CHAPTER 3

TYPOLOGY OF LEARNERS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS

LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of the chapter, you should be able to:

1. distinguish the different types, identifications, etiologies, causes,
characteristics of learners who have special needs;
2. describe the different types and levels/degrees, etiologies, causes,
and characteristics of these learners;
3. demonstrate understanding of the special educational needs of
learners in difficult circumstances including: geographic isolation;
chronic illness; displacement due to armed conflict, urban
resettlement or disasters; child abuse and child labor practices;
and
4. demonstrate knowledge of teaching strategies that are inclusive of
learners from indigenous groups

A. LEARNERS WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY

What is an Intellectual Disability?

Intellectual disability is a term used when a person has certain

limitations in mental functioning and in skills such as
communicating, taking care of him or herself, and social skills.
These limitations will cause a child to learn and develop more
slowly than a typical child.
Intellectual disability can be defined as a significantly reduced
ability to understand new or complex information, learn new
skills and to cope independently including social functioning.
Children with intellectual disabilities (sometimes called
cognitive disabilities or, previously, mental retardation) may
take longer to learn to speak, walk, and take care of their
personal needs such as dressing or eating. They are likely to
have trouble learning in school. They will learn, but it will take
them longer. There may be some things they cannot learn.
IDEA, 2010 used the term “mental retardation” instead of
“intellectual disability.” Accordingly, “intellectual disability” is
defined as…“…significantly subaverage general intellectual
functioning, existing concurrently with deficits in adaptive
behavior and manifested during the developmental period, that
adversely affects a child’s educational performance.”

What Causes an Intellectual Disability?

Doctors have found many causes of intellectual disabilities. The most
common are:

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1. Genetic conditions. Sometimes an intellectual disability is caused
by abnormal genes inherited from parents, errors when genes
combine, or other reasons. intellectual disabilities caused by
genetics come from abnormal genes. Parents may pass these
abnormal genes on to children or errors could arise when genes
combine in the womb that causes intellectual disabilities.
Abnormal genes can occur from infections during pregnancy or
from things like overexposure to radiation from X-rays. Examples
of genetic conditions are Down syndrome, fragile X syndrome, and
phenylketonuria (PKU).
2. Problems during pregnancy. An intellectual disability can result
when the baby does not develop inside the mother properly. For
example, there may be a problem with the way the baby’s cells
divide as it grows. A woman who drinks alcohol or gets an infection
like rubella and syphilis during pregnancy may also have a baby
with an intellectual disability. Malnutrition and Environmental
toxins (i.e. mercury, lead) may also increase the risk of intellectual
disabilities.
3. Problems at birth. Premature birth and low birth weight represent
risk factors and often indicate more serious problems to come.
Sometimes oxygen deprivation or other injuries occur during the
birthing process and subsequently causes intellectual disabilities.
4. Problems after birth – sometimes childhood diseases can damage
the brain causing characteristics of intellectual disabilities.
Further, injuries like a head injury or near drowning can cause a
child to develop intellectual disability symptoms.
5. Health problems. Diseases like whooping cough, the measles, or
meningitis can cause intellectual disabilities. They can also be
caused by extreme malnutrition (not eating right), not getting
enough medical care, or by being exposed to poisons like lead or
mercury.
6. Poverty and cultural factors – children who live in poverty have a
much higher risk of exposure to environmental toxins, diseases
and experiencing malnutrition. These things all increase the risk
that a child may develop characteristics of intellectual disabilities.
Also, those living in poverty may miss out on important cultural
and educational experiences available to other kids.

 An intellectual disability is not a disease. You can’t catch an

intellectual disability from anyone.
 It’s also not a type of mental illness, like depression.
 There is no cure for intellectual disabilities.
 However, most children with an intellectual disability can learn to
do many things. It just takes them more time and effort than other
children.

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What are the Signs of Intellectual Disability?
There are many signs of an intellectual disability. For example,
children with an intellectual disability may:

 sit up, crawl, or walk later than other children;

 learn to talk later, or have trouble speaking,
 find it hard to remember things,
 not understand how to pay for things,
 have trouble understanding social rules,
 have trouble seeing the consequences of their actions,
 have trouble solving problems, and/or
 have trouble thinking logically.
There are a number of common characteristics that may have a
significant impact on an individual’s learning, including:

 difficulty understanding new information

 difficulties with communication and social skills
 slow cognitive processing time
 difficulty in the sequential processing of information
 difficulties comprehending abstract concepts.
How are Intellectual Disabilities Diagnosed?
Intellectual disabilities are diagnosed by looking at two main things.
These are: the ability of a person’s brain to learn, think, solve
problems, and make sense of the world (called IQ or intellectual
functioning); and whether the person has the skills he or she needs to
live independently (called adaptive behavior, or adaptive functioning).
1. Intellectual functioning, or IQ, is usually measured by a test called
an IQ test. The average score is 100. People scoring below 70 to 75
are thought to have an intellectual disability.
2. To measure adaptive behavior, professionals look at what a child
can do in comparison to other children of his or her age. Certain
skills are important to adaptive behavior. These are:
a. daily living skills, such as getting dressed, going to the
bathroom, and feeding one’s self;
b. communication skills, such as understanding what is said and
being able to answer;
c. social skills with peers, family members, adults, and others.
Types of Intellectual Disabilities
1. Down’s Syndrome 
 Down’s syndrome is an intellectual disability stemming from
having a part of or an extra copy of chromosome 21 in the
DNA.

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  It is the most common chromosomal cause of mild to
moderate intellectual disabilities in children.
 Down syndrome’s common symptoms include slow learning,
short attention span, impulsive behavior, poor judgment,
and delayed language and speech development.
 Children with Down syndrome have poor muscle tone,
making them take longer to learn how to make some
movements such as turning over, walking, standing, and
sitting.
 Some of the physical characteristics of individuals with Down
syndrome include flattened facial profile and nose, upward
slanting eyes, and small head, ears, and mouth, tongue that
tends to stick out of the mouth, tiny white spots on the iris
(colored part) of the eye, small hands and feet, small pinky
fingers that sometimes curve toward the thumb, poor muscle
tone or loose joints, shorter in height as children and adults
 Additionally, individuals with Down syndrome are prone to
other health factors such as heart abnormalities, hearing
loss, autism, vision problems, and respiratory conditions.
 Although children with down syndrome have a slower
development rate, they will eventually meet all or any of the
development milestones.
 Also, the lifespan of individuals with Down syndrome has
increased due to increased research and technology in the
area.

2. Fragile X Syndrome
 Fragile X Syndrome is the most prevalent form of inherited
developmental and intellectual disability.
 This genetic disorder results from a change or mutation in the X
chromosome.
 The disability affects the development of a person, more so in
the areas of learning and behavior.
 it can affect physical appearance, communication skills, and
sensitivity to the individual’s light and noise with intellectual
disability. 
 It is worth noting that the fragile x syndrome disability is more
prevalent in boys than girls. 
 Individuals with fragile x syndrome do not exhibit the same
signs and symptoms. However, they have common signs,
including:
 Problems with speech and language 
 Attention disorders Problems with hyperactivity 
 Anxiety  Developmental delay 
 Problems processing sensory information 

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  Aggressiveness (ADHD)
 Trouble making eye contact 

3. Fetal Alcohol Syndrome 

 Fetal alcohol syndrome is an intellectual disability caused by
exposure to alcohol during pregnancy.
 The severity of the disability depends on the child’s level of
exposure to alcohol during pregnancy.
 The common symptoms found in children with fetal alcohol
syndrome include:
 Facial, limb, and joint deformities
 Poor memory and judgment
 Learning disabilities
 Poor social skills
 Sensory difficulties, including hearing and vision
 Heart problems and defects 
 Behavioral problems
 Slow physical growth 

4. Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS)

 Prader-Willi syndrome is a genetic disorder occurring due to a
problem with a part of chromosome 15.
 Babies born with the disability are poor feeders at infancy.
 Still, the feeding habit changes at the age of two, where the kids’
hunger becomes insatiable, making them unable to control their
appetite.
 Symptoms of individuals with Prader-Willi syndrome include:
 Intellectual disability (problem-solving, language, and math
difficulties)
 Poor muscle tone
 Diabetes / Obesity 
 Short stature 
 Hyperphagia
 Emotional difficulties
 Skin picking
 Hormone deficiencies 
 Sleep issues such as sleep apnea

5. Cerebral Palsy
 Cerebral means having to do with the brain. Palsy means
weakness or problems with using the muscles.
 Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of disorders that affect a person’s
ability to move and maintain balance and posture.

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  Cerebral palsy is caused by a problem with the brain that
happens before, during or soon after birth.
 CP is the most common motor disability in childhood.
 Cerebral palsy can also sometimes be caused by damage to a
baby's brain during or shortly after birth.
 it can be due to:the brain temporarily not getting enough oxygen
(asphyxiation) during a difficult birth; an infection of the brain,
such as meningitis; a serious head injury; choking or nearly
drowning, resulting in the brain not getting enough oxygen, a
very low blood sugar level; an infection caught by the mother;
an injury to the unborn baby's head; being born; having a low
birthweight; being part of a multiple birth, such as a twin or
triplet; the mother smoking, drinking a lot of alcohol, or taking
drugs during pregnancy
 The symptoms of CP vary from person to person. A person with
severe CP might need to use special equipment to be able to
walk, or might not be able to walk at all and might need lifelong
care. A person with mild CP, on the other hand, might walk a
little awkwardly, but might not need any special help. CP does
not get worse over time, though the exact symptoms can change
over a person’s lifetime.
 There's currently no cure for cerebral palsy, but treatments are
available to help people with the condition be as active and
independent as possible.
Teaching strategies for Students with Intellectual Disability
It is important to know that despite difficulties in a learning
environment, student with intellectual disability can and do have the
capacity to acquire and use new information. There is a range of
inclusive teaching strategies that can assist all students to learn but
there are some specific strategies that are useful in teaching a group
which includes students with intellectual disability:
 Provide an outline of what will be taught - highlight key concepts
and provide opportunities to practice new skills and concepts.
 Provide reading lists well before the start of a course so that
reading can begin early.
 Consider tailoring reading lists and provide guidance to key texts.
Allow work to be completed on an in-depth study of a few texts
rather than a broad study of many.
 Whenever you are introducing procedures or processes or giving
directions, for example in a laboratory or computing exercise,
ensure that stages or sequences are made clear and are explained
in verbal as well as written form.
 Students may benefit from using assistive technology.

