Nicolas

Sawicky Final Exam Section A. Learning Disability A learning disability is an umbrella term for someone who suffers from one or more weakness in either their cognitive, academic, social, or behavioral characteristics. Some examples of signs that someone might have a learning disability would be if they struggle with information processing, suffer from dyslexia, or have problems socializing with peers. The federal IDEA defines a learning disability as a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using language, that may manifest itself in imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or do mathematical calculation. There are two methods for assessing whether or not a student has a learning disability. The first method is a formal assessment. Formal assessment can also be broken into two types of test, Norm-referenced tests and Criterion-referenced tests. Norm-referenced tests take the students score and compare it to a large group of students. Examples of the Norm-referenced test include the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-IV and the Woodcock-Johnson III-NU. Criterion-reference tests are designed to determine whether a student has learned a specific body of information, so represent an absolute standard rather than the comparative

standard of a norm referenced test (Ch. 5, pg. 140). Examples of Criterion-reference tests include a drivers test and the Stanford Diagnostic Reading Test-4. The second method for assessing whether or not a student suffers from a learning disability is through classroom assessments. These types of assessments can be further broken into three types: curriculum-based measurement, portfolio assessment, and observation. A curriculum-based measurement is used as a supplement to the information gathered from formal assessments by measuring a students understanding of the classroom curriculum. A portfolio assessment is another method to obtain additional information on a student. This method takes a look into a students classwork and allows for a snapshot of the students performance in the reality of the classroom (Ch. 5, pg. 141). The final method under classroom assessments is observation. Observation is a very important part of assessment since federal law requires that a student be observed before being identified as having a learning disability, Observation is an excellent way for educators to get a general sense of a students academic and behavioral functioning in the classroom. The traditional approach to decide whether or not a student has a learning disability is through an assessment conducted by a multidisciplinary team, using all the collected data that had been previously collected. The team asks three questions to determine whether the student in question meets the criteria for having a learning disability. The first question is: Does a significant gap exist between the students ability and academic achievement? (Ch. 5, pg. 141). This question can be

answered by comparing a students scores on an IQ test to either their scores on a norm-referenced test or criterion-referenced achieve measure. The second question that is asked when determining a students eligibility to be categorized as learning disabled would be: Is the learning problem the result of a disorder in an area of basic psychological processing involved in understanding language? (Ch. 5, pg. 141). For this question, the team needs decide if the student suffers from problems in one of the following processing categories: sensory-motor skills, visual or auditory processing, and cognitive skills, such as attention and memory (Ch. 5, pg. 142). The final question that the multidisciplinary team will ask is: Can other possible causes of the learning problem be eliminated? (Ch. 5, pg. 142). This question seeks to eliminate possible alternate causes for a students poor performance in school with factors like poverty, English not being their first language, or the result of another disability like deafness. Speech and Language Disability A speech and language disability is when a student can articulate his

thoughts in his mind, but then struggles to communicate those thoughts to others. This struggling can be in the form of stuttering, impaired articulation, or voice impairment. The federal IDEA defines speech or language impairment as a communication

disorder such as stuttering, impaired articulation, language impairment, or a voice impairment that adversely affects a childs educational performance.

Assessing whether or not a student has a speech or language disability is

done through one of three types of assessment: speech, language, or assessment for students whose first language is not English or whose use of English is nonstandard. Speech assessments are then broken into three categories: formal, spontaneous language, and physical structure. A formal assessment uses a standardized test to determine whether a problem with articulation is present. Spontaneous speech assessments involve a speech pathologist asking a student to talk about a toy or game. Physical structure method of assessment involves a speech pathologist examining a students physical structure for producing speech, including the alignment of the students teeth. The second type of assessment for determining whether or not a student has

a speech or language disability is through language assessments. These assessments are done with the following components in mind: Receptive and expressive vocabulary, word finding, comprehension and processing of sentences, correct use of the rules of grammar, comprehension of stories and other narratives, and the ability to tell a story (Ch. 9, pg. 280). This information is gathered through the use of both formal and informal measures, like class observations. This information can also be gathered by looking at a students schoolwork. The third type of assessment that is used to determine whether or not a student suffers from a speech or language disability is for students whose first language is not English or their English is nonstandard. When it is determined that a students native language is not English or a nonstandard form of English, extra precautions needs to be made to

ensure their assessment is accurate and fair. This includes making sure directions are not confusing, resulting in them answering incorrectly. A multidisciplinary team that includes the students parents, educators, an

administrator, and a speech specialist is responsible for determining a students eligibility in being classified as having a speech or language disability. The team responds to three questions. The first question is: Given the students age, does the student have a significant delay or difference in speech or language that would be considered a speech or language impairment? (Ch. 9, pg. 281). The second question that is asked is: Does the students speech or language impairment adversely affect educational performance? (Ch. 9, pg. 281). The third and final question that is asked would be: Can the student benefit from special education intervention? (Ch. 9, pg. 281). Autism Autism is a developmental disability that is noticeable at a very early age.

