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SPED week 1

Normality, Definitions, and Foundational Concepts

  • The material introduces the concept of “normal” and challenges related to defining normality across disciplines and contexts. It frames normality as a construct studied in normatology, drawing from psychology, philosophy, sociology, biological sciences, and mathematics. It notes that special educators rely on clinical psychology to distinguish typical from atypical.

  • Key questions raised: What is normal? How do we identify atypical development, and what are the implications for education and services?

Historical Context and Foundational Terminology

  • History overview emphasizes the evolution of special education through people, ideas, and trends:

    • Itard and Seguin (late 18th–mid 19th century): systematic educational procedures for the hardest-to-teach children.

    • Samuel Howe (1829): established the first American residential school for students who are blind.

    • Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet (1817): established the first American residential school for students who are deaf.

    • Normalization and deinstitutionalization in the 20th century: breaking down barriers to participation in society (from psychiatric hospitals to community settings).

    • Council for Exceptional Children founded by Ferrell and others (1922): professional organization; advocacy and resources; parent groups emerge; Special Olympics begins in the 1950s.

    • Education for All Handicapped Children Act, PL 94-142 (1975): introduced inclusion and the rights to a free appropriate public education; integration of students with disabilities into general education classrooms.

  • Pioneer figures in special education include Pereine, Pinel, Itard, Gallaudet, Howe, Dix, Braille, Seguin, Galton, Itard, Montessori, Terman, Bell, Binet, and others, highlighting early work in HI (hearing impairments), VI (visual impairments), IQ assessment, and educational approaches for children with disabilities.

Definitions: Exceptional, Impairment, Disability, Handicap, and Risk

  • Exceptional Children: a broad, inclusive term used by general and special education professionals; refers to individuals who differ from the norm in ways that may require individualized programming; identification does not automatically require special education.

  • Key terms (Heward, Exceptional Children, 10e):

    • Impairment: loss or reduced function of a body part or organ.

    • Disability: limitations imposed on an individual (physical, cognitive, sensory, emotional, learning difficulties, etc.).

    • Handicap: a problem encountered when interacting with the environment (environmental consequences).

    • Developmentally Delay: used for children ages 3–9 who perform significantly below developmental norms.

    • At risk: children who have a greater-than-usual chance of developing a disability.

What is Special Education? Definition and Scope

  • Special education is a customized instructional program designed to meet the unique needs of an individual learner.

  • It may require specialized materials, equipment, services, and/or teaching strategies.

  • It is not limited to a specific location; services can occur in various settings.

  • Heward (2003) emphasizes: Special education is individually planned, specialized, intensive, goal-directed instruction, guided by research-based teaching methods and frequent measures of student performance.

IDEA and Related Legal/Policy Definitions

  • IDEA (as cited in the transcript): a child with a disability is a child who has one or more listed impairments (e.g., intellectual disabilities, hearing impairments including deafness, speech or language impairments, visual impairments including blindness, emotional disturbance, orthopedic impairments, autism, traumatic brain injury, other health impairments, or specific learning disabilities) and who needs special education and related services.

  • Related services include a range of supports beyond direct instruction to enable access to education (see list below).

Thirteen Categories of Disability (as listed in the transcript)

  • Autism

  • Deaf-blindness

  • Developmental delay

  • Emotional disturbance

  • Hearing impairments including deafness

  • Intellectual disability

  • Multiple disabilities

  • Orthopedic impairments

  • Other health impairments

  • Specific learning disabilities

  • Speech or language impairments

  • Traumatic brain injury

  • Visual impairments including blindness

Related Services in Special Education

  • Psychological services for assessment and counseling

  • Transportation

  • Speech and language services

  • Special physical education

  • Rehabilitation counseling

  • Physical therapy

  • Occupational therapy

  • Additional examples include: audiology, recreational therapy, orientation and mobility, interpreting services, medical services, nutrition, social work, vocational education, parent counseling, school nurse services

Supplementary Aids and Services

  • Supports provided to students with special needs to help them succeed in general education and other settings (e.g., taped textbooks, computer adaptations, peer tutoring services).

Special Education, Related Services, and Supplemental Services: Structure

  • Terms used in practice:

    • Special Education: specially designed instruction.

    • Related services: supports to enable access and participation.

    • Supplemental services: additional supports/activities to reinforce learning.

Prevalence and Incidence: Key Concepts and Data Context

  • Distinguishing prevalence vs. incidence:

    • Prevalence: total number of individuals in a given category during a particular period.

    • Incidence: rate of new cases appearing in the population within a specific time period.

  • Figure (2016-2017) — Distribution of students ages 6–21 receiving a special education:

    • Specific learning disabilities: 38.6\%

    • Speech or language impairments: 16.8\%

    • Other health impairments: 15.4\%

    • Autism: 9.6\%

    • Other disabilities: 7.296\%

    • Intellectual disability: 6.9\%

    • Emotional disturbance: 5.5\%

    • Note: Other disabilities include multiple disabilities, hearing impairments, orthopedic impairments, visual impairments, deaf-blindness, traumatic brain injury, and developmental delay. Data based on 49 states, Puerto Rico, DC, BIE schools, and outlying areas; data for Wisconsin not included.

