Classification on the Basis of Rate of Learning and Educability

8/12/2019 Classification on the Basis of Rate of Learning and Educability

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EXCEPTIONAL CHILDREN

NORMAL CHILD

Before defining and understanding exceptional children, it is necessary

to know, what we mean by a normal child and what factors account for

bringing any child to the "normal" range and what deviating factors

make him so different as to admit him into the exceptional level.

Normal children are of average health and physique and they don't

experience any difficulty in doing normal duty and physical labour.

Their IQ normally lies between the range of 90 and 110, Like other

children, they are also in the average group in educational achievement

in their class and they do both the class- work and the homework

assigned by their teachers, giving equal importance to all subjects. Their

leaming level is also moderate.

In society, they behave in the expected way and extend their desirable

cooperation in social work and attempt to exploit the available resources

to the best of their ability. They do not have any adjustment problems.

Their adjustment remains good in school and society. They are

emotionally balanced, and they enjoy the confidence of most people and

of society)


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WHO ARE EXCEPTEONAL

In its simple meaning, exceptional children may be portrayed as the

children in possession of an exceptionality of some positive, negative ormultiple nature. On account of such exceptionality, they appear to

_deviate signicantly from other average children of their age and grade.

It is such deviation Whether on the positive or negative side that may

create adjustment and developmental problems before them in one way

or the other and that is why some sort of special provisions in the shape

of special education and rehabilitation measures, etc. are employed for

their adequate welfare and progress. However, for understanding and

helping these children, a quite clear conception about them is always

needed. Let us work on this issue by peeping through some of the earlier

denitions cited by various psychologists and thinkers:

Crow and Crow (1973): The term atypical or exceptional is

applied to a trait or to a person possessing the trait up to the extent of

deviation from normal, possession of the trait is so great that because of

it the individual warrants or receives special attention from his fellows

and his behaviour responses and activities and thereby affected.

Telford and Sawrey (1977): The term exceptional children refers to

those children who deviate From the normal in physical, mental,

emotional or social characteristics to such a degree that they require


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special social and educational services to develop their maximum

capacity


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Classification on the Basis of IQ

Children were classified on the basis of IQ by psychologists in the 20th

century. The cut-off pointof mentally retarded mildness was fixed at 70IQ. Heber agreed on 85 IQ points. Though below IQ 90, all retarded

children were categorised in different groups but the following

classification can be accepted from the utility point of view

Idiot 0 - 25

Imbecile 25 50

Moron 50 75

Dull 75-90

Average 90 - 110

Superior 110-125

Very Superior 125 - 140

Genius 140 and above


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Meaning of Mental Retardation

The word mentally retarded is used for all those children who are

unable to work in the school, society and the house.*There are manydifferences in the definitions given by various scholars.

Mental deficiency is a state of incomplete mental development of such a

kind and degree that the individual is incapable of adapting himself to

the normal environment of his fellows in such a way as to maintain an

existcgce independently of supervision, control or external supports.

Tredg0ld ( 1937)

A mentally defective person is a person who is incapable of managing

himself and his affairs, on being taught to do so, and who requires

supervision, control andcare from his own welfare and the welfare of the

community.


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CAUSES OF MENTAL RETARDATION

There are numerous reasons for mental retardation. It cannot be said

definitely which one factor is responsible for their retardation. The maincauses can be divided into three categories.

1. Prenatal Factors

A few imbecile prone factors exist in parents before pregnancy in one of

the spouses which affect the unbom child. These factors are further

categorised in the following groups:

(i) Toxic Agents

This poisonous material is produced by infection in the mother and is

responsible for defective development of the child. For example, if the

mother suffers from German measles, virus infection, typhoid etc.,

during pregnancy then the child's mental development is affected.

Besides other diseases like syphilis, inuenza etc., also affect the unborn

child's mental development.

