Other Health Impairments

a developmental disorder of variable severity that is characterized by difficulty in social interaction and communication and by restricted or repetitive patterns of thought and behavior.

Most children were still being diagnosed after age 4, though autism can be reliably diagnosed as early as age 2.

31% of children with ASD have an intellectual disability

Early intervention provides the best opportunity to support healthy development and deliver benefits across the lifespan.

Autism costs an average estimate of $60,000 a year through childhood

Nearly half of 25-year-olds with autism have never held a paying job.

Increase in generalization skills

Musculoskeletal disorders

Neuromotor impairment

Degenerative diseases

deformities

muscular dystrophy

or joint deformities.

diseases

injuries

Loss of bone or muscle tissue, or include the amputation of a limb.

Broken bones and burns may also lead to damage to either muscles or bones.

can result in:

Children may experience trouble using their hands, arms, or legs.

Some of these children will make use of assistive devices and technologies in order to function as independently as they can.

augmentative and alternative
communication devices

academic software for
students with disabilities

High Incidence

Definition: ADHD is not a behavior disorder. ADHD is not a mental illness. ADHD is not a specific learning disability. ADHD is, instead, a developmental impairment of the brain’s self-management system

Audiobook services like audible. Listen to someone read books to them on a small tablet can help them to be active while listening to the readings

Speech recognition software Allows students to express themselves quickly and efficiently

Reminder devices such as a vibrating watch. Students can receive simple reminders to refocus on their classwork.

Talking Calculators Helps them to hear numbers as they work out problems before submitting a final amswer

Definition: A nervous system disorder involving repetitive movements or unwanted sounds.

Pre-recording class presentations on video To help lower stress for these students, they can make a video at home of themselves where anxiety is lower

Speech-to-text software Valuable for these students because they will be able to say aloud what they want to type and software creates a document for them

Recording Devices By recording the lecture instead of trying to write them down, a student will be able to listen to the information later

Reader software Software designed to read written text out loud

Inform the class about epilepsy. Emphasize that epilepsy is not a disease and that it is not contagious

Modified monitors that are flicker free and audio adjusted where the screen fades out instead of blinking off

Strategies Repetition of material, Redirection, Memory learning, strategies Extra time on assignments, Non-timed assessments

Productivity and organization tools Digital organizers, timers, calendars and spreadsheets to help them keep track of what they need to do

Portable magnifiers

Software magnification for computer use

Personal digital assistance

Glucose Monitor

Alarm watch reminder

High Incident: “a severe orthopedic impairment that adversely affects a child’s educational performance.” (IDEA, )

-Allow student time to express themselves.
-Do not interrupt a slow speaker.
-Be a good model and speak directly to student.
-Reduce unnecessary classroom noise.
-Provide student with written information on topics being covered prior to discussion.
-Private location for testing.
-Pre-teach words and ideas.
-Teach one concept at a time.
-Use visual cues.
-Provide hands on experiences.

Low technology ideas: Use dry erase boards, binders, folders, images and graphic organizers.

Hey yaa: wearable, 2 waist belts, using vibrotactile cues

Braille to Go: a standard Android smartphone with a Braille display

V-Braille: Braille Characters in a haptic form on a standard mobile phone

Identity Cane: indicates a person has a vision impairment

Long Cane: detects obstacles and surface changes

Awareness in participation of physical education classes

Note-taking assistance

Teacher awareness of student’s condition and its affect (such as tiring easily)

Securing assistive technology and suitable augmentative communication and other assistive devices

Instruction focused on impairments in, and the improvement/development of gross and fine motor skills

Seating arrangements to develop useful posture and movements, and larger tables

combination of hearing and visual impairments

area rugs, heavy curtains, tennis balls on the bottom of chair legs-all can reduce extra noise.

