How Disability Impacts Learning…and what we can do about it!

Ellen J. Stoltz, Ph.D. Acting Senior Director,

Special Education Department

Three P’s Purpose: To provide new teachers with

background knowledge to promote effective instruction by presenting observable traits of students with disabilities;

Presentation: Power Point, large- and small-groupwork, hands-on activity;

Pay-off: Increase understanding of the challenges of specific disabilities; Develop the concept of Universal Design;

•Setting the Scene…

Neurodevelopmental Constructs..Disrupt the Deficit Paradigm…Person First….Instructional Connectivity

Neurodevelopmental Constructs Across the Grades Temporal-Sequential Ordering: time,

seriation, problem-solving Spatial Ordering: patterns,geometric

imaging, whole-to-part, spatial concepts, nonverbal thinking

Memory: Abstract, symbolic information, procedural recall, rapid recall of facts,

Disability Categories

ID= Intellectual Disability

HI= Hearing Impairment

LSH=Speech and Language

VI=Visual Impairment

ED=Emotional Disturbance

OHI=Other Health Impaired

SLD=Specific Learning Disability

OI=Orthopedic Impairment

Deaf-Blind

MD= Multiple Disabilities

AUT=Autism

TBI=Traumatic Brain Injury

DD=Develop-mental Delay

Incidence in Hartford

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

LD ID ED SLI AUT

Percent

Total Students with Disabilities=3658

Characteristics of Students with Learning Disabilities Achievement below

ability; 60-80% of students with

LD are males; Comprise 4-10% of

population, Familial pattern; Inconsistent

performance;

Short- and long-term memory deficits;

Disorganized in thought, action, and materials;

Poor spatial awareness and sequencing in time and space;

Socially immature; misinterpret social cues;

What will students with LD struggle with? Numerical Proportional Reasoning

Geometry and Measurement

Algebraic reasoning: Patterns and Functions

What will students with LD struggle with? (or how does the student’s disability interfere with benefit from participating in and benefiting from the general education curriculum?)

Relational and positional concepts

Fractions and decimals

One moreSkip countingPlace valuePatterns

Multi-step word problems

MoneySubtraction and

divisionCalendar and timeEstimationOperational signs

Strategies for Students with LD

Increase Memory: Multisensory Presentation and Response…seeing (V),hearing (A), saying (A), doing (K), writing (V,K,T), acting (VAKT);

Increase Organization: Provide routines, graphic organizers for math concepts, visual symbols for math-problem-solving

FACT FAMILIES and UNIVERSAL DESIGN Visual:

Auditory:

Kinesthetic:

Tactile:

Objective Procedure Student Products

Accom/Mod (VAKT)

Materials Classroom Management

Characteristics of Students with Intellectual Disabilities Below average intellect

AND adaptive skills, IQ=70 or below;

Adaptive functioning= communication, social,

self-help skills; No specific personality

and behavioral features: may be placid, dependent, aggressive, impulsive;

Strategy: 80-100 repetitions with drill, concrete examples, personalized experience, realia, manipulatives, VAKT

Characteristics of Students with Speech and Language Impairment Impaired articulation,

expressive language, receptive language;

May occur with spoken or sign language;

Limited vocabulary, simple grammar and sentences, unusual word order; slow speech; circumlocutions;

Poor language comprehension; misarticulations;

Strategy: Ask students to retell directions in own words utilizing peers as language models;

Characteristics of Students with Other Health Impairments limited strength,

vitality or alertness, including a heightened alertness with respect to the educational environment,

attention deficit with/without hyperactivity disorder;

tuberculosis, rheumatic fever, nephritis, asthma, sickle cell anemia, hemophilia, epilepsy, lead poisoning, leukemia, or diabetes,

adversely affects a learner’s performance

Strategy: breaks, hi-protein snacks, visual schedule, 3:1 praise ratio

Characteristics of Students with Other Health Impairments ADD/ADHD:

Distracted by sound and movement, impulsive, inconsistent across settings, task-dependent; hyper-alert;

Moves from one activity to the next; incomplete work;

Winded, easily fatigued, little interest in activities, low motivation;

Lethargic, low energy, disorganized thinking;

Did you know that…ADHD occurs in

different lobes of the brain?

Strategies for Students with OHI

Scheduled breaks Hi-protein or complex carb snacks Visual schedule 3:1 praise ratio Elapsed timer Fidget toy Differential Reinforcement of Other

Behavior (DRO)

Characteristics of Students with Autism Impaired development

in social interaction and communication;

Restricted repertoire of activity and interests;

Lack of social/emotional reciprocity;

Lacks awareness of others, prefers solitary interests;

Delayed language comprehension;

Triggers: gym floor, florescent lights, noise, movement, inconsistency

Strategies for Students with Autism

Visual supports (icons, pictures, photo album of school locations)

Elapsed timer Numbered turn takers Transition warnings, such as bells,

claps, lights Routines

Characteristics of Students with Emotional Disturbance Inability to learn due

to poor peer and adult relationships;

Abnormal feelings and behaviors under normal circumstances;

Physical symptoms or fears associated with school;

Emotional/Social behaviors that are of a marked degree and have lasted for longer than six months AND affect learning;

2-16% of population; Bright, easily bored,

distracted;

Characteristics of Students with Emotional Disturbance Argumentative,

defiant, blames others, loses temper easily; mood swings;

Verbal and/or physical aggression; agitated;

Passive, socially reclusive;

Low self-esteem; poor memory and decision-making;

Acting out; poor social relationships;

Strategy: anticipate behaviors, be proactive, use preferred activity for leverage, stay calm; puzzle reinforcer, preferred activities, hands-on

What Can You Do To Help?...Universal Design Understand your own Knowing-Doing gap when you present

your lessons! Build lessons with the product in mind. Know there are better ways of doing things…tap your internal

experts in your classroom! PLAN grouping, traffic flow, multi-sensory tasks, environmental

triggers, choices Don’t Assume! Refer to Bloom’s Taxonomy to guide lesson-

planning, i.e. knowledge vs. application; Embed accommodations and modifications into the lesson for

all students to access; Think VAKT. Repetition: similar (drill) and diverse (multiple ways) to learn the

same material;

Additional Ideas…

Measure and Display Successes for Learning and Behavior; Link to BIP;

Increase Student’s Awareness of How Disability Affects Learning and Behavior; Link to IEP;

Utilize an Array of Consistently Applied Strategies to Ensure Success, i.e. highlighting verbs, restating directions in student language;

Focus on Student Strengths and Interests for Preferred Activities (leverage);

Utilize Visual Supports for Learning and Behavior, such as authentic pictures of student working, daily schedule; point system (individual and group) with puzzle reinforcer and preferred activity; elapsed timer

Questions?

stole001@hartfordschools.org;Kindergartensigns.comEnvironments.comwww.4teachers.orgwww.help4teachers.comwww.tandl.leon.k12.fl.us/lang/Ellessonspage.htmlwww.borenson.comhttp://.timetimer.com