(ii) Drugs

A few drugs enter accidentally in the reproductive organs of mother like

carbon monoxide, LSD, heroin which affect child's central nervous

system. Drugs taken at the time of pregnancy for abortion also affect


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their mental development. The child may become deaf. Consumption of

alcohol and smoking by mothers during the period of pregnancy is also

sometimes responsible for premature birth of the foetus, some

impairment and is also an indirect factor of mental retardation.

(iii) Radiatiori

Exposure to too much radiation in the pregnancy period by the mother is

also a factor of retardation. Tension, high blood pressure, diabetes alsoaffect the child. Too much emotional tension and improper diet is a great

factor causing retardation.

Besides a few blood defects, like ABO and RH factors also affect

intellectual development.

(iv) Genetics and Metabolism

Due to defective genes of the parents retardation also occurs, for

example, in Mongoloids (known as Down's Syndrome or Trisomies)

these genes exist 47 in place of 46 (normal). It happens in the structure

of 21st genes due to abnormality. Other defective genetic conditions are

Klinofelters syndrome and Tumers

syndrome. Various metabolism factors also produce mental retardation.

Fenilkite-Urea is a metabolic defect. Its base is hereditary and continues

in the family. Such persons have a large amount of Fenil-eledin which


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can be discovered by a normal test in a child. Though this defect is

inborn, if the child takes food with Fenil-eledin then his normal

development is possible. Gelectosamia is also a carbohydrate metabolic

defect 'due to which glucose deposits in the blood vessels are affected.

(v) Physical and Mental Health of the Mother

The mother's physical health, improper diet, unbalanced mental state are

some other causes of mental retardation of the child. Any serious

damage which destroys the brain of the embryo causes defective mental

development.

2. Perinatal Factors

A few environmental factors affect the brain and the child becomes

retarded. These are of two categories:

(i) Premature Birth

The retarded children may take birth during incomplete pregnancy or

prematurely. Any reproduction accident can occur. The child's central

nervous system is damaged and it can become a cause of abnonnality

and sometimes death. Due to premature birth, mental defects, dullness

and behavioural disorders take place in the child.

(ii) Complications during Delivery


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Complications arising during delivery also sometimes cause mental

retardation. A complicated delivery or by operation are effective factors.

The brain cells die at the time of birth due to insufficient intake of the

oxygen, and cannot be restored later on.

Some kind of shock at the time of birth also affects the central nervous

system and leads to mental retardation.

3. Postnatal Factors

The factors affecting development of a child after birth are categorisedin five groups:

Acute illness

Some acute illneses like typhoid, measles, pox, jaundice, whooping

cough etc., in the postnatal period affect the child's mental development.

Measles, especially is an infectious disease which damages the brain

cells permanently. '

(ii) Traumatic illnes

In this, the brain is damaged totally and defects occur in the central

nervous system.

(iii) Lead Poisoning .

Sometimes the child likes or eats lead paints or wood by mistake or

ignorance which creates mental retardation.


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(iv) Accidental Brain Injury

Sometimes an accidental injury to the brain and disorders of the intemal

glands damage the nervous system.

(v) Deprived Environment

One of the important causes of mental retardation is the low socio-

economic and or cultural status of the child. This includes malnutrition,

uncleanliness, unhygienic conditions, insufficient resources for

intellectual development, low education or

illiteracy of parents and friends, etc. The mental retardation is also

affected by cultural background too. These children cannot adjust

anywhere else. For example, a child of a superstitious family will have

faith in ghosts, and may not accept the use of machines and may not

adjust in a well educated and cultured

family. He can be mentally retarded due to behavioural difficulties.

These factors may exist in a child since birth to his present age, but if it

can be detected at an early age, then even if efforts cannot be made to

prevent his mental retardation, one can stop or at least slow down mental

retardation. V

The factors of trainable retardation are Qrganic. One-third are of

mongoloid type and the next one-third are in the claglllllin


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damage. The causes of the r yet unl


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Classification on the basis of rate of learning and Educability

This classification is considered as the best in the field of education. The

children are classified into three groups on the basis of learning skills byteachers:

1) Children with low intelligence

2) The educable mentally retarded children

3) The trainable mentally retarded children

Children with low intelligence

Children with low intelligence have been classified in various ways.

