Category: Disabilities

adult on his own

Adults with Mental Retardation

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As children complete high school, often there are expectations of independence and decisions to make on their next steps. This transition can be difficult for anyone, especially those with mental retardation. There are many decisions for them to make from this point on, such as living, employment, extra training, and social decisions. Throughout the rest of their life, they face many choices. The following paper will discuss their needs and provide ideas on how the community can help these individuals to be successful.

The congress has set up four big goals aimed to make adult-life more accommodating for those with disabilities (ADA). These goals include: equal opportunity, independence, inclusion, and productivity (ADA). Equal opportunity includes the chance for those in the United States with disabilities to get higher educations and the chance to live the ideal American life (ADA). Independence includes the right for those with disabilities to make their own decisions and assert control over themselves and their environment (ADA). Inclusion includes the right of those with disabilities to have full participation as a citizen in the U.S. with access to the same community resources, activities, and shelter that their non-disabled peers have access to (ADA). The congress’ idea of productivity includes the right of individuals with disabilities to have jobs where they contribute to their own financial standing, as well as, their families and community (ADA). With these ideals in mind, those with mental retardation have opportunities available to them that are in context with their own limitations.

adult on his own

At eighteen years of age, most individuals gain legal independence, however, if a parent chooses to challenge this, the individual’s rights can be overturned due to mentally competency. If the individual with mental retardation receive independence, they have many choices to make. According to Turnbull, Turnbull, Shank, Smith, and Leal (2002), 2.5 percent of individuals with mental retardation enroll in postsecondary academic programs after high school, 5.7 percent enroll in post secondary vocational programs after high school, 40.8 percent become competitively employed, 14.8 percent live independently, and they earn 8,274 dollars as average annual compensation for workers.

Many factors contribute to the success of Adults with mental retardation. They include self-determination, community resources, and social adaptation. As they go through school and therapy, they are often preparing for life after school. Once they get to the point of adult standing, they need to be able to make decisions, enquire on needs, and search for resources. They need to be able to keep appointments, go to the doctors, take medicine, get groceries, keep hygiene, and live through daily transitions. If they are unable to do any of these things, they need to ask for the resources and/or get the appropriate services.

It is important for these individuals to receive support through verbal confirmation and physical resources during their high school to young adult transition and throughout their adult life. The community can provide ongoing services for those that need continued therapies. They can also provide accessible resources, such as job placement, social opportunities, and reference material for those with mental retardation. As a community resource, it is important to find what is appropriate for the individual as each is different. It may be helpful to have specific counselors in their last semester at school to go through their options with them. They might also need ongoing caseworkers that check-in on them yearly to make sure they are getting the services they desire. These caseworkers can also help the individuals in service to find job opportunities, social events, and answers to their other questions. They can give them referrals to the organizations that those in service have not been able to find for themselves. Some individuals with mental retardation may require supervision for some activities, like cooking, so ongoing respite may be necessary. The ongoing respite can also help those individuals to feel more independent, as they can live on their own terms with workers that help when necessary. This resource along with the other one’s desired by the person in service can help the individual with mental retardation find success in living a fulfilling life.

Each person with a disability is different. They merely suffer from a common disability, such as mental retardation, but in fact are they themselves individuals with their own wants and desires. It is important for us as teachers, caseworkers, families, and other providers to support them in defining their own life. It is important to prepare them for the steps they take and then support them throughout their adventure.

References

The Americans with Disabilities Act. (n.d.) Information and Technical Assistance on the Americans with Disabilities Act. Retrieved December 4, 2005, from www.ada.gov

Turnbull, Rud, Ann Turnbull, Marilyn Shank, Sean Smith, & Dorthy Leal (2002). Exceptional Lives: Special Education in Today’s Schools(3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Merrill Prentice Hall.

issues

Issues Relating to Terminology of Mental Retardation

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Some of the issues relating to terminology of mental retardation are how it affects the parent and their perception of their child and other people’s perception of their child. We used to label children TMH (trainable Mentally handicap) and EMH (educable mentally handicap) for the primary reason of not saying “retardation” as a label. However, in the last few years, the labels have changed to MIMR, mildly mentally retarded, and MOMR, severely mentally retarded. This could create some issues with others keeping pace with the terminology and perhaps some getting confused.

