By: Kacie Brown and Megan Crane
General Information about Disabilities
Teaching Tip:
It is important to remember that the student always comes
before the disability.
Organizations and Services:
The council for Exceptional Children (www.cec.sped.org)– This is a
national organization for educators of students with
exceptionalities. This organization strives to be sure educators help
these students to reach their full potential in all aspects of life.
Advocacy Inc. (www.advocacyinc.org) – This state organization
works to provide legal assistance to people with disabilities.
The Texas Council for Developmental Disabilities
(http://www.downsyn.com/index.php) - This state
organization is in place to be sure people with
disabilities are valued and can be
independent.
General Information about Disabilities
Organizations and Services:
The Texas Council for Exceptional Children (www.tcecweb.org) –
This state organization is a branch of the council for exception
children and is specific to the state of Texas.
The Governor’s Committee on People with Disabilities
(http://www.governor.state.tx.us/disabilities) - This state organization
is dedicated to furthering opportunities for people with disabilities.
Arc of Denton County (www.arcofdentoncounty.org) – This local
organization provides support and raise awareness so that people
with disabilities can have the same rights as those without disabilities.
Denton County Mental Health, Mental Retardation Center
(http://www.dentonmhmr.org/mentalhealth.html) – This local
center provides information and services regarding
mental health and intellectual disabilities.
General Information about Disabilities
Web Resources:
http://kidshealth.org/kid/word/ This website has a medical
dictionary for kids that includes easy to understand definitions of
words they may hear relating to the disabilities they have.
https://www.211texas.org/211/search/disability/organizations.jsp
This website has links to organizations and services for various
disabilities and could be helpful to teachers and parents.
http://www.teachervision.fen.com/specialeducation/teachingmethods/26139.html
This resource has a list of websites and lots of other helpful information and
tools for teachers of students with disabilities.
Autistic Disorder
What is Autism?
The IDEA 04 definition of autism reads:
Autism means a developmental disability significantly
affecting verbal and non verbal communication and social
interaction, generally evident before age three, that adversely
affects a child's educational performance. Other characteristics
often associated with autism are engagement in repetitive
activates and stereotyped movement, resistance to
environmental change or change in daily routines and unusual
responses to sensory experiences (Taylor p.362)
Autistic Disorder
Teaching Tips:
It is often helpful to have a schedule for the day available so that
the student knows what will be happening next, and if there is
going to be a change in the daily routine, you should try and give the
student prior warning of the change to try and prevent an outburst.
Use Task Analysis, give very specific tasks, and give them in
sequential order.
Always keep your language simple and try to get your point across in
as few words as possible.
Autistic Disorder
Organizations and Services:
www.autism-society.org is a national organization that benefits individuals
with autism.
www.autreat.com is an international advocacy organization for people with
autism.
The North Texas Autism Education Center (http://www.ntaec.org/) works to
provide workshops to teachers and parents focusing on teaching language
and learning skills to students with autism.
Web Resources:
www.positivelyautism.com – This is a resource for teachers that has
information on how to teach students with autism and provides a link for free
teaching materials.
www.autismspeaks.org - This is a resource for parents of autistic
students from birth and up. It has a list of resources available
in each state and includes everything from support
groups to doctors to legal and financial
information.
Asperger Syndrome
What is Asperger Syndrome?
Asperger syndrome is a high functioning form of autism. Since
autism presents such a wide range of behaviors, trying to classify
it can be rather difficult. People with Asperger syndrome tend to
have more difficulty in the social aspects of life such as
understanding body language, tone of voice, understanding
language beyond the literal meaning of words, they tend to be
real obsessive compulsive, and typically have average to above
average intelligence.
Asperger Syndrome
Teaching Tips:
Use and interpret speech literally. Until you know the capabilities of
the individual, you should avoid:
•idioms (ex., save your breath, jump the gun, second thoughts)
• double meanings
• sarcasm
•nicknames
•"cute" names (e.g., Pal, Buddy, Wise Guy)
Remember that facial expressions and other social cues may not
work. Most individuals with asperger’s have difficulty reading
facial expressions and interpreting "body language".
Asperger Syndrome
Assistive Technology
The software, Mind Reading, can be used to teach students how to
read emotion. This software has pictures, tones of voice, and stories
that help the student to better recognize facial and tonal changes o
emotion.
