LECTURER: MADAM BOSIRE ESTHER

Contact 0722575028, emoraab@gmail.com

MASINDE MULIRO UNIVERSITY

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY

COURSE CODE : EP S 101

COURSE TITLE : INTRODUCTION T5O SPECIAL NEEDS EDUCATION

PURPOSE OF THE COURSE : TO INTRODUCE STUDENTS TO SPECIAL NEEDS

EDUCATION

DEFINATION OF CONCEPTS AND TERMS IN SPECIAL NEEDS

EDUCATION: (INCLUSIVE EDUCATION)

Concepts and terms used include the following

 Inclusion, Inclusive setting, Learners Diversity, Special needs, Special needs education,
Differentiated curriculum Resource rooms, Itinerant or peripatetic teacher, Integration mainstream,
Special school, Special unit, Regular school, Impairment, Disability, Handicap, Disorders,
Challenged

INCLUSION

This is a philosophy that focused on the process of adjusting the home, school and the larger society to
accommodate persons with special needs including disabilities. All individual regardless of their differences
are accorded the opportunity to interact, play, learn, work and experience the feeling of belonging. They
are also allowed to develop in accordance with their potentials and abilities

The full and equal participation of each individual is assured in an inclusive society in which differences are
respected and valued. Discrimination and bias against those who are different is eliminated through
appropriate practices and polices

Inclusion therefore calls for persons with special needs to be fully involved in all aspects of life which
includes education, employment consumer services, community and Domestic activities, recreation and
social activities, Decision making process and access to information

INCLUSIVE SETTING

This term describes a situation where all learners including those with special needs participate in all
activities in a community that recognizes and addresses the needs of each learner as much as possible

INCLUSIVE EDUCATION

This refers to the philosophy of ensuring that schools centers of learning and educational systems are
open to all children. This will enable the learners to be included in all aspects of school-life. It also
means identifying, reducing or removing barriers within and around the school that may hinder learning
for this to happen, teachers schools and systems need to modify the physical and social environment
So that they can fully accommodate the diversity of learning needs that pupil may have.

LEARNER’S DIVERSITY

This term refers to the variations of abilities and difference found among any group of learners in any give
setting. This variations and differences give rise to different learner characteristics. You may have noted
that some leaners are active while others are not very active, some are fast but others are slow.

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SPECIAL NEED (SN)

These are conditions or factors that hinder normal learning and development for individuals. They may be
temporary or life –long. The condition that may hinder proper progress of an individual may include
disabilities, social, emotional health, or political difficulties. These conditions are referred to as barriers to
learning and development. The barriers can be within the child or in the environment or a combination of
both some of the special needs that a learner may be having included not seeing well, Arms or legs not
functioning well, not following or understanding instructions not hearing well, not speaking well and not
interacting well.

SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS (SEN)

Individuals have different abilities and potentials in performing tasks. In education there are individuals
who do not perform like others, but could improve with appropriate support. These learners have learning
or educational needs which vary from one child to another. These are then referred to as special
educational needs which include difficulties in reading, writing, and understanding concepts, carrying out
tasks in the learning process and communicating with peers and teachers

SPECIAL NEEDS EDUCATION (SNE)

This is education, which provides appropriate modifications in curricula, teaching methods, educational
resources, medium of communications are meant to meet the special educational needs of individuals as
described above. Special needs education is learner-Centre, flexible, and adjustable to individual needs
and potential.

Special education had focused mainly on disability rather than the child’s learning needs. When working
with learners with special needs, education is not special rather their needs

DIFFERENTIATED CURRICULUM

This is an approach that you can use identify the subjects in the curriculum that learners should cover
and plan for each learner according to his or her needs and ability It may require you to break down the
subject into small teaching/learning steps of instructions for benefit of the learner with special needs in
education .

RESOURCE ROOM

This is a room in a regular or special school, which is equipped for enriching learning for learners with
special education needs. It is usually learn by a resource teacher who is a member of staff with appropriate
experience or training in special needs education is available to advise and support other teachers and
learners to deal with special education needs in the class room setting. It should have special various
learning materials that may stimulate and facilitate learning. This may include specialized equipment such
as braillers and other braille writing materials low vision devices and hearing aids and speech training kits
for learner with hearing difficulties

ITINERANT OR PERIPATETIC TEACHER

This refers to teacher who is trained in special needs education and moves from school to school where
children with special needs are included. The roles of this teacher is to advice the regular teachers and
give technical support where arises. This teacher is assigned to assist particular learners with special
needs. The teacher follows a program which is drawn up in consultation with the regular teachers to meet
individual learner’s needs

INTEGRATION / MAIN STREAMING

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Different profession sometimes uses the term “integration” and “mainstreaming” synonymously. this term
indicates the participation of learners with special needs in regular education without demanding changes
in the curricular provision such children follow the school system as it is with some or support to cater for
those with special needs. Such children are expected to adapt to regular school arrangement.

SPECIAL SCHOOLS

This refers to a school that is build and organized to provide educational services to learners with one type
of disability. The physical environment and educational recourses are modified to suit the needs of the
particular group of learners. Teachers are also trained in specialized approaches to deal with the learning
needs of the special leaners. In Kenya there are special schools for children with:

 Hearing problems ,Visual problems, Physical problem, Intellectual difficult

SPECIAL UNIT

The term describes a classroom that is located in a regular school but is set as side for educating
learners with specific type of disability. It is usually manned by specialized teachers who are
responsible for most of the learner’s activities. Most of the special units in Kenya where established by
the ministry of education, science and technology as more towards integration

REGULAR SCHOOL

This refers to the main stream which follows the curriculum that is prepared for the average ability
learners.

IMPAIRMENT

Impairment refers to any loss or damage to a part of the body either through accident, disease genetic
factors or other causes. This leads to the loss or weakening of that part affected

DISABILITY

This refers to any loss or reduction of functional ability (resulting from any impairment) to perform an
activity in any manner or within the range generally considered normal for a human being within the
cultural context.

It is also a limitation of opportunities that can prevent people who have impairment from taking part
from normal life of the community on an equal level within others. There may be physical or social
barriers to full participation for example a person whose legs are paralyzed cannot walk independently
in this case the disability is the difficult in working

HANDICAP

A handicap is disadvantage or a restriction of activity, which result from a disability or from society’s
attitude towards a disability. Handicaps prevents the fulfillment of roles that are appropriate according
to the age, gender, social and cultural features of an individual

An individual who is not given an opportunity to become independent by the society is handicapped. A
handicapped can therefore be lessened if the society provides support to enable a person with
disability to be independent.

DISORDERS

A disorder is a reduction of function of a disability or disturbance of the normal working body or mind.
For example a disorder of the digestive system or suffering from mental disorder

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 CHALLENGED

This concept is used to describe persons with disability who are unable to perform activities in the
manner or within the range considered normal for human beings. For example “intellectually
challenged” refers to a person with sub-average general intellectual functioning

How are these children with special needs in education classified?

Children with special needs in education are markedly different from average children in
developmental characteristics. The special needs of children may be as a result of:

 Sensory differences, Cognitive differences, Communication difficult, Emotional and behavioral

problems, Physical and multiple difficulties, Health problem, Communication difficulties
a) Children with sensory differences
 Children with hearing impairment, Children with visual impairment, Children who are deaf
blind
b) Children with cognitive differences
 Children with developmental disability, Children with specific learning difficulties, Children
who are gifted and talented
c) Children with communication difficulties
 Children with speech and language problems
d) Children with emotional and behavioral problems
e) Children with physical difficulties
 Children with orthopedic difficulties, Children with neurological difficulties
f) Children with multiple difficulties
g) Children with health problems
 Children with chronic health problem
h) Children living under difficult circumstances.
 Children who are traumatized, Children who are abused and neglected, Street children,
Child laborers (working children), Refugees and displaced children, Children who are
homeless and un accompanied, Children who are orphaned, Parenting children (child
mothers), Child affected and infected by HIV/ AIDS, Children from deprived and rich families,
Children heading families, Child soldiers, Children from pastoralist communities

CHILDREN WITH HEARING IMPAIRMENT (H.I)

Hearing impairment is term generally indicating a hearing disability that many vary in severity from mild
to profound. In the past the term “deaf” was used to refer to all persons with such impairment. This was
wrong because the term deaf described a person who cannot hear any sound.

TYPES OF HEARING IMPAIRMENT

Hearing impairment can be classified according to three main criteria:-

 The part of the hear affected, According to degree of the hearing loss, According to age of onset

They are three main types of hearing impairment according to the part of ear affected

 Conductive hearing impairment, Sensori-neural hearing impairment, Mixed hearing impairment

CONDUCTIVE HEARING IMPAIRMENT

This is where the damage or infections is either in the damage or infection is either in the outer of the
middle parts of the ear. These results in mild and moderate hearing loss, those with this type of hearing
loss have residual hearing left and can hear and understand spoken language with the help of suitable
hearing aid.

