3

P DIFFERENT CATEGORIES
R
O OF LEARNERS WITH
J
E
DISABILITIES,
C GIFTEDNESS
T
NEEDS, AND
TALENTS.
1 CEREBRAL PALSY
What is Cerebral Palsy?
Cerebral palsy refers to a group of
neurological disorders that appear in infancy
or early childhood and permanently affect
body movement and muscle coordination.
The term cerebralrefers to the brain; palsy
refers to the loss or impairment of motor
Symptoms
lack of muscle coordination when
performing
(ataxia);
voluntary movements

stiff or tight muscles and exaggerated

reflexes (spasticity);
function.
weakness in one or more arm or leg;
Causes walking on the toes, a crouched gait, or
(CP) is caused by damage to or abnormalities a “scissored” gait;
inside the developing brain that disrupt the variations in muscle tone, either too
brain’s ability to control movement and stiff or too floppy;
maintain posture and balance. excessive drooling or difficulties
swallowing or speaking;
Assessment tools/ programs and
shaking (tremor) or random
Accommodations involuntary movements;
There is no cure for cerebral palsy, but delays in reaching motor skill
supportive treatments, medications, and milestones; and
surgery can help many individuals improve difficulty with precise movements
their motor skills and ability to communicate such as writing or buttoning a shirt
with the world.
 FACTS ABOUT
CEREBRAL PALSY
Cerebral CHARACTERISTICS
Cerebral Palsy characteristics can be spotted as early as a few months or
palsy as late as 4 years of age. Some patients have it mildly and may learn to
walk on their own with the help of a cane, while others have more severe
is the most cases and may require wheelchair assistance all their lives.

common
Early Signs
childhood The signs of cerebral palsy usually appear in the early months of life,
although specificdiagnosis may be delayed until age two years or later.
disability Infants with CP frequently have developmental delay, in which they are
slow to reach developmental milestones such as learning to roll over, sit,
in the crawl, or walk. Some infants with CP have abnormal muscle tone.
Decreased muscle tone (hypotonia) can make them appear relaxed, even
world. floppy. Increased muscle tone (hypertonia) can make them seem stiff or
rigid.
2 DOWN SYNDROME
(TRISOMY 21)
What is Down Syndrome?

Down syndrome is a genetic condition in

which a person has 47 chromosomes instead
of the usual 46.
Causes
Down syndrome occurs when there is an
no specific treatment for Down
extra copy of chromosome 21. This form of
Down syndrome is called trisomy 21. The
extra chromosome causes problems with
the way the body and brain develop.
Symptoms
Common physical signs include:
• Decreased muscle tone at birth
• Excess skin at the nape of the neck
• Flattened nose
• Separated joints between the bones of the
skull (sutures)
• Single crease in the palm of the hand
• Small ears /Small mouth
• Upward slanting eyes
• Wide, short hands with short fingers
• White spots on the colored part of the eye
Treatments
There is
syndrome. If treatment is needed, it is
usually for associated health problems.
Certain heart defects may also require
surgery. Behavioral training can help
people with Down syndrome and their
families deal with the frustration, anger,
and compulsive behavior that often occur.
Parents and caregivers should learn to
help a person with Down syndrome deal
with frustration. At the same time, it is
important to encourage independence.
Special education and training is offered in
most communities for children with delays
in mental development. Speech therapy
may help improve language skills. Physical
therapy may teach movement skills.
DOWN SYNDROME
"DOWN SYNDROME
assessment tool
Diagnostic tests that can identify Down

OCCURS IN
syndrome include: Chorionic villus
sampling (CVS). In CVS, cells are taken
from the placenta and used to analyze the
fetal chromosomes. This test is typically
performed in the first trimester, between
APPROXIMATELY ONE
10 and 13 weeks of pregnancy.
CHARACTERISTICS
IN 700 BIRTHS"
Desire to learn
Smile that lights up a room

