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What is Intellectual Disability?
According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, "Intellectual disability is a term used when there are limits to a person’s ability to learn at an expected level and function in daily life. Levels of intellectual disability vary greatly in children".
Symptoms of Intellectual Disability

learn and develop slower than others at the same age

have a hard time expressing themselves, their needs and wants

memory loss

limitations of being independent at skills that are needed to live such as play, work, dress, eat, learn, talk, walk...

IQ at a level that is below 70-75

Causes of Intellectual Disability

Genetic - inherited genes from parents

Complications during pregnancy - no proper development inside a womb of a mother (problems with cell division, consumption of alcohol, infections...)

Difficulties during birth - baby not receiving enough oxygen

Exposure to toxic or diseases

How much do you know about intellectual disabilities?
by Mathew Williams
https://youtu.be/BURbLmQL1BE

Assistive Technology

graphic organizers

picture dictionary

draft builder

flow charts

listening devices

math talk

Accommodations in the Classroom

1. I believe that assistive technology alone is not enough to be an effective teacher/instructor to a child with an intellectual disability. To assist the needs and wants, the instructor must specialize in special education and have a paraprofessional.

2. More simulations should be implemented in the classroom with a special plan to have regular talks and checkups to ensure that a particular student is progressing or gaining value through the use of assistive technology in all classes.

3. Adaptive lesson plans for students

4. Shorter lessons with more practice/learn through play/role-play

5. Allocate the time needed for the students to organize, align and work through the new concept covered, meaning not to rush the student

6. Choice: digital or hardcopy worksheets, projects through experimenting

Resources:

CDC. (2019, October 25). Facts About Intellectual Disability. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/developmentaldisabilities/facts-about-intellectual-disability.html#:~:text=Intellectual%20disability%20is%20a%20term
G. (2019, October 23). What is an Intellectual Disability? - Parenting Special Needs Magazine. Www.parentingspecialneeds.org. https://www.parentingspecialneeds.org/article/what-is-an-intellectual-disability/

‌‌How to Speak With People With Intellectual Disabilities. (n.d.). SpecialOlympics.org. https://www.specialolympics.org/about/intellectual-disabilities/how-to-speak
Intellectual Disability. (2018). [YouTube Video]. In YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6WmGhY8Q4I

‌LDAOeng. (2018, May 4). Assistive Technology for Students with Learning Disabilities - LD@school. LD@School. https://www.ldatschool.ca/assistive-technology/

Neese, B. (2019, February 4). 15 Assistive Technology Tools & Resources For Students With Disabilities. TeachThought. https://www.teachthought.com/technology/assistive-technology/

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What is visual impairment including blindness?
According to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, blindness is defined as An impairment in vision that, even with correction, adversely affects a child’s educational performance. The term includes both partial sight and blindness.

What does visual impairment including blindness look like?
People with visual impairment including blindness can range from seeing nothing to seeing a version of what sighted people see.

What causes visual impairment including blindness?
According to the World Health Organization (WHO) there are many causes of visual impairment including blindness. The leading causes are:

uncorrected refractive errors

cataract

age-related macular degeneration

glaucoma

diabetic retinopathy

corneal opacity

trachoma

Assistive technologies
Various forms of assistive technologies can be utilized to help people suffering from visual impairments including blindness for example:

Screen magnifiers

Screen readers

Voice activated apps

Cell phones

Sources
About IDEA. (2022, February 15). Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Retrieved June 13, 2022, from https://sites.ed.gov/idea/about-idea/

Assistive Technology & Accessibility. (2021, July 16). Perkins School for the Blind. Retrieved June 14, 2022, from https://www.perkins.org/resources-stories/assistive-technology/

Kleck, H. (2022, January 27). What blindness really looks like. Perkins School for the Blind. Retrieved June 14, 2022, from https://www.perkins.org/what-blindness-really-looks-like/

Using Technology. (n.d.). The American Foundation for the Blind. https://www.afb.org/blindness-and-low-vision/using-technology

Vision impairment and blindness. (2021, October 14). World Health Organization. Retrieved June 14, 2022, from https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/blindness-and-visual-impairment#:%7E:text=The%20leading%20causes%20of%20vision,affect%20people%20of%20all%20ages.