SENSORI- NEURAL IMPAIRMENT

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This is when the damage is inner ear. This result in severe and profound hearing loss with little residual
hearing left. Children with this type of hearing impairment usually do not acquire and use spoken
language. They can whoever use hearing aids to be aware of the environment sounds.

MIXED HEARING IMPAIRMENT

This refers to a combination of conductive of conductive and sensori- neural hearing impairment. This
means both the middle ear and inner ear are affected at the same time

CATEGORIES OF HEARING IMPAIRMENT

Hearing impairment can be grouped into four major categories depending on how slight or severe the
hearing problem is:

 Children with mild hearing loss, Children with moderate hearing loss, Children with severe hearing
loss, Children with profound hearing loss
a) Children with mild hearing loss

Children with mild hearing loss can follow normal conversation if there is no noise in the room but will need
to sit near to and face the speaker weak voices are also difficult to understand for those with mild hearing
loss.

b) Children with moderate hearing loss

A child with moderate hearing loss understand conversation only if it is very loud. Such learner will only be
able to follow the conversation if the room is very quiet. This means that among other things, the learner
should face the speaker. As the learner only hears sound that are very close

c) Children with severe hearing loss

A child with severe hearing

TYPES OF HEARING IMPAIRMENT

These are two main types of hearing impairment

 Pre- lingual deafness. This if deafness present at birth or occurring before the child develops
speech or language
 Post- lingual deafness. This is deafness which occurs after the child has developed speech or
language, mainly after the age of three years.

Functionally there are two main types of children with hearing impairment:

 Children who are hard of hearing , Children who are deaf

Children who are hard of hearing

This are children who, despite the hearing loss have enough useful hearing left (residual hearing) This
hearing ability can enable them to hear speech and acquire spoken language normally. However for them
to hear speech well, sound must be made loud for them. This can be done by:

 Speaking to him a bit louder than normal to them, Placing them near the front in the class or near
the speaker, Ensuring their sounding are quiet, Making sure that they look at the speaker face,
Weaving a suitable hearing aid.

These children who are hard of hearing usually suffer from conductive hearing impairment.

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Children who are deaf

Children who are deaf are those whose hearing loss is so severe that they cannot hear and understand
speech even if the sound is made louder for them through a hearing aid. A hearing aid may only assist him
to be aware of some environmental sounds such as made by the moving vehicles and bird singing.
Children who are deaf usually suffer from either sensori- neural or mixed hearing impairment

CAUSE OF HEARING IMPAIRMENT

Hearing impairment may occur at different times in life. Generally, we consider three stages these are:

 Pre-natal stage (before birth),Peri-natal stage ( during birth), Post-natal stage (after birth)

PRE-NATAL STAGE (BEFORE BIRTH)

Some child may have a hearing impairment caused before birth. This child is said to have congenital
hearing impairment. Some of this factors that may contribute to the unborn child’s hearing impairment
are:

 Heredity, Poor nutritional ( due to unbalanced deity and lack of vitamin during pregnancy, Venereal
diseases such as syphilis and gonorrhea, HIV AIDS, Infection of the mother during pregnancy such
as Rubella (German measles) and those involving very high fever, Exposure to X-rays, especially
during the first three months of pregnancy expose to radiation, Misuse of narcotic drugs, cigarettes
and alcohol by the mother during pregnancy, Incompatibility of mother- child blood type (the
rhesus factor incompatibility)Congenital malformation of the ear and the ear canal, for example
atresia. Accidents affecting the expectant mother

PERI- NATAL STAGE (DURING BIRTH)

Hearing impairment may occur just before birth, during or these stages are:

 Prolonged delivery/ labour resulting to oxygen deficiency to the baby is brain and head injuries,
Pre- mature birth, Low birth weight, Lack of oxygen to the baby during birth, Neo- natal jaundice,
Mis-use of delivery instruments such as forceps delivery, Venereal diseases in mother, such as
syphilis and gonorrhea, Accidents affecting the baby

POST- NATAL STAGE (AFTER BIRTH)

Hearing impairment may occur any time after birth some of the cause is

 Diseases, such as meningitis, malaria, measles, otitis media, and other severe recurring ear
infections, Mis- use of drugs( medicine), Accidents, such as head injuries and brain damage,
Brain tumour, Trauma, Accidents, Long and frequent exposure to loud noise, Exposure to
poisonous agents and chemicals such as pesticides food and medicine poisoning, Excessive
noise, Blockage of external auditory canal, Old age

INDICATORS OF HEARING IMPAIRMENT

These are some of the indicators of child who is deaf

 Usually fails to acquire spoken language, Must be taught how to listen and speak, Has speech flow
problem ( speech lacks the normal rhythm, stress, and intonation herself understand

CHARACTERISTICS OF A CHILD WHO IS HARD OF HEARING

 Ask for pardon or repeating what has been said, Has frequent ear infections, Has poor articulation
of sounds, particularly the omission of consonants sounds, Has difficulties in group discussion
especially in noisy surrounding, Having difficulties in hearing and saying high frequency speech

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 sounds such as as/s/sh/t//k/c/, Misunderstands others since he/she cannot comprehend all that said
to him/her, Not able to monitor his/her voice and hence speaking loudly or softly, Have difficulties in
understanding directions , Avoids to participate in oral activities, Cups the ear in the direction of
sound has frequent substitutions and omissions of sounds of speech, Stares at speaker’s face,
Appears confused or not understanding to instructions, Has poor vocabulary in relation to age, and
culture, Withdraws from the rest of the learners

PROBLEMS FACED BY CHILDREN WITH HEARING IMPAIRMENT IN AN INCLUSIVE SETTING

 Inability to hear well in a classroom with noisy surrounding

 Poor verbal communication skills between the child and the teacher and peers
 Lack of acceptance and social isolation because of lack of communication
 Ineffective communication between the child family especially the parents and siblings. This may
limit the child’s opportunity to acquire knowledge and skills usually acquire by children through
interaction with parents, siblings and community
 Inability to follow school routine since he/she May not hear the bell

INTERVENTION STRATEGIES

How to help children who are hard of hearing

 Advise on suitable school placement, Advise parents to seek medical help

 Utilize peer to assist the child with class routine such as sharing notes
 Advise the parents to have the child fitted with suitable and effective hearing aid
 Give the child preferential seating in the classroom. This allows him/her to sit near the teacher and
where there is a good source of light
 Face the child when taking to him/her. Talk slowly and clearly in a good tone without mouthing
words
 Counseling the school community to accept the child
 Appropriate referrals to the health centers for medical checkups and treatment
 Encourage the child to observe general basic ear hygiene
 Provide the child with all details of the lesson in written form. The child’s academic performance
can be improved with proper classroom management and use of technical and teaching aids is a
must for teaching children with hearing impairment

How to help children who are deaf

Majority of children who are deaf may need special need education where total communication philosophy
is the main communication strategy. In addition to communication you can also assist a child who is deaf
as follows:-

 Advising on school placement, Encouraging the child to observe general ear hygiene,
Encouraging the family and the communication to learn the communication techniques used by
the child for effective communication

CHILDREN WITH VISUAL IMPAIRMENT (V.I)

These are children with problems in the structure and of functioning of the eye. Visual problems range
from total blindness to only slight visual impairment children who are visually impaired can be classified
into two main categories

 Children who are blind Children with low vision

CHILDREN WHO ARE BLIND

Children who are blind have either totally lost their sense of vision or those who are only able to perceive
light

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Educationally children who are blind are those who learn through Braille without the use of vision, although
they perceive light, which is an advantage and can be used for orientation and mobility

CHILDREN WITH LOW VISION

The world health organization (WHO) defines low vision as having as ‘’ having a significant visual handicap
but also significant vision that be used”

Educators give an educational definition and say “anybody with low vision is still severely visually impaired
after correction, but may increase visual functioning through the use of optical aids, non-optical aids,
environmental modifications or low vision techniques. Children with low vision can use their vision for
many school learning activities. Under varying conditions, depending on the amount of light contrast and
individual differences, such children can be trained to look and become visual learners

CAUSES OF VISUAL IMPAIRMENT

Visual impairment may be caused

 Before birth ( pre-natal stage),During birth(peri-natal stage), After birth (post-natal stage)

Causes at pre-natal stage

 Hereditary, Poor nutrition( unbalanced diet and lack of vitamins during pregnancy), Venereal
diseases such as syphilis and gonorrhea, HIV AIDS
 Diseases such as rubella (German measles) and those involving very high fever
 Use of certain drugs such as Quinine, aspirin and antibiotics
 Exposures to X-ray, especially during the first three months of pregnancy
 Misuse of narcotic drugs, cigarettes and alcohol, Incompatibility of mother child blood type ( the
Rhesus factors incompatibility), Accidents

