Put a range of visual supports in the class
 Labels and signs
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 Tape a cross on the floor where the learner will sit for some activities
 Provide performances to help the learners organize work

PERSONAL ACTIVITY KIT

Set up a container or area with preferred activities and resources for the learner to access if a break
is earned or they are tired.
Books, games, sensory toys/equipment, tape

VISUAL SCHEDULES
Make visual schedules to help with routines and transitions. Send copies of the visual schedule
home or make a home specific one.

SAMMY’S SCHEDULE
Unpack my Bag

Reading for 10 minutes

Writing for 10 minutes

Do my maths

Choose an Activity

ACTIVITIES FOR MOTOR SKILLS

 Play dough (make shapes, letters, numbers)
 Using pegs
 Cutting
 Packing up activities, bunching things with rubber bands
 Playing with puppets
 Typing

ACTIVITIES FOR INDEPENDENCE

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Give responsibility and then record efforts

 Putting up the chairs at the end of the day
 Giving out equipment
 Taking message to another class
Make charts to show progress, achievement, earn rewards Try to instigate cooperative rewards – the
learner completing their schedule earns rewards towards the whole class total
Encourage social skills development and class team building by getting everyone to ‘catch’ the
positive behaviours of classmates. When someone reports ‘catching’ a classmate, a piece of paper
with their name on it is added to a container. At the end of the day/week a name is drawn at random
from the container and that learner chooses a class activity for everyone to do

Resources :
http://specialed.about.com/od/devdelay
DepEd to input local resources here.

Down syndrome association of the Philippines

http://downsyndrome.org.ph/

Dual diagnosis – Autism and down syndrome

http://uk.geocities.com/grahamdavidcook@btinternet.com/index.htm

Teachnology website – online resources for teachers of students with intellectual disability http://www.teach-
nology.com/teachers/special_ed/disabilities/down/

LEARNING DISABILITY
About learning disability
Learners whose skills are below expectation for their age and ability may be identified by parents or
teachers as having learning difficulties. A small percentage of these may have learning disabilities.
Learning difficulties and learning disabilities are different. Research suggests that about 10-16% of
learners may have a learning difficulty which could develop as a result of one or more of the following:

 Development delay, for example speech and language difficulties

 Poor coordination, for example fine gross motor skills
 Emotional difficulties and/or trauma
 Limited environmental experiences
 Deficiencies in appropriate educational opportunities
 Interrupted or non attendance at school
 Illness
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Learning disabilities is a term used for learners with average or above intelligence yet who show signs of
developmental and academic skills considerably below expectation for their age and general ability. Research
suggests around 2-4% of children and students may have a learning disability
A learning disability may include difficulties with the following:
1. Confusion with text
2. Working memory
3. Sensory processing
4. Communication
5. Motor skills
What are some different types of learning disability?
Several types of learning disability are well documented
Dyslexia – reading
- Decoding words,
- phonological skills,
- short- term auditory
- memory, recalling sight words
- finding the right word
- verbal memory span spelling
Dysphasia – oral language
- receptive language
- and or expressive language
Dysgraphia – written expression
- handwriting
- spelling
- written composition
Dyscalculia – mathematics
- quantitative thinking
- time and/or space
- calculations
- arithmetic
Nonverbal learning disorder
- coordination
- organisation
- concept formation
- cause and effect
- changes in routines or settings
- strong rote learning
- social skills – literal
- interpretation
- poor social judgement
- abstract problem- solving – mathematics
Recognizing learning disability
As soon as teachers recognize that a learner is experiencing difficulty they have an ethical and
professional responsibility to address these needs.
The following checklists will assist with identification of learners who are at risk of having a learning
disability
Teachers can

 gain additional insights into the areas for intervention

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 find out about specific areas to design interventions

 discuss with the school- based learning group
 provide a basis for discussion with the special education teacher
 identify learners who may require further assessment

LEARNING DISABILITY CHECKLIST

Name: Grade: Date:
Teacher: School:

