Educating Exceptional

Children
CONTENTS
EDUCATING EXCEPTIONAL CHILDREN

1. DEFINITION AND NATURE.

2. GIFTED CHILDREN – MEANING, DEFINITION , NEEDS AND PROBLEMS,
IDENTIFICATION, EDUCATION OF GIFTED CHILDREN.
3. MENTALLY CHALLENGED CHILDREN – DEFINITION , NATURE, DETECTION ,
IDENTIFICATION, CLASSIFICATION ON THE BASIS OF ADAPTIVE BEHAVIOUR
4. PLANNING EDUCATION ACCORDING TO THE LEVEL OF INTELLECTUAL
DISABILITY.
5. SPECIFIC LEARNING DISABILITIES – DEFINITION , NATURE, CHARACTERISTICS,
EDUCATIONAL PROVISION FOR CHILDREN WITH LEARNING DISABILITIES.
6. SLOW LEARNERS
Defining and nature of exceptional children.
 All children exhibit differences from one another in terms of their physical attributes
(e.g., some are shorter, some are stronger) and learning abilities (e.g., some learn
quickly and are able to remember and use what they have learned in new situations;
others need repeated practice and have difficulty maintaining and generalizing new
knowledge and skills).
 The differences among most children are relatively small, enabling these children to
benefit from the general education program. The physical attributes and/or learning
abilities of some children, however—those called exceptional children—differ from
the norm (either below or above) to such an extent that they require an
individualized program of special education and related services to fully benefit from
education.
 The term exceptional children includes children who experience difficulties in
learning as well as those whose performance is so superior that modifications in
curriculum and instruction are necessary to help them fulfil their potential.
 Thus, exceptional children is an inclusive term that refers to children with learning
and/or behaviour problems, children with physical disabilities or sensory
impairments, and children who are intellectually gifted or have a special talent.
 The term students with disabilities is more restrictive than exceptional children
because it does not include gifted and talented children. Learning the definitions of
several related terms will help you better understand the concept of exceptionality.
 These characteristics fall into the following
categories of exceptionality:
 Mental retardation (developmental disabilities)
 Learning disabilities
 Emotional and behavioral disorders
 Autism
 Communication (speech and language) disorders
 Hearing impairments
 Visual impairments
 Physical and health impairments
 Traumatic brain injury
 Multiple disabilities
 Giftedness and special talents
 GIFTED CHILDREN
 Gifted children are, by definition, “Children who give evidence of high performance
capability in areas such as intellectual, creative, artistic, leadership capacity, or specific
academic fields, and who require services or activities not ordinarily provided by the school
in order to fully develop such capabilities.”
 National Association for Gifted Children
“Gifted individuals are those who demonstrate outstanding levels of aptitude (defined as an
exceptional ability to reason and learn) or competence (documented performance or
achievement in top 10% or rarer) in one or more domains. Domains include any structured area of
activity with its own symbol system (e.g., mathematics, music, language) and/or set of
sensorimotor skills (e.g., painting, dance, sports).”

 Biological differences
There is a biological difference between the gifted child and the typical child. The gifted child
seems to have an increased cell production that also increases synaptic activity. This all adds up
to an increased thought process. The neurons in the brain of the gifted child seem to be bio-
chemically more abundant and, as a result, the brain patterns that develop are able to process
more complex thought. There seems to be more prefrontal cortex activity in the brain, which
leads to insightful and intuitive thinking. Gifted children have more alpha wave activity in the
brain. They not only get more alpha wave activity faster than the typical child, but they also
sustain it longer. This allows for more relaxed and focused learning with greater retention and
integration. The brain rhythms of the gifted child occur more often, and this allows for
concentration, attention, investigation, and inquiry.
Characteristics OF GIFTED CHILDREN
Common characteristics
 There are some common characteristics the gifted child may possess. The gifted
child may be:
• Self-disciplined, independent, often anti-authoritarian.
• foolish/ silly sense of humor
• Able to resist group pressure, a strategy that is developed early
• More adaptable and more adventurous
• Greater tolerance for ambiguity and discomfort
• Little tolerance for boredom
• Preference for complexity, asymmetry, open-endedness
• High in divergent thinking ability
• High in memory, good attention to detail
• Broad knowledge background
• Need think periods
 • Need supportive climate, sensitive to environment
• Need recognition, opportunity to share
• High aesthetic values, good aesthetic judgement
• Freer in developing sex role integration; lack of stereotypical male/female
identification.
EMOTIONAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE
GIFTED CHILDREN
 Emotional characteristics
The gifted child also appears to have his share of emotional stresses.
Interestingly enough, studies seem to indicate that the gifted child may, in fact,
have lower self-esteem than the average child. There seems to be a direct
correlation between the high expectations that the gifted child has for himself,
and therefore, his unrealistic goals for which he strives. This situation tends to
cause anxiety, as the gifted child pushes himself unrealistically.
MENTALLY CHALLENGED CHILDREN