CAUSES OF VISUAL IMPAIRMENT DURING BIRTH (PERI- NATAL STAGE)

 Prolonged delivery/labour resulting to oxygen deficiency and head injuries

 Cord strangulation, Trauma, Pre-mature birth, Low birth weight
 Breech birth ( this is where baby’s legs come out first during delivery), Lack of oxygen during birth,
Neon-natal jaundice, Head injuries caused by misuse of delivery instruments, such as forceps
delivery, Age of mother where she is either too young or too old, Venereal diseases in mother, such
as syphilis and gonorrhea,Poor hygiene

CAUSES OF VISUAL IMPAIRMENT AFTER BIRTH (POST-NATAL STAGE)

 Poor nutrition, such as unbalanced diet and deficiency of iodine and vitamins in children
 Accidents, such as head injuries, brain damage or causing loss of limbs
 Childhood diseases such as meningitis and measles
 Eye diseases such as, like cataracts, trachoma and glaucoma
 Misuse of drugs (medicines)
 Under stimulation, such as when the child is too little touched, cuddled, hugged, talked to, or when
a child is hidden in a dark room over a long time
 Poor hygiene brought about by flies , polluted or infected drinking water and hygiene of the face,
eyes and ears
 Exposure to poisonous agents and chemicals such as pesticides, food and medicine poisoning
 Accents (traffic, industrial and domestic)

INDICATORS OF VISUAL IMPAIRMENT

 These are some of the indicators that may point to a child with visual impairment, Has problems
reading and copying from the chalkboard, Reads and writes with their head titled to one side,
Reads book held very close to or very far from the eyes, Complains about too much or too little light

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 in the classroom, Regularly makes quick eye movements from side to side, Trips over things on the
ground which you would expect them to see, Has difficulty in grasping objects that are already in
front of them, Complains of double vision, Has watery or reddish painful eyes, Complains of not
seeing well, Has an omission while reading or writing, Keeps a place on a page using a finger, Has
eyes that do not fixate ( voluntary eye movement), Withdraws from the rest of the learners, Is
unable to watch something moving near the face, Has clumsy movements and poor balance when
walking, Has white patches in the center of the eyes, moves the head instead of the eye while
reading, has difficulty in reading some or all letters, write using very small letters

PROBLEMS FACED BY VISUALLY IMPAIRED LEARNERS IN AN INCLUSIVE SETTING

 Difficulty in reading and copying from chalkboard and therefore may lay behind others in academic
activities
 Difficulty in reading books written on ordinary prints
 Difficulty in finding their way within the class and school
 Difficulty in identifying objects and posters and other learning materials within the class
 Difficulty in learning concepts that have to be perceived through sight such as colour and sky

HOW TO HELP CHILDREN WITH VISUAL IMPAIRMENT

There are three levels of interventions

 Medical intervention, Educational intervention,Psychological intervention

Medical intervention

Most eye diseases and defects can be prevented or treated. Children therefore be referred to hospitals
that have eye units to undertake

 Cataracts extractions, Trachoma and other eye treatment, Provision of eye glasses to improve
vision

Educational intervention

 Move the child nearer to the chalkboard in the classroom or in position which allow him/her to
participate well in learning activities, Provide large print materials, Advise parents to provide optical
low-vision devices, Advise them to participate in as many that school activities as possible, Arrange
the classroom in such a way that there is enough lighting in them remember, some may not
tolerate bright lights

Children who are blind and those whose vision is severely impaired can be helped through

 Orientation and mobility training, Training in typing, braille reading and writing, Training on
activities of daily living, Training on listening skills, Provision of tactile diagrams

CHILDREN WHO ARE DEAFBLIND

What is deaf blindness?

This is a condition where person have impairment of both vision and hearing some maybe totally blind
while others have useful vision. At the same time they can be deaf or hard of hearing

WHO ARE CHILDREN WITH DEAF BLINDNESS?

There are children who have severe degree of visual and auditory problems. This makes it difficult for
them to utilize the two senses of seeing and hearing properly. some children who are totally deaf and blind
while others have residual hearing and residual vision

CHARACTERISTICS OF LEARNERS WHO ARE DEAF AND BLIND

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  It may be difficult for him/her to, Look at you, Respond to your smile, Follow a moving object with
the eyes, Walk, and dress himself/herself, Grasp objects in front of him/him or handed to him/her,
Look out pictures and read a text in books , Turn their heads towards sound, Respond where you
call them, Understand what you may say to them, Develop spoken language

HOW CAN YOU ASSIST LEARNERS WHO ARE DEAF BLIND IN A LEARNING ENVIRONMENT?

You may use some of the following ways:-

 Showing positive attitude – this will greatly encourage the learner to be active and explore his/ her
surrounding, Adapting the curriculum, Having personal contact with the learner to help him develop
security and personal relationship which is necessary for further development, Provide them with
hearing aids/eye glasses to enable them see properly.

LEARNERS WITH COGNITIVE DIFFERENCES

What are cognitive differences?

Learners with cognitive differences are classified into the following categories.

 Mental disabilities

 Giftedness and talentedness

 Specific learning difficulties

 Autism

Let us now look at each of these groups briefly.

LEARNERS WITH MENTAL DISABILITIES

Who are learners with mental disabilities?

You might be already aware that these are learners with substantial limitations in present
functioning. They are characterized by significant sub-average intellectual functioning, existing
concurrently with related limitations in two or more of the following applicable adaptive skill
areas:

 Communication,self-care, home living ,social skills, community use, self-direction, health

and safety, functional academics, leisure time and work

Functionally, learner with mental disabilities will experience serious setbacks in

learning, adapting and adjusting in various environments including home and school.

Characteristics of learners with mental disabilities

Some of the possible characteristics you may find in learners with mental disabilities may include:

 being slow in acquiring and developing skills such as speaking and walking

 being unnecessarily slow in carrying out tasks

 not able to transfer the same activities into different situations

 not able to understand what is said or follow instructions

 failing to acquire, understand and use language to express need

 failing to develop social and emotional relationships

 having retarded motor development

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  having difficulty in remembering experiences or things learnt

 lacking the ability to connect a picture or object with an activity or word or name

 having excessive purposeless movements in class, home or play field

 having difficulty in paying attention or focusing on an activity to its completion

 lacking rhythm of movement

 having attention problems

 memory and thinking difficulties

Educational implications for learners with mental disabilities

During school years, they show extreme difficulties in academic subjects and usually are
able to progress beyond class two. They may however:

 learn self-help skills like feeding, bathing, dressing, selecting daily clothing,
preparing some foods, washing and ironing clothes for themselves.

 attain social adjustment in the family and the neighborhood. For example, they
may learn to share items and ideas with others and especially family members
as well as cooperate in a family unit and in the neighborhood. They may learn
the need to respect other people and property, and have the ability to protect
themselves from common dangers in the home and the neighborhood.

 Attain economic usefulness in the home, in a workshop or in the neighborhood.

For example, they may assist in chores around the house and may do routine
jobs under supervision

Intervention strategies for learners with mental disabilities

Intervention strategies are methods and techniques you may use to teach learners with mental disabilities.

Children with mild mental disability

Ensure that you teach skills that will enable them to be:

• Socially competent, Personally adequate, Academically functional

When you are teaching, arrange tasks in small sequential steps, where each step is taught and checked to
ensure that the child finds it interesting and successful. The emphasis should be on developing the child's:

• Self-confidence, Language skills, Good habits of health, safety, work and play, Vocational skills

Children with moderate mental disability

These children should be supported to develop habits of activities of daily living, such as, self-care,
cleanliness, health, eating behavior. They need also to be helped in developing:

• Communication skills, Ability to follow directions, Social skills

Children with severe and profound mental disability

Home or hospital visitation programmers may be required for these children who often cannot go to
school. You may therefore provide the following training:

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• Communication skills, Motor skills, Social skills

Characteristics of giftedness and talentedness

The following are some of the possible characteristics of giftedness and talentedness:

 Leading in academic and other activities

 Learning rapidly, easily and with less repetition
 Showing a lot of creativity and always generating a variety of new ideas
 Enjoying reading books meant for older readers
 Having unusually advanced vocabulary and using terms in meaningful ways
 Displaying a great deal of curiosity about many things and constantly asking questions
about anything and everything
 Appearing to have behavior difficulties due to their autonomy and sensitiveness in an
environments where non-conformity is not tolerated
 Evaluating facts and arguments critically
 Studying difficulty subjects because they enjoy the challenge of learning
 Having diverse, spontaneous and frequently self-directed interests
 Showing special and superior ability in manipulating materials from the environment in
making unique models
 Displaying keen sense of humor even in situations where others may not see
 Having high reasoning abilities and passing judgment about people, events and things
 Having self-confidence with peers as well as adults
 Incorporating a large number of elements such as art work, good role playing, dramatizing
and music
 Showing exceptional leadership abilities
 Being very articulate or verbally fluent for their age.

