Educating Special Needs Studens

Intellectual disabilities cause emotional upset amongst the family dynamic. There is often confusion until doctor's can help diagnose patients, along with excess medical bills, testing, stress, and usually disappointment for all involved as a diagnosis is made. Worry and stress maintain appearance in the lives of families with children with any disability, whether intellectual, physical, or educational. It is up to a team of committed individuals to provide for a welcoming and safe environment for students with disabilities to embark on their educational career and receive the best education.

Intellectual disability is defined as "intellectual disability is characterized by significant limitations both in intellectual functioning and in adaptive behavior as expressed in conceptual, social, and practical adaptive skills. This disability originates before age 18." (AAIDD, 2009; Hardman, 2011) Intellectual disability is generally determined by having student's complete an IQ test. The average for this test is 100 and any score in the range of 75 or lower would be considered an intellectual disability. Severity of intellectual disabilities are defined as mild, moderate, severe, or profound (Hardman, 2011). These definitions within the educational setting help professionals understand what goals can be set for success since IQ scores are taken into account.

Autism is defined as "developmental disability significantly affecting verbal and non-verbal communication and social interaction, generally evident before age 3 that adversely affects educational performance. Characteristics of autism include irregularities and impairments in communication, engagement in repetitive activities and stereotyped movements, resistance to environmental change or change in daily routines, and unusual response to sensory experiences." (American Psychiatric Association, 2000; Bowler, 2006; McConkey, 2006; Hardman 2011).

As with intellectual disabilities, autism is defined within a spectrum, with lowest functioning considered classic autism, Autism/PDD as high functioning, and individuals with highest functioning considered as having Asperger's syndrome. The cause of intellectual disorders can be attributed to many factors, including toxins exposed to during pregnancy, chromosomal imbalances or abnormalities, or exposure to environmental toxins, but absolute certainty is difficult to pinpoint.

Autism is generally caught before a child enters school since children are often unresponsive to affection or verbal cues, causing parents to intervene and start seeking medical advice. Children often also have either impaired speech or delayed speech, also stirring concern in parents. High functioning students with autism might show few signs of their diagnosis, especially in the education setting, where noise might become overwhelming, or a change in routine might cause discomfort and lashing out from the student. Other students with autism, however, might have difficulty being included in a mainstream class due to their specific learning needs. They might need a classroom with a quieter environment, or a smaller learning group.

Students with multiple disabilities aren't able to be met by one professional (Hardman, 2011). Their disabilities can range from Down's syndrome to blindness, or other physical impairments with more than one diagnosis.

Within the educational setting, individuals with any impairment are encountered the same. Assessments are made to ensure that the student's needs are addressed to promote skills that are necessary as part of life and beyond their academic career.

Students with disabilities of any kind need to be taught practical skills that enable them to function in their everyday lives. This could range from dressing themselves, to learning to write their name on a job application. While students with intellectual disabilities might have difficulty with these tasks, it is imperative that steps are taken to encourage these skills and help students learn how to accomplish these basic skills. In the state of Florida, a goal is to ensure that students are prepared for life beyond formal schooling. It is my understanding that most states have a goal that is similar.

Every student has different needs. In a classroom, students are challenged with academic material with specific goals in mind that will allow students to achieve these goals, along with educators and paraprofessionals. Curriculum needs for students with any disability include social skills, practical life skills, and emotional skills. Many students with disabilities do not understand or know how to handle their emotions, which often result in physical outbursts. It is up to educator's to help these students communicate effectively and efficiently to promote balance in their lives as well as stability. Until these issues can be addressed, academics should be at the lower level of the list of goals for students to complete.

Within the state of Florida, students that are involved in any special education program fall into a category where there is intervention. Teachers' classify this group of individuals and the outcome of programming through Individual learning plans as response to instruction/intervention, or RTI. (Florida Department of Education). If a student is suspected of having learning disabilities or if a parent is enrolling a student with physical disabilities, students are screened, tests are often administered, ongoing assessment is conducted for the purposes of guided instruction, and ongoing assessment is embedded within teaching to guide instructional decisions. A summative measure is also taken at the end of the school year to determine the effectiveness of the program for each student (FLDOE).

The RTI goals are set for the entire state providing uniformity and consistency. Each county might have their own way of implementing plans to accommodate students with physical disabilities, autism, or learning disabilities; however, the standardization of the program is the same. The Intervention practices are broken down into three Tiers, which are cumulative in nature. If a student doesn't reach the third tier, these issues need to be addressed through additional intervention and systematic planning from paraprofessionals to ensure the student's success.

In Tier one, consists of general academic and behavior instruction. This is individualized and differentiated for all students. In Tier 2 the focus is on specific interventions and support needed for students. In Tier 3, supports for general academic and physical concerns are addressed more intently, often in small groups or with individualized attention for behavior, curriculum and support from the school (FLDOE).

Within the intervention process, educators are constantly evaluating student's utilizing the following questions. Define: What is the problem. Analyze: Why is it occurring. Implement: What are we going to do about it? Evaluate: Is it working? By utilizing this platform for evaluation for academics and behavior, success is imminent as intervention is based on an individual need.

Within the RTI manual, as well as the opportunities I have had to observe students on IEP plans for disabilities, the state is doing an adequate job of encouraging teachers to teach skills necessary to allow for more educational success. Since each student's needs are determined on an individual basis, I believe teachers work exceptionally hard to ensure that the needs of each student are met to promote success.

References

American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM-IV-TR) (4th ed., Textrevision). Washington, DC:Author.

Florida Department of Education. (2011). Guiding Tools for Instructional Problem Solving. http://www.florida-rti.org/_docs/GTIPS.pdf

Hardman, Michael et all. (2011). Human Exceptionality: School, Community, and Family. Cengage Learning.