 At risk refers to children who, although not currently identified as having a

disability, are considered to have a greater-than-usual chance of developing
one. The term is often applied to infants and preschoolers who, because of
conditions surrounding their births or home environments, may be expected
to experience developmental problems at a later time. The term is also used
to refer to students who are experiencing learning problems in the regular
classroom and are therefore at risk of school failure or of being identified for
special education services.
 Some exceptional children share certain physical characteristics and/or
patterns of learning and behavior. These characteristics fall into the following
categories of exceptionality:
Mental Retardation

As stated previously, all children differ from one another in individual characteristics
along a continuum; exceptional children differ markedly from the norm so that an
individually designed program of instruction—in other words, special education—is
required if they are to benefit fully from education. It is a mistake to think that there
are two distinct kinds of children—those who are exceptional and those who are
regular. Exceptional children are more like other children than they are different.
Nevertheless, an exceptional child does differ in important ways from his peers
without disabilities. And whether and how we recognize and respond to those
differences will have a major impact on the child’s success in school and beyond.
Keep these critical points in mind as you read and learn about the exceptional
children described in this text and the special education programs designed to help
them.
Once routinely institutionalized, most mentally challenged children are now
encouraged to live with their families, participate with their peer groups and even
strive for independence. This modern attitude shift is due to a better understanding
of what defines mental retardation, and what does not.
Identification and classification of MR
Identification
 Mentally challenged children are unable to fulfill their intellectual
potential, and have mental capacities that lag behind those of their
peers. Mental retardation has many different causes, degrees, variables
and facets, and identifying it is more of a process of classification than a
diagnosis of a disease. Mental retardation also has a wide spectrum. At
one end, there are mildly retarded people with such a high learning
capacity that they are often no longer identified as mentally challenged
once they reach adulthood. At the other end, there are people so
mentally disabled that they can only learn the most basic skills.
Classification
 According to the University of Illinois Extension, there are three common
classifications of people with mental retardation. Mildly retarded
individuals have a mental age of 8 to 12. They are considered educable,
meaning that they are capable of mastering some academic concepts.
Moderately retarded individuals have a mental age of 5 to 8, and are
considered "trainable," but not capable of learning academic subjects.
Severely retarded people have a very limited capacity to learn. Many are
institutionalized and require lifelong care.
 LEARNING DISABILITIES
No field of special education nor probably all of education, for that matter,
has experienced as much rapid growth, extreme interest and frantic
activity as learning disabilities. The number of children identified as
learning disabled has increased greatly in the recent years and the
category is now the largest in special education.
The term ‘Learning Disabilities’ emerged from a need to identify and serve
students who continually fail in school yet are not mentally retarded. Its
concept has undergone distinct phases of development in history,
beginning in part with the work of STRAUSS and Colleagues in the early
1940’s who used the term ‘BRAIN INJURED CHILDREN’ and established
seven classification criteria. In 1960, a shift in terminology occurred with
the term MBD or ‘Minimal Brain Dysfunction’ linking minor brain injury to
learning problems. It was popularised by elements of task force I who
arrived at ten markers to determine the learning disorders.
It was Samuel Alexander in 1963 in the book ‘Educating exceptional
children’ coined the term ‘Learning Disabilities’ to describe children who
had serious learning problems in schools but no other obvious handicaps.
DSM IV DEFINITION OF LEARNING
DISABILITY
DSM IV defines Learning disabilities as –