Educational Implications of learners who are gifted and talented

Some learners who have high intelligence are creative and have special talents. As they are different from
others in the class, they will have their own unique challenges. Due to their high intelligence, these
learners do not fit well with their peers. They may be unable to develop positive interpersonal relationships
and become withdrawn or loners. Some teachers find them too challenging and often misinterpret their
behavior.

• engage in some disruptive behavior in class. This may be because the learner finds class work and other
activities meant for their age group too easy. The learner will therefore finish the assigned task within a
short time and due to boredom may engage in disrupting classroom activities.

• find themselves too dominate in group or class discussions to an extent the others will give little or no
contribution at all. This does not augur well with the other learners.

Unless you find outlets, these learners who are gifted and Talented may channel their
energies and intelligence into unfavorable social habits such as making unnecessary noise in
class or even taking drugs.

Intervention strategies for learners, who are gifted and talented,

What are the qualities of a good teacher of children who are gifted and talented?

For you to help the learner who is gifted and talented, you need to:

 Recognize and accept the learner's special abilities

 Encourage the learner to explore his fields of interests
 Help the learner to develop or enrich his social confidence
 Avoid imposing expectations and demands that are beyond the learner's level of ability

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  Avoid having negative attitudes towards the learner reinforce the learner positively.

Learners who are gifted and talented are just like any other. They have basic needs like other
learners. You also need not be gifted to deal with them. However, you need to be, tolerant,
loving, understanding, flexible and competent, have broad range of interests and skills,
creative and ready to learn.

How can you assist a learner who is gifted and talented in a classroom environment?

There are several possible ways in which a learner that is gifted and talented can be educated. As a
teacher, much will depend on your creativity and classroom organization. Each learner should be
considered and treated as an individual. There are three main ways in which a teacher may assist a
learner who is gifted and talented. These are by providing the learner with:

• Ability grouping, enriching experiences, Acceleration programmers.

What is ability grouping?

Ability grouping includes the following approaches:

 regular classroom with cluster, regular classroom with pullout, individualized classroom, special class
with some integrated classes, special class, special school.

Enriching experiences

Enrichment is the addition of disciplines or areas of learning not normally found in the regular curriculum.

Enrichment experiences allow each learner to investigate topics of interest in depth. Some of these may
be completed during classroom time. For example, if you are teaching Geography in standard five, you
can ask the learner who is gifted and talented to make a model using the knowledge learned.

Acceleration programmers.

Acceleration is any process that leads to the learner's more rapid movement through the regular
programmer of a regular school. It may include:

 early school entrance/admission, grade (class) skipping, planned completion, for example of
three grades in two years, early advanced placement in college or any other arrangement
that leads to the learners completion of the regular programmers in less than the normally
required time.

Other approaches that you may use to help a learner who is gifted and talented are:

 analyzing your instructional programmer to avoid them becoming bored

 providing special materials and or activities beyond the regular curriculum
 designing enrichment activities which should support the child in learning to relate and evaluate
facts and ideas to think originally, to work through complex problems and issues and apply
understanding to new situations
 giving the child more responsibilities that are challenging
 being a good role model
 increasing individual attention
 promoting creativity by stimulating the child's awareness of the environment
 exposing the child to a wide range of experiences on a personal level
 acknowledging the child's work or efforts

A learner who is gifted and talented usually does much better than learners of same age group
and hence requires services or activities not ordinarily provided to the average learners. The

13
gifted and talented learners may be good in one or more areas that give promise of future
high-level achievement.

Learners with specific learning difficulties

These refer to conditions that affect academic performance in learners. Learners with specific learning
difficulties look absolutely normal but it is quite difficult to pick them out amongst learners. They seem to
have the ability to perform learning activities, yet they do not perform as expected. They develop slowly
intellectually than other learners of the same age. This is due to their difficulty with the basic processes
that are applied in understanding or using spoken language.

Learners with specific learning difficulties may have difficulties in one or more of the following areas.

 oral expression, written expression, reading and comprehension, basic reading, mathematical
reasoning (calculation), listening, spelling

Characteristics of learners experiencing specific learning difficulties

Learners with specific learning difficulties may have one or more of the following:

 basic reading difficulties, basic writing difficulties, spelling difficulties, number concepts (arithmetic
calculations) difficulties, comprehension difficulties, difficulties in self-expression, listening
difficulties

Other characteristics are:

 being distracted most of the time and continuously moving around, being hyperactive or
hypoactive, frequent changing of moods one time the learner is happy, and the next time he/she
could be beating others, not paying attention in class, especially for longer periods of time, clumsy
in activities involving fine motor, speech and hearing difficulties that have nothing to do with
hearing impairment, memory and thinking difficulties'.

You can only suspect that learners have specific learning difficulties when the difficulties have
been observed over a long period of time. For example a learner may write 6 for 9 or b for d

Educational implications of learners with specific learning difficulties

Difficulties associated with specific learning difficulties are easy to detect in a classroom situation.
However, in order to detect these difficulties you need to know what to look for. In the classroom, these
learners may be:

 having letter reversal problem. They may see "d" as "b" or "e" in the reverse, unable to write on a
straight line, unable to copy from a given object, unable to perform simple arithmetic, have verbal
expression problem, having reading problems, such as repeating words, confusing similar words
and letters, having spelling problems, such as incorrect order of letters, having difficulties
associating the correct sound with appropriate letters

Intervention strategies for helping learners with specific difficulties

There are several strategies that you can use to assist and support learners with specific learning
difficulties. You can assist them by doing the following:

 setting reasonable goals, providing clear instructions to the learners, making special physical
arrangements for the highly destructive and hyperactive learners, Setting guidelines for
appropriate classroom behavior and help the learners, to work towards them, Giving learning
activities that are equivalent and suitable to their abilities and interest, Modifying the activities into
smaller simple units, Planning the activities from the simplest to the most complex, Using visual
aids in the classroom, Developing and implement individual programmers

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Learners with autism

"Autism" is a developmental disability significantly affecting verbal and non-verbal communication, social
interaction, awareness, and imaginative play-(valuable interest and behavior) generally evident before age
three that adversely affects educational performance.

Learners with autism may exhibit the following characteristics

insistence on sameness; (resistance to change), difficulty in expressing needs; use gestures or pointing
instead of talking, repeat words or phrases in place of normal or responsive language, laugh, cry, or show
distress for no apparent reason, prefer to be isolated, have temper tantrums, difficulty interacting with
others, resist being held or cuddled, have little or no eye contact, unresponsive to normal teaching
methods, sustained inappropriate play, spin or line up objects, inappropriate attachments' to objects,
apparent over-sensitivity or under-sensitivity to pain no real fears of danger, noticeable physical over-
activity or extreme under-activity uneven gross/fine motor skills, not responsive to verbal cues; act as if
they have hearing impairment although hearing is normal, pronoun reversal problems, unusual sleep
patterns, food selectivity tendencies

Education implication of learners with Autism

Learners with autism display problems in cognition and behavior which have got underlining problems in
perception and understanding. They have varied abilities, intelligence and behavior. Some do not speak;
others have limited language that often includes repeated phrases or conversations while others have
repetitive play skills which may have serious implications on education. From the age of three, children
with autism are eligible for an educational program appropriate to their individual needs. Educational
programs for students with autism focus on improving communication, social, academic, behavioral, and
daily living skills. Behavior and communication problems that interfere with learning sometimes require
the assistance of a knowledgeable professional in the autism field who develops and helps to implement a
plan which can be carried out at home and school.

Autism interferes with learning process in communication, social participation, cognition and
sensory processing.

Learners with autism are first and foremost, learners. They have more similarities to other learners than
differences. Although some learners with autism encounter genuine instructional challenges, they learn
well with appropriate, systematic, and individualized teaching practices.

To provide effective instructions for learners with autism, you should address the following:

 Ensure that the learners are in good health, free from pain and irritation, and in a safe, stimulating
and pleasurable setting.
 Provide structure in the environment, with clear guidelines regarding expectations for appropriate
and inappropriate behavior.
 Provide tools, such as written or picture schedules, to empire that the flow of activities is
understandable and predictable,
 Adapt the curriculum to suit individual's characteristics but not on the label of autism.
 Focus on developing skills that will be of use in the learner's current and future life in school, home,
and coin munity.
 Carefully plan transitions to new placements and new school experiences which usually require
careful planning and assistance.
 Encourage parents and other family members to participate in the process of assessment,
curriculum planning, instruction, and monitoring. They often have the most useful information
about the student's case history and learning characteristics, so effective instructions should take
advantage of this vital resource.