Every profession has its own groupings for its own purpose. The

physicians tends to classify achildren according to the type of physical

defect if the child has one, such as mongolism, cretinism and so forth.

He may also classify according to cause of defect. The educated use oflearning or degree of defect as the basis of organizing education

programme for the child.

Definition

The problem of finding a general definition of mental retardation has

been difficult for educators, psychologist, psychiatrist, and others.Mental retardation is not a disease, like a cancer or tuberculosis but a

condition. A general definition must describe manifestation of the

condition which pertain all cases. The difficulty of finding a general


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definition is obvious when one tries to define a heterogenous group of

types and degree on a continuum.

Mental retardation vs Mental Deficiency

Sarason and Gladwin have attempted to differenciate between mental

deficiency and mental retardation. They conceive of mental deficiency

as requiring the presence of a central nervous system pathology of a kind

and degree which renders the individual incapable of normal social and

intelligence functioning. On the other hand, they think of the mentally

retarded as those of a higher intellectual level in special classes and

institutions who usually come from the lower social classes and who

presumably do not have any central nervous system pathology. While

this type of distinction may be of importance to the medical

diagnostician, the educator finds it more helpful to delincate degree

rather thab cause of defect. He is more interested in terms relating toability level than to etiology. Brain injury, for example, is not definitive

of the childs capabilities. Two children may both have brain damage,

but one may be a custodial case and the other respond readily to

education

The educable mentally retarded child

Educable

Most educationists include the children of 50 to 75 range of IQ in this

group. Their physique develops like other normal children but they can


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be recognised on the basis of disorders in their motor skills and by

physiological disorders in early childhood. Their retardation becomes

visible during their schooling. Though they are not able to avail of a

proper education but are trained for wri-ting, reading and the main

mathematical principles. They can become independent if they get

proper training. Their adjustment level in the house and in society

remain equal. They are capable of receiving primary education and

training. The following specialities are reected in their behaviour:

(a) They take more time in adjusting to a new environment and thoughts.

(b) They cannot concentrate much on any activity, so they remain

inefficient in doing work.

(c) Their language develops up to a certain limit. They cannot make out

the difference in meanings and have difficulty in expressing their own

views.

(d) They are not able to make any definite plans due to lack of

judgement and efficiency, and therefore depend upon others.

Characteristics of Mental Retarded

Mental retardation can be recognised through a few characteristics easily

observed in other than normal children. The following characteristics

deserve mention:


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1. Organic Characteristics

(i) These children are similar to normal children but due to physical

defects can be recognised separately.

(ii) They have physical disabilities like deafness and dumbness,

blindness, brain injury and impairment of muscles adjustment.

Physical Characteristics

The children are generally unhealthy and the IQ of their parents is also

low. They belong to low socio-economic status where they are deprived

of a healthy atmosphere and environmental facilities.

Mental Characteristics

(i) Such children are intellectually abnormal having an IQ range of 75 or

below.

(ii) Due to a low IQ, they have a low maturation level and cannot do

average work.

(iii) They are slow in memory, generalisation, conceptualisation,

perception, language ability, imagination and other activities offunctional abilities.

Their mental age is also very low.


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Educational Characteristics

Educationally these children are by two or three years as compared to

normal children.

They are unable to grasp the normal lesson in a classroom and require

separate education.

They can learn to read, write and solve only simple mathematical

problems.

They are unable to learn any type of educational material due to a

greater degree of retardation

Personal and Social Characteristics

They have a short attention span which enables them to take interest in

limited activities only.

They lack concentration and creativity

They can only repeat behaviour learnt from the neighbours or family

members.

They can take part in group activities, play etc. with children of a lower

age group,

They are problem children in behaviour.


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Occupational Characteristics

They are unable to do highly skilled work due to intellectual deficiency.