Language Difficulties with

 phonological skills
 understanding and responding to questions
 oral expression
o sequencing words in sentences
o summarising information
o retelling stories, events
 learning a second language
 articulation
 reading comprehension
 reading
 decoding
 naming words
 written language
 spelling
Motor Difficulties with
Skills  pencil grip
 copying text
 handwriting legibility
 letter formation
 motivation to write
 writing speed
 self- managing of physical movement – e.g sitting still
 physical stamina
Attention Difficulties with
 listening
 concentrating
 attending
 mental fatigue
 physical restlessness
 impulsiveness
 self-management strategies
Memory Difficulties with
 recall of facts
 learning lists – ie alphabet
 remembering and following verbal instructions
 remembering sight words
 sound sequences
 trouble studying for tests
Comment:

Follow up: When:

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ADJUSTMENTS
Possible strengths practical
Do dexterity problem solving
Ask the learner about approach spatial skills
creative thinking imaginative
 their strengths visual thinking
 what things are helpful for them average/above average IQ
 what things are not helpful strategic thinking oral
 how they can show what they know and can do presentation skills social
Highlight the correct things in the learners work
Provide scaffolds that help the learner
Don’t
 Correct every mistake in the learner’s work
 Ridicule or compare to other learners

Give the learner screeds of information to learn

Make the learner
 copy notes
 read aloud if not confident
 redo written work
 finish off everything no matter how long it takes
 change their writing style
Hand-outs

 use a supportive fonts when designing hand-outs

Arial, Comic Sans MS and Microsoft San Serif ***Fonts that have serifs like Times New Roman can
make the letters in words appear to run together
 use a larger font size – about size 14
 use note form in succinct dot points instead of prose
 instead of underlining important things, put them in bold
 start new sentences at the beginning of lines
 leave space between paragraphs
 provide the learner with a highlighter to mark important points or words
Teaching Strategies
** All leaners will benefit from these approaches
 Recognize and use the strengths and interests of the learner
 Reward learner efforts
 Focus on assessment of concepts rather than conventions
 Break instructions into chunks
 Provide clear, unambiguous, sequential instruction
 Teach prerequisite skills beforehand
 Build in practice opportunities to internalize new skills
 Use multi -sensory approaches
 Incorporate the explicit teaching cycle when teaching new concepts
Reading
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 Spend 5-10 minutes previewing texts before reading and reviewing texts when resuming reading
o Look at the cover, title, pictures
o Discuss, predict, questions and relate to learners experience
o Teachers scans pictures/texts for difficult words and asks learner to find item and then the words
 Use paired reading to familiarize learner with new text and build fluency

Writing
 Give more time for drafting & editing
 Select keys tasks to be undertaken rather than all
 Model –show a completed example of what is required
 Accept notes and drafts as the assignment
 Use cloze
 Use images, story boards, cartoons
 Teach editing strategies TOWER & WATCH
 Allow use of word processors if available
 Provide scribing (teacher or buddy )
 Provides notes to highlight and learn from
 Create use friendly hand outs
NOTE TAKING
Why is the learner taking notes?
 Write down the main points & terminology for learners
 Provide hand outs, summaries, copies of notes, OHT
 Avoid citation
 Provide guided, structured lectures – write key points on the board
 Indicate key points/changes in topics
 Allow students time to absorb and process information
 Teach use of graphic organizers to map key points

TESTS, ASSESSMENTS, REPORTS

 Prepare learners with what will be in tests

 Allow open book tests
 Give oral instead of written tests
 Allow test questions to be read out
 Provide opportunities for learner to clarify
 Provide a scribe
 Use cloze sentence completion
 Use multiple choice
 Allow highlighting, underlining or circling of answers
 Allow for tests to be taken home
 Prepare alternative tests
 State questions in the positive – which one is correct?
 Allow use of supports – calculator, dictionary
 Give a mark out of questions answered
 Don’t penalize for spelling or grammar errors – focus on the answer
 Allow extra time or no time limits if learner is keen to finish
 Allow to resit

IDEAS
1. Choose a text to read together.
2. The text should ideally be at an instructional level.
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3. The learner holds the book and is instructed to follow the text while the adult reads a paragraph.
4. The adult reads at a reasonable rate and uses appropriate expression.
5. Next, the learner and adult reread the paragraph together. They do not stop for errors. The adult
‘pulls’ the learner along reading expressively.
6. The adult asks the learner if they would like to reread it alone.
a. If no, the adult and learner read together with the adult fading in and out to let the learner take more
control
b. If yes, the learner reads alone. The adult does not intervene or correct during the reading process.
DICE WRITING & SPEAKING
This simple strategy helps to extend ideas, structure story telling, reporting or writing, projects.
Individuals or groups can form writing
Cover the faces of the dice with the words
Who? What? When? Where? Why? How?
Learners roll the dice and add information as a result of the question that falls.

