Teaching Students with Disabilities part 1

Teaching Students with Disabilities part 1

This week is a two part discussion on teaching students with severe disabilities. It is important to understand the differences in the multiple disabilities that students may have. The three that will be focused on are fragile X syndrome, deaf blindness, and Angelman Syndrome.

• Fragile X syndrome (FXS)- FXS is known as the “most commonly inherited genetic syndrome that results in an intellectual disability”2. FXS occurs in approximately 1 in 4,000 males and 1 in 1,800 females. Since it is an X-linked chromosome it affects males more severely; about 80% of males will have mild to severe intellectual disabilities, while females usually have mild disabilities. Physical characteristics in males including: long, narrow face; prominent jaw and forehead; protruding ears; high, arched palate; flat feet,enlarged testicles, hypotonic and lack coordination. FXS also includes visual and orthopedic disorders. People who have FXS lack communication and social skills but are relatively strong in daily living skills. When in a learning environment, they learn better when they are presented the whole task rather than it being presented in sections. It is also the most beneficial to instruct them with clear, concrete instructions paired with visual cues and prompts. This syndrome can be stereotyped by behaviors such as hand flapping, lack of eye contact, tactile defensiveness, hyperactivity, and inattention. They meet similar characteristics of Autism.

• Texas Educational Law Eligibility “Orthopedic impairment. A student with an orthopedic impairment is one who has been determined to meet the criteria for orthopedic impairment as stated in 34 CFR, §300.8(c)(8). The multidisciplinary team that collects or reviews evaluation data in connection with the determination of a student's eligibility based on an orthopedic impairment must include a licensed physician.”1

• Deaf-blindness- A person with deaf-blindness is both hearing and visually impaired. This combination causes severe communication and developmental delays and increase their educational needs beyond that of a student who is either deaf or blind but many have average or above average intelligence.2 It has an extremely low incidence rate. Since they are deaf and blind they are limited in social and communication interaction and require modifications to acquire daily living skills.

• Texas Educational Law Eligibility  “Deaf-blindness. A student with deaf-blindness is one who has been determined to meet the criteria for deaf-blindness as stated in 34 CFR, §300.8(c)(2). In meeting the criteria stated in 34 CFR, §300.8(c)(2), a student with deaf-blindness is one who, based on the evaluations specified in subsections (c)(3) and (c)(12) of this section:

• (A)  meets the eligibility criteria for auditory impairment specified in subsection (c)(3) of this section and visual impairment specified in subsection (c)(12) of this section;
• (B)  meets the eligibility criteria for a student with a visual impairment and has a suspected hearing loss that cannot be demonstrated conclusively, but a speech/language therapist, a certified speech and language therapist, or a licensed speech language pathologist indicates there is no speech at an age when speech would normally be expected;

• (C)  has documented hearing and visual losses that, if considered individually, may not meet the requirements for auditory impairment or visual impairment, but the combination of such losses adversely affects the student's educational performance; or

• (D)  has a documented medical diagnosis of a progressive medical condition that will result in concomitant hearing and visual losses that, without special education intervention, will adversely affect the student's educational performance.”1

• Angelman Syndrome (AS)- AS is characterized as a severe to profound intellectual disability. It is caused by a chromosomal anomaly in which a portion of chromosome 15 is missing. The prevalence is between 1 in 10,000 and 20,000. Characteristics of AS include jerky body movements, stiff-legged walking; facial features, such as a wide, smiling mouth, thin upper lip, and deep set eyes2. About 80% of people with AS have epilepsy. Diagnosis occurs during infancy when feeding problems and poor sleeping habits form. Other problems during childhood include “laughing, feeding and eating problems, sleep disturbances, restlessness/hyperactivity/attention problems, excessive mouthwatering and chewing, hand flapping, and attraction to water, aggression and stereotyped behavior”2. People with AS are usually very happy and sociable. Regardless of having little to no verbal expression, many of them learn to communicate with alternative or augmentative communication systems or devices.   

• Texas Educational Law Eligibility  “Multiple disabilities.
• (A)  A student with multiple disabilities is one who has been determined to meet the criteria for multiple disabilities as stated in 34 CFR, §300.8(c)(7). In meeting the criteria stated in 34 CFR, §300.8(c)(7), a student with multiple disabilities is one who has a combination of disabilities defined in this section and who meets all of the following conditions:
• (i)  the student's disability is expected to continue indefinitely; and
• (ii)  the disabilities severely impair performance in two or more of the following areas:
• (I)  psychomotor skills;
• (II)  self-care skills;
• (III)  communication;
• (IV)  social and emotional development; or
• (V)  cognition.
• (B)  Students who have more than one of the disabilities defined in this section but who do not meet the criteria in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph must not be classified or reported as having multiple disabilities.”1

In conclusion, it is crucial to understand the best way to approach students in general, but especially those with disabilities. In part two, we will discuss fetal alcohol syndrome, Prader-Willi Syndrome and Dual Diagnosis (Multiple Disabilities).

References:

119 TAC Chapter 89, Subchapter AA. Retrieved June 19, 2016, From http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/rules/tac/chapter089/ch089aa.html

2Westling, D. L., Fox, L., & Carter, E. W. (2015). Teaching students with severe disabilities (5th ed.) Boston: Pearson