‘Learning disabilities are diagnosed when the individual’s

achievement on individually administered, standardised
tests in reading, mathematics or written expression, is
substantially below the expected norm for his/her age,
schooling and level of intelligence. The leaning problems
significantly interferes with academic achievements or
activities of daily living’.
 Specific Learning Disabilities
Definition
 The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) defines a specific
learning disability as “a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological
processes involved in understanding or in using language, spoken or written,
that may manifest itself in the imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read,
write, spell, or to do mathematical calculations.” This disability category
includes such conditions as perceptual disabilities, brain injury, minimal brain
dysfunction, dyslexia and developmental aphasia (a type of language
disorder).
 However, as IDEA’s definition notes, “Specific Learning Disability does not
include learning problems that are primarily the result of visual, hearing, or
motor disabilities; of intellectual disability; of emotional disturbance; or of
environmental, cultural, or economic disadvantage.” This clause helps to
distinguish learning disabilities from the other disability categories specified
by IDEA. Specific Learning Disabilities (SLD) is by far the largest category of
disability within the Individuals for Disabilities Education Act. Nearly half of
all disabled children are labeled in the category of SLD.
 Types of Learning Disabilities
1. APHASIA – disturbances in symbol behaviour. Can’t express symbolically
(Language). There are two types: 1. childhood Aphasia referring to language
dysfunction relating to CNS damage.2. developmental /congenital Aphasia
implying damage to CNS prior to the development of language , so the child has
the disability in learning language rather than the loss of language already
learnt. APHASIA is the severe inability to understand receptive or recall needed
experience for oral language.
2. DYSARTHRIA – is a voice control disability. People with dysarthria have some
characteristics of stutters and stammers. But all stutterers do not have brain
damage which leads to dysarthria.
3. DYSCALCULIA – is a disorder of quantitative thinking. It is a mathematical
dysfunction due to brain injury or damage of a part of the parietal lobe.
4. DYSGRAPHIA – its of 2 types. 1. major spelling disorder – some children seem to
have difficulties with spelling. Spelling and reading are closely related. Thus
some people would be adequate readers, especially silent readers but poor
spellers and vice versa. 2. major handwriting disorder – a child who has very poor
handwriting is said to have dysgraphia and injury to frontal lobe is implied.
Types of Learning Disabilities
5. DYSLEXIA – developmental dyslexia is a condition of poor reading, children
have difficulty learning to read due to one or more information processing
problems such as visual or auditory perception deficits. Many of these children
have difficulty with several of numbers , letters and words.

6.AGNOSIA – (inability to recognise configuration received through the sense

organs). There are two types of Agnosia.
Visual agnosia – disorder of identification organisation and interpretation of
visual stimuli
Auditory agnosia -disorder of identification organisation and interpretation of
auditory stimuli.
CHARACTERISTICS OF LEARNING DISABILITY

1. Discrepancy Factors – a discrepancy exists between a child’s ability and academic

performance across one or all skill areas.
2. Academic learning difficulty – Academic problems exists in the area of reading, writing,
spelling and mathematics.
3. Perceptual disorder – perceptual problems include inability to recognise, discriminate
and interpret sensations. Reversal and poor discrimination of letters, numbers,, failure
to group and categorise similar items and poor problem solving skills are common. The
perceptual disorder can auditory or visual.
4. Metacognitive deficits in abilities to use self – regulatory mechanisms such as planning
moves, evaluating the effectiveness of on going activities, checking the outcome and
remediating the errors.
5. Memory problems – especially in short term memory and failure to use memory strategies
and poor language skills.
6. Motor disorders – seen in clumsiness, inability to skip or hop, some exhibit fine motor
difficulties such as cutting with scissors.
7. Attention problems and hyperactivity – short attention span, distractibility, impulsivity,
restlessness, hyperactivity.
8. Social and emotional problems – poor self image, self concept and self esteem, lack
of will to pursue tasks because of difficulties present, numerous psycho somatic
disorders and withdrawal from social contact. Over compensation by becoming
disruptive in class, quarrelsome with peers and being delinquent in society. The
prevalence of psychological disturbance is high among the SLD’s compared to the
normal population and may be due to feeling ‘different’ and continuous failures in
academic results.
SIGNS OF LEARNING DISABILITIES
Learning disabilities affect 5 general areas.
1. Spoken language – delays, disorders and deviations in listening and speaking.
2. Language – difficulty in reading, writing, spelling.
3. Arithmetic – difficulty in performing arithmetical operations or in understanding
basic concepts such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, division.
4. Reasoning – difficulty in organising and integrating thoughts.
5. Memory – difficulty in remembering information and instructions.
Causes of SLD
A variety of causes have been linked with its occurrence.
Genetic – it is found to run in families.
Bio- Chemical – possible neurotransmitter imbalances leading to inefficient or
faulty brain functioning.
Biological – head trauma causing brain injuries, foetal distress during pregnancy,
left hemisphere underdeveloped.
Unfavourable uterine environment – drug abuse, smoking , alcohol consumption
will adversely affect brain development that prevents optimal brain functioning.
Environmental deprivation – a lack of stimulation at critical times of
development that prevents optimal brain functioning.
CHARACTERISTICS AND EDUCATIONAL CHALLENGES
Common Traits
According to the National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities (known as NICHCY),
specific learning disabilities commonly affect skills in the areas of:
 Reading (called dyslexia)
 Writing (called dysgraphia)
 Listening
 Speaking
 Reasoning
 Math (called dyscalculia)
 Signs that a child might have a learning disability tend to appear in elementary school. For example,
difficulty learning the alphabet, problems with following directions, trouble transforming thoughts into
written words and misreading math problems are all possible indicators of a specific learning disability.
Educational Challenges
 It’s clear from reading the above traits that students with learning disabilities can face a number
of educational challenges. Department of Education alludes to several of these challenges in their online
fact sheet on specific learning disabilities; they include:
 Difficulty reading out loud
 Poor reading comprehension
 Struggling to write papers and essays
 Trouble understanding lectures
 Difficulty holding a pencil
Remedial measures
Teachers and Parents
 Don’t let the term “learning disabilities” mislead you, teachers and parents.
Rooted within this term is a common assumption that children with learning
disabilities can’t learn. NICHCY proposes otherwise, stating, “Children with
learning disabilities are not ‘dumb’ or ‘lazy.’ In fact, they usually have average or
above average intelligence. Their brains just process information differently.”
 Indeed, the more politically-correct phrase “learning differences” offers
a more accurate snapshot that captures the essence of learning disabilities.
Supplied with the appropriate special education services, students with learning
disabilities can flourish academically. Take a student with dysgraphia for example.
He or she may have A-worthy ideas for a paper inside his or her head, but without
accommodations those ideas will probably not earn the grade they deserve. One
potential accommodation for such a scenario entails using speech-to-text
technology to write papers.
 Overall, the best educational accommodations for students with specific learning
disabilities stem from assessing a child’s particular case and identifying his or her
strengths and weaknesses. This evaluation is worked into the individualized
education program (IEP) process.
 Parents, are you concerned that your youngster might possess a learning disability?
you can ask your school to evaluate your son or daughter to diagnosis any learning
disabilities. If your child has a specific learning disability, the IEP process will
begin to unfold.