Turn off/ eliminate equipment that makes background noise (ie projectors, fans)

arrange desks/students in a circle so impaired hearer can see all peers faces.

clearly enunciate speech, speak slower, and repeat/rephrase when necessary

use a talking stick or some other method (hand raising) so the student knows what peer is speaking so they can face the speaker.

to ehance lip readers conditions: avoid hands in front of face, keep facial hair well groomed, do not chew gum

for lip readers : avoid backlighting, so speakers faces are not in a shadow

personal hearing devices (hearing aid, cochlear implant)

use facial expressions, body language and gestures to help convey message

explicitly teach idioms and explain jokes or sarcasm, and pre-teach new, specific vocabulary

microphone for speaker/s (pass to all peers when they talk)

Have a person read them the test, rather than using a digital or computer generated voice- this allows for speech intonation/inflections, speech to be slowed, and can be repeated to ensure understanding

allow extra time for test taking, as hearing loss can effect one's ability to process information, including written information

Are multiple means of showing what the student knows supported?

Does the child recieve medications that might affect their learning and engagement?

Variability of abilities in times of day: Teachers will need to examine what happens prior to an optimal learning conditon. What variables promote the best learning outcome for the student? Did they just get off a long bus ride? After lunch? Change in their seating positions?

How to identify and help struggling students?

References:

Psychiatry.org. 2020. What Is Intellectual Disability?. [online] Available at: https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/intellectual-disability/what-is-intellectual-disability [Accessed 8 August 2020].

Inc, C. and Technology, A., 2020. How Assistive Technology Helps People With Intellectual Disabilities Achieve Independence – Createability Inc. [online] Createabilityinc.com. Available at: http://createabilityinc.com/2020/05/27/how-assistive-technology-helps-people-with-intellectual-disabilities-achieve-independence/ [Accessed 9 August 2020].

Intellectual disability1 involves problems with general mental abilities that affect functioning in two areas:
intellectual functioning (such as learning, problem solving, judgement)
adaptive functioning (activities of daily life such as communication and independent living)

Intellectual disability affects about one percent of the population, and of those about 85 percent have mild intellectual disability. Males are more likely than females to be diagnosed with intellectual disability.
(What Is Intellectual Disability?, 2020)

JAWS stands for Job Access With Speech. It is a screen reader that provides braille and text-to-speech output.

Children with visual impairments can listen to audiobooks instead of reading books for class assignments

"Profound deafness occurs in 4-11 per 10,000 children" (CPIR, 2015), so from 0.04% to 0.11%

Hearing Loop System-(induction Loop System)- connects teachers' microphone directly to the students hearing aid via a wire

FM systems-similar to the hearing loop system- uses a radio signal to transmit sound from the microphone to the hearing aid- no wire is necessary.

ASR- Automatic Speech Recognition- software that transcribes speech to text- ( to use with a computer at student's seat)

Enable captions on videos shown in class and online lectures

Text-to-speech software or devices for note-taking or communication

modify written and reading assignments- (shorten length, adjust evaluation criteria, alter phonics assignments)

"With or without amplification" means that even a hearing aid is not enough to allow the child to succeed in the classroom. (Deafness, n.d.)

American Sign Language Interpreter or supplemental lessons to learn ASL

use a peer notetaker- so student can concentrate on watching/listening to the speaker- and/or provide a written outline of the lesson as well as notes for the lesson

utilize visual aids when possible in a lesson - ie posters, flash cards, graphic organizers, charts, or any visual item that helps illustrate the concept of the lesson

Hearing Loop Systems: a system installed in the classroom that provides wires so that the teacher's microphone can be linked directly to the student's hearing aid or cochlear implant

FM/DM systems that transmit the signal wirelessly from the teacher's microphone, and the student can tune a receiver device to pick up the signal and connect it to their hearing aid or cochlear implant

Relias has developed “6 Building Blocks for Empowering People with IDD” which provides an organized roadmap to decision-making for both the care provider and the consumer with IDD. (Inc and Technology, 2020)

an old but still used system, functionally similar to modern text messaging

a subscriber based system available only to deaf people but able to connect to others, run through the FCC

can be used like a videophone, text telephone, or in many other ways

In-class or take-home tablets or laptops, with assistive apps/programs installed