Lots of feeling and emotions

ABOUT
Need to belong /A strong will
Legs for running and jumping
Starlit eyes
Ears to hear words of engagement
FACTS FACTS
FACTS FACTS
Heart full of love
Arms for the very best hug FACTS FACTS
3 AUTISM
DISORDER
What is Autism Spectral
Disorder ?
– ASD is a pervasive developmental
disability affecting verbal and non-verbal
communication social interaction and
intellectual and educational performance
initially evident between ages 2 and 3 and
confirmable at 3 to 4.
Treatments
– There
is no single medical test for
diagnosing autism.
– Children with Autism (CWA) must be
evaluated along the development areas
because autism consists a cluster of
symptoms along these areas. Autism is
also known as aspectrum disorder.
SPECTRAL
Causes
✓ it is a brain disorder present from the
birth which affects the way the brain uses
information but the cause of autism is still
unknown.
✓ Some researchers suggest a physiological
problem affecting those parts in the brain
that process language and information
coming in from the senses- prenatal and/or
postnatal infections, chromosomal
disorders, CNS dysfunction, seizures,
vaccines, brain injury.
✓ There may be some imbalance of certain
chemicals in the brain.
✓ Genetic factors may sometimes be
involved. In many families there appears to
be a pattern of autism or related disorders
which suggest a genes-based cause,
however, at this time NO GENE has been
directly linked to autism.
✓ Autism may also result from a combination
of several causes.
3 AUTISM SPECTRAL
DISORDER
Is There a Cure for Autism? Is There a Cure for Autism?
There is no definite
cure but behavior can be

managed through: ✓ Sensory integration

✓ Communication development - expressive ✓ Vocational and community-living
skills through speech and/or augmentative skills including self-help skills
systems; development of receptive language;
development of pragmatic skills
✓ Increase understanding of the environment
✓ Socialization – with emphasis on
Educational Considerations
appreciating and communicating feelings, /Approaches
managing frustration, impulse control and
➢ Teachers must structure and organize
relaxation
the classroom life in order for students
✓ Development of social skills and behaviors
to expand their strong areas as well as
appropriate to a variety of contexts and
grow in their weak areas.
situations
➢ The features of structure are physical
✓ Use academic instruction appropriate to
organization, scheduling and teaching
the developmental level of the student
methods.
✓ Developing and increasing self-control and
➢ The key to effectively using each of
self-management (self-monitoring, self-
these features is individualization.
evaluation and self-reinforcement)
 FACTS ABOUT
AUTISM SPECTRAL DISORDER
CHARACTERISTICS symptoms
Repetitive Behavior Some children show signs of
Observant autism spectrum disorder in
early infancy, such as reduced
Autistic Detailed-oriented
Above average memory
eye contact, lack of response to
their name or indifference to
and recall skills
people are Difficulty interpreting
caregivers. Other children may
develop normally for the first
social norms
few months or years of life, but
better at Creative and
thoughtful
then suddenly become
withdrawn or aggressive or lose
some Visual thinkers
Sensory
language skills they've already
acquired. Signs usually are seen
Passionate about by age 2 years.
things special interest
4 DYSLEXIA
What is Dyslexia?
- A symbolic language disorder where
there is poor ability to learn, to interpret
and retain symbols needed for reading in
the absence of major mental ability
defect or perceptual aberration and
Signs and Symptoms
✓
does not
Reading ability
commensurate with mental age.
✓ Poor ability to relate letter and letter
sounds and spelling – lack of
awareness of phonemes that make up
where the child has been exposed to an words.
organized attempt to teach him to read ✓ Problems with understanding what is
over a minimum period of year. read.

Types of Dyslexia
✓ Difficulty with spelling correctly.
✓ Visual hyperactivity.
Visual – refers

to the individual’s
✓ Right-left discrimination problems.
inability to process visual stimuli
✓ Visual-motor connection problems.
accurately.
✓ Difficulties in sequencing.
Auditory – refers to the individual’s
inability to prove auditory stimuli
✓ Spontaneous and creative writing is
poor.
accurately.
✓ General language deficit.
Visio-Auditory – a combination of both
visual and auditory dyslexia.
✓ Audio-visual/visual-auditory
integration impaired.
FACTS ABOUT DYSLEXIA
Treatments Strategies that Help
There's
no known way to correct the
✓Explicit instruction

in the area of
phonological awareness or
underlying brain differences that cause

People with
understanding the letter-sound system.
dyslexia. However, early detection and
evaluation to determine specific needs
✓ The teacher can provide students with

and appropriate treatment can improve

an In-class writing exercise and ask
them question to further learning. dyslexia are
success. In many cases, treatment can
✓
help children become competent
Using books on tape – access to
literature. often more
readers.
✓ Provide reading materials on child’s
area of interest. creative.
Educational techniques CHARACTERISTICS
Dyslexia is treated

