1 Model Essay- Special Education Needs (Summary)

Describe what psychologists have discovered about special educational needs.

Through the years, educators have found that not all students are similar in terms of ability, and
indeed some require special care in education. Children with Special Educational Needs have learning
difficulties which need special teaching to realize their true potential. Learning disabilities refers to a
number of disorders which may affect the acquisition, organization, retention, understanding or use of
verbal and nonverbal information which may in turn result in failing at school, being suspended,
abusing substances and high rate of conflicts with families and friends.

There are different groups of children who require special education needs, namely those who suffer
from dyslexia, autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). However, it is not only
applicable to children who suffer significant difficulty in learning and development; it is also an area of
concern for the gifted children.

Dyslexia is a developmental reading disorder which primarily affects males instead of females. The
main symptoms of dyslexia are difficulty rhyming, understanding words, and recognizing written
words. Dyslexics often see letters as reversed or rotated and sometimes miss out syllables when they
read. Due to this disability, children have trouble reading and writing and often do poorly in academic
arenas. Subsequently, autistic spectrum disorder is a complex developmental disability that causes
problems with social interaction and communication. Symptoms under the DSM-IV-TR (APA, 2000)
include impaired social interaction, impaired communication, and restricted, repetitive and
stereotyped behaviors. An individual with Attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD) will have
trouble paying attention, focusing on a task and sitting still. Symptoms of ADHD must be present
before the age of 7 and across different settings. This disorder is known as ADHD if hyperactivity
symptoms are present, or simply ADD in the absence of hyperactivity symptoms. Lastly, Bridges (1969)
defined giftedness 7 characteristics such as an individual with high level of energy, the ability to read at
young age and so forth. In general, gifted children have higher IQ, great talent, high achievement and
the potential to achieve or excel.

In order to assess and identify these children, a comprehensive diagnosis evaluation needs to be
carried out. Most of the time, clinician needs to take note of the developmental, medical and family
history of the child. This is to rule in or rule out biological defect. Other than that, academic progress
should be documented. Behavioral observation and reports could be obtained from both parents and
teachers through standardize psychometrics assessment such as the Child Behavioral Checklists (CBCL).
Later, diagnosis can be done through the evaluation by a multidisciplinary team according to DSM-IV-
TR and specific assessment tools such as the Wechsler Intelligence Scale to assess IQ; the Childhood
Autism Rating Scale (CARS) to assess autistic spectrum disorder; the ADHD Rating Scale and Corner
Rating Scale for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder; as well as, tests of specific oral language skills
related to reading and writing success and phonological processing for dyslexia.

There are different models available to explain learning and developmental disabilities. Among all, the
biomedical model stands out due to its scientific stance. According to the model, abnormalities are
caused by physiological factors such as genetic component, neuroanatomical defect, neurochemical
imbalance, metabolic dysfunctions and so forth. Carlson (1994) discovered brain abnormalities in

Prepared by Karen Tan 2013

2 Model Essay- Special Education Needs (Summary)

dyslexic individuals. Furthermore, the genetic explanation for autism states that at least 5 to 20 major
genes are involved in autism, with many others also contributing to the risk. Twin studies have further
revealed that identical twins have the chance of developing similar disorder in 9 out of 10 times.
Nonetheless, people with ADHD have higher level of dopamine and norepinephrine in the brain.

Various strategies have been established for educating children with special needs. One of them would
be integration, where students with special needs are educated in regular classes during specific time
periods based on their skills. Regular classes are combined with special education classes, but special
education students will have one-on-one time with teacher to address any need for remediation during
the school day. Segregation, on the other hand, forms specialist schools that focus on a particular
subject area. Students do not attend any classes in mainstream schools. These schools are specifically
designed, staffed and resourced to provide the appropriate special education. This method can be
applied to both learning disabled students and gifted children.

Renzulli (1977) proposed acceleration and enrichment as a means to educate the gifted children.
Acceleration is a strategy specifically for gifted children. It refers to the practice of presenting
curriculum content earlier or at a faster pace. Ways to do so include acceleration in one or more
subject areas, grade skipping, advanced placement programs, college courses offered in high school or
early graduation from high school. Enrichment, however, refers to the presentation of curriculum
content with more depth, complexity and abstractness than the general curriculum. It can be done
within a normal classroom. Renzulli developed a framework for organizing qualitatively different
learning experience for gifted and talented students known as the Enrichment Triad Model, which
includes general exploratory activities, group training activities, and individual and small group
investigation of real problems.

Last but not least, according to Selikowitz (1998) it is crucial to modify teaching methods and the
educational environment to help children who suffer from dyslexia. Individualized teaching is
recommended to provide a balanced remedial. The Multisensory Teaching Method can help a child to
learn through more than one of the senses. The best teaching method is to involve the use of more of
the child’s sense, especially the use of touch and movement. This will give the child’s brain tactile and
kinesthetic memories to hang on to, as well as the visual and auditory ones. Technology can also be
useful in dealing with dyslexia. Computers could help with writing issues and make learning more
interesting and hands on.

Prepared by Karen Tan 2013