Special Education

Special Education
 RA 7277 (Magna Carta for Disabled Persons)
described persons with disabilities are part of Philippine
society and so the State shall give full support to the
improvement of the total well-being of disabled persons
and their integration into the mainstream of society.
 Educating students with physical , mental, and
behavioral problems is everyone's concern.
What is Special Education?
 IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act)- It is
the federal law that ensures that the rights of children and
youth with disabilities and their parents are protected
Special education, in short SpEd, is an planned
individually and systematically implemented and carefully
evaluated instruction to help exceptional children achieve
the greatest possible personal self-sufficiency and success
in present and future environments (Inciong, et al 2007).
It would be helpful to give the readers a glimpse of terms
used in special education as defined in Section 4 of
Republic Act 7277:
a. Disabled Persons
b. Individualized Education Program
c. Mainstreaming (Least Restrictive Environment)
d. Reasonable Accommodation
e. Rehabilitation
f. Sheltered Employment
g. Social Barriers
h. Zero Defect
WHAT ARE THE TYPES OF
DISABILITIES?
• Not one is authorized to label and segregate children
with identified disability if the child is not submitted for a
legitimate assessment. The evaluation will serve as a
functional and meaningful tool that will emphasize the
child’s disability.
 Autism
Autism is a neurological disorder that affects communication
and the processing of sensory information.
Autism or Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD) affects
child’s ability to communicate, understand language, play, and
relate to others.
Their behavior and interests, as well as communication and
social interaction skills, are repetitive and restrictive. This
repetitive communication disorder manifested by autistic
children is called echolalia.
ADD/ADHD ( Attention Deficit Disorder
or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity
Disorder)
 ADD/ADHD is a biological, brain-based condition that is
characterized by poor attention and distractibility and/or
hyperactive and impulsive behaviors.
 They are physically active, they care much less on difficult
things, they experience restlessness, they press their fingers
as an outlet for energy, they daydream a lot, they talk a lot,
they exhibit many motor movements, and they make noises
 Learning disabilities
Learning disabilities refers to a disorder in one or more of
the basic psychological processes involved in
understanding or using spoken or written language,
spelling, or mathematics.
a. Dyslexia- an impairment in the ability to read or
comprehend written language which is considered to be a
significant learning disability on reading problems, and/or oral
language.
b. Dysgraphia- is a disorder related to written language.
c. Dyscalcula or dyscalculia- Is the difficulty of the
individual in mathematical problems.
d. Non-verbal- it is disorder manifested by children who
have motor, visual and spatial difficulties.
Dysgraphia Dyscalcula
 Mental Retardation
Mental Retardation is a condition that affects an individual’s
general ability to learn school materials, to adopt to the
social demands/ characteristics of a given age level, and to
maintain appropriate interpersonal relationships with other
people.
 Mental Retardation
Classification IQ Range Capabilities according to supervision
Mild 50-55 to 70 Can learn basic academics and have enough
social adaptive ability to become semi-
independent or independent living.
Moderate 35-40 to Can learn self-help, communicate, social and
50-55 simple occupational skills but limited to
academics and vocational skills
Severe 20-25 to Can learn self-help, communication and
35-40 simple work tasks under supervision
Unspecified There is no strong presumption and the person is
considered to be untestable by standard intelligence test
 Physical Impairments
Physical impairments are conditions that affect movement – an
individual’s gross-motor control or mobility and fine- motor control.
Impairment Description
Cerebral Palsy  Literally means ‘paralysis of the brain’ involving
muscle control, posture and movement that is not
progressive or does not get worse over time.
Hearing  A permanent or temporary disability in listening that
will affect learning skills or academic achievement.
Visual  Blindness is referred as having low or no vision
Aphasia or Apraxia  Expressive speech disorder or any language
impairment, receptive or expressive, caused by
brain damage.
 Gifted and Talented
Theses children exhibit excellence in the areas of intellect,
creative arts, leadership and in some specific academic
areas whose parents or teachers are astonished with their
reasoning power or geniuses.
Other types of disabilities that need further readings by non-
special education students are Tourette syndrome, Down
syndrome, Asperger’s syndrome, traumatic brain injury,
and emotional behavior disturbance.
 Individual Education Plan
(IEP)
Special education teacher’s plan is not for the entire
class but rather for an individual child.
It is a legal document made through with special
education assessment, eligibility, and instructional
planning procedures (Friend, 2008).
IEP is a planning tool where knowledge and skills are
systematically taught.
 The Special Education
Curriculum
Bauzon (2001) emphasized the necessity of the
curriculum.
1. Integrative or Activity – Centered Curriculum
Approach - The scope and sequence of this approach is
found in the child himself.
2. Child- Centered curriculum Approach- It is designed
for the child as the center of the educational process.
Disability Suggested Curriculum
Learning  Weekly spelling tests with schedules posted on
Disabilities the bulletin board.
 Students with dyslexia have much easier time
focusing on a topic that is interesting to them
 For dyscalculic children, keep a sharp eye for
opportunities and skills that are appropriate with
mathematical understanding.
 Children with dysgraphia must be taught with
cursive writing.
ADD/ADHD  The curriculum includes a balance of teacher-
directed and self directed activities.
Autism  In as much as students with autism tend to be visual
learners, visual cues greatly help them understand
language, concepts, directions and schedules which
are strategically posted inside the classroom.

Tourette  Many students with this disability have difficulties

Syndrome with fine motor and visual functioning. For this
reason, some homework and classroom
assignments need to be shorter, since hand writing
can be laborious.
 Mental  Learn about your student’s developmental level and
Retardation types of intelligence so you can plan how to include
her in learning activities.
Gifted and  Gifted students can have different assignments, but
Talented they should be in the same area of study as what
the class is working on.
Physical  If you are teaching children with hearing
Impairment impairment, use visual cues to reinforce concepts
and facts.