Part I- Basic/Essential Concepts in Special Education

1. OVERVIEW OF SPECIAL EDUCATION

Definition of Special Education
Special Education is set of educational programs or services designed to meet the particular needs
of exceptional children. It is the type of Education tailored to meet the needs of children who cannot profit
normally from general education because of disabilities or exceptional abilities.
Special education meets the needs of a given exceptional child or a group of exceptional children
with educational plans and instruments which will bring the individual to the highest level of his potential
and capacity.

The Exceptional Child

The term exceptional child is difficult to define for the term represents many different medical,
psychological, and educational groupings of children. Essentially, the exceptional child is one who deviates
from the average child.
1. In mental characteristics,
2. In sensory abilities,
3. In neuromuscular or physical characteristics, and
4. In social or multiple handicaps

Categories of Exceptional Children

There is a wide range of exceptional children covered by special education.

By 1950 (12) TYPES of exceptional children had been delineated into:

1. Gifted
2. Educable mentally retarded
3. Trainable mentally retarded
4. Emotionally disturbed
5. Socially maladjusted
6. Speech impaired
7. Deaf
8. Hard of hearing
9. Hard of hearing
10. Blind
11. Partially seeing
12. Crippled and,
13. Chronic health cases (Dunn, 1963)
1973 Dunn categorized the exceptional children

Categories of Dunn Traditional Classification

1. Children with moderate and severe Nonadaptive educable, trainable,

general hearing disabilities
2. Children with generally mild learning
disabilities
3. Children with superior cognitive
abilities
4. Children with hearing disabilities
5. Children with visual disabilities
6. Children with major specific learning
disabilities
7. Children with neuromotor and other
crippling and health disabilities
8. Children with oral communication
disabilities
9. Children with behavioral disabilities
custodial or severely mentally retarded.
Adaptive, cultural familial educable
mentally retarded.
Gifted, creative or talented academically
able
Deaf, hard-of-hearing
Educational blind, partially seeing
Minimal brain injured perceptually
handicapped
Cerebral palsied, epileptic, orthopedically
handicapped
Speech impaired, language
handicapped
Emotionally disturbed, socially
maladjusted drug dependent

Special education is purposeful intervention

Intervention prevents, eliminates and/or overcomes the obstacles that might keep an individual with
disabilities from learning, from full and active participation in school activities, and from engaging in social
and leisure activities.

Preventive intervention
-Is designed to keep potential minor problems from becoming a disability.
Primary prevention
-Is designed to eliminate or counteract risk factors so that a disability is not acquired.
Secondary intervention
-is aimed at reducing or eliminating the effects of existing risk factors.
Tertiary prevention
-is intended to minimize the impact of a specific condition or disability among those with disabilities.
Remedial intervention
-attempts to eliminate the effects of a disability
Basic terms in Special Education

Developmental disability refers to severe, chronic disability of a child five years of age or older that is:
1. Attributable to a mental and physical impairments or a combination of mental and physical impairments.
2. manifested before the person attains age 22.
3. Likely to continue indefinitely
4. Results in substantial functional limitations in 3 or more of the areas of major life activities such as self-
care, language, learning, mobility, self-direction, capacity for independent living and economic self-
sufficiency; and
5. Reflects the person’s need for a combination and sequence of special care, treatment or other services
that are lifelong or of extended duration and are individually planned and coordinated. (Beirne - Smith,
2002)

Impairment or disability
Refers to reduce function or loss of a specific part of the body or organ.
Handicap
Refers to a problem a person with a disability or impairment encounters when interacting with
people, events and the physical aspects of the environment.
At risk
Refers to children who have greater chances than other children to develop a disability.
Categories of Children at Risk
The term "at-risk" came into use after the 1983 article "A Nation at Risk", published by the National
Commission on Excellence in Education. The article described United States society as being economically
and socially endangered.

The National Center for Education Statistics lists the following factors that lead to an "at-risk" label for
students:
 low socioeconomic status
 living in a single-parent home
 changing schools at non-traditional times
 below-average grades in middle school
 being held back in school through grade retention
 having older siblings who left high school before completion
 negative peer pressure
Children with Established Risk

Children with Biological Risk

Children with Environmental Risk

Children with Environmental Risk

The handbook on Special Education (SPED) covers four broad categories of handicapped children:
 Visually impaired (VI)
 Hearing impaired (HI)
 Mentally retarded (MR)
 Physically handicapped (PH)

2. BASIC PHILOSOPHY OF SPECIAL EDUCATION

Basic Philosophy of Special Education

 Derived from the premise that in a democracy, every individual is valuable in his own right and
should be afforded equal opportunities to develop his full potential.
 Every child, even the most severely handicapped, should be given equal educational opportunities
within the nation’s educational system.
 Education cannot be denied to a person if only because of his disability

3. INCLUSIVE EDUCATION FOR CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS

The Department of Education strongly advocates inclusive education as a basic service for all types of
exceptional children. In the 1994 Conference on Special Needs Education held in Salamanca Spain, the
participants reaffirmed the right to education of every individual to education as enshrined in the 1984
Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The reaffirmation served as a renewal of the pledge made by the
world community at the 1990 World Conference on Education for All. With these declarations and the
urgency of the need for early intervention, the Department of Education adopted the policy of inclusive
education in1997. A Handbook on Inclusive Education was issued as the main reference and guide to the
practice of inclusive education. National, regional and division-wide training on inclusive education were
conducted to promote the concept of inclusive education.

What is inclusive education?

Inclusion describes the process by which a school attempts children with special needs for
enrolment in regular classes where they can learn side by side with their peers. The school organizes its
special education program and includes a special education teacher in its faculty. The school provides the
mainstream where regular teachers and special education teachers organize and implement appropriate
programs for both special and regular students.

What are the salient feature of inclusive education?

Inclusion means implementing and maintaining warm and accepting classroom communities that
embrace and respect diversity of differences. Teachers and students take active steps to understand
individual differences and create an atmosphere of respect.
Inclusion implements a multilevel, multimodality curriculum. This means that special needs students
follow an adopted curriculum and use special devices and material to learn at a suitable pace.
Inclusion prepares regular teachers and special education teachers to teach interactively. The
classroom model where one teacher teaches an entire group of children single-handedly is being replaced
by structures where students work together, teach one another and participate actively in class activities.
Students tend to learn with and from each other rather than compete with each other.
Inclusion provides continuous support for teachers to break down barriers of professional isolation. The
hallmarks of inclusive education are co-teaching, team teaching, collaboration and consultation and other
ways of assessing skills and knowledge learned by all the students.

Here are some collaborative activities that take place in the classroom.

 If the class is discussing activities on saving the environment, the deaf student can work on collage
of picture in the topic.
 Prompts or cues are added to learning tasks to assists children with mental retardation in task
performance. Prompts can be verbal, visual or physical. If the students confuses addition and
subtraction symbols, the teacher might encircle the symbols, make them large and write them in
the red (visual); or reminds students to “check each other’s to see whether it’s addition or
subtraction problems” (verbal); or draw a √ or × on the arm of the student to signal whether his/her
response is correct or wrong (physical). Inclusion involves parents, families and significant others
in planning meaningful ways for students with special needs to learn in the regular class with their
normal peers.
 4. LEGAL BASES FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION IN THE PHILIPPINES

Commonwealth Act # 3203

In 1935, provide for the care and protection of the disabled children.

Articles 356 and 259 of the Civil Code of the Philippines mention
“The right of every child to live in an atmosphere conducive to his physical, moral and intellectual
development.” and the concomitant duty of the government to promote the full growth of the faculties of
every child.”

The Declaration of the Rights of the Child

This declaration adopted by the United Nations General Assembly (1959), affirmed the mankind
owes to the child the best it has to give.
One of the principles concerned with the education of children with special needs runs:
“The child who is physically, mentally or visually handicapped shall given the special treatment,
education, and care required of his particular condition”.

Declaration of the Rights of the Child

In 1959, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child. It
marked the first major international consensus on the fundamental principles of children’s rights.

Origin of the Declaration of the Rights of the Child

In 1924, the League of Nations (LON) adopted the Geneva Declaration, a historic document that
recognized and affirmed for the first time the existence of rights specific to children and the responsibility of
adults towards children.

The United Nations (UN) was founded after World War II. It took over the Geneva Declaration in
1946. However, following the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, the
advancement of rights revealed the shortcomings of the Geneva Declaration, which therefore had to be
expanded.

“Several [UN] Member States were calling for a convention, that is, an international tool that would legally
bind the States that had ratified it, but this proposal was not adopted.”

They thus chose to draft a second Declaration of the Rights of the Child, which again addressed
the notion that “mankind owes to the Child the best that it has to give.”

On 20 November 1959, the Declaration of the Rights of the Child was adopted unanimously by all
78 Member States of the United Nations General Assembly in Resolution 1386 (XIV).