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 Use as many verbal descriptions as possible to supplement
material presented on blackboard or overhead
 Use clear, succinct, straightforward language.
 Reinforce learning by using real-life examples and environments.
 Present information in a range of formats – handouts, worksheets,
overheads, videos – to meet a diversity of learning styles.
 Use a variety of teaching methods so that students are not
constrained by needing to acquire information by reading only.
Where possible, present material diagrammatically - in lists, flow
charts, concept maps etc.
 Keep diagrams uncluttered and use color wherever appropriate to
distinguish and highlight.
 Recording lectures will assist those students who have handwriting
or coordination problems and those who write slowly as well as
those who have a tendency to mishear or misquote.
 Students will be more likely to follow correctly the sequence of
material in a lecture if they are able to listen to the material more
than once.
 Wherever possible, ensure that key statements and instructions
are repeated or highlighted in some way.
 One-to-one tutoring in subjects may be important; this can include
peer tutoring.
 Students may benefit from having oral rather than written
feedback on their written assignments.
 It may be helpful for students with intellectual disability to have an
individual orientation to laboratory equipment or computers to
minimize anxiety.
 Provide visual stimulus. Whether it’s simply drawing the concept,
you’re describing on a whiteboard or providing students with video
or photographic content to study. ID students find it easier to focus
when visually involved in the learning process.
 Encourage music in the classroom. Music can be a vital part of
learning and development for any student, but for those with ID, it
can be an especially powerful motivator. Music alongside concepts
or lessons can help them retain information and offer greater
engagement in the subject.
Assessment strategies
Students with intellectual disability may need particular adjustments
to assessment tasks. Once you have a clear picture of how the
disability impacts on learning, you can consider alternative
assessment strategies. In considering alternative forms of assessment,
equal opportunity is not a guaranteed outcome, it is the objective. You
are not expected to lower standards to accommodate students with

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disability but rather are required to give them a reasonable
opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned:
o Allow extensions to assignment deadlines
o Use technology to record students work, e.g. digital photography,
tape and video.
o Students may take longer to organize thoughts and sequence
material. They will benefit from discussing their outlines, with
particular attention being paid to appropriate relationships and
connections between points.
o Encourage the student to submit an early draft of assignments to
allow the opportunity for feedback to the student as a formative
process.
o Students with an intellectual disability will need extra time in an
examination for reading and analyzing questions and for planning
their answers. Some students will request that examination
questions be read to them. Some students may prefer to dictate
their answers to a scribe. They will need a venue which is quiet
and distraction-free.
o Keep short your written examination instructions and sentences
within examination questions. Questions using bullet points, lists
or distinct parts are more likely to be correctly interpreted.
o Because students with intellectual disability find it difficult to read
multiple choice questions in a way that allows them to appreciate
subtle changes in the arrangement of words, short answer
questions will be a better test of their knowledge.
o Students may benefit from an exam timetable that features a
number of days between exams to assist in exam preparation.
o Many students with intellectual disability are chronic misspellers
and use dictionaries only with great difficulty.
Tips for Teachers
 Learn as much as you can about intellectual disability.
 Recognize that you can make an enormous difference in this
student’s life! Find out what the student’s strengths and interests
are, and emphasize them. Create opportunities for success.
 If you are not part of the student’s IEP team, ask for a copy of his
or her IEP. The student’s educational goals will be listed there, as
well as the services and classroom accommodations he or she is to
receive. Talk to others in your school (e.g., special educators), as
necessary. They can help you identify effective methods of teaching
this student, ways to adapt the curriculum, and how to address
the student’s IEP goals in your classroom.
 Be as concrete as possible. Demonstrate what you mean rather
than giving verbal directions. Rather than just relating new

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 information verbally, show a picture. And rather than just showing
a picture, provide the student with hands-on materials and
experiences and the opportunity to try things out.
 Break longer, new tasks into small steps. Demonstrate the steps.
Have the student do the steps, one at a time. Provide assistance, as
necessary.
 Give the student immediate feedback.
 Teach the student life skills such as daily living, social skills, and
occupational awareness and exploration, as appropriate. Involve
the student in group activities or clubs.
 Work together with the student’s parents and other school
personnel to create and implement an IEP tailored to meet the
student’s needs. Regularly share information about how the
student is doing at school and at home.
Tips for Parents
 Learn about intellectual disability. The more you know, the more
you can help yourself and your child.
 Be patient, be hopeful. Your child, like every child, has a whole
lifetime to learn and grow.
 Encourage independence in your child. For example, help your
child learn daily care skills, such as dressing, feeding him or
herself, using the bathroom, and grooming.
 Give your child chores. Keep her age, attention span, and abilities
in mind. Break down jobs into smaller steps. For example, if your
child’s job is to set the table, first ask her to get the right number
of napkins. Then have her put one at each family member’s place
at the table. Do the same with the utensils, going one at a time.
Tell her what to do, step by step, until the job is done. Demonstrate
how to do the job. Help her when she needs assistance.
 Give your child frequent feedback. Praise your child when he or
she does well. Build your child’s abilities.
 Find out what skills your child is learning at school. Find ways for
your child to apply those skills at home. For example, if the teacher
is going over a lesson about money, take your child to the
supermarket with you. Help him count out the money to pay for
your groceries. Help him count the change.
 Find opportunities in your community for social activities, such as
scouts, recreation center activities, sports, and so on. These will
help your child build social skills as well as to have fun.
 Talk to other parents whose children have an intellectual disability.
Parents can share practical advice and emotional support. Find out
more about, and connect with, Parent Groups.
 Meet with the school and develop an IEP to address your child’s
needs. Keep in touch with your child’s teachers. Offer support.

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 Find out how you can support your child’s school learning at
home.
 Take pleasure in your beautiful one. He—she—is a treasure. Learn
from your child, too. Those with intellectual disabilities have a
special light within—let it shine.

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B. STUDENTS WITH LEARNING DISABILITY
Students with learning disabilities (LD) have difficulty acquiring
basic skills or academic content due to difficulty using or
understanding spoken or written language.
These difficulties may impact a student’s ability to read, write,
spell, think, speak, listen, or do mathematics. Learning disabilities
do not include those difficulties that are primarily due to a
student’s intellectual, physical, or emotional disabilities, nor those
that are due to a student’s environmental, cultural, or economic
disadvantages.
Common learning disabilities include dyslexia, dysgraphia,
perceptual disabilities, and developmental aphasia.
Learning disabilities should not be confused with learning
problems which are primarily the result of visual, hearing, or motor
handicaps; of intellectual disability; of emotional disturbance; or of
environmental, cultural or economic disadvantages.
Generally speaking, people with learning disabilities are of average
or above average intelligence. There often appears to be a gap
between the individual’s potential and actual achievement. This is
why learning disabilities are referred to as “hidden disabilities”: the
person looks perfectly “normal” and seems to be a very bright and
intelligent person, yet may be unable to demonstrate the skill level
expected from someone of a similar age.
A learning disability cannot be cured or fixed; it is a lifelong
challenge. However, with appropriate support and intervention,
people with learning disabilities can achieve success in school, at
work, in relationships, and in the community.
Types of Learning Disabilities
1. Dyscalculia - impaired mathematical ability ; A specific learning
disability that affects a person’s ability to understand numbers
and learn math facts.
2. Dysgraphia - A specific learning disability that affects a person’s
handwriting ability and fine motor skills.
3. Dyslexia - A specific learning disability that affects reading and
related language-based processing skills; difficulty with
language processing.
4. Non-Verbal Learning Disabilities - Has trouble interpreting
nonverbal cues like facial expressions or body language and
may have poor coordination.
5. Oral / Written Language Disorder and Specific Reading
Comprehension Deficit - Learning disabilities that affect an
individual’s understanding of what they read or of spoken
language. The ability to express one’s self with oral language
may also be impacted.

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 6. Related Disorders
 ADHD - A disorder that includes difficulty staying focused
and paying attention, controlling behavior and hyperactivity.
 Dyspraxia - A disorder which causes problems with
movement and coordination, language and speech - difficulty
with coordination and manual dexterity
 Executive Functioning - Affects, planning, organization,
strategizing, attention to details and managing time and
space.
Helping Children with Learning Disabilities
All children need love, encouragement, and support, and for kids with
learning disabilities, such positive reinforcement can help ensure that
they emerge with a strong sense of self-worth, confidence, and the
determination to keep going even when things are tough.
Keep things in perspective. A learning disability isn't insurmountable.
Remind yourself that everyone faces obstacles. It's up to you as a
parent to teach your child how to deal with those obstacles without
becoming discouraged or overwhelmed. Don't let the tests, school
bureaucracy, and endless paperwork distract you from what's really
important—giving your child plenty of emotional and moral support.
Become your own expert. Do your own research and keep abreast of
new developments in learning disability programs, therapies, and
educational techniques. You may be tempted to look to others—
teachers, therapists, doctors—for solutions, especially at first. But
you're the foremost expert on your child, so take charge when it comes
to finding the tools they need in order to learn.
Be an advocate for your child. You may have to speak up time and
time again to get special help for your child. Embrace your role as a
proactive parent and work on your communication skills. It may be
frustrating at times, but by remaining calm and reasonable, yet firm,
you can make a huge difference for your child.
Remember that your influence outweighs all others. Your child will
follow your lead. If you approach learning challenges with optimism,
hard work, and a sense of humor, your child is likely to embrace your
perspective—or at least see the challenges as a speed bump, rather
than a roadblock. Focus your energy on learning what works for your
child and implementing it the best you can.
Focus on strengths, not just weaknesses
Your child is not defined by their learning disability. A learning
disability represents one area of weakness, but there are many more
areas of strengths. Focus on your child's gifts and talents. Your child's

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life—and schedule—shouldn't revolve around the learning disability.
Nurture the activities where they excel, and make plenty of time for
them.
Recognizing a learning disorder
By understanding the different types of learning disorders and their
signs, you can pinpoint the specific challenges your child faces and
find a treatment program that works.
Identify how your child learns best
Everyone—learning disability or not—has their own unique learning
style. Some people learn best by seeing or reading, others by listening,
and still others by doing. You can help a child with a learning
disability by identifying their primary learning style.
Is your child a visual learner, an auditory learner, or a kinesthetic
learner? Once you've figured out how they learn best, you can take
steps to make sure that type of learning is reinforced in the classroom
and during home study. The following lists will help you determine
what type of learner your child is:
Is your child a visual learner?
 Visual learners:
 Learn best by seeing or reading.
 Do well when material is presented and tested visually, rather
than verbally.
 Benefit from written notes, directions, diagrams, charts, maps,
and pictures.
 May love to draw, read, and write; are often good at spelling.
Is your child an auditory learner?
 Auditory learners:
 Learn best by listening.
 Do well in lecture-based learning environments and on oral
reports and tests.
 Benefit from classroom discussions, spoken directions, study
groups.
 May love music, languages, and being on stage.
Is your child a kinesthetic learner?
 Kinesthetic learners:
 Learn best by doing and moving.
 Do well when they can move, touch, explore, and create in order
to learn.
 Benefit from hands-on activities, lab classes, props, skits, and
field trips.
 May love sports, drama, dance, martial arts, and arts and
crafts.

