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1.1 Definitions of Basic Terms (Impairment,
Disability and Handicap)
1. Impairment: refers to any loss or
abnormality of physiological, psychological
or anatomical structure or function
It is an absence of or significant difference in
person’s body structure or function or
mental functioning
e.g., Loss of limbs or loss of vision
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2. Disability: any restriction or lack (resulting
from an impairment) of ability to perform
an activity in the manner or within the
range considered normal for a human
being. (e.g., Difficulty walking or reading)
3. Handicap: refers to a disadvantage for an
individual that limits or prevents the
fulfillment of a role that is normal.
It is a physical or attitudinal constraint that is
imposed upon a person, regardless of
whether that person has a disability.
e.g., Lack of wheel chair/Ramp or
eyeglasses)
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All those three traditional concepts are now
represented by a single concept: “Disability.”
According to the WHO(2001), disability has three
dimensions:
Impairment in a person’s body structure or function,
or mental functioning; examples of impairments
include loss of a limb, loss of vision or memory loss.
Activity limitation, such as difficulty seeing, hearing,
walking, or problem solving.
Participation restrictions in normal daily activities,
such as working, engaging in social and recreational
activities, and obtaining health care and preventive
services.
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A disability is any condition of the body or mind
(impairment) that makes it more difficult for the person
with the condition to do certain activities (activity
limitation) and interact with the world around them
(participation restrictions).
The full inclusion of people with impairments in
society can be inhibited by:
1. Attitudinal (societal barriers, such as stigma)
2. Physical barriers (environmental barriers,
such as absence of stairs), and
3. Policy barriers (systemic barriers)
If these problems/barriers addressed,
impairment may not lead to disability
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We have to be very sensitive to words we use in regard
to disability.
Use “a child with disability”, not “a disabled
child” (e.g., APA publication manuals).
Some people, however, argue against it and prefer
identity-first language.(e.g., in UK)
It emphasizes that the person is disabled not by their
body, but by a world that does not accommodate them.
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These are children who have at least one of
the following conditions:
1. Visual impairment
2. Hearing impairment
3. Intellectual differences
4. Physical disability
5. Emotional & Behavioral disorder
6. Learning disabilities
7. Communication disorder
8. People with Vulnerability
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1. Visual Impairment/VI/
The World Health Organization (WHO) definitions of
VI is based on visual acuity scores.
Visual acuity is the ability to see or distinguish small
objects at a distance.
Visual acuity is measured using Snellen chart, a clinical
measure in which the test distance, usually 6 meters/20
feet/ is recorded as the numerator.
The denominator represents the distance at which the
letters or symbols seen can be read by the normal eye.
Based on this criteria:
6/6 - 6/18 - normal vision
6/18 -3/60 – Low Vision/partially sighted
less than 3/60 - Blind
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The term blind is used to describe children who rely
predominantly on tactile methods in their learning( e.g.,
Braille; Perkins).
A person with low vision is one who has difficulty
accomplishing visual tasks, but who can enhance his/her
ability to accomplish these tasks with the use of visual
aids and environmental modifications.
People with low vision may have a visual impairment
that affects only central vision—the area directly in front
of the eyes—or peripheral vision—the area to either side
of and slightly behind the eyes.
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Including children with visual impairment in
mainstream schools has:
increasing access to opportunities for social interaction and
learning
Inherent benefits of participation & learning within an
environment of non- segregation,
Promotes the child’s educational and social inclusion.
Increases the diversity of needs in the
classroom enable teachers to increases
their creativity.
Children with VI, however, require additional support, e.g.
in mobility or tactile awareness, in addition to accessing
the main curriculum.
Videos
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It is the most prevalent sensory deficit in the human
population (1 in 800 children born with a serious HI and
more than 60 percent of people aged over 70 suffer from
HI.
Different definitions are used in different countries for
different purpose.
From legal perspective, HI is a generic term indicating a
continuum of hearing loss from mild to profound.
Hard of hearing: refers to difficulty hearing but (usually
with hearing aids) can use hearing as a primary modality
of acquisition of language and in communication with
others.
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Deaf: refers those who have difficulty
understanding speech, even with hearing aids but
can communicate in sign language.
From causative factors perspective, HI can be divided
into two categories:
◦ Sensori-neural Hearing loss: may arise from genetic
disorders, diseases and other events during
pregnancy, from the act of birth itself.