SENTENCE MAKE-OVERS
This strategy assists learners to extend vocabulary and build understanding of grammatical
structures. It aids learners in seeing how phrases and words in different positions in a sentence can
preserve or change the meaning. It can also be used to understand the components of individual
words and to learn mathematical facts
1. Learner writes a sentence or teacher scribes sentence on a strip of paper. Writer sounds out as they
write.
2. Learner cuts sentence into individual words and reforms.
3. Student arranges words in other orders and comments on meaning changes. Provide punctuation
marks as needed.
4. Teacher asks questions to elicit additional words to add into the sentence, writes the words on
additional paper and has the learner place them.
5. Continue asking questions using who, what, when, where, why, how
6. The teacher can change the beginnings of extended sentences by moving phrases. The learner
completes the sentence.
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What is beautiful about Mt Apo?

Where is the scenery?
How beautiful is it?

SUPPORTING WRITING & EDITING

Teach these strategies to learners to help them maximize independence with their writing
TOWER
T think about the topic
O organize the information
W write
E edit
R rework

WATCH
W write down the assignment, due date, any special requirements
A ask yourself if you understand. Ask for clarification
T Analyse the tasks of the assignment – how many parts, how many sessions available to do it.
Schedule tasks.
Ch Check each task as you do it with CAN
C completeness
A accuracy
N neatness
Resources
Learning disabilities and ADHD
www.ldonline.org

Dyslexia Action: assessment, education, training

www.dyslexiaaction.org.uk
 EDUC 212 FOUNDATION OF INCLUSIVE AND SPECIAL EDUCATION

Learning disabilities, learning styles

www.ldpride.net

LEARNING ACTIVITY
A. Make a poster explaining the cause of having a mental retardation on a oslo paper.
 EDUC 212 FOUNDATION OF INCLUSIVE AND SPECIAL EDUCATION

Learning Activity 2:
If you are to make your own teaching strategy for the learners with learning disability , what would it look like.
You can use your own style of elaborating your activity either a graphic organizer a illustration or whatever that
comes into your mind and is still connected to the topic
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ASSESSMENT
Multiple Choice. Choose the correct answer. Write it on the space provided for.
____________1. These are the following factors of the after birth that triggers mental retardation: EXCEPT
A. Meningitis
B. Ancephalitis
C. Measles
D. Bone fracture on the toe
_____________ 2. This is where the personalized curriculum is remembered
A. At home
B. In the classroom
C. On the playground
D. On your own
_____________ 3. These are what they call the local resource
A. Teachers
B. Principal
C. Parents
D. Volunteers
____________ 4. This help the learners with their routines and transitions
A. Weather bulletin
B. Posters
C. Visual schedule
D. Bulletin Board
___________ 5.An example of developmental delay are
A. Speech and language difficulties
B. Interrupted listening
C. Stutterings
D. Boosted talent but malnutrition
___________ 6. This is a written expression of handwriting
A. Dysgraphia
B. Dysphasia
C. Dyslexia
D. Dyscalculia
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__________ 7. This is a learning disability that is involve with receptive language and or expressive language
A. Dysgraphia
B. Dysphasia
C. Aphasia
D. Non-verbal learning disorder
__________ 8. This is a learning disability that is involve in time, space and quantitative thinking.
A. Dyslexia
B. Dysgraphia
C. Dyscalculia
D. Dysphasia
__________ 9. A learning disability that has difficulty with decoding words and phonological skills
A. Dysgraphia
B. Dysphasia
C. Dyscalculia
D. Dyslexia
___________ 10. This is a learning disability in which the learner is having difficulty in coordination and
organisation.
A. Dysphasia
B. Dyscalculia
C. Non-verbal disorder
D. Dyslexia

ENUMERATION
There are two things that you should not do or say to a learner with learning disability
11-12. What are those?
-
-
13-17. There are five following difficulties a learner with learning disability has
Enumerate those 5
-
-
-
-
-
What does this stands for

T-
O-
W-
E-
R-

W-
A-
T-
C-
H-
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