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5 activities for children with learning disabilities
1. Theatre/drama
o A kid with a learning disability needs a confidence-boost which
makes them feel they are no less. Theatre and drama are one
such activity that can help kids with dyslexia a lot.
o While reading scripts, they are able to improve their reading
fluency, vocabulary and reading accuracy, without finding it to
be a burden. It is a creative outlet that lets them express their
feelings in a much better way.
o It is also a fun environment to teach them interactive and social
skills.
2. Learn by doing
o Some kids are more hyperactive and impulsive than others. The
usual chalk and board methods don’t seem to sustain their
attention for long, owing to which they lag behind in class.
o Many people think this problem is incurable but there are
solutions available that could stimulate the sensory system,
improve learning by activating the gross motor function and
also help break the ice by developing collaboration and
teamwork amongst the children.
o One such example Step and Learn (Wizefloor). This is a
supplement to classroom teaching that promotes collective and
differentiated learning styles and needs through play and
physical activity. From a projector in the ceiling, different
learning-games are projected onto the floor.
o The children use their hands and feet to interact with the floor
allowing them to solve the games. Young children diagnosed
with ADHD will find this activity a lot of fun as it retains their
attention and focus longer than other things.
3. Interactive learning
o Children with autism curtail themselves from communicating
and interacting.
o This doesn't mean they don’t want to learn. It’s just they don’t
want to engage themselves with others so often for it. But like
any other problem, there is a solution to this as well.
o Parents, schools, and libraries around the world trust a simple
and effective program Muzzy by BBC. Designed for children of
all ages; this program works by teaching children through fun
and animated stories featuring Muzzy and friends.
o These stories use the natural immersion method, which is
modeled after the way children learn their first language.

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 o It is extremely helpful for autistic children as it clears their
concepts by the use of repetition and spiraling which makes
learning come naturally and without any social obligation.
4. Personalized learning
o Every child is unique and so are their learning needs. This is
why parents need to create a personalized learning path for
their kid, which will enable them to know about their kids
grasping power through a step-by-step analysis.
o Children with learning disabilities like dysgraphia or dyscalculia
need a personalized learning solution that tells them about their
individual IQ, learning style, learning gaps, and proficiency.
o Artificial intelligence and adaptive learning are actually helping
many overcome this bridge in more ways than one.
5. Voluntary work:
o Voluntary work is an exceptionally interesting way of helping
children overcome their learning disabilities.
o The more exposed they are to the world in terms of
communication, the better they understand what’s happening
around them and so more enhanced is their self-esteem.
o Every child has its inherent potential, strengths, and
weaknesses; it just needs to be dealt with properly. Since
teachers struggle with lack of time and a good chunk of kids to
deal with, they can only teach at one level to the entire class.
o Therefore, don’t let your child lag behind. Even though at times
parents are faced with numerous hurdles when it comes to
finding solutions for various learning problem, nonetheless, it is
not an obstacle to your kid having a successful future.
Strategies for Students with Learning Disabilities
The following lists provide suggestions of instructional strategies
based on each specific learning disability. No student would use all of
these strategies. Selection of strategies would be based on the
individual needs of the student, the objectives of the course and
recommended academic adjustments and services.
Talk to students. They are the best resource about their specific
needs.
Remember: A learning disability does not mean that the person
cannot learn; it means that they learn Differently. Many instructional
strategies which are helpful to students with learning disabilities
benefit all students.

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Instructional Strategies to Help Students Compensate for an
Expressive Language Disability
 Characteristics
A student with an expressive language disability may have
difficulty with the following tasks requiring written languages:
expressing themselves clearly and precisely, using a variety of
sentence structures, using mature syntactical patterns, using
an appropriate range of words, organizing thoughts, using
punctuation correctly, copying from the board, organizing
written information, note taking, handwriting, and spelling.
 Strategies
 Allow student to use a word processor with a spelling checker.
 Grade written assignments for ideas only or provide two grades:
one for content and one for technical skills.
 Provide advance notice of written assignments. Encourage
students to start assignments early; waiting until the last
minute can produce stress which may aggravate the disability.
 Encourage student to use the Writing Lab and to get tutoring.
 Make sure student understands what is being asked in a
written assignment. Explain words like compare and contrast.
 Help student decide on a limited, workable topic for a paper.
 Provide student with a model of what is expected by sharing
strong papers that were written by other students.
 If student has a problem with sequencing, require him/her to
show you an outline of ideas/information in the order in which
he/she intends to present them.
 If you are not testing grammar and punctuation (i.e.., if this is
not an English class), encourage student to have a friend
proofread assignments and make corrections.
 Give all instructions both in writing and verbally.
 Allow student to provide oral responses rather than written
ones.
 Encourage the student to make up and answer sample test
questions. Go over the student's answers.
 Allow student to tape record lectures.
 Provide student with a note taker.

Instructional Strategies to Help Students Compensate for a

Reading Disability
 Characteristics
A student with a reading disability may have difficulty with
some of the following: decoding unfamiliar words,
understanding what is read, knowing the meaning of words

16
 read, maintaining an efficient rate of reading, following written
directions, identifying main ideas and major details.
 Strategies
 Encourage student to pre-read a chapter before reading it.
 Have student turn headings into questions using words like
what, why, and how. The student should then read to find the
correct answer to those questions. Student should highlight the
answers to questions formulated from headings.
 Student may benefit from using different colored highlighters:
one for main ideas, one for key details, and another for
definitions.
 Encourage student to develop reasonable and logical points
within the text at which the student will stop and check
comprehension. Using these checkpoints, the student may want
to summarize what has just been read (perhaps into a tape
recorder so that the summary may be used as a review later).
 Encourage student to become an active rather than a passive
reader. The student should learn to talk to himself/herself.
Students should ask questions such as:
o "Why am I reading this?"
o "What does this topic have to do with topics discussed
earlier?"
o "What principle do these problems illustrate?"
o "How can I put this in my own words?"
 If material seems particularly difficult, have the student reread,
read aloud, or rephrase information.
 Ask student to use the margins of the text to record key
phrases, main ideas, or definitions.
 If student lacks background knowledge, ask him/her to look up
the subject in an encyclopedia in order to get an overview of it.
 If words seem to "move around" in the text, show student how to
use an index card to guide reading.
 Encourage student to put specialized vocabulary words on index
cards for easier review.
 Provide guided notes for each chapter. The notes should contain
a summary of the main points and key terms listed in
sequential order. (Or teach the student to use the chapter
summary so that he/she can do this for himself/herself.)

Instructional Strategies to Help Students Compensate for Receptive

Language Disabilities
 Characteristics
Students with a receptive language disability may have difficulty
processing information presented orally. Despite normal

17
 hearing, the student may have problems with the following:
differentiating between similar sounds, following oral directions,
interpreting and evaluating oral presentations, concentrating,
handling distractions, and taking notes.
 Strategies
 Realize that the language of a student with a learning disability
is likely to be concrete, literal, and non-flexible whereas the
language used by instructors and in textbooks is likely to be
figurative, metaphoric, analogous, and idiomatic. As people with
learning disabilities get older, the gap between their language
and language used by others increases.
 Allow student to tape record lectures.
 Help student find a seat in your class that is near the
blackboard and as far away as possible from auditory
disturbances (doorways, pencil sharpeners, etc.).
 Whenever possible provide student with visual cues by writing
on the board, using the overhead, or providing the student with
a brief written outline of the material to be covered in that class
session.
 Provide student with written copies of your lecture.
 Give instructions/directions orally and in writing.
 Encourage student to check his/her understanding of what was
assigned in class before he/she leaves the class.
 Explain how to visualize material that has been orally presented
so that the student may revisualize the material before
answering questions.
 If student seems easily distracted, work with the student to
develop a "secret code" through which you will let the student
know when he/she is experiencing a lapse in concentration.
(For example, say that you will walk near his/her desk
whenever you notice that the student has stopped paying
attention.)
 The student may benefit from taking a test alone in a room
where there are no distractions.
 Trying to overcome external distractions and auditory
confusions may be extremely tiring for a student. Student
should be encouraged to take his/her most difficult course at a
time when he/she is most alert.
 When lecturing, reduce number of items presented
simultaneously.

Instructional Strategies to Help Students Compensate for a

Mathematic Disability
 Characteristics

18
 Students with a math disability may have problems with the
following: working with fractions, decimals, and percentages,
mastering basic arithmetic facts, reasoning mathematically,
visualizing mathematical problems, recalling the sequence of an
operational process, copying numbers correctly, working with
numbers in columns, and discriminating between operational
symbols (especially = and x).
 Strategies
 Permit use of pocket calculators for computations.
 Suggest that student use graph paper to align math problems.
(Ordinary notebook paper may also be turned sideways to
produce columns.)
 Encourage student to use color coding in order to visualize a
problem better. (For example, make the negative signs,
exponents, and numbers carried a different color. Make
columns of numbers different colors.)
 If student has difficulty learning by watching, suggest that
he/she write down on an index card the steps that must be
followed in solving a problem. If student is responsible for
knowing steps or a formula for a test, he/she may then use
these index cards as study tools.
 Provide sufficient opportunities to practice.
 When lecturing, use concrete examples similar to student's
experiences. Learning may also be improved if a concept is
introduced first and numbers are added later, especially if the
concept is explained in a way that students can relate to
personally.
 Use as many visual aids as possible. (Video tapes will allow
students to have a complicated procedure repeated often
enough to understand it.)
 Draw visual breaks (slashes, hyphens, etc.) between each step.
 Use 2D and 3D objects that students can manipulate.

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C. LEARNERS WITH PHYSICAL DISABILITIES
What are physical impairments?
Students with physical impairments may have difficulties with
mobility, manual dexterity and speech. Some would use a wheelchair
all or some of the time. They might need support with personal care.
Some physical impairments are fluctuating in impact and, as with all
disabled students, it is important to talk to the student about what is
most useful to them.
Definition
Students with a physical disability have an acquired or congenital
physical and/or motor impairment such as cerebral palsy, spina
bifida, muscular dystrophy, arthritis, developmental coordination
disorder, amputations, genetic disorders, etc. The disability may
interfere with the development or function of the bones, muscles,
joints and central nervous system. Physical characteristics may
include:
o paralysis
o altered muscle tone
o an unsteady gait
o loss of, or inability to use, one or more limbs
o difficulty with gross-motor skills such as walking or running
o difficulty with fine-motor skills such as buttoning clothing or
printing/writing
How do physical impairments impact on study?
A student with a physical impairment may have difficulty with
managing the distance between different learning activities, with
carrying materials, notetaking, practicals and may take longer to ask
or answer questions.
Physical Disabilities
Physical disability indicates any physical limitations or disabilities
that inhibit the physical function of one or more limbs of a certain
person. It can be temporary or permanent. The causes of this kind of
disease are various. Any person can acquire it through accident,
injury, illness post-surgery effects and heredity. Some examples of
physical disability are:
 Cerebral palsy
o A group of disorders that impact a person's ability to move and
maintain balance. Cerebral palsy is usually caused by abnormal
brain development or brain damage before or during birth that

20
 affects one's ability to control one's muscles. It is the most
common motor disability present at birth.
o The symptoms of Cerebral palsy vary from person to person.
o A person with severe CP may need to use special equipment to
walk and lifelong care.
o A person with mild CP may walk awkwardly but may not need
special assistance.

 Amputation
o Indicates removal of part of all of a body part that is enclosed by
skin.
o Causes of Amputation:
• accident
• animals attack
• warfare
• surgery

 Spina bifida
o A birth defect that occurs when the spine and spinal cord do not
form properly.
o Spina bifida is the incomplete formation of the spine and spinal
cord in utero. It can cause the spinal cord and nerves to be
exposed on the surface of the back, instead of being inside a
canal of bone surrounded by muscle.
o A type of neural tube defect. The neural tube forms early in
pregnancy and closes by the 28th day after conception. Babies
with Spina bifida do not have such progress and will suffer from
this defect in the spinal and in the bones of the spine.