◦ Conductive hearing loss: is the single commonest
cause of hearing loss, where fluid invades the air
space in the middle ear.
◦ The fluid prevents the efficient conduction of sound
through the chain of bones in the middle ear.
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Hearing loss is measured using audiometer and expressed
in terms of decibels (dB), the unit used to measure
intensity of sound.
The larger the number of decibels needed, the
more severe the hearing loss.
Children with a mild to moderate hearing loss are
those for whom the oral/aural approach is
usually recommended and is most successful.
This involves training in listening with
amplification so that the best use is made of
residual hearing together with lip reading.
The profoundly deaf however communicate
through Sign language
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Degree of Level of
loss (dB) hearing Description of the problem
loss
25-40 dB Mild has difficulty responding to
hearing conversational speech especially with
loss background noise
40-70 dB Moderate -Has difficulty with all conversational
loss speech.
-Perception is better with
amplification and use of visual clues
like lip reading.
70-95 dB severe Difficulty with perceiving amplified
loss speech without the aid of lip reading
95 dB & Profound -Can respond to some amplified
above loss speech, but little information of
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Sign language is a socially accepted mode of
communication among the deaf, which has its
own grammatical structure.
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Learning disability (LD) refers to a disorder in
one or more of the basic psychological processes
involved in understanding or in using language,
spoken or written and mathematics.
LD manifest itself in the imperfect ability to
listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or to do
mathematical calculations.
LD should not be confused with learning
problems which are primarily the result of
sensory, or motor disorder; of intellectual
disability; of emotional disturbance; or of
environmental, cultural or economic
disadvantages
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There often appears to be a gap between the
individual’s potential and actual achievement.
It is some times called “hidden disability”
A learning disability cannot be cured or fixed;
It is a lifelong challenge.
Types of LD:
1. Auditory Processing Disorder (APD):
Individuals with APD do not recognize subtle differences
between sounds in words.
2. Language Processing Disorder:
It is a specific type of Auditory Processing Disorder
(APD)
While an APD affects the interpretation of all sounds
coming into the brain, LPD relates only to the processing
of language
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3. Dyslexia: is a specific learning disability that affects
reading and related language-based processing skills
4. Dysgraphia: is a specific learning disability that affects
a person’s handwriting ability and fine motor skills.
5. Dyscalculia: is a specific learning disability that
affects reading and related language-based
processing skills
6. Non-Verbal Learning Disabilities: Difficulty
interpreting nonverbal cues like facial expressions or
body language
7. Visual Perceptual/Visual Motor Deficit: is a
disorder that affects the understanding of
information that a person sees, or the ability to
draw or copy
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This disability category can be divided into two groups:
speech disorder and language disorder.
A. Speech Disorder
There are three basic types of speech disorders:
articulation disorders, fluency disorders, and voice
disorders
Articulation Disorders: include such problems as:
Omission: (bo for boat)
Substitutions: (wabbit for rabbit)
Distortions: (shlip for sip)
Addition
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Fluency Disorders: are difficulties with the rhythm and
timing of speech characterized by hesitations, repetitions,
or prolongations of sounds, words, or phrases.
Stuttering: rapid-fire repetitions of consonant or vowel
sound.
Cluttering: excessively fast and jerky speech
B. Language Disorder
There are five basic areas of language disorders:
1. Phonological disorders: abnormal organization of the
phonological system, or a significant deficit in speech
production or perception.
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2. Morphological disorders: difficulties with
morphological inflections on nouns, verbs, and
adjectives that signal different kinds of meanings.
3. Semantic disorders poor vocabulary dev’t,
inappropriate use of word meanings, and/or inability to
comprehend word meanings
4. Syntactic deficits: difficulty in acquiring the rules that
govern word order and others aspects of grammar (e.g.,
subject-verb agreement)
5. Pragmatic difficulties are characterized as problems in
understanding and using language in different social
contexts
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Autism refers to a developmental disability significantly
affecting verbal and nonverbal communication and social
interaction of a child.
It is a pervasive developmental disorder characterized by
lack of sociability, impaired communication and
repetitive obsessive behavior such as politeness, turn-
taking.
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a condition exhibiting one or more of the following
characteristics over a long period of time and to a
marked degree that adversely affects educational
performance:
An inability to learn that cannot be explained by
intellectual, sensory, or health factors;
An inability to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal
relationships with peers and teachers;
Inappropriate types of behavior or feelings under normal
circumstances;
A general pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression;
or
A tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears
associated with personal or school problems.
