Teaching Students with Developmental Disabilities

(Chapter 7 of Text)

Professor Daniel J. AbbottED 242

Fall 2009

What are Developmental Disabilities?

• Developmental disability is a term used to describe life-long, disabilities attributable to mental and/or physical impairments, usually manifested prior to age 18 but can occur at any age.

• People with developmental disabilities have problems with major life activities such as language, mobility, learning, self-help, and independent living.

More about Development Disabilities

Developmental disabilities affecting daily functioning in three or more of the following:

• capacity for independent living • economic self-sufficiency • learning • mobility • receptive and expressive language • self-care

Types of Developmental Disabilities

• Frequently, people with cerebral palsy, various genetic and chromosomal disorders such as Down syndrome and Fragile X syndrome, and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder are examples of developmental disabilities.

• Developmental disabilities are usually classified as severe, profound, moderate or mild, as assessed by the individual's need for supports.

Causes of Developmental Disabilities

• Brain injury or infection before, during or after birth

• Growth or nutrition problems • Abnormalities of chromosomes and genes • Babies born long before the expected birth

date - also called extreme prematurity • Poor diet and health care • Drug misuse during pregnancy, including

alcohol intake and smoking.

Characteristics of Distributions

• Student scores can be talked about in terms of: mean, variance, skew, and kurtosis.

• Mean-For a population (N) or a sample (n), the mean is the arithmetic average of all values.

• Variance- describes the distance between each score.

• Skew- refers to the symmetry of a distribution of scores.

Characteristics….(continued)

• Skew is used in reference to Normal Distribution (bell shaped curve) in this case we are talking about the distribution of test scores.

• Scores can positively (many students earn high scores with few earning low scores and negatively skewed (many students earn low scores and few earn high scores).

Facts about Developmental Disabilities

• Developmental disabilities affect between 1 and 2% of the population in most western countries making it a low incidence disability.

• Developmental disabilities are twice as common in males as in females.

• Note: None of the disabilities listed under low-incidence disabilities generally exceed 1% of the school-aged population at any given time.

For your Information

Low-incidence disabilities include:• Blindness & low vision• Deafness & hard-of-hearing• deaf-blindness• Significant developmental delay• Orthopedic impairment• Multiple disability• Emotional or behavioral disorders

Common Developmental Disabilities

• Cerebral palsy (CP) is the term used for a group of non-progressive disorders of movement and posture caused by abnormal development of, or damage to, motor control centers of the brain.

• CP does not include conditions due to progressive disease or degeneration of the brain.

CP (continued)

• Also excluded from CP are any disorders of muscle control that arise in the muscles themselves and/or in the peripheral nervous system (nerves outside the brain and spinal cord).

• CP is not a specific diagnosis, but is more accurately considered a description—a description of a broad but defined group of neurological and physical problems.

Closing Comments about CP

• Symptoms of CP include difficulty with fine motor tasks such as writing and difficulty gross motor skills like walking.

• Some people with CP are also affected by other medical disorders such as seizures.

• In almost 70% of cases, CP is found with some other disorder, the most common being mental retardation.

Down Syndrome

• Down Syndrome is a genetic disorder that causes lifelong mental retardation, developmental delays and other problems.

• Down syndrome occurs when an individual is born with three, rather than two, copies of the 21st chromosome.

• People with Down syndrome have an increased risk for certain medical conditions such as congenital heart defects, respiratory and hearing problems.

Down Syndrome (continued)

• A few of the common physical traits of Down syndrome are low muscle tone, small stature, an upward slant to the eyes, and a single deep crease across the center of the palm.

• As a woman's age increases, the risk of having a Down syndrome baby increases significantly. – At younger ages (below age 35), the risk is about

one in 4,000; by age 45 the risk becomes one in 35.

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

• Fetal alcohol syndrome is a condition that results in permanent birth defects caused by maternal consumption of alcohol during pregnancy.

• Fetal alcohol syndrome is a common cause of mental retardation.

• Distinctive facial features, including small eyes, an exceptionally thin upper lip, a short, upturned nose.

Mental Retardation

• It is defined as an intellectual functioning level (as measured by intelligence quotient) that is well below average and significant limitations in daily living skills (adaptive functioning).

• Mental retardation is defined as IQ score below 70-75. Adaptive skills are the skills needed for daily life. Such skills include the ability to produce and understand language (communication); home-living skills and use of community resources.

Fragile X Syndrome

Fragile X happens when there is a change or mutation in a single gene Fragile X Mental Retardation 1 (FMR1) .

• This gene normally makes a protein the body needs for the brain to develop.

• When there is a change in this gene, the body makes only a little bit or none of the protein, which can cause the symptoms of Fragile X.

Fragile X (continued)

• Parents can have children with Fragile X even if the parents do not have Fragile X themselves.

• Symptoms are often milder in girls than in boys. Common signs of Fragile X:

• Intelligence and learning – Many people with Fragile X have intellectual disabilities. These problems can range from mild to severe.

Symptoms (continued)

• Physical – Teens and adults with Fragile X may have long ears, faces, and jaws.

• Many people with Fragile X may also have loose, flexible joints and able to extend joints like the thumb, knee, and elbow further than normal.

• Social and emotional problems, such as aggression in boys or shyness in girls.

• Speech and language problems, boys stutter or leave out parts of their words.

Interventions

• Speech and language, behavior, cognitive development, sensory integration, gross motor development, and daily living are areas that often need to be addressed for someone with fragile X syndrome.

• Individual Educational Plans (IEPs) will include goals that may be written as speech-language goals, sensory motor programming, behavioral plans, or academic goals.

Vocabulary Words

• Adaptive behavior refers to the effectiveness in which individuals meet the standards of personal independence and social responsibility expected for their age and cultural group.

• Many students with mental retardation display biased responding, which is saying “yes” because they want to please the teacher or hide their confusion.

Developmental Disabilities and the General Education Classroom

• IDEA mandates access to the general education curriculum. Therefore, as a classroom teacher you will probably have students with development disabilities in your class.

• Planning Pyramids, COACH, and MAPS are examples of planning systems that can facilitate participating in the general education classroom (see text for details).

Role of Gen. Ed. Teacher

• Take ownership of students with disabilities by demonstrating that these students are members of the class too.– When this happen, students with disabilities

develop a sense of belonging and being accepted.

• Become familiar with the full range of goals and objectives on the student’s IEP.

• Curriculum Adaptations