Incidence At 68 million, physical and mobility disabilities encompasses one of the largest groups of individuals with disabilities

Among the most common permanent disorders are musculoskeletal disabilities, such as partial or total paralysis; amputation; a severe injury; active sickle cell anemia; muscular dystrophy; multiple sclerosis; and cerebral palsy Students with physical/mobility disabilities may have a wide variety of characteristics, even within the same disabilities

May have pain, spasticity, or lack of coordination May have flare-ups in the intensity of the symptoms May have periods of remission in which little or no symptoms are visible May be unable to walk without crutches, canes, breaches, or walkers

May have limited lower body use, but full use of arms and hands May have a speech impairment May have decreased physical stamina and endurance May have decreased eye-hand coordination May have limitations of movement/motor control of limbs or extremities

Blind or low vision & Deaf or hard of hearing

 Incidence ◦ An estimated 19 million Americans eighteen years and older has a visual disabilities  Definition ◦ Visual disabilities encompass disorders in the structure and function of the eye that are manifested by at least one of the following:  Visual acuity of 20/70 or less in the better eye after the best possible correction  A peripheral field so constricted that it affects an individual’s ability to function in an academic setting  A progressive loss of vision that may affect the ability to function in an educational setting

 Totally blind  Legally blind ◦ An individual who is legally blind may still have a great deal of vision ◦ Some may be able to see large objects ◦ Others may have 20/20 central vision, but have limited peripheral (side) vision

 Peripheral vision  Central vision  Binocular vision  Color vision Not all visually impaired individuals are totally blind. Many have some useable vision and many have only light perception.

 Perfect vision = 20/20  Visually impaired = 20/70 with correction  Legally Blind = 20/200 with correction  Legally blind = if the central vision is no larger than 12 degrees

 Difficulty/Inability to accurately access “print” information  Difficulty/Inability to locate large print materials  Mobility difficulties  Transportation difficulties

 Incidence ◦ An estimated 34 million Americans eighteen years and older has a hearing disabilities  Definition ◦ The term “hearing impairment” describes a number of auditory difficulties, most of which can vary in severity. Although some persons have total or near totally hearing impairments and so can hear little or nothing, the majority of persons with hearing impairments do have some hearing

 A hearing disability may be due to a condition such as conductive hearing impairment or deafness; sensorineural hearing impairment or deafness; high or low tone hearing loss or deafness; or acoustic trauma hearing loss or deafness  Deaf ◦ Refers to hearing impairment so complete that the individual cannot process language through hearing with or without amplification

 Hard of Hearing ◦ Hard of Hearing refers to those who have some hearing, are able to use it for communication purposes, and who feel reasonably comfortable doing so. A hard of hearing person, in audiological terms, may have a mild to average hearing lose ◦ It is important to realize that English is actually a second language for many students who are deaf and some students who are hard of hearing

 Difficulty/Inability to regulate volume of speech  Difficulty/Inability pronouncing words correctly and distinctly  Difficulty/Inability to comprehend spoken language initially. Frequently has to have things repeated  Difficulty/Inability locating the direction where sound is coming from  Seems to ignore directions

 Does not respond to questions asked of him/her  Appears to not be paying attention in class  Omits parts of words and/or parts of sentences in speech and writing  Looks at the lips of the person speaking  Becomes frustrated when oral directions are given

 Frequently asks, “What?”  Becomes frustrated and avoids group situations because of “noise” and because there are too many people to “pay attention to”