using specific
Difficulties
in reading accuracy and
educational approaches and
speed
techniques, and the sooner the
Problems noting inference in text
intervention begins, the better.
Inaccurate and inconsistent spelling
Evaluations of your child's reading
Slow and ellegible handwriting
skills, other academic skills and mental
Mathematics
health will help your child's teachers
Problems in planning, structuring,
develop an individual teaching
editing and proof-reading written
program.
text.
5 DYSGRAPHIA
What is Dyslexia?
-A difficulty in automatically remembering
and mastering sequence of muscle motor
movements needed in writing letters and
numbers.
- It is neurologically based and exists in
varying degrees ranging from mild to
moderate.
- It can involve difficulties with the physical
aspects of writing, spelling, or putting
thoughts on paper
CHARACTERISTICS
Variably shaped
and poorly formed and slant; irregular letters and shapes.
letters.
Excessive erasures and cross-outs.
Poor spacing between letters and words.
Letter and number reversals beyond
early stages of writing.
Awkward, inconsistent pencil grip.
Heavy pressure and hand fatigue
Signs and Symptoms
✓ Cramped fingers on a writing tool;
awkward pencil grip.
✓ Bad or illegible handwriting
✓ Problems involving the steps of
putting together a written document.
✓ Avoidance of tasks that involve
writing
✓ Inconsistence in the way letters and
words look – mix of upper and lower
case letters; mix of print and cursive
letters; inconsistent letter formations
✓ Difficulty in writing within the margins
or line spacing and inconsistent
spacing.
✓ Decreased speed in writing
✓ Inattentiveness about details when
writing.
 FACTS ABOUT
DYSGRAPHIA
treatment
No medications treat dyslexia. Instead,
educational interventions can teach effective
new ways to learn and read. Children with
Dysgraphia dyslexia may work with a trained specialist to
learn new reading skills. Sometimes, slowing
is not a down a lesson gives a child with dyslexia more
disease time to cover topics.
accommodations
Using graphics paper or shift lined paper
lateral while writing
Change the instrument of writing
Using convenient grips with the pencil
Encouraging narration while writing
Allow the use of Ipads or laptop
Strategies that help
✓ Explicit instruction to produce a
written word.
✓ Teachers may allow students with a
disorder in writing expression to use
alternative methods (ex. oral report) to
determine the student’s knowledge of
the subject matter instead of asking
them to write a paper or take a written
test.
✓ Suggest special projects that will build
writing skills – write letters to family
and friends, keep a journal, write on a
subject matter that interest them.
✓ Use of computer
6 DYSCALCULIA
What is Dyscalculia ?
- A learning disability wherein a child has
difficulty in performing math calculations
and math difficulty.

Signs and Symptoms

Characteristics
Being chronically early or late.
Inconsistent
subtraction,
division.
results in
multiplication,
addition,
and

✓Poor mental math

ability, often with Inability to visualize; appearing
difficulty in common use of money, making absentminded or lost in thought.
change. Difficulty remembering math facts,
✓ Difficulty in math processes (ex. concepts, rules, formulas, sequences,
addition, subtraction, multiplication and and procedures.
division) and concepts (ex. sequencing of Struggle to apply math concepts to
numbers) everyday life, including money matters,
✓ Poor sense of direction; easily estimating speed and distance
disoriented Trouble with measurements
✓ Difficulty with abstract concepts of time Difficulty grasping information from
and direction, schedules, sequence of past graphs or charts
and future events. Difficulty arriving at different
✓ May have difficulty learning musical approaches to the same math problem
concepts Anxiety during math tasks
✓ Math phobia
✓ Interchanging numbers
FACTS ABOUT DYSCALCULIA
Treatments Strategies that Help
There's
no known way to correct the ✓ Explicit instruction in the area of
underlying brain differences that cause phonological awareness or
dyslexia. However, early detection and
evaluation to determine specific needs
understanding the letter-sound system.
✓ The teacher can provide students with People with
and appropriate treatment can improve
success. In many cases, treatment can
an In-class writing exercise and ask
them question to further learning.
dyslexia are
help children become competent ✓ Using books on tape – access to
often more
readers. literature.
✓ Provide reading materials on child’s
area of interest.
creative.
Educational techniques CHARACTERISTICS
Dyslexia is treated

using specific
educational approaches and

Difficulties in reading accuracy and

techniques, and the sooner the speed
intervention begins, the better. Problems noting inference in text
Evaluations of your child's reading Inaccurate and inconsistent spelling
skills, other academic skills and mental Slow and ellegible handwriting
health will help your child's teachers Mathematics
develop an individual teaching Problems in planning, structuring,
program. editing and proof-reading written
7 VISUAL IMPAIRMENT
What is Visual Impairment?
-Visual impairment is the consequence of
a functional less of vision. Unimpaired
vision has four components:
✓
✓
The object to be viewed.
The light that reflects the object to the
Complaints
• Eye-itch, burn
or feel scratchy
• Cannot see well
• Dizziness
Appearance
• Crossed eyes
•
encrusted

