I am a psychology major with a special education minor. I have completed
approximately 57 hours of education and disability-related courses. Most
of the information here is information which I have collected in my spare
time. Some of it is original. I created this site because I felt that there
was a tremendous need for information related to education of the visually
impaired children on the Internet.
Please note that information on these pages may not be complete. If you
find an apparent error or missing file, please send mail to z_pleasantsj@titan.sfasu.edu
to let me know. so that I can check on it. Continue to check back for missing
files, as they may have been added. Thanks.
Special education is a perfectly acceptable term. It does not generally
cover gifted students or ESL. To include these groups, the term exceptional
children is used. Below are listed the various categories and the populations
they cover. Politically correct terminology incorporates the use of the
term "challenged". Educational personnel generally prefer the
term "impaired".
Below are links providing general information about special education.
Learning disabilities applies to students with problems involving expression,
comprehension, memory, calculations, etc. Common areas of learning disability
include dyslexia (problems with reading), dysgraphia (problems with writing),
and dyscalculia (problems with mathematics). Attention deficit disorder
is not classified as a learning disability, but it often coexists with learning
disabilities (LD's).
Gifted students are generally those whose IQ is above 130 and who have
superior artistic, leadership, or intellectual ability. Giftedness can 80Gifted
students are generally those whose IQ is above 130 and who have superior
artistic, leadership, or intellectual ability. Giftedness can coexist with
attention deficit disorder, learning disabilities, and most of the other
exceptionalities.
Behavioral/Emotional/Disorders and Behavior Management
Behavioral/emotional disorders include children with conduct disorders
as well as those with other psychiatric conditions affecting mood and perception.
There is not a general consensus about which terms are acceptable in this
field. Commonly-used terms include behavior disorders and emotional disturbance.
Mental Retardation,/Down Syndrome, and Other Severe
Disabilities
There are four levels generally recognized. The classification of a child
as mentally impaired (also known as mentally retarded) is based on an IQ
less than 70 and a deficiency in adaptive behavior. The four levels are
based mainly on IQ and are as follows.
Mild mental retardation: IQ = 55-70: may be able to read up to third-grade
material; often able to live independently and work at jobs involving repetitive
tasks such as janitorial work or assembly line jobs.
Moderate mental retardation: IQ = 35-55: may be able to recognize some
sight words; often live in group homes and work in sheltered workshops.
Severe mental retardation: IQ = 20-35: may have verbal skills and be
able to perform some self-help tasks.
Profound mental retardation: IQ is below 20: generally do not have
verbal or self-help skills; often have other neurological or physical impairments.
The term "mental retardation" applies to people whose impairment
manifested itself before the age of 18. After age 18, the preferred term
is "dementia," which refers to a deteriorating level of intellectual
functioning.
Physical impairment generally covers impairments in motor functioning.
These problems may have a variety of causes, including cerebral palsy (CP).
Children with physical impairments may or may not need special education
services. Services available may include physical and/or occupational therapy,
adaptive physical education, etc.
Health impairments cover problems such as asthma, epilepsy, cystic fibrosis,
and other conditions which can create a need for educational adaptations.
Children with health impairments may need adaptations due to side effects
of medications, effect of illness on functioning in various areas, or adaptations
in the attendance policy when they are hospitalized.
Traumatic brain injury is a condition which can cause a variety of problems,
including epilepsy, problems with behavior, learning disability, and other
problems depending on the affected area of the brain. Adaptations will depend
on the affected area of functioning.
Autism is a special category which was created because autism is a unique
condition affecting communication and behavior. Children with autism can
be very bright and may learn to communicate using a somewhat controversial
method called facilitated communication. .
Communication disorders refer to language deficits as well as speech
problems. This term does not apply to ESL students.
Hearing impairment covers a wide range of students from those who are
"hard of hearing" to those who are completely deaf. Hearing impaired
students attend a variety of programs, including completely oral programs
where they are taught to lip-read, programs using only sign language, and
programs employing both techniques.
Visual impairment, like hearing impairment, covers a wide range of 64Visual
impairment, like hearing impairment, covers a wide range of disability.
Legal blindness is diagnosed when a person has a visual acuity of 20/200
or a visual field limited to 20 degrees or less. However, many programs
offer services to students with visual acuity between 20/70 and 20/200
as well, depending on the child's visual functioning.
