Intellectual Disability of a Child - Essay Example

 Case Study Highlights The Case Study provided in this study discusses the state of Intellectual Disability suffered by a child named Simon: his major deficiencies, as observed by his succession of teachers include Spelling and Reading Difficulties—which are the bedrocks of learning processes (O’ Neal et al, 2007). The attempts made by his teachers are also recorded in the case; and Simon’ lacklustre educational improvement is also detailed in this case study. Summary of the Critical Student Needs Over the years, Simon has demonstrated acute disabilities in his Reading and Spelling abilities. These are the main needs his array of teachers has concentrated on: however, there are other needs that are not being recognized and/or addressed in the case study. These include but not restricted to behavioral problem and impacts of classroom management styles (Burkhardt et al, 2004). On a serious note, Simon’s inability to catch up with his fellow classmates in the areas of reading and spelling, from Year 1 to 6, might have dealt a huge blow to his self-confidence as he tends to resent the idea of being given extra classes or time that would encourage him to improve in these academic areas (Udvari-Solner, 2008). And it is surprising why none of his teachers have explored the possibilities of his action in the classroom being influenced by certain behavioral disorder. Being too quiet in the classroom could be as result of attention deficiency or/and poor sensory processing disorder (Snell & Brown, 2008). 2 Individualized Educational Program (IEP) for Simon Considering the disabilities exhibited by Simon, which are clearly outlined in the foregoing, it will be helpful to organize an IEP for him. Although, Simon seems to show little or no interest in involving his parents in his academic progress, however, the proposed IEP should involve his parents, his teachers from Year 1 to 6, his School Services Officers (SSO), the Guidance Officer, and his school’s Senior Official, like the Deputy Principal. The components of the IEP should include but not limited to: Presentation of Simon’s current educational and functional performance Setting up the important goal of helping Simon to overcome his spelling and reading problems The following tests should periodically be carried out on Simon: Literacy Basic Skills Test; WISC Score Test in short-term memory capability; Neale Analysis, Child Progress Assessment and Psychometric Assessment. These measurement procedures will help the participants to identify how progressive Simon is in his studies. Some of the support services Simon should be provided with include (1) having regular meeting with the School Support Officers (SSO); (2) provision of “Special Assignments”; (3) Use of Assistive Technology like computer programs that could 3 help him improve on his spelling—for example, Spell It Plus; (4) Practical Lessons that will target his weakness in reading; (5) Use of applicable reading books that will assist him in understanding whatever he reads; (6) lastly, making the Guidance Officer available to give him moral guidance and change his behavioral attitude in the classroom. About accommodation, Simon should be allowed to sit beside his only friend, Josh, and he should not be forced to stay in the “dummies group” so as not to completely kill his optimism. As it turns out, Simon dislikes being sent to the special needs classes often, and he does not like the idea of being given many special assignments or more time to complete his works—such timing should be regulated in a way that he would not be singled out as a complete dummy. Teachers and Simon’s parents should share vital information about him in order to help him overcome his learning disabilities and behavioral problem. The IEP described above can help Simon in two broad ways: (i) Increase his consciousness toward realizing that he could surmount his problems if he can work harder; (ii) making him to understand that the officials, teachers and his parents are working together for his good and not against him (Hannell, 2006; Meese, 2001; Knight and Scott, 2004). These two facts could produce unexpected positive attitude in Simon, which may be instrumental to increasing his memory retention and the ability to spell words correctly (Leanne et al, 2007). 4 Collaboration between Teachers/School and Simon’s Parents It is quite important that the Simon’s parents and his teachers must work hand-in-hand as they aspire to help the boy improved academically. There are many areas that they could collaborate on: the teachers could inform Simon’s parents about the kinds of exercise or educational activities he enjoyed the most in the classroom, with the hope of reproducing similar activities in helping do his assignments at home. On the other hand, his parents could intimate the school/teachers about his behavioral pattern, his emotional status and other vital information which the teachers could utilize in designing the appropriate lessons or activities that would help Simon enjoy each class activity (Dukes, 2007; Friend & Bursuck, 2006). Most importantly, carrying out family-based child progress assessment will help the teachers to understand the genesis of Simon’s problems—there might have been some instances of such in the lineage that produced him, and his parents are in the best position to present the proper approach teachers should use when dealing with him (Leanne et al, 2007). The Additional Assessments Needed Simon should be made to undergo psychometric assessment that will test his abilities about speaking, writing and reading. The test that was carried out before was meant to estimate his reading and writing skills. Many children with disabilities have shown tremendous progress in expressing themselves verbally when they have failed in writing 5 (Gargiulo, 2006). The teachers could resort to using the speaking medium whenever they want to communicate with Simon. Likewise, psychological assessment should be conducted on Simon so as to detect any mood swing that could make him look unhappy in the classroom and discourage him from concentrating on his studies (Westwood, 2007). The Impacts of Studying about Disabilities Learning about the different disabilities people suffer has helped me greatly in a way that I begin to see the world differently. However, there are some problems that still require urgent attention in our societies if we would like to make the disabled happy among us. For example, teachers must work hard to make sure that disabled students are given the unique opportunity to become an active part of their classrooms. This requires that serious actions must be taken in the area of inclusion of the disabled in the classroom—they should not be separated from the rest students and should not be looked down upon (Allan, 2008; Corbett, 2001). Therefore, teachers must create environments that would be comfortable for all students, irrespective of their mental state. This involves creating proactive lessons and class activities that will definitely encourage students with disabilities to actively participate in the class (Salend, 2001). This is the only area teachers of all levels must seriously work on if they want to reach out to every member of their classrooms. Isolating students with special needs will not produce any positive results, rather it will force the students to remain in the background and become unprogressive in their academic pursuits. 6 References Allan, J. (2008). Rethinking inclusive education: The philosophers of difference in practice. Dordecht: Springer. Burkhardt, S., Obiakor, F., & Rotatori, A.F. (2004). Current perspectives on learning disabilities: Advances in special education. Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Elsevier. Corbett, J. (2001). Supporting inclusive education: A connective pedagogy. London: Routledge Falmer. Dukes, D. (2007). Working with parents of children with special educational needs. London: Paul Chapman. Friend, M. & Bursuck, W.D. (2006). Including students with special needs: A practical guide for classroom teachers (4th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education. Gargiulo, R.M. (2006). Special education in contemporary society: An introduction to exceptionality (2nd ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning. Knight, B.A. & Scott, W. (Eds.). (2004). Learning difficulties: Multiple perspectives. French Forest, NSW: Pearson. Hannell, G. (2006). Identifying children with special needs: Checklists and action plans for teachers. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press. 7 Leanne, S.H., MacLeod, S.K., & Rawlings, S. (2007). Effects of behavior education program (BEP) on office discipline referrals of elementary school students. Journal of positive behavior interventions, 9, 94-101. Meese, R.L. (2001). Teaching learners with mild disabilities: Integrating research and practice (2nd ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning. O’Neal, K., Jones, W.P., Miller, S.P., Campbell, P., & Pierce, T. (2007). Comparing web-based to traditional instruction for teaching special education content. Teacher Education and Special Education, 30, 34-41. Salend, S.J. (2001). Creating inclusive classrooms. Effective and reflective practices (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Snell, M.E., & Brown, F. (2006). Instruction of students with severe disabilities (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Udvari-Solner, A. (2008). Joyful learning: Active and collaborative learning in inclusive classrooms. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Sage. Westwood, P. (2007). Commonsense methods for children with special educational needs (5th ed.). London: Routledge. Read More