Children that are diagnosed with autism struggle with communicating along with noticeable physical tendencies and resistance to even the slightest changes in daily living. According to the federal IDEA, autism is developmental disability

significantly affecting verbal and nonverbal communication and social interaction, generally evident before age three that adversely affects a childs educational

performance. Other characteristics often associated with autism are engagement in repetitive activities and stereotyped movements, resistance to environmental change or change in daily routines, and unusual responses to sensory experiences. Assessing whether or not a student has autism is done by evaluating them in

the following four categories: 1) Assessment related to characteristics of autism, 2) cognitive ability, academic achievement, and adaptive skills, 3) developmental measures, and 4) behavior assessment. In the first type of assessment, psychologists use standardized tests like the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised. The second evaluation piece is the measuring of the students cognitive ability, academic achievement, and adaptive skills. Examples of these types of assessments are intelligence tests, curriculum-based measures, and tasks related to self-help, respectively. The third assessment method is the measuring of developmental abilities. This is conducted by using an instrument such as the Psychoeducational Profile. The final type of assessment related to autism is behavior assessment. For this gauge, professionals interview parents and teachers to complete a behavior checklist. Determining eligibility for a child to be classified with autism involves a

meeting of educators, medical professionals, parents, and related service personnel. This team then takes the information that was collected during the assessment stage and asks the following four questions: Does a disability exist?, Does it have a negative impact on educational performance?, Is the student eligible for special education services?, Will the student benefit from those services? (Ch. 10, pg. 312)

 Deafness Deafness is a disability where a person cannot hear, and as a result has

trouble a spoken a spoken language. This communication block can be bridged with the written word and visual languages like American Sign Language. The federal IDEA defines deafness as a hearing impairment that is so severe

that the child is impaired in processing linguistic information through hearing, with or without amplification, that adversely affects a childs educational performance. Assessing whether or not a student suffers from deafness is determined

through an audiological evaluation. This consists of a series of hearing tests that will determine if hearing loss exists and to what degree that person experiences hearing loss. Eligibility for being categorized as a person suffering from deafness is

determined by a multidisciplinary team that takes the information gathered in the assessment stage and makes a determination. The following student characteristics are considered in the decision: 1) Inability to recognize most words spoken at a conversational level in a quiet room with out the use of assistive devices 2) A significant receptive or expressive language delay, 3) Impairment of speech articulation, voice, or fluency, 4) A significant discrepancy between verbal and nonverbal performance on an intelligence test, 5) Significant delay in the development of reading skills because of language deficit or overall significantly

lower than expected academic achievement, 6) Inattention or serious behavior problems related to the hearing loss (Ch. 11, pg. 346). Section B. For my Social Studies based lesson with four students who suffer from a wide range of disabilities, I chose a Jigsaw lesson on the subject of American Imperialism. My classroom is a 12th grade inclusive classroom has one student that suffers from autism (he is accompanied by a support aid), one that suffers from a learning disability, one who suffers from a speech disability, and one that is completely deaf in both ears. The deaf student is followed by an interpreter sits at the front of the room interpreting anything that is said in class. For this lesson, students will first count off by 4s. This will give us 4 groups

of 5 students each, with each group having one disabled student in it. I will then ask the students to meet with all the students who share their number. Once everyone has settled down and moved their desks to face each other, I will provide a quick intro into what they will be doing. Class, today we will be continuing our unit on Americas rise as a world

power, by exploring some of its acts of Imperialism. As you should know from your assigned reading last night, Imperialism is the policy of extending a countrys power an influence through diplomacy or military force. For this lesson each group will become experts on one act of imperialism, which will be assigned by me. You will

then quietly talk amongst your group to decide what is important about your given topic. I recommend you assign a note-taker and speaker for your group, but everyone should be contributing to your information. Use your textbook and the primary sources I will hand out as a base for your information. Your group will have 20 minutes to collect your information and write it down. After those 20 minutes, your group will present its information to the whole class. Everyone is expected to take notes since this information will be on your unit test at the end of the month. Feel free to come up to my desk if you have any questions. I will also be walking around the room to see how everyone is doing and making sure I dont hear the same few people doing all the work. This lesson will also feature a few modifications so that the four students

with disabilities can be included as best as possible. Scott suffers from a mild learning disability that usually causes him to be a little of a social outcast who keeps to himself due to his trouble speaking. Although fairly good listener, he has trouble remembering things for longer than a few minutes. For this lesson, I am going to recommend that Scott be his groups note-taker. That way he doesnt have to be embarrassed when he speaks, but can instead focus on recording the information his group comes up with. This will also help him remember the information better since he will be focusing all his attention on writing down what his groups says. Diana suffers from a speech disability. Much like Scott, she has trouble

talking and because of this, she is somewhat of a social outcast. Dianna has a terrible stutter and is sometimes hard to understand when you arent really concentrating