Web Resources:
www.yourlittleprofessor.com is a great resource for parents of
students with Asperger syndrome. This website has information on
how a parent can help the student deal with some of the aspects of
asperger’s and has great resources to help the parents find services
in their area.
http://www.cyh.com/HealthTopics/HealthTopicDetailsKids.aspx?p=
335&np=287&id=2339 This website is kid friendly and explains all
about Asperger syndrome.
Attention Deficit /Hyperactivity Disorder
(AD/HD)
What is AD/HD
There is no legal, federal definition for AD/HD because it is not
considered a disability category under IDEA 04. Instead it falls
under the general IDEA 04 category of other health impairments
(OHI). The most widely used definition is that provided in the
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, Fourth Edition-Text Revision.
The definition states, “The essential feature of AttentionDeficit/Hyperactivity Disorder is a persistent pattern of
inattention and/or hyperactivity-impulsivity that is more
frequently displayed and severe than is typically observed in
individuals at a comparable level of development” (Taylor,
p.479).
Attention Deficit /Hyperactivity Disorder
(AD/HD)
Classroom Accommodations and Modifications:
Allow for flexibility in amount of time needed to complete a project
Offer alternatives to writing. Instead of having the student handwrite an
assignment you could allow them to type it.
You should break up a project into many smaller steps.
Allow students to keep their hands busy while listening in class with
something like play dough. This will help most students to listen more carefully and
increases the chances of them processing and remembering the information.
Teaching Tips
You should define and redefine expectations
Assistive Technology
Students with AD/HD often find the use of electronic organizers
and electronic reminders to be very helpful.
Attention Deficit /Hyperactivity Disorder
(AD/HD)
Organizations and Services:
Attention Deficit Disorders Association, Southern Region
(https://www.adda-sr.org/about.html ) is an organization that
provides a resource network and support to people with ADD.
ADHD Center of North Dallas (http://www.adhdnorthdallas.com/) They
provide classes for parenting students with ADHD
Web Resources:
http://www.time4learning.com/ADD.shtml This website has online
curriculum that is designed to more easily hold the attention of students
with AD/HD.
http://kidshealth.org/parent/medical/learning/adhd.html#
This website has information for parents of children
with AD/HD.
http://www.chadd.org/ is a website that helps students
and adults with AD/HD find support.
Down Syndrome
What is Down Syndrome?
The IDEA 04 definition of a Intellectual Disabilities:
Mental retardation is “significantly sub-average intellectual
functioning, existing concurrently with deficits in adaptive
behavior and manifested during the developmental period, that
adversely affects a child’s educational performance” (Taylor p.138).
Down Syndrome
Teaching Tips:
• Have high expectations for the student
• Allow the student adequate response time
• Give clear signals about transitions
• Set aside time for frequent review and practice of tasks
• If the student makes a mistake, do not say “that’s wrong.” Ask
the student to try again and have the student repeat the correct
response immediately
Something to remember is that people with Down Syndrome
experience cognitive delays, but the effect is usually mild to
moderate and is not indicative of the strengths and talents that each
individual possesses.
Down Syndrome
Organizations and Services:
The national down syndrome society (http://www.ndss.org) and
the national association for down syndrome (http://www.nads.org)
are national advocates for people with down syndrome.
The Down Syndrome Guild of Dallas
(http://www.downsyndromedallas.org/) strives to provide resources
and support for people with down syndrome, their families, and
communities.
Web Resources:
http://www.downsyn.com/index.php is a great resource for
parents of children with down syndrome.
http://www.cyh.com/HealthTopics/HealthTopicDetailsKids.aspx?p=
335&np=282&id=2266 This website is very kid friendly and
explains many things about down syndrome.
Speech/Language Impairments
What are Speech/Language Impairments?
The IDEA 04 definition of communication disorders:
“A speech or language impairment is a communication disorder,
such as stuttering, impaired articulation, a language impairment, or
a voice impairment, which adversely affects a child’s educational
performance” (Taylor, p220).
Speech/Language Impairments
Assistive Technology
Technology can help children whose speech or language
impairments make communication difficult. The use of electronic
communication systems allow non speaking people and those who
are hard to understand to engage in the give and take of shared
thought. This process is usually done by recording your voice saying
simple tasks or thoughts and then the student can push the button
with the picture representing what they want to say.
Speech/Language Impairments
Web Resources
http://www.readingassessment.info/resources/publications/readingandspeech
This website is a helpful tool for teachers of students with speech and or
language impairments.
http://www.childspeech.net/u_i.html This website has general information about
speech and language impairments that can be helpful for parents.
References
Taylor, R., Smiley, L., Richards, S. (2009). Exceptional Students. New
York, New York: McGraw-Hill