Content of the Declaration of the Rights of the Child

“The child is recognized, universally, as a human being who must be able to develop physically,
mentally, socially, morally, and spiritually, with freedom and dignity.”
 However, neither the 1924 Geneva Declaration nor the 1959 Declaration of the Rights of the Child
define when childhood starts and ends, mainly to avoid taking a stand on abortion.
Nonetheless, the Preamble to the Declaration of the Rights of the Child highlights children’s need
for special care and protection, “including appropriate legal protection, before as well as after birth.”

The Declaration of the Rights of the Childlays down ten principles:

1. The right to equality, without distinction on account of race, religion or national origin.
2. The right to special protection for the child’s physical, mental and social development.
3. The right to a name and a nationality.
4. The right to adequate nutrition, housing and medical services.
5. The right to special education and treatment when a child is physically or mentally handicapped.
6. The right to understanding and love by parents and society.
7. The right to recreational activities and free education.
8. The right to be among the first to receive relief in all circumstances.
9. The right to protection against all forms of neglect, cruelty and exploitation.
10. The right to be brought up in a spirit of understanding, tolerance, friendship among peoples, and
universal brotherhood.

Republic Act # 3562 and 5250

REPUBLIC ACT NO. 3562

AN ACT TO PROMOTE THE EDUCATION OF THE BLIND IN THE PHILIPPINES

Be enacted by the senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines congress assembled:

Section 1: There shall be established, under the supervision of the Director of Public School, a residential
school for the blind near the city of Manila, w/c shall known as the Philippine National School for blind in the
elementary level.

Section 2: Upon the establishment of the Philippine National School for Blind, the School for the Deaf and
Blind in Pasay City shall cease to give instruction to the blind, and all its blind student, its equipment and
facilities being used in the instruction of the blind, and member of the faculty teaching the blind shall be
transferred to the PNS for Blind.

Section 3: There shall be established, under the supervision and control of the Director of Public Schools a
Teacher-training Center to train teachers for the blind. The PNC shall provide room and other facilities for
the said center.

Section 4: The Secretary of Education shall issue such rules and regulations as may be necessary to
implement the provisions of this Act.

Section 5: There is hereby appropriated, out of any funds in the National Treasury not otherwise
appropriated, the sum of five hundred thousand pesos to carry out the provision of this Act for the fiscal
year nineteen hundred and sixty-four, including the purchase of site and construction of buildings for the
PNCS for the blind. Thereafter, the amount necessary for the operation and maintenance of the said school
and center shall be included in the annual General Appropriation Acts.

Section 6: This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

Approved, June 21, 1963.

REPUBLIC ACT 5250

AN ACT ESTABLISHING A TEN-YEAR TRAINING PROGRAM FOR TEACHERS OF SPECIAL AND

EXCEPTIONAL CHILDREN IN THE PHIL. AND AUTHORIZING THE APPROPRIATION FUNDS THEREOF.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Phil. In Congress

Section 1: There is hereby established, under the administration and supervision of the Bureau of Public
Schools, the PNC, and the School for the deaf and blind, a ten-year program for the training of special and
exceptional children. (As amended by R.A No. 6067, August 4, 1969).

Section 2: The term special and exceptional children shall include the mentally retarded, the crippled, the
deaf and hard of hearing, the speech handicapped, the socially and emotionally disturbed and the gifted.

Section 3: The institutions of learning chosen by the Department of Education to carry out the training of
teachers for this program shall grant the necessary credit.

Section 4: All expenses to be incurred therefore such as tuition and other fees, stipends of teachers trainees
development and training abroad of members of the faculty of the cooperating institution and those of the
special education staff of the General Office, Bureau of Public Schools, and other expenses incident to the
implementation of this act shall be charged against the funds of the program and shall be disbursed by the
Director of Public Schools

 Provided, that the expenses for the development and training abroad shall not exceed teen per
centum of the total appropriation provided in the Republic Act No. 5250. (As amended by R.A No.
6067, August 4, 1969).

Section 5: The program shall as far as practicable, include the setting up of pilot classes, for special and
exceptional children in regular school with the end in view of integrating said children into the regular school
program and of encouraging socialization. The program shall set up projects in such a way that the special
education shall be conducted within the facilities of regular schools whenever possible.

Section 6: A number of scholarships shall be created every year for ten year prospective teachers who shall
undertake the training courses. The coordinator of the program shall see to it that scholarship grantees and
teacher trainees under the program are intellectually and emotionally prepared to handle special education.

Section 7: The Secretary of Education shall issue such rules and regulations and shall employ such
specialists as may be necessary to implement the provision of this act.
Section 8: The sum of three hundred fifty thousand is hereby authorized to be appropriated out of any funds
in the National Treasury not otherwise appropriated to carry out the provision of this act for the fiscal year
nineteen hundred and sixty-eight. Thereafter, such sums as are necessary for the operation of said training
program shall be included in the annual General Appropriation Act.

Section 9: This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

Approved, June 15, 1968.

1973 Constitution of the Philippines

ARTICLE XV, SECTION 8

Section 8

(1) All educational institutions shall be under the supervision of, and subject to regulation by, the state. The
State shall establish and maintain a complete, adequate, and integrated system of education relevant to the
goals of national development.

(2) All institutions of higher learning shall enjoy academic freedom.

(3) The study of the Constitution shall be part of the curricula in all schools.

(4) All educational institution shall aim to inculcate love of country, teach the duties of citizenship, and
develop moral character, personal discipline, and scientific, technological, and vocational efficiency.

(5) The State shall maintain a system of free public, elementary education and, in areas where finances
permit, establish and maintain a system of free public education at least up to the secondary level.

(6) The State shall provide citizenship and vocational training to adult citizens and out-of-school youth, and
create and maintain scholarship for poor and deserving students.

(7) Educational institutions, other than those established by religious orders, mission boards, and charitable
organizations, shall be owned solely by citizens of the Philippines, or corporations or association sixty per
centum of the capital of which is owned by such citizens.

 The control and administration of educational institution shall be established exclusively for aliens,
and no group of aliens shall comprise more than one-third of the enrolment in any school. The
provisions of this sub-section shall not apply to schools established for foreign diplomatic personnel
and their dependents and, unless otherwise provided by law, for other foreign temporary residents.

(8) At the option expressed in writing by the parents or guardians, and w/o cost to them and the Government,
religion shall be taught to their children or wards in public elementary and high schools as may be provided
by law.

Presidential Decree # 603

THE CHILD AND YOUTH WELFARE CODE

Abounds with specific provisions for the welfare of the exceptional child.

ARTICLE 3: RIGHTS OF THE CHILD

 The emotionally disturbed or socially maladjusted child shall be treated with sympathy and
understanding, and shall be entitled to treatment and competent care.
 The physically or mentally handicapped child shall be given the education and care required by his
particular condition.

ARTICLE 74

 Where needs warrant, there shall be at least special classes in every province, if possible, special
schools for the physically handicapped, the mentally retarded, the emotionally disturbed and
specially gifted.

Policy Statement on the Decade of the Filipino Child (1977-87)

Ferdinand Marcos said:

There are real obstacles to satisfactory quality of life which is the right of every young man and
woman. For the government to be able to provide equal protection and social justice to all, the impoverished,
the disabled, the illiterate, the out of school, and the disadvantaged children and youth must be provided
opportunities to a level that will be enable them to adequately enjoy the programs and reforms available to
all our people.

The International Year of Disabled Persons

In 1976, the General Assembly proclaimed 1981 as the International Year of Disabled Persons
(IYDP)*. It called for a plan of action at the national, regional and international levels, with an emphasis on
equalization of opportunities, rehabilitation and prevention of disabilities.

The theme of IYDP was "full participation and equality", defined as the right of persons with
disabilities to take part fully in the life and development of their societies, enjoy living conditions equal to
those of other citizens, and have an equal share in improved conditions resulting from socio-economic
development.

Other objectives of the Year included: increasing public awareness; understanding and acceptance
of persons who are disabled; and encouraging persons with disabilities to form organizations through which
they can express their views and promote action to improve their situation.
 A major lesson of the Year was that the image of persons with disabilities depends to an important
extent on social attitudes; these were a major barrier to the realization of the goal of full participation and
equality in society by persons with disabilities.

Status of Special Education in the Philippines

SPECIAL EDUCATION

 Refers to the arrangement of teaching procedure, adapted equipment and materials, accessible
settings, and other intervention design to address the needs of students with learning disabilities.

Article II, Section 17

 Provides that the states must give priority to the education

ARTICLE XIV, SECTION 1

 Guarantees that this education be accessible to all: appropriate steps must be taken.

Chapter II of the Magna Carta for disabled person, RA 7277

Section12: Mandates that the “states shall take into consideration the special requirements of disabled
persons in the formulation of educational policies and program.” on the other hand, learning institution are
encouraged “to take into account the special needs of disabled person with respect to the use of school
facilities, class schedule, physical education requirements, and other pertinent consideration.’’ specifically,
learning institution are encourage to provide “auxiliary services that will facilitate the learning process for
disabled persons.

