SPECIAL EDUCATION

A set of practice flashcards based on the lecture notes on Special Education, covering definitions, goals, placement, disorders and instructional methods.

What is Special Education?

Individually planned, systematically implemented, and carefully evaluated instruction to help exceptional children achieve the greatest possible personal self-sufficiency and success in present and future environment.

What guides Special Education practice?

The Individualized Education Program (IEP).

Under 'Individually Planned Instruction', what are the three components?

Present level of performance (academic achievement, social adaptation, prevocational and vocational skills, psychomotor skills, self-help skills); Annual goals describing educational performance; Short-term instructional objectives.

Under 'Systematically Implemented and Evaluated Instruction', what is included?

Educational services, curriculum goals, competencies and skills, educational approaches, and strategies and procedures in the evaluation of learning and skills.

What are the four areas of independence targeted by Special Education's Personal Sufficiency goal?

Personal maintenance and development; Homemaking; Community life; Vocational and leisure activities.

What is the difference between Present Environment and Future Environment?

Present Environment is the current life conditions of learners with disability; Future Environment is the forecast of how the learner can move on to the next level of education.

What is one point of view in the Four Points View of Special Education?

Special Education is a legislatively governed enterprise.

What is another point of view in the Four Points View?

Special Education is part of the country’s educational system (began in 1907 and is now part of basic education).

What is Inclusive Education in the Four Points View?

Special Education is teaching children with special needs in the least restrictive environment; learners are mainstreamed into regular classes.

What is a 'purposeful intervention' in Special Education?

Intervention designed to prevent, eliminate, and overcome obstacles to learning, participation, and social/leisure activities.

What are the levels of intervention described?

Preventive; Primary; Secondary; Tertiary; Remedial.

Name some conditions classified as Exceptional Children.

Mental retardation, giftedness and talent, learning disabilities, emotional and behavioral disorders, communication disorders, visual impairment, hearing impairment, physical disabilities, health impairment, severe disabilities.

What are the criteria for Mental Retardation?

Substantial limitations in present functioning; Significantly sub-average intellectual functioning; Concurrent limitations in two or more adaptive skill areas (e.g., communication, self-care and direction, home living, social skills and community use, health and safety, functional academics, work).

What IQ range corresponds to Mild Mental Retardation under the new categories?

55–70 with Intermittent Support.

What IQ range corresponds to Moderate Mental Retardation under the new categories?

40–54 with Limited Support.

What IQ range corresponds to Severe Mental Retardation under the new categories?

25–39 with Extensive Support.

What IQ range corresponds to Profound Mental Retardation under the new categories?

Below 25 with Pervasive Support.

Name three prenatal causes listed.

Chromosomal disorders; Brain development disorders; Environmental influences (e.g., maternal malnutrition, Fetal Alcohol Syndrome).

Name perinatal and postnatal causes listed?

Perinatal: intrauterine disorders and neonatal disorders; Postnatal: head injuries, infections, malnutrition, cultural-familial retardation.

What are the learning and behavioral characteristics of individuals with intellectual disabilities?

Deficits in cognitive functioning (sub-average skills, low achievement, attentional difficulties); Deficits in memory (difficulty generalizing, low motivation); Deficits in adaptive behaviors (self-care, social skills).

What instructional methods are used for intellectual disabilities?

Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA); Task Analysis; Active Student Response (ASR) with systematic feedback.

What are common educational placements for students with intellectual disabilities?

Self-contained classes emphasizing communication, motor, self-help, social/recreational, prevocational/vocational skills; Inclusive education for mild/moderate MR with regular classes plus tutorials.

What are the criteria for Learning Disabilities?

Severe discrepancy between potential and achievement; Exclusion of mental retardation, sensory impairment and other disabilities; Need for special education services.

What are two broad causes of Learning Disabilities?

Genetic/brain damage/biochemical imbalance; Environmental causes (emotional disturbance, lack of motivation, poor instruction).

What is Dyslexia?

A disturbance in the ability to learn to read; difficulty with grapheme-phoneme correspondence.

What is Dyscalculia?

Severe difficulty in making arithmetic calculations; signs include poor number sense, difficulty mastering math facts, place value, and related anxiety.

What are observable characteristics of hearing impairment?

Cupping a hand behind the ear or tilting head; watching the speaker’s mouth; reliance on vibration and gestures; reduced responsiveness to sounds.

What is Visual Impairment?

Reduced vision requiring adaptations; includes blindness and low vision with varying levels of acuity.

What is Legal Blindness?

Visual acuity of 20/200 or worse in the better eye with the best possible correction.

What is Central vs Peripheral vision?

Central vision focuses on detail; Peripheral vision covers the surrounding field; tunnel vision is extreme restriction.

What are common visual impairment educational approaches?

American Sign Language (ASL) as a primary language; Total Communication (sign language, finger spelling, and speech reading); Oral/Spoken Language emphasis for residual hearing.

Who invented Braille and what device is used to write Braille?

Louis Braille invented Braille in 1830; the Brailler is a six-key typewriter-like device used to write Braille.

What is Assistive Technology for blindness?

Enables access to computers; includes optical devices for low vision, classroom modifications, and audio books.

What is the difference between Conductive and Sensorineural hearing loss?

Conductive hearing loss occurs in the outer/middle ear; Sensorineural hearing loss occurs in the inner ear.