 Musculoskeletal injuries
o Refer to the damage of muscular or skeletal systems, which is
usually due to strenuous activities. They are the most common
work-related injuries. Workers often engage in some frequent
and repetitive works that require them to hold awkward
postures while working and eventually cause the disease to
develop.

 Acquired brain injury

o Acquired brain injuries are due to damage that happens to the
brain after birth. They can be caused through a wide range of
factors including a blow to the head, stroke, alcohol or drugs,
infection, disease such as AIDs or cancer, or a lack of oxygen.

o It is common for many people with a brain injury to have

trouble processing information, planning, and solving problems.

21
 They may also experience changes to their behavior and
personality, physical and sensory abilities, or thinking and
learning.

 Spinal cord injury (SCI)

o The spinal cord can become injured if too much pressure is
applied and/or if the blood and oxygen supply to the spinal cord
is cut. When the spinal cord has been damaged, it leads to a
loss of function such as mobility or feeling.

o Accidents account for 79% of spinal cord injuries in Australia –

mostly caused by motor vehicle accidents and falls. Other
causes include cancer, arthritis, infections, blood clots, and
degenerative spinal conditions.

o For some people, a spinal cord injury results in paraplegia (loss

of function below the chest), for others it leads to quadriplegia
(loss of function below the neck).

 Cystic fibrosis (CF)

o It is an inherited genetic condition, which affects the body’s
respiratory, digestive, and reproductive systems.

o It specifically affects the mucus and sweat glands in the body,

causing mucus to be thick and sticky. In the case of the
lungs, this can clog the air passages and trap bacteria
causing lung damage and recurrent infections.
o People with CF can also have low salt levels in the body which
causes problems such as fatigue, cramps, and dehydration.

 Epilepsy
o Epilepsy is a neurological condition where a person has a
tendency to have recurring seizures due to a sudden burst of
electrical activity in the brain. Seizures can cause unusual
movements, odd feelings or sensations, a change in a person’s
behaviour, or cause them to lose consciousness.
o The causes of epilepsy are not always known, however, brain
injuries, strokes, cancer, brain infection, structural
abnormalities of the brain, and other genetic factors can all
cause epilepsy.

 Multiple sclerosis (MS)

o MS occurs when the myelin sheath – protective tissue around
nerve fibers in the body – becomes damaged, causing random
patches or scars. The scars can interfere with messages sent

22
 through the central nervous system, affecting the brain, optic
nerves, and spinal cord.
o The symptoms of MS are very varied but can include fatigue,
loss of motor control, tingling, numbness, visual disturbances,
memory loss, depression, and cognitive difficulties.

 Muscular dystrophy
o Muscular dystrophy is a group of genetic disorders that lead to
progressive and irreversible weakness and loss of muscle mass.
o Signs and symptoms can be very varied however can include
difficulty walking, trouble breathing or swallowing, restriction in
joint motion, and heart and other organ problems.

 Tourette syndrome
o Tourette syndrome is a neurological disorder which involves
involuntary and repetitive vocalizations, sounds, and
movements called tics. These tics are neurological not
behavioural – which means a person with Tourette syndrome
cannot control them.
o Vocal tics can include sniffing, throat clearing, tongue clicking,
grunting, or more rarely blurting out socially unacceptable
words or phrases. Motor tics can include eye blinking,
shrugging, nose twitching, head jerking, facial expressions,
touching objects or people, spinning around, imitating someone
else’s actions, or jumping up and down.
o Tourette syndrome is typically diagnosed between the ages of 2
and 21. It is not known exactly what causes Tourette syndrome,
but it is likely a combination of genetic, environmental, and
neurochemical (chemicals of the brain) factors.

 Dwarfism
o Dwarfism is short stature (abnormal skeletal growth) which can
be caused by over 300 genetic or medical conditions. It is
generally defined as an adult height of 4 feet 10 inches or less,
with the average height of someone with dwarfism being 4 feet.
o In general, there are two categories for dwarfism:
1. Disproportionate dwarfism: where some parts of the body are
smaller, whilst other parts are average or above-average.
2. Proportionate dwarfism where the body is averagely
proportioned, and all parts of the body are small to the same
degree

o Children with dwarfism may experience a delay on developing

motor skills, however, dwarfism does not have a link to any
intellectual disability.

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Visual Impairment
Many people have some type of visual problem at some point in their
lives. Some can no longer see objects far away. Others have problems
reading small print. These types of conditions are often easily treated
with eyeglasses or contact lenses.
But when one or more parts of the eye or brain that are needed to
process images become diseased or damaged, severe or total loss of
vision can occur. In these cases, vision can't be fully restored with
medical treatment, surgery, or corrective lenses like glasses or
contacts.
Some people are completely blind, but many others have what's called
legal blindness. They haven't lost their sight completely but have lost
enough vision that they'd have to stand 20 feet from an object to see it
as well as someone with perfect vision could from 200 feet away.
What Causes Visual Impairment?
People rarely lose their eyesight during their teen years. When they
do, it's usually caused by an injury like getting hit in the eye or head
with a baseball or having an automobile or motorcycle accident.
Some babies have congenital blindness, which means they are visually
impaired at birth. Congenital blindness can be caused by a number of
things — it can be inherited, for instance, or caused by an infection
(like German measles) that's transmitted from the mother to the
developing fetus during pregnancy.
Conditions that may cause vision loss after birth include:
 Amblyopia
o is reduced vision in an eye caused by lack of use of that eye in
early childhood.
o Some conditions cause a child's eyes to send different messages
to the brain (for example, one eye might focus better than the
other). The brain may then turn off or suppress images from the
weaker eye and vision from that eye then stops developing
normally.
o This is also known as a "lazy eye."
o Strabismus (misaligned or crossed eyes) is a common cause of
amblyopia, since the brain will start to ignore messages sent by
one of the misaligned eyes.

 Cataracts

24
 o are cloudy areas in part or all of the lens of the eye.
o In people without cataracts, the lens is crystal clear and allows
light to pass through and focus on the retina. Cataracts prevent
light from easily passing through the lens, and this causes loss
of vision.
o Cataracts often form slowly and usually affect people in their
60s and 70s, but sometimes babies are born with congenital
cataracts.
o can be caused in children by intrauterine infections, metabolic
disorders, and genetically transmitted syndromes
o Symptoms include double vision, cloudy or blurry vision,
difficulty seeing in poorly lit spaces, and colors that seem faded.

 Diabetic retinopathy
o occurs when the tiny blood vessels in the retina are damaged
due to diabetes.
o People with retinopathy may not have any problems seeing at
first. But if the condition gets worse, they can become blind.

 Glaucoma
o is an increase in pressure inside the eye.
o The increased pressure impairs vision by damaging the optic
nerve.
o Glaucoma is mostly seen in older adults, although babies may be
born with the condition and children and teens can sometimes
develop it as well.

 Macular
o degeneration is a gradual and progressive deterioration of the
macula, the most sensitive region of the retina.
o The condition leads to progressive loss of central vision (the
ability to see fine details directly in front).
o Macular degeneration is often age related (it occurs in older
people, especially older than 60), but sometimes it can occur in
younger people.
o Excessive exposure to sunlight and smoking can increase the
risk for age-related macular degeneration.
o Symptoms may include increased difficulty reading or watching
TV, or distorted vision in which straight lines appear wavy or
objects look larger or smaller than normal.

 Trachoma
o occurs when a very contagious microorganism called Chlamydia
trachomatis causes inflammation in the eye.

25
 o It's often found in poor rural countries that have overcrowded
living conditions and limited access to water and sanitation.

 Genetic defects
o People with albinism often have vision loss to the extent that
many are legally blind, though few of them actually cannot see.
o Leber congenital amaurosis can cause total blindness or severe
sight loss from birth or early childhood.
o Retinitis pigmentosa is characterized by decreased peripheral
vision and trouble seeing at night.

 Xerophthalmia
 often due to vitamin A deficiency, is estimated to affect 5 million
children each year; 500,000 develop active corneal involvement,
and half of these go blind.
Photophobia – inability to look at light
Diplopia – double vision
Hyperopia (Farsightedness)
Myopia (Nearsightedness)
Strabismus
 a defect of the eye-muscle system. Eye misalignment or eyes that
do not move normally, caused by extraocular muscle imbalance.
Strabismus causes either "tropias" or "phorias." Tropias
deviations that can't be controlled as the one eye is turned when
trying to look at an object which makes binocular vision
impossible.
 Esotropia is the turning of one or both eyes toward the nose;
 Exotropia is the turning of one or both eyes away from the
nose (toward the temploral side of the face);
 Hypertropia is the deviation of the eye upward; and
 Hypotropia is the deviation of the eye downward.

 Albinism
o a congenital defect.
o It is characterized by a lack of pigment in eyes, hair and skin.
Usually associated with decreased visual acuity, nystagmus
(rhythmic side-to-side eye movements) and photophobia (light
sensitivity).
o It is non-progressive.

 Astigmatism

26
 o a refractive error characterized by the inability of an eye to focus
sharply (at any distance), usually resulting from a spoon-like
(toric) shape of the normally spherical corneal surface. Instead
of being uniformly refracted by all corneal meridians, light rays
entering the eye are bent unequally, which prevents formation of
a sharp focus on the retina. Slight uncorrected astigmatism may
not cause symptoms, but a large amount may result in
significant blurring.
o Corrected by a cylindrical (toric) eyeglass or contact lens, or
refractive surgery.

 Hemianopsia
o Hemianopsia (half vision) is a result of a malfunction along the
optic pathway sometimes as a result of pressure from a tumor.
The result will be related to the amount of pressure and location.
Field loss can be the same in both eyes or opposite, involving
half fields or quadrants or affect the upper or lower fields.

Hearing loss and deafness

 Functional hearing loss ranges from mild to profound. Often,

people who have very little or no functional hearing refer to
themselves as "deaf." Those with milder hearing loss may label
themselves as "hard of hearing." When these two groups are
combined, they are often referred to as individuals with "hearing
impairments,” with "hearing loss,” or who are "hearing impaired.”
 A person who is not able to hear as well as someone with normal
hearing – hearing thresholds of 20 dB or better in both ears – is
said to have hearing loss. Hearing loss may be mild, moderate,
severe, or profound.
 It can affect one ear or both ears and leads to difficulty in hearing
conversational speech or loud sounds.
 'Hard of hearing' refers to people with hearing loss ranging from
mild to severe. People who are hard of hearing usually
communicate through spoken language and can benefit from
hearing aids, cochlear implants, and other assistive devices as well
as captioning.
 'Deaf' people mostly have profound hearing loss, which implies very
little or no hearing. They often use sign language for
communication.

27
Causes of hearing loss and deafness

Although these factors can be encountered at different periods across

the life span, individuals are most susceptible to their effects during
critical periods in life.

1. Prenatal period

 genetic factors including hereditary and non-hereditary hearing

loss
 intrauterine infections – such as rubella and cytomegalovirus
infection.

2. Perinatal period

 birth asphyxia (a lack of oxygen at the time of birth

 hyperbilirubinemia (severe jaundice in the neonatal period)
 low-birth weight 
 other perinatal morbidities and their management.