Section 14: Provides that the states “shall establish, maintain and support complete, adequate in integrated
system of special education for the visually impaired, hearing impaired, mentally retarded persons and other
types of exceptional children in region of the country”

Priorities that still need strengthening:

 staff development
 Instructional materials development
 Administrative support including other form of supportive mechanism

Identify as most feasible sped program in the region:

 Self-contained classes in special education center

 Integration and itinerant teaching for blind
 Resource room service in regular schools

The Special education act of 2007 identifies 10 groups of children with special needs
 1. Gifted children and fast learners

2. Mentally handicapped/mentally retarded

3. Visually impaired

4. Hearing impaired

5. Children with behavior problem

6. Orthopedically handicapped

7. Children with special health problem

8. Children with learning disabilities (perceptual handicapped, brain injury, minimal brain dysfunction,
dyslexia and developmental aphasia)

9. Speech impaired

10. Person with autism

Ultimate goal of special education in public school

 Is the integration or mainstreaming of learner with special needs into the regular school system and
eventually in the community.
 Out of 84.4 million Filipinos, approximately 5.486 million (13%) are individuals with special needs.
Around 4.8% are provided with appropriate education services, but the 95.2% of those with
exceptionalities are unserved.

In year 1995-1996

About 80,000 special needs children enrolled

In S.Y 2004-2005

156, 270 enrolled, 77, 152 were mentally gifted and 79,188 were children with disabilities

• 40, 260 learning disabilities

• 11, 597 hearing impaired
• 2,670 visually impaired
• 12,456 intellectually disabled
• 5,112 behavior issues
• 760 orthopedically disabled
• 5,172 children with autism
• 912 speech defectives
• 142 chronically ill
 • Children with cerebral palsy

Sped schools in Caraga

1. Butuan City SPED

2. Buenavista
3. Kitcharaw SPED Elementary
4. San Francisco Pilot SPED-Agusan del Sur
5. Bislig City SPED
6. Tandag SPED
7. Sta. Irene Central SPED
8. Talisay Elementary school sped
9. Talacogon Central SPED os- operations system
10. Sta. Irene Central SPED
11. Surigao del Norte NHS

Inclusive education for children with special needs

Inclusion

 Describes the process by which a school accepts children with special needs for enrolment in regular
classes where they can learn side by side with their peers.
 It means implementing and maintaining warm and accepting classroom communities that embrace
and respect diversity of differences.

Inclusions may:

1. Implements a multilevel, multimodality curriculum

2. Prepares regular teachers and special education teachers to teach interactively

3. Provides continuous support for teachers to break down barriers of professional isolation.

Part II- Nature, Causes, and Psychological Considerations of Handicapped Children

A. VISUALLY IMPAIRED

1. THE VISUALLY IMPAIRED

Nature of the Visually Impaired

1. The visually impaired are those whose central visual acuity is 20/200 less in the better eye with the
correcting glasses.
2. Visually impaired children are considered to be more like normally seeing children than different
from them.
The visually impaired, though with visual limitations, are basically children with the same needs of
belonging, acceptance, achievement, self-actualization, opportunity for learning and encouragement to
grow and gain independence as the normally-seeing children.

2. CAUSES OF VISUAL IMPAIRMENT

1. Prenatal causes:
 Congenital
coloboma - an incomplete formation of the peripheral area of the retina
retinitis pigmentosa - a degeneration of the retina
diabetic retinophaty - an interference of blood supply to the retina

Coloboma

Diabetic Retinopathy

-improper functioning of the muscles of the eye

Strabismus (crosseyedness)
Nystagmus (rapid involuntary movement of the eyes)

Infectious disease
- rubella
- syphilis
- gonorrhea

Gonorrhea Syphillis

Rubella Strabismus

2. Postnatal causes
 Retrolental fibroplasia –is due to over exposure of premature babies to oxygen resulting in
the malformation of the blood vessels of the eyes.
 Glaucoma- is due to the gradual buildup of pressure inside the eye which destroys the
retina and optic nerve.

Glaucoma
  Cataract- is the clouding of the lens of the eye due to old age, metabolic disturbance of
certain drugs and poisons, illness or injury.

result of the error of refraction

- myopia or nearsightedness
- hyperopia or farsightedness
- astigmatism or blurred vision

3. Accidents/trauma
eye injury caused by pointed objects, scissors, pencils and oher sharp objects

Overexposure to:
- sunlight
- eclipses
- reflection of snow
-intense flash of electricity/short circuit
Other causes:
 heredity
 premature birth
 malnutrition
 RH factor/blood incompability
 brain damage due to illness (meningitis)
 eye infections

3. IDENTIFICATION/ ASSESSMENT
The identification of VI children in regular classes is often dependent upon the referral made by the
classroom teacher. Following are some of the common behavioral manifestations among this children:
 attempts to wash away blur
 holds the book far away from the face when reading
 holds the book close to the eye when reading or keep face close to the page
 holds the body tense when looking at distant objects
 blinks more than usual or is irritable when doing close work
 rubs the eye excessively
 screws up the face when looking at distant objects
 thrusts the head forward in an effort to see distant objects
 Eye is over sensitive to light
 shuts or covers one eye when reading
 tilts the head to one side when reading
 shows reversal tendencies in reading
 stumbles or trips over objects when playing or working
  unable to distinguish color and lacks normal curiosity to visually-appealing objects
 complains of dizziness, headache, or nausea following close eye work

4. CHARACTERISTICS OF THE VISUALLY IMPAIRED:

1. Physical
 poor posture and unnatural gait
 presence of abnormalities in the area of the eyes
 restriction in mobility and spatial orientation

2. Intellectual / Learning Characteristics

 The intellectual development of the VI who are not mentally handicapped in the same as that of the
sighted.
 The lack of normal visual stimulation may retard mental growth and development, but an effective
program of remediation make up for the developmental lag.
 Any intellectual deficiency w/c accompanies visual impairment is due to the uncompensated
limitation of sensory input and mobility.

3. Social and Emotional Characteristics

 extremely dependent
 inferior
 fearful
 unduly sensitive
 easily discouraged
 self-conscious

5. DIAGNOSOIS
One of the routine services of a regular school must be a regular screening program. It is done for the
prevention of more serious visual defects. Referrals may be made in view of medical services and facilities.

6. TOOLS FOR DIAGNOSIS

1. Pre-Screening Device for Filipino Blind Children. A checklist on the behavioural characteristics of
visually impaired children.
2. Snellen Chart. Used to test visual acuity.
3. Crude test for degree of vision. Preparing specific tasks to elicit information on residual vision
4. Ophthalmological Instruments. Designed to comprehensively test visual irregularities

7. SCREENING PROCEDURES

1. Location of the visually impaired children

2. Pre-screening
3. Medical Screening
4. Sociological Screening
 5. Mental Ability Screening

 Filipino Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children

 Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale
 Haptic Intelligence Scale for Blind Adult
 Raven’s Progress Matrices
 Vineland Social Maturity Scale

8. CLASSIFICATION OF VISUALLY IMPAIRED CHILDREN

1. Age at Onset of Blindness

Consequently blind
 Those who were born blind or acquired blindness before the age of five.
 They may have no experience on visual imagery or may have retained very little of it, including
memory of color.

Adventitiously blind
 Those who lost their vision from 6 years or above.

2. For Educational purposes

Blind children
 These include those who have so little remaining vision that they must use braille as their reading
medium.

Partially seeing
 Those who retain a very low degree of vision and can read only enlarged print or those who have
remaining vision making it possible to read limited amounts of regular print under very special
conditions.

 Visual acuity up to 10/200 would be unable to read headlines of a newspaper but would be
expected to have some travel vision.
 Visual acuity up to 20/200 would be unable to count fingers at a distance of 3 feet.
 Visual acuity of 20/200 would be able to read a 10 point type but insufficient vision for daily
activities for which vision is essential.

3. Degree of Visual acuity

 Total blindness of light perception or visual acuity up to but not including 20/200 would be unable to
perceive motion or hand movement at a distance of 3 feet.

 Motion or form perception or visual acuity up to 5/200 would be unable to count fingers at a
distance of 3 feet.

9. LEGAL DEFINITION OF BLINDNESS

The blind are those who have a visual acuity of 20/200 or less in the better eye after maximum correction or
who have a visual field which subtends an angle of 20 degrees or less in the widest diameter.