Issues relating to the law are related to the new law of “no child left behind”. This law states that no matter the severity of the disability the child should be main-steamed into the regular classroom so that they are exposed to the same opportunities as “regular” children. However, the drawback to this is that the curriculum, language used by teacher and students, does not necessarily match their ability. It can lead to disruptions to the rest of the class.

issues

Issues relating to identification of mentally retardation are the comparison of standard scores and their IQ. IQ is rated by scores. For example, an IQ of 130 and above means Very Superior, an IQ of 120-129 means Superior, an 110-119 means High Average, an IQ of 90-109 means Average, an IQ of 80-89 means Low Average, an IQ of 70-79 means MIMR, and an IQ 69 and Lower means MOMR. Standard scores are principles that all standardized tests have to allow a psychologist to “label” a child. If their Standard Score were 72, they would fall in the MIMR range. The final decision is suppose to be a “team ” decision, but an issue might arise if the teachers involved, the psychologist, and parent do not agree.

The impact of characteristics might be physical appearance, different walking gaits, being made fun of, being picked on, getting into trouble because they cannot think things through and don’t understand the consequences, being taken advantage of by regular students.

All of these issues demonstrate how difficult it is not to offend some and how the issues evolve as politics change. By discussing with others their views of the issues, it helps to better understand how many issues there truly are in the school system.

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Hearing Impairments

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People use senses to explore the world around them. The senses of sight, sound, taste, touch, and smell allow people to define the objects surrounding them, relate to one another, navigate through places, and learn things in school. Often people rely heavily on sound to exchange information. In the classroom, these senses are used regularly, so when individuals have hearing impairments, it adds extra obstacles toward achieving an adequate education. This paper will help define hearing, as well as, look at the impact of this sense in the classroom and explore resources available in the community to help those with hearing impairments.

girl resting

Hearing includes collecting and interpreting sound. This involves different components of the ears and brain to gather and translate sound waves or vibrations in the air (Turnbull, Turnbull, Shank, Smith, & Leal, 2002). According to Turnbull (2002, p. 518), the three separate components of the ear work like this, “the outer ear is the microphone in the studio, the middle-ear the radio transmitter, and the inner ear the radio receiver.” The main receptor organ for hearing is the cochlea, which is in the inner ear (Heward, 2003). It “consists of two fluid filled cavities and contains 30,000 tiny hair cells arranged in four rows” (Heward, 2005). The different components of this complex organ help to translate high and low tones that are in turn transmitted by the auditory nerve to the brain (Heward, 2003). This multifaceted system helps us to perceive sounds in our environment. When it is not working correctly, it can lead to hearing loss or deafness.

Medically deafness is defined with specific measurements. Decimals measure the intensity of sound (Turnbull et Al, 2002). Hertz measure the pitch of the sound (Heward, 2003). Some individuals with hearing loss can hear only specific hertz or decimals that are more exclusive than the array of hertz and decimals those without impairments can hear (Turnbull et Al, 2003). For example, they may hear a siren but not a waterfall.

Within education, according to IDEA, hearing impairments are defined by a loss that interferes with and negatively impacts a child’s educational performance (Turnbull et Al, 2002). Hearing loss normally creates a communication barrier that impacts the child’s education by distracting from age appropriate lessons and focusing more on getting simple points across (Turnbull et Al, 2002). Often in school, children who are deaf are challenged most by math and reading, but find difficulty in all academic areas (Heward, 2003). It also creates extra barriers in the child’s social interactions and can leave children feeling low self-esteems. Teachers have a special job in helping build the child’s communication skills, social interaction, academic achievements, and self-concept. There are many options for children and families with children who are deaf. There are technology and surgical procedures. There are special classes and schools. There are a variety of communication techniques. Within the school, Children who are deaf can find help in speech therapy, assistive technology, resource rooms, special classrooms, special schools, and other social programs.

The deaf community is a great group for the children to find a place where they fit in and find others that relate to them. Within Arizona, there are specific nights that people within the deaf community meet at a coffee house, go to a closed caption movie theatre, or out to the local bookstore. There are also schools geared toward the deaf, like the School for the Deaf and the Blind.

References

Heward, William L. (2003). Exceptional Children: An Introduction to Special Education (7th ed.).Ohio: Merrill Prentice Hall.

