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This is a link to all references used in this Padlet.

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Federal Definition: A developmental disability significantly affecting verbal and nonverbal communication and social interaction that adversely affects a child's educational performance (Gargiulo & Metcalf, 2023).

Characteristics: Excellent rote memory, Delays in acquisition of speech and language including pronoun reversals, echolalia (repetitive speech), mutism, extreme literalness, obsessive desire for the maintenance of sameness, repetitive physical movements, resistance to being held/picked up by their parents (Gargiulo & Metcalf, 2023).

Prevalence: According to the CDC, an estimated 1 in 44 school-aged children (3-17) have been identified with ASD as of 2018, higher than 2016 where 1 in 55 were reported (cdc.gov).

Teaching Strategy #1: As many students with ASD have resistance to change in daily routines, it is helpful to establish clear routines and habits to support regular activities and transitions while maintaining an organized environment. This can include things such as written rules and schedules, visual schedules, prompts, cues, etc. It is also helpful to alert the student of changes to the routine in advance whenever possible and be available to support the student if they have concerns (autismspeaks.org).

Teaching Strategy #2: Students with ASD may not be socially savvy and are at risk of becoming isolated within the classroom. Teachers can try to prevent this by promoting a welcoming environment, teaching understanding and acceptance, and providing opportunities for the students to develop social interaction skills. For example, an evidence-based practice would be to pair the student with ASD with a peer that is a good role model and allow time for small group activities (autismspeaks.org).

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Federal Definition: 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 their educational performance (Gargiulo & Metcalf, 2023).

Characteristics: Difficulty following verbal directions, difficulty with oral expression, some difficulties with social/emotional or interpersonal skills, a degree of language delay, often follows and rarely leads, exhibits some form of articulation difficulty, use of hearing aids (Watson, 2019).

Prevalence: According to the CDC, in 2019 the prevalence of deafness was 1.7 per 1,000 babies screened for hearing loss, after adding in instances where circumstance causes deafness (illness/injury) it is estimated that 5 in 1,000 school-aged children (3-17) are reported as having deafness (cdc.gov).

Teaching Strategy #1: Ensure there is a clear line of sight. For some students who have deafness, lip-reading is their form of gathering spoken information in the event they have not learned sign language or there is no interpreter available. Doing things like inviting the student to sit at the front of the room, using visual aids such as pictures or closed captioning for videos, making sure to face the student when speaking, speaking clearly and emphasizing words, organizing group activities in circles so the student can see everyone as they speak, and providing good lighting are all great techniques to benefit students with deafness (deafunity.org).

Teaching Strategy #2: These videos explain the important teaching strategy of knowing the background of the student with deafness. Sign language itself has different languages within it such as ASL or Pidgin and understanding the difference between them has profound meaning for the student. Also, background on the child in terms of family life, Does the family use sign language at home? What are the interests of the child? Is there a form of instruction that the student prefers to others? this information paired with background knowledge on deaf culture in general can allow the student to feel less isolated within their classroom (youtube.com).

(15) Teaching deaf students in the inclusive classroom- Part 1 - YouTube

(15) Teaching deaf students in the inclusive classroom- Part 2 - YouTube

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Teaching deaf students in the inclusive classroom- Part 1

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Federal Definition: concomitant 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 (Gargiulo &Metcalf, 2023).

Characteristics: Difficulty communicating, problems with hearing and vision, difficulties with social interaction, may use assistive devices for communication and navigation (J., 2022)

Prevalence: According to a 2019 report from The National Center on Deaf Blindness, there were 7,737 school aged children (3-17) documented in 2018. This number grows slightly every year (nationaldb.org).

Teaching Strategy Intro: "Deaf-blindness is primarily a disability of access" these students must rely on others for access to information explicit instruction for incidental learning which sighted-hearing children would gather naturally through observation. However, there are different levels of deaf-blindness which range from total loss of sense to impairment of the senses so the strategies used must be tailored to each individual. It is important to communicate with the student figure out what works best for them when it comes to delivery of instruction. (Visual, tactile, sound, assistive devices, etc.) (deafchildren.org).

Teaching Strategy #1: In the event a student has total loss of hearing and sight, tactile modeling, mutual tactile attention, and the use of a hand-under-hand approach to interactions is the best strategy. This strategy typically requires a one-on-one interventionist who will guide the student's hands towards materials and perform interactions with the student until the movement become autonomous (nationaldb.org).