3. Childhood and adolescence 

 chronic ear infections (chronic suppurative otitis media)

 collection of fluid in the ear (chronic nonsuppurative otitis
media)
 meningitis and other infections.

4. Adulthood and older age 

 chronic diseases
 smoking
 otosclerosis
 age-related sensorineural degeneration
 sudden sensorineural hearing loss.

5. Factors across the life span 

 cerumen impaction (impacted ear wax) 

 trauma to the ear or head
 loud noise/loud sounds
 ototoxic medicines
 work related ototoxic chemicals
 nutritional deficiencies 
 viral infections and other ear conditions
 delayed onset or progressive genetic hearing loss.

The impact of unaddressed hearing loss

28
When unaddressed, hearing loss impacts many aspects of life at
individual level:

 communication and speech

 cognition  
 education and employment: In developing countries, children
with hearing loss and deafness often do not receive schooling.
Adults with hearing loss also have a much higher
unemployment rate. Among those who are employed, a higher
percentage of people with hearing loss are in the lower grades of
employment compared with the general workforce.
 social isolation, loneliness and stigma

Accommodations for Students with hearing impairments.

Examples of accommodations for students who have hearing
impairments include:
 interpreters
 sound amplification systems
 note takers
 real-time captioning
 email for faculty-student meetings and class discussions
 visual warning systems for lab emergencies
 changing computer auditory signals to flash changes
 captioned video presentations

There are also several ways you can direct your speaking style and
adjust the "pace" of instruction to make information more accessible
to a student with a hearing impairment.

 When speaking, make sure the student can see your face
and avoid unnecessary pacing and moving.
 When speaking, avoid obscuring your lips or face with
hands, books, or other materials.
 Repeat discussion questions and statements made by
other students.
 Write discussion questions/answers on a whiteboard or
overhead projector.
 Speak clearly and at a normal rate.
 Use visual aids with few words and large images and
fonts.
 Provide written outlines, assignments, instructions, and
demonstration summaries and distribute them before
the class or other presentation when possible.

Multiple Physical Impairment

 A child who has more than one disability is said to have
multiple disabilities.

29
  This refers to a combination of disabilities causing severe
educational needs that require providing a special education
program designed to address the educational needs that arise
from all of the child’s disabilities, not just one.
 Multiple disabilities can mean different combinations for
different children, and a few possible combinations could be
intellectual disability and blindness or intellectual disability and
orthopedic impairment, or cerebral palsy and autism.
 Many combinations of disabilities are possible. For example, one
child with multiple disabilities may have an intellectual
disability and deafness. Another child may have cerebral palsy
and autism, intellectual disability and blindness; and
intellectual disability and orthopedic impairment
 Some of the causes for multiple disabilities include lack of
oxygen at birth, difficulties at birth, premature birth,
chromosomal abnormalities, genetic disorders, infections, poor
development of the brain or spinal cord and injuries from
accidents.
 The main areas of development that are usually affected in
children with multiple disabilities include intellectual and
sensory functioning, motor skills and adaptive skills, as well as
communication skills.

Causes/etiology of Multiple Disabilities

Having multiple disabilities means that a person has more than one
disability. Often times, there is no known cause for multiple
disabilities.

Causes can include:

 Chromosomal abnormalities
 Premature birth
 Difficulties after birth
 Lack of oxygen
 Poor development of the brain or spinal cord
 Infections
 Genetic disorders
 Injuries from accidents

To support, parent, or educate a child with multiple disabilities,

it’s important to know:

 which individual disabilities are involved;

 how severe (or moderate or mild) each disability is; and
 how each disability can affect learning and daily living.

30
A key part of the definition is that the combination of disabilities
causes the student to have severe educational needs. In fact, those
educational needs must be severe enough that they cannot be
addressed by providing special education services for only one of the
impairments.

Characteristics of Students with Severe Disabilities

Students with severe disabilities present with a variety of physical,

sensory, cognitive, and communication needs that impact the ways
they interact with and experience the world Although they have
diverse cognitive, motor, and sensory profiles children with severe
disabilities all consistently require:

a. instruction that is extensive, intensive, and individualized,

b. materials that are substantially adapted and modified
c. methods of accessing information that are individualized to help
them acquire, maintain, generalize, and transfer skills across
settings.

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D. LEARNERS WHO ARE GIFTED AND TALENTED

Key points

 Gifted children are born with above-average natural abilities.

Talented children have developed their natural abilities to a high
level.
 Children can be gifted and/or talented in many areas, including
sport, art, music, intellectual ability and more.
 Gifted and talented children need support and encouragement
to make the most of their abilities.
 Being gifted often runs in families. And gifted children are found
in all cultures and all types of families.

What 'gifted and talented' means

 'Gifted and talented' describes children with the ability or potential

to develop significantly ahead of their peers.
 Gifted children are born with natural abilities well above the
average for their age
 'gifted' learners are those with abilities in one or more academic
subjects.
 Children who are gifted are defined as those who demonstrate an
advanced ability or potential in one or more specific areas when
compared to others of the same age, experience or environment.
 These gifted individuals excel in their ability to think, reason and
judge, making it necessary for them to receive special educational
services and support to be able to fully develop their potential and
talents.
 Children can be gifted at different levels too. That is, some gifted
children have more advanced abilities than others. And some gifted
children also have disabilities. For example, a child who is
intellectually gifted might also have autism or hearing loss.
 Gifts become talents when they’re developed and nurtured.
 This means that gifted children become talented when you support
and encourage them to use their natural gifts to learn, concentrate
and practice. For example, if your child is gifted musically and you
give them opportunities to learn a musical instrument, they might
develop a talent for playing
 'talented' learners are those who have practical skills in areas such
as sport, music, design or creative and performing arts
 Skills and attributes such as leadership, decision-making and
organization may also be taken into account.
 Giftedness refers to those who have an IQ of 130 or higher. Having
extremely high IQ is clearly less of a problem than having
extremely low IQ, but there may also be challenges to being
particularly smart. It is often assumed that school children who are

32
 labeled as “gifted” may have adjustment problems that make it
more difficult for them to create social relationships.
 Gifted children come from all different racial and ethnic
backgrounds, as well as economic status. While no two gifted
children are the same, many share common gifted characteristics
and traits, such as:
 Advanced thinking and comprehension above their age peers
 Emotional intensity at a young age
 Heightened sense of self awareness
 Highly developed curiosity
 Excellent memory

Gifted and talented areas

Gifted and talented children can have abilities and skills in many
areas, and an individual child can be gifted and talented in one or
more areas. These areas include:
 academic learning
 leadership
 social issues
 technology
 the arts – for example, music
 the ability to make friends
 business skills
 physical skills – for example, sport or dance.

What is the IQ of a Gifted Child?

The majority of the population will fall within an IQ of 85 – 115. The

mean, or average, IQ is 100. A gifted child’s IQ will fall within these
ranges:

 Mildly gifted: 115 to 130

 Moderately gifted: 130 to 145
 Highly gifted: 145 to 160
 Profoundly gifted: 160 or higher

Signs that children might be gifted and talented

 Advanced development is one of the signs that your child might be

gifted.
 You’ll generally know if your child is more advanced than other
children the same age. For example, some intellectually gifted
children teach themselves to read at a young age, like 3 years old.
Some physically advanced children might excel early in junior
sports or physical activities.

33
 Another sign is that your child might prefer to talk with older
children or adults. For example, your 4-year-old might relate better
to 6-year-olds than to children their own age.
 Gifted and talented children also learn differently from other
children. For example, if your child is gifted, they might:
 be able to concentrate and focus well on tasks
 be intensely curious and ask sharp questions
 learn very quickly
 have an extremely good memory
 be very imaginative and creative
 have advanced speech.

Qualities of the gifted and talented

What are students who are gifted and talented like? Generally they
show some combination of the following qualities:

 They learn more quickly and independently than most students

their own age.
 They often have well-developed vocabulary, as well as advanced
reading and writing skills.
 They are very motivated, especially on tasks that are challenging or
difficult.
 They hold themselves to higher than usual standards of
achievement.

Ironically, in spite of their obvious strengths as learners, such

students often languish in school unless teachers can provide them
with more than the challenges of the usual curriculum. A
kindergarten child who is precociously advanced in reading, for
example, may make little further progress at reading if her teachers do
not recognize and develop her skill; her talent may effectively
disappear from view as her peers gradually catch up to her initial
level. Without accommodation to their unusual level of skill or
knowledge, students who are gifted or talented can become bored by
school, and eventually the boredom can even turn into behavior
problems.

Partly for these reasons, students who are gifted or talented have
sometimes been regarded as the responsibility of special education,
along with students with other sorts of disabilities. Often their needs
are discussed, for example, in textbooks about special education,
alongside discussions of students with intellectual disabilities,
physical impairments, or major behavior disorders (Friend, 2008).
There is some logic to this way of thinking about their needs; after all,
they are quite exceptional, and they do require modifications of the
usual school programs in order to reach their full potential.

34
Recognizing your child is gifted or talented

If you think your child is gifted or talented, you should discuss their
abilities and needs with their teacher or the school principal.

Supporting students who are gifted and talented

Supporting the gifted and talented usually involves a mixture of

acceleration and enrichment of the usual curriculum.

Acceleration involves either a child’s skipping a grade, or else the

teacher’s redesigning the curriculum within a particular grade or
classroom so that more material is covered faster. Either strategy
works, but only up to a point: children who have skipped a grade
usually function well in the higher grade, both academically and
socially. Unfortunately skipping grades cannot happen repeatedly
unless teacher, parents, and the students themselves are prepared to
live with large age and maturity differences within single classrooms.
In itself, too, there is no guarantee that instruction in the new, higher-
grade classroom will be any more stimulating than it was in the
former, lower-grade classroom. Redesigning the curriculum is also
beneficial to the student, but impractical to do on a widespread basis;
even if teachers had the time to redesign their programs, many non-
gifted students would be left behind as a result.

Enrichment involves providing additional or different instruction

added on to the usual curriculum goals and activities. Instead of
books at more advanced reading levels, for example, a student might
read a wider variety of types of literature at the student’s current
reading level, or try writing additional types of literature himself.
Instead of moving ahead to more difficult kinds of math programs, the
student might work on unusual logic problems not assigned to the
rest of the class. Like acceleration, enrichment works well up to a
point. Enrichment curricula exist to help classroom teachers working
with gifted students (and save teachers the time and work of creating
enrichment materials themselves). Since enrichment is not part of the
normal, officially sanctioned curriculum, however, there is a risk that
it will be perceived as busywork rather than as intellectual
stimulation, particularly if the teacher herself is not familiar with the
enrichment material or is otherwise unable to involve herself in the
material fully.

Obviously acceleration and enrichment can sometimes be combined. A

student can skip a grade and also be introduced to interesting “extra”
material at the new grade level. A teacher can move a student to the
next unit of study faster than she moves the rest of the class, while at
the same time offering additional activities not related to the unit of

35
study directly. For a teacher with a student who is gifted or talented,
however, the real challenge is not simply to choose between
acceleration and enrichment, but to observe the student, get to know
him or her as a unique individual, and offer activities and supports
based on that knowledge. This is essentially the challenge of
differentiating instruction, something needed not just by the gifted
and talented, but by students of all sorts. As you might suspect,
differentiating instruction poses challenges about managing
instruction.