Turnbull, Rud, Ann Turnbull, Marilyn Shank, Sean Smith, & Dorthy Leal (2002).Exceptional Lives: Special Education in Today’s Schools(3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Merrill Prentice Hall.

behavioral and cognitive intervention

Behavior and Cognitive Interventions

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Behavior and cognitive interventions can be used to help all children succeed. The following are activities, strategies, and methods for teaching appropriate behavior and cognitive skills to students with Emotional Behavior Disorders. Although these tools are primarily for those with Emotional Behavior Disorders, they can be applied to all children learning these skills.

behavioral and cognitive intervention

Behavior Interventions

Behavior interventions can be necessary for children who act out in class and have difficulty following along. These children may need extra guidelines and assistance to stay attentive in class with appropriate behaviors. They also may assistance in forming a positive self-value and learn new coping skill(Watson, 2003) .

  • Set up minimal, concise, and clear rules
  • Get on the same page as parents, therapists, and other professionals
  • Reinforce positive behaviors
  • Stay patient and remain objective
  • Establish routines so that children know what to expect
  • Allow times for children to practice their responsibility
  • Concisely identify the behavior that needs to be changed

Cognitive Interventions

Students with Emotional Behavior Disorders are often challenged throughout school in a variety of academic skills and as a result may need some cognitive interventions. These interventions can help to challenge them and encourage them to become successful in the classroom. Cognitive interventions can also apply to helping children’s mental health. The following ideas are strategies that can be used to encourage cognitive development:(Watson, 2003), (Heward, 2003)

  • Direct families to seek professional psychological help if necessary.
  • Keep children challenged and push them without being scared of their outburst and/or other reactions .
  • Set up appropriate academic goals, which challenge the child’s academic skills and cognitive development.
  • Assess the child to see where they currently are psychological and developmentally.
  • Set up a plan to help children cope independently as well as facilitated.
  • Have children as part of the IEP team to set up goals, which can focus on academic and psychological health.

Functional Behavioral Assessments

Functional assessments are a tool used to help the IEP team understand the triggers, factors, and purpose around a student’s Behavioral Disorder. There are two key reasons a child uses their behavior to manipulate a situation. One is to avoid something and the other reason is to get something they desire. Part of the Functional Behavior Assessment is to get a hypothesis about the child’s behavior, which can be used to set up a plan to address and overcome the behavior. By knowing the triggers of a child’s behavior and the purpose behind the behavior, it is easier to know appropriate interventions (Heward, 2003).

References

Heward, William L. (2003). Exceptional Children: An Introduction to Special Education (7th ed.).Ohio: Merrill Prentice Hall.

Watson, Sue. (2003). Best Practices for Behavior Disorders. Retrieved September 21, 2006 from http://specialed.about.com/cs/behaviordisorders/a/Behavior.htm

Turnbull, Rud, Ann Turnbull, Marilyn Shank, Sean Smith, & Dorthy Leal (2002). Exceptional Lives: Special Education in Today’s Schools(3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Merrill Prentice Hall.

Learning Disability and Communication Disorder

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Learning
Disability

Communication Disorder
Definition The inability to learn to one’s full potential with difficulties in listening, speaking, reading, written expression, and/or mathematics An “impairment in the ability to receive, send, process, and comprehend concepts of verbal and non-verbal graphic symbols” (ASHA, 1993)
Causes Many times the causes are unknown. Four suspected causes are: brain damage, heredity, biochemical imbalance, and environmental causes Communication disorders may be organic or functional. Functional causes are not necessarily known but are often attributed to environmental influences.  Organic causes are physical, like the “damage, dysfunction, or malformation of a specific organ” (Heward, 2003).
Identified Characteristics A child with a learning disability is “specific and significant achievement deficits in the presence of adequate overall intelligence” (Heward, 2003). Communication disorders encompass four different speech errors: distortions, substitutions, omissions, and additions
Effective Teaching Strategies There are many ways to address LD. Some of them are remediation, judicious review, primed background knowledge, strategic integration, mediated scaffolding, conspicuous strategies, and big ideas (Heward, 2003). In order for them to better succeed in their education, tools like guided notes, graphic organizers, visual displays, and mnemonics are helpful to those with LD. Children may be given exercises to practice their speech, reading, ect. Students also may be encouraged through natural setting to learn from modeling and verbal encouragement. Often SPT’s use prompting and other reinforcements. Students can also listen to recordings of themselves and/or use a microphone system where they can clearly hear themselves while or after they speak.
Placement Options Children with LD are often educated in regular classrooms with available peer modeling. They can also spend time with resource teachers and in special education classes. Speech-Language Pathologists often treat those with language disorders.