The ability to do semi-skilled jobs can be developed among them.

They can do unskilled work or physical labour and social performance

only.


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Purposes and objectives of Education of the Mentally Retarded

In organizing an educational program for the educable mentally

retarded, the first task is to determine its basic goal. Actually, they do

not differ from the general objectives for all children. For example, the

Educational Policies Commission has listed four major objectives of

education: (1) self realization (2) human relationships, (3) economic

efficiency , and (4) civic responsibility. These apply to the educable

mentally retarded as well as the normal. The chief differences are the

addition of more specific objectives, the limits which the educability of

these children imposes on the attainment of the objectives and theadaptations in instruction needed to attain the more limited objectives

1. They should be educated to get along with their fellow men i.e.,

they should develop social competence through numerous social

experiences.

2. They should learn to participate in work for the purpose of earning

teir own living; i.e., they should develop occupational competence

through efficient vocational guidance and training as a part of their

school experience.


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3. They should develop emotional security and independence in the

school and in the home through a good mental hygiene program.

4. They should develop habits of health and sanitation through a good

program of health education.

5. They should learn to become adequate members of a community

through a school program that emphasizes community

participation.

How we will educate them:

The regular school is organized by grade levels. In general, the normal

children placed in grades are of approximately the same chronological

age. It is assumed that these children develop at about the same rate and

that the regular classroom instruction can be adapted to the individual

differences within a grade. But as has been indicated earlier, the

educable mentally retarded child is too far below the average child toadjust in the regular grade. For that reason, throughout the world various

forms of special school and classroom organization have evolved in

school system.

The segregated Departmentalized Secial School

In a few school systems the mentally retarded have been housed in one

school, a special school with different groupings according to age,

mental age, and achievement level. Here a departmental organization is

usually found in which children go to various teachers for physical


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education, arithmetic, reading, social studies, arts and crafts, and so forth

at different periods of the day.

The ungraded special class

The ungraded special class is frequently used in a school system with

only a small group of educable mentally retarded children. If there are

eight to fifteen children in a school system, they may be grouped in one

ungraded class, where ages range between 8 and 16 and metal abilities

are widely divergent.

The modified special class

Some school systems are so small that they do not have sufficient

number of children for a homogenous or even an ungraded class.

Various forms of organization may be used in this situation. Basically

they involve including the entally retarded children in special class for part of the day and assigning them to the regular classes the rest of the

day.

THE HOMOGENEOUS SPECIAL CLASS

The homogeneous special class is the organization preferred by most

special educators. It is made up of educable mentally retarded children

with a small range of chronological ages(two to four years) and mental

ages (one to two years). It is more efficient for a teacher to conduct a


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program for children whose chronological ages range from 6 to 9 and

whose mental ages range from 4 to 6 than to plan for a range twice this

large.

Instruction in special education

Besides the formulation of specific objectives and the organization of a

special class, there are certain adaptations of instructional materials and

procedures which we shall examine.

Special Remediaton

Some mentally retarded children develop relatively evenly but

substantially below the normal in many areas. For instance, a retarded

child MAY BE BELOW the average in language, speech and arithmetic

but may not have special disabilities. He is retarded in general. On the

other hand, some educable mentally retarded children have specificdisabilities over and beyond their developmental retardation. This

illustrated in the case of Johnny, who was developing evenly in most

areasat a 9 year level but who had not been able to learn to read. With

reading about two and a half years below his other competencies, he had

a specific disability in reading in addition to his mental retardation.

Some children may have specific disabilities in communication, or in

arithmetic, or in in relating abstract ideas.


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Special learning principles

The primary chatacteristics of mentally retarded children is that they do

not learn as readily as others of the same chronological age by the

methods ordinarily used. Instruction therefore must utilize the best

practices in learning as follows:

1. Progress is from the known to the unknown, using concrete

materials to foster understanding of more abstract facts.2. The teacher uses many repetitions in a variety of experiences.