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Biological- includes genetic disorders, brain damage, and
malnutrition, allergies, temperament and damage to the
central nervous system.
Family factors- include family interactions, child abuse,
neglect, and poor disciplinary practices
Cultural factors- include some traditional and cultural
negative practices, for example watching violence and
sexually oriented movies and TV programs.
Environmental factors- include peer pressure, living in
impoverished areas, and schooling practices that are
unresponsive to individual needs
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Kauffman (1993) conclude that EBD fall into two broad
classifications:
Externalizing Behavior: also called under controlled
disorder, include such problems disobedience,
disruptiveness, fighting, tempers tantrums,
irresponsibility, jealous, anger, attention seeking etc…
Internalizing Behavior: also known as over controlled
disorders, include such problems anxiety, immaturity,
shyness, social withdrawal, feeling of inadequacy
(inferiority), guilt, depression and worries a great deal
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Intellectual disability is a disability characterized by
significant limitations in both intellectual functioning and
in adaptive behavior.
Intellectual functioning: refers to general mental capacity,
such as learning, reasoning, problem solving, and so on
One way to measure intellectual functioning is an IQ test.
An IQ test score of 75 an below indicates a
limitation in intellectual functioning.
Adaptive behavior: involves conceptual, social, and
practical skills that are learned and performed by people
in their everyday lives.
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Conceptual skills—language and literacy; money, time,
and number concepts; and self-direction
Social skills—interpersonal skills, social responsibility,
self-esteem, social problem solving, and the ability to
follow
Practical skills—activities of daily living, occupational
skills, healthcare, travel, safety, use of money, use of
the telephone.
A individual who show a deficiency in one of these
adaptive skills is taken as having Intellectual disability.
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Level of Duration of Frequency of Setting of support
support support support
Intermittent Only as Occasional or Usually only one or two
needed infrequent (e.g. 1–2 classes or
activities)
Limited As needed, Regular, but Several settings, but not
but sometimes frequency varies usually all
continuing
Extensive Usually Regular, but Several settings, but not
continuing frequency varies usually all
Pervasive May be Frequent Nearly all settings
lifelong or continuous 28
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1. Physical disability is a condition that interferes with
the individual’s ability to use his or her body.
It includes orthopedic impairments, which refers to
conditions of muscular or skeletal system and
sometimes to physical disabling conditions of the
nervous system.
Classification and Characteristics
Based on the impact of physical disability on mobility
and motor skills, it is divided into three:
A. Mild physical disability:- Individuals have minor
problems and walk without aids.
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B. Moderate physical disability:- individuals can walk
with braces and crutches and may have difficulty with
fine-motor skills and speech production.
C. Severe physical disability:-individuals who are wheel-
chair dependent and may need special help to achieve
regular development.
Physical disability can also be broadly classified in to
two groups:
The neurological system (the brain, spinal cord &
nerve) related problems.
Musculo-skeletal system (the muscles, bones and
joints) are deficient due to various causes.
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I. Neurological system:-
Epilepsy: is disorder that occurs when the
brain cells are not working properly and
is often called a seizure disorder
Spinal bifida: damage to the spinal cord
leads to paralysis and loss of sensation
in the affected areas of the body
II. Musculoskeletal system
It includes the muscles and their supporting
framework and the skeleton.
Progressive muscle weakness (muscular dystrophy);
Inflammation of the joints (arthritis), or
Loss of various parts of the body
(e.g., Amputation)
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Examples of Musculoskeletal problem:
A. Muscular dystrophy:- is an inherited condition
accruing mainly in males, in which the muscles weaken
and deteriorate
B. Arthritis:-is an inflammation of the joints. Symptoms
include swollen and stiff joints, fever, and pain in the
joints during acute periods
C. Amputation:- a small number of children have missing
limbs because of congenital abnormalities or injury or
disease (malignant bone tumors in the limbs)
D. Polio:- is viral disease that invade the brain and cause
severe paralysis of the total body system.
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Any disease that interferes with learning can make
students eligible for special services.
These disease caused problems are as follow:
1. Heart disease
2. Diabetes:
3. Allergy
4. HIV/ AIDS/ Corona Virus, etc.
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An individual is said to be vulnerable when he/she is at risk of
being harmed.