Teaching Strategy #2: In the event the student has only an impairment of both senses, the best strategy is to maximize the use of those senses with aids and accommodations. These can be ALDs, interpreters, readers, large print/braille materials, audiovisual materials, and guides for off campus activities (teachingeveryonenow.org)

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Federal Definition:
*Exhibiting one or more of the following characteristics over a long period of time and to a marked degree that adversely affects a child's educational performance.
A. An inability to learn that cannot be explained by intellectual, sensory, or health factors.
B. An inability to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships with peers and teachers.
C. Inappropriate types of behavior or feelings under normal circumstances.
D. A general pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression.
E. A tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears associated with personal or school problems.
**Includes schizophrenia, does NOT include children who are socially maladjusted (Gargiulo & Metcalf, 2023).

Characteristics: Every student can display an emotional disturbance in a unique way however, there are a few more common identifiers including:
A. Internalized behaviors such as: appearing lonely, only joining group activities when told, low self-esteem, trouble making friends, acting sad/depressed, and avoiding conversation with peers.
B. Externalized behaviors such as: arguing with others, engaging in activities that will result in trouble, trouble controlling their temper during conflict, fighting others, and refusal to follow directions (Gage, 2013).

Prevalence: According to the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), on average, 5.45% of students with disabilities are identified with emotional disturbance. The total percentage in each state ranges from 1.65% (Alabama) to 17.36% (Vermont) (sites.ed.gov, 2020).

Teaching Strategy #1: This video, provided by the Texas Education Agency, gives a few basic examples of teaching strategies for instructing students with Emotional Disturbances. The main themes are Classroom structure and modeling appropriate behavior while keeping composure.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=5qI6C0LcJOc&feature=shares

Teaching Strategy #2: The National Dissemination for Children with Disabilities has given a list of seven tips for teachers who are working with children who have an emotional disturbance. The first is to "learn more about the student's specific emotional disturbance". Since this term is a blanket term for a multitude of disorders, each must be approached differently. You wouldn't treat a student who manifests with a mood disorder the same as a student with an eating disorder. Second, is to "learn more about the student's strengths", knowing their strengths will help the teacher adapt their instruction to benefit the student. Third, "remember, they're kids first", too often teachers and people in general forget that a person is separate from their disability. Fourth, "support the student's inclusion", many times students with ED have trouble with interpersonal relationships and would benefit from the extra support. Fifth, "Set clear behavioral rules and expectations for the entire class", a classroom management plan benefits all students but in the case of a student with ED, it can aid in the prevention of inappropriate behaviors of which they can be a target. Sixth, "Provide accommodations", checking the student's IEP, even if you are not a part of the team, will help you have a better understanding of the student's specific disturbance and provide proper accommodations. Finally, seventh, "Communicate with the student's parents", no one knows a child better than their parents and having a strong relationship with the parents will allow the teacher to stay informed about developments in the student's life that may cause behavioral changes in school (Kupper, n.d.)

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Federal Definition: Impairment in hearing, whether permanent or fluctuating, that adversely effects a child's educational performance but that is not included under the definition of deafness (Gargiulo & Metcalf, 2023).

Characteristics: deficits in language and speech development due to a diminished auditory response to sound, difficulty following verbal directions, usually exhibits some form of articulation difficulty, can become easily frustrated in their needs are not met, sometimes uses hearing aids (Watson, 2019).

Prevalence: According to the U.S. Department of Education, approximately 69,500 students between the ages of 6-21 were defined as having a hearing impairment and receiving special education services (Gargiulo & Metcalf, 2023).

Teaching Strategy #1: Speak with the student beforehand and if they are comfortable with their disability, allow the student to explain their disability to other students in the class. This can "help create a sense of community" while allowing "the curiosity of other students to be appeased, as well as allow the student to be the center of attention in a positive way" (Tacchi & Peake, 2022).

Teaching Strategy #2: (Mathematics) Provide a wide range of classroom experiences, with time for problem solving and exploration, maintain contact with the parents to ensure math concepts are reinforced at home in real-world situations, use multiple modes of presentation (visual, verbal, symbolic, pictorial), incorporate technology into lessons whenever possible (calculators, programs, etc.) (Tacchi & Peake 2022).

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Federal Definition: Significantly subaverage general intellectual functioning, existing concurrently with deficits in adaptive behavior and manifested during the developmental period that adversely affects the child's educational performance (Gargiulo & Metcalf, 2023).