Red-rimmed,

swollen eyelids
• Inflamed watery
or

eye. Eyes
✓ The normally functioning eye to • Recurring sties
receive the reflections.
✓ The occipital lobes of the brain to AIDS TO TEACHING AND
interpret the signals transmitted from LEARNING
the eye. ✓ Braille reading and writing – Braille
typewriters, computers, slate and stylus,
Causes of Visual Impairment portable recorder
• Eye injuries ✓ Listening and comprehension programs
• Neoplasms (Tumors) ✓ Audio aids
• Malnutrition (Vitamin A Deficiency) ✓ Calculation aids – talking calculators,
• Substance Abuse abacus mental math
• Headaches following close eye work ✓ Talking/audio books
• Nausea ✓ Optical aids
• Blurred or double vision
 7 VISUAL IMPAIRMENT
intellectual functioning
Educational Approaches
General Principles for Adapting
Instruction to thee Educational
Needs of Visually Impaired
Children (Lowenfeld, 1973)
1. Concreteness – children must
work with objects they can feel and
manipulate
2. Unifying experiences
3. Learning by doing – to learn
about the environment, the
children must be motivated to
explore the environment
Characteristics of Visually Impaired Children
• Does not usually seriously affect
• Intelligence is notably affected by cumulative experiences
• Usually do not interfere with everyday language usage or communication
abilities
• Slower than sighted children in forming hypothesis about word meaning
• Restricted experiences lead to lack of linguistic experiences that are only
related to their lack of interaction with the environment
• May indulge in verbalism – a tendency to use words which they have no first-
hand knowledge
• If one sense of deficient, other senses are strengthened or enhanced in part for
greater use
• Restricted mobility and consequent limited experiences of visually impaired
children appear to cause, in some children, a state of passivity and dependency
• Some may become socially immature, self-conscious, isolated, passive,
withdrawn and dependent
• Appropriate smiling and facial expression are difficult for people with visual
impairments
• Presence of stereotypical behaviour - body rocking, eye rubbing and
inappropriate hand and finger movements are all distracting to peers and
interfere with attempts at social interactions.
8 HEARING IMPAIRMENT
What is hearing
impairment?
is a genetic term indicating hearing
disability which may range in
severity from mild to profound; it
includes as the subsets of deaf and
hard hearing
• Deaf - one who’s hearing disability
precludes successful processing of
linguistic formation through
information, through audition, with
or without a hearing aid.
• Hard of Hearing - one who,
generally with the use of hearing
aid, has residual hearing sufficient
to enable processing of linguistic
information through audition.
He/she will need some necessary
special adaptations to learn.
Identification of Hearing Problems
Symptoms that might indicate hearing
impairment in the classroom:
❑ Tilting the head at an angle in order to
receive a better sound
❑ Listless or inattentive behavior
❑ Failure to respond when questioned
❑ Defective articulation, particularly when
sounding of word is important
❑ Peculiar voice quality, often high-pitched
and flattish in nature
❑ Tendency to avoid association with other
people
❑ Tendency to run words together
❑ Poor Oral reading ability
❑ Discrepancy between academic
performance and IQ scores
❑ Louder speech than would be indicated by
the situation
❑ Tendency to watch the face of speaker with
considerably greater attention
 HEARING IMPAIRMENT
Educational Needs and
Programs
Slight loss
• Attention to vocabulary
development
• Needs favorable seating and lighting
• May need speech reading instruction
and speech correction
Mild loss
• Should be referred to special
education evaluation for educational
follow-up
• Favorable seating and possible
special education supports
especially for primary age children
• May need speech reading instruction
• Speech conservation and correction
Educational Needs and Educational Needs and
Programs Programs
Moderate loss • Can benefit from individual hearing
• Likely to need a resource teacher or to evaluation
be in a special class • Auditory training on individual and
• Should have special help in language group aids
skills, vocabulary development, usage, • Part-time regular class placement
reading, writing, grammar, etc. as profitable for the student
• Can benefit from hearing aid through
evaluation and auditory training Profound loss
• Speech reading instruction • Will need SPED
•Speech conservation and speech • Needs specialized program
correction supervision and comprehensive
support services
Severe loss • Continuous appraisal of needs in
• Likely to need a SPED program with regard to oral manual
emphasis on language skills,concept communication
development, speech reading and • Auditory training
speech • Sign language
• Part-time regular class
 FACTS ABOUT
HEARING IMPAIRMENT
treatment
No medications treat dyslexia. Instead, characteristics
educational interventions can teach effective
Muffling of speech and other sounds.
Hearing new ways to learn and read. Children with
dyslexia may work with a trained specialist to
Difficulty understanding words,
especially against background noise
loss is learn new reading skills. Sometimes, slowing
down a lesson gives a child with dyslexia more
or in a crowd.
Trouble hearing consonants.
costly time to cover topics.

