TEACHING PUPILS

WITH DISABILITIES
AND DIFFICULTIES
 Presentation Outline
• Deafness
• Visual impairments
• Deaf blindness
• Severe learning difficulties
• Profound and multiple learning
difficulties
• Children with down’s syndrome
Deafness
Deafness a person who is not able to
hear as well as someone with
normal hearing.
 Types and Etiology of Deafness
*Many factors influence the
type and amount of hearing
loss. Hearing loss not actual
disorder but is a clinical
manifestations of many possible
problems.
Hearing loss can be classified into
three main areas:
1. Conductive hearing loss- Results
from interference of sound
transmission through the external
ear and middle ear.
2. Sensorineural hearing loss-
Hearing loss results from inner ear
or auditory nerve dysfunction.
3. Mix hearing loss- There may be
damage in the outer or middle ear and in
the inner ear or auditary nerve.
 Severity of Hearing Loss
0-5 – Normal Hearing
15-25- Slight hearing loss
25-40- Mild hearing loss
40-55- Moderate hearing loss
55-70- Moderate to severe hearing
loss
70-90- Severe hearing loss
90- Profound hearing loss
 Prevention
*It includes three levels of prevention
1. Primary prevention- is aimed at
minimizing the risk from trauma, noise
exposure and infections disease.
2. Secondary Prevention- Involves early
detection of hearing impairment through
screening and referral after any ear
problems.
3. Tertiary prevention- Focuses on
maintains of optimal function through
hearing rehabilitation programmes.
 Clinical Manifestations
*Most hearing loss gradual and goes
unnoticed by the client, until several
incident of communication problems have
occurred.
*Failure to respond to orals
communication.
*Inappropriate response to
communication.
*Excessively loud speech
*Abnormal awareness sounds
Visual impairments
Visual impairment is a broad term that
describes a wide continuum of loss in
visual function. There are many aspects of
visual function, e.g. visual acuity,
accommodation, field of vision, colour
vision and adaptability to light. It follows
therefore that there are many causes,
types and severities of visual impairment.
 *Visually impaired children may be
defined as those children who suffer
from the impaired conditions,
difficulties and deficiencies present
in their visual organs which makes
them different from children with
normal vision to extent of requiring
special education provision.
*Visual impairment /blend/
-Vision cannot be primary learning
channel
*Partially Sighted
-Some useful vision- person may see colors
and figures with blurring.
*Legal definition: any of the following
- Only reads first E with both eyes
- 20/200 vision with glasses
- Tunnel vision (less than 20 degrees)
 Types of Visual Impairments
1. Hyperopia (far sightedness)
2. Myopia (near sightedness)
3. Astigmatism
4. Color Blindness
5. Retinopathy of Prematurity
6. Macular D Generation
7. Glaucoma
8. Diabetic Retinopathy
9. Cataract
10. Amblyopia
11. Crossed Eye
12. Coloboma
Challenge of Visual Impairment in
the classroom
*Fewer opportunities to acquire
information visually (maps, art)
* Learning difficulties
-May read very slowly
Identification of Visual
Impairments
• Complaints of headache
• Blinks eye frequently
• Hold objects close to his eyes
• Rub eye excessively
• Watering of eyes
 Causes of Visual Impairments
*Transfer of genes associated from
parents
* Carelessness adapted by pregnant
mothers
* Eye infection and eye disease
* Reading, writing and working in
defective and improper lights
 Tools and Technology for the
Visual Impairments
*Special software programs and
closed circuit televisions enlarge the
text on a screen until it is large
enough to read.
*Audio description which help
people with sight problems .
Deafblindness
Deafblindess is a combination of
sight and hearing loss that affects a
person’s ability to communicate,
access information and get around.
A person who’s deafblindess won’t
usually a totally deaf and totally
blind, but both senses will be
reduced enough to cause difficulties
with everyday activities.
Deafblindness also sometimes called
“dual sensory loos” or “multi-sensory
Two Types of Deafblindness
1. Congenital- Is a term used if a
person is born with a sight and hearing
impairment.
2. Acquired Deafblindess- Is term used
if a person experiences sight and
hearing loss later in life
 Sign of a problem can include:
*Needing to turn up the volume on
the television or radio
*Difficulty following a conversation
*Not hearing noises such as a knock
at the door
*Difficulty moving around unfamiliar
places.
 Causes of Deafblindness
*Medical complications during
pregnancy and birth
*A range of syndrome
*Premature birth
*Illness and accidents
*Sensory loss as a result of ageing.
v Specialist Assessment
*Communication
*One-to-one human contact
*Social interaction
*Emotional wellbeing
*Support with mobility
*Assistive technology
*Rehabilitation
v The general aims of care for a
deafblindness person are to:
*Preserve and maximize any
remaining sight or hearing
*Teach alternative methods of
communication
*Help retain or develop much
independence
Severe learning
difficulties
Learning difficulty is a condition that
can cause an individual to experience
problems in a traditional classroom
learning content. A child or adult with
a learning difficulty may require
additional time to complete
assignments at school an can often
benefit from strategy instruct and
classroom accommodations.