B. THE HEARING IMPAIRED

1. THE NATURE OF HEARING IMPAIRED (HI)

Hearing impaired children have often been referred to as either deaf or hand-of-hearing. Deaf
children are those who do not have sufficient residual hearing to enable them to understand speech
successfully without special instruction. On the other hand, great difficulty to communicate by speech and
hearing.
Even without the two main types of hearing impaired children, each still differs greatly due to varied
factors such as the age of onset of deafness, the severity and type of hearing loss, the auditory and
language environment of the child, the amount and quality of training, the use of residual hearing, and
intelligence.
Furthermore, hearing impairment is not only the handicap of not being able to hear. It compasses
emotional problems, problems in socialization, in learning disabilities, and in the general day-by-day
experience only a hearing impaired can comprehend.

Classification of Hearing Impaired

Deaf
are those who do not have sufficient residual hearing to enable them to understand speech
successfully without special instruction
Hard-of-hearing
have hearing impairments mild enough for them to learn without great difficulty to communicate by
speech and hearing.

Factors that cause deaf and hard-of-hearing children differ to each other:
 the age of onset of deafness
 the severity and type of hearing loss
 the auditory and language environment of the child
 the amount and quality of training
 the use of residual hearing
 intelligence

Helen Keller’s description of deafness:

“The problems of deafness are deeper and more complex. It is a much worse misfortune for it
means the loss of the most vital stimulus, the sound of the voice that brings language, sets thoughts astir,
and keeps us in the company of man.”
 2. CAUSES OF DEAFNESS
Prenatal Causes
 Toxic conditions
 viral diseases – mumps, influenza, German measles (rubella)
 congenital malformation such as: lack/closure of the external canal of the ear, ossification of the
three little bones in the ear and the oval window

Mumps
Rubella
Perinatal Causes
 Traumatic experience during delivery as: pelvic pressure or injury, use of forceps and intracranial
hemorrhage
 anoxia or lack of oxygen due to prolonged labor
 heavy sedation
 blockage of the infant’s respiratory passage

Postnatal Causes
Diseases/ailments/conditions
 meningitis
 external otitis (inflammation of the outer ear)
 otitis media (often characterized by running/discharging ear(s) or the infection of the middle ear)
 impacted or hardened earwax (cerumen) which may lead to infection

Meningitis External Otitis

Otitis Media
External Otitis

Accidents/trauma
 falls
 head bumps
 over exposure to high frequency sounds and extreme loud explosions
  puncturing of eardrum
 difference in pressure between air outside and that one inside the middle ear, due to changes in
altitude
 undrained water in the ear due to frequent swimming

Other Causes
 heredity
 prematurity
 malnutrition
 Rh factor = blood incompatibility of parents
 overdosage of medicine

3. IDENTIFICATION OF HEARING IMPAIRED

Characteristic of Hearing Impaired
 Has no outer ear(s)
 Has discharging ear(s)
 Has closed ear canal(s)
 Has Chronic Catarrhal condition
Has no outer ear(s)

Microtia

Has closed ear canal(s)

Has discharging ear(s)

Drainage of substances/liquids with varied colors and consistency from the ear canal
Causes:
• Ear infections
• Trauma
• Swimmer’s ear

Has discharging ear(s)

Catarrh
 Is a disease of the mucous membrane of the nasal passages.
  Is an excessive build-up of thick phlegm or mucus in an airway or cavity of the body.

This can lead to:

 a blocked and stuffy nose
 A runny nose or mucus that runs down the back of your throat.
 Persistent cough
 Facial pain
 Temporary, partial hearing loss and a crackling sensation in your middle ear
 A loss of smell and taste

LEARNING CHARACTERISTICS
 Cups hands behind the ears to catch sound
 Cocks ear/tilts head at an angle
 Shows strained expression when listening
 Pays more attention to vibration and vibrating objects.
 Moves closer to the speaker when talk to
 Makes use of more natural gestures, signs and movements to express himself
 Shows marked imitativeness at work/play
 Fails to respond to oral questions
 Often ask for repetition of questions/statements
 Has blank facial expression when talked to
 Often unable to follow oral directions/instructions
 Has difficulty in associating concrete with abstract ideas
 Has poor general learning performance

Speech/language characteristics
 Usually has no speech
 -if he has speech, he:
 Tends to speak in words rather than in sentences
 Talks in sentences with improper word order
 Is particularly poor in spelling
 Is particularly poor in dictation
 Talks with poor rhythm
 Has limited vocabulary
 Tends to have articulatory problems, like omission, addition, substitution, distortion, and others
 has poor reading ability

4. TOOLS FOR DIAGNOSIS

1. Intellectual/Mental Ability Tests

 Arthur Point Scale of Performance

 Pintner-Paterson Performance Scale
 Wechler Intelligence Scale for Children
 Hisky-Nebraska Test of Learning Aptitude
 Philippine Mental Ability Test
 Philippine Non-Verbal Intelligence Test
Arthur Point Scale Performance
 The scale was developed in response to a need for a performance scale for general use in clinical
work. It has long been recognized that the inclusion of performance (nonverbal) test in
psychological examination is of vital importance in getting a truer picture of the individual’s ability.

Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children

 Wechler defined intelligence as an individual’s ability to adapt and constructively solve problems in
the environment. It is significant that Wechler viewed intelligence not in terms of capacity, but
rather, in term of performance.

Hiskey-Nebra Test of Learning Aptitude

The Hiskey-Nebraska test of learning is a nonverbal test to ascertain ability in children with language
problems; topics include memory test, bead stringing, drawing completion, picture identification and puzzle
blocks.

Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test

The Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, revised edition (PPVT-R) “measures an individual’s
receptive (hearing) vocabulary for Standard American English and provides, at the same time, a quick
estimate of verbal ability or scholastic aptitude”(Dunn and Dunn,1981)
Philippine Non-Verbal Intelligence Test
The Comprehensive Test of Nonverbal Intelligence is an intelligence test that measures nonverbal
reasoning. The purpose of this test is to isolate and assess a student’s visual learning skills.
Nonverbal intelligence tests in general, assessments attempt to remove language barriers in the
estimation of a student’s intellectual aptitude.

Philippine Mental Ability Test

2. Personality Test
 Goodenough Draw-a-Man Test
 Vineland Social Maturity Scale
 Bender Visual Motor Gestalt Scale
 Gessell Developmental Scale

Goodenough Draw-a-Man Test

a brief test for assessing a person’s level of intelligence based on how accurately drawn and how
many elements are included when a child or adult is given a pencil and sheet of white paper and asked to
draw a man, the best man he or she is able to draw. Also called the Goodenough draw-a-person test and,
in its current from, the Goodenough-Harris drawing test.

Vineland Social Maturity Scale

Assesses personal and social skills, social competence or social maturity, also known as adaptive
behaviour, in individuals from birth to adulthood. The test is administered during an interview with the
parent of the child present.
The test consist s of 8 subscales measuring: communication; general self; help ability;
locomotion;occupation; self-direction;self-help eating; self-help dressing , and socialization.

Bender Visual Motor Gestalt Scale

a psychological test used by neurologists and clinical psychologists to measure a person’s ability to
visually copy a set of geometric designs; useful for measuring visuospatial and visuomotor coordination to
detect brain damage.
Gesell Developmental Scale
a measure of child development devised by the American child psychologist and pediatrician
Arnold Gesell (1880-1961) who founded the Clinic Development at Yalle in 1911 and directed it for many
years.
The Gesell Developmental Schedules are a gauge of the status of a child’s motor and language
development and personal-social and adaptive behaviors.

3. Auditory Tests:
The degree of hearing loss may be determined through formal, informal or non-formal/ crude means.
Formal
 Tuning fork test
 Pure Tone Audiometry
Non-formal
 Careful Observation
 Conversational Live-Voice Test
 Whisper Test
 Coin-Click test
 Use of Noisemakers

5. SCREENING PROCEDURES
1. Conversational live-voice test

 Place the child 15-20 feet away from the examiner. The examiner asks simple questions, moving
closer and closer until the child can give the answer.
 If the child has difficulty in hearing at 10-20 feet he is a suspect of having a hearing and should be
referred for further evaluation.
2. Whisper Test

 The child is placed 2-5 feet away with his back facing the examiner.
 The examiner may use numbers/ words that familiar to the child and asks him to repeat them.
 If he repeats most of the numbers/ words, he may have normal hearing
3. Coin-click Test

 Place the child 6-10 feet away with his back facing the examiner. The examiner tosses a coin and
asks the child to raise his right hand every time he hears the clicking of the coin.

4. Noisemakers Test

 The following noisemakers may be used for testing: a drum for low frequency, a middle-size bell for
middle frequency, and a whistle for high frequency.
 The room is marked off in one foot space intervals from the child. While the child is kept busy with
the toys in one corner or in the middle of the room, each noisemaker is sounded at the marked
points.
 The nearest point at which the child responds should be indicated .The principle is :
 The shorter the distance between the source of sound and the child, the more severe is the
hearing loss.

5. Tuning fork Test

 Tuning represents different frequencies/tones. The bigger the fork, the lower the tone, and vice-
versa.
 The prongs of the tuning fork are made to vibrate and as they are vibration, the tip of the handle is
placed on the mastoid bone (directly behind the ear) of the child being tested. The hearing loss is
indicated in the audiogram.