3. Learning is stimulated through exciting situations.

4. Learning is reinforced through using a variety of sense modalities

visual, vocal, auditory, kinesthetic.

Systematic instruction

Educable mentally retarded children lack a high level of generalization

and are usually unable to learn incidentally without instruction as the

average child learns it. Much of the knowledge and skills acquired by

the average child is learned without specific instruction by the teacher.

But for the retarded child instruction needs to be systematically

presented without too much reliance on incidental learning. Learnig

should be programmed in sequence and presented in such a way that the

child will learn at a rate compatible with his development.


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Individual instruction

The term individualized instruction has two meanings. In the regular

grades it means that the teacher adapts instruction to individualdifferemnces. The organizations of the special class with its philosophy

results in a kind of individualization which is not workable in the regular

grades. It includes both the adaptation of instruction and materials to the

achievement level of each child and also clinical educational teaching

for special disabilities.

Success experiences

Educable mentally retarded children who have failed in the regular

grades and then been placed in a special class may have developed low

frustration tolerance, negative attitudes toward school work, and

possibly some compensatory behavior which make them socially

unpopular.

The trainable mentally retarded child

The trainable mentally retarded child has been defined as oe who,

because of subnormal intelligence is not capable of learning in classes

for the educable mentally retarded but who does have potentialities for

learning (1) self-care (2) adjustment to the home or neighbourhood, and

(3) economic usefulness in the home, a sheltered workshop, or an

institution.


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Other term have been used to denote the trainable child. The terms

imbecile, semi-dependent severely retarded, middle -grade

defective, and child with an IQ between about 25 and 50 are

somewhat syno nomous with trainable. The term trainable appears to

be most widely preffered. The world health organization discussed the

problem of terminology at length and concluded, These children are

often called ineducable although the term is preffered by t he

committee.

Provisions for trainable children

Institutional provisions

The firs institution for the mentally retarded in the United States was

organized in Massachusetts in 1848. Since that date institutions have

been built in most of the states, some states having as many as seven.

The original purpose of most of the institutions was to train the mentally

retarded and return them to to the community. Some states did not

originally admit totally dependent children but accepted only children

who were trainable and educable. Few of these institutions, however,

could actually refuse admission to emergency cases of totally dependent


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children. As time went on, all of them began to accept children of all

grades of defect, and those remaing in the institution for life were of the

lowest abilities.

COMMUNITY CLASSES

It appears, from the large waiting lists, that our society is not willing to

build sufficient institutions to take care of all of trainable children in the

community. Furthermore, many parents do not want to send their

retarded children to institutions but would rather support them at home

this is a personal problem which in each case must be settied on its own

merits.

Herbert Goldstein, population trends in u.s.public institutions for the

men tally deficient, American journal of mentai deficiency, 63

(January,1959), 599-604.

Robert Henderson,vactors it commitment of educable mentally

handicapped children to Illinois state schools, dectonal disseriation,

university of Illinois, 1957. Many parents who had accepted the

responsibility for keeping their children at home instead of having them

committed to an institution felt the need for some kind of group activity

and for some kind of aorganized training program. At first they met

together to set up their own classes for the children,hiring their own

teachers(often not adequately qualified), procuring their own supplies,

and organizing classes in homes , in basements, in churches, or wherever


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they could find space. At the same time. They tried to make the public

aware of their needs and sought the support of social agencies and state

legislatures and local school boards. Some communities became

cognizant of the problem and accepted the responsibility for helping to

support these classes. Some communities incorporated them into the

school system. Thereby making it possible to improve the standards for

teachers, housing. And programs. Better criteria were established for the

admission of children which made possible a more homogeneous

grouping.

The curriculum and course of study

The goals of the curriculum

In defining an educational program for any group of children, it is

necessary to define the general objectives of the curriculum and then to

give the specific elements required in a course of study. The general

objectives of the curriculum for a trainable child are inherent in the

definition, namely (1) the objective of developing self-care or self-help

(2) the objective of developing social adjustment in the home and

neighborhood, and (3) the objective of developing economic usefulness

in the home or in a shedleterd environment. These constitute the broadgoals of the educational program for trainable mentally retarded

children.

