Information

Special Need

Definition

                Special needs child mean the individual requirements special attention and specific necessities of a person with a mental, emotional, or physical disability that other children do not. The state decides upon this status and offers benefits that follow a special needs child because it is believed the child will not be adopted if assistance is not provided.

                Special education or special needs education is the education of students with special needs in a way that addresses the students' individual differences and needs. Common special needs include challenges with learning, communication challenges, emotional and behavioral disorders, physical disabilities, and developmental disorders. Students with these kinds of special needs are likely to benefit from additional educational services such as different approaches to teaching, use of technology, a specifically adapted teaching area, or resource room.

Type of Special Needs Student

                There are many types of special needs students who have their education guided by teachers with special education degrees. Special needs students are also often categorized by level of disability. Levels can range from mild to moderate to severe to profound.

1. Dyslexia and Dyscalculia

                Dyslexia and dyscalculia are two different types of learning disabilities with a special education. A learning disability is a disorder in which one or more psychological process involving any kind of language affects a person's ability to correctly do things like write, read, spell, complete mathematical calculations, or the like. A learning disability is caused by differences in how someone's brain processes information or works overall. Dyslexia is usually defined as a difficulty with reading, writing, and spelling. Sometimes, dyslexia can affect a person's ability to speak. It is one of the most common learning disabilities in children. One of the first signs that a child is dyslexic is when he or she shows a difficulty in learning to read. There are several types of dyslexia, including visual dyslexia. Visual dyslexia means that a person reverses letters (and sometimes numbers as well) and cannot write words in their proper sequence. While dyslexia affects a person's ability to read or write, dyscalculia involves difficulty with numbers usually involving math. Someone with dyscalculia can have difficulties learning how to count or understanding math and math problems. Sometimes, sequences of numbers will not make sense. Dyscalculia can also manifest itself by having a poor understanding of the concept of time or a poor sense of direction.

2. Autism and Severe Epilepsy

                Autism and severe epilepsy are two conditions linked to brain function, which can affect a person's ability to not only learn in a classroom, but also how he or she functions in the world. Many students with autism or severe epilepsy are taught in classrooms led by special education degree holders. While professionals sometimes find it hard to define, autism is an all-encompassing developmental disorder that affects about one in 500 children. Autism usually begins before the age of three. One source of controversy in the definition of autism focuses on the closely related Asperger's syndrome and pervasive developmental disorder (PDD). Experts do not agree on whether these conditions are completely separate disabilities or merely different types of autism. Because of this disagreement and the limited knowledge on what causes these disabilities, how to best treat them is also in dispute. Autism characteristics include noticeable delays and deficiencies in the ability to communicate, repetitive and stereotyped patterns of behavior, and an inability to relate to others or function well in social situations. Autism is now more commonly known as autism spectrum disorder.

                Epilepsy is a seizure disorder in which there is a brief but strong surge of electrical impulse or activity that affects some or all of the brain. A seizure can last from as little as a few seconds to as long as a few minutes. Not every seizure is the same. There can be convulsions, a complete loss of consciousness, blank staring, the smacking of lips, fainting spells, odd sounds, distorted perceptions, and/or the jerking of limbs. A person is diagnosed as having epilepsy when they have more than two unprovoked seizures. While there are treatments for epilepsy like medication, surgery, and dietary changes, some children with epilepsy, especially those with severe epilepsy, find that their ability to learn is affected. For example, episodes of blackout or fixed staring can cause a student to miss what is being taught in class. Issues of memory and concentration can also influence learning.

3. Learning Difficulties

                Many students in special education programs led by special education degree holders are labeled as having learning difficulties or learning disabilities. A learning difficulty or learning disability is commonly referred to as an LD, and this term means that the student has problem learning in one or more areas caused by brain dysfunction, other disabilities, a brain injury, or even developmental aphasia (lack of language abilities). There is a spectrum of LDs from mild to moderate to severe to profound. LDs are difficult to define, however. Even under federal laws related to special education, the definition of an LD focuses on what it is not rather than what it is. For the most part, the working definition of an LD is a divergence between a student's abilities, achievements or IQ, and his or her actual achievement. There is no one standard or test for this discrepancy making the definition of what an LD is vary widely from person to person. Sometimes, the definition of an LD can include mental retardation, which means having a significantly under-functioning intellect and having deficiencies in adaptive behavior, and/or suffering from disorders like Down syndrome, a chromosomal defect that profoundly affects both physical and intellectual development and creates other medical problems. Students with LDs often benefit from specific teaching strategies geared towards their unique problem.

4. Visual or Hearing Impairment

                Some students taught by special education degree holders can have visual or hearing impairments, or both. Being visually impaired means that someone has such poor vision that even when corrected, it can still negatively affect his or her educational performance. Students with visual impairments can have partial sight or low vision, or be fully blind. They cannot see well enough to learn without assistance or in general education classrooms. People with partial sight and low vision can have some sight, while people who are blind usually have little or no sight. Being hearing impaired means that someone cannot hear, with or without amplification, to the point that it negatively affects his or her educational performance. Like the visually impaired, the hearing impaired usually cannot hear well enough to learn without assistance or in general education classrooms. Being hearing impaired does not mean deaf, though the deaf are fully hearing impaired. There is also a third, related category: deaf-blind. Most people who are deaf-blind often have another disability as well because the condition is usually caused by rubella, meningitis, or genetic or chromosomal syndromes. Deaf-blind students are often in their own special education classes because they have severe communication, developmental, and educational needs due to their condition.