6. Pure-tone audiometry
 The most scientific and accurate method of determining the hearing of persons suspected of
having hearing losses, is an air-bone conduction test using a pure-tone audiometer.
 The number of dB loss registered by each ear at different frequencies
 (H-M-L) is plotted in a graph called audiogram.
 Audiometric testing is available in some special education centers, clinic and hospitals in Manila,
Cebu, Davao, and other key cities of the country.

7. CLASSIFICATION OF HEARING IMPAIRED CHILDREN

Hearing impairment can be classified according to age at onset, language development; place of
impairment and degree of hearing loss.
1. According to age at onset of deafness

Congeniality deaf - those who were born deaf

Adventitiously deaf - those who were born with normal hearing and became deaf throuh accident or illness.

2. According to language development

Prelingually deaf - those who were born deaf or lost hearing before speech and language were developed.
Postlingually deaf - those who lost their hearing after the development of spontaneous speech and
language.

According to place of impairment

1.Conductive hearing loss - hearing impairment due to interference in the transmission of sound to and
through the sense organ; usually in the outer or middle ear.
2. Sensory - neural hearing loss- impairment due to the abnormality of the inner ear or the auditory nerve,
or both.
3. Mixed hearing loss - a combination of the conductive and sensory-neural hearing loss; sometimes called
a “flat loss” as depicted in the audiogram.
4. According to degree of hearing loss
Scale of Degrees of Hearing Loss

Classification Degree of Loss

Slight 27-40 dB
Mild 41-55 dB
Moderate 56-70 dB
Severe 71-90 dB
Profound 91 dB or more
 C. THE INTELLECTUALLY DISABLED/ MENTALLY IMPAIRED

1. NATURE OF MENTALLY RETARDED

Mental Retardation is commonly referred to as general learning disability. This term encompasses all levels
of sub-normal intellectual functioning. It also includes the entire range of individuals who score significantly
below average on intelligence tests and who’s consistently below average general performance cannot be
attributed to sensory disabilities and/or emotional problems.

2. CAUSES OF MENTAL RETARDATION

1. Cultural Familial
 Caution is due to complex interaction between environmental and hereditary factors.

2. Organic Causes
 Chromosomal defects like an extra chromosome which may produce mongolism or down
syndrome;
 Genetic defects which result in metabolic disturbances, incompatibility of blood chemistry between
parents or parents and child;
  Glandular disorder which result in cretinism.

3. IDENTIFICATION/ ASSESSMENT: CHARACTERISTICS

1. Physical
 Usually smaller in stature than so-called normal and weights slightly less;
 Has higher incidence of physical defects;
 Shows poor motor coordination;
 The mongoloid has slit eyes, round face and stubby extremities.
 He is stocky in the back of his head is generally flat.

2. Intellectual /learning
 Poor memory particularly short-term memory
 Limited ability to understand cause and effect
 Faulty concept formation
 Inaccurate perception
 Impoverished language
 Difficulty in making generalizations

3. Social- emotional
 Manifests perseveration
 Behavior is on either extreme, such as overly aggressive or withdrawn
 Hyperkinetic
 Sociable and exhibits adoptive behavior to the demands of the environment but has difficulty in
delaying gratification.

4. TOOLS FOR DIAGNOSIS

Medical
 Physical examination- recommended where physical defects mat interfere with learning
 Neurological examination- recommended where brain damage or injury may affect the learning
process

Intellectual assessment
 Philippine non-verbal intelligence test (PNIT) - this is recommended with children between 5 and
13 years old. It can be used with nonreaders and can be administered individually.
 Otis Lenon mental ability test (OLMAT) –this is recommended for children in the primary grades. It
can be administered individually to non-readers.
 Raven’s standard progress matrices- this refers to a non-verbal test for children which can be
administered individually or in group
 Chicago non-verbal examination- it is designed for use with individuals from 6 years and above and
maybe given individually or in group.
 Arthur point scale of performance – this consists of a set of five performance test with norms based
on CA and MA
 Peabody picture vocabulary test- it is a non-verbal test used for children from 2 ½ years and above
  Good enough draw-a-man test- it is a performance test which reveals a child’s accuracy of
observation and development of conceptual thinking

Personality assessment
 Vineland social maturity scale- this is an inventory of social skills which indicates maturity level of
young children.
 Gesell developmental schedules- it indicates the child’s developmental schedule from 0-6 years

Perceptual assessment
 Auditory discrimination test- it is used for children, ages 5-8 years, to examine their ability to detect
likeness and differences in sound
 Bender visual-motor gestalt test- it is recommended to assess visual-motor functioning in relation
to maturation from 5 years and above.

Educational assessment
 Metropolitan readiness test form a – it is used with kindergarten pupils to indicate readiness in
language and numbers.
 Reading readiness test
 Teacher-made diagnostic test
 Task analysis approach- a descriptive approach to describing behaviour which does not require
speculating or hypothesizing as to the cause of performance problems
 Observational techniques such as learning behaviour checklist and rating scales

General procedure of diagnosis

 Determine the child’s learning disability through referrals or observation
 Measure the child’s present achievement through teacher-made test
 Analyze how the child learns by recognizing his learning modalities, strength and weakness
 Explore why the child is not learning through psych-educational evaluation and case history
 Collate and interpret data and formulate a diagnostic hypothesis
 Develop a plan of action. Revise and modify it is as the child moves along.

Diagnosing Mental Retardation

Doctors have found many causes of mental retardation. The most common are:
 Genetic conditions. Sometimes mental retardation is caused by abnormal genes inherited from
parents, errors when genes combine, or other reasons.
 Problems during pregnancy. Mental retardation can result when the baby does not develop inside
the mother properly.
 Problems at birth. If a baby has problems during labor and birth, such as not getting enough
oxygen, he or she may have mental retardation.
 Health problems. Diseases like whooping cough, the measles, or meningitis can cause mental
retardation. Mental retardation can also be caused by extreme malnutrition (not eating right), not
getting enough medical care, or by being exposed to poisons like lead or mercury.

Mental retardation is not a disease. You can’t catch mental retardation from anyone. Mental
retardation is also not a type of mental illness, like depression. There is no cure for mental retardation.
However, most children with mental retardation can learn to do many things. It just takes them more time
and effort than other children.
What Are the Signs of Mental Retardation?

There are many signs of mental retardation. For example, children with mental retardation may:
 Sit up, crawl, or walk later than other children;
 Learn to talk later, or have trouble speaking,
 Find it hard to remember things.
 Not understand how to pay for things.
 Have trouble understanding social rules.
 Have trouble seeing the consequences of their actions.
 Have trouble solving problems, and/or
 Have trouble thinking logically.

5. DEVELOPMENTAL CHARACTERISTICS OF MENTALLY RETARDED

Degree MR Pre-school age 0-5 Maturation and Development

Mild Can develop social and communication skills; minimal retardation in sensorimotor
areas; often not distinguished from normal until later age.
Mode-rate Can talk or learn to communicate poor social awareness; fair motor development;
profits from training in self-help, can be managed with moderate supervision.
Severe Poor motor development; speech is minimal; generally unable to profit from training
in self-help, little or no communication skills.
Pro-found Gross retardation, minimal capacity for functioning sensorimotor areas; needs
nursing care.
School Age 6-20 Training and Education
Mild Can learn academic skills up to approximately sixth grade level by late teens. Can
be guided towards social conformity “educable”.
Mode-rate Can profit from training in school and occupational skills; unlikely to progress
beyond second grade in academic subjects: may learn to travel alone in familiar
places.
Severe Can talk or learn to communicate; can be trained in elemental health habits; profits
from systematic habit training.
Pro-found Some motor development present; may respond to minimum limited training in self-
help.
Adult 21 and over School and Vocational
Mild Can usually achieve social and vocational skills adequate to minimum self-support
but may need guidance and assistance when under unusual social or economic
stress.
Mode-rate May achieve self-maintenance in skilled work under sheltered conditions; needs
supervision and guidance when under mild or social economic stress.
Severe May contribute partially to self-maintenance under complete supervision; can
develop self-protection skills useful level in controlled environment.
Pro-found Some motor and speech development may achieve very limited self-care needs
nursing care.
 6. DEVELOPMENT OF THE MENTALLY RETARDED
Mildly retarded
Unable to profit sufficiently from the program of the regular elementary school, but who considered to have
potentialities for development in three areas :

1. educability in academic subjects of the school at a minimum level;

2. educability in social adjustment to a point where he can get along independently in the community;
3. Minimal occupational adequacies to such a degree that he can later support himself partially or totally at
the adult level.

Moderately retarded
Who are not educable in the field academic achievement, ultimate social adjustment independently in the
community, or independent occupational adjustment at the adult level but have
potentialities for leaning:

1. self-help skills
2.Social adjustment in the family and in the neighborhood
3. economic usefulness in the home, in the residential school or in a sheltered workshop.

