Understanding Exceptionality Week 2

Substantial limitations in present functioning. Characterized by significantly sub-average

intellectual functioning, existing concurrently with related limitations in two or more of the following applicable adaptive, or life-skill areas: communication, self-care, home living, social skills, community use, self-direction, health and safety, functional academics, leisure, and work.

Intellectual disabilities manifest before age 18.

It is impossible to state the precise number WHO estimates 15% of general population Adaptive Behavior

Collection of conceptual, social, and practical skills Learned by a person to function in their everyday

lives Age-appropriate and situation-appropriate

Includes social, maturational, self-help, and communicative acts that help individual adapt to the demands of his/her surroundings

approx. 2.3% “significantly subaverage”

A variety of terms used to describe children in this category Behavior disorders Severe emotional disturbance Emotional disturbance Emotionally handicapped Behaviorally handicapped

Two major criteria: A condition exhibiting one or more of the

following characteristics over a long period of time and to a marked degree, which adversely affects educational performance. An inability to learn which cannot be explained by

intellectual, sensory, and health factors; An inability to build or maintain satisfactory

interpersonal relationships with peers and teachers; Inappropriate types of behavior or feelings under

normal circumstances;

A general pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression; or

A tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears associated with personal or school problems.

Includes children who are schizophrenic Does not include those who are socially

maladjusted unless it is determined that they are emotionally disturbed

Samuel Kirk: 1963 coined the term “learning disabilities”

Children who did not fit the categories of exceptionality

Physically intact, do not appear to be handicapped, but not able to learn certain basic skills and subjects at school

Disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or using language spoken or written

Includes such conditions as perceptual handicaps, brain injury, minimal brain dysfunction, and developmental aphasia.

Does not include learning problems which are primarily the result of visual, hearing, or motor handicaps, of mental retardation, of emotional disturbance, or of environmental, cultural, or economic disadvantage.

Does not achieve at the proper age and ability levels in one or more of several specific areas when provided with appropriate learning experiences

Severe discrepancy between achievement and intellectual ability in one or more of the following areas: (a) oral expression, (b) listening comprehension, (c) written expression, (d)

basic reading skill, (e) reading comprehension, (f) mathematics calculation, and (g) mathematics reasoning.

A condition that incapacitates the skeletal, muscular, and/or neurological system of the body to some degree.

Orthopedically impaired: caused by Congenital anomaly: clubfoot Caused by disease: polio Impairment from any other cause: cerebral palsy,

amputations, and fractures or burns which cause contractures

Neurological Impairments: Epilepsy Traumatic injury

Other Health Impairments : that limit strength, vitality or alertness, due to chronic/acute health problems that adversely affect a child’s performance

Cerebral Palsy, leukemia, diabetes, asthma, TB, heart condition, etc.

HIV/AIDS Childhood cancer

Deafness A hearing loss “so severe that a child experiences difficulty in processing linguistic information through hearing, with or without amplification”

Hard of hearing A hearing loss that, although serious, is less severe than deafness and usually permits the understanding of spoken language with the use of hearing aids

Legal definition of blindness: A person is considered legally blind when his or

her visual acuity, or sharpness of vision, is 20/200 or worse in the better eye with correction, or when he or she has a visual field no greater than 20 degrees.

The essential feature of ADHD is a persistent pattern of inattention and/or hyperactivity-impulsivity

Estimates of prevalence of ADHD range from 3% to 7%of all school-age children

Core symptoms: Inattention Hyperactivity Impulsivity

Must occur in 2 or more environments For at least 6 months To a degree that is maladaptive and inconsistent with

developmental elvel Interfere with/reduce quality of functioning

Lifelong developmental disability that is best described as a collection of behavioral symptoms.

Although autism has been recognized as a syndrome for many years, it was not identified as a separate category of special education until 1990

Leo Kanner (1943) ‘Early Infantile Autism’ Asperger (1945) A developmental disability significantly affecting

verbal and nonverbal communication and social interaction, generally evident before age 3 that adversely affects a child’s educational performance.

Lifelong developmental disability that is best described as a collection of behavioral symptoms.

Although autism has been recognized as a syndrome for many years, it was not identified as a separate category of special education until 1990

Leo Kanner (1943) ‘Early Infantile Autism’ Asperger (1945) A developmental disability significantly affecting

verbal and nonverbal communication and social interaction, generally evident before age 3 that adversely affects a child’s educational performance.

Physical and Sensory Characteristics While people with autism do not have any

outward physical signs of difference, they are often highly sensitive or reactive to sensory stimulation.

Social Interaction Individuals with autism typically demonstrate

patterns of social behavior that reflect social withdrawal and avoidance of others.

Language and Communication Difficulties and delays with language and

communication are the hallmarks of children with autism.

Behavior Individuals with autism may display a unique

range of characteristic, sometimes disturbing, behaviors.