Self help.


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The major characteristic which differentiate the trainable mentally

retarded from the dependent mentally retarded is self-care. If a child can

learn to dress and undress himself, eat properly, to take care of himself

in the bathroom, and to follow sleep routines, he is not dependent on

someone else for his personal needs.

Social adjustment in the Home and Neighborhood

It is not expected that the trainable child will become independent in the

community that is learn to go around the community by himself or be in

charge of his affairs outside of the home. He is however, exposed to get

along in the home and in his immediate neighborhood. This particular

learning achievement includes language development, sharing, with

others, waiting his turn, obeying following directions, sensing the

feelings of others, and other aspects of interpersonal relationships,

especially those concerned with daily association.

The elements of the Curriculum

The mental ages in classes for trainable children range between about 3

and 7 years. At this mental level the academic program prescribed for

educable or for normal children is not warranted. It would be well here

to discuss some limitations of and possibilities for these children.

Reading


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In general trainable children do not learn to read from even first-grade

books. Their ability is limited to reading and recognizing thei names,

isolated words and phrases, common words used for their protection,

such as danger stop men women and other signs which they

encounter in a community. Teaching them to read these signs and labels

should not begin when they are young but should be introduced before

they leave the school.

Arithmetic

Trainable children are not taught formal arithmetic and it is taught in the

primary grades. They can learn some quantitative concepts, however,

such as more and less, big and lttle and the vocabulary of quantitative

thinking. They are also taught to count up to 10 and recognize

differences between groupings. The older children can learn to write

numbers from 1 to 10 and some of them can learn time concepts, telling

time by the clock and possibly understanding the calendar. Some can

recognize and remember telephone numbers, their own aged and some

simple money concepts.

Arts and crafts

Activities in this area include coloring, drawing painting, simple

woodwork, pasting and cutting and making simple craft objects. Such


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activities may help in developing motor control, appreciation of color

and form and the ability to complete a task.

Dramatization

Classes for trainable children use considerable dramatization such as

acting out a story or a song, playing make believe, shadow playing and

using gestures with songs, stories and rhymes.

Physical Hygiene

The routine of a classroom includes drinking juice or milk, discussion

about the kinds of food eaten at different meals, the care of teeth,

cleanliness, safety and posture.

Language

This program includes the development of speech and the understanding

of verbal concepts. It also includes listening skills, listening to stories,

roll calls, discussing pictures and other activities familiar to the children

in the classroom.

Mental Development

Mental activity can be stimulated through experiences. The teacher

attempts to keep in mind the development of imagination, concept


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building, problem solving, and the ability to discriminate and to

remember visual and auditory patterns.

Practical arts

Under this heading are included cooking, sewing, dish washing,

cleaning, gardening, setting the table, chores around the classroom,

preparing foods, and learning to help with home activities.

Motor development

Motor development is best stimulated through games, recreational

activities, various manipulative skills, playing, outdoor recreation, and

similar activities.

Self help

Self help includes grooming, toileting dressing undressing eating,

brushing teeth, washing and care of clothes and other personal

belongings.

Socialization

It is important for the children to learn certain skills which will assist

their socialization, such as greeting people with Hello shaking handswith visitors, learning to be quiet while someone else is talking, having

acceptable table manners, getting along with classmates in school,


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helping others who need help, and other activities of an interpersonal

nature.

Social studies

The important area of study here is the home and the way it participates

in the community. This includes learning about holidays, transportation,

chrch, knowing the months and days of the week and so forth.

Music

Music is a medium through which trainable children can learn many

things. Singing, rhythm bands, musical games, and other activities help

release energy and also serve as a form of expression and socializing

influence.

Classification on the Basis of Rate of Learning and Educability

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