Learners with communication difficulties

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Communication is the process of exchanging ideas, information and experiences between two or more
people. It is a two-way process through which one sends a message and the other is expected to
understand it and give a feedback.

What is a communication difficulty?

Communication difficulty is a condition, which either interferes with the smooth flow of one's speech and
language or hinders the acquisition and development of such a language. This condition, in turn, interferes
with the process of communication. This may affect the learner's learning and development.

The following are some of the possible indicators, which may help you, identify learners with
communication difficulties. These may include, learners who:

• stammer or stutter, speak abnormally too fast, have disorganized sentence structure, substitute,
omit, distort or add speech sounds, may have too high or too low tone, may have hoarse or nasal voice
under normal conditions, do not engage in activities that involve talking, such as asking questions in class,
tend to speak in isolated words or short sentences, have tendencies to breathe through the mouth, have
difficulties in controlling saliva, have phonological awareness problems, produce sounds through the nose
instead of through the mouth, produce sounds through the mouth instead of through the nose.

Learners with emotional and behavioral difficulties

Emotional and Behavioral difficulties (EBD) are emotions and behaviors that are not appropriate in relation
to age and socio-cultural expectations. EBD significantly interferes with one's learning and development
and the lives of others.

EBD's are classified into:

 attention deficit and hyperactive disorders, aggression, social problems, conduct disorders,
personality disorders, juvenile delinquency

What then do you understand by the word “behavior”?

Behavior is anything that a person does or says. Some commonly used synonyms include activity, action,
performance, response and reaction. Since everyone acts, performs and reacts at some particular time, it
means everyone has behavior......?

What then does "emotional and behavior difficulty" mean?

Emotional and behavior difficulty are a deviation from appropriate behavior for a certain age, which
significantly interferes with the learner's learning and development or the lives of others.

Practically, all learners display age-appropriate behavior at one time or another. As a teacher you may
have come across learners who seem to be unhappy or distressed. You may have also met some who are
aggressive. It is therefore not right for you to conclude that such learners have emotional and behavior
difficulties

We can thus summarize emotional and behavior difficulties as behaviors which:

• go to the extreme and are intensely inappropriate, are chronic and persistent, are unacceptable
because of social or cultural expectations

Who are learners with emotional and behavioral difficulties?

These include learners who:

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  have learning difficulties which cannot be explained through intellectual, sensory and health
difficulties
 Are unable to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships with family members, peers
and teachers
 Have tendencies to develop physical symptoms or fears associated with personal or school
difficulties
 Show general pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression,
 Have inappropriate types of behavior or feelings under normal conditions

Characteristics of emotional and behavior difficulties

Some kinds of behavior that can make you are sensitive to the possibility of emotional and behavior
difficulties are, learners who:

• are most of the time lonely and have no friends

• have inappropriate types of behaviors or feelings under normal circumstances, such as:

 verbally and physically aggressive and threatens others, disruptive, destructive, dominating
and hyperactive, inattentive, blames others and seeks attention, disobedient and rude,
depressed, cries easily and extremely shy, bored and untidy, do not take criticism positively
 are unable to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships with peers and teachers
 are unable to learn that cannot be explained by intellectual, sensory, motor or health factors
 are absent from school for no apparent reason
 steal from other learners
 have temper tantrums at late childhood and adolescence
 have tendencies to develop physical symptoms of pain or fears associated with personal or school
difficulties
 may have temper tantrums at late learners hood and adolescence
 may consistently consider themselves as stupid and incapable with words such as "I don't know", " I
can’t’ do it" and "I don't understand

Since most learners will show emotional and behavior problems at one time or another, the
criteria for determining whether learners have an emotional and behavior difficulties should
be based on:

• How often the behavior is repeated, How intense the behavior is, How inappropriate the
behavior is

Educational intervention strategies of learners with emotional and behavior difficulties

In order for you to help learners with emotional and behavior difficulties, you need to use various
approaches. These approaches include:

 behavior modification, individual and group counseling, creating good school climate, explaining to
the learners that you expect a reasonable standard of behavior to be maintained, telling the
learners what you expect of them in a firm and clear way, rewarding the learners' appropriate
behavior and ignoring inappropriate behavior as stipulated by the school rules, structuring the
learning environments so that the leaners/have no room for displaying the inappropriate behavior,
guiding and counseling play as a major role in improving the behaviors

Learners with physical and multiple disabilities

Physical disabilities include conditions that may make it difficult for learners to move or to manipulate the
physical environment, interact freely and communicate easily. These may be put into two major groups,
namely:

 Orthopedic disabilities, Neurological disabilities.

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Learners with orthopedic disabilities

These are learners with motor impairment resulting from difficulties related bones and muscle systems.
Muscles and bones act in a coordinated way to effect the movements of body parts. Bones and muscles
suffering deformities will display I movement which is also uncoordinated. Examples of learners with
orthopaedic difficulties who may be found in our schools are those with.

Amputation, scoliosis, muscle cramps, brittle bone, disease (ostegenesis imperfect, leg perthes disease,
muscular

Learners with amputation

Amputation refers to a condition where limbs are greatly reduced in size or missing at birth or to limbs that
have been lost or severed in the course of one's life. Amputation may be either acquired or congenital. A
person with one or more of the limbs missing is called an amputee. The diagram bellow illustrates an
amputated leg.

Amputees may encounter various difficulties. These may include difficulties in:

 Walking, writing, turning pages of books if all limbs are amputated, feeding, dressing,
playing

Educational implications faced by learners with amputated limb or limbs

Learners with amputated limbs may be faced with numerous difficulties in an inclusive setting. Some of
these difficulties will include the following:

 inability to walk properly, inability to hold pens if upper limbs are missing, mobility to turn
pages in a book to read, inability to feed and dress himself/herself

Intervention strategies to support learners with amputated limbs

Learners with amputated limbs have normal intelligence and can therefore integrate and learn well in a
regular school but with some modifications and adaptations of the classroom and environment. Some of
the intervention measures include:

 rehabilitation and provision of facilities that will facilitate performance of learning tasks, such as:
 mobility and adaptive devices, for example prosthesis (artificial limbs) for those with lower limb
amputation, crutches, and walking sticks
 typewriters, pencil holders, book holders, head pointers, page turners
 Training in the proper use of mobility and other adaptive devices
 Adapting suitable materials for the learners
 Adapting physical education activities to ensure maximum fitness and exercise
 Allowing them extra time to complete their tasks, if need be>.
 General nursing care
 Encouraging the learner to learn to live with and accept his/her condition
 Advising the parents/guardians to take learner to health centers for checkups in case of sores due to
prosthesis.'

Learners with brittle bone disease

Brittle bone disease is an inherited bone disease characterized by a defective development in the quantity
and quality of bones (i.e. the bones fail to grow into normal length and width). They are weak, soft and
fragile.

Characteristics of learners with brittle bone disease

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You will observe the following in learners with brittle bones:-

 Keep on getting fractures from time to time in school and at home,

 mobility problems or difficulties to walk around
 may have writing problem
 stunted growth]

Educational implication encountered by learners with brittle bone disease

Due to the delicate skeletal framework of bones, learners with this problem may experience some of the
following problems:

 keeping on getting fractures from time to time

 missing class regularly due to fractures and hospitalization
 having mobility difficulties
 having writing difficulties
 not able to participate in strenuous learning exercises such as physical education, games and
athletics

Teachers should be aware of the difficulties facing a learner with brittle bone disease,
whereby physical education and other related strenuous activities may not be possible.

Intervention strategies to support the children

Learners with brittle bone disease have normal intelligence. They can therefore learn in a regular school
but with some adaptations such as:

 ensuring safety in the classroom and the environment to minimize accidents

 avoiding vigorous exercise that may affect the bones
 availing mobility and adaptation devices for those who may require them
 providing alternative passive activities, such as board games and cards
 making them to understand their weak bone conditions in order to take care of themselves
 training those who may be using adaptive and mobility aids on how to use them properly

Learners with muscular dystrophy?

Muscular dystrophy refers to a genetic disease characterized by a gradual atrophy (wearing and
weakening) of muscle tissues. The muscles of the body become progressively weaker and wasted without
presence of a disease in the central nervous s> stem. The causes are not very clear but are assumed to be
hereditary, where the. Who is usually the carrier although unaffected, transmits the disorder more
frequently to the male children.

The wearing and weakening of muscles begin in the shoulders and then lips and thereafter
spreads to all other voluntary muscles.