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Specific learning disability can be identified as a disorder that interferes with someone’s capacity and proficiency to listen, think, speak, write, spell or do mathematical calculations, thus, may lead to difficulties students’ performance in areas like reading, writing or math ("What is a Specific Learning Disability?", n.d.). A specific learning disability is a unique to each person that it applies to and can often manifest in one of four broad categories namely Spoken language- listening and speaking, Written language -reading, writing, and spelling, Arithmetic - calculation and concepts, and Reasoning - organization and integration of ideas and thoughts (W) . There are five types of learning disabilities namely Dysgraphia, Dyscalculia, Dyspraxia, Nonverbal Learning Disorder and Dyslexia.

According to “What is a specific” (n.d.) about 10 to 15% of school aged children could have a learning disability and around 63% people know someone who has a learning disability ("What is a Specific Learning Disability?", n.d.).

There are a number of assistive learning technologies to aid in the instructions of  students with special needs and could be divided into different categories from no-tech->low tech->medium tech-> high tech assistive technologies. Assistive technologies(AT) can be described as any tools or items that are used to maintain or improve functional capabilities of students with disabilities. One of the most important thoughts to consider is that assistive learning technologies needs to be designed with the student’s age, condition and class progress in mind. These assistive items can help students become more self-assured, independent, competent and productive during a lesson. These assistive tools should be considered at different levels for students of medical conditions, to communicate their difficulties and improve their output through different modes using the same similar content in class for all students. Thus, the focus is on helping all students, through different means and not on the students’ ability or inability to produce output that contribute to the learning.

In this video, Phillip Davis does a great job in informing us of the different types of assistive technologies that are out there for students to be aided in the learning process. The video is 10minutes and made this subject so much easier for me to understand. Click the link: ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKSvM7LLK98 )

The process to providing students with the needed support in providing the correct assistive technology to help with their learning process would look something similar to the diagram depicting how one can use the UDL to ensure that students with a specific learning disability are included in the learning process.

Some assistive technologies that addresses challenges like writing, reading, math, organisation and listening in learners with learning disabilities in different areas can be specified to learner needs based on the condition of the student and implemented in the class with students to be inclusive and participative in all schools. Understanding that these technologies could be costly to both schools and parents is important, however, taking into consideration the assistance students will get can lead to improvement in the students’ learning abilities.

For writing tasks (various conditions),  non-tech AT (assistive technologies) such as notebooks, highlighters and colorful pens can help students differentiate, organise and group information. While, low tech to medium tech AT, such as computer driven pens, writing pads and iPads can be used in class to help students with functions such as text-to-speech, organisation and online dictionaries. High tech AT can help students in class to share information digitally, dictate their work with minimal errors and give them the confidence to work on their own in order to arrange their ideas, share the most important parts of their work with the teacher and peers and even view other’s work (Stanberry & Raskind, n.d.).

In terms of reading difficulties, there are AT that will differ and depend on the learner’s needs and again this can range from low-tech to high-tech. For instance for a students with dyslexia who struggle with reading difficulty can use dictation to help them to write without having to worry about spell checking, they can also use immersive readers to help them to get the information, granted this might not lead to better understanding of the material, but it will aid in their absorption of the information in an easier manner to digest and work which could lead to improvement in understanding (The Joy School The Joy School, 2019). In terms of a condition like dysgraphia students can use tools like text-to-speech to try to ‘pen down’ information or dictation to help them overcome their challenges.

Furthermore the Universal design for learning (UDL) plays a significant role in accessibility, engagement, inclusiveness and assistive technology is integrated in the learning process to help students with specific learning disabilities engage with the different materials while facing their challenges in and out of class with learning difficulties.

Teachers should be aware and keep abreast with students’ successful achievements and strategies in terms of the solutions used to help students with learning disabilities as their needs may change over time with the development and growth of the student and thus their academic expectations may be influenced and changing and should be updated.

References

Davis, P. (2020). Assistive Technology for Students with Disabilities[Video]. Retrieved 11 June 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKSvM7LLK98.

IDEA: Specific Learning Disabilities. Asha.org. (2017). Retrieved 12 June 2022, from https://www.asha.org/advocacy/federal/idea/04-law-specific-ld/.

Rao, I., & Shroff, S. Assistive Inclusive technology for learning[Ebook]. Retrieved 13 June 2022, from https://www.aicte-india.org/sites/default/files/AT/Assistive%20technology%20for%20learning.pdf.

Stanberry, K., & Raskind, M. Assistive Technology for Students with Learning Disabilities - LD@school. LD@school. Retrieved 13 June 2022, from https://www.ldatschool.ca/assistive-technology/.

The Joy School The Joy School. (2019). Three Assistive Technology Tools to Help Students with Dyslexia [Video]. Retrieved 12 June 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUjWnf7Pj-E.