Learning difficulties are sometimes
referred to as learning disabilities.
The difference between these labels
can seem subtle but may have
implications for how an individua
with a learning difficulty views him
or herself. The word disability
implies a person is less able than his
or her peers.
Learning disabilities are problems
that affect the brain’s ability to
receive, process, analyze, or store
information.
 Nature and Causes
*Heredity- learning disability often run
in family. Children with LD are likely to
have parents or other relatives with
disability.
*Problems during pregnancy- Learning
disability can result from anomalies in
the developing brain, illness or injury,
fetal exposure to alcohol or drugs.
 *Accidents after birth- Learning
disability can also be caused by head
injuries, malnutrition, etc.
 Characteristics of Learning
Difficulties
*Slow reading rate
*Problems with reasoning and abstract
concepts
*Problems understanding what is read
*Difficulty recalling arithmetic operations
*Difficulty finding important points or
main ideas
* Problems remembering math facts
 Types of Learning Disabilities
1. Dyslexia- Have trouble making
the connections between letters
and sounds and with spelling and
recognizing words.
2. Dysgraphia- Characterized by
problems in writing.
1. Dyscalculia- Problems
understanding basic arithmetic
concepts such as fractions,
number lines and positive and
negative numbers
2. Dyspraxia- has a problem with
motor tasks such as hand eye
coordination.
Profound and multiple learning
difficulties
Pupils with PMLD have a profound
cognitive impairment/learning difficulty,
leading to significant delay in reaching
development milestones. Such pupils will
be operating overall at a very early
development level and are likely to display
at least one or more of the following.
*Significant motor impairments
*Significant sensory impairments
*Complex health care needs/dependence
on technology
Pupils with PMLD will have a statement of
Special Educational Needs and are likely to
be working at level 1-3 fort he majority/all
of their school life.
Two characteristics of people with PMLD
1. Behavioral rate- the average number of
voluntary behaviors or actions that an
individual produces per minute.
2. Behavioral State- Causes considerable
problems for teachers
 Prevalence
There are few studies of the prevalence of
PMLD, and this probably reflects a generally
high level of agreement about prevalence, at
least amongst school- age children in
developed societies. Studies from France
(Rumeau-Rouquette et al. 1998), Norway
(Stromme and Valvatne 1998) and Western
Australia (Wellesley et al. 1992) all indicate a
prevalence rate of between 0.6 and 0.8 per
thousand.
 Teaching strategies for children with PMLD
Two main types of specialised approach
can be identified: those based on
caregiver–infant interactions and those that
capitalize on the ability of ICT to provide an
alternative means of communication for
children with severe physical disabilities as
well as a severe or profound level of learning
difficulty.
Approaches based on caregiver–infant interaction
Responsive environments
Responsive environments, according to Ware
(1996, 2003), are interactive
environments in which people get responses
to their actions, get the opportunity to respond
to the actions of others and have an opportunity
to take the lead in interaction.
Intensive interaction is the name given by Nind
and Hewett to the teaching approach they
devised for ‘students who experienced severe
difficulties in learning and relating to others’
Using ICT
The use of ICT, especially switches (see below),
with pupils with PMLD has grown considerably
over the past decade, and a number of authors
describe the use of ICT to facilitate
communication and social interaction with these
pupils.
Choice-making
Schweigert and Rowland see choice-making as part
of an overall early communication sequence, but
teaching choice-making as a discrete skill has
attracted a good deal of attention from
researchers working with people with PMLD.
 Teaching knowledge
A number of common factors can be identified in the
different successful teaching strategies for pupils with
PMLD:
1 They have strong theoretical underpinnings, usually in
cognitive or developmental psychology.
2 All involve frequent (daily where possible) intervention
sessions carried out over an extended period.
3 All involve highly structured interventions, which
normally require a degree of staff training for their
successful implementation.
4 Systematic and detailed data-gathering is used to
inform assessment and teaching decisions.
Children with down’s
syndrome
Down’s syndrome is a genetic
disorder that accounts for the
largest single sub- grouping of
pupils with severe learning
disabilities.
Symptoms of Down’s Syndrome (physical)
Down’s syndrome symptoms may include:
*Eyes that slant upward
*Small ears that may fold over slightly at
the top
*Small mouths that make the tongue
appear large
*Flattened nasal bridge.
 Symptoms of Down’s Syndrome (Mental
and physiological)
Some physiological issues may include:
*Congenital heart defects and intestinal
malformations
Mental issue associated with DS is mental
retardation ranging from mild to moderate
to severe.
 Treatment and Prevention
*There is no way too prevent Down
Syndrome.
*There are many treatment of DS.
However these treatment are for medical
conditions associated with the disorder.
There is no cure for Down Syndrome.