 SLOW LEARNERS
 A “slow learner” is not a diagnostic category, it is a term people use to describe a
student who has the ability to learn necessary academic skills, but at rate and depth
below average same age peers.
 In order to grasp new concepts, a slow learner needs more time, more repetition,
and often more resources from teachers to be successful.
 Reasoning skills are typically delayed, which makes new concepts difficult to learn. A
slow learner has traditionally been identified as anyone with a Full Scale IQ one
standard deviation below the mean but not as low as two standard deviations below
the mean.
 If a cognitive assessment (IQ test) has a mean (average) of 100, we expect most
students will fall within one standard deviation of 100. That means that most
students have an IQ of 85 to 115. Those who fall two standard deviations below the
mean are often identified as having an Intellectual Disability (IQ below 70).
 A slow learner does not meet criteria for an Intellectual Disability(previously called
mental retardation). However,he/ she learns slower than average students and will
need additional help to succeed.
SLOW LEARNERS
 Typically, a slow learner has difficulty with higher order thinking or reasoning
skills. This suggests that it will be more challenging to learn new concepts. New
skills need to be based upon already mastered concepts.
 This can be difficult when the majority of the class has already mastered a
concept and is moving on, while the slow learner needs more time. This can lead
to gaps in knowledge and basic skills. The more gaps in a content area, the more
challenging it is for anyone to learn new concepts.
 It’s also important to recognize that these students are typically keenly aware
they are struggling and self confidence can be an issue. They are prone to
anxiety, low self image, and eventually may be quick to give up. They often feel
“stupid” and start hating school. They spend all day doing something that is
difficult for them, it can be very draining. Finding other activities that the
student can be successful in is very important. There should be emphasis on
strengths as well.
Slow learners are not eligible for special
education
 Special Education services are provided for students who have a disability.
Slow learners typically do not have a disability, even though they need extra
support. Cognitive abilities are too high for these learners to be considered
for an Intellectual Disability. However, the abilities are usually too low to be
considered for a Learning Disability. Consider that a learning disability
consists of discrepancies between average abilities and below average
academics, coupled with a processing deficit. Schools often look for a
discrepancy between a student’s ability and where they are performing. Slow
learners tend to perform at their ability level, which is below average. To the
disappointment of many, slow learners often do not receive special education
services. See A Parent’s Guide to Special Education Testing for more
information about testing. Although a student does not receive special
education services, a student will require additional help, support, and
accommodations through regular education!! Parents need to advocate for
their child to be included in programs that schools already provide.
 SOME CLASSROOM RECOMMENDATIONS FOR
SLOW LEARNERS

 Repetition, repetition, repetition. You might feel like you are saying the same
thing over and over, but it helps make a concept more concrete.
 Encourage other activities in which the child can experience success and keep
them connected.
 Differentiated Instruction
 Tutoring- This helps fill in gaps in basic skills and it helps a student stay caught up.
 Teach study skills to help a student become more efficient in studying
 Teach the most important concepts and leave out some of the less important
details.
 Peer tutoring
 Daily reading