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 more
Skip counting
Place value
Patterns
Multi-step word problems
Money
Subtraction and division
Calendar and time
Estimation
Operational 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?
[email protected];Kindergartensigns.comEnvironments.comwww.4teachers.orgwww.help4teachers.comwww.tandl.leon.k12.fl.us/lang/Ellessonspage.htmlwww.borenson.comhttp://.timetimer.com