Some things might come easily for your gifted and talented child, but
they might need support in other areas, depending on their particular
abilities and personalities.

For example, your child might:

 not have much in common with children of the same age,

especially if they have wide-ranging or unusual interests, so they
might get frustrated with other children
 get bored at preschool or school or stop trying when school lessons
are about things they already know
 use their high verbal abilities to take over discussions with other
people, especially at school, or they might use these abilities to
avoid doing tasks they don’t like
 find it tough to follow strict rules – for example, at home, school or
sporting clubs, especially if they have original ideas and like
coming up with creative solutions
 have strong feelings compared with other children the same age
and have trouble managing these feelings – for example, a young
gifted child might be very upset when an insect dies
 might hide advanced interests or learning when they reach the
teenage years, because they want to fit in with friends.

School support for your child

Your child's school has a responsibility to meet the educational needs

of all their pupils, and teachers should set tasks that take account of
the varying abilities of children.

If your child is considered to be gifted and talented, their teachers

should provide greater challenges in lessons, and perhaps offer
further opportunities for them to develop their gifts or talents outside
of the normal timetable.

If your child is in primary school and shows that they have the
abilities to fully take part in the next school year group, the principal
may consider moving your child into that group. Your child’s

36
emotional and social development levels and needs should be
considered as well as their academic progress.

Lesson plans for gifted and talented students

Here are a few instructional strategies and activities to use with gifted
students:

1. Design your lessons with Bloom’s Taxonomy in mind. For gifted

students, construct activities from the two upper levels: creating
and evaluating. For example, activities could include conducting an
experiment, designing a game or musical composition or writing an
editorial about a current events topic.
2. Assign independent projects. When your gifted students finish
class assignments early, allow them to work on special projects.
Assign topics that are of special interest to your students and have
them explore the topic in depth.
3. Ask intellectually stimulating questions. When constructing your
lesson plan, write questions that are open-ended and require more
thoughtful responses.
4. Find mentors. Gifted students need guides just like other students.
Find an adult who can help your student explore a subject of
interest more deeply. This mentor can serve as an advisor,
counselor and role model to the student. Ask other teachers and
parents for recommendations or contact a local organization.
5. Organize cluster groups. Research shows gifted students of the
same grade benefit from being grouped together. As a way to
combine resources, teachers can shift gifted students from different
classrooms into one group to learn about a specific topic in more
depth. This method works best with teachers who are specially
trained to work with gifted students and have minimal distractions
from other students in the class.

There are many causes as to why gifted students may underachieve.

Some of the reasons include:

 Special needs or twice exceptionality

 Lack of motivation
 Psychological issues such as perfectionism and anxiety
 Depression

Visual Arts giftedness

The visual arts are art forms that create works that are primarily
visual in nature, such as ceramics, drawing, painting, sculpture,

37
printmaking, design, crafts, photography, video, film making and
architecture. These definitions should not be taken too strictly as
many artistic disciplines (performing arts, conceptual art, textile arts)
involve aspects of the visual arts as well as arts of other types. Also
included within the visual arts are the applied arts such as industrial
design, graphic design, fashion design, interior design and decorative
art.

Behavioral Traits

Early Evidence
o Children who are gifted in art usually begin young.
Emergence Through Drawing
o Drawing dominates for several reasons: the accessibility of the
media, because it can convey detailed information about a
subject, and because it is a more difficult task to perform with a
paintbrush.
Rapidity of Development
o The gifted child often traverses the stages of visual development
at an accelerated pace.
Extended Concentration
o Visually gifted children stay with an art project longer than other
children, and they see more possibilities in the task they have
selected or been assigned.
Self-Directedness
o Visually gifted children often prefer drawing to other forms of
entertainment and have the drive to work on their own.
Possible Inconsistency with Creative Behavior
o Although risk-taking is a characteristic typically associated with
creative people, gifted students are often hesitant to experiment
in a new area if they have achieved a certain level of mastery in
an idiom.
Fluency of Idea and Expression
o From middle elementary age on, visual and conceptual fluency is
a particularly significant characteristic because it is closest to
the behavior of a trained artist.
Calculating Capacity
o This term, coined by Howard Gardner, is a superior ability to
utilize past information in new contexts. For instance, a visually
gifted child who has achieved a certain level of mastery in figure
drawing can use that ability to render figures in other situations.

Characteristics of the Artwork

Verisimilitude
o Children gifted in art develop the desire and the ability to depict
people and other subjects from their environment at an earlier
age than other children.

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Compositional Control
o The elements of composition, color, space and movement are
handled with greater sensitivity by visually gifted students.
Complexity and Elaboration
o Intellectual development is connected to the ability to relate
information and observations about objects. Sensitivity to detail
and the use of memory are directly related to complexity and
elaboration.
Memory and Detail
o Even young gifted children are interested in detail and are more
inventive in their drawings and sculpture than other children.
Sensitivity to Art Media
o The visually gifted child is more likely to explore and experiment
with media, and achieve technical control, which results in a
more elegant finished product. This is especially noticeable from
upper elementary age on.
Random Improvisation
o Doodling and improvising with the effects of lines, shapes, and
patterns are a favorite activity of the visually gifted child. The
gifted child uses her ability to invent, depict, and describe to
create meaning.

Musically Gifted

The musically gifted express four main categories of intelligence that

others possess to a lesser degree. These categories are pitch, rhythm,
melody and harmony, and timbre. When assessing the musically
gifted it is important to evaluate all of these areas of cognitive
performance. Musically gifted individuals often show talent in the area
of special organization and problem solving. Composers and
musicians are typically able to recognize patterns easily. Discovering
the basic characteristics of the musically gifted will help you to
identify these traits in others and yourself.

6 signs your child is musically gifted

1. you often catch your child humming or singing a tune they heard
before
2. your child appears to notice when an instrument is out of tune or a
song is played in the wrong key
3. your child tends to spend extensive periods of time fiddling around
on a musical instrument
4. your child often talks about music or asks to listen to music
5. your child can identify a song after hearing only a few notes
6. your child seems to have a natural and effortless understanding of
rhythm

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Signs your child or student may be musically gifted include:

 Musically-responsive movement
 Response to good (and bad) sounds
 Listening for music in the world
 Hearing songs or melodic ideas all around
 Instrument playing by ear
 Matching pitch
 Picking out harmony lines
 Heightened emotional response
 Musical people in their family
 Sustained focus on music
 Enjoys music!

E. Learners with Socio-Emotional Disorder

 A social or emotional disability includes a disorder, illness or

disease that affects a person's thought processes, perception of
reality, emotions or judgement or that results in disturbed
behavior.
 EBD is an emotional disorder characterized by excesses, deficits or
disturbances of behavior.
 Emotional or Behavioral Disorder (EBD) refers to a condition in
which behavioral or emotional responses of an individual in school
are so different from his/her generally accepted, age appropriate,
ethnic or cultural norms that they adversely affect performance in
such areas as self-care, social relationships, personal adjustment,
academic progress, classroom behavior, or work adjustment.

 The disability may be temporary or permanent. The specific

condition may impact on the child or young person in a range of
ways and the impacts may occur with varying frequency
throughout their schooling journey.

Conditions that may impact a student's social and emotional

wellbeing include:

 Depression
 Generalized anxiety disorder
 Obsessive compulsive disorder.

An emotional and behavioral disorder is an emotional disability

characterized by the following:

40
 An inability to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal
relationships with peers and/or teachers. For preschool-age
children, this would include other care providers.
 An inability to learn which cannot be adequately explained by
intellectual, sensory or health factors.
 A consistent or chronic inappropriate type of behavior or feelings
under normal conditions.
 A displayed pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression.
 A displayed tendency to develop physical symptoms, pains or
unreasonable fears
 associated with personal or school problems.

A child with EBD is a child who exhibits one or more of the above
emotionally based characteristics of sufficient duration, frequency and
intensity that interferes significantly with educational performance to
the degree that provision of special educational service is necessary.

The child's difficulty is emotionally based and cannot be adequately

explained by intellectual, cultural, sensory general health factors, or
other additional exclusionary factors

An emotional/behavioral disorder can be described in the following

way:

Some of the characteristics and behaviors seen in children who

have an emotional disturbance include:

o Hyperactivity (short attention span, impulsiveness);

o Aggression or self-injurious behavior (acting out, fighting);
o Withdrawal (not interacting socially with others, excessive fear or
anxiety);
o Immaturity (inappropriate crying, temper tantrums, poor coping
skills);
o Learning difficulties (academically performing below grade level).

Children with the most serious emotional disturbances may exhibit

distorted thinking, excessive anxiety, bizarre motor acts, and
abnormal mood swings.

Causes

No one knows the actual cause or causes of emotional disturbance,

although several factors—heredity, brain disorder, diet, stress, and
family functioning—have been suggested and vigorously researched. A
great deal of research goes on every day, but to date, researchers have
not found that any of these factors are the direct cause of behavioral
or emotional problems.
41
A Look at Specific Emotional Disturbances

Anxiety Disorders
We all experience anxiety from time to time, but for many people,
including children, anxiety can be excessive, persistent, seemingly
uncontrollable, and overwhelming. An irrational fear of everyday
situations may be involved. This high level of anxiety is a definite
warning sign that a person may have an anxiety disorder.
The term “anxiety disorder” is a broad term covering several
different disabilities that share the core symptom of irrational fear.
These include such different disorders as generalized anxiety
disorder, panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD),
post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), social anxiety disorder (also
called social phobia), and specific phobias.

Bipolar Disorder
Also known as manic-depressive illness, bipolar disorder is a
serious medical condition that causes dramatic mood swings from
overly “high” and/or irritable to sad and hopeless, and then back
again, often with periods of normal mood in between. Severe
changes in energy and behavior go along with these changes in
mood.
For most people with bipolar disorder, these mood swings and
related symptoms can be stabilized over time using an approach
that combines medication and psychosocial treatment.

Conduct Disorder
Conduct disorder refers to a group of behavioral and emotional
problems in youngsters. Children and adolescents with this
disorder have great difficulty following rules and behaving in a
socially acceptable way. This may include some of the following
behaviors:
 aggression to people and animals;

 destruction of property;

 deceitfulness, lying, or stealing; or

42
  truancy or other serious violations of rules.
Treatment will depend on the child’s symptoms, age, and general
health. It will also depend on how severe the condition is.
Treatment may include:
 helping the child learn how to better solve problems,
communicate, and handle stress, as well as how to control
impulses and anger (what’s known as cognitive-behavioral
therapy);

 family therapy;

 peer group therapy (to help better social and interpersonal

skills); and

 medications (although these are not typically used to treat

conduct disorder).

