Characters of the Exceptional Child - Report Example

Characters of the Exceptional Child Introduction Every child does exhibit a unique difference compared to another child in terms of their attributes physically, for example, some children are shorter than others are. In addition, they also have differences in learning abilities for example some children are quick to learn and can remember and use what they learned in new situations that need to be applied. In addition, others may need repeated learning and have difficulties in generalizing and maintaining new skills and knowledge. The differences in many children is seen to be relatively small thus enables them to benefit from the general program of education. The physical attributes or the abilities possessed by children to learn do differ from the normal children. This occurs to such an extent that special needs children will need individualized type of learning program referred to as special education program and other related services to benefit from education fully (Nickols and Dean 172). Exceptional children This a term designated for those children who have different needs for education compared to the average child. Several children in exceptional programs have physical, social, or mental disabilities. The term is used to incorporate those children who have difficulties in learning and those with superior performance that leads to the need to modify and make changes to the curriculum to help them fulfill their potential. Therefore, the term exceptional children is an inclusive term referring to those children who have disabilities either physical or sensory impairments, those who have behavioral and learning problems and those who are extremely gifted or have special talent. What makes children exceptional? Laws govern the determination of exceptionality Special needs children are formally identified as an exception through the identification placement and review committee. The committee determines a student whether he or she meets the criteria established for one of the twelve exceptionalities recognized as determined by the ministry of education and reflected in the school boards special education plan. The process of identification and placement are reassessed annually. For a student to be determined in the category of those who require special needs, he or she must meet the following criteria Categories Exceptionalities Behavior Behavior disability communication Autism, Deaf and Hard of hearing, impairment of speech, Language impairment, Learning disabilities intellectual Gifted, Mild intellectual Disability, Developmental Disability Physical Physical disability, Blind and Low vision Multiple Multiple Exceptionalities (2 or more) Should the determining criteria be broadened to accommodate more persons? Characteristic behaviors common to children with special needs It is very common for children having disabilities to have problems with behavior. These problems do occur because of their deficit. Children with disabilities use various forms of behaviors to communicate. If they have a difficult time in telling someone that they need or want something with language, they are more likely to find out another way to communicate and pass the same information. Very often, these children with special needs have development disabilities that communication can only take place in the form of tantrums, self-injury, aggression or other problematic behaviors. It is, therefore, important to understand why the problematic behaviors are occurring so that one can be able to identify a different way to teach the child a new way of communicating their needs and wants. These children are presenting with problems in listening, memory, attention, reasoning focusing and selecting on relevant stimuli and the perception as well as processing of visual and or auditory information. The difficulties in cognitive and perceptual processing are the main reason that underlies why children with special needs do experience one or more of the following characteristics; deficits in written language, poor social skills, underachievement in mathematics, problems in reading, hyperactivity, behavioral problems and attention deficits. Reading difficulties is by far the most common characteristic behavior exhibited by most students with learning disabilities. It is approximated that about ninety percent of all children who require a special need are referred to special education programs because of their problems with reading. Dyslexia, which is a common reading disability, has neurological origin and does not develop as a result of the developmental lag in basic reading or linguistic. It has also seen that those children suffering from severe reading disabilities in most cases share a second problem in processing in addition to the phonological deficit awareness. Several children with dyslexia exhibit significant deficit in visual naming speed. How should problematic behaviors be managed? History of legislation influencing decisions regarding Special Education The United States Supreme Court determined a Brown vs Board of Education of Topeka case in the year 1954, landmark school desegregation that it was in accordance with the law of the state of discriminate against certain group of people for reasons that are arbitrary. In its decision, the court determined that education was characterized as the government’s fundamental function that all citizens on an equal basis should afford it. The decision of the United States Supreme Court is a precedent to be used later by parents and advocates securing equal opportunities for education for children with exceptional needs. Later on, in the year 1975, President Gerald Ford signed the education for all handicapped children act into law. This legislation was considered children and their families with disabilities “bill of rights”. This initiated a major turning point regarding special education and the society perception. Six other major components were then added to the “bill of rights” which forever brought major changes in the education landscape across all regions of the United States. How has special education evolved under the law? Planning and providing for children with special services Planning for the future of individual with special needs requires in-depth knowledge of the laws as they pertain to government benefits eligibility and legal documents such as special needs trusts and guardianships. In planning, there are important considerations of finance as well as for providing not only the lifetime care but also quality of life. In planning the future, the planner is the primary expert but may need other experts for assistance on special needs things such as planning of an estate. Services provided Individualized education plan- every child with special needs has a unique and different from other children hence requires a personal education plan. The education plan will be aiming at addressing all the needs of the child not in general but specific. Behavior intervention plan- these plan is behavior oriented. Special need children share common behaviors but may have different behaviors depending on what they want to pass. This behavioral plan is drawn to address the behaviors of the child, correction process, Bay area professionals (BAP) - special needs providers spearhead these services. They allow the providers and families of those with exceptional behaviors to meet mix and mingle together. This provides a good tool for the families to gain knowledge of the condition and its approach. Using these services, families are well educated and interact deeply with the providers as they serve the special need population. Discuss differentiated instruction across grade levels and subjects; Middle School English Differentiation means tailoring instructions in order to meet the needs of the students. Whether teachers do differentiate process, content, the environment of learning or products, the use of an ongoing assessment and flexible grouping makes differentiation a successful approach to instruction. At its most basic level, it entails the teacher’s efforts to respond to variance among classroom learners. A teacher is said to be differentiating instruction when he or she reaches out to an individual or a group through varying his or her teaching to creating the best learning experience possible. Every day, teachers do face challenges in classrooms. Therefore, differentiation forms way of thinking, a belief that students possess differences in their readiness to learn and that the instructional time and classroom can be organized to meeting the needs of the diverse learners.’ Elementary level Students are engaged in community-based research while focusing on the English language standard of art. The teacher should introduce the topic with the children literature reflective of the period. Then the teacher presents opportunities for children to experience through reading and writing. Middle school level For example, when a class is exploring the performance indicator modeling and multiple representation within science, mathematics, and technology, through exploration and development of models that do or do not rely on the chance. When people do buy cars, they may be forced to study the ratings of reliability of different models. Basing on such personal experience of car owners, cars can be rated to be either reliable or unreliable. Some of the students may use reports of the consumers and any other source which provide background information on the safety of cars, other may develop a series of interview questions and conduct interview of local dealership dealing with cars Students having varying abilities can be paired to conduct interviews with each having to listen to help support their theory. Others may scan internet sources. Some may be encouraged to present the material in graphics. Students are encouraged to work in groups to exploit each other’s potential High school level The teacher uses logs to help him or her know the key areas where students may need further explanation for assistance and understanding. How has differentiation instruction helped learning? Recommendation It is important to recognize all children irrespective of their disadvantage as equal under the law. Therefore, every child has the right to receive education in accordance to the state laws Conclusion All children differ from each other in varying degrees. However, in some children or students, the difficulties in learning seem to be more serious than others are. These children deviate more significantly in one way or the other. These children are exceptional in that their mode of learning and behaviors is seen to significantly deviate from the normal behaviors and learning exhibited by other normal children. These children do show differences in their intellectual, physical, social, emotional or communication domains or sometimes a combination of these domains. Because these exceptional children are different from other students who are average ion one way or many functional areas, therefore, the study of those children with exceptionalities is then the study of differences. However, these children are not different from other normal children in every way. This, it would be wrong to focus the study pf these children mainly based on differences. Works cited Nickols, John, and Opal Dean. “Educating the Exceptional Child.” Psychology in the Schools 2 (2008): 172–177. Print.  Read More