accommodations
Frequently asking others to speak
more slowly, clearly and loudly.
Using graphics paper or shift lined paper Needing to turn up the volume of the
lateral while writing television or radio.
Change the instrument of writing Withdrawal from conversations.
Using convenient grips with the pencil
Encouraging narration while writing
Allow the use of Ipads or laptop
9
ATTENTION DEFICIT AND
HYPERACTIVITY
DISORDER Characteristics, Indicators,
and Symptoms of AD/HD
What isAttention Deficit and
❑ Difficulty on concentrating on tasks
Hyperactivity Disorder ? ❑ Get lost in the directions along the
-It is a neurologically- based way
developmental disability which revolves
around inattentiveness, 2. Hyperactivity
impulsivity and hyperactivity - Often fidgets with hands or feet or
squirms in seat
Characteristics, Indicators,
- Often leaves eat in a classroom or in
and Symptoms of AD/HD other situations in which remaining to be
1. Inattention seated
❑ Attention is a process that has different is expected
parts – focus, select, sustain and resist shift - Often runs about or climbs excessively
❑ Having short attention and distractible in situations in which it is inappropriate
(refers to the short attention span and the (in
ease with which some children can pull off a adults or adolescents may be subjected
task) to feelings of relentlessness)
 ATTENTION DEFICIT AND
HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER
Characteristics,
Indicators, and Symptoms
of AD/HD
3. Impulsivity
❑ It is NOT acting without thinking –
cognitive impulsivity
❑ Act before thinking because they
have difficulty waiting or delaying
gratification
❑ Displays behavior that is risky but
the child just has difficulty controlling
impulse and
will often be surprised to discover
that he or she has gotten into a
dangerous situation
and has no idea how to get out of it.
Causes of ADHD
❑ Exact causes till remains unknown
❑ Parent and teachers do not cause
AD/HD
❑ Heredity – early research has shown
that children with AD/HD are four
times as likely to
have family members with AD/HD as
normal children
❑ Brain Physiology – causes of the
disorder involves a dysfunction of the
brain though it is
unclear whether the dysfunction is a
cause or a symptom of a disorder
❑ Neurobiological-based
developmental disability
❑ Fluorescent lighting that flickers at
a low rate was also a suggested cause
Causes of ADHD
❑ Sometimes AD/HD symptoms
develop as a result of unrelated
medical illnesses that affect
brain functioning.
❑ Environmental factors – most
research does not support
environmental causes with the
exception of lead exposure
❑ Allergic reactions
❑ Diet – refined sugar or food
additives, artificial colorings or
preservations
Treatment
• No cure or “Quick Fix”
• Symptoms can be managed
through a combination of effects –
multi-management
approach
10 GIFTED AND TALENTED

Gifted and Talented

• Those who score in the top 2% on standardized tests
of intelligence. (Lewis Terman,
WHAT IS GIFTED AND
TALENTED PERSON?
Gifted children are born with
1925)
above-average natural abilities.
• Children capable of high performance include those
Talented children have
with demonstrated achievement and/or potential
developed their natural abilities
abilities in any of the following areas singly or in
to a high level. Children can be
combination:
gifted and/or talented in many
1. General intellectual aptitude
areas, including sport, art,
2. Specific academic aptitude
music, intellectual ability and
3. Creative or productive
more
4. Leadership ability
5. Visual and performing arts FACTS
CHARACTERISTICS
Ability to
comprehend material several grade
levels above their age peers.
Surprising emotional depth and sensitivity at a Gifted children
young age. do not always
Strong sense of curiosity.
Enthusiastic about unique interests and topics. excel in school
Quirky or mature sense of humor.