Eating Disorders
Eating disorders are characterized by extremes in eating behavior—
either too much or too little—or feelings of extreme distress or
concern about body weight or shape. Females are much more likely
than males to develop an eating disorder.
Anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa are the two most common
types of eating disorders. Anorexia nervosa is characterized by self-
starvation and dramatic loss of weight. Bulimia nervosa involves a
cycle of binge eating, then self-induced vomiting or purging. Both
of these disorders are potentially life-threatening.
Binge eating is also considered an eating disorder. It’s
characterized by eating excessive amounts of food, while feeling
unable to control how much or what is eaten. Unlike with bulimia,
people who binge eat usually do not purge afterward by vomiting or
using laxatives.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
Often referred to as OCD, obsessive-compulsive disorder is actually
considered an anxiety disorder.
OCD is characterized by recurrent, unwanted thoughts
(obsessions) and/or repetitive behaviors (compulsions). Repetitive

43
 behaviors (handwashing, counting, checking, or cleaning) are often
performed with the hope of preventing obsessive thoughts or
making them go away.  Performing these so-called “rituals,”
however, provides only temporary relief, and not performing them
markedly increases anxiety.
A large body of scientific evidence suggests that OCD results from a
chemical imbalance in the brain.

Psychotic Disorders
“Psychotic disorders” is another umbrella term used to refer to
severe mental disorders that cause abnormal thinking and
perceptions.
Two of the main symptoms are delusions and hallucinations.
Delusions are false beliefs, such as thinking that someone is
plotting against you. Hallucinations are false perceptions, such as
hearing, seeing, or feeling something that is not there.
Schizophrenia is one type of psychotic disorder.

More about School

As mentioned, emotional disturbance is one of the categories of
disability specified in IDEA. This means that a child with an emotional
disturbance may be eligible for special education and related services
in public school. These services can be of tremendous help to students
who have an emotional disturbance.

Typically, educational programs for children with an emotional

disturbance need to include attention to providing emotional and
behavioral support as well as helping them to master academics,
develop social skills, and increase self-awareness, self-control, and
self-esteem.  A large body of research exists regarding methods of
providing students with positive behavioral support (PBS) in the
school environment, so that problem behaviors are minimized and
positive, appropriate behaviors are fostered.
For a child whose behavior impedes learning (including the learning of
others), the team developing the child’s Individualized Education

44
Program (IEP) needs to consider, if appropriate, strategies to address
that behavior, including positive behavioral interventions, strategies,
and supports.
Students eligible for special education services under the category of
emotional disturbance may have IEPs that include psychological or
counseling services. These are important related services available
under IDEA and are to be provided by a qualified social worker,
psychologist, guidance counselor, or other qualified personnel.
Recognizing and Addressing the Impact of COVID-19 | As young
people return to in-person schooling in the 2021-2022 school year,
they may bring with them the impact of the pandemic’s trauma. This
makes it essential that schools consider the possibility that many
students will need to be re-evaluated to determine if they need
additional services, especially behavioral support and mental health
services, than they needed prior to COVID-19.

Other Considerations
Children and adolescents with an emotional disturbance should
receive services based on their individual needs, and everyone
involved in their education or care needs to be well-informed about
the care that they are receiving. It’s important to coordinate services
between home, school, and community, keeping the communication
channels open between all parties involved.

The Importance of Support

Families often need help in understanding their child’s disability and
how to address the needs that arise from the disability. Help is
available from psychiatrists, psychologists, and other mental health
professionals that work in the public or private sector. There is also a
network of mental health support operating in every state as well as
locally.

F. LEARNERS WITH CHRONIC ILLNESSES

 A ‘whole school’ approach to support a student with a chronic

illness is important.

45
  Relevant information about the student’s condition should be
shared with appropriate school staff.
 Maintain regular communication between the school and family
regarding how the student is coping at school and at home.
 Explore possible sources of additional support.

Chronic illness affecting children

Chronic illnesses are usually associated with older people and not
with children. However, a small but significant number of children
suffer from chronic illnesses – mainly asthma, but also diabetes and
cancer. Cerebral palsy, epilepsy and cystic fibrosis, along with
musculoskeletal disorders and illnesses affecting sight, hearing and
allergic reaction affect smaller numbers of children.
Some of the most common types of chronic illnesses include:
• Cancer.
• Diabetes.
• Heart disease.
• Asthma
• Diabetes
• Epilepsy
• Allergy

Some of the most common types of chronic illnesses include:

o Cancer.
o Diabetes.
o Heart disease.
o Asthma
o Diabetes
o Epilepsy
o Allergy

Implications for Learning

Chronic health conditions can cause ongoing difficulties such as

fatigue and nausea, but can also become acute, significantly impairing
a student’s work performance for a few hours or several days.
Additionally, the use of medication frequently entails unpleasant side
effects.

Students with chronic health conditions may experience

symptoms such as

o difficulty concentrating or memorizing,

o changes in energy levels,

46
o chronic pain.

Since health conditions have different causes and can affect the
neurological, circulatory, cardiovascular, immune, endocrine, or
digestive systems, they require ongoing medical follow-up, and may
have an impact on the student’s academic performance and
attendance.

Although chronic illnesses encompass a wide range of symptoms and

health conditions, they share an important characteristic:

 an unpredictable waxing and waning course of illness with

recurring relapses and hospitalizations.

Unlike more traditional and better understood disabilities that can

be addressed by specific solutions, such as wheelchair access,
hearing aids, or readers, chronic illnesses require ongoing flexible
accommodations. Students who experience chronic health conditions
may also face prejudice and stigmatization. As with many disabilities,
especially invisible ones, people may harbor unfair and negative
attitudes about people with chronic illness, including
assumptions that the individual is faking or exaggerating
symptoms, or that they expect special treatment, take advantage
of others, are lazy, or are simply weak.

Bullick (2012) provides these tips for dealing with negative attitudes:

1. Consider the person, not merely the symptoms and effects of the
illness.

2. Focus on what he/she can do rather than what he/she cannot do.

3. Ask someone with a chronic condition if he/she can help you gain
a better understanding of his/her illness.

4. Make informed decisions rather than snap judgments. In today’s

age of instant information, it’s easy to find facts and evidence
about how chronic conditions affect those living with them.

5. Be patient. For people living with chronic conditions, health

becomes a big (and often time-consuming) priority, sometimes
making it difficult to make and maintain friendships and
relationships.

47
6. Share your knowledge. As you learn more about chronic
conditions, you can help correct the misconceptions others may have
about it.

7. Become a champion. When you lend your support to groups

and organizations that represent people with chronic conditions,
you are contributing to efforts to change attitudes and to finding
treatments and cures.

Common Accommodations/ Classroom Adaptations

The following accommodations and classroom adaptations are a

list of suggested accommodations, but are not comprehensive or
exhaustive, nor will all accommodations listed be necessary in all
cases. Other accommodations may be implemented based on the
individual needs of each student as recommended by your
campus Disability Services Office or other professionals.
advantage of others, are lazy, or are simply weak. Bullick (2012)
provides these tips for dealing
with negative attitudes:
1. Consider the person, not merely the symptoms and effects of the
illness.
2. Focus on what he/she can do rather than what he/she cannot do.
3. Ask someone with a chronic condition if he/she can help you gain
a better understanding
of his/her illness.
4. Make informed decisions rather than snap judgments. In
today’s age of instant
information, it’s easy to find facts and evidence about how
chronic conditions affect
those living with them.
5. Be patient. For people living with chronic conditions, health
becomes a big (and often
time-consuming) priority, sometimes making it difficult to make and
maintain friendships
and relationships.
6. Share your knowledge. As you learn more about chronic
conditions, you can help correct
the misconceptions others may have about it.
7. Become a champion. When you lend your support to groups
and organizations that
represent people with chronic conditions, you are contributing to
efforts to change
attitudes and to finding treatments and cures.
Common Accommodations
The following accommodations and classroom adaptations are a
list of suggested

48
accommodations, but are not comprehensive or exhaustive, nor will
all accommodations listed
be necessary in all cases. Other accommodations may be implemented
based on the individual
needs of each student as recommended by your campus
Disability Services Office or other
professionals.
Common Characteristics of a Student with
Chronic Health Conditions
Commonly Suggested
Accommodations/Classroom Adaptations
Student has difficulty taking notes due to
fatigue, hand stiffness, or lack of concentration.
Permit the use of assistive technology (e.g.,
computer, digital voice recorder).
Student experiences lack of concentration,
‘memory fog,’ severe pain, physical limitation,
frequent absences, or other physical symptoms.
Provide the support of a tutor, note taker, or lab
assistant.
Allow extra time for assignments, tests and
examinations.
Student experiences physical symptoms that
require immediate or frequent interventions
such as going to the washroom, getting a drink,
or moving to relieve stiffness or pain.
Allow breaks during classes to go to the
washroom, drink water, and move around.

Student has difficulty taking notes due to fatigue, hand stiffness,

or lack of concentration.

 Permit the use of assistive technology (e.g., computer, digital

voice recorder).

Student experiences lack of concentration, ‘memory fog,’ severe

pain, physical limitation, frequent absences, or other physical
symptoms.

 Provide the support of a tutor, note taker, or lab assistant. Allow

extra time for assignments, tests and examinations.

Student experiences physical symptoms that require immediate or

frequent interventions such as going to the washroom, getting a
drink, or moving to relieve stiffness or pain.

49
  Allow breaks during classes to go to the washroom, drink
water, and move around.

Student is easily fatigued or exhausted.

 Limit or space exams to avoid having too many on the same day
or during the same week.

Student is easily distracted due to symptoms such as reduced

concentration, pain, or other physical symptoms.

 Allow exams to be written in a separate room.

Effects of chronic illness on schooling

Students with a chronic illness may miss a lot of school. This might be
because they need to go to hospital, recover at home or attend regular
medical appointments. This can lead to:

 Difficulty completing work on time or taking part in exams

 Decreased academic performance
 Difficulty keeping up relationships with school friends
 Difficulty getting around the school environment
 Difficulty participating in some school activities (for example,
physical education or excursions)
 Feeling less confident and less motivated, also possibly affecting
self-esteem and body image.

Effects on the children

Children with chronic health conditions may have some activity

limitations, frequent pain or discomfort, abnormal growth and
development, and more hospitalizations, outpatient visits, and
medical treatments. Children with severe disabilities may be unable at
times to participate in school and peer activities.

Effects on the family

For families, having a child who has a chronic health condition can
lead to loss of their hope for an “ideal” child, neglected siblings, major
expense and time commitment, confusion caused by conflicting
systems of health care management, lost opportunities (eg, family
members providing primary care to the child are therefore unable to
return to work), and social isolation. Siblings may resent the extra
attention the ill child receives. Such stress may cause family breakup,
especially when there are preexisting difficulties with family function.

50
Conditions that affect the physical appearance of an infant (eg, cleft
lip and palate, hydrocephalus) can affect the bond between the infant
and family members or caretakers. Once the diagnosis of abnormality
is made, parents may react with shock, denial, anger, sadness or
depression, guilt, and anxiety. These reactions may occur at any time
in the child’s development, and each parent may be at a different
stage of acceptance, making communication between them difficult.
Parents may express their anger at the health care practitioner, or
their denial may cause them to seek many opinions about their child’s
condition.

Supporting students with chronic illness

The family and the school need to work together to establish and
maintain good communication and cooperation. Everyone needs to
understand what is needed and expected to support your child. The
family and the school also need to be clear about what can, and
cannot, be done so that everyone’s expectations are achievable and
realistic.

The important things to remember are that you:

 Share information
 Develop a care plan
 Keep up good communication
 Make changes where necessary
 Seek extra support.