We can summaries muscular dystrophy as a condition which:

 affects mainly boys, with mothers as carriers

 does not show apparent disability at birth, but sometimes walking may be delayed for a few
months
 is usually first observed at about 2-3 years of life
 renders learners incapable of walking by 10-11 years of age
 is progressive and continues getting worse until premature death, which usually occurs
between 15-30 years of age
 has no known cure

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Characteristics of learners with muscular dystrophy

You may identify a learner with muscular dystrophy by observing the following:

 difficulty in running, climbing and sometimes in lifting

 progressively becoming weak and wasted
 supporting himself/herself against the floor on his knees, walking or climbing using his legs when
getting up
 distortion of posture with a tendency for the chest to curve forward
 awkwardness and difficulty in walking or running, with frequent falls
 difficulty in rising from a fall

Educational implications faced by learners with muscular dystrophy

Learner with muscular dystrophy may experience the following further compilations:

 hip and knee flexing contractions which may hinder the ability to stand straight and walk. The child
may need devices such as long or short leg braces or a .d chair depending on the condition.
Weakness of the arms and shoulders may not allow the use of crutches
 foot deformities may interfere with the ability to stand and may require therapeutic exercises to
help strengthen joints and muscles

Intervention strategies to support learners with muscular dystrophy

There are various intervention procedures, which can minimize the effects of muscular dystrophy and help
the child lead as normal life as possible. These include:

 providing therapeutic exercises which can help delay the onset of contractures
 counseling to prepare the child for the eventual outcome and also to develop positive image of
himself/herself
 providing braces to prevent deformities and keep the chest upright to facilitate breathing
 giving drugs to ease some of the effects of the condition
 surgery to correct early deformities of lower limbs
 providing mobility and adaptive aids to facilitate their movement and learning
 avoiding vigorous exercises which may strain the muscles
 encouraging and stimulating them academically and socially
 guiding and counseling the parents to prepare them to cope with the deteriorating condition and
eventualities of early death.

Learners with muscular dystrophy have normal intelligence and can learn well in a regular
school. However, provision has to be made for some adaptive aids and equipment because the
learner may experience various complications as the disease progresses.

Learners with neurological disabilities

It is good for you first to understand about neurological disabilities in neurological disabilities refers to
paralysis or lack of function resulting from the dysfunction of the brain and the central nervous system.

The conditions associated with neurological disabilities include the following among others:

Epilepsy, cerebral palsy, spine bifida, hydrocephalus, poliomyelitis

Neurological disabilities refer to paralysis or lack of functions resulting from the dysfunction of the brain
and the central nervous system.

Learner with epilepsy

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Epilepsy is a brain disorder, which is characterized by a fit or sudden loss of consciousness, convulsions or
seizures.

Characteristics of learners with epilepsy

shouted once and collapsed, lost consciousness, the body became rigid with jerked movements, notice
saliva drooling from mouth, observed loss of bladder and bowel control, experienced difficulties in
breathing

After the convulsions you may also have noticed the following:

 The learner appeared confused, Performed purposeless activities such as rubbing arms or legs,
Experienced fear, anger and dizziness, Went to deep sleep after the seizure.

Some characteristics of epilepsy include having extreme convulsions and seizures during which the
learners may:

 collapse and have sudden loss of consciousness and rigidity of the body followed, followed by
jerking movements, may shout and emit, gurgling sounds, be unable to control saliva (may foam at
the mouth), lose bladder and bowel control, experience difficult breathing, headache and vomiting
 suddenly stop what he/she is doing and briefly have a strange, empty, blank behavior, drop things,
chew or smack hips
 appear to be confused and carry out purposeless activities such as rubbing, arms or legs,
experience fear, anger, abdominal pains, dizziness or ringing in the ears, go to deep sleep after
seizure

Epilepsy is not a mental illness and cannot be passed from one person to another through
contact.

What would you do if a learner has a seizure attack in your class?

 Remain calm to avoid your learners from the same emotional reactions since seizure itself is
painless to the learners.
 Never try to restrain the learners because nothing can be done to stop a seizure it has begun.
 Clear the area around the learner so that no injury from hard objects occurs. Do interfere with the
movements in any way.
 After the attack you may talk to the learner to help him to overcome the etiological trauma.
 Talk to other teachers and learners-and assure them that the condition is not contagious
 Refer the learner to hospital if he was not on medication
 Do not to force anything between the teeth. If the mouth is already open, a soft object like a
handkerchief may be placed between the side teeth.
 Move the learner into a horizontal position. Loosen his collar; turn his/her head D the side for
release of saliva. Place something soft under the head
 Do not call doctor unless the attack is immediately followed by another seizure or if the seizure
lasts more than ten minutes
 When the seizure is over and the learner has gained consciousness, let him/her rest
 Inform the learner's parents about the seizure
 Turn the experience into a learning experience for the entire class. Explain what a seizure is, that is
not contagious and that it is nothing to be afraid of. Teach the class to understand the learners, not
pity him, so that classmates will continue to accept the learner as "one of them".

Educational implications for learners with epilepsy

Learners with epilepsy may experience some difficulties, which may affect their learning. These may
include:

 negative perception by the society and peers who think that epilepsy is contagious

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  the learner becoming disoriented due to frequent attacks thus failing to cope with academic work

Intervention strategies to support learners with epilepsy

Epilepsy cannot be cured but its effects can be minimized through:

 Referring the learner to hospital for medical treatment with drugs to control the condition

Talking to other teachers, peers and the community that epilepsy is not contagious. This would ensure
support for such learners in school

First aid skills and proper nursing care, especially during attack
 making efforts to reduce emotional and psychological stress by encouraging the child to lead as
normal life as possible

Learners with cerebral palsy

What is cerebral palsy?

Cerebral palsy is a disorder of the brain, which occurs as a result of Bram damage, or lack of development
in the part of the brain controlling movement and posture.

Characteristics of learners with cerebral palsy

 Slowness in acquiring skills and knowledge in some learners

 Facial abnormalities and or drooling in some cases
 Stiffness or rigidity of body parts especially the wrists, hips, knees and ankles
 Increased muscle tension when the learner is excited or upset
 Abnormal position of the body
 Lack of muscle co-ordination
 Slow, wriggly or sudden, quick movements of the feet, arms, hands or face in excitement or in an
effort to grasp something /
 Difficulty drawing straight lines due to involuntary movements
 Speech difficulties due to difficulty in controlling the muscles required to produce speech
 Poor balance and posture
 Awkward gross and or fine motor movements
 May suffer from convulsions or fits
 Poor eye-hand coordination especially in writing activities and low intelligence

Educational implications for learners with cerebral palsy

A learners suffering from cerebral palsy may experience some of the following difficulties:

 Difficulties in performing functions requiring the use of their hands and legs
 Communication difficulties due to weakness of the speech organ muscles
 Low intelligence as result of delayed milestone, which may affect their academic work.
 Hearing and sight problems which may affect their learning activities
 May suffer from convulsions or fits
 Learning difficulties especially in areas such as reading and writing

Intervention strategies to support learners with cerebral palsy

The damage to the brain that leads to cerebral palsy cannot be repaired. However, affected individuals can
be supported to become independent in life through:

 Providing suitable therapeutic exercises and mobility and functional or supportive aids
and nursing care-
 Giving psychological counseling and guidance

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  Referring the child to other professionals such as occupational therapists and
physiotherapists
 Providing activities to develop eye-hand coordination
 Encouraging them to use speech and for those who cannot produce intelligible speech,
devise for them other modes of communication such as communication boards, bliss
symbols, sign language or gestures.
 Providing appropriate learning and technical aids and adapted physical education and
sports equipment
 Providing them with mobility devices such as crutches, walking sticks,
 Standing/walking frames and wheel chairs and training them on how to use them.
 Providing them with alternative communication aids and mobility aids or other services
 Organizing and preparing activities which will stimulate growth and development
especially to children with delayed milestone
 Enriching the classroom with a variety of educational resources to raise interest in the
learners
 Modifying the curriculum for them to learn at their own pace.

I hope you have seen in some learners a growth protruding at the lower back that looks like a swelling.
This is spinal tissues which were exposed during fetal development. This condition is called spine bifida.