on what she is saying. It is because of this, that I will also recommend that Diana be her groups note-taker. That way she doesnt have to be embarrassed when she speaks, but can instead focus on recording the information her group comes up with. This will also help her remember the information better since she will be focusing all his attention on writing down what his groups says. Tom suffers from Autism and is by way the most needy student in my

classroom. During this lesson, Tom will be accompanied by his support aid, Trina. Tom is a very smart student but he has a very tough time communicating his thoughts and is very adverse to change. Before this lesson is even announced, I will personally talk to Tom about the lesson and give him a heads up. This should help him prepare for the different type of lesson with minimal outbursts. During his group discussion time, Tom will be allowed the use of is assistive spelling device where he can spell out words and Trina can communicate them to his group mates. I do not want Toms disability to stop him from collaborating with his classmates and if his delayed speech does slow down his group enough, their group will be allowed to go out into the hallway to finish up while the other groups present. I will then scan and copy one of the better notes for the presentation they missed and hand it out to that group. Harold suffers from a severe case of deafness. He has no hearing in either of

his ears. Thankfully Harolds parents advocated for him at an early age and attended ASL lessons for him and themselves. He is fluent in this language and has a full-time interpreter who translates everything that is said in the classroom and also speaks

for him when he has something to say. When Harold joins his group, the other students will already be familiar with how Harold listens and communicates. He will be free to speak is mind in the group. I will also recommend that Harold challenge himself and volunteer for the position of group speaker. This will help him get used to public speaking with an interpreter and also give the class even more proof that just because someone has a disability, does not mean they have to act helpless. Section C. If there is one overreaching thing that I have learned in this class, it is that

you should get to know anyone before dismissing them as just that person with a disability. It is human nature to look at one another and make rash judgments based on those observations. This can be seen countless times when someone locks their car doors when they stop at a red light in an African American neighborhood, or when they see a kind with glasses, they automatically assume they are smart. When it comes to the disabled people, those judgments usually fall under the retarded category and they quickly try to avoid contact with that individual. The other reaction that disabled people get from the more fortunate are extreme acts of kindness and attention. One big preconceived notion that the majority of Americans have with the

disabled is that they should just be happy that so many advances have been made for them. In the article Blind Rage: A Letter to Helen Keller, the author makes countless references to how Helen Kellers extreme disability and her gratitude for

just being able to speak, ruined the ability to complain for the rest of the disabled word, especially the blind and the deaf. This Blind Rage is best exemplified through the following quote from Kleege: All I want to know is what you did with the feelings of betrayal, injustice, and the rage, Helen? How did you get over itshrug your shoulders and swallow hard? How did you get it down without choking? I only wish you could have let it show just once. If you could have let the mask slip for a minute, Helenone lousy sneer of derision, one tear of rage. It would have made it better for the rest of us, a little easier. Whats more, it just might have let them see you as human. (2007) Kleege does have a point. When you think of a famous disabled person, Helen Keller is one of the first to come to mind. Her story has been told in movies and books. She is that one example of what you can do, despite life giving you a deep hole to dig out of. What makes this a problem for the deaf and blind community is that whenever they are looking for just the slightest sympathy, people are always thinking: Well at least you arent deaf and blind like Helen Keller, plus you are in the 21st century, where there are tons of assistive technologies available. Another issue that the disabled face in this day and age is the constant

distancing they receive from others. Many people are just uncomfortable with the disabled and instead of getting to know them, they decide it would just be better to ignore their existence. The South Park episode, Krazy Kripples does a great job of this by excluding the four main characters of the show from this episode. As White points out, In commenting on the position of the able-bodies normate in disability culture, the four main characters-Stan, Kyle, Cartman, and Kenny-appear only three short times in this episode. They literally walk through the frame, each time stating a variant of I think wed better stay out of this one (2005). This lack of interest is what keeps the disabled from fully integrating with society as a whole. Disabled

people want to be accepted, but are not getting the same enthusiasm from the other side. On the other end of the spectrum, some disabled people find themselves

getting too much attention for their disability. Although you could argue that lots of attention is better than none, it does not make it any less annoying to have to deal with on a day-to-day basis. Some mild examples of this are holding the door for someone in crutches. Leave it to South Park to take that and run with it to an extreme. In the episode Conjoined Fetus Lady, the people of South Park are introduced to a school nurse who suffers from Conjoined Twin Myslexia. After the kids make fun of her, the towns adults take it upon themselves to throw a weeklong celebration in honor of Nurse Gollum and her dead fetus twin. As explained by Reid- Hresko, some of the activities for the awareness week are an inaugural parade, where Nurse Gollum, the only person parading, becomes a public spectacle. At an honorary dinner, they show "Pictures of Courage," a montage of her engagement in ordinary activities--shopping at the grocery, painting her house, and going to the Post Office (2005). Although over-the-top, this segment shows that we see the daily tasks of the disabled as miracles instead of just someone living a normal life with a disability.