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G. CHILDREN IN ESPECIALLY DIFFICULT CIRCUMSTANCES

Children In Especially Difficult Circumstances (CEDC) Or Children In

Need Of Special Protection

 Children who are abandoned, neglected, abused and exploited,

disabled, victims of prostitution and pedophiles, runaways,
delinquents, youth offenders and drug dependents, street children,
working children, children in situation of armed conflict, children
in cultural communities, and children victims of natural disasters.

 UNITED NATIONS CONVENTION ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD

Article 19 (Protection from all forms of violence): Children have
the right to be protected from being hurt and mistreated,
physically or mentally. Governments should ensure that children
are properly cared for and protect them from violence, abuse and
neglect All children are not fortunate enough to receive an
environment which is conducive to provide appropriate
development opportunities. The need to protect some children is
certainly greater than others due to their specific socio-
economic and political circumstances and geographical
location. They are more vulnerable in terms of the risk to
their right to survival, development, protection and
participation. These are the children in especially difficult
circumstances.

 Children in especially difficult circumstances (CEDC) is a

worldwide problem. They suffer from deprivation, exploitation and
neglect for no fault of their own and for reasons beyond their
control. It is an enormous global social concern that has attracted
the attention of the entire world community, ranging from
professionals in the various fields of pediatrics, social work,
psychology and psychiatry, to legislators, administrators and
politicians.

 CEDC are those children whose basic needs are not met.
Children in difficult circumstances represent a large and diverse
group. Some form of social disruption is common to their lives.
All of these children have special needs, specially the need
for psychosocial support. The needs vary greatly, especially as the
circumstances and reasons for difficulties in existence vary and
are ever changing. Some of these children live with their
families, while some do not or could be orphans. Some are
working or are found vagrant on the streets, while others could be
in conflict with law or affected by armed conflicts or natural
calamities. Children could be sexually exploited, trafficked or

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 forced to work in bondage hence taking away from them the
delights and the innocence of childhood. The health and well-
being of CEDC are severely compromised. It could largely
depend on the social interventions, moral values and
sensitivity of civil society and legal system and the nature of
rehabilitative services provided so as to restore to them their
childhood. Outcomes depend on the intensity and duration of
the adversity, the child’s age and gender, and availability of
support and protection.

Over the years, based on the social conditions, economic involvement,

familial situation and conditions of living, children have been
categorized as those in difficult circumstances. The categorization
done by the Ministry of Women and Child Development (n.d.(a)) on
Children in Especially Difficult Circumstances includes:

 Homeless children (pavement dwellers, displaced/evicted, etc.)

 Orphaned or abandoned children
 Children whose parents cannot or are not able to take care of
them
 Children separated from parents
 Migrant and refugee children
 Street children
 Working children
 Trafficked children
 Children in bondage
 Children in prostitution
 Children of sex workers/prostitutes/sexual minorities/Children
of prisoners
 Children affected by wars and conflict
 Children affected by natural disasters
 Children affected by HIV/AIDS
 Children suffering from terminal diseases
 The girl child
 Children with disabilities and related special needs
 Children belonging to the ethnic and religious minorities,
and other minority communities, and those belonging to the
Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes;
 Children in institutional care, be it in state-run institutions
or religious and other charitable institutions
 Children in conflict with law
 Children who are victims of crime

In the Philippines, learners in very difficult circumstances include the

street children, child prostitutes, child laborers, children caught in
armed conflicts or those living in war torn communities, sexually
abused children, battered children, the urban poor, and the rural
poor.

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What tutors and teachers can do

When teaching those with learning difficulties there are a few general
rules to follow:

o Make learning participative

o Encourage peer learning
o Break tasks down into smaller steps that will incrementally build
into the task objective
o Use learners’ own words, language, materials and personal context
- be clear about activity purpose and how it relates to the skills
needs of the learner
o Make both written and spoken information clear use unambiguous
terms and follow plain English guidelines
o Be aware of your own attitudes and views and how they can
unintentionally influence learners
o Observe what works for a particular learner and what does not
o Work through any emotional issues that create a barrier before
learning can take place
o If you are working with learners who are also from a different
minority ethnic group, remember that their ethnicity is an
important aspect of their identity
o Avoid being too directive – some people with learning disabilities
may say what they think you want to hear
o Be aware of the language you use and of that used by other
members of the group including non verbal communication; be
prepared to change if you think it is appropriate
o Encourage learners to ask for help - show that this is acceptable
and is not a sign of failure
o Listen closely to what learners say; always respond to the content
of what someone is saying and do not be misled by the style of
delivery.
o Encouraging learners to be creative will engage and enable them to
expand their ideas and thinking. Collaborative working with their
peers, and teaching and support staff, will enable them to
demonstrate and build on their skills, experience and
achievements.

Technology

Many adults with learning disabilities like using technology and enjoy
coaching or mentoring others to do the same. Technology is inherently
enabling and learners with relatively low traditional literacy levels can
use digital resources at a higher level than anticipated to achieve their
own outcomes.

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H. Learners from Indigenous Groups

Indigenous Peoples are distinct social and cultural groups that share
collective ancestral ties to the lands and natural resources where they
live, occupy or from which they have been displaced. The land and
natural resources on which they depend are inextricably linked to
their identities, cultures, livelihoods, as well as their physical and
spiritual well-being. They often subscribe to their customary leaders
and organizations for representation that are distinct or separate from
those of the mainstream society or culture. Many Indigenous Peoples
still maintain a language distinct from the official language or
languages of the country or region in which they reside; however,
many have also lost their languages or on the precipice of extinction
due to eviction from their lands and/or relocation to other territories,
and in..

There are  an estimated 476 million Indigenous Peoples worldwide.

Although they make up just 6 percent of the global population, they
account for about 19 percent of the extreme poor. Indigenous
Peoples’ life expectancy is up to 20 years lower than the life
expectancy of non-indigenous people worldwide.

Indigenous Peoples often lack formal recognition over their lands,

territories and natural resources, are often last to receive public
investments in basic services and infrastructure and face multiple
barriers to participate fully in the formal economy, enjoy access to
justice, and participate in political processes and decision making.
This legacy of inequality and exclusion has made Indigenous peoples
more vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and natural
hazards, including to disease outbreaks such as COVID-19. 
Vulnerabilities to the pandemic are exacerbated in some cases by the
lack of access to national health, water, and sanitation systems, the
shutting down of markets, and mobility restrictions that have greatly
impacted their livelihoods, food insecurity, and well-being.

While Indigenous Peoples own, occupy, or use a quarter of the world’s

surface area, they safeguard 80 percent of the world’s remaining
biodiversity. They hold vital ancestral knowledge and expertise on how
to adapt, mitigate, and reduce climate and disaster risks. 

Much of the land occupied by Indigenous Peoples is under customary

ownership, yet many governments recognize only a fraction of this
land as formally or legally belonging to Indigenous Peoples. Even when
Indigenous territories and lands are recognized, protection of
boundaries or use and exploitation of natural resources are often
inadequate. Insecure land tenure is a driver of conflict, environmental
degradation, and weak economic and social development. This
threatens cultural survival and vital knowledge systems – loss in these
areas increasing risks of fragility, biodiversity loss, and degraded One

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Health (or ecological and animal health) systems which threaten the
ecosystem services upon which we all depend.

Improving security of land tenure, strengthening governance,

promoting public investments in quality and culturally appropriate
service provision, and supporting Indigenous systems for resilience
and livelihoods are critical to reducing the multidimensional aspects
of poverty while contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs). The World Bank works with Indigenous Peoples and
governments to ensure that broader development programs reflect the
voices and aspirations of Indigenous Peoples.

Indigenous Peoples tend to have less access to and poorer quality of

education than other groups. Their education often does not
incorporate curricula and teaching methods that recognize their
communities’ histories, cultures, pedagogies, traditional languages
and traditional knowledge.
The Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples states
that quality education for Indigenous Peoples means “education that is
well resourced, culturally sensitive, respectful of heritage and that
takes into account history, cultural security and integrity, encompasses
human rights, community and individual development.” This has
unfortunately rarely been the case. Education policies and systems
have often been used as a means to ‘assimilate’ Indigenous Peoples
into broader society at the risk of destroying their culture, languages,
identity and rights. Policies and curricula were rarely developed with
Indigenous Peoples’ participation or consent.  
There is a substantial body of research illustrating the benefits to
Indigenous learners of the interdependence between bilingual
education, inclusion of Indigenous knowledges, cultural context, and
educational attainment. For example, research has shown the
importance of integrating Indigenous knowledge and traditional
language instruction in the curriculum for pastoralist schools in
Kenya. There are also interesting debates in comparative Indigenous
education research on how to bring about the perspectives of
Indigenous Peoples in education, teaching and research.
Indigenous Peoples often do not have access to schooling in their
traditional languages, and the curriculum and teaching methods do
not incorporate nor recognize sufficiently their communities’ histories,
cultures, ways of learning, and traditional knowledge. While socio-
economic outcomes are often worse for Indigenous Peoples than for
other groups, the available data typically provide only an incomplete
picture about poverty, exclusion, and their priorities and perspectives
about education. This is in part because their identity and ways of
living encompass both individual and collective rights, and cultural,
social and economic aspects. Household surveys often focus on
individuals and households, and less on communities. As a result, in
education as well as in other areas, policymakers should consult with

56
Indigenous Peoples to ensure effective and inclusive development
policies.
What can be done to improve education outcomes for Indigenous
Peoples?
·       Educational materials with socio-cultural relevance: In
Colombia, the Ministry of Education provided technical, pedagogical,
and financial support for the participatory design and implementation
of education projects and models of learning for Indigenous Peoples.
The communities entered into contracts with the government to
design and implement projects and educational models integrating
cultural components and traditions specific to each community.
·       Language nests: Originally developed in New Zealand/Aotearoa,
language nests operate like a creche or nursery in which older Maori
community members provide childcare while speaking their language.
Proximity to elders exposes children to their language in early
childhood, a crucial period when children are young enough to
acquire fluency. Indigenous language nests have succeeded also in
Canada, Hawaii, Australia, Finland, and Russia. They have been
shown to revive Indigenous languages at risk.
·       Inclusive curriculum: In Nicaragua, UNESCO used an
intercultural bilingual education approach that enabled Indigenous
Peoples to adapt the curriculum to their own cultural context and
reality. The project worked with Mayangna experts, community
members, and the Ministry of Education to develop classroom
materials in their language and teach their knowledge of the
environment while also building social and cultural capital in
Mayangna communities. Early results have been positive.
·       Bilingual education: Bilingual teaching and learning have been
national policy in Paraguay since 1994. Education in two languages
while respecting two cultures has served as a foundation to ensure
functional and meaningful learning. Simultaneously learning both
avoids a long, complicated process of trying to prioritize one language
over the other.
Approaches to revitalize, preserve, and promote Indigenous languages
need to be country-and community-specific. They also need to be
developed with the participation and consultation of Indigenous
Peoples themselves. However, experiences show that these approaches
can work and make a major difference not only to improve learning
outcomes for Indigenous children, but also improving educational
attainment, cultural resilience, social inclusion and well-being of
Indigenous Peoples more broadly.

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