Characteristics of learners with spine bifida

 I hope you mentioned the following characteristics:

 Dark bags or lumps which develop at any level of the spine but in most common at the level of the
waists
 Lower limbs paralyzed and have little or no sensation, so burns or pressure sores may develop
without the learners being aware of them
 One or both hips may be dislocated
 May develop club foot
 Poor urine and bowel control
 Water developing in the brain and in the head which may enlarge leading to hydrocephalus
(unusually big head). This may lead to brain damage.
 Poor visual perception and lower intelligence as compared to an average learner in the class

Educational implications faced by learners with spine bifida

 May be absent from school to go to hospital frequently for neurological,

urinary and orthopedic consultations and procedures.
 May have paralysis of the lower limbs and poor bladder and bowel control
resulting in unpleasant odours which you and the rest of the class or school
must learn to put up with.
 some learners especially those who develop hydrocephalus may have the
following problems:
 lower intelligence, poor vision perception

Many learners with spine bifida may have normal or near normal intelligence, so that in spite
of absences from school, they can learn if proper adaptations and facilities arc provided
according to their needs.

Intervention strategies to support learners with spine bifida

Intervention measures can be taken to minimize the effects of spider bifida through:

 nursing care to prevent pressure sores, referring them to health centers for medical attention and
surgery to:
 insert a shunt which drains the fluid from the head (for those with

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  hydrocephalus) > correct foot and spinal deformities

this is a condition acquired after birth due to head injuries , cerebral hemorrhage diseases such as
meningitis and cerebral malaria.

Education implications encountered by learners with hydrocephalus

Low intelligence as compared to average learners, poor motor activities

 communication difficulties, poor visual perception, may be absent from school for
many days since they have to go to hospital for medical checkups, may have poor
body balance as a result of the big head which may result from falling from time to
time

Intervention strategies to support learners with hydrocephalus conditions

For effective management of learners with hydrocephalus condition, you:

 should plan for activities which will improve:

 stimulation and development, communication skills, balance and coordination
 be tolerant and encourage them in all possible ways
 refer them for medical checkups
 prepare individualized educational plan for the children
 tram them on balance and coordination to prevent them from falling which may cause further
injuries to the brain or fractures to the limbs

Learners with Poliomyelitis (Polio)

Polio is caused by a virus that destroys the nerve in the spinal cord. There is no cure for this condition but
victims are advised to take long hours of bed rest to control the activation of the vims until they recover.
Post-polio victims will have weak limbs and will require support for mobility.

Characteristics of poliomyelitis (polio)

 paralysis, degeneration (wasting away) of muscles and bones, stunted growth of the affected limb
or limbs, non-progressive disorders of movements

Education implication encountered by learner with poliomyelitis

Learners with polio experience a variety of difficulties despite having normal intelligence. Some of these
difficulties are:

 mobility problems which prevent them from moving about

 weaknesses in fine and gross motor muscles
 slowness in accomplishing academic tasks, such a writing notes and exercises
 frequent absenteeism from school due medical appointments for checkups, and surgical operations
to correct deformities and physiotherapy

Intervention strategies to support learners who suffered from poliomyelitis

The following are measures that you can take to ensure full participation of learners with who suffered
from poliomyelitis:

 Training them on how to use mobility devices and corrective appliances such as wheel chairs,
crutches, special orthopedic boots, calipers and braces, modifying and adapting the classroom and
school environment to facilitate free movements and use of other facilities in the school.
 Providing adaptive materials for those who require them such as head- pointers, page-turners, book-
holders and pencil-grips.
 Ensuring that the child has good posture when writing at a desk or table.

24
 Poliomyelitis can be controlled and even eradicated through immunization. It is
therefore good for you to advise all parents in your school, and the community to take
immunization seriously.

 frequent inappropriate behaviors, such as:

 rocking back and forth, self-stimulation e.g. by manual stimulation of their sex organs, self-
injuring e.g. banging the head

Characteristics of multiple disability learners

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Educational difficulties faced by learners with multiple difficulties

Some of the problems faced by these learners are:

 Communication difficulties. They cannot:

 express themselves or understand others
 gesture - meaningfully to pass messages to others
 Delayed motor and physical development. They generally experience the following difficulties:
 limited ability to move about independently
 inability to sit up or support themselves
 deformities of limbs and body posture
 bed ridden or home bound most of their lives or
 Frequent inappropriate behavior, such as:
 rocking back and forth,self-stimulation, for example by manual stimulation of sexual organs, self-
injuring, for example, banging the head

Lack of self-help skills. They depend almost entirely on other people in self-help activities, such as:

 dressing themselves
 keeping themselves clean
 eating
 attending to their toilet needs

Intervention strategies to support learners with multiple difficulties

Most learners with multiple difficulties never fully outgrow their dependence on other people. The following
are some measures that can be put in place to support these learners:

 Showing the learner love, patience and affection

 Assessing the learner to determine the skills the learner can perform and those required to be
learnt. This is particularly the Activities of Daily Living, such as, eating, toileting and dressing
 Preparing individualized educational programmers using task analysis approach
 Providing special equipment and devices such as crutches and wheel chairs,
 Guiding and counseling the parents to accept and support the child.
 Referring the child to health centers for medical checkups and other services
 Designing and implementing individualized programmers
 Adapting the classroom/school environment to meet the needs of the learners
 Talking to other learners to develop positive attitudes towards these learners
 Designing toilets/latrines to accommodate the learner especially those using wheel chairs
 Make modification of the school environment for accessibility

Learners with chronic health diseases

This refers to learners with chronic diseases such as:

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 Asthma, burns,heart diseaseshemophilia, tuberculosis, diabetes,sickle cell anemia

What is asthma?

Asthma is a chronic respiratory condition, which occasionally results to difficulties in breathing. It may be
precipitated by allergy in the respiratory system. When in attach the victims produce a wheezing sound as
they attempt to breathe in and out.

Characteristics of asthmatic attacks

 A clear running nose followed by dry, hacking and non- productive cough at the begging of an
attack.
 Difficulty in breathing during attack
 Wheezing and excessive sweating
 Bluish coloration of nails, whitish coloration of the eyes, lips and ear lobes, if the attack is very
severe
 Considerable reduced activity in case of a severe attack

Intervention strategies to support learners with asthma

Learners with asthma can always learn in regular schools, as long as teachers understand their difficulties.
Below are some strategies that may be used to support learners with asthma:

 Eliminating any offending (allergic) substances as possible from the learner's

environment
 Giving the learner water to drink to help ease the wheezing
 Encouraging the learner either to sit or stand but not he down, as he/she
would be more relaxed while in a sitting position. While in a sitting position,
the learner can be encouraged to sit forward m a chair with hands on knees,
while breathing through the mouth
 Trying to ensure that the learner has taken any prescribed medication and be
observant of any possible side effects or behavior changes.

Learners with burns

Burns as injuries to the skin and or underlying tissues as a result of being burnt by fire or chemicals.

What are the possible effects of bums?

• Psychological reactions on the affected part of the body, Ulcers, Withdrawal as a result of a feeling
profoundly helplessness, Hypertension, Seizures, Unreasonable fear of fire, Scarred tissue leading to
deformities, Shortened muscles and tendons at the joints, reduced function of the affected limbs, Low self-
esteem

Intervention strategies to support learners with burns

Burns can leave very ugly scars and may reduce ones functional ability. These learners can be supported
as follows:

• encouraging the learner to accept the deformity

• giving the learner a lot of psychological support

• talking to the learner's peers not to make fun of his/her deformity

• Providing supportive devices if necessary

• referring the learner to the health center for medical treatment and nursing care

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• advising the parent/guardian to provide the learner with high-protein and vitamin diet during the
healing period.

Burns can leave very ugly scars and reduce ones functional ability. This may also affect the
learners' self-esteem.

Learners with heart diseases

Heart diseases as any abnormal condition of the heart. Heart diseases include irregular functioning of the
heart, as well as diseases of the coronary arteries heart valves and heart muscular.

There are two main types of heart disease

 congenital heart disease, acquired cardiovascular disorders

Congenital heart diseases are much more common than acquired heart disorders.

Characteristics of children with heart disease

shortness of breath, for example panting during feeding or other activities, fatigue (weariness) or the
learners being dull most of the time, chest deformity, poor growth and development result of tissues
receiving insufficient blood and nutrients for growth, a blue appearance caused by the circulation of
deoxygenated blood, fainting, chronic cough, chest pain, recurrent respiratory infections

Intervention strategies to support learners with heart diseases

Medical intervention

If a heart problem is confirmed, the following medical treatment can be carried out:

 drug therapy to cure and lessen the problem, surgery to correct heart valves and on genital defects
such as hole in the heart, use of diet with reduced fat content, use of exercises as advised by the
doctor

Educational intervention

Learners with congenital diseases attend regular schools. You should be aware that such a child may get
exhausted easily, and lack stamina to carry out certain activities and may also be hospitalized frequently.
There is need, therefore:

avoiding giving the learner strenuous exercises which could exhaust him/her, understanding the medical
history of the learner and reminding him/her on medical appointments and when to take prescribed drugs,
monitoring the learner's academic performance and remediation on the work covered during his/her
absence

Learners with hemophilia

You may define hemophilia as a condition marked inability of the blood to clot. In such cases blood clots
very slowly or not at all. The causes are unknown but the condition is hereditary and is more common in
boys than girls. It is transmitted genetically by mothers who are predominantly carriers.

