Chapter Overview

Integrating Children with Exceptional Needs

• The typical classroom contains much interindividual and intraindividual variation among children. When interindividual differences are significant, a child is usually classified and labeled, then eligible to receive special education services.

• Labeling children is a controversial practice that tends to influence the disability, rather than the individual’s abilities. One way to minimize negative labeling effects is to use people-first terminology. This reminds us that the person is much more than his or her disability. In other words, the disability is merely one aspect of a child’s total personality.

• Currently, more children with exceptional needs are being integrated into general classrooms, with special educators entering the classroom to provide services. Special educators and classroom teachers work collaboratively, sharing responsibility for meeting student needs.

• Approximately 10 percent of this nation’s school-age children have one of the following federally designated disabilities: specific learning disabilities, communication disorders, mental retardation, emotional or behavioral disorders, severe and multiple disabilities, other health impairments, deafness and hearing impairment, physical disabilities, low vision or blindness, autism, traumatic brain injury, or deaf-blindness. Two additional categories of exceptionality are served in the schools: attention deficit disorders and gifted.

• The Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act (IDEA) guarantees the rights of children with disabilities. One of the most salient rights is that they receive education in the least restrictive environment.

Characteristics of Children with Exceptional Needs

• Some common group characteristics exist for each of the disability categories, despite a range of inter- and intraindividual differences.

• Children with specific learning disabilities experience a discrepancy between intelligence and achievement. This discrepancy may occur in one or more areas: spoken language, written language, arithmetic, or reasoning. Many have difficulties with attention, memory, metacognition, and generalization. Some also have problems in perception, motor development, social interaction, and motivation.

• Children with communication disorders are delayed in either speech or language, or both. Most encounter academic problems, particularly in reading. Some children’s inability to understand and use language also interferes with their social development.

• Children who are gifted and talented are either advanced in cognition and academic achievement or extremely talented or creative. Many excel in language and show some mature affective characteristics, such as leadership skills and goal-directed behavior. This category differs from the others, because it is based on children’s abilities and strengths rather than on their weaknesses.

• Children with attention deficit disorders have difficulties with attention, impulse control, and activity level. Many experience problems in memory, problem solving, and academics. Some experience peer interaction difficulties, low frustration threshold, and low self-esteem.

• Children with mental retardation are low in intelligence and adaptive behavior, skills that enable a person to live independently. Most also experience significant language delays as well as inattention, memory problems, low self-esteem, external locus of control, and generalization difficulties. Their delays in cognition, adaptive behavior, and language may range from mild to severe or profound.

• Children with emotional or behavioral disorders have various difficulties in psychosocial development, either externalizing (e.g., oppositional, antisocial, aggressive) or internalizing (e.g., withdrawal, anxiety, depression) problems. Most have deficits in language and social-cognitive skills.

• Children with severe and multiple disabilities, other health impairments, deafness and hearing impairment, physical disabilities, low vision or blindness, autism, traumatic brain injury, and deaf-blindness have a range of needs scattered across the developmental domains. Many children in these categories can learn in the general classroom with the use of specialized equipment, including augmentative communication devices, adaptive devices, medical technology, and vision aides.

Identifying and Teaching Students with Exceptional Needs

• The process of identifying and serving children with exceptional needs occurs in stages, namely, prereferral, referral, evaluation, individualized education plan (IEP), placement, and review. As a member of a multidisciplinary team, a classroom teacher plays an active role throughout the decision-making process.

• In order to teach a diverse group of learners, teachers must have a repertoire of teaching strategies including learning centers, computer-assisted instruction, classroom accommodations, cooperative learning, peer tutoring, buddy systems, learning strategies training, and self-management instruction.

• Classroom teachers have access to a variety of resources and support. Within their school, they can problem solve with colleagues in general and in special education. Many state and national professional and parent organizations offer assistance as well as clearinghouses and information centers.