In principle, everyone is vulnerable to some adverse event or
circumstance, but some people are more vulnerable than
others.
Vulnerability can be generally defined as a complex
phenomenon that refers to the following dimensions:
Economic difficulties/poverty
Social exclusion
Lack of social support from social networks
Stigmatization
Health problems
Being a victim of crime
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Vulnerability may be caused by:
rapid population growth,
poverty and hunger,
poor health,
low levels of education,
gender inequality,
fragile and hazardous location,
lack of access to resources and services, including
knowledge and technological means,
disintegration of social patterns (social
vulnerability
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The following are thought to be characteristics of
vulnerable people:
Less physically or mentally capable (infants, older
adults, people with disabilities)
Fewer material and/or financial resources (low-
income households, homeless)
Less knowledge or experience (children, illiterate,
foreigners, tourists)
Restricted by society to grow and develop
according to their needs and potentials
Women, minorities and gifted & talented are
also categorized as vulnerable.
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What is Special Needs Education?
Special Needs Education is a “specially”
designed instruction to meet the unique needs
and abilities of students with special needs.
Special Needs Education is a relatively new
discipline.
It has passed through some historical periods
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1. Era of Exclusion/Extermination(Before 1800)
Disability is a “punishment of the gods”
“An Individual is what he is, now and forever”
Plato & Aristotle call for infanticide
Ciceron of Rome calls for the purity of the race, a
society free of “defectives”
PWDs experience chaining, left on hills to die, thrown
off cliffs, locked away or drown
Father had the right to terminate child’s life
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The following individuals were pioneers in the field of
SNE:
Pedro Ponce de Léon(1578) in Spain created the first
documented experience about education of deaf
children
Abbé Charles Michel de l’Epée(1760) in Paris created
the first Institute for deaf
Louis Braille invented “Braille script” in (1829)
Jean Marc Gaspard Itard(1774-1838) designed
teaching methods for intellectual disability (e.g., the
wild boy)
Eduard Seguin (1812-1880) of the US
Maria Montessori (1870-1952) introduced
new instructional methodology.
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People with disability were forced to live, learn in far
away places (prison-like institutions).
Historically the care and instruction of children
with disability was catered for by the church.
The strong belief in the salvation of the
individuals & these religious convictions were
powerful impetus for the provision of education
«God created man in his own image»
Jesus helps disabled persons (e.g., blind
miracle).
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There has been serious abuse on PWDs such as Eugenics
in the name of science.
Sterilization of those deemed not a “good American” and
included anyone “non-White”, Eastern European,
physically/mentally disabled, felons
The 6 million Jews were slaughtered in Germany as a
result of Eugenics supported by ultra nationalism.
The same thing happens to those with
disabilities
Some states in the US sterilization laws were in
practice until the 1970s and 1980s.
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In this period special classes flourished
Students with special needs, especially those
with:
intellectual disability
Visual impairment,
Hearing Impairment &
EBD were assigned in regular schools but in a
separate classroom.
Integration takes many forms:
Physical integration
Social integration
Functional integration
During integration it is the student who should
change to fit the “normal” school or classroom.
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Children with special needs/disability are
accepted as dignified citizens with equal
rights.
Finally, the right to live, learn and work together was
recognized.
Educational equality and equal educational services is
provided.
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1. The Medical Model
Disability is considered as pathology (physiological,
biological and intellectual).
Disability is defined as functional limitations due to
physical, intellectual or psychic impairment, health or
psychic disorders on a person (WHO,1996).
The medical definition has given rise to the idea that
people are individual objects to be “treated”, “changed" or
“improved" and made more “normal”.
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The medical definition views PWDs as needing to “fit in
”rather than thinking about how society itself should
change.
The medical model does not adequately explain the
interaction between societal conditions or expectations and
unique circumstances of an individual.
2. The Social Model
Disability largely depends on the context and is a
consequence of discrimination, prejudice and exclusion.
Emphasizes the shortcomings in the environment and in
many organized activities in society,(e.g., ICT, and
education), which prevent persons with disabilities from
participating on equal terms.
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Medical model: Social model:
Child is faulty Child is valued
Diagnosis and labeling Strengths and needs identified
Impairment is the focus of Barriers identified and solutions
attention developed
Segregation and alternative Resources are made available
services
Re-entry if normal enough or Diversity welcomed; child is
permanent exclusion welcomed
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