1. 31 Guiding Children with Special Needs- Part One
By Dr. Yvonne Gentzler. Adapted by Dr. Vivian G. Baglien
Learning Target: Student will describe and identify the methods of integrating special needs students in an educational setting.

2. Teaching Standards
SL2 Integrate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and media (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) in order to make informed decisions and solve problems, evaluating the credibility and accuracy of each source and noting any discrepancies among the data.
FCS 4.2 Analyze developmentally appropriate practices to plan for early childhood, education, and services

3. Key Concepts
Teachers’ roles may include identifying and working with children with special needs.
Special needs may include hearing, speech, language, vision, and health disorders; physical and cognitive disabilities; social or emotional impairments; and giftedness.

4. Learning Target Students will
Describe methods of integrating children with special needs into a typical program.
Explain the special needs of children who are gifted and how these needs can be met.

5. Guiding Children with Special Needs
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA): federal law requiring all states to provide education for children who have developmental disabilities
Inclusion: placing children with special needs in regular classrooms
Previously referred to as mainstreaming

6. Individualized Education Plans
The purpose of an Individualized Education Plan (IEP), is to ensure that each child with a disability receives an appropriate education
By law, parents are allowed to take part in designing their child’s program
A copy of the plan is given to the parents
An IEP is usually written for a 12-month period
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7. Individualized Education Plans
specific services that will be provided with a time line noting the dates services will begin and end
evaluation criteria that will be used to decide if educational objectives are met
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8. Individualized Education Plans
Individualized Family Service Plans (IFSP) include
the family’s needs in regard to enhancing the child’s development
goals for the child and resources to achieve them
services to be provided
how the child is learning
a plan for transitioning to other services

9. Teacher’s Roles Teachers need to
take part in identifying children with special needs
work with other specialists and resource persons to design individual programs
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10. Teacher’s Roles
teach children who have special needs and nondisabled children in the same classroom
share information with parents and make suggestions for referrals
base program decisions on input from several resources including parents, other professionals, and personal observations
encourage parents to participate in their child’s education

11. Identification
Early identification of special needs is key to promoting the child’s development
If special needs are not identified early, children may go through years of failure
A number of techniques can be used to collect data
Observe unusual social, cognitive, emotional, or physical development

12. Referrals
Referral: the suggestion of a specific professional for a child to see
Hearing, language, or speech problems may be referred to a speech clinician
Learning and behavioral problems are often referred to a school psychologist or local agency
Depending on the state, Department of Social Services

13. Hearing Disorders
Hearing impairment: a problem in one or more parts of the ear that prevents the child from hearing adequately
One of the most common congenital disabilities (present since birth, but may not be hereditary)
A child who is hearing impaired can often be identified by his or her lack of vocabulary and overall delays in language development
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14. Hearing Disorders Hearing loss may range from mild to profound
A child with moderate hearing loss will also have trouble in large group situations
Hearing aid amplifies and magnifies sounds

15. Teaching Suggestions When approaching a hearing-impaired child,
get down to the child’s eye level
get the child’s attention before speaking
speak in a normal volume and speed
speak clearly and distinctly; maintain eye contact
use the same sentence structure as you would for other children
pause and wait for a response after you speak
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16. Teaching Suggestions continued
if the child does not understand you, repeat, rephrase, or demonstrate
encourage other children to imitate you when they communicate with the child
use gestures and facial expressions to reinforce the spoken word
let the child sit in front of you in a group situation
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17. Teaching Suggestions Visual skills are important for these children
Use concrete materials to demonstrate abstract concepts
Provide a variety of games and puzzles for the children to practice visual perception skills
Label classroom furniture and materials
Select books with illustrations
Use visual cues to teach safety and daily routines and to notify of upcoming activities

18. Speech and Language Disorders
Identification
Articulation problems
Voice (phonation) disorders
Stuttering

19. Identification
Speech impairments are interference with specific sounds or sound blends
Identify the speech impairment before altering your program
Informal observations most common method
Listen to speech patterns in a variety of settings
The director or teacher will determine whether a parent conference should be scheduled

20. Articulation Problems
Articulation problems are most often omissions, distortions, or substitutions of vowels or consonants or both
Certain speech sounds are left out in an omission error
Substitution is when an incorrect sound is used
After a child has been diagnosed as having an articulation problem, a speech clinician should be consulted

21. Voice (Phonation) Disorders
Voice characteristics include pitch, loudness, flexibility, and quality
A good speaking voice during routine conversation uses a variety of pitches and loudness levels
Harshness, hoarseness, breathiness, and nasality are all voice-quality disorders
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22. Voice (Phonation) Disorders
To help prevent or correct voice disorders, promote voice control
Encourage children to use the correct voice volume during indoor play
Discourage children from screaming or yelling too much during outdoor play
Model good voice characteristics

23. Stuttering
Stuttering in young children is characterized by repetition, hesitation, and prolongation
Many children experience stuttering in the early stages of language development
Most often occurs when they feel pressured
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24. Stuttering If you have stuttering children in the classroom,
focus on creating good speaking conditions
plan activities so children experience success
provide children with enough time to say what they have to say
listen closely; do not focus on the stuttering
avoid rushing children through a task

25. Vision Disorders
One of the smallest groups of children with special needs is the visually impaired
To understand visual impairments, you need to understand how a healthy visual system works

26. Early Identification Certain symptoms may suggest vision problems
Excessive rubbing of the eyes
Clumsiness and trouble moving around
Adjusting the head in an awkward position to view materials
Moving materials so they are close to the eyes
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27. Early Identification Squinting Crust on eye
Iris on one or both eyes appearing cloudy
Crossed eyes or an eye that turns inward
Red, encrusted, or swollen eyelids
Excessive blinking

28. Types of Visual Disabilities
Amblyopia
Glaucoma
Nearsightedness
Farsightedness
Color deficiency
Uncorrectable conditions

29. Teaching Suggestions
Visual needs of the children affect your classroom
Always create a need to see
Include a study unit on sight to help all the children understand vision
To reduce glare, use chalkboards with dull finish and colored markers on whiteboards
Hang children’s work at their eye level
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30. Teaching Suggestions Ensure safety by putting toys away
Because auditory clues are important, keep noise level low
In the reading area, always have a number of large print books with clear, simple pictures
Use touch, smell, and sound clues
Use auditory reminders for transitions
Encourage children to use their senses