What is a Specific Learning Disability?. Churchillstl.org. https://www.churchillstl.org/learning-disability-resources/specific-learning-disabilities/

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Assistive Technology for Students with Disabilities

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What is deaf-blindness?
According  to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act deaf-blindness is defined as Concomitant [simultaneous] hearing and visual impairments, the combination of which causes such severe communication and other developmental and educational needs that they cannot be accommodated in special education programs solely for children with deafness or children with
blindness.

What does deaf-blindness look like?
Deaf-blindness is different for everyone with ranges from total loss of a sense to an impaired sense.

Common causes

Complications of prematurity

Hereditary Syndromes/disorders (CHARGE Syndrome, usher syndrome, Down syndrome)

Prenatal complications (Cytomegalovirus, hydrocephaly, microcephaly)

Postnatal complications (asphyxia, severe head injury, meningitis)

Assistive Technology
As children suffering from deaf-blindness generally fall into a range of abilities considering their conditions many technologies that are used for the deaf or the blind can be adapted for deaf-blind people.

New Language
One of the most exciting breakthroughs in deaf-blind assistive technologies has been the development of a new language known as Pro-tactile ASL. This new language not only pushes the understanding of what a language is by incorporating touch into meaning, but also allows users to communicate in a more complex way. In the video you can listen to a user describe the difference in communication as going from dialup to broadband.

Sources
About IDEA. (2022, February 15). Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Retrieved June 13, 2022, from https://sites.ed.gov/idea/about-idea/

Deaf-Blindness Overview | National Center on Deaf-Blindness. (n.d.). National Center on Deaf-Blindness. Retrieved June 13, 2022, from https://www.nationaldb.org/info-center/deaf-blindness-overview/

Educational Practices | National Center on Deaf-Blindness. (n.d.). National Center on Deaf-Blindness. Retrieved June 13, 2022, from https://www.nationaldb.org/info-center/educational-practices/

National Child Count | National Center on Deaf-Blindness. (n.d.). National Center on Deaf-Blindness. Retrieved June 13, 2022, from https://www.nationaldb.org/info-center/national-child-count/

Quartz. (2016, October 31). Pro-tactile ASL: A new language for the DeafBlind. YouTube. Retrieved June 13, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GrK3P15TYU

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Pro-tactile ASL: A new language for the DeafBlind

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What is Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)?

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) occurs when the head is struck and the impact disrupts normal brain function. Traumatic brain injury has the ability to affect a person’s cognitive function, including learning and thinking skills.

What are the Symptoms?

The symptoms of TBI are:

Headaches

Dizziness

Nausea and vomiting

Difficulty remembering new information

Confusion and disorientation

How can it be treated?

TBIs are usually classified by doctors as mild, moderate or severe. Depending on the severity of the injury, Traumatic Brain Injury could require brain surgery, Rehab, or drugs. Less than 1% of the global population suffers from TBI, therefore the incident rate is low.

Causes & Effects

Causes: The leading causes of TBI are falls, being struck in the head by an object and car collisions.

Effects: Problems with vision or hearing, trouble speaking coherently, difficulty learning and remembering new information

Assistive Technology

Calendars

Memory notebooks

Other memory aid for tracking appointments, planning, or organizing

Mobility

Crutches

Canes

Walkers

Wheelchairs

Classroom accommodations

Provide written instruction

Allow student to audio record lectures for later playback

Allow student to take breaks as needed

Provide preferential seating at the front of the classroom

Test accommodations

Allow additional time to complete tests

Assess knowledge using multiple choice rather than open-ended questions

Permit the student to use a calculator, a formula sheet, and a dictionary

Offer the test to be administered in a quiet individual environment

Sources

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). (2022). Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia. Retrieved June 11, 2022, from https://www.alz.org/alzheimers-dementia/what-is-dementia/related_conditions/traumatic-brain-injury

Kreutzer, J., & Hsu, N. (2018, August 15). Accommodations Guide for Students with Brain Injury. BrainLine. Retrieved June 11, 2022, from https://www.brainline.org/article/accommodations-guide-students-brain-injury

Dewan, M., Rattani, A., & Gupta, S. (2018, April 27). Estimating the global incidence of traumatic brain injury. Thejns. Retrieved June 11, 2022, from https://thejns.org/view/journals/j-neurosurg/130/4/article-p1080.xml

Psych Hub. (2020, January 8). Traumatic Brain Injury Symptoms [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ct6P2kpknc

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DIT Labs - Fairfax County Public Schools

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Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC ) Devices

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Definition:
Defined by IDEA as "orthopedic impairment that adversely affects a child’s educational performance." This includes impairments caused by injuries, disease, and congenital conditions.