Severely retarded
Who can talk and learn to communicate and can be trained in elemental health habits and may contribute partially to
self-maintenance under complete supervision; and can develop self-protection skills to a minimal useful level in
controlled environment.

Profoundly retarded
Those who have severe mental retardation, are unable to be trained in total self-care, socialization, or economic
usefulness and who need continued help in taking care of his personal needs throughout life.

D. THE PHYSICALLY IMPAIRED

1. NATURE OF DISABILITY
The physically handicapped are those with impairments that are temporary or permanent which could be
paralysis, stiffness or lack of motor coordination of bones, muscles or joints so that they need special
equipment and/or help in moving about.

Crippling disabilities come in many forms. Almost always, certain conditions are bound to appear. These
include the following:
The impairment of the bone and muscle systems making mobility and manual dexterity difficult and/or
impossible as in the amputees and those with severe fractures:
 The impairment of the nerve and muscle systems making mobility awkward and uncoordinated as
in cerebral palsy; and
 The deformities and/or absence of body organs and system necessary for mobility like in the case
of the club-foot and paraplegics.
  It is evident that orthopedic handicaps, dysfunctions of the neuro-muscular system and congenital
deformities are contributory factors into the making of the group of exceptional children called the
crippled.
 Just like the visually impaired and hearing impaired, the crippled are physically handicapped and
must be the object of special education.

2. CAUSES OF IMPAIREMENT
Prenatal Factors
 these include factors before and after conception virtually lasting up to the first trimester and /or the
third trimester of life. Specifically, these include the following:
Genetic or chromosomal-aberrations due to incompatibility of the Rh factors.
 there is a transfer of defective genes from parent to offspring.
Prematurity
 this refers to the untimely birth of the fetus before the 9th month of pregnancy.
Infection
 this refers to the effects of bacteria or virus on the fetus in the womb of the mother, the germs
usually come from highly communicable diseases like rubella and venereal disease.
Malnutrition
 this refers to the insufficient intake of food nutrients necessary to sustain the growth and
development of the fetus and its mother.
 Irradiation
 Metabolic Disturbance
 Drug Abuse

Prenatal factors
 during the period of birth.
 Birth Injuries
 Difficulty Labor
 Hemorrhage

Postnatal factors
 after birth
 Infections
 Tumor and Abscess in the brain
 Fractures and Dislocations
 Tuberculosis of the bones
 Cerebrovascular injuries

3. IDENTIFICATION AND ASSESSMENT OF PHYSICALLY IMPAIRED

The procedures to be followed in the identification and/or assessment of the crippled are as follows:
1. observation of the subject through the use of observation checklist.
2. actual testing to determine the IQ and personality characteristics of the identified subjects.
3. Interpretation of text results; and
4. prescription for teaching purposes.
 4. CHARACTERISTICS OF PHYSICAL IMPAIRED
1. Physical
 Limping
 Walk with difficulty, typically because of a damaged or stiff leg or foot.

 Abnormal gait
 is a deviation from normal walking.

 Incorrect Posture

 Deformities of Extremities
 Uncontrolled movement of extremities
 Undeveloped extremities
 Hypoactivity
 Absence of limb
2. Intellectual Learning
 generally has slow mental develop.
 Delayed or labored speech
 Low academic achievements
 Difficulty in certain subjects like P.E

3. Social/ Emotional
 feelings of inadequacy, dependency and low self-esteem.
 Increased desire for attention, affection and protection
 is generally immature
 Has short attention span
 easily fatigued
 Lacks persistence
 introverted, that is his mind is turned inward

5. TOOLS FOR DIAGNOSIS

Diagnosis (Psycho-educational Method)
 This refers to the processes involved in the identification and/or assessment of the handicap,
impairment or disability.
Tools
 These refer to the instrument applicable to the identification of the various traits of crippled
children.

Porteus Mazes
 The examiner manipulates the test materials while subject by head or hand movement as the case
may be.
Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test
 This test permits the utilization of simple pointing response.
Columbia Mental Maturity Scale
 This a pictorial classification test of 92 items. Each containing a set of 3, 4, or 5 drawings printed
on a large card.
Raven’s Standard Progressive Matrices
 This refers to a non-verbal test for children which can be administered individually or in groups
Gesell Development Schedules
 It indicates the child’s development schedules from 0-6 years.
Vineland Social Maturity Scale
 This is an inventory of social skills which indicates maturity level of young children.
Goodenough Draw-A-Man Test
 It is a performance test which reveals the child’s accuracy of observation and development of
conceptual thinking.
Observation Checklist
 This is a checklist of the physical characteristics of the crippled of all types.
Medical
Physical Examination
 recommended where physical defects may interfere with learning.
Neurological Examination
 recommended where brain damage or injury may affect learning process.

6. CLASSIFICATION OF DISABILITY
Classification
- refers to the various groupings of crippled impairements.

Three major classifications have been identified as follows:

1. Orthopedic Impairment
- this refer to bone and muscular defects such as:
 Poliomyclitis- known as infantile paralysis caused by a virus.

 Osteomyelitis- tuberculosis of the bones and spines.

 Bone Fracture- breaks in the continuity of bone.

  Muscular Dystrophy- deterioration of the muscles of the body which is usually fatal.

2. Neuro- muscular impairments

 refer to the defects of the nerve and muscle systems of the body.

 Cerebral Palsy- characterized by non-progressive alteration of movement or motor

functioning of body parts amenable to voluntary control. Usually accompanied by
perceptual, sensory difficulties and intellectual retardation.

 Spasticity- refers to strong hyper-active reflexes and exaggeration of the stretch reflex in
the affected parts.

 Athetosis- it is a condition characterized by slow, worm-like involuntary, uncontrollable and

purposeless movements.
 Rigidity- characterized by the marked resistance of the muscles to passive motion.
 Atoxia- disturbance of balance and equilibrium resulting in a gait like that of a drunken
person.
 Tremyor- it is the involuntary trembling of the body or limbs.
 Mixed Type- characterized by the presence of traits mentioned in the preceding
categories.
 Erb’s Palsy- known as birth palsy w/c results in the paralysis of the muscles of the
shoulder, arm and hand.
  Congenitally crippled- refers to a grouping of crippled children who are usually suffering from
crippling conditions at birth.
 Clubfoot- the child is born with one or both feet deformed, usually with the feet and toes turned
inward, outward or upward often accompanied by webbed toes.

 Clubhand- the hands are affected.

 Polydactylism- the child is born with extra toes or fingers.

 Syndactylism- characterized by webbed fingers or toes.

E. AUTISM

1. COMMON SIGN OF AUTISM

What is Autism?
Autism (sometimes called “classical autism”) is the most common condition in a group of developmental
disorders known as the autism spectrum disorders (ASDs).
 Impaired social interaction
  Problems with verbal and non-verbal communication
 And unusual repetitive or severely limited activities and interest.

Common Signs of Autism

There are three distinctive behaviors that characterize autism.
 Autistic children have difficulties with social interaction
 Problems with verbal and nonverbal communication
 Repetitive behaviors or narrow, obsessive interest.

 Children with autism may fail to respond their name and often avoid eye contact with other people.

 Many children with autism engage in repetitive movements such as rocking and twirling, or in self-
abusive behavior such as biting or head-banging.

 Many children with autism have reduced sensitivity to pain, but are abnormally sensitive to sound,
touch or other sensory stimulation.

 Children with autism appear to have a higher than a normal risk for certain co-existing conditions
including
1. fragile X syndrome (which causes mental retardation)
2. tuberous sclerosis (in which tumors grow on the brain)
3. epileptic seizures (can lead to brain damage)
4. tourette syndrome
5. learning disabilities
6. attention deficit disorder

Social communication and interaction

 Fails to respond to his or her name or appears not to hear you at times
 Resists cuddling and holding and seems to prefer playing alone — retreats into his or her own
world
 Has poor eye contact and lacks facial expression
 Doesn't speak or has delayed speech, or may lose previous ability to say words or sentences
 Can't start a conversation or keep one going, or may only start a conversation to make requests or
label items
 Speaks with an abnormal tone or rhythm — may use a singsong voice or robot-like speech
 May repeat words or phrases verbatim, but doesn't understand how to use them
 Doesn't appear to understand simple questions or directions
 Doesn't express emotions or feelings and appears unaware of others' feelings
 Doesn't point at or bring objects to share interest
 Inappropriately approaches a social interaction by being passive, aggressive or disruptive

Patterns of Behavior
 Performs repetitive movements, such as rocking, spinning or hand-flapping, or may perform
activities that could cause harm, such as head-banging
 Develops specific routines or rituals and becomes disturbed at the slightest change
 Moves constantly
  May be uncooperative or resistant to change
 Has problems with coordination or has odd movement patterns, such as clumsiness or walking on
toes, and has odd, stiff or exaggerated body language
 May be fascinated by details of an object, such as the spinning wheels of a toy car, but doesn't
understand the "big picture" of the subject
 May be unusually sensitive to light, sound and touch, and yet oblivious to pain
 Does not engage in imitative or make-believe play
 May become fixated on an object or activity with abnormal intensity or focus
 May have odd food preferences, such as eating only a few foods, or eating only foods with a
certain texture

2. HOW IS AUTISM DIAGNOSED

The fourth edition of the “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders” list the following diagnostic
criteria for autism:
1. Qualitative impairment in social interaction
a. Marked impairment in the use of multiple nonverbal behaviors.
b. Failure to develop peer relationships appropriate to developmental level.
c. A lack of spontaneous seeking to share enjoyment, interests, or achievements with other people.

