Understanding Special Education
and Students with Disabilities
Kevin Finch
kfinch@marietta-city.k12.ga.us
July 16, 2003
Georgia Institute of Technology
PART I:
An Overview of Special Education:
No, really, it’s going to be fun
 Introduction
 History
of Special Education
 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
 Types of Disabilities
 The Referral Process
 The IEP
 The IEP in Practice
Introduction
Introduction
What is Special Education?
“Special education is the instruction and services
designed to meet the unique learning needs of
students” (Colarusso, 1999, p.2).
“Special education is not a place, but a group of
services tailored to the special needs of an
individual student” (Kaplan, 1996, p.36).
History
Short History
1700’s
1800’s





Disabilities viewed with
fear and suspicion
Possession by demons
Infants with mental
retardation abandoned or
put to death.
Adults placed in
overcrowded asylums to
“protect” them from the
world.

Philippe Pinel opposed
use of chains as restraints
and proposed occupational
training.
Movement towards
humane treatment and
education of individuals
with disabilities.
History
U.S History
1940’s – 1950’s
 WWI and WWII leave
many well-respected
citizens disabled.
 Led to a change in attitude
towards disabilities among
children as well.
Civil Rights Act of 1964:
Forbids discrimination on
the basis of race, religion,
sex or national origin.
 Led to laws directed to the
rights of individuals with
disabilities.
Parent Advocacy Groups
 ARC
 LDA
1975: Public Law 94-142,
the Education for All
Handicapped Children
Act.
 States required to provide
a free, appropriate
education to all students
with disabilities.
The Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act (IDEA) 1990

Introduced significant modifications to PL 94-142.

Replaced term handicapped with disabled.

Replaced term children with individuals.

Individuals with disabilities, NOT, disabled
individuals.

Added two new categories of disability: autism
and traumatic brain injury.

Added transition services and assistive technology
access for individuals with disabilities.
IDEA
IDEA 97
 Signed
into law by Bill Clinton in 1997.
 Reauthorized and
 Included several
amended IDEA.
major changes to IDEA
IDEA
Major Provisions of IDEA 97

Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE)

Nondiscriminatory Evaluation and Placement

Individualized Education Program (IEP)

Least Restrictive Environment (LRE)

Discipline and Placement in Alternative Settings

Related Services – Assistive Technology

Rights of Students and Parents
IDEA
LRE
 General Education Classroom
 Resource
Room (team taught)
 Separate
Class
 Separate
School
 Residential
Program
Types of Disabilities
Disability Categories

See Handout: “Percentage of Students
Served by Category”
Mild Disabilities:
 Mental Retardation
 Learning Disabilities
 Emotional or Behavioral Disorders
Types of Disabilities
Mental Retardation
“Mental retardation refers to significantly subaverage general
intellectual functioning existing concurrently with deficits in
adaptive behavior manifested during the developmental period.”

Significantly subaverage: An IQ score of around 70 or below –
can be as high as 75.

Deficits in adaptive behavior: Includes all of those things people
do to take care of themselves and interact with others in daily
life. May be a formal or informal evaluation.

Developmental period: From conception to age 18.

Mild Mental Retardation: 50-55 to 70 IQ.
Types of Disabilities
Characteristics of Mental
Retardation
 A characteristic of
approximately 2-3
percent of the population
 Often poor ability to transfer information
from short-term to long-term memory
 Focus on functional skills in the classroom
 Classroom strategies include direct,
consistent instruction
Types of Disabilities
Learning Disabilities

“A disorder in one or more of the basic
psychological processes involved in understanding
or in using language, spoken or written, which
may manifest itself in an imperfect ability to
listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or do
mathematical calculations.”

Not result of visual, hearing or motor handicaps,
of mental retardation, emotional disorders, or of
cultural or economic disadvantage.
Types of Disabilities
Identifying students with a
learning disability

Measures of ability – IQ Test

Measures of academic achievement

Report cards, teacher reports

School and social history

Vision and hearing screenings

Use information to identify areas of serious
underachievement (severe discrepancy between
ability and achievement)
Types of Disabilities
Characteristics of Students with
Learning Disabilities

Classification tells us little about what student can do and
what supports are needed.

Often exhibit language skills deficits – listening
comprehension and oral communication.

Ineffective strategies for storing and retrieving information

Inability to organize thoughts both in written and oral
communication – will speak and write in broken sentences
and incomplete thoughts.

May misinterpret social cues and display inappropriate
social skills.
Types of Disabilities
Classroom Strategies
 Structured environments
 Predictable
 More
routines (NO surprises)
frequent progress checks
 Direct
teaching of social skills
 Appropriate academic
modifications (notetaking assistance, books on tape, etc.)
Types of Disabilities
Emotional or Behavioral
Disorders (EBD)

A condition exhibiting one or more of the following
characteristics over a long period of time and to a
marked degree, which adversely affects a child’s
educational performance:

An inability to learn which cannot be explained by
intellectual, sensory, or health factors.

An inability to build and maintain satisfactory
interpersonal relationships.

Inappropriate types of behavior or feelings under normal
circumstances.

A general pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression.
Types of Disabilities
Characteristics of Students with
EBD






Conduct Disorder: antisocial, acting out behaviors
(bully, selfish, tantrums).
Socialized Aggression: steals, cheats, lies, gang
member, idolizes law breakers.
Attention Problems: short attention span,
impulsive, distractible, inattentive.
Anxiety Withdrawal: fearful, anxious, depressed,
feel ill constantly.
Psychotic Behavior: hallucinations, difficulty
differentiating between fantasy and reality.
Motor Excess: hyperactive, fidgety, jumpy.
Strategies

Good Luck
Types of Disabilities
Strategies

Clear, enforceable management plan for the entire
classroom

Consistent enforcement of classroom rules.