Challenges:
Students with orthopedic impairments face several challenges with positioning and mobility in a traditional school setting.

-Inconvenient or inaccessible transportation to and from school.

-Difficulty moving around the classroom and between classes.

-Difficulty communicating through body language.

-Participating in physical education classes or any work that involves physical activity.

Assistive Technology:

Equipment that aid in mobility/positioning including wheelchairs, crutches, canes, walkers.

Specialized classroom equipment such as desks, chairs, tables, and also exercise equipment for physical education classes.

Teaching Accommodations:

Seating that easily accessible and compatible with the student's assistive technology.

Awareness of the students physical condition and capabilities. Adapting lessons to include less physical activity or work within the student's capabilities.

Arrangement of specialists to work with student in order to improve motor skills (fine and gross), speech, or other issues. This includes Physical Therapists, Occupational Therapists, Speech Pathologists, etc.

Sources
Project IDEAL In Action. (2013) Orthopedic Impairments. Texas Council for Developmental Disabilities. http://www.projectidealonline.org/v/orthopedic-impairments/

Special Education Guide. (2022) Orthopedic Impairments. Special Education Guide. https://www.specialeducationguide.com/disability-profiles/orthopedic-impairments/#:~:text=An%20orthopedic%20impairment%20is%20defined,%5D%2C%20impairments%20caused%20by%20disease%20(

U.S. DoE. (2017 May 2) Sec. 300.8 (c) (8). IDEA Individuals with Disabilities Act. https://sites.ed.gov/idea/regs/b/a/300.8/c/8

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https://youtu.be/RrrLA0GLfo8

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Definition
Hearing Impaired students are defined by IDEA as those whose learning is negatively impacted by "permanent or fluctuating" hearing loss. These students may be able to respond to auditory cues with some assistance.

**It is important to note that "Hearing Impairment" is categorized separately from "Deafness" under IDEA. Deaf students are unable to process auditory information regardless of amplification technology.

Assistive Technology
Utilization of various assistive listening devices (ALD) including: Hearing loop systems, FM systems, infrared systems, and personal amplifiers. Augmentative and alternative communication devices can help students by using tablets and computer programs to change speech into text and vice-versa.

Accommodations
Teachers may alter the environment of their classrooms to better accommodate hearing impaired students.

-Seating student closer to the teacher and being mindful of classroom lighting in order to facilitate lip reading.

-Minimizing interference with ALDs by enforcing rules that keep background noise levels low.

-Assistance services such as sign-language interpreter or notetaker.

-Using captions.

-Arranging for alternate communication technology and instructing other students in their use for group work purposes.

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Names - Autism, Autism Spectrum Disorder, ASD
Completed by Cathal Burke
Medium-Incidence Disabilities

Definition - Autism (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disability that can significantly affect both verbal and nonverbal communication and social interaction. It is generally evident before age three (and can be diagnosed from as early as 18 months). ASD can negatively affect a child’s educational performance. ASD is a spectrum disorder meaning that different people with the disorder can exhibit a variety of differing symptoms.

Characteristics and Conditions - Some characteristics commonly connected to autism include engaging in repetitive activities and stereotyped movements, resistance to change environmentally or a deviation in daily routines, and unusual responses to sensory experiences.

Prevalence  -   The National Institute for Mental Health reports that the 'CDC’s report - Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network  States that AED occurs in ''1 in every 44 (2.3%) 8-year-old children were estimated to have ASD in 2018. ASD is 4.2 times as prevalent among boys (3.7%) as among girls (0.9%). ASD is reported to occur in all racial and ethnic groups.'' -  National institute of mental health, -

Assistive Technology -
An individual diagnosed with ASD generally won't display any visible physical signs of disability but assistive technology can help individuals on the spectrum in a variety of ways such as assisting with basic communication, basic safety, learning, and social skills. Some examples would include

Autism Speaks states that 31% of children with ASD have an intellectual disability (an intelligence quotient (IQ)lower than 70) and suffer from significant challenges with daily tasks, and 25% are borderline (IQ 71–85)." 30% are diagnosed with ADHD and as many as 40% suffer from anxiety in some form. These issues coupled with AED’s core symptoms such as social, visual, and speech challenges mean that students can require significant assistance.

Some examples of beneficial A.T

Sensory (Light Blocking Glasses)

Written Language (speech-to-text applications)

Anxiety (Worry beads, stress balls)

Note - Because Autism is such a diverse disorder an IEP is highly recommended when selecting deciding suitable A.T

Accommodations

There are several accommodations that can be implemented in the classroom to help a student suffering from ASD.