5. Mobility Problems Caused by Conditions Such as Cerebral Palsy or Muscular Dystrophy

                Some students in programs led by teachers with special education degrees have physical disabilities that limit mobility. Also known as orthopedic impairments, these physical disabilities of the muscles or bones are severe enough that they can negatively affect a student's educational performance. There are many types of orthopedic impairments, including cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, and juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. Other physical impairments are caused by congenital anomalies or diseases like bone tuberculosis. One of the most common orthopedic impairments is cerebral palsy. This condition is caused by an injury to the part of the brain that controls the ability to use some muscles, if not the whole body. The injury is related to birth, and can happen before, during, or after the birthing process. There are degrees of cerebral palsy. A mild case means that someone has some balance or coordination problem, while a moderate case means that someone walks with a limp, has a special leg brace, or perhaps uses a cane or wheelchair. A severe case of cerebral palsy means that nearly all physical abilities are affected and those afflicted often use a wheelchair. Sometimes, students with cerebral palsy suffer from a visual or hearing impairment, have intellectual disabilities, or have other learning problems. Lastly, muscular dystrophy is a hereditary condition that results in the degeneration of muscle fibers, which often affects the ability to walk and usually gets worse over time.

6. Behavioral Challenges

                Teachers with special education degrees also educate students with behavioral challenges such as ADHD and the related condition, attention deficit disorder (ADD). Students with behavioral challenges often have issues with appropriate communication, social interaction, and/or sensory behaviors. There are a number of medical conditions that result in challenging behavior, including ADHD and ADD. Both of these disorders are difficult to diagnose, but can generally be described as being fidgety with hands or feet, talking excessively, forgetting daily activities, having trouble sitting still, having trouble controlling behavior, having trouble paying attention in class, and making careless mistakes on school work. Such qualities can be found in many children, but a professional must determine if these characteristics have reached a level beyond normal for the child's age and become a disability. It is unclear what causes ADHD and ADD, but the conditions make a general education classroom experience quite difficult. Some critics believe that neither ADHD nor ADD exist and that students so diagnosed are behaving inappropriately and just lack discipline. Another concern about a diagnosis of ADHD and ADD includes what many believe is an excessive number of children receiving medication for the disorder instead of learning how to control themselves and manage their impulses.

7. Psychiatric Problems

                Another common reason for students to be placed in classrooms led by teachers with special education degrees is psychiatric problems. Also sometimes labeled as having emotional and behavioral disturbances, students with psychiatric issues have been diagnosed with such conditions as schizophrenia (an inability to differentiate between reality and not reality, among other abnormal emotional and social behaviors) and bipolar disorder (having dramatic mood swings between high and sometimes irritable to low and depressed, with periods of normal moods in between). Other psychiatric conditions that sometimes lead to placement in special education classrooms include anxiety disorders, eating disorders, conduct disorders (like being overly aggressive towards people or animals, lying compulsively, and/or destroying property), and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Students with psychiatric issues can display the symptoms of their disorders such as distorted thinking, excessive anxiety, abnormal mood swings, hyperactivity, aggression, withdrawal, immaturity, and/or self-injurious behavior. They often have problems building relationships with teachers and peers, and sometimes act inappropriately under normal conditions. Such students tend to be unhappy and depressed as well. Depending on the severity of the condition, many students in treatment for such conditions are placed in general education classrooms, though sometimes with support. For other students with psychiatric problems, being placed, at least temporarily, in special education classrooms, special schools, or even institutional programs might be more appropriate.

8. Multiple Disabilities

                A relatively new trend in special education is to identify an increasing number of students with severe and multiple disabilities (SMD). That is, these students have two or more disabilities, often a combination of physical and mental challenges. (Deaf-blindness generally does not fall under the category of multiple disabilities, however.) Such students can have combination of conditions like mental retardation and blindness or mental retardation and a mobility problem. They are not limited to such combinations, however, but have a wide range of characteristics depending on how severe the disabilities are and the combination in which they manifest themselves. Certain combinations of such medical issues can create specific educational needs that cannot be met in a general education classroom or even a special education program that focuses solely on one impairment.

                In addition, because of advances in medical technology, more children are surviving severe injuries and other grave medical situations that can also result in multiple disabilities. As students, these children often need medical equipment in the classroom as well as physical assistance. Many such students are aided by a dedicated classroom assistant, especially when they are a part of a general education classroom. They are also regularly part of classrooms lead by teachers with special education degrees.

9. Gifted or Talented Pupils

                While many gifted or talented students do not have disabilities, they are often put in special programs that separate them from general education or special education classmates. There is no one commonly accepted definition of a gifted or talented student, though having outstanding intellectual and/or creative abilities and high performance capabilities is often seen in these students. The typical gifted or talented student fully functions in a general education classroom, but becomes bored when asked to do work below their skill level on a regular basis.

                Some students in classrooms led by special education teachers are gifted or talented. This is because there are gifted or talented students with disabled or special needs conditions. They often excel intellectually in one or more areas, but find this aspect of their educational experience underserved because of the accommodations that are made to their disability or disabilities. Many special education students with disabilities find their extraordinary potential limited because of this situation. For example, a student who is deaf might not be able to appropriately respond to directions spoken aloud. In addition, the student's condition might mean that he or she has a limited vocabulary that cannot adequately reflect the complexity of his or her internal thoughts. Limited life experiences because of impaired mobility also may mask a gifted or talented nature.

                What qualifies a student for gifted or talented programs, both for general education and special education students is decided on the local level, as are the related programs. Those who support special programs for the gifted or talented think that there needs to be a special, stimulating curriculum because such students often grow uninterested or frustrated when asked to work continuously below their skill level. Those who oppose separating the gifted or talented from their peers believe that all students should receive a challenging educational experience. Opponents also point out that a disproportionately high number of white and Asian students are labeled as gifted or talented, while a disproportionately low number of black and Hispanic students are put in such programs.

Source #1

Source #2

Source #3