2. Qualitative impairments in communication

a. Delay in, or total lack of, the development of spoken language.
b. In individuals with adequate speech, marked impairment in the ability to initiate or sustain a
conversation with others.
c. Stereotyped and repetitive use of language (idiosyncratic language).
d. Lack of varied, spontaneous make-believe play or social imitative play appropriate to the
developmental level.

3. Restricted, repetitive, and stereotyped of behavior, interests and activities.

a. Restricted patterns of interest that are abnormal in intensity or focus.
b. Inflexible adherence to specific routines or rituals.
c. Stereotypic and repetitive motor mannerisms.
d. Persistent preoccupation in with parts of objects.

Delays or abnormal functioning in at least one of the following areas, with onset prior to age 3 years:
1. social interaction
2. language as used in social communication symbolic or imaginative play

 Children with autistic behavior but well-developed language skills are often diagnosed with
Asperger syndrome.
 Children who developed normally and then suddenly deteriorate between the ages of 3 to 10 years
and show marked autistic behaviors may be diagnose with childhood disintegrative disorder.
 Doctors will often use questioner or other screening instrument to gather information about the
child’s development:
 a. Learn the Signs
 monitor the child unusual behaviors (failing to make eye-contact, not responding
to his/her name or playing the toys in unusual.
b. Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (CHAT)
 is a screening instrument which identifies children aged 18 months who are risk
of having social communication disorders.
 is a short questionnaire which is filled out by the parents and primary healthcare
worker at the 18 month development check-up.
c. Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers-Revised (M-CHAT-R)
 which administered to children 24 months of age who where recruited from the
special education programs in the U.S.
 this modified version eliminated the nurse-administered components and added
more parent question.
d. Screening Tool for Autism in Toddlers & Young Children (STAT)
 is an empirically derived, interactive measure such as activities key social and
communicative behaviors (imitation, play requesting, and directing attention).
e. Social Communication Questionnaire (SCQ)
 it consists of just forty yes-or-no question, which a parent can complete in
around ten times.
 it is a brief and easy to understand, yet provide valuable information on the
child’s body movements, use of language or gestures, and style of interacting.

Autism is a complex disorder. A comprehensive evaluation requires a multidisciplinary team including a

psychologist, neurologist, psychiatrist, and other professionals who diagnose children w/ ASDs.

Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R)

 is a structured interview conducted by a Psychologist w/ the parents of individuals.
 the interview covers the individual’s full development history, and generally takes one-two hours.
Asperger Syndrome Diagnostic Scale (ASDS)
 Is a quick, easy-to-use-rating scale that can help psychologists determine whether a child has a
ASDS.
 It is designed to identify ASDS in children ages 5 through 1, this instrument provides an Aspergers
Syndrome Quotient that tells the likelihood that an individual has ASDs.

Comprises from five specific areas of behavior

1. cognitive
2. maladaptive
3. language
4. social
5. sensorimotor

Asperger Syndrome
 individuals who exhibit many idiosyncritic behaviors, their speech is sometimes stilted and their
repetitive voice tends to be flat and emotionless.
 Persons with ASDS are usually obsessed with complex topics.
 F. OVERVIEW OF DYSLEXIA

1. COMMON SIGNS OF DYSLEXIA

What is Dyslexia?
 It is caused by an impairment in the brain’s ability to translate images received from the eyes or
ears into understandable language.
 It is not a result of vision and hearing problems. It is not due to mental retardation, brain damage or
lack of intelligence.
 Dyslexia is a disorder in children who despite conventional classroom experiences, fail to attain the
language skills of reading, writing and spelling commensurate with their intellectual abilities. (World
Federation of Neurologists)
 Dyslexia is a learning disability that can hinder a person’s ability to read, write, spell and
sometimes speak. (V.S. National Institute)

Common Signs of Dyslexia: Pre-School Children

 May talk later than most children.
 May have difficulty pronouncing words, i.e. “busgetti” for “spaghetti, “mawn lower” for “lawn mower”
 May be slow to add new vocabulary words.
 May have difficulty in rhyming.
 May have trouble learning the alphabet, numbers, days of the week, colors, shapes, how to spell
and write his or her name.
 May be unable to follow multi-step directions or routines.
 Fine motor skills may develop more slowly than in other children.

Common Signs of Dyslexia: K to Fourth Grades

 Has difficulty decoding single words (reading single words in isolation)
 Has difficulty spelling phonetically
 Letter reversals – “d” for “b” as in “dog” for “bog”
 Word reversals – “tip” for “pit”
 Inversions – “m” for “w”, “u” for “n”
 Transpositions – “felt” for “left”
 Substitutions – “house” for “home”
 May confuse small words – “at” for “to”, “said” for “and”, “does” for “goes”
 May have difficulty learning new vocabulary
 May transpose number sequences and confuses arithmetic signs ( + - x / =)
 May have trouble remembering facts
 May be slow to learn new skills; riles heavily on memorizing without understanding
 May have difficulty planning, organizing and managing time, materials and tasks
 Often uses an awkward pencil grip (fist, thumb booked fingers, etc.)

Common Signs of Dyslexia: Fifth to Eighth Graders

 May reverse letter sequences - “ soiled” for “solid”, “left” for “felt”
 May be slow to discern and to learn prefixes, suffixes, root words, and other reading and spelling
strategies
 May have difficulty in spelling; spells same word differently on the same page.
  May avoid reading aloud.
 May have trouble with word problems in Math
 May write with difficulty with illegible handwriting; pencil grip is awkward, fist-like or tight
 May avoid writing
 May have written composition
 May have slow or poor recall of facts
 May have difficulty with comprehension
 May have trouble with non-literal language (idioms, jokes, proverbs, slang)
 May have difficulty with planning, organizing and managing time, materials and tasks.

Common Signs of Dyslexia: High School to College Students

 May read very slowly with many inaccuracies
 Continues to spell incorrectly, frequently spells the same word differently in a single piece of writing
 May avoid reading and writing tasks
 May have trouble summarizing and outlining
 May have trouble answering open-ended questions on tests
 May have poor memory skills
 May work slowly
 May pay too little attention to details or focus too much on them
 May misread information
 May have an inadequate vocabulary
 May have an inadequate store of knowledge from previous reading
 May have difficulty with planning, organizing and managing time, materials and tasks

Part III- Education Program, Placement and Management for Children with Special
Needs

A. THE VISUALLY IMPAIRED

Visually Impaired
 Visual impairment (or vision impairment) is vision loss (of a person) to such a degree as to
qualify as an additional support need through a significant limitation of visual capability
resulting from either disease, trauma, or congenital or degenerative conditions that cannot be
corrected by conventional means, such as refractive correction or medication

1. TYPES OF PROGRAM
1. Itinerant teacher program
 in this plan, the child is sent to a regular school with seeing children. The regular teacher gets
information, special instruction and materials from the itinerant teacher.
The special education teacher’s responsibilities are:
1. To help the regular teacher outline the educational program for the child,
2. to secure appropriate materials, and
3. To give special instruction at specified periods.
2. Resource room plan
 Like the itinerant plan, this is a program whereby the education of the child is the cooperative work
of the special education teacher and the regular teacher. A resource room is provided in the school
where he needs help in order to keep up with work in the regular classroom. The visually impaired
child participates in the regular grade instruction as much as possible and returns to the resource
room for tutoring and reading when necessary.

3. Special class
 In this program, the visually impaired children are grouped together in a self-contained class. The
academic instruction is given by the special education teacher. Subjects like art physical education,
industrial arts and home economics are handled by teachers who have specialized in these fields.
The blind children join with the children of the regular classes in the out-of-classroom activities,
such as sports, dancing and other special activities.
4. Special education center
 This is an extension of the resource room, and itinerant plans wherein a separate building or
classroom functions as the site of the supplemental instruction and the repository for the various
braille materials and special equipment.

5. Special day school

 This is a special school for handicapped children in which the handicapped child is allowed to
return home after school hours. It permits the child to remain with his family and to enjoy the
benefits of living in the community.