The structure is a key component of a successful strategy to accommodate the student so introducing a visually orientated daily schedule (see image 1 in blue.) so that the student knows what is coming next and is emotionally prepared for such. My mother shared this image from her class and stressed that a visual component is very important in everything that they do in class.

Some other accommodation strategies

1. Shorter lessons with as little external distraction as possible.

2. Keeping the classroom environment as free of loud noises as possible to reduce anxiety (or provide earplugs when this is unavoidable).

3. Visual Cues for Common tasks and requests. (See Image 2 in blue)

4. Having a classroom Aide

5. Regular exercise breaks

References

Reference – Do To Learn, Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD),2001 - https://do2learn.com/disabilities/CharacteristicsAndStrategies/AutismSpectrumDisorder_Characteristics.html

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act: A Comparison of State Eligibility Criteria, (2020), Congressional Research Service - https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R46566

14 Disability Categories Under IDEA - http://sinche.uom.gr/sites/default/files/14_disability_categories_under_idea.pdf

What is Autism? | Quick Learner, Duke University, (2021) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJuwhCIQQTs

National Institute of mental health - https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/autism-spectrum-disorder-asd#:~:text=Across%20the%20CDC%20surveillance%20sites,all%20racial%20and%20ethnic%20groups.

Autism Speaks, Autism Statistics and Facts - , https://www.autismspeaks.org/autism-statistics-asd –

Assisted Technology for Autism - https://www.verywellhealth.com/assistive-technology-for-autism-5076159#citation-3

(Geraldine Burke, personal communication, June 14, 2022).

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EDB - Emotional Disorder Behavior (by. Jieun)

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EDB - Emotional Disorder Behavior (by. Jieun)

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*Definition of Emotional Behavioral Disorder (EDB)
( Emotional disturbance is difficult to define because the term is often used as an umbrella for a wide variety of disorders)
. Inability to learn is not due to intellectual, sensory, or health factors.
2. An inability to maintain an interpersonal relationship between peers and teachers.
3. Inappropriate behavior and feelings
4. Pervasive mood of depression or unhappiness
5. Physical symptoms of fears

* 3 Biggest Representative Behavior of EDB

- CHRONIC

- UNACCEPTABLE

- EXTREME

*Internalizing Behavior

( Actions that direct problematic energy toward one’s self)

: anxiety, depression, isolating behavior, school avoidance, obsessive-compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, schizophrenia

*Externalizing Behavior

: socialized delinquency, frequent angry outbursts, aggression towards, self-injurious, mood swings, eating disorder, irritable, hostile

*Common disorders

1. O.D.D ( oppositional. Defiant disorder )

2. ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder)

3. Anxiety - fear alertness

4. Bio-polar disorder - maniac & depressive stage

5. Conduct disorder - no recognition of basic social rules of conduct

6. Anti-social behavior - being aggressively hostile

7. Schizophrenia - mental disorder

How often does EDB occur?

*Prevalence

- 6%to 10%of the school-age population has been diagnosed with EDB

- Less than 1% identified as emotionally disturbed

- Most identified students exhibit externalizing behavior

- Boys outnumber girls about 5 to 1 in externalizing behavior

(Since it is difficult to see internalized behavior girls are diagnosed less off less than boys)

- 1/2 to 3/4 of children in foster care have EBD

- Children who are homeless experience EBD 3 to 4 times more frequently

What can cause EDB?

*Cause

1. Genetic: Many brain disorders cluster in families, showing a genetic component or predisposition.

2. Brain damage  Injury Infection poor nutrition, exposure to toxins.

3. Child Maltreatment: malnutrition, aggression, neglect, physical & emotional abuse

*** Teaching strategies

1. Effective classroom management

: set a of rules, must be posted, consistent consequences, relationship building, differentiation

2. Utilize conflict resolution strategies

: good listening, making jokes, diffuse, compromises the core of the conflict

3. Rewards

: positive reinforcements, token system

4. Self-monitoring

: students regulate their behavior

Students will be able to

- Identify target behavior

- Research the behavior

- Establish goals

- Record actions

- Evaluate progress

**Nondiscriminatory Evaluation

- observation

-screening

-prereferral

- referral

-nondiscriminatory evaluation procedure

-determination

REFERENCE :
https://youtu.be/1kREHFIePKg , https://youtu.be/wKDjfPMek3k , https://youtu.be/pZHaTRcmc70https://youtu.be/pZHaTRcmc70