Characteristics of hemophilia

 inability of the blood to clot, swollen joints and ankles for no apparent reason, under the skin and
bruising easily

All the above mentioned could weaken the body system resulting to disabilities.

Children living under difficult circumstances

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These are children who by reason of their circumstances exist in conditions that pose a serious risk to their
lives for survival. They are not able to progress well in their learning like other learners. This is because
they are affected by various factors including, political, socio-cultural, and economic and health difficulties.
These factors hinder their physiological and psycho-emotional development. This in turn affects their
learning and development.

Children who are traumatized

These are children who may have experienced torture or aggressiveness as a result of:

• War, Conflicts, Clashes

Such children may have also witnessed people being beaten, molested, raped, chased from their homes,
killed or even forced to kill others.

Characteristics of children who are abused and neglected

Physical abuse

• Unexplained bruises in various stages, Human bite marks and bald spots, unexplained burns,
Unexplained fractures

Behavior indicators

 withdrawal and aggressiveness, uncomfortability with physical contact

 early arrival at and late leaving school as if avoiding home, chronic runaway
 complaining of soreness or moving uncomfortably, clothing which is inappropriate for the weather

Physical neglect

Physical indicators

• Abandonment, Unattended medical needs, Consistent lack of supervision, Consistent hunger,

inappropriate dress, poor hygiene

Behavior indicators

• Fatigue, restlessness, falling asleep in class,bstealing food, begging from classmates, Reports of no
caretaker at home, Chronic absenteeism from school

Sexual abuse

Physical indicators

• Torn, stained or bloody underclothing, Pain or itching in genital areas, Difficulty walking or sitting,
Bruises or bleeding in external genitalia, Venereal diseases, Frequent urinary or yeast infections

Behavior indicators

• Withdrawal and depression, Excessive seductiveness, Low self-esteem, self-devaluation and lack of
confidence, peer relation difficulties and lack of involvement, Massive weight loss, Suicide attempts,
Hysteria and lack of emotional control, Inappropriate sex play or premature understanding of sex, Feeling
threatened by physical contact or closeness

Psychological mistreatment

Physical indicators

• Speech disorders, delayed physical development, Ulcers, asthma and severe allergies

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Behavior indicators

• Habit disorders such as sucking and rocking, Antisocial and destructive manifestations, Passive and
aggressive- behavior, Delinquent behavior, Developmental milestone

Street Children

"Street children” is a social term that refers to those children for whom the street has replaced the family
and the home as the focal point of their existence and communal interaction. The children live in
circumstances devoid of any protection, supervision or direction from responsible adults. The causes that
bring children to the streets may be poverty and civil strife. Some parents are poor and are not capable of
providing basic needs to their children.

Civil strife in most communities results in loss of moral attributes that include family breakage. These
conditions may make children to go and live in the streets.

There are four primary groups of children whose existence revolves around streets. These are:

• Children on the street, Children of the street, Children who are completely detached from their
families, Children of street families

Children on the street: These maintain good family ties while out there. They therefore return home in
the evening after spending the day begging, working or engaging in petty offences on the streets.

Children of the street: These" have loose family contacts and spend some nights or days or part of the
day on the streets and occasionally go back home

Children who are completely detached from their families: These children lead

a gang life and live in makeshift shelters in the streets. In most cases they have completely no contacts
with their families.

Children of street families: This is the most recent group of street children to emerge. It consists of
children who are born and bred on the streets. They know no other home.

Prevalence of street children

It is estimated that there are more than 300,0000 learners living and working on the streets of urban
centers in Kenya. Out of these abouh50percent of them are concentrated in and around Nairobi, the
capital city.

Child laborers (Working children)

Child labor has been defined by International Labor Organization (ILO) to mean,

"Any economic activity performed by a person under the age of 15 years and that is detrimental and
exploitative”

Kenya's Employment Act defines it as "the engagement of children under the age of 16 years in the labor
force”

The Children's Act of 2001 (Kenya) defines child labor as "any situation where children provide labor in
exchange of payment"

Child labor is therefore any work that interferes with children's upbringing and education. The working
children are spread across various economic sectors with the main concentration being in domestic
service. They also work in agriculture, quarrying and mining, fishing, children prostitution, hawking, shoe

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shining, car washing, begging, and scrap metal and garbage collection. Those who go to school may find
their responsibilities as a burden and end up dropping out. The others may have no time to be children

Refugees and displaced children

Many people get displaced as a result of political upheavals such as wars, tribal clashes and natural
calamities. The displaced people live in refugee camps. In Kenya an estimated 365,000 people were
displaced during the inter-ethnic conflicts, which erupted in some parts of the country in 1991/92, 1993/94
and 1997. These conflicts resulted in great loss of property and disruption of settled community life.

Children who were about 50% of the estimated displaced people suffered most.

Education was disrupted as many schools were destroyed and others closed down. This loss as well as
being torn away from their homes and sometimes separated from their parents and peers resulted to low
self-esteem leading to difficulties in learning and participation in development activities.

Children who are homeless and unaccompanied

Who are homeless and unaccompanied children?

Children who are homeless and unaccompanied are those without homes and have nobody to take of
them. Children may end up in this situation as result of turmoil caused by wars and/or natural calamities,
like earthquakes killing their parents or relatives and destroying their slums

This can also be brought about by breakages in families. These children will be affected socially and
psychologically resulting to difficulties in learning. Figure 24 shows a homeless child in the slums

Orphaned children

These are children who have lost both parents. Sorrow, guilt and or anger resulting from having lost both
parents may overwhelm such learners. Parents might have died from illnesses and accidents. In 2001, the
number of HIV and AIDS orphans under the age of 15 years was estimated to be more than 1 million in
Kenya. Most of these children lack proper care and supervision they need at this critical stage of their
development.

Orphaned children have to content with discriminatory practices that ostracize them as outcasts. They are
denied the essential family care by reason of death or terminal illness of their parents. Many children end
up in the streets from where they are likely to come into conflict with the law. These learners will have
neither peace of mind nor motivation for learning.

Children affected and or infected by HIV and AIDS

Who are affected or infected children by HIV and AID&?"

Children affected by HIV and AIDS are those who have lost their parents or dear ones through the
syndrome. Medical statistics (2001) indicate that about 700 people died every day in Kenya due to HIV and
AIDS and related diseases.

Those who are infected are those who have acquired the syndrome which weakens their immunity system
against diseases. Besides the rising number of orphans due to AIDS as mentioned above, the disease is
causing early painful deaths among learners infected art birth or through breast feeding. It is estimated
that, about 30-40% of babies born to infected mothers will also be infected with HIV and AIDS. Most of
these babies succumb to AIDS and die within two years. Those children who survive often experience
social and psychological difficulties such as being stigmatized by the society thus affecting their self-
esteem.

Child mothers

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These are young girls who become pregnant and give birth before maturity, that is, below the age of 18.
Those who are at school are forced to drop out. i hose who are not at school become mothers before the
rightful age the new responsibility of being a mother affects the children's ability to learn and participate in
development activities.

Children from deprived and or rich families

Who are children from deprived or rich families?

In rich families, some learners may develop behavioral difficulties as a result of lack of proper attention,
involvement and care. They may also lack the guidance in the use of resources. There may be rigidity in
decisions made by parents. These results to low self-esteem as well as lack of independence, which may
affect their learning.

On the other hand, learners from poor families may drop out of school as a result of poverty. Such learners
may end up in the streets, as laborers or prostitutes. This therefore affects their learning.

Children heading families

As a result of wars, internal conflicts and tribal clashes, natural disasters, displacement and loss of parents,
learners may be left on their own to fend for themselves. They take on adult responsibilities of looking
after their young sisters and brothers. The new and demanding responsibilities may affect their abilities to
learn and also develop.

Child soldiers

These are learners under the age of 18 years who are recruited in the armed forces. They carry and use
guns and are confronted by vast experience that they do not need at that age of development. They have
misled a stage in their lives of being learners. This greatly affects their learning and development.

Children from pastoralist communities

Some districts in Kenya and other countries within the region are under a predominantly pastoralist
economy and nomadic lifestyle. These districts are classified as Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASAL). These
areas are characterized by severe hardships, including:

 Hostile climate, Drought and famine, Livestock rustling and conflicts over pasture and water
resources, Banditry and general insecurity.

The combination of natural factors and inadequacies in planning has severely limited pastoralist learner's
enjoyment of their basic right to survival, human development and participation. The greatest challenge
faced by these children is limited access to basic social services, particularly education and health.

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