Positive reinforcement

Good proximity control – don’t call a student out!

Maintain calm demeanor in an encounter

Get to know the student – take an interest

Use encounters as a learning experience for both
of you
Types of Disabilities
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity
Disorder (ADHD)

Not a separate diagnostic category under IDEA,
but students with ADHD are eligible for services
under “Other Health Impaired.”

Often associated with learning and/or behavioral
problems.

Prevalent in about 3-5 percent of children.

Characteristics: mood instability, temper outbursts,
lack of effort, poor self-esteem, stubborness, low
frustration tolerance.
The Referral Process
The Referral Process

Teacher observes that the student’s problem is severe,
persistent, and inherent in the student (not just the result of
a temporary difficulty).

Teacher makes specific documentation of the problem
(time, environment, specific behaviors).

A prereferral team (often called the student support team)
develops and implements strategies in the general
education classroom, reviews work samples, and reviews
child’s history.

Documentation reveals if further evaluation is necessary.
The Referral Process
Referral Process Continued

General Education Teacher: provides work samples,
intervention results, progress, etc)

Special Education Teacher: may administer some testing,
observes student in general education environment, records
observations.

School Psychologist: Administers testing, provides
feedback and recommendations.

Parents: Provide background information, observations.

Determination of whether or not child is eligible for special
ed. services and under what category.
The IEP
The Individualized Education
Program (IEP)
 Required
by IDEA to assure that the special
education services are planned and carried
out.
 IEP developed by
at least a special ed.
teacher, a general ed. teacher, the student,
and his or her parent/s.
The IEP
What’s In the IEP?

Current levels of performance

Measurable annual goals

Measurable instructional objectives that are expected to be
mastered

Specific special education services needed and who is
responsible for the services

How IEP progress will be communicated to the parents or
guardians

Indicates amount of time to be spent in general education

An individual transition plan by age 14

IEP must be reviewed every year.
The IEP in Practice
The IEP in Practice
 Nearly
all students receiving special
education services have a list of
modifications that must be implemented to
support the student.
 It
is the responsibility of the student’s case
manager to insure that teachers are aware of
the modifications.
Diploma Options in Georgia

College Preparatory Diploma: For students
planning to attend a 4-year college. A rigorous
curriculum with emphasis on higher level
academic classes.
 Technical Preparatory Diploma: For students
planning to attend a 2-year technical school or
certification program. Emphasis is on technical
classes in a specific field of study.
 Special Education Diploma: A recognized high
school diploma for students with disabilities who
have mastered IEP goals and objectives.
PART II:
Difficulties in Math and Science
 Research
has shown that the math progress
of students with learning disabilities reaches
a plateau after grade 7.
 Two
separate studies found that the mean
math scores of students with learning
disabilities in the 12th grade are at the high
5th grade level.
Characteristics

Inability to acquire and maintain math facts at fluency
level needed for higher level math (memorization
difficulties are a major obstacle)

Inability to choose correct algorithm for multistep
problems.

Poor understanding of place value and other basic math
concepts

Inability to organize and/or remember steps

Inability to interpret and solve word problems

Low frustration tolerance – can result in behavior problems
Strategies

Concrete

Model specific strategies numerous times

Use of graph paper for organization

Provide students with a checklist of steps (see handout)

Pair students to work on problems

Reduce number of problems

Use simpler numbers when appropriate

Give real-world problems – relate them to your students

Have students monitor progress

Use appropriate competitive games
Semi-concrete
Abstract
HEADLINES
From: Strengthening Your Students’
Math Problem-Solving Skills
By: Sue O’Connell
FANS RUSH TO BUY FOOTBALL TICKETS
(36 x 20) + (25 x 12)
Student response:
 Tickets for the Yellow Jackets football games
went on sale today! The team sold 36 adult
tickets for $20 each and 25 student tickets for
$12 each. How much money did the ticket
office collect from the sales?
Brain-Based Learning
From: The Source for Brain-Based Learning
By: Clare B. Jones

Result of more recent research involving the brain.

Advances in genetic studies, neuroscience, and the
use of brain imaging machines has led to increased
knowledge of the mind’s patterns and functions.

Just beginning to fully understand how to apply
this research to the classroom.
Brain-Based Learning
The Visual Learner
What the visual learner
requires:

Clear, visual cues

To see the big picture

Information on the board

To see the action

Opportunity to jot or write
down
What the teacher offers:
 Drawings, charts
 Webbing, mapping
 Seat near activity
 Color coding
 Lists on the chalkboard
 Outlines
Brain-Based Learning
The Auditory Learner
What the auditory learner
requires:

Clear, auditory directions

Oral expression
opportunities

Listening to oral
presentations

Auditory Mnemonics
What the teacher offers:

Brief, pointed verbal cues

Oral book reports,
discussion groups

Tape recorder, videos

Mnemonic devices
Brain-Based Learning
The Kinesthetic Learner
What the kineshetic learner
requires:
What the teacher offers:

Movement, breaks,
manipulatives

Hands-on activities

Opportunity to manipulate

Tactile stimulation

Physical movement

Role-playing

Physical movement as
instruction
WE’RE DONE!!!