6. Residential school
 In this boarding school, a blind child lives, studies and learns vocational skills such as massage,
piano tutoring and handicrafts. Special subjects such as orientation and mobility, braille reading
and writing are emphasized.

7. Homebound instruction
 This is a plan for visually impaired children who cannot go to school due to chronic diseases, like
prolonged tuberculosis, epilepsy and others; or those who are too young or immature for individual
integration into regular classes. The special education teacher visits him in the home for
individualized instruction.

2. CRITERIA FOR EDUCATIONAL PLACEMENT

1. The primary goal shall always be to keep the child as possible to the home, parents, neighbourhood and
friends.
2. Placements in a special class/school/residential school in the local community will be effected only:
 When the child is characterized by retarded mental development or mental deficiency;
 When multiple handicaps are present;
 When all avenues for placement in the regular grades have been exhausted; and
 When the needs of the child realistically dictate such segregated placement.
3. In the choice of the best plan or option for the visually impaired children, the following factors have to be
considered:
 Mental ability
  Severity/degree of handicapping conditions
 Social and personal adjustment
 Availability of programs/plans
 Access to the facility
 Regular class situation
 Availability of supportive personnel, special equipment, facilities and outside resources

3. CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT
The classroom shall be:
1. Wide enough for the VI to move about easily and to explore tactually
2. Far from sources of noise to prevent extraneous noise from entering the rooms since VI children
depend on auditory clues,
3. Free from obstacles to avoid constant bumps and falls

4. SPECIAL EQUIPMENT AND FACILITIES

Tactual aids
A braillwriter
 is manually –operated , six key machine which, as its name indicates, typesbraille

Slate and stylus

 Used to take notes, is easily carried in a pocket or on a clipboard. Slate is a metal frame with
openings through which braille dots are embossed with the aid of a pointed stylus.

Raised –line drawing board

 This is a rubber- covered board where the blind child draws or writes with a pen or similarly pointed
object, and feels the lines as they are made.

Cubarithm slate
 This aid enables the bind child to do mathematics using standard braille characters.
 Cubes with raised braille notation fit into square recesses in a waffle-like frame.

Abacus
 This is especially adapted for the blind and may be used in number activities

Raised line paper

 it allow student to write a script “on the line” or to maneuver a graph either by place makers onto
the graph paper or by punching holes to indicate specific point

Templates and writing guides.

 these are open rectangular forms made out cardboard, plastic or metal, which allows signatures or
other information be written within their boundaries.

Braille books and other instructional devices

  These are provided by the Philippines printing house for the blind of the mecs, braille books, slates,
stylus and other instructional materials are supplied to the especial education teacher upon
request.

5. AUDITORY AIDS
1. Cassette tape recorders.
 Used in taking notes, listening to record text or formulating compositions or writing
assignments.

2. Talking books and other recording programs.

6. OPTIONAL AIDS

 Eyeglasses with special prescription

 Magnifiers
 Telescopic aids.

7. EDUCATIONAL SUPPORT SERVICES

1. Professional and volunteer services
OPTHAMOLOGIST
 A physicians who specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of ill diseases of the eye by prescribing
drugs and glasses, performing surgery and other types of treatment.
OPTOMETRIST
 a licenced non-medical practitioner who measures refractive errors( irregularities in the size or
shape of the eyeball or surface of the cornea) and eye muscle disturbances.
ORIENTATION AND MOBILITY SPECIALIST
 The specialist teaches students to familiarize themselves with new surroundings and to travel
independently, both indoors and outdoors.
PARENTS
 They can be easily effective in supplementing the efforts of the school to provide the visually
handicapped child with well-rounded educational experiences.
DIRECT READER
 A reader may be needed for materials which may not be available in braille like highly technical
sciences text, catalogues, references or library studies, periodicals, etc.

COMMUNITY LINKAGES
 MSSD-Ministry of Social Services and Development
 DSSD
 NOH- National Orthopedic Hospital
 National Power and Youth Council
 Ministry of Health/DOH
 Philippine Eye Research Institute
 Jaycees
 Rotary Cub
  Religious organization
 Other civic clubs in the community

B. THE HEARING IMPAIRED

1. TYPES OF PROGRAM
2. MODIFIED CASCADES FOR THE HEARING IMPAIRED
3. CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT
 The HI should be seated the front seat.
 The teacher should see to it that there is enough light so that the child can have a clear view of the
face.
 The preferable room in which reverberation of internal and external room noises is reduced to a
minimum.

4. SPECIAL EQUIPMENT AND FACILITIES

Audiometer
 It is an instrument that accurately measures the hearing loss of a person.
Auditory training materials
 drum, bell ,tape recorder ,hearing aids and etc.
Speech and language materials
 Speechtrainer
 Sign language handbook

5. EDUCATIONAL SUPPORT SERVICES

To help the HI child develop speech and language, the following may be employed
 Tutorial services
 Speech reading and auditory training
 Training in sign language
 Educational interpreting

C. THE MENTALLY RETARDED

The educational development of the mentally retarded follows the same general pattern as that of the
average child; however, he needs more time to learn new materials at different stages of his development.

1. TYPES OF PROGRAM
Integration
A more practical program should be given more emphasis rather than a traditional one. Integration of the
MR into classes for normal children is a placement scheme that has been found beneficial to both tyes of
children. Integration can be:
Full Integration
Partially Integration
Reverse Integration

Other programs that may be adopted are the following:

Special Class
Upgraded Special Class
 This consists of a small young group of mildly retarded children (6-15) who are widely divergent.
Grade labels are eliminated and each pupil works at his own pace.

Homogeneous Special Class

 Popularly known as the self-contained special class. This is recommended for a small group of
mildly retarded children whose chronological and mental ages are more or less similar.

Itinerant Teacher Program

 This refers to a compromise program for mildly and moderately retarded children in which the
SPED teacher moves from school to school on an itinerant schedule.
Special Day School
Residential Schools
Head Start

Criteria for Integration

 Selective placement necessitates the careful and complete assessment of the abilities and
limitations of the child, his home and community, by professionally qualified persons representing
numerous discipline. The ultimate recommendation of an evaluation team regarding the child’s
optimum educational achievement in terms of the realistic opportunities is the primordial basis of
his grade placement;
 High level of understanding of the nature and needs of the MR to be served among regular
teachers and administrators;
 Availability of support services.

2. CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT
 In the self-contained classroom, a time-out area and reinforcement area shall be reserved. The
former is a place where the child may temporarily stay to normalize his unmanageable behavior;
the latter is a part of the classroom where the child may stay, if he wants to do an activity which
does not involve the whole class. In this area he has access to a variety of reinforcements.
 There shall be a resource room to provide for adaptability and flexibility to facilitate learning.

3. SPECIAL EQUIPMENT AND MATERIALS

4. EDUCATIONAL SUPPORT

D. THE PHYSICALLY IMPAIRED

 1. TYPES OF PROGRAM
1. Regular Class
 Have physical impairments that are only mildly handicapping, correctible, periodic or can be
controlled.
 Have little or no impairment in intellectual functioning and no severe learning disabilities;
 Do not need extreme modification of physical facilitates and equipment; and
 Require no drastic curriculum revisions to content, type of education experiences, length of time
spent in schooling / ultimate goals.

2. Hospital School- generally admits the physically handicapped with normal or near-normal intelligence.

3. Sheltered-care facilities- normal or near-normal children with severe physical handicaps who cannot be
taken care of at home are provided and offered education in this center.

4. Special school or classes

5. Remedial teacher Programs- offer remediation for special learning disabilities.

6. Pre- School Program- design to:

 Develop motor abilities
 Develop language and speech esp. among children with cerebral palsy
 Develop the psychological factors of visual and auditory perception, discrimination and memory.
 Develop social and emotional adequacy in the child at home and in school.
7. Integration- the handicapped child learns better in the “least restrictive environment”.

2. CRITERIA FOR EDUCATIONAL PLACEMENT

In selecting the program for physically handicapped, the ff. factors shall be considered.
1. mental ability
2. social and personal adjustment
3. availability of program
4. access of facility
5. regular class situation
6. availability of support personnel and special equipment
7. free from architectural barriers

3. CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT
Space management
 Taping paper to the desk;
 Devising some means for keeping pencils and crayons from rolling on the floor;
 Providing bookracks or mechanical page turners, planning for lay areas, toilet facilities and drinking
fountains, wheel chairs and crutches.
 Modifying school furniture by:
- adjusting seats to turn to either side
- providing foot rest
 - adding hinged extension to the desk with a cut-off that has poor sitting balance; and
- eliminating protruding parts over which a child might trip.
Other points to consider:
• A typical ambulatory person in standing position occupies an area of about 1 ½ sq. ft.
• An ambulant disabled person using a walking stick occupies twice the above mentioned
area.

4. SPECIAL EQUIPMENT AND FACILITIES

5. EDUCATIONAL SUPPORT SERVICES