    • Source: U.S. Department of Education, 2018 Fortieth annual report to Congress on IDEA implementation.

  • The total in this distribution and its note: the data reflect 49 states and several territories; Wisconsin not included in this dataset.

Prevalence Data: 2021–2023 and Related Tables

  • Table (2021–2023) shows prevalence by disability category (U.S. DOE, Forty-fifth annual report, 2023):

    • Specific learning disabilities: 2{,}351{,}863 ( 34.5\% )

    • Other health impairments: 1{,}233{,}598 ( 18.1\% )

    • Speech or language impairments: 1{,}131{,}366 ( 16.6\% )

    • Autism: 831{,}486 ( 12.2\% )

    • Intellectual disability: 415{,}743 ( 6.1\% )

    • Emotional disturbance: 327{,}142 ( 4.8\% )

    • Developmental delay: 265{,}803 ( 3.9\% )

    • Multiple disabilities: 122{,}678 ( 1.8\% )

    • Hearing impairments: 68{,}155 ( 1.0\% )

    • Orthopedic impairments: 27{,}262 ( 0.4\% )

    • Traumatic brain injury: 27{,}262 ( 0.4\% )

    • Visual impairments: 27{,}262 ( 0.4\% )

    • Deaf-blindness: 3{,}408 ( <0.05\% )

    • Total: 6{,}815{,}457 ( 100\% )

  • Note: Data reflect fall 2021 and cover 50 states (as available), Puerto Rico, DC, BIE schools, four outlying areas, and three freely associated states.

Group Activities and Classroom Diversity

  • Group Activity prompts (Page 9):

    • What is normal and NOT normal for you?

    • Think of an event where you encountered an abnormal behavior across study-related contexts (societal, games, weather, school, etc.).

    • Reflect on your perception or understanding of individuals with special needs.

  • Diversity in the Classroom (Page 10):

    • Typically developing students

    • Students with disabilities

    • Students with special gifts and talents

    • Students who are at-risk

Types of Collaboration and Professional Teaming

  • Definitions:

    • Consultative services: focused problem-solving where one professional supports another.

    • Multidisciplinary teams: professionals from various disciplines independently conduct their own evaluations.

    • Interdisciplinary teams: evaluations separate, but program development/recommendations are joint.

    • Transdisciplinary teams: evaluations plus cross-training so team members learn each other’s skills and collaborate.

  • Cooperative teaching (Pages 30–35):

    • General and special education teachers co-teach in a general education classroom for a heterogeneous group.

    • Models include: One teach, one observe; One teach, one support; Station teaching; Parallel teaching; Alternative teaching; Team teaching.

    • Arrangements examples (e.g., one teacher handles instruction while the other observes or supports; station/parallel/alternative arrangements used to manage grouping and pacing).

Cooperative Teaching: Models and Arrangements (Details)

  • Common instructional models:

    • One teach, one observe

    • One teach, one support

    • Alternative teaching

    • Parallel teaching

    • Team teaching

    • Station teaching

  • Visual representations show general education teacher and special education teacher working with a typical learner and a student with special needs across each model.

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and Differentiated Instruction

  • Universal Design for Learning (UDL): a flexible, school-wide approach to designing assessments and instruction to accommodate a wide range of abilities and preferences, including exceptionally gifted and culturally diverse learners.

    • Three main means:

    • Multiple Means of Representation

    • Multiple Means of Engagement

    • Multiple Means of Expression

  • Differentiated Instruction: three components

    • Content: what the student needs to learn

    • Process: activities through which students make sense of the content

    • Products: demonstrations that show understanding or mastery

Instructional Methods and Materials

  • Multiple methods of presenting instructional content (organized by modality):

    • Auditory: lecture, discussion, song, read-aloud

    • Visual: diagrams, charts, graphs, pictures, slides

    • Tactile/Kinesthetic: hands-on activities, manipulatives, role-play, building objects

    • Affective: video clips, field trips, small-group work, sign language, gesture, reading, theatre experiences

  • Technology-enabled methods:

    • iPad, videoconferencing, online discussion boards, eBooks, eText, tablet, spreadsheet, PowerPoint, Smartboard, etc.

  • Note: The list is not exhaustive; many methods fit into more than one category.

Instructional Content, Assessment, and Evidence-Based Practice

  • Emphasis on using evidence-based teaching methods and frequent performance measures (Heward, 2003).

  • Importance of adapting representation, engagement, and expression to meet diverse needs.

Exceptional Development Across the Lifespan

  • Exceptionality is not limited to a single age; it spans infancy, childhood, adolescence, and adulthood with varying needs and services.

Infants, Toddlers, and Preschoolers with Special Needs

  • Key supports include:

    • Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP)

    • Early Intervention (EI) from birth to age 2

    • Early childhood special education (ages 3–5)

Adolescents and Young Adults with Disabilities

  • Focus areas include:

    • Transition planning

    • Transition services

    • Individualized Transition Plan (ITP)

    • Transition challenges and concerns throughout aging into adulthood