Overview of Special Needs
Feb 22, 2016
Overview of Special Needs
Hearing Impairments-Problem in one or more parts of the ears.
• Congenital - Present since birth in one or more parts of the ear.
Loss can have following severity•Mild – difficulty in large group *Moderate – trouble responding *Profound – little understandable speech• http://ada.ky.gov/hearing_imp_def.htm=TYPES
Diagram of Ear
Speech and Language Disorders – Will not talk, or inarticulate• A. Language is made up of socially shared rules that include words
mean, make new words, put words togetherWhen a person has trouble understanding others (receptive language), or sharing thoughts, ideas, and feelings completely (expressive language), then he or she has a language disorder.
B. Speech is the verbal means of communicating. Speech consists of the following: 1.Articulation How speech sounds are made (e.g., children must learn how to produce the "r" sound in order to say "rabbit" instead of "wabbit"). 2.Voice (Phonation) Use of the vocal folds and breathing to produce sound (e.g., the voice can be abused from overuse or misuse and can lead to hoarseness or loss of voice). 3. Fluency (Stuttering) The rhythm of speech (e.g., hesitations or stuttering can affect fluency).
When a person is unable to produce speech sounds correctly or fluently, or has problems with his or her voice, then he or she has a speech disorder.
Visual Disorders, or Visual Impairments-Eye, or nerve problems that prevent people from seeing normally http://www.allaboutvision.com/resources/anatomy.htm
Visual Disorders (Cont’d)
• Amblyopia= lazy eye• Glaucoma = Failure of eye fluid to circulate• Nearsightedness = Unable to see things far
away=myopia; eye focuses in front of retina• Farsightedness = Unable to see things close=hyperopia;
eye focuses behind the retina• Color Deficiency = Color blindness; inability to see a
primary color• Uncorrectable Conditions = Cannot be corrected by
glasses or surgery; damage to optic nerve by disease or trauma
Physical Conditions(Severe, Moderate and Mild)• Cerebral Palsy – damage to brain
• Spina Bifida – bones of spine fail to grow
•Muscular Dystrophy – genetic, muscles are weak
Health Disorders, or Chronic Health Disorders =illness that persists over a period of time.• Allergies= Inhalents (airbourne), Contactants (touch),
Injestants (mouth), and Injectables (drugs injected)• Arthritis = Inflammation that produces painful swelling
of the joints and surrounding tissue.• Asthma = Chronic inflammatory disorder of the airways• Cystic Fibrosis = Hereditary, persistent and chronic
infection of the lungs• Diabetes = Insulin is not produced by the pancreas
Inherit a predisposition to the disease then something in your environment triggers it (Type 1 and 2)
Health Disorders (Cont’d)
• Epilepsy = Convulsive disorder caused by damage to brain• Hemophilia = Genetic, blood cannot clot• Leukemia = Cancer of the blood
Cognitive Disabilities = Intellectual Ability is below
normal• Down Syndrome = chromosome disorder
• Learning Disabilities = having a problem with one, or more basic skills of learning (math, reading and writing)
Social or Emotional Impairments = behavioral disorders that affect individuals’ social and emotional functions
• ADD = easily distracted
• ADHD = overactive and impulsive
• Autism = social, emotional and communication impairments
Gifted Children
• Giftedness = academic scores, creative, and leadership
Provided with acceleration (moving children through info at a fast pace) and or enrichment (broadening experiences)