Characteristics: Though the individual symptoms can vary greatly between individuals, some common signs are having trouble speaking/speech delay, having trouble remembering things, having trouble understanding social rules, having trouble seeing the results of their actions, having trouble solving problems (cdc.gov, 2022).

Prevalence: According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), in the 2020-2021 school year, 6% of students that were served under IDEA fell in the ID category (nces.ed.gov, 2022).

Teaching Strategy #1: Use accommodations and modification to get to the learning targets. Students with ID often require accommodations to thrive in the classroom so support in different areas can make a big impact such as: giving extra time to complete assignments, allowing them to work in small groups or with partners, providing a copy of the notes or "guided notes" with blanks they have to fill in, or allowing the student to respond in a different way for assessments such as orally or on the computer instead of hand written responses (Cooper, 2019).

Teaching Strategy #2: Use small steps. "For students with an ID, breaking down each learning task into small, easy-to-digest steps can be invaluable" (classful.com, n.d.) This strategy is useful for students of all ability levels but especially for students with ID. By breaking each lesson into smaller portions, you can pinpoint problem areas and offer support before moving on to more complicated topics which also keeps the student from feeling overwhelmed by and information overload.

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Federal Definition: Concomitant impairments, the combination of which causes such severe educational needs that they cannot be accommodated in special education programs solely for one of the impairments ** Does not include deaf-blindness** (Gargiulo & Metcalf, 2023).

Characteristics: The characteristics of multiple disabilities is based on the individual combination of disabilities possessed by the individual. The only common characteristic is that the combination is severe enough to negatively affect the student's educational performance.

Prevalence: This figure (above) provided by the U.S. Census Bureau states that in 2019, 27.7% of children under the age of 18 presented with more than one type of disability.  Figures 1. Percentage of Children Under the Age of 18 With a Disability: 2019 (census.gov) (Young, 2021).

Teaching Strategy #1: The strategies that are most effective will depend heavily on the disabilities that each student has and their accommodations but one strategy that can benefit a wide range of disabilities is an individualized schedule. For instance, giving students with physical disabilities a different task to do during P.E. or students with intellectual disabilities extra time to complete tests or quizzes (Blakeley, n.d.).

Teaching Strategy #2: These literacy strategies are more general and should be modified according to individual needs: 1) "Promote development of cognitive skills through active participation with hand-on materials", 2) "Focus on establishing a recognized means of communication", 3) Use familiar vocabulary, 4) "Provide exposure to a wide variety of literacy materials", and 5) "Avoid miniature representations", meaning it can be more helpful to represent a car using a section of a seat belt rather than a miniature car (Cushman, 2020).

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Federal Definition: A severe orthopedic impairment that adversely affects a child's educational performance including impairments caused by congenital anomaly, disease, and other causes (Gargiulo & Metcalf, 2023).

Characteristics: Orthopedic impairment, both congenital and acquired, can fall under three categories: neuromotor, degenerative, and musculoskeletal. Neuromotor impairments are described as "damage to or abnormality of the brain, nervous system, or spinal cord" which cause motor weaknesses such as reduced movement of the limbs, spinal misalignment, and loss of urinary management. Musculoskeletal disorders affect the joints, bones, muscles, and tendons which can cause mobility problems. Finally, degenerative diseases are ones that worsen over time such as ALS and muscular dystrophy which lead to muscle weakness and challenges with mobility (opaortho.com, 2022).

Prevalence: According to the National Center for Education Statistic (NCES), in the 2018-19 school year, 39,208 students with orthopedic impairments were served under IDEA. This number represents 0.1% of all enrolled students and 0.5% of the total number of students served under IDEA (nces.ed.gov, 2019).

Teaching Strategy #1: Since accessibility is one of the biggest hurdles for students with orthopedic impairments, a teaching strategy that has proven to help is setting up a buddy system in the classroom. For instance, having another student take notes for a student with a physical disability or, having a group presentation with assigned roles so that a student with difficulty speaking due to cerebral palsy can participate in a way other than presenting orally (orthopedicdisability.weebly.com, n.d.).

Teaching Strategy #2: In this video, Clarisse Palacio, a Special Education teacher, talks about different interventions that can be used to assist students with orthopedic impairments. (37) Classroom Interventions for a Child with Orthopedic Impairment - YouTube

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Classroom Interventions for a Child with Orthopedic Impairment

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Federal Definition:  having limited strength, vitality, or alertness, including a heightened alertness to environmental stimuli, that results in limited alertness with respect to the educational environment that 1) is due to chronic or acute health problems (asthma, ADD, ADHD etc.) and 2) adversely affects a child's educational performance (Gargiulo & Metcalf, 2023.

Characteristics: Each individual will exhibit different symptoms based on the specific illness they have but in general Other Health Impairments result in more absences, fatigue, and decreased stamina (Gargiulo & Metcalf, 2023).

Prevalence: According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), 15% of students ages 3-21 served under IDEA were categorized under Other Health Impairment in the 2020-21 school year (nces.ed.gov, 2022).

Teaching Strategy Intro: Since there is a wide range of disabilities covered under this category, I have chosen two specific disabilities to discuss strategies for, ADHD and non-apparent chronic illnesses.

Teaching Strategy #1 (ADHD): The short version of this strategy is to have patience, creativity, and consistency to develop strategies to keep the student on task that integrate accommodations, instruction, and intervention. For intervention, create warning signals that do not interrupt the lesson such as hand signals, unobtrusive shoulder squeezes, or sticky notes and discuss the behavior in private. Accommodations can include seating such as placing the student away from windows and doors, keeping their desk close to yours, orient the students' desks to face you instead of each other, and creating a quiet area for test-taking. Accommodations can also be made for information delivery and student work such as, giving instructions one at a time, working on difficult material earlier in the day, using visual, creating outlines for notes, giving frequent short quizzes rather than long tests, dividing long-term projects into segments, and testing the students in the ways they do best (orally or filling in blanks). Finally, for instruction, you can try using audible cues to signal the start of a lesson, list the activities of the lesson on the board, and explain why they are learning the material and what your expectations are. While you are conducting the lesson, again, keep instructions simple, use visuals, be creative with activities, allow for breaks, and let the student use a stimulating device that is nondisruptive such as fidget toys (Segal & Smith, 2022).

Teaching Strategy #2: (non-apparent chronic illnesses): Some illnesses are not easy to see but can cause serious problems in an educational setting like asthma, diabetes, CPD, and seizure disorders. Symptoms can be unpredictable and fluctuating so strategies can vary among students and at different times but as a teacher there are some techniques that can help. For instance, students who struggle with fatigue, stamina, and concentration can be given extra time for tests, students who have difficulty with certain seating may need preferential seating or a podium to place their books on if they need to stand, or giving students extra time to complete assignments if their illness requires bed rest or hospitalization. The biggest strategy here is PATIENCE (umass.edu, n.d.)

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Federal Definition: A disorder in one or more other the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using language, spoken or written, that may manifest itself in an imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or to do mathematical calculations, including conditions such as perceptual disabilities, brain injury, minimal brain dysfunction, dyslexia, and developmental aphasia. Does not include learning problems that are primarily a result of visual, hearing, or motor disabilities, of intellectual disability, of emotional disturbance, or of environmental, cultural, or economic disadvantage (Gargiulo & Metcalf, 2023).

Characteristics: People with specific learning disabilities display multiple symptoms and do not outgrow them over time.  Although their symptoms are as unique as the individual, there are some common characteristics of all learning disabilities such as, short attention span, poor memory, difficulty following directions, inability to discriminate between/among letters, numbers, or sounds, poor reading and/or writing ability, poor executive functioning skills, and sensory needs (ldaamerica.org, n.d.).

Prevalence: According to Education Week, in the 2020-21 school year, 32.7% of students ages 3-17 covered under IDEA had specific learning disabilities, the most common category (Riser-Kositsky, 2022).

Teaching Strategy #1: An effective way to assist students with Specific Learning disabilities is flexibility. This can mean a number of things such as, additional time to complete tasks, allowing the students to present in different formats (orally, slide presentation, portfolios), and giving the opportunity to submit assessment drafts for feedback or guidance before the final submission (adcet.edu.au, 2023).

Teaching Strategy #2: Another effective strategy is accommodations such as providing recorded lectures, providing materials before the lesson, excusing the student from reading out loud in class if they are not confident, and creating group activities where the student is able to focus on their strengths (adcet.edu.au, 2023).

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Federal Definition: A communication disorder, such as stuttering, impaired articulation, a language impairment, or a voice impairment, that adversely affects a child's educational performance (Gargiulo & Metcalf, 2023).

Characteristics: Difficulty forming words or sounds correctly, difficulty making words or sentences flow smoothly (stuttering), aphasia, auditory processing disorder (cdc.gov, 2022).

Prevalence: A 2016 report from the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), a part of the NIH, stated that 7.7% of U.S. children ages 3-17 has had a disorder related to voice, speech, language, or swallowing in the past 12 months (nidcd.nih.gov, 2016).

Teaching Strategy #1: When introducing new vocabulary, help the student practice the words by dividing them into syllables and pronouncing each syllable to improve speech; this can be done discreetly to avoid possible resistance or avoid embarrassment (brighthubeducation.com, 2011).

Teaching Strategy #2: Practice and maintain easy and effective communication skills by modeling and facilitating participation during classroom discussions and activities while accommodating different forms of communication such as interpreters or assistive technology (bringhubeducation.com, 2011).

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Federal Definition: An acquired injury to the brain caused by an external physical force, resulting in total or partial functional disability or psychosocial impairment or both, that adversely affects a child's educational performance. The term applies to open or closed head injuries resulting in impairments in one or more areas such as, cognition, language, memory, attention, reasoning, abstract thinking, judgement, problem solving; sensory, perceptual, and motor abilities; psychosocial behavior, physical functions; information processing, and speech. The term does not apply to brain injuries that are congenital or degenerative, or to brain injuries induced by birth trauma Gargiulo & Metcalf, 2023).

Characteristics: There are many factors that attribute to the symptoms and length of a TBI including, location of the injury, rehabilitative care after the initial injury, age of the individual, and severity of the injury. For instance, a concussion might have mild, temporary effects while a more serious injury can cause lifelong impairments. Some common symptoms include behavioral, emotional and personality changes, cognitive changes, loss of senses (vision, hearing, speech), physical changes (difficulty walking), and sleep difficulties (accreditedschoolsonline.org, 2022).

Prevalence: According to a report completed by the CDC and NCHS, in 2020, 6.8% of children 17 and under had, at some point, symptoms of a concussion or brain injury. Only 3.9% had been diagnosed by a healthcare provider (Black & Zablotsky, 2021).

Teaching Strategy #1: Demonstrate new tasks, and provide examples, charts, and other graphic cues, when possible, to illustrate ideas and concepts. Since TBI's can often cause cognitive changes in students, modeling and using visuals can help build correlation between previously learned information and new information. This strategy also helps by giving contextual support for students who are struggling with verbal deficits (ws.edu, n.d.).

Teaching Strategy #2: Direct Instruction which includes pacing, frequent opportunity to respond, feedback, and reinforcement to maintain student engagement can be applied in designing an instructional program with student with a TBI. This includes; selecting a meaningful goal, providing simple rationale so the student understands the relevance of the skill, clearly stating directions and asking the student to repeat/rephrase to ensure understanding, breaking tasks into small steps and using modeling, providing opportunities for student response, appropriate pacing, and providing immediate feedback and error correction when necessary and in a positive, systematic way (Bowen, 2018).

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Federal Definition: (Including blindness and partial sight) An impairment in vision that, even with correction, adversely affects a child's educational performance (Gargiulo & Metcalf, 2023).

Characteristics: Vision loss that can not be fixed with glasses, contacts, or other methods. May be complete vision loss or partial. Students may not be able to see objects at a distance, maybe have trouble reading, learning to read, and participating in class; may not be able to focus on objects or follow them; may quint often, rub their eyes a lot, have chronic eye redness or sensitivity to light, and may bump into things often (Hirsch, 2021).

Prevalence: The U.S. Department of Education (2021) reports that 25,261 children, ages 6–21, were receiving services in the 2018–2019 school year because of a visual impairment. These students represent 0.4 percent of all pupils with disabilities. Visual impairments, there-fore, are one of the least prevalent disabilities (Gargiulo & Metcalf, 2023)

Teaching Strategy #1: Accommodating student with visual impairments is important. This can be done by using assistive technology such as magnifiers, audio books, and voice-activated computers for those who struggle with typing. This can also be done in classroom set up; making seating changes that allow the student to sit closer to learning materials, extra lighting, and keeping walkways open and finally, by encouraging inclusion. Children with visual impairments can sometimes be targets for bullying so celebrating differences within the classroom can help all students feel valued (Hirsch, 2021).

Teaching Strategy #2: In this video, Holly Dietert, a teacher of the visually impair in Austin Independent School District talks about the successful strategies that she used to help a student across 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade.

(46) Visual Impairment Strategies: Moving From Object Activities to Contracted Braille - YouTube

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Visual Impairment Strategies: Moving From Object Activities to Contracted Braille