Week 8 now 9 Teaching Students with Lower Incidence Disabilities - visual impairments, hearing loss, physical disabilities, health impairments...

Welcome to Week 8 now 9's posting on students with lower incidence disabilities. Sorry for the interruption in postings ---we will pick up with week 8 adjusting the syllabus as one week later, with Chapters 5 and 4 combined for next week's posting.

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Thank you for your condolences in the passing of my oldest brother, Earl --- a favorite of mine === known to us and his close friends as THE DUKE of Earl. He was 6'1" tall, handsome and we used to tease him that he looked like the 'black' version of the Marlboro man if you are old enough to remember that billboard ad. He was 72 years old, but never looked nor acted so --- he was a skater, a golfer, a lover of movement and action until six ago when he was diagnosed with the emphysema. He had emphysema for some time but was handling it very well -- had stopped smoking several years ago. Week before last, he got a seasonal flu shot and suffered from the symptoms of that --- he thought he could overcome those without going to the see a doctor, but was not able to. I am so angry about that, as he did not really need to get that shot --- but his doctor told him so and he follows doctor's orders to a fault. He will be sorely missed, as I loved him dearly --- calling him every time I had to make a conference trip or field experience trip and wanted someone to talk to until I arrived-- he was a true big brother--- he was extremely intelligent and well versed/could dialogue on current world and government trivia, stuff I never take the time to listen/tune in or watch much --- Life is so short --- do take the time to love the ones you love --- Earl will be cremated as he left instructions to do --- my family and friends of Earl have decided to have a private memoriam the day after Thanksgiving in Ocala, Florida -- sincerely, Jennifer

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An audio of the chapter has been provided. For the chapter audio, ignore references in the audio to week numbers, dates, chapter numbers, page numbers, assignments, the discussion board,names...thank you. The core of the audio speaks to the current chapter topic in your edition of the text book. https://edocs.uis.edu/jherr3/www/TEP224F2010/TEP224Ch8.mp3 .

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How are visual and hearing impairments defined, both legally and functionally? How are physical disabilities and health impairments defined? How can you modify instruction and the classroom environment to accommodate the needs of students with visual, hearing, physical, or health impairments or students with traumatic brain injury? What are the roles of the orientation and mobility specialist, the interpreter, the physical or occupational therapist, and the adaptive physical education teacher?

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Definition of "visual and hearing impairments" As listed on in the textbook, the definition of visual and hearing impairments is as follows:

Visual: "legal blindness - visual acuity (sharpness of sight) of 20/200 with best correction in the best eye or a visual field loss resulting in a visual of 20 degrees or less...total blindness - unable to see anything...partial sight - visual acuity in the range of 20/70 to 20/200 - no longer used...low vision - visual impairment corrected with glasses along with compensatory and environmental modifications...functional vision - the way an individual functions with the amount of vision he or she has."
Hearing: "Hearing loss can occur in one ear (unilateral) or both ears (bilateral). It can be conductive (affecting outer and middle ears) or sensorineural (damage to the cochlea [or inner ear] or to the auditory nerve)." Hearing loss is measured as falling outside the range of 0-15 dB (decibels): 16 - 25 dB = minimum loss...25 - 40 dB = mild hearing loss...40 - 65 dB = moderate hearing loss...65 - 90 dB = severe hearing loss...greater than 90 dB = profound hearing loss.
Definition of "physical disabilities and health impairments"

As in the textbook, the definition of physical disabilities and other health impairments is as follows:

"Students with significant physical disabilities, health impairments, and traumatic brain injury generally qualify for special education services under three IDEA categories: orthopedic impairment, other health impairment, and traumatic brain injury."

orthopedic impairment: a severe orthopedic impairment that adversely affects a child's educational performance. The term includes impairments caused by congenital anomaly (e.g. clubfoot, absence of some member, etc.), impairments caused by disease (e.g. poliomyelitis, bone tuberculosis, etc.), and impairments from other causes (e.g. cerebral palsy, amputations, and fractures or burns that cause contractures)...[as copied from Vaugh, Bos, et al, 2007, p 198.] These impairments also include beyond mobile and coordination inabilities, physical disabilities that affect communication, learning and social activities. A person who functions with medication in home, school and work activities is not considered physically disabled under this definition [p. 198].

neurological impairment: "an abnormal performance caused by a dysfunction of the brain, spinal cord, and nerves, thereby creating transmission of improper instructions, uncontrolled bursts of instructions from the brain, or incorrect interpretation of feedback to the brain...such as seizures (epilepsy), cerebral palsy, and spina bifida neuromuscular impairment: "invoves both the muscles and nerves such as muscular distrophy, polio, and multiple sclerosis."
other health impairment: "having limited strength, vitality, or alertness, due to chronic or acute health problems such as heart condition, tuberculosis, rheumatic fever, nephritis, asthma, sickle cell anemia, hemophilia, epilepsy, lead poisoning, leukemia, or diabetes, that adversely affects a chield's educational performance...new addiitions to this definition are the medically fragile (students with progressive cancer or AIDS)"

traumatic brain injury: "an acquired injury to the brain caused by an external physical force, resulting in total or partial functional disability or psychosocial impairment, or both, that adversely affects a child's education performance. The term applies to open or closed head injuries resulting in impairments in one or more areas, such as cognition; language; memory; attention; reasoning; abstract thinking; judgment; problem-solving; sensory; perceptual; and motor abilities; psychosocial behavior; physical functions; information processing; and speech. The term does not apply to brain injuries that are congenital or degenerative, or brain injuries induced by birth trauma."

How can you modify instruction and the classroom environment to accommodate the needs of students with visual, hearing, physical, or health impairments or students with traumatic brain injury?:
Hearing Loss:
see http://www.nichcy.org/pubs/factshe/fs3txt.htm .
see http://www.lessontutor.com/ASLgenhome.html.
Vision Impairment:
see http://www.nichcy.org/pubs/factshe/fs13txt.htm .
see http://www.as.wvu.edu/~scidis/vision.html .
Physical Impairments:
see http://www.washington.edu/doit/Brochures/Technology/wtcomp.html .
Other Health Impairments:
see http://www.rushservices.com/Inclusion/homepage.htm .
see http://www.school-for-champions.com/education/student_cancer.htm .
Traumatic Brain Injury:
see http://www.worksupport.com/topics/downloads/tbi_classroom.pdf

What are the roles of the orientation and mobility specialist, the interpreter, the physical or occupational therapist, and the adaptive physical education teacher?:
Orientation and mobility specialist:
see http://www.wayfinding.net/services.htm#eight
Interpreter:
see http://www.accd.edu/pac/pass/Interprethome/edterprole.htm


Pragmatically Speaking - How to use this information in the classroom:
- When working with student with physical disabilities, health impairments and traumatic brain injury, you will want to collaborate with specialists such as physical and occupational therapists, speech and language pathologists, assistive technology specialists, and school nurses and other medical professionals [Vaughn et al]
- The orientation and mobility specialist, a teacher who specializes in visual impairment, provides valuable support to you in working with students with visual impairments. [Vaughn et al]
- Arranging the classroom to reduce background noise and to have the speaker's face visible is important for students with hearing loss. [Vaughn et al]
- The use of braille, optical aids, modified print, books on tape, and assistive technology can play a key role in integrating students with visual impairments[Vaughn et al]
- ASL or American Sign Language is a visual and gestural language used by many individuals in North America who are deaf. [Vaughn et al]
- Although most children with significant hearing loss are identified before beginning school, it is important to watch for signs of mild hearing loss. [Vaughn et al]
- If you are not part of the student's Individualized Education Program (IEP) team, ask for a copy of his or her IEP. The student's educational goals will be listed there, as well as the services and classroom accommodations he or she is to receive.
- Talk to specialists in your school (e.g., special educators), as necessary. They can help you identify effective methods of teaching this student, ways to adapt the curriculum, and how to address the student's IEP goals in your classroom.
- (Take Ishihara's test for colorblindness)
- (view Heather Whitestone's website)

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Read the following article "The No Child Left Behind Act, Adequately Yearly Progress and Students with Disabilities." Post your comments to the following: Does it seem like IDEA 2004 and NCLB send conflicting messages? Why or why not? If extended time is one of the accommodations, at what point is the test no longer actually